The End, Flowers Scatter

The End—Throwing Flowers

Huai Xiu could not help but start worrying too. "Then hurry and intercept the gold."

Sheng Huaixuan smiled. "You're no longer worried that your Brother Long Xing won't be able to hold the fort?"

Huai Xiu spat. "I'm worried about you, aren't I? Besides, those trash from headquarters had it coming."

Just then, Cheng Hexin, the governor's chief secretary, burst in.

"Governor—ah, Governor's wife, hello."

Huai Xiu said gently, "Xiao Xin, what is it at this late hour?"

"An urgent dispatch from Long Mountain Commandery," Cheng Hexin replied. "The governor said that if there was a telegram from Long Mountain Commandery, he was to be notified immediately."

Huai Xiu and Sheng Huaixuan exchanged a look, both faces full of worry.

The more guarded Sheng Huaixuan gave nothing away. "Bring it here."

Sheng Huaixuan scanned the telegram at a glance. Once he finished, his expression turned exceedingly strange.

Huai Xiu asked anxiously, "What is it? What happened to that brat?"

Sheng Huaixuan shook his head and handed her the telegram.

After reading it, Huai Xiu was equally baffled. "He wants the Seventh Construction Corps' engineering teams to go back? Where did he get the money? He doesn't mean to make them work for free, does he?"

"Impossible. The engineering teams won't start work without seeing the money. That would accomplish nothing except earn the Seventh Construction Corps' resentment."

After thinking for a moment, Sheng Huaixuan said to Cheng Hexin, "Send a reply and ask where his money came from."

A short while later, Cheng Hexin reported, "He says Commandery Governor Lin used special connections, and the Empire gave special priority approval."

Sheng Huaixuan and Huai Xiu were even more puzzled. Huai Xiu asked, "That brat has connections?"

Sheng Huaixuan shook his head. "His family background for three generations is crystal clear. If he has any connection at all, it's me."

After a moment's thought, he said, "Get me a phone line. Connect me to the Long Mountain Commandery governor's office first."

A moment later, Cheng Hexin shook his head. "No one's answering."

Huai Xiu said unhappily, "He can still sleep at a time like this? Call his home. Your auntie here is going to scold him for not knowing better."

Cheng Hexin helplessly shook his head. "There's no phone at his home."

"Connect me to Long Mountain Commandery's Finance Department!"

A moment later, Cheng Hexin handed over the receiver. "It's connected, Governor."

"Hello? Who is this? I'm very busy right now."

"I am Governor Sheng Huaixuan."

There was a loud crash, as if something had toppled over. Then came someone's frantic, scrambling shout: "We're finished! Old Lei, get over here, we're finished! It's been exposed! Old Lei! Hurry and take it!"

Several seconds passed before someone finally picked up. "Hello, greetings. I am Lei Tiantong, director of the Commandery Administrative Office's Finance Department."

"I'm Sheng Huaixuan. How much money do you have there right now?"

"In total, assets valued at approximately sixteen to seventeen million."

"Where did the money come from?"

"The commandery governor gave it to us."

"What did he say?"

"He said he had connections and that the Empire had issued it as a special priority. But I don't think that's possible. The assets include cash, gold, jewelry, precious gemstones, and a Boscilda Sapphire valued at roughly 1.5 to 1.8 million."

"What account are these funds under?"

"Special funds for post-disaster reconstruction."

"Oh." Sheng Huaixuan fell silent for several seconds before saying, "Work hard. If you encounter any difficulties liquidating the assets, you can ask the province for assistance."

"Understood."

"One more thing. If anyone asks in the future, do not say things like using connections or the Empire giving priority. Do you understand? These are disaster relief funds allocated by the Governor's Office through normal procedures. It was merely because funds were temporarily lacking that valuable items from the treasury were used as compensation. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Good. Hang up, and work hard."

"Goodbye."

After the phone was set down, the room fell utterly silent. Only after quite a while did Sheng Huaixuan smile. "That brat is fiercer than I imagined. He isn't a young tiger—he's a crocodile."

