Protect My Horse

"Ah! Someone's dead!"

People around screamed in shock. The man in the middle, who had collapsed to the ground, lay dead with his eyes wide open, and the blood flowing from his chest quickly stained the snow red.

No one expected that this kind-hearted Flower Daoist would kill without batting an eye, a stark contrast to his image as a jovial, benevolent man who distributed money to refugees.

Only then did people realize that this Flower Daoist, whose attire was completely different from the stereotypical image, was indeed a true Daoist priest with cultivation.

"Hey buddy, give it a shot! This is a golden opportunity, and it's free anyway. If you choose correctly, you'll get all the money that guy just put in, and you'll be free again."

The Flower Daoist adjusted his sleeves, a faint smile on his face.

Everyone was amazed upon hearing this, casting extremely envious glances at You Su.

The money hidden in that secret compartment was a fortune to these refugees; they could never earn that much even if they worked hard all their lives in that village. And now, this young man wearing a heavy felt hat had the chance to turn his life around!

Of course, many people felt the rules were unfair, since they had only received one or two taels of silver. However, due to the cruelty that the Flower Daoist had inadvertently displayed, no one dared to act rashly and could only envy You Su even more.

"I don't like to gamble."

You Su's refusal surprised everyone.

The middleman was killed, You Su was in a bad mood. His day-long plan to enter the city had fallen apart, and with only that identity document and no one to introduce him, the risk of his identity being exposed would increase dramatically.

Now, if he wants to enter the city, he'll probably have to use some riskier methods. For example, he could use the Ruyi Wind-Controlling Technique to scale the city walls, but this method is very likely to trigger some alarm mechanisms and attract the attention of all the cultivators in the city. You Su really doesn't want to use this method unless absolutely necessary.

"Young man! If you don't like it, I'll do it for you! We'll split the money fifty-fifty! I'm lucky! I just got a tael of silver!"

Soon, a group of people gathered around, hoping that You Su would give up this precious opportunity.

You Su pulled her hat brim down lower, completely ignoring these people.

"My teacher taught me that no one in this world doesn't gamble. If someone does, it's just that the stakes aren't high enough to entice them," the Flower Daoist suddenly laughed loudly. With a wave of his colorful sleeve, he said, "You draw a prize. If you win, I can grant you one wish within my power. How about it?"

You Su stopped in her tracks and finally turned around:

Your tricks won't fool me.

As he spoke, You Su placed his hand on the first hidden compartment.

The Flower Daoist was somewhat surprised by the youth's certainty, so his smile deepened. "Alright."

He immediately opened the third hidden compartment, which was empty.

"There are two hidden compartments left now, young man, please choose one more time." The Flower Daoist gestured for him to proceed.

Those around them, seeing this, wished they could replace You Su in their place.

An opportunity to change her fate was right in front of her. Some people advised You Su to stick to her own opinion, while others advised You Su to switch to another one. These people each held their own views and argued heatedly.

You Su patted the restless Bai Ze in his arms. The little Divine Beast had also become interested in the game and kept burrowing into You Su's left hand, as if telling You Su:

Choose the first one you picked at the very beginning! Believe in yourself!

"Change to the second one." You Su's voice was indifferent.

These words drew sighs of regret from many, who felt that You Su had truly wasted his opportunity.

"Only by staying true to your original aspirations can you achieve your goals, young man," the Flower Daoist reminded you gently.

You Su raised an eyebrow, but completely disregarded these people's well-intentioned reminders.

"Let's change to the second one." You Su insisted on changing.

Upon hearing this, the Flower Daoist sighed softly, and everyone felt even more sorry for him upon seeing his reaction.

The Flower Daoist slowly reached his hand onto the second hidden compartment, and under the gazes of everyone, some eager and some desperate, he slowly lifted the small door of the compartment.

Surprisingly, all the gold and silver that the middleman had gambled away was actually placed in the second hidden compartment!

Cheers and exclamations erupted immediately.

"Congratulations, young man! It seems... you have a very good life." The Flower Daoist priest clapped his hands in congratulations, his smile radiant.

Little Bai Ze excitedly rolled around in You Su's arms.

You Su, however, did not show excessive joy, as if everything was within his expectations.

The refugees also came up to congratulate You Su, trying to build a good relationship with the young man, as if this would allow him to generously share some of his joy.

Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of You Su winning the lottery, a series of rapid and heavy hoofbeats suddenly came from afar, breaking the lively jubilation.

A troop of soldiers, clad in iron armor and wielding spears, swept in like a winter wind, their eyes sharp as eagles, scanning everyone present.

It was none other than the Shuo City Guards who had rushed over after someone reported a murder to the authorities.

