Chapter 27 The Feast at Hongmen
Qingyao City truly lives up to its reputation as the largest city in the world; even the enthronement ceremony of its city lord was grand and impressive.
Before Chu Jianshan and his party even reached the palace, the roadside was already lined with flowers and decorations, and all they could hear were discussions about the new city lord, with both praise and criticism, making it difficult for Chu Jianshan to judge.
The four of them found a less conspicuous spot to sit down, so as not to arouse suspicion.
While Chu Jianshan was still looking around, Ji Shi was already enjoying his meal. Chu Jianshan couldn't bear to look at him, but when he turned his head, he met Cheng Yuan's gaze. However, as soon as Cheng Yuan met his eyes, he immediately looked away. Chu Jianshan was full of doubts, thinking to himself that he hadn't made him angry recently, so why was he acting like this again?
But Chu Jianshan didn't have time to pay attention to him, because a quarrel had already broken out on the other side.
Being too far away, Chu Jianshan only caught the gist of what was being said: the host of the banquet was late in appearing, and these people assumed that they looked down on them because of their lowly status and were not giving them face. Their words also contained doubts about the female city lord's succession, saying either that she had risen to the position by virtue of her body or that she was unworthy of the position.
Chu Jianshan was so angry he almost laughed. This woman was a legitimate descendant of the former city lord, and she rose to power through her own strength. Just because she was a woman, she was being suspected and doubted? It was already a favor that they were invited to the enthronement ceremony. Did she really think she was someone important?
Seeing the rumors getting more and more outrageous, Chu Jianshan really couldn't stand it anymore. He was about to stand up and explain when he was interrupted by a noise.
"City Lord?"
"The city lord has arrived!"
Chu Jianshan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman slowly approaching, surrounded by a crowd. Her fiery red dress with its trailing train was carried by two maids. Two people cleared the way in front, and countless others followed behind, making her look every bit the part of a city lord.
"So beautiful..."
Ji Shi, who was hiding in the corner, was stunned. He didn't even realize that the chicken leg in his hand had fallen to the ground.
After he said that, Chu Jianshan finally focused his attention on the city lord's face. She was indeed beautiful. Unlike the decisive and ruthless temperament he had imagined, she gave people an incredibly gentle feeling. Her round almond eyes looked just right on her fair skin, and her not-so-tall stature always gave Chu Jianshan the illusion of a girl next door.
She looked to be in her early twenties and had an appearance that suggested she was easy to bully. Chu Jianshan guessed that her journey to becoming the city lord must have been difficult.
The crowd below already harbored resentment towards her, and seeing her lack of authority, some simply stopped pretending and began venting their dissatisfaction at the city lord who had just sat down.
A middle-aged man stood up and shouted, "Lord of the City, you've kept us waiting! Those who know understand that you are a distinguished person and busy with important matters, but those who don't might think that you look down on us uncouth people!"
This person's words were full of sarcasm and irony, and anyone could understand what he meant.
Lin Mumu naturally understood the hidden meaning in his words, but she didn't dwell on this unimportant topic. Instead, she smiled and asked, "If I remember correctly, this is Mr. Chen, right?"
Chen Ben snorted and laughed, "So Miss Lin still remembers. I thought you were just being forgetful."
Lin Mumu ignored his disdain and continued unhurriedly, "Back then, Mr. Chen was also on good terms with my father. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye."
“Yes,” Chen Ben chimed in, “According to seniority, you should call me uncle! Hahahaha!”
Anyone with eyes could see that Chen Ben was trying to embarrass Lin Mumu, but she wasn't angry. She simply said, "Yes, you and my father are so close."
Chen Ben thought to himself that Lin Mumu was indeed just a little girl; she gave in after only a few words.
But then he heard Lin Mumu continue, "So good that we can ignore his death and watch him fall into the trap."
These words immediately caused an uproar in the audience.
Chen Ben panicked a little and stammered, "I...I didn't see that SOS letter back then. It's an old story from so many years ago. Why are you bringing it up now!"
"Oh...I see." Chen Ben stood up, pointed at Lin Mumu, and cursed, "Now that you're the city lord, you want to settle personal scores? Let me tell you, that's impossible! I'm innocent! Justice will be served by the people!"
"Heh." Lin Mumu sneered, her demeanor completely different from before. Now, the ruthlessness in her eyes was impossible to conceal: "When did I mention the letter?"
Chen Ben froze on the spot, a chill rising from his tailbone: "You... what exactly do you want to do!"
Lin Mumu looked at him coldly: "Just like you, I want justice."
Chen Ben still stubbornly denied it: "So what if you try to trick me into saying something? You don't have any evidence, do you think you can force a confession out of me?"
