Chapter 227: Chapter 227: A Stirring of Killing Intent

"This Wei Hong is utterly despicable."

"How can someone like him serve as a provincial Governor?"

"Unforgivable. Simply unforgivable."

"He deserves a thousand deaths! Young Lord Xuan, Tianxu Province was granted to the Ye family by His Majesty himself. How can you allow such a lawless scoundrel to run rampant here?"

Ouyang Xiaoshan and the others were all dumbfounded.

They never imagined that the so-called Mighty Tiger Bandit Group was actually a phantom created by the Governor of Tianxu Province. His goal was to plunder the province’s wealth before leaving his post.

"Young Lord Xuan, Governor Wei Hong must not be spared," Ouyang Xiaoshan said, his gaze chilling.

Ye Xuan nodded. He looked at the silver-armored man and asked in a cold voice, "Where is all the wealth you’ve plundered?"

From their conversation, the silver-armored man realized the youth before him was the son of the lord of Tianxu Province, a title granted by His Majesty himself. He hastily took out a Storage Ring. "My lord, the wealth from this recent collection is right here. Everything collected before has already been handed over to the Governor. Aside from that, my men should also have some plundered goods on them."

"Confiscate everything!"

At Ye Xuan’s command, a group of Imperial Guards immediately collected all the valuables from the bandits.

From the silver-armored man alone, the haul from this single raid was over ten million Profound Coins. In addition, each bandit also carried a considerable amount of valuables. In total, the sum was as high as forty to fifty million Profound Coins.

A large portion of this was clearly the City Guards’ personal property. Even so, the thought of over ten million Profound Coins being extorted every month made Ye Xuan burn with rage.

Over ten million from a single raid meant tens of millions over several raids. And this was just one of Governor Wei Hong’s methods for plundering the wealth of Tianxu Province.

"Young Lord Xuan, what do we do now?"

"We’re going to the provincial city!"

"And this one?" Ouyang Xiaoshan asked, his eyes glinting with killing intent.

"My lord! My lord! Spare my life! I, Liu Yunfeng, am willing to turn over a new leaf and serve you!" The silver-armored man, Liu Yunfeng, kowtowed ceaselessly. "I am the commander of the provincial capital’s City Guard and one of Governor Wei Hong’s confidants. I know the situation in Tianxu Province like the back of my hand. I’m certain I can be of some help to you, my lord!"

Based on what he’d seen, Liu Yunfeng knew Ye Xuan was a man who killed decisively and without mercy. To save his own skin, he would say or do anything.

"Fine. I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself. We’ll see how you perform."

Ye Xuan took out a Pill and stuffed it into Liu Yunfeng’s mouth. "This is a poison I developed. If you don’t receive the antidote within a month, your martial soul will shatter and you’ll drop dead. Whether you live or die is up to you."

As the Pill went down, Liu Yunfeng felt a slight twinge from the martial soul in his Dantian. But when he tried to sense it more carefully, it was as if he had imagined it. His heart sank. He kowtowed repeatedly. "Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!"

After clearing the battlefield, the party set off once more.

"Liu Yunfeng, do you know exactly how many experts Governor Wei Hong has at his command?"

On the way to the provincial city, Ye Xuan questioned Liu Yunfeng about the situation there.

"My lord, Governor Wei Hong has a host of experts under him. The strongest is likely Lord Fang Tianhong, the top expert of his manor. Lord Fang Tianhong is a First Layer Martial Sect and also the number one expert in Tianxu Province. On top of that, Governor Wei Hong has a tight grip on the City Guard and the military forces stationed in Tianxu Province..."

Not daring to hold anything back in front of Ye Xuan, Liu Yunfeng told him everything he knew.

Wei Hong had been Governor of Tianxu Province for a considerable time, so his control had reached a profound level. The provincial city’s City Guard, for instance, was practically his private army.

Besides his control of the City Guard, Wei Hong also had connections in the military. A high-ranking officer of the Liuyun Kingdom’s army stationed in Tianxu Province was an extremely close friend of Wei Hong’s.

’Fang Tianhong, a First Layer Martial Sect!’ Ye Xuan mused, glancing at Ouyang Xiaoshan.

"Don’t worry, Young Lord Xuan," Ouyang Xiaoshan said confidently. "If that Fang Tianhong dares to defy your orders, just leave him to me. A mere provincial expert is nothing to worry about."

This wasn’t mere arrogance. As someone from the Royal City, he naturally felt a sense of superiority toward experts from the provinces.

Ye Xuan nodded. "Liu Xiaolong."

"I am here."

"I need you to go to..."

Ye Xuan took out a Token and handed it to Liu Xiaolong, then gave him a few quiet instructions. After acknowledging his orders, Liu Xiaolong quickly broke away from the group and disappeared from sight.

"Besides impersonating bandits and embezzling from the provincial treasury, what other methods does Wei Hong have for amassing wealth?"

"My lord, besides those, I’ve heard Governor Wei Hong is preparing to target some of the families in the provincial city. He wants to fleece these prominent families before he leaves."

Ouyang Xiaoshan sneered. "This Wei Hong certainly has a big appetite. Isn’t he afraid he’ll bite off more than he can chew?"

