Chen Shuangbai waited in the carriage for about half an incense stick's time before lifting the blue curtain and walking out leisurely.
"Thank you for your trouble."
He didn't address him as "sir," nor did he mention Chang Yuan's name; he simply spoke casually, as if he were talking to a servant.
Chang Yuan dared not show the slightest resentment, but simply remained bowed until Chen Shuangbai came down.
This government office was built by the Jing Kingdom's court so that disciples of the Jade Spring Sect could guard it. However, since Tian Guanyu's death, it has been without an owner for about seven or eight years, and it is no surprise that it has been covered with a thick layer of dust.
But now it's completely renovated, and it's easy to guess who did it.
The group entered the main hall of the government office and walked towards the head seat.
Chang Yuan walked ahead respectfully, but his expression suddenly changed as soon as he pushed open the door.
A soft creaking sound.
Indeed, a man was already seated in the main seat of the government office—a young man in blue robes, whose expression appeared somewhat arrogant.
Two other people sat on either side of the main seat, both with smiles on their faces.
Chang Yuan's face immediately darkened. He said, "Who are you? Why are you here? Do you know where you're sitting?"
Beside him, a man who resembled a clerk stepped closer and whispered a few words in his ear. The voice was very low, but Chen Shuangbai heard it clearly.
Chen Shuangbai remained calm, looking at the young man in blue sitting in the main seat. The latter stared back at her, his eyes full of mockery and arrogance, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"
Chang Yuan learning the other party's identity, Chang Yuan suddenly turned around and glanced at the Yuan Household's line of people who were lagging behind. He then lowered his voice and instructed a clerk beside him to go and remind the Yuan Household.
"Your Yuan Household has some nerve!"
When Chen Shuangbai, the newly appointed garrison commander from the Jade Spring Sect, arrived, several major local powers also sent representatives, but none of them were the heads or leaders of their respective families; most were their deputies or elders.
The head of the Yuan Household was the third elder of the Yuan Household, named Yuan Chongde. Upon hearing this, his expression changed drastically. He took a few more steps inside and saw the young man in blue sitting in the main seat with a mocking expression. His face turned pale instantly.
He roared furiously, "How dare you! Get down here now!"
Clearly, the young man in blue was from the Yuan Household.
Upon seeing that it was an elder of his family, the young man in blue slightly softened his attitude. He slowly stood up, stepped down from the main seat, walked to Yuan Chongde's side, greeted him with a smile as "Uncle," and then turned and left.
Bi Sheng's face immediately darkened. He stepped forward and roared, "Insolence!"
With a flick of his sleeve, a flying sword shot out, enveloped in a chilling aura of wood, and slashed towards the head of the young man in blue. But Yuan Chongde's expression suddenly changed, and he conjured a talisman, which transformed into a bronze bell and enveloped the young man in blue.
With a clang, the bronze bell was cleaved in two. If the young man in blue hadn't dodged quickly, only a corner of his robe would have been severed, and he would probably be in two pieces by now.
"Fellow Daoist Bi, what do you mean by this?"
Yuan Chongde's expression was somewhat unpleasant, and he shielded the young man in blue behind him.
But Bi Sheng's face was ashen, even more so than his.
Bi Sheng's anger was barely concealed as he asked, "And what does the Yuan Household mean by this?"
The scene froze instantly; you could hear a pin drop.
Yuan Chongde's face turned pale. He hadn't expected Bi Sheng to be so forceful, nor had he expected Bi Sheng to have made a breakthrough, actually breaking through his bronze bell talisman and almost killing this outstanding junior.
He subconsciously looked at Chen Shuangbai, but couldn't see anything, only a pair of deep, unsettling eyes looking at him with a half-smile.
"With the Garrison Commander present, the seat of honor is His Excellency's; how can anyone presume to overstep his bounds?"
Bi Sheng's voice was icy, filled with barely suppressed anger, "This young master of the Yuan Household not only sneaked in, but even sat down. What does that mean?"
"Does this government office belong to your Yuan Household family? Shouldn't a member of the Yuan Household be sitting in the main seat?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Chongde could no longer remain seated and immediately retorted, "You're slandering me!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Bi Sheng immediately retorted, "Did he sit down or not?"
Yuan Chongde was immediately speechless.
Bi Sheng snorted coldly, then turned his gaze to Chang Yuan, who was watching the scene with amusement, and reminded him, "Magistrate Chang, although there is a difference between immortals and mortals, the Jing Kingdom's royal family has always shown great respect to my Jade Spring Superior Sect. Now that we've encountered such a predicament, what are your plans?"
Chang Yuan had no cultivation, but the Jing Kingdom's court held a high position, and the mortal order needed the court to maintain it, so they would give him some face.
After being reminded of this, he noticed that everyone's eyes were on him, and he felt pressured.
He was just a mortal, while everyone else present was a cultivator...
But with righteousness at stake, and knowing they wouldn't dare kill an official, Chang Yuan composed himself and said, " Yuan Household... is this disrespect for the Jade Spring Sect?"
The weight of those five words, "Disdain for the Jade Spring Sect," is enough to crush any Lineage in Wind Howling Ford!
Oh no, I mean any cultivation faction.
Yuan Chongde's face turned deathly pale instantly, and cold sweat soaked his back in a flash.
He suddenly looked at Chang Yuan, a flash of surprise and anger in his eyes. Chang Yuan usually seemed so shrewd; how dare he speak so bluntly now?
But he remained calm. Instead, he pulled out the young man in blue behind him, kicked him hard, and tried to force him to kneel down, shouting, "You wretch! Quickly kowtow to the garrison commander and confess your sins!"
The young man in blue was somewhat puzzled. He turned around and looked at his uncle, saying, "Why should my Yuan Household be afraid of him?"
"He's just an outer disciple of the Jade Spring Sect; how can he represent the Jade Spring Sect!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Chongde knew that his nephew must have been misled by others; otherwise, it would be one thing to say such things in private, but how could he say them in public!
He kicked the young man in blue, Yuan Jie, to the ground and roared, "You beast! Where is this place? How dare you utter such insane words?!"
That's all.
He kicked it several more times, still seemingly unwilling to give up, until someone beside him couldn't bear to watch any longer and helped him up.
Yuan Chongde, still seemingly unsatisfied, cursed a few more times before straightening his robes, bowing respectfully to Chen Shuangbai, and saying, "I beg Your Excellency to judge this matter clearly. This wretched child has been drinking himself into a stupor, which is why he uttered such words."
"But I assure you, he meant no harm and had no intention of disrespecting the Jade Spring Sect. I beg you to be magnanimous and not hold a grudge against a junior. When I return, I will certainly open the ancestral hall and deal with him according to family rules. He will not be let off lightly!"