Huai Xiu still could not believe it. "Where do you think he got it? He didn't really become a bandit, did he?"

"A bandit, then. If he got the money to rebuild the homes of three hundred thousand people by blocking roads and killing people, I still won't interfere."

Smiling, Sheng Huaixuan handed the phone to his secretary. "Notify the Seventh Construction Corps' engineering teams. Tell them to hurry back, and reprimand them severely. We said the funds would arrive a little later, yet they actually ran off early. If there's a next time, they will be punished without mercy!"

"And bring me the Azure Army's First Commander!"

The next day.

Primordial Spirit: 13%.

Not quite enough.

As he ate the breakfast Fang Weiwei had brought him, Lin Wen calculated in his mind.

This recovery was far too slow.

But he could not delay any longer, or the losses would only grow worse.

He could only force his way through.

After breakfast, Lin Wen summoned Yuan Zhimen, the deputy director of the office, and instructed him to make the necessary preparations. That afternoon, they would convene a full meeting of Long Mountain Commandery. All officials at township level and above were required to attend.

Yuan Zhimen perked up, his face alight with the excitement of finally, it's here. His 50D rolls of fat quivered as he sprinted off to make preparations.

That afternoon.

The conference room of the Commandery Administration Hall.

Nearly half of the hundred seats were occupied. Apart from a very few with exceptional circumstances, basically everyone had come.

There were quite a few people, yet the hall was utterly silent. No one spoke.

Before long, Lin Wen appeared.

There were no entrance effects whatsoever. He simply sat in the seat of honor and began speaking.

There was not even any foreplay.

"Long Mountain Commandery has suffered severe disaster. Post-disaster reconstruction must begin immediately."

"I will establish a post-disaster reconstruction task force. Those transferred into the task force will have their original duties temporarily handled by their deputies, so that they may focus solely on reconstruction."

"All matters concerning the task force will report directly to me."

The moment his words fell.

A bald man stood up. "I object!"

It was Li Tupu, director of the Commandery Administration Hall. He swept his gaze around as though intending to make a speech, but Lin Wen cut him off directly.

"Objection denied. Sit down!"

The bald man's face immediately flushed bright red. He shouted, "This does not follow procedure at all! The establishment of a specialized task force must first be approved by a vote of the political councillors and authorization from higher authorities!"

"Fang Weiwei!" Lin Wen sneered. "Read him the relevant clauses concerning command authority!"

The bald man's face went from red to the color of pig liver. "You are abusing your authority! You're establishing this task force just to throw everyone who opposes you into it, stripping them of their authority in disguise. You—you're practicing dictatorship!"

"That's right."

Lin Wen looked at him, pity in his eyes.

"I am practicing dictatorship."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

The bald man's face went from pig liver to pig manure. He shouted, "You all heard him! This man just said he wants to practice dictatorship!"

He raised a document high, as though it were an imperial edict.

"Don't be afraid, everyone! Director Yu of the Empire's Supreme Council has issued an order authorizing my appointment as Imperial Inspector Commissioner of Long Mountain Commandery, specifically tasked with investigating officials in the commandery for corruption, graft, and all manner of wrongdoing."

With a sneer, Lin Wen stepped down from the platform.

[Aura Reading] had been active the entire time. In his eyes, the officials throughout the hall were a riot of colors, every sort imaginable.

Some of them were black as night, and this bald man was among them.

There were also several whose waves were wildly agitated. Clearly, they had come prepared.

Today, he would sweep them all up in one net!

Li Tupu did not notice the danger at his back. He was still shouting, "I have the authority to investigate this new commandery chief's abuse of power! And according to my investigation, he is also implicated in a shocking murder case, as well as fraud, unauthorized bidding, favoritism and perversion of the law during the bidding process, accepting bribes, and numerous other illegal and criminal acts. His end is about to—"

Clang!

The bald man's head split open. He turned back in disbelief, just in time to see the massive hammer in the young commandery chief's hand.