"Make way! Where's the dead man?!" The leading soldier's voice boomed, and with a flick of his whip, his fat belly under his armor jiggled three times.

The refugees were terrified and scattered in panic, afraid of being implicated. Some muttered under their breath, "The corpse is right in front of us, why do these officials always have to ask so many questions? Does it make them seem more imposing?"

The leading soldier looked at the shocking pool of blood, then lashed out with another powerful whip, sending snow flying like dust into the air, terrifying everyone into silence.

The reason the leading officer was so angry was not to show off his authority, but because he recognized the dead man. He was the lackey who did shady things for the big shots in the city. He had been cooperating with him for many years, secretly letting countless unlucky people into the city and making a lot of money from them, which was why the dead man had such a plump physique.

At this moment, the big shot's subordinate was killed just a few hundred meters outside the city gate. If he angered the big shot, wouldn't he be held responsible? Therefore, he was even more eager to catch the murderer.

"Who did this?!"

The leading officer's voice was like thunder, and the fat on his cheeks trembled with anger.

You Su didn't want to get involved any longer. When he heard the sounds of fighting, his first instinct was to pull up his collar, which slowed him down a step.

He was quite composed, looking at the official sitting high above on horseback, and pointed behind him, saying:

"Sir, the man was killed by this Daoist priest."

Unexpectedly, the official lashed out again with a vicious whip. Fortunately, You Su was agile, and before anyone could see him dodge, the whip struck the corpse lying on the ground. The refugees chuckled, assuming that the corrupt official had misjudged the corpse, and even the official himself turned ashen-faced.

"Tell me, where the hell are there any Daoist priests here?!" the official roared.

You Su was slightly taken aback and quickly turned around, only to find that the Flower Daoist had disappeared without a trace, along with his tattered stall, as if he had never existed.

Only then did You Su realize that he was now all alone beside the corpse on the ground.

"Take it down!!"

The officer shouted orders, and the soldiers behind him rushed out from his side like a flowing river, surrounding You Su in a circle.

The surrounding refugees felt a sense of shared pity for You Su, who was also dressed as a refugee, and they all spoke up for him, explaining:

"My lord, this young man didn't kill him! It was a Daoist priest who did it!"

But their explanations only earned them more indifferent beatings.

"Shut up! Think you know everything? Then come to jail with me! You bunch of scoundrels!!"

The leading officer coldly swept his gaze over the group of poor and weak refugees, showing absolutely no pity.

Upon hearing this, the refugees, no matter how indignant they felt for You Su, dared not utter a sound. After all, what in this world could be more important than their own lives?

With so many people giving the same story, the officials naturally knew that the murderer was likely the nonexistent Daoist priest. But clearly, arresting this refugee to apprehend them was far easier than arresting a Divine Ability priest with supernatural powers.

He's only at the Channel Opening Realm, yet he's thriving because he's very self-aware; he only punishes the weaker ones. As for the Daoist priest, let someone capable investigate him. He just needs to find a scapegoat to prove he was doing something.

"Take away!"

At a command, the officers and soldiers stepped forward to arrest You Su.

Moments later, You Su, who had been subdued, was taken away by the soldiers along with the dead body.

Watching the young man who had just been on the verge of a life-changing lottery win fall into despair in an instant, the refugees sighed and shook their heads, wondering if their fate was truly destined to be unchangeable.

"Hey... why didn't this guy fight for himself? He just willingly went to jail?"

"You don't know anything! In jail, you get food and sleep, and you're considered a government employee, isn't that much better than here?"

"Then why don't you go?"

"Roll!"

You Su certainly didn't willingly follow this group into the city just for the sake of being listed as a criminal.

His only goal was to get into the city.

The biggest difficulty in entering the city was getting through the multiple checks at the city gates, and it was clear that the place where prisoners were checked was not at the city gates, but in the city's prison.

As long as he can get into the city smoothly, You Su is confident that he can escape.

"Boss, who died?"

One of the city guards saw the fat official riding back triumphantly on his horse and quickly approached him to ask in a low voice.

The portly officer sighed deeply, "Don't even mention it, that Chen Xian's always following Boss Qi around, licking his boots."

The city guard who asked the question had always worked closely with the fat official and was considered a close associate. He naturally knew quite a bit about the inside story. Upon hearing this, his eyes darted around, and he immediately realized that things were getting complicated.

"This kid killed him?!" The city guard looked at the tall figure surrounded by his colleagues, somewhat incredulous.

This kid kept his head down, looking so weak, did he look like someone who could suddenly turn on someone and kill?

"He killed him. Do you understand?"

The fat official spoke slowly and deliberately, his threatening manner immediately conveying his meaning to the city guard.