Lin Mumu raised her hand slightly, and a servant brought in a man dressed in coarse linen clothes. His hair was mostly white, and he knelt down with a trembling body, kowtowing to Lin Mumu.
Upon seeing this person, Chen Ben immediately staggered in fright, his lips trembling, unable to utter a complete sentence: "You... what do you want with him?"
Lin Mumu smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, aren't you afraid? Then why are you trembling?"
Chen Ben swallowed hard, straightened up, and said to Lin Mumu, "He was just my former steward. He's so old and half-mad. You're not thinking of using his words as a testimony, are you?"
Lin Mumu rested her chin on her hand and said calmly, "Whether he's really crazy or not, just let him talk about what happened back then."
Upon hearing this, the servant beside the steward kicked him, and the steward, frightened, kowtowed again, stammering, "Back then, Master did receive a letter from the late city lord. At first, he was undecided, wondering whether to go and rescue the late city lord, but later, the late city lord's elder brother came and told him..."
"You're talking nonsense!!" Chen Ben immediately became agitated: "You crazy lunatic, I kindly spared your life and you dare to slander me like this! Why don't you just die!"
As Chen Ben was about to kick him, a servant beside him held him down and stuffed a rag into his mouth, preventing him from struggling or shouting.
Lin Mumu raised her chin, signaling the butler to continue.
The steward continued, "That...that person said the former city lord is undoubtedly here, and that you can stay at home with peace of mind, sir. He also promised you a thousand acres of fertile land and countless beautiful concubines."
"Oh?" Lin Mumu feigned confusion and asked, "Did he agree?"
The steward nodded: "To show his sincerity, Master also sent quite a few people to... to assist that person in besieging the former city lord."
Lin Mumu struggled to suppress the hatred in her eyes and ordered the servants to release Chen Ben. Chen Ben spat at the steward and said, "Lies! I didn't do any of these things!"
"Really?" Lin Mumu asked, "Then where did your thirty-odd concubines come from? And the fertile fields in the suburbs, those are definitely under your name."
"I..." Chen Ben stammered for a long time without being able to say anything.
For some reason, when others heard about this farce, they all seemed a little scared, just like Chen Ben. Some even tried to escape but were stopped by the guards at the exit.
"Alright," Lin Mumu took a deep breath, "Let's end this small-scale skirmish and get started."
As soon as she finished speaking, she slightly raised her hand, and instantly many guards rushed out from all around and surrounded everyone, including Chu Jianshan and his group.
Ji Shi looked completely bewildered and muttered under his breath, "What did we do? Why are they surrounding us too?"
Chu Jianshan raised his eyebrows slightly, realizing what was going on: "A trap."
Judging from Lin Mumu's words, the people who came to the banquet must have been carefully selected by her. Chu Jianshan guessed that most of them were probably accomplices in her father's death back then, and now she was probably settling accounts with them one by one.
Unfortunately, Bai Qianfan didn't know whose position he had bought with his hard-earned money, which led them to this awkward situation.
Chen Ben was genuinely frightened at this point and roared, "What are you doing!"
Lin Mumu didn't answer. After giving a signal, one of the guards picked up a knife and slit the throat of the person next to Chen Ben. The movement was swift and smooth, and the still warm blood immediately splattered on his face.
Chen Ben was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, nearly wetting himself: "You...you dare to kill someone in public! You're insane!"
He looked around, trying to find someone who could save him, but unfortunately, most of them were cowards.
Lin Mumu smiled and said, "Mr. Chen is joking. If I weren't crazy, how could I have become the city lord?"
As Chen Ben watched the guard with the knife slowly approach him, he seemed to suddenly remember something and shouted, "I... I'm your uncle's subordinate! You can't kill me! Otherwise, he won't let you off!"
"You really reminded me," Lin Mumu said lazily, resting her chin on her hand. "I haven't even let you meet Lin Wei yet."
Chen thought he finally had a savior, but before he could even laugh, a maid brought over a bundle and threw it in front of him, making a dull thud when it landed.
Lin Mumu said softly, "Open it and see, there will be a surprise."
Chen Ben looked up at Lin Mumu, as if he had realized something, and then shifted his gaze to the bundle in front of him. He trembled as he untied it, and with a tremor of his hand, a blood-stained head rolled out. Upon closer inspection, it was Lin Wei.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
"Help!!!"
Chen Ben sat on the ground, backing away, his eyes filled with terror, muttering repeatedly, "Madman...madman! You even dared to kill your uncle!"
Lin Mumu said sternly, "He's just an ungrateful wretch, why can't I kill him?"