"You! Inspector Guards! Come—"

Clang!

A second blow.

The bald man collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

The entire hall erupted in an uproar.

Five men in black burst in through the side door and charged straight at Lin Wen.

At the same time, several people in the hall rose to their feet and cried out, "The commandery chief has murdered someone! The commandery chief has murdered someone in public!"

They were the chief and deputy chief of Long Mountain Commandery's Public Security Section, the director and deputy director of the Inspectorate, the director of the Agriculture Department, and the director of the Water Conservancy Bureau.

They too charged toward Lin Wen. Then several dozen public security officers and inspector guards rushed in through the main doors, all carrying gleaming shackles.

They shouted, "Lin Wen, the chief criminal—submit to execution! The remaining offenders will not be pursued; any who obstruct us will be treated as accomplices!"

The officials closest to Lin Wen scrambled backward on their hands and knees, pissing themselves in terror.

Yet there was not a trace of fear on Lin Wen's face—only a cold smile. He took several steps back and retreated onto the podium.

"Fang Weiwei, take the document granting command authority to the Long Mountain Commandery garrison commander. Tell him to bring soldiers here under orders and suppress the rebels!"

Fang Weiwei, who had long been hiding by the door, immediately ran out.

The head of the Public Security Division shouted, "Catch that little bitch!"

The security officers guarding the entrance reached for her, but Fang Weiwei twisted away with the agility of a cat and darted outside. Several more people chased after her.

The rest closed in around Lin Wen, with the five men in black taking the lead.

Lin Wen glanced over, and after confirming that Fang Weiwei would be safe, sneered, "You're finished."

[Spirit Cat's Swiftness]

A green Qi Refinement-stage spell. Consumes 10% of Primordial Spirit and grants the agility of a spirit cat. Lasts 16 hours by this world's measure of time.

An invisible green radiance sank into Lin Wen's body.

It felt like drinking deeply from a sweet spring.

His mind was no longer suppressed, his soul no longer parched.

This was what cultivating immortality felt like!

Lin Wen raised the massive iron hammer high and struck five times in rapid succession, at a speed ordinary people could not perceive.

Clang clang clang clang clang.

The five men in black tumbled to the ground. It had happened so fast that it looked as though they had rushed forward and thrown themselves at Lin Wen's feet.

The next second.

Lin Wen spun and crashed into the crowd. His hammer rose and fell; the head and deputy head of the Public Security Division, the director and deputy director of the Inspectorate, the director of the Agriculture Department, and the director of the Water Conservancy Bureau—six bodies sprawled across the floor. Though they were not yet dead, they were little different from corpses.

Then came the assorted lackeys. Lin Wen showed them not the slightest mercy, knocking them all down as though he were playing whack-a-mole.

In barely more than ten seconds, almost in the blink of an eye, people lay strewn all around Lin Wen's feet.

The rebel army had been utterly wiped out.

The entire hall fell deathly silent.

This was where an ACE should have appeared.

Lin Wen thought. His mind was exceptionally lively at that moment, his soul restlessly stirring, still wanting more. His gaze swept across the room in search of possible hidden rebels, while the hammer in his hand itched to move.

Not a single person present dared meet his eyes.

Lin Wen forcibly suppressed the urge to hammer every person in the room once over. That was too violent just now. I should soothe them a little.

He lifted the hammer and smiled gently. "As a commandery chief, it's perfectly reasonable for me to carry a hammer for self-defense, right?"

With a clatter, a wrench fell out of his trouser pocket.

"Er, it's also perfectly reasonable for me to carry a wrench, in case my car breaks down on the road, right?"

No one dared speak.

The hall was utterly quiet. Everyone kept their heads lowered and remained motionless, like clay statues.

Lin Wen could not be bothered with any more awkward small talk. He walked down a few steps, picked up Baldy's document from the floor, and tore it to shreds without even looking at it, then casually flung the scraps into the air.

The fragments drifted away on the wind, like falling confetti at the close of a show.

Commonly known as—

Throwing flowers to celebrate the ending.