Jiang Yue had expected the local officials' lackeys to cause trouble. This tavern had probably earned quite a reputation in the area by now. Everyone knew it had no backing, was easy to bully, and could be squeezed for money.
But he hadn't expected a big shot from the local authorities to visit his tavern—and happen to bail them out, too. The whole thing sounded downright incredible.
After all, this sort of thing usually happened in novels. In real life, even if some big shot happened to be drinking there, he probably wouldn't interfere in other people's business. And even if he did, he likely wouldn't step in right away. He'd handle it afterward.
Something about this was fishy.
Though they'd gotten rid of the shakedown artists from the local authorities, Jiang Yue couldn't feel happy about it. Those lackeys had backed down today because someone had stepped in to protect the tavern, but that didn't mean they wouldn't return in a few days.
And there was no such thing as kindness without reason. The sudden appearance of a big shot from the authorities to solve their problem only made Jiang Yue feel more uncertain.
"Did he mention which government office he's from? Or who exactly this big shot is?" Jiang Yue pondered for a moment, then asked the old manager.
"He didn't. He didn't exactly step in forcefully, either. He just flashed a token. We were too far away to see what kind it was."
"He only said a few things. One was that those lackeys from the local authorities were extorting merchants and acting lawlessly, ruining the reputation of the Titan City-state and openly working against the good situation it had now. Then he said he'd ask their superiors whether they'd recently been authorized to conduct this sort