Chapter 307: Foxes In The City, Rats In The Temple

There were many crowded alleys in the Imperial Capital. When Yan Liqiang rode into a less crowded street, a figure dressed in gray suddenly rushed out from one of the nearby alleys and collided squarely into Snowstorm Cloud.

Yan Liqiang was taken by surprise. He immediately pulled on Snowstorm Cloud’s reins and brought it to a halt. The figure who rammed into Snowstorm Cloud with his shoulder suddenly let out a miserable yell and fell to the ground while screaming, “Ouch, someone hit me with his steed! Someone hit me with his steed! My bones are broken! My bones are broken…!”

His yells attracted quite a lot of attention on the streets. Five more people suddenly rushed out from the alley at the side and surrounded Yan Liqiang who was riding on his steed. All of them were glaring fiendishly at him.

Among the five people who rushed out from the alley, one of them was the thug that Yan Liqiang noticed earlier.

“Watch where you’re going, brat! Did you know you just knocked someone down?” A half-bald man with an oily face grabbed Snowstorm Cloud’s bridle and glared at Yan Liqiang. He had a muscular physique and was dressed in green clothes which left his belly exposed to the air. “How dare you still be up on your steed! Get off right now!”

“Right, right, right! Look at this rude young man! He has the nerves to still be on his high horse after knocking someone down in the Imperial Capital…!”

“Get that brat off from there and send him to the authorities…!”

The two thugs at the side ganged up on Yan Liqiang. An ordinary youth would probably be really intimidated by them.

Yan Liqiang watched the scene unfold before his eyes on his rhinodrake steed, feeling like it was all too familiar. It seemed like extortion scams were all the same, no matter which world he was in. This was as skillful as they could get.

Looking at the fearful expressions of the pedestrians around them, quite a number of them seemed to know these thugs. The owner of an umbrella shop looked as though he wanted to stand up for Yan Liqiang, but he was quickly pulled back in by his wife.

Yan Liqiang shot a lazy glance at the few thugs who tried to look fierce and waved them off. “Alright, get out of the way now. Since I’m in a good mood today, I won’t hold you guys accountable for this. I’ll treat this as an entertaining performance you guys have put on for me today. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

The thugs who were ganging up on Yan Liqiang at the side couldn’t help but quiver for some reason as soon as they saw his lazy glance. The haughty words they wanted to say were suddenly stuck in their throats. The man who was holding onto Snowstorm Cloud’s bridle seemed like he was the group’s leader. He was the only one who was still putting up the act, unwilling to give up. “Hey, brat. It seems like you won’t know how tough Master Guo is until you get a taste of his power. You’re still not getting off? I will make you…!”

While the leader was speaking, he tried to make a grab for Yan Liqiang’s clothes to drag him off his rhinodrake steed. Yan Liqiang’s gaze turned icy, thinking to teach that thug an unforgettable life lesson as soon as his claw came anywhere near him.

“GUO SI! STOP RIGHT THERE…!” A yell suddenly rang out from an alley at the side.

Seven or eight young men dressed in homespun fabrics with rolled up sleeves came out from the alley together. All of them were glaring at the swindling thugs.

When Guo Si turned his head and noticed the young men who came out from the alley, his countenance slightly contorted as the corner of his eyes twitched. “Xu Enda, mind your own business…!” he warned coldly.

Interesting…

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect this turn of events. Instead of taking action, he sat quietly on his steed and watched the scene before him.

“I wouldn’t care if you swindled somewhere else, but I have to if you’re doing it at the Prosperous Spring Square!” A young man with thick eyebrows and a square face came forward as he stared intently at Guo Si. “Many people make a living here at Prosperous Spring Square. You’ll destroy this place’s reputation by swindling here. With fewer people coming to the square, how are these folks going to carry on with their lives?! That’s why I must make it my business! Besides, you guys are born with working limbs. There is a lot of work in the Imperial Capital. People are hiring every day at the great enclosure outside the eastern gate and the Hundred Clans Market outside the western gate. Although the jobs laborious, the money is clean and enough for you to survive! You will be able to spend that money with a clear conscience, knowing you earned it through honorable means! Do you not think your actions are disgracing your ancestors?”

