The bearded young man with the rather fierce face was, of course, Pan Long.
Over the past few days, he had made a circuit of Donghua County to see the situation for himself. The more he saw, the deeper his frown grew.
When the constables assessed household property, they acted like outright bandits. He had witnessed it once with his own eyes, and the scene had reminded him of a passage he had studied in his previous life.
[When brutal officials came to my village, they shouted to east and west and rampaged through north and south. Their clamor struck such terror that not even chickens and dogs could rest in peace.]
If no one had been hurt or bloodied, he might have drawn his blade and cut them down on the spot.
That night, every constable who had swaggered about so arrogantly by day was beaten until his face looked like a pig's. None of them even knew when the beating had happened. All they knew was that they woke with swollen faces and bruises all over their bodies. Forget tormenting the people again—they could barely get out of bed and dress themselves.
That included the cold-faced Innate Master who looked as though everyone owed him a fortune.
The Internal Art that man practiced was extraordinarily refined. His ability to dissolve incoming force was nothing short of miraculous. Pan Long had needed two punches to knock him unconscious. Much as Pan Long disliked him, he had to give the man's mastery a thumbs-up.
That did not stop the man from waking the next day with his face swollen like a pig's and his nose bent to one side.
The affair caused an uproar. Not only was all of Donghua County in an uproar, but the Ludong Commandery Office above