She stood up, seemingly losing patience, and loudly proclaimed to the crowd below the stage: "Lin Wei was the mastermind behind my father's death, and I believe you all know this better than I do. Now that his debt has been repaid, let's repay yours as well."
Her voice was soft, but the order was absolute. The moment she turned around, the formation was activated, suppressing everyone's spiritual power. The guards began to move, some piercing the heart with a sword, others slitting the throat. More and more people began to fall.
A series of groans reached Chu Jianshan and the others' ears. Blood was everywhere. Ji Shi was so frightened that she trembled. How could such a gentle-looking girl be so cruel?
Before long, only a few people remained at the banquet. After those people were taken away, only Chu Jianshan and his group were left at the banquet.
Lin Mumu's gaze naturally turned to them. Ji Shi felt intimidated by her gaze and hid behind Bai Qianfan.
Lin Mumu didn't come over. Instead, she sat down leisurely and asked Chu Jianshan and the others loudly from a distance, "You don't seem like my guests."
Chu Jianshan didn't speak, but slowly walked up to Lin Mumu before explaining, "I wandered in by mistake."
Lin Mumu chuckled lightly, "Accidentally trespassed? I don't think so. An ordinary person would have been crying and running away long ago if they saw this scene. Since you're not leaving, hmm... how about I guess what you want?"
"Yes." Bai Qianfan readily admitted, "We want to request the city lord's antidote."
Lin Mumu raised an eyebrow: "Since you know that this belongs to our Qingyao City, you should be able to guess that I can't easily give it away unless you give me something of equal value."
Bai Qianfan waved his hand and said, "I can give you as much silver as the city lord wants."
Lin Mumu gently shook her head: "I am, after all, the lord of a city. Do you think I would lack gold and silver?"
Chu Jianshan cut to the chase: "Lord City Lord, please speak plainly."
"readily."
Lin Mumu stood up and said to them, "Before my father died, he left me a keepsake, but unfortunately, before it could be handed to me, Lin Wei took it away. He couldn't destroy it, so he threw it into a deep forest in the western suburbs. I need you to help me find it, and then I will naturally give you this pill."
Chu Jianshan had some doubts. They had just witnessed the city lord's abilities; it was unlikely that she wouldn't be able to find a single relic. Unless, there was something else in the deep forest of the western suburbs that prevented her from getting close. It was hard to say whether this transaction was a trap.
"Okay!" Bai Qianfan readily agreed, not caring whether it was a trap or not. He was willing to try anything as long as there was hope.
Lin Mumu smiled and said, "You can have as much time as you want. As long as you can find what I need, I will naturally give you what you want."
Chu Jianshan didn't rush to agree, but instead asked, "Why do you think we can do something that even the city lord himself can't obtain?"
“Because you have no choice.” Lin Mumu looked at Chu Jianshan with a half-smile: “Since you asked me for pills, it means that one of you must be suffering from an incurable poison. I can wait, but you can’t, and besides…”
Her gaze slowly moved down and landed on Cheng Yuan's Flowing Sound Sword: "I recognize this sword. You are a disciple of Immortal Venerable Nanxu."
“I am well aware of Immortal Venerable Nanxu’s cultivation level. As his only disciple, your strength must also be formidable.”
The reason sounded good, and Chu Jianshan felt a little smug. It felt really good to hear someone praise his disciple in front of him.
While Chu Jianshan was still gloating, Cheng Yuan spoke up: "But you, City Lord, have never seen this thing before. What if we switch it out or just use something else to get by?"
Lin Mumu said, "I have considered this possibility, so one of you has to stay for me."
Chu Jianshan understood; she wanted a hostage.
She continued, "I can tell at a glance whether it is my father's or not. If what you brought back is fake, then the fate of the person left behind is predictable."
"Think it over carefully, who wants to stay?"
Chu Jianshan and the other three exchanged glances, each with their own plans in mind.
"I..." Chu Jianshan spoke first. Among the four, he was the only one without spiritual power, so he was the most suitable to stay. But before he could finish speaking, someone else spoke first.
“I’ll stay!” Ji Shi stepped forward.
Chu Jianshan lowered his voice and said, "Ji Shi, what are you doing!"
Ji Shi turned around, lowered his head and said to the three of them, "Actually, I know my strength even if you don't tell me. If I go there, I will only cause trouble. It's better to stay here and make the most of my last bit of value."
"You..." Chu Jianshan wanted to persuade him, but Bai Qianfan stopped him.
Bai Qianfan shook his head at him: "Respect Ji Shi's decision."
"Then it's settled!" Lin Mumu waved her hand, and Ji Shi was carried by spiritual energy and flew towards her.
"I look forward to your good news."
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