Ye Xuan’s face was expressionless, but killing intent had already taken root in his heart.

After Zhao Jing granted Tianxu Province to the Ye family, the province was practically their property. For Wei Hong to so brazenly plunder its wealth—even if Ye Xuan were the most merciful person alive, he couldn’t suppress the killing intent rising in his heart.

What’s more, Wei Hong had his men impersonate bandits to run rampant across Tianxu Province, committing all manner of evil. If he didn’t kill a man for such acts, Ye Xuan felt he would be betraying his own conscience.

Filled with killing intent, the group continued toward the provincial city of Tianxu.

「Two days later.」

Ye Xuan’s party finally arrived outside the provincial city. A tall, majestic city loomed before them, striking and grand.

Although Tianxu Province was in a remote corner of the Liuyun Kingdom, it possessed rich natural resources like the forests of Black Wind Ridge. As such, it was considered one of the more prosperous provinces.

The city gates were bustling with people coming and going.

To Ye Xuan’s astonishment, City Guards were posted at the gate, charging a fee for entry.

Charging a toll to enter and exit a city wasn’t unheard of, but it was usually reserved for border cities—places plagued by Demon Beasts or threatened by enemy armies, where a large military presence was needed to ensure security. The tolls helped ease the financial burden.

But this was the provincial capital, located deep in the heartland of Tianxu Province. Ye Xuan had never heard of such a place charging an entry fee.

Soon, Ye Xuan’s party was stopped by the gate guards. "The entry fee is one Profound Coin per person. With so many of you... let’s call it one hundred Profound Coins."

One Profound Coin wasn’t much, but Chen Xing said coldly, "We have to pay to enter and exit the city? Which of the kingdom’s laws states that?"

The City Guard faltered for a second before his face twisted in anger. "I said pay up, so pay up! You don’t want to? Fine, then get lost! Your choice." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"You..." Chen Xing was so angry he almost smashed his fist into the City Guard’s face.

The City Guard just smirked, completely unafraid of Ye Xuan’s party. He grinned viciously. "What’s the matter? Not happy? Thinking of starting something? Go on, I dare you. Don’t think you’re tough just because you’ve got numbers."

He glanced at the Imperial Guard behind Ye Xuan, a flicker of disdain in his eyes. "Look at you, all dressed up. Is that armor made of white copper? Fifty Profound Coins a set, and you’re still parading it around like it’s something special."

Ye Xuan gave an indifferent smile. He stopped the furious Chen Xing, his icy gaze fixed on the City Guard.

Ye Xuan’s stare made the City Guard’s skin crawl, and he blustered, "What are you looking at?"

"Get out of the way!"

Just then, Liu Yunfeng hurried forward from the back and barked the order.

"And who the hell do you think you... C-Commander Liu!" The City Guard was about to curse when he saw Liu Yunfeng. He trembled in fear and nearly dropped to his knees.

Liu Yunfeng was the chief commander of the provincial city’s City Guard—the boss of their immediate superiors. Of course they recognized him.

The other City Guards, who had been watching the spectacle with amusement, now felt their knees go weak.

"My lord, how do you want me to deal with them!" Liu Yunfeng asked in a cold voice.

"What’s there to even ask? This kind of scum..." Chen Xing began furiously, about to lash out, but Ye Xuan grabbed his arm. The young lord simply gave a faint smile and walked into the city.

"Hmph!" Liu Yunfeng snorted coldly and hurried to keep pace with Ye Xuan as they entered the city.

Seeing this, Chen Xing turned to Liu Yunfeng and said coldly, "You’re supposed to be the commander of the provincial City Guard, aren’t you? And these are your men? What’s the difference between them and a pack of bandits?"

Liu Yunfeng broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly explained to Ye Xuan, "My lord, entry into the city used to be free in Tianxu Province. This new policy was implemented by Governor Wei Hong a few months ago. I could only follow orders."

Ye Xuan sneered inwardly. ’This Governor Wei Hong is absolutely mad for money, not even passing up the chance to extort fees from the common people entering and leaving the city.’

"Young Lord Xuan, why didn’t you let me teach them a lesson back there?" Chen Xing asked indignantly.

Ye Xuan said calmly, "What’s the use of punishing a few City Guards? It would only alert our true target and cause unnecessary complications. We’ll go straight to Governor Wei Hong. I’d like to see for myself just what kind of man he is."

"My lords, please follow me. Governor Wei Hong’s manor is this way," Liu Yunfeng said, leading the way.

Just then, a group of Martial Artists suddenly ran past them in a hurry.

"Quick! To the market district! The City Guard is apparently about to shut down the Ye family’s medicine shop!"

"Those goddamned City Guards! The Ye family is one of the few decent families in Tianxu Province! The three special Pills they sell are a lifeline for us Martial Artists when we’re traveling. And now they’re going to shut down the Ye family’s shop? They’re practically signing our death warrants!"

"What can we do? The City Guard has been on a rampage for the past two months, raiding one family after another in the provincial city. Now, it’s the Ye family’s turn for some bad luck."

"Sigh... I heard the Ye family is just a minor family from Blue Moon City. Even the five great families of the provincial capital have been doing their best to avoid the City Guard lately. A small family like the Ye family is probably going to be utterly ruined this time."