Chapter 8 The New Flag Commander of the Observatory

Everyone's gaze turned toward the entrance.

A figure appeared, clad in black robes, with a long saber hanging from his waist, striding forward.

His figure was tall and straight, his eyes determined, his expression blank, exuding an extreme indifference.

Without casting a glance at the others, he walked straight up to Han Commander and performed a greeting.

"Subordinate Wu Chang, pays respect to Han Commander."

"Very good."

Han Commander nodded slightly, and just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the astonished voice of Zhou Kui.

"How did you come back alive?"

Lin Yan's expression remained unchanged as if he hadn't heard.

The atmosphere suddenly stiffened for a moment.

Zhou Kui took a half step forward, examining closely, and said, "Going out of the city at night, given last night's dire situation, even those who have taken martial arts as their path and reached the extraordinary Refining Essence Realm would mostly face grim odds."

"You are merely at the second barrier of the martial path, how could you possibly have returned alive?"

He hadn't finished speaking before he reached out his hand.

Lin Yan's gaze sharpened slightly, his right hand swiftly touching the hilt of his saber.

But in an instant, a breeze brushed his face.

Han Commander was already standing by his side.

The hand that Zhou Kui had reached out was gently held by Han Commander.

"That's called skill!"

Han Commander said blandly, "Which rule states that a Flag Commander must disclose all his skills to his superior?"

"Moreover, he belongs to my southern district, not under your jurisdiction in the southwest district."

"Even if there were such regulations, it should be me asking him!"

In the blink of an eye, the scar on Han Commander's face suddenly surged with blood light.

Zhou Kui, from his close vantage point, understood clearly and felt a chill in his heart, taking half a step back.

"Leaving the city at night, moving about mysteriously, he is not suitable to serve as a Commander for our Observatory."

"I was the one who asked him to leave the city," said Han Commander evenly.

"His return today is also suspicious; I suspect he is transformed by an Evil Spirit," Zhou Kui added.

"A bright daylight, an Evil Spirit entering the city, your words, are they not an insult to the Liu Zun Temple's Observatory Tower?"

"..."

Zhou Kui fell silent for a long while, finally speaking in a deep tone, "I'm not going to argue over nonsense with you, I must have Linjiang Square!"

Lin Yan's expression remained the same, having already understood the intricacies involved.

From the start, his life or death, whether he had broken any rules, or if there truly was anything strange about him, none of it mattered.

What mattered was only the position of the Flag Commander of Linjiang Square!

"As long as you agree, I will speak to my foster father on your behalf," Zhou Kui said solemnly. "I'm confident that I can make him stop opposing you!"

"..."

Han Commander did not reply but instead looked at Lin Yan and smiled, "What do you think?"

Lin Yan, his expression cold, extended his left hand to grab the inkstone from the table and passed it over.

"I've already come back alive; he should swallow the inkstone."

"Makes sense," laughed Han Commander with a nod.

"Is this your answer?" Zhou Kui's face grew even more gloomy.

"Considering how much you like to run your mouth and how small-minded you are, since you can't swallow such a large inkstone, I'll allow you to chew it!"

Lin Yan said coolly, tossing the inkstone over, "Of course, I'm also willing to help you by slicing open your stomach and stuffing it in directly!"

Zhou Kui instinctively caught the inkstone that was thrown at him, then twitched at the corner of his eyes, unable to suppress the anger rising in his heart.

A mere junior, so young and with a lower position, how dare he humiliate me like this!

How could he tolerate this?

Zhou Kui's hand pressed upon the hilt of his saber.

Han Commander's hand also followed, touching the hilt of the saber at his waist.

Lin Yan's right hand, from the start, had never left the hilt of his saber, his gaze lingering on Zhou Kui's neck.

"If I cut him down, the Evil Qi gained would rival that of last night's tiger!"

And just as the atmosphere coalesced into a tense silence, on the verge of an outbreak...

A hoarse old voice was heard from outside.

"Fair is fair in gambling; there's nothing wrong with that."

Everyone turned to look.

Two people were standing outside the door.

The elderly leader, with gray hair and beard and cloudy eyes, leaned on a cane, his legs appearing to be unsteady.

The middle-aged man beside him, stocky and with a simple face, assisted the elder into the room.

But upon seeing the face of the elder, most of those in the room showed a shift in expression and hurried to greet him.

"Greetings, Mr. Lu!"

