The Empress's No.1 Lackey
Chapter 579 - 579: 422. Coastal Magistrate, take a look, who am I? (5k)_3

Why the posture that seems to reverse the interrogation?

"Bold!" Luan Cheng's face showed anger, and he sneered:

"What a rebel, so rampant, daring to question this office! Well, well, are you relying on these many men to oppose the government? Zhang Jian!"

A command was given.

The arrest officer with a stern black face, clad in an iron-trimmed short-sleeved uniform, stepped forward, his shoes pressing onto the floor tiles, "crack" forming a cobweb-like indentation.

Unlike the ordinary human body of Magistrate Luan Cheng.

Having walked the martial world for half a lifetime, Zhang Jian, who was once a martial arts expert in it, sensed pressure upon entering the inn.

The pressure wasn't from those knife-wielding Jinyi guards.

It came from the few obviously strange people beside the rebel leader:

The chubby man with hands behind his back, chest puffed out, nostrils aimed at the sky.

A young girl wearing peculiar spectacles, trying to open her eyes with her fingers, looking confused.

A man carrying a wine gourd, holding onto the hilt of a curved knife.

A woman curled up in the corner, head lowered, with her face buried in disheveled black hair...

A sickly scholar and a woman with a bronze face shield.

This team practically branded the word "ominous" on their faces.

Ten points in, it revealed twelve points of oddness.

Even the most "normal" looking man and woman among them gave him a slight sense of threat.

Zhang Jian inwardly groaned, thinking 'Oh lord, don't say any more, this seems like hitting a brick wall now. But given the situation, after navigating the martial world for half a lifetime, he knew that in a showdown, the brave prevail. The current situation ruled out a safe retreat, so instead of passive defense, it's better to capture the leader first for a chance.'

Therefore, as soon as the Magistrate spat out the word "Zhang," he was already moving, stepping forward, simultaneously drawing two knives from his waist.

Two knives, one long, one short; the long one heavy and narrow, named Thunder.

The short one as thin as a cicada's wing, named Autumn Leaf.

At this moment, the long knife Thunder hummed and vibrated, its Qi mechanism burned, transforming into wisps of illusory flames, emitting from the pores, entwining the narrow blade resembling those of Eastern Sea wanderers, dripping down the tip, scorching the floor tiles with mottled black marks.

The short knife Autumn Leaf suddenly hurled out, spinning like a wheel in mid-air, with lightning speed, aiming to flank Zhao Douan standing at the forefront from another angle.

"Great sword skill!" Zhao Douan's eyes brightened; with his current perspective, few martial arts from the martial world could still amaze him.

But this sword skill, learned from God knows where, with one bright and one dark, one going off the beaten path, one embracing the righteous way, the balance of good and evil, the timing and decisiveness of the strike were notable; it was no wonder Zhang Han remembered him after a single meeting.

Aside from anything else, this individual's solid martial arts skills were on par with Zhang Han of the Peony Hall Arresting Office, even in the Capital, he could earn a status, yet here as a Magistrate's guard was truly underutilized.

Numerous thoughts flashed by in an instant, the swirling Autumn Leaf Blade had already rushed to his face.

Zhao Douan's hair slightly lifted backward; he was about to test his newly mastered "Buddhist Golden Bell Shield," when Lang Shiba from behind had already darted out.

The Northern Blood Saber, Lang Shiba's weathered face was full of green stubble, his pupils reflecting the spinning wheel-like Autumn Leaf Blade.

His thumb, scarred all over, moved upwards, flicking out the gleaming Western curved knife.

It seemed as though a ray of moonlight appeared in the courtyard.

Lang Shiba's fingers lightly flicked, causing the curved knife to leap out, guiding his hand, with a "ding," precisely striking the spinning shadow of the Autumn Leaf Blade.

Despite its appearance as thin as a cicada's wing, the Autumn Leaf Blade, capable of slicing an adult man in half, offered no resistance and was bumped away by the curved knife; with a swoosh, it deviated from its course, scraped Jin Jian's scalp, and with a thunk, fiercely stabbed into the pillar behind the crowd, the blade embedding halfway, the handle still vibrating!

Jin Jian, holding his eyelids apart, was bewildered for a second, a blood-lit moon shadow at the back of his head slowly fading.

Worldly Realm's Lang Shiba struck with a knife like smashing through bamboo, appearing in front of Zhang Jian in a blink, with Zhao Douan's lazy voice echoing in his ears: "Small punishment for a big lesson."

Lang Shiba tossed the curved knife aside casually, his fingers spread, transforming knife to palm, in the terror-stricken gaze of Zhang Jian, struck the renowned arrest officer, lifting his feet off the ground, sending him flying backward like a cannonball.