Yes, yes, yes.

The city guard flattered him while quickly stepping aside to let his superior pass.

You Su silently followed the soldiers forward until they crossed the gate. Only then did he feel a little more at ease, though he sighed at how difficult the journey into the city had been.

Suddenly, a long spear shot out and blocked You Su's path.

A general clad in silver armor rode a tall horse through the snow. His eyes were sharp, but they weren't fixed on You Su; instead, they were fixed on the fat, chubby official.

"Sergeant Li quite the airs of a high-ranking officer, don't you think?" The general's voice was steady and powerful, yet full of sarcasm.

The fat constable felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the newcomer, thinking to himself that he was in for a rude awakening, having just run into the commander of the guards, with whom he had always been at odds.

He was in charge of the city gate-related affairs and made a lot of money from it, but the commander of the city guards was in charge of the City Lord's Mansion's guards and could only receive a fixed salary. In addition, the other party was a rank lower than him and often caused him trouble in his daily work.

"Commander, please don't scare me. How could I dare to act like an official?" the fat officer said in a gentle tone, but the commander's face remained stern.

"The sacred mountain has issued a decree that anyone entering the city must be checked, regardless of who they are. You think you can disregard this decree just because you've caught a murderer? Isn't that a lack of official authority?"

The portly officer could only say sullenly, "Aren't criminals usually taken to the jail for inspection? There's no reason to inspect them here..."

"The rules of the sacred mountain are the rules."

The commander knew that a refugee's identity was untraceable, but his attitude was firm: he had to use this sacred mountain token to annoy the fat official today. If the fat man didn't listen to him, he had his own ways to impeach him.

The fat official gritted his teeth, lashed out with his whip again, and shouted:

"It was my oversight! Come on! Let's examine this kid!"

"Yes!"

The officers and soldiers immediately obeyed the order.

You Su clenched his fists, never expecting his journey into the city to encounter such another setback. He felt that the one with bad luck wasn't the middleman, but him.

"Take off your hat! Pull down your collar!"

A soldier walked over holding up the portrait on the wanted poster and gave You Su orders in a rude manner.

You Su's heart pounded like a drum, and his breathing became heavier than usual. He trembled as he placed his hand on his collar, hesitating whether or not to take the gamble.

He did look somewhat different from his former self, who was full of vigor and confidence. He had even grown a beard and tried to tan his face as dark as possible. But he couldn't guarantee that no one would notice, after all, he was still himself.

But if you want to reach the sacred mountain, you can't keep your face hidden forever. Trying it here is better than being discovered again at the entrance of the sacred mountain.

"Hurry up! Do you need my help?" the officers urged impatiently.

You Su gritted her teeth inwardly, her hand already gripping her collar.

But just then, a somewhat familiar voice rang out.

"What are you doing here? I've been looking for you for ages. Come on, let's go into town."

You Su looked in astonishment at the Flower Daoist had appeared behind him at some point Flower Daoist smiled and put his arm around You Su's shoulder in a very intimate manner.

"The Daoist priest they're talking about is you?!" The fat official immediately cracked his whip and cursed angrily.

But before the whip could strike the Flower Daoist, it was tangled by a long spear.

"Presumptuous!!"

The commander shouted loudly, causing the fat official to fall off his horse and cry out in pain.

The Flower Daoist laughed heartily and greeted the commander:

"This must be Commander Gao, who has come to pick me up!"

Upon hearing this, the usually stern-faced Commander Gao quickly dismounted, knelt on one knee, and respectfully said:

"Gao pays respects to the Immortal Hua!"

With a flick of his wrist, the Flower Daoist helped Commander Gao to his feet.

"No need for formalities. Someone was about to attack me, and I accidentally killed him in self-defense. I feel extremely guilty, and I beg Commander Gao to handle this for me."

"Why bother with him? This man dared to offend Immortal Hua; he deserves to die!" Commander Gao's righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor left all the surrounding soldiers exchanging bewildered glances. "Please come in quickly; the city lord is waiting for you in his residence!"

"Thank you for your trouble." The Flower Daoist smiled and thanked the commander, then put his arm around You Su's shoulder and swaggered away the prisoner who was about to be interrogated.

Watching the departing figures of the Flower Daoist and the refugee, the soldier still holding the wanted poster asked blankly:

"Commander, aren't we going to investigate these two? What about the Divine Mountain Token...?"

To his surprise, his emphasis on rules didn't earn him praise from his superior, but rather a sharp tongue.

"Keep an eye on my horse! And protect your own horse too!"

With that, the commander handed the reins to the soldier and then scurried after the Daoist priest.