The young man with thick eyebrows made a very valid point. After hearing his words, the thugs at the side didn’t even dare to look him in the eye. Only their leader, Guo Si, was still gnashing his teeth with an ominous glint in his eyes. “Xu Enda, don’t go thinking you can be insolent toward I, Guo Si, just because you have a few relatives in the Imperial Cavalry Unit. I’ll teach you a lesson if you piss me off! It’ll be wise for you to get out of my way now…!”

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“What if I don’t?” Xu Enda took another step forward and stared intently at the thug named Guo Si.

“You must have a death wish…!” Guo Si scanned the crowd that had gathered around. An ominous glint suddenly flashed in his eyes again as he released Snowstorm Cloud’s bridle. A dagger slid out of his sleeve and he lunged at Xu Enda.

Yan Liqiang was already prepared to intervene. However, he instantly realized that he didn’t have anything to worry about.

The young man named Xu Enda was extremely nimble. When he saw Guo Si thrusting a dagger at him, he took a pole from someone standing beside him. With a swing, the pole landed squarely on Guo Si’s wrist, knocking the dagger out of his grasp and promptly drawing out a pained howl out from him. Xu Enda then jabbed the pole into his abdomen, sending Guo Si to the ground.

Xu Enda lifted the pole and got into a stance. Guo Shi did a side roll, got up to his feet, and ran into an alley at the side while covering his wrist. While running, he turned back and spat, “Xu Enda, just you wait and see…!” The other thugs, including the one who pretended to be dead, immediately fled ignominiously when they saw Guo Si running away, not daring to linger around much longer either.

Yan Liqiang lifted his leg and nimbly got off his rhinodrake steed. He cupped his fist and smiled at Xu Enda. “Thank you for the help, brothers!”

“Hahaha, no worries!” Xu Enda laughed heartily. He tossed the pole to the other young man standing next to him, then took a look at Yan Liqiang and Snowstorm Cloud. “What a fine steed you have here. It can fetch quite a lot in the Imperial Capital. Those people were eyeing your rhinodrake steed and tried to extort you after noticing how young you are. There are many thugs and scammers in the Imperial Capital, but the folks from Prosperous Spring Square are all kind people…”

“Indeed, I can tell by looking at all of you!” Yan Liqiang chuckled too.

“Alright. Be more careful next time, brother. We still have to go find some money now, or else we won’t be able to put food on the table for dinner tonight…!”

After exchanging a few more words with Yan Liqiang, Xu Enda led the other youths with him toward the western city gates.

Yan Liqiang watched their disappearing figures and secretly nodded to himself. As the saying went, ‘In a village of ten families, there must be someone who is sincere and trustworthy.’ These people were the reason Yan Liqiang felt everything he was doing wasn’t for naught. If this city was completely filled with degenerates who lacked the morality of the olden days, then Yan Liqiang would just let the Imperial Capital perish without any remorse.

…

Ten minutes later, Yan Liqiang arrived at the entrance of Sun Bingchen’s manor and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the old servant surnamed Li cautiously peeked through the door crack. He was clearly taken aback when he noticed Yan Liqiang on the other side of the door.

“Old Master Li, I am here to visit Lord Sun. Is he in?” Yan Liqiang smiled at him.

“Lord Sun left the capital two days ago!” An unexpected reply came out from the old servant’s mouth.

“Ah, he did? Where did he go?”

“To Yue Province to perform his duties as the Yue Provincial Governor!”

…

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect Sun Bingchen to have left the Imperial Capital two days ago. This probably meant that the trip northwest and the fight with the Gan Province’s Ye Clan on the imperial court had come to an end. Although Sun Bingchen had left the heart of the empire, he was still working at the top position at the other place. Hence, Yan Liqiang couldn’t make a conjecture about who really won the battle on the imperial court this time.

Wait…

Yan Liqiang stopped abruptly with his rhinodrake steed. — Yue Province… Isn’t that the place that’s going to be the most severely affected by the White Lotus Society’s movements?