My Temper Is Running High

In the cold, gloomy little house, the old woman radiated a chill aura. Half-hunched over, her body stiff, her heart frantic, she kept muttering all manner of spells.

She wanted to dispel the strange affliction in her body.

Yet no matter what tricks she tried, she could not break the Immobilization Curse on herself.

She understood in her heart that she had run into a true master!

Suddenly, her body felt an immense force. In the void, it was as though an invisible giant hand had seized her in a death grip.

A tremendous force struck her. With a boom, she flew backward and smashed hard into the wall behind her.

Then, inside the little house, her body crashed wildly about, smashing the tables, chairs, bottles, and jars to pieces.

Her hair was disheveled, her forehead split open and bleeding without stop. She hurriedly begged aloud, "I was wrong, I was wrong! Which great master is this? Please spare my life!"

But the answer she received was an even fiercer impact.

No one knew how long the battering continued.

The old woman was smashed until the world spun around her, her mind muddled, blood continuously spilling from her mouth.

At last, the impacts stopped, and the old woman finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But suddenly, she raised her right hand and slapped herself across the face.

Her left and right hands spun back and forth, slapping her cheeks like an electric fan.

Then she spread her legs and walked toward a wall.

With a boom, she smashed through the wall and continued striding forward.

Then she smashed through the courtyard wall as well.

She arrived on a bustling street teeming with carts and horses.

Inside the dark, icy dungeon, Jiang Yun fiddled with the Paper Figure in his hand, using it to slap its own face as he controlled it to walk outside.

Qian Bochou had also grasped some of what was going on. Pointing at the Paper Figure, he asked, "That's the thing that controlled me just now?"

"You've got it under control now?"

"Let your big brother have a go at it."

After being tormented like that, Qian Bochou's eyes blazed with fire as he gritted his teeth.

Jiang Yun controlled the little figure for a long while before stopping it. Then he had the Paper Figure raise both hands over its head and form a heart shape.

Jiang Yun said, "The Remote Control Technique only works within three li. This person should be somewhere near the prefectural yamen."

"Under my control, it may already have reached the street."

"Even if it hasn't, it should have caused quite a commotion."

"Take some men to the street and bring it back first."

By then, the Ghost Wall affecting the two of them had also been broken. From the cells came the continuous sounds of constables beating prisoners.

"Everybody stop the hell right now!" Qian Bochou roared.

The constables working hard in each cell poked their heads out. Seeing Qian Bochou, whose eyes were nearly shooting flames, they could not help wondering inwardly what had gotten into their chief.

"Come with me and arrest someone. Once we get back, give them a good serving!"

Jiang Yun followed along as well, and the group hurried grandly out of the prefectural yamen.

Eight swift horses galloped through the streets of Prefecture City.

"Hyah!"

"Hyah!"

"Get the hell out of the way!"

Constable Qian rode at the front on a fast horse, shouting with a savage expression.

The pedestrians on the street hurriedly scattered aside.

Jiang Yun, meanwhile, clung to Constable Qian's thick waist and was jolted until the world spun around him.

At that moment, Jiang Yun had only one thought in his mind: when he had the time, he truly needed to learn how to ride a horse.

On a bustling street, Jiang Yun spotted from afar someone standing in the road with their hands raised in a heart shape.

"Whoa!"

Seven or eight swift horses came to a halt beside the old woman.

The old woman's clothes were in tatters, her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered in blood. She cut an utterly miserable figure.

Most importantly, her face had been slapped so red and swollen that her features could no longer be made out.

She had already stood there for a full quarter of an hour.

Quite a few passersby had stopped to watch as well.

"This pig-headed thing?" Qian Bochou's eyes nearly spat fire. He dearly wished he could draw his blade and slaughter the old woman on the spot.

But when he saw the nearby residence and the large hole in its wall, Qian Bochou's brows immediately furrowed tighter.

"What is it?"

After dismounting, Jiang Yun saw Qian Bochou's expression and looked toward the residence as well.

It seemed this was where the old woman had been hiding.

Qian Bochou lowered his voice and said quietly, "This is Master Xia's residence."

Qian Bochou was the chief constable of Nanzhou Prefecture. Though he held no official appointment and was not technically an official,

he was still one of the few people in Nanzhou Prefecture who wielded real authority. His status was far from low.

There were not many people who could make him this wary.

"Master Xia?" Jiang Yun asked instinctively. "Xia Lingxian?"

He had some impression of that name. Before Peng San was killed by Xu Suwen, he had mentioned this man.

Jiang Yun remembered Peng San saying that Xia Lingxian had once been the Prefect of Nanzhou Prefecture.

Locally, he truly counted as a resounding figure of great importance.

He was not someone Qian Bochou dared provoke lightly either.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yun frowned. Could the evil presence hiding in the prefectural yamen be connected to Xia Lingxian?

"Arrest her!" Qian Bochou ordered, pointing at the old woman who could not move.

Just then, a man dressed like a steward emerged from behind the hole in the residence wall, his face full of smiles. "Constable Qian, what brings you here? This lady is a guest of Master Xia."

Steward Hu also found it strange. A servant had suddenly brought word that something had happened.

The distinguished guest Xia Lingxian had invited had suddenly displayed great might, smashing through several walls in succession.

Many servants, including Steward Hu, knew that this distinguished guest was an extraordinary person Xia Lingxian had invited, one with remarkable abilities.

Yet when they saw her smash several huge holes through the walls in a row, they could not help sighing that she truly was an extraordinary person.

They had thought the distinguished guest was cultivating some technique and had not dared disturb her lightly.

They had not expected Constable Qian to suddenly come to arrest her.

"Steward Hu, it is not that I refuse to give Master Xia face, but this person is implicated in a major case. I need to take her back for questioning."

Upon hearing this, Steward Hu's eyelids twitched. He understood Qian Bochou's usual ways well enough.

Then, smiling warmly, he pulled a silver note from his sleeve and said in a low voice, "This is fifty taels of silver."

Thinking of what he had suffered earlier, Qian Bochou said coldly, "My temper is running high right now!!"

Steward Hu gritted his teeth and pulled out another silver note. "Another fifty taels for Constable Qian. Have some tea and cool your temper."

Qian Bochou glanced at the silver notes, somewhat tempted. He could not help turning to look at Jiang Yun, uncertain what to do.

Yet he discovered that Jiang Yun was looking up at the sky, gazing at the clouds, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.

Qian Bochou took a deep breath and accepted the two silver notes.

Seeing Qian Bochou take the money, Steward Hu finally sighed in relief and said, "Thank you all for making the trip. Later, my master..."

"Arrest her," Qian Bochou suddenly ordered loudly.

The constables naturally knew who Xia Lingxian was, and none of them dared make a move.

Qian Bochou swept his gaze over them. "If you don't dare do it, take off those uniforms. Don't bother reporting to the yamen tomorrow either."

After exchanging glances, the constables finally stepped forward to make the arrest.

Steward Hu froze. "Qian Bochou, what are you doing? You took the silver notes too."

"I'll take the money, and I'll arrest the person!" Qian Bochou said coldly.

He had thought it through as well. The person had to be arrested, or he would have no way to answer to Xu Suwen.

One was a Prefect whose glory had faded.

The other was an important figure from the capital.

He knew perfectly well which one to choose.

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