Riding Horses Through the Streets! Taking Lives!

The medicinal bath materials for the Essence Refining Realm were quite precious.

Even Commander Han wouldn't have more than five medicinal baths per month within the Heavenly Supervision Department.

"Medicinal baths are ultimately just supplementary," Lin Yan thought to himself. "One's own cultivation is the true, grand path."

He exhaled, sensing the power within his body.

If it weren't for the Devour Fiend Qi Divine Ability, which allowed his cultivation to continuously climb, his path would likely have been fraught with hardship, even with his excellent talent.

It was precisely because cultivation was not easy that the number of experts in the Essence Refining Realm throughout Gao Liu City, and even the entire Qifeng Prefecture, was limited.

He felt a surge of emotion and slowly stood up, wiped himself clean, and put on his clothes.

"Little Piggy, Little Piggy, you've been bathing for so long... you're going to scrub your skin off..."

The Little Girl was playing with her younger brother in the courtyard. Seeing Lin Yan emerge, she pushed her brother to the ground and trotted over happily.

The little boy immediately wailed and crawled towards Lin Yan.

"Yue'er, why did you make Xiao Nian cry again?"

Second Brother put down the wood he was holding and walked over. Upon seeing Lin Yan, his face was filled with complex emotions.

What kind of young person takes a bath from morning till afternoon?

After leaving Second Brother's house, Lin Yan's ears were still filled with his Second Brother's advice.

"Too much of a good thing can be bad. Don't ruin your health."

"..."

Lin Yan sighed, thinking, I really need to live in the Lin Jiang Department. I'll have Yang, the Chief Clerk, clear out two residences later.

One for Banner Bearer Wuchang.

One for Junior Banner Lin Yan.

And to outsiders, Lin Yan would be serving the Banner Bearer.

As he thought this, he mused, But I'm playing two roles alone, and I'm still stretched too thin. I need to find another solution.

He felt a bit helpless. In his capacity as Lin Yan, going to the Lin Jiang Department.

According to the rules, Lin Yan had to report to the Lin Jiang Department and collect items like the Junior Banner from the storeroom.

In reality, as a Banner Bearer, he could directly take them and hand them over to his subordinates.

But since Lin Yan intended to be a member of the Lin Jiang Department long-term, he had to appear before the people of the Lin Jiang Department to some extent.

What's more, although the "Junior Banner" was not a formal member of the Heavenly Supervision Department, being under the Lin Jiang Department required registration on a list by Chief Clerk Yang, reporting to the Outer Southern Department, leaving his name, and receiving his salary.

When Lin Yan entered the Lin Jiang Department in his new identity, he met Chief Clerk Yang.

This Chief Clerk Yang didn't notice anything amiss and was quite amiable.

"Since you were personally selected by the Banner Bearer, some of the tedious procedures can be skipped."

"Routine patrols, overseeing various areas, and other matters will be handled by others. Your duty is to follow the Banner Bearer's orders."

"I assume you've already learned these things from the Banner Bearer."

Chief Clerk Yang said this and handed over the Junior Banner.

Lin Yan took the Junior Banner and nodded, replying, "Yes, I've learned these from Banner Bearer Wuchang."

"The sabers for the Lin Jiang Department's Junior Banners are still being forged and won't be ready for another two days," Chief Clerk Yang said. "As for the uniforms, they'll be ready tomorrow. You can pick them up together then."

Because the "Junior Banner" was not a formal member of the Heavenly Supervision Department, they wouldn't be awarded sabers, uniforms, and other corresponding items.

These were handled by the local Heavenly Supervision Department branch.

Therefore, the sabers, uniforms, and other items were the responsibility of the Lin Jiang Department itself.

Previously, Liang Hu was in charge of Lin Jiang Ward but was not a Banner Bearer of the Lin Jiang Department.

So, the uniforms and sabers for those twelve Junior Banners came from Liang Hu, not made by the Lin Jiang Department.

Now that Liang Hu and his subordinates had been driven away by Lin Yan, the Lin Jiang Department had to forge new sabers and uniforms for the newly recruited Junior Banners.

Only these twelve Junior Banners had their items made by the Heavenly Supervision Department of the inner city, representing their status.