"Rise,"

the old man known as Mr. Lu, leaning on a cane, slowly walked in and said, "Zhou Kui…"

Crack!

A crisp sound was heard.

Zhou Kui directly bit off a corner of the inkstone, chewed it up forcefully, and swallowed it down.

His face was as dark as if it could drip water, yet he slightly bowed his head without daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction to the elder.

"You have good teeth, and your stomach seems fine too. It appears your martial arts cultivation has indeed improved lately,"

Mr. Lu nodded and then said, "For the sake of your foster father, the Li Shen Sect, you won't have to eat the rest of the inkstone here, take it back for your midnight snack."

"Thank you for your generous reward, Mr. Lu!"

Zhou Kui took the chipped inkstone, bowed with respect, and stepped back.

However, at this moment, the voice of Han Commander could be heard.

"The inkstone costs two pieces of silver; remember to pay me back."

"..."

Zhou Kui, expressionless, took out a piece of silver, threw it on the ground, and left with a sweep of his sleeve.

As Zhou Kui led his people away, the atmosphere in the area became somewhat more solemn.

Lin Yan couldn't help but size up the elder and thought of the recent rumors.

Lu Yue, born in High Willow City, went to Qifeng Prefecture City in his youth, and later, having encountered fortune, became one of the Twelve Temple Priests at Wutong Temple.

At the age of seventy, he returned to his hometown to retire.

This elderly man held a very high status. It was said that when he returned half a year ago, all six major families of the inner city, including the City Guard Mansion, gathered at the eastern gate to greet him with respect.

"Thank you, Mr. Lu, for helping out," Han Commander said, giving a greeting.

"Helping out?"

Mr. Lu suddenly laughed, saying lightly, "With your temperament, if I hadn't come, I'm afraid you would have drawn your sword and cut him down."

"Back then in Qifeng Prefecture City, I was arrogant and made a fool of myself in front of Mr. Lu,"

Han Commander said self-deprecatingly, "The Han Zheng of today has sheathed his sword for three years and hasn't drawn blood; the edge is long gone."

As he said this, he turned the conversation towards Lin Yan, saying, "This is the Flag Commander of Linjiang Square that I recommend!"

"Are you Wu Chang?"

The elder known as Mr. Lu, slowly turned his head to glance over.

Lin Yan gave a greeting, "I have seen Mr. Lu."

Mr. Lu slightly stroked his beard, and with a deep voice said, "I have long heard of your reputation; you carry too much killing intent. There have been multiple petitions to charge you with indiscriminate killing!"

Han Commander let out a light chuckle, saying, "The rumors outside are somewhat exaggerated; he is not inherently bloodthirsty. Among the criminals he caught, he only killed a small part of them."

Mr. Lu's expression remained the same, as if he hadn't heard, quietly observing Lin Yan.

"Those utterly wicked deserve death," Lin Yan fell silent for a moment before speaking calmly and coldly.

"The thief last night, his crimes did not merit death. According to the law, he should be sentenced to hard labor for three to eight years," Mr. Lu said indifferently.

"He destroyed someone's purity and was responsible for five lives," Lin Yan said calmly. "Mr. Lu, do you think this man deserves to die?"

"He does."

Mr. Lu stroked his beard with a smile and said, "No wonder Han Commander values you so highly; you indeed resemble him in your youth."

He looked at Lin Yan and said, "Your appointment as the Flag Commander of Linjiang Square was almost confirmed."

"But due to excessive killing, the Senior Officer of the Observatory's inner city main tower has some dissatisfaction."

"He proposed to remove your position as Flag Commander and demote you to an executioner in the inner city prison."

That's what Mr. Lu said.

Han Commander added a sentence.

"Simply put, an executioner."

"..."

Lin Yan's eyes flickered with delight.

However, he then heard Mr. Lu wave his hand.

"It's a wearisome, damaging, life-shortening, and luck-depleting task."

"Han Commander, entrusted by me to visit the inner city, met with the Supreme Commander of the Observatory and persuaded him, still to appoint you as the Flag Commander of Linjiang Square."

"There's no need to thank me; it's just that seeing your hatred of evil and your integrity is truly rare."

"..."

Lin Yan's gaze grew complicated.

This old man is ruining my plans!

He felt helpless inside but knew it to be a well-intentioned act.

And with the matter already settled, further discussion was pointless.

"Xu Qing, take him to the warehouse to receive the Linjiang flag,"

At this moment, Han Commander summoned the young man at his side.