"Boom!!"

Zhang Jian crashed through the inn's window, smashing into the interior, toppling tables and chairs, leaving only a human-shaped hole in the window.

Lang Shiba kicked the curved saber into the air, sheathed it calmly, and returned to the team as if he had just done something trivial.

As for Gongshu Tianyuan and the others, they looked uninterested, showing no signs of surprise.

So what if he's a martial arts master from the Martial World? He's just at the Divine Chapter Realm, and with Lang Shiba's all-out attack, the opponent had no chance of turning the tables.

An eerie silence fell.

"Clang!"

A government officer's hand trembled, causing his saber to drop to the ground, while the rest of the government officers wore a ghost-seeing expression.

"Worldly Martial Artist?" someone speculated, but was immediately consumed by intense bewilderment.

When did a powerful figure among the rebels emerge?

Magistrate Luan Cheng stood stiff, anger frozen on his face, cold sweat seeping from his forehead and quickly freezing on this winter day.

As he had envisioned, capturing a few Divine Chapter Realm individuals was the upper limit; Zhang Jian and a group of government officers should have been sufficient to deal with this.

But obviously, the situation was beyond expectations.

At this moment, determined not to lose face before the court, Gongshu Tianyuan pursed his lips, pulled a straw-man figure from his loose sleeve, and flicked its head lightly.

"Ah!!"

Instantly, archers ambushed on the roof cried out in pain, flying off with bloodied heads.

"Just superficial wounds, nothing serious—a minor punishment to teach a big lesson, I understand," Gongshu Tianyuan explained with a grin to Zhao Douan.

You've learned quickly, but do you really have to compare everything... Zhao Douan thought silently, unsurprised to see the remaining half of the government officers looking ashen-faced: "A magician! He's a magician!"

Luan Cheng's scalp tingled, his heart sank into despair, foreseeing his imminent sacrifice for the country.

"Magistrate Luan," Zhao Douan slowly walked over to him.

During this, the government officers hesitated, not daring to step forward.

Zhao Douan extended his hand, fixing the man's collar while he stared blankly, speaking softly: "Let me ask again, how did you know we were here, and when did you arrive?"

Luan Cheng's face twitched, cold sweat dripping down his back as he gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely with bloodshot eyes: "Rebel, even if you kill this official, you will never make this official submit!"

Zhao Douan squinted, leaning forward until nearly face-to-face, coldly staring into the eyes of the middle-aged scholar: "Do you want to die?"

Luan Cheng closed his eyes, his heart sinking into the abyss, feeling icy cold all over, using his last strength to say: "Kill me then."

The anticipated death did not arrive; instead, a laugh sounded in the almost silent courtyard.

Luan Cheng opened his eyes in confusion, seeing the rebel leader chuckling softly, walking back slowly, saying: "Old Hou, put the swords away. It seems our whereabouts have been exposed. Haha, we were planning to sneak into the city quietly, but it seems our opponents are more cunning than expected, so there's no need to pretend anymore."

Hou Renmeng and the Jinyi Captains sheathed their swords, looking disdainfully at the group of government officers: "Sir, these local officers are simply embarrassing the court. If it were us, even if we couldn't win, we wouldn't be like this."

Zhao Douan cheerfully replied: "Let's not say that. For a few taels of silver, would you risk your life?"

Jin Jian, greatly disinterested, took off her glasses and carefully put them away, placing them in her bag at her waist.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Inside the inn's room, Constable Zhang Jian coughed and stumbled out, witnessing the scene, looking bewildered, and turned to Luan Cheng: "Lord Prefect, this is..."

Luan Cheng was equally puzzled.

At this moment, Zhang Han walked out from the crowd, his expressionless face glanced at Constable Zhang Jian, and said: "Do you remember me?"

Zhang Jian was taken aback, carefully scrutinizing the person in front of him, finding him somewhat familiar but unable to recall. Not until Zhang Han drew the seven-foot sword from his waist did Zhang Jian widen his mouth in astonishment: "You are... Lord Zhang from the Imperial Decree Department of Peony Hall?!"

Beside him, Haitang, with a string of throwing knives hanging from her waist, walked over with long strides, irritably glancing at the group, took out an arrest warrant from her waist, shook it, and said: "Still not realizing?"

Another arrest officer from the Imperial Decree Department... 또다른 arresting officer... Yu Country Bao Qingtian was stunned, suddenly realizing something, stutteringly widened his eyes, looking at Zhao Douan: "You are... you are..."

Zhao Douan grabbed at his disguise, revealing his true face, turned to him, and smiled: "Coastal Magistrate, take a look, who am I?"