"Also, the back courtyard is the Banner Bearer's residence. I've already had someone tidy it up," Chief Clerk Yang said. "The Banner Bearer has ordered that a residence be set aside for you next to his."

Upon saying this, Chief Clerk Yang chuckled and added, "It seems the Banner Bearer truly intends to cultivate you. You must not let him down."

"Yes, I will certainly do justice to the Banner Bearer's cultivation!"

Lin Yan's expression turned solemn. He thought to himself, I'm cultivating myself, so of course I have to be sincere.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard a sudden clamor from outside.

He had heard some noise earlier, but it seemed to be escalating.

The courtyard walls of the Lin Jiang Department couldn't block out the intense noise.

Meanwhile, Chief Clerk Yang only now heard the commotion and shouted, "What's going on out there?"

He quickly got up and walked outside.

Servants from the Lin Jiang Department rushed over.

"Reporting to Chief Clerk Yang, someone rode a horse through the street and killed someone."

"Go take a look."

Chief Clerk Yang said this and was about to call back to Lin Yan, the Junior Banner, when he turned and found that the person was already gone.

Before he could even process this, the sounds from ahead became even more chaotic.

In front of the street.

A magnificent, spirited horse stood proudly.

The young man on the horse was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He wore fine silk clothes, a jade belt around his waist, and exuded an imposing aura.

In front of the man and his horse lay an elder with graying hair, dressed in simple clothes. He was convulsing all over, blood flowing from his nose and mouth, his pupils gradually dilating. It was clear he wouldn't survive.

"Grandpa... Grandpa..."

The girl threw herself onto the elder, crying incessantly, her cries sharp and desolate, her whole body trembling as if from cold.

On both sides of the street, the crowd was surging, almost closing in to grab the person who had ridden recklessly and committed murder.

But from somewhere in the crowd, someone said, "That's a young master from the Liu Family's fourth branch, from the inner city."

"..."

The surrounding noise instantly fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The Liu Family young master sat on his horse, his expression still indifferent, his gaze slowly sweeping across the surroundings.

The people on the street below lowered their heads, not even daring to meet his eyes.

"Scram!"

The Liu Family young master looked down from above, impatience in his eyes.

Seeing the girl still crying over the body, he immediately raised his whip and lashed out fiercely!

This whip strike wasn't aimed at the girl's back, but her neck!

The intention wasn't to inflict a painful lesson, but to break her neck and end things quickly, avoiding any future troubles!

The whip whistled through the air!

A crisp crack sounded!

Among the onlookers, some quickly turned their heads away, unable to bear watching.

But the next moment, the atmosphere became instantly silent.

And Chief Clerk Yang, who had just stepped outside the Lin Jiang Department, saw the scene on the street.

In full view of everyone, a person stood blocking the girl, his hand catching the long whip.

"Bastard!"

The brocade-clad young master on the spirited horse, seeing someone dare to meddle, felt an inexpressible rage surge within him.

"..."

Lin Yan, now the Wuchang Banner Bearer, slowly moved back and glanced behind him.

The image of Zhou Ji, who died defending the city, flashed in his mind.

That corpse, with its internal organs hollowed out, its lifeless eyes still held unwillingness and regret.

Lin Yan's already suppressed killing intent surged even more fiercely at this moment.

"Do you know who I am, this young master..."

The brocade-clad young master's angry voice hadn't finished.

A flash of saber light appeared, and the horse's head flew more than ten paces away.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The horse suddenly collapsed.

The brocade-clad young master immediately fell from the horse, landing on the ground in a sorry state.

Seeing the fine horse beheaded, his eyes instantly widened in fury, and he roared in anger.

"You dare kill my horse?"

Lin Yan didn't reply and took a step forward.

His gaze was icy. He clenched his left hand into a fist and punched out.

"Stop!"

A furious roar came from the street not far away.

Lin Yan acted as if he hadn't heard. The punch landed with even more force.

The young master in fine clothes felt his vision suddenly darken, and intense pain struck him, nearly knocking him unconscious.

This punch shattered his nose bridge and smashed his teeth.

Under the incredibly shocked and silent gazes of the surrounding onlookers, Lin Yan took another step forward and stepped on the young master's neck.

His face was expressionless as he slowly applied pressure with his foot.

Then, he slowly turned his head to look at the approaching person.