The surrounding people immediately erupted in uproar.
"What?"
"Is what she said true? The reason why our Peacock Kingdom has become like this is because of these beasts?" An old man who had lost an arm in the black mist pointed at the rich disciples with his remaining left hand, his cloudy eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
"My son! My poor son! He was torn to pieces by those monsters while protecting the capital! It was you damned bastards who brought them here!" An old woman with white hair collapsed to the ground, beating her chest and stamping her feet, her cries shrill and mournful, drawing a chorus of grief from those around her.
A group of people looked over angrily.
They were all survivors of that disaster, their families destroyed, their homes destroyed, and they were displaced. They hated the evil spirits that lived in the dark aura to the core.
Upon learning that the culprit was right in front of him, the suppressed hatred instantly transformed into murderous intent.
"Kill them! Avenge our dead loved ones!"
"Kill these traitors who collude with foreign enemies!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly stirred. Several hot-tempered men grabbed the peddler's carrying pole and, with red eyes, tried to rush forward.
Kong Qing and his companions were terrified, their faces drained of color, and they retreated in panic.
"Rebellion! Rebellion! You lowly commoners, do you want to rebel?!" Kong Qing, the young master in blue robes, screamed fiercely but was actually trembling with fear, while yelling at his equally weak-kneed servants, "Where are they! Where have they all gone! Stop them! Go and call for reinforcements! Call the city guards!"
Although the servants were terrified, they dared not disobey their master's orders and could only grit their teeth, draw their swords, and form a defensive line.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps and shouts came from behind.
"Make way! This is an official case; bystanders must get out of the way immediately!"
A dozen or so constables, dressed in the standard leather armor of the Peacock Kingdom and carrying curved swords at their waists, pushed through the crowd and rudely squeezed in, protecting Kong Qing and the others behind them. With their swords pointed outwards, they glared angrily at the people.
The leader, a slightly overweight constable with a mustache, didn't even glance at the common people. He first forced a fawning smile at Kong Qing before straightening his face and demanding, "What's going on? Gathering a crowd to cause trouble in broad daylight, are you trying to rebel?!"
A constable immediately leaned close to his ear and whispered, adding fuel to the fire, "Captain, it's these two charlatans who sell broken boxes who are spreading rumors and misleading the public. They're not only slandering Young Master Kong and the other young masters, but also inciting these ignorant people. Their intentions are extremely malicious!"
Upon hearing this, the constable's face darkened, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
The Kong family's influence is deeply rooted in the Peacock Kingdom. Even though the kingdom is no longer a kingdom, it is not something that a mere captain like him can offend.
He immediately drew his sword, pointed it at Yu Luo's stall, and said sternly, "How dare you! Men, seize these two charlatans and throw them in jail!"
"You dare!"
Seeing this, the people spontaneously gathered around and protected Yu Luo's stall in the middle.
A woman dressed in a coarse cloth skirt stepped forward angrily, pointing her finger at the head constable and cursing, "You officials, do you have any conscience? Don't you know whether what this young lady said is true or false? Our Peacock Kingdom has suffered such a great calamity, and instead of investigating the real culprit, you want to arrest good people who speak out for us! How can you face the countless innocent souls who died unjustly?"
"Insolence!" Kong Qing had recovered by now, and relying on the support of the officials, he regained his arrogant demeanor.
He brandished a folding fan he'd somehow picked up and burst into laughter: "Endless wronged souls? What a joke! You say our family colludes with evil spirits, where's the evidence? Can you produce any evidence? If not, then it's slander! It's a rumor!"
The constable nodded in agreement, waving his hand impatiently: "Did you hear that? Without evidence, it's just a rumor! I now suspect you're all accomplices plotting to overthrow my Peacock Kingdom! If you dare obstruct me again, don't blame me for being ruthless and arresting you all!"
The phrase "arrested them all" left everyone feeling extremely helpless.
They were filled with hatred and anger, but they were unarmed. How could they possibly stand up to the government?
The crowd's arrogance was immediately suppressed, and they could only slowly retreat, their eyes filled with resentment.
The crowd slowly dispersed, but then a shifty-eyed middle-aged man emerged from the crowd.
Niu Niu's uncle jogged along, his face plastered with a fawning smile, and bowed and scraped before Kong Qing.
"Young Master Kong, Young Master Kong, please calm down. It's not worth it for such a trivial matter."
Kong Qing frowned and glanced at him: "What are you?"
The man didn't care at all, and instead smiled even more brightly: "Young master, have you forgotten? I'm from a nearby village! That little girl was my niece. Let me tell you, don't be fooled by her sharp tongue, the box she's selling is a real treasure!"
He lowered his voice and mysteriously recounted in detail how Niu Niu had prescribed a miraculous pill to save her seriously ill mother, describing it in a vivid and exaggerated manner, his spittle flying everywhere.
Kong Qing's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his breathing became rapid. He grabbed Niu Niu's uncle by the collar, his eyes gleaming: "Are you telling the truth? That broken box really contains a life-saving elixir that can bring the dead back to life?"
"Absolutely true! I swear on my life!" Niu Niu's uncle patted his chest, making a solemn vow.
Kong Qing shoved him away, his panic replaced by greed.
Slander? Truth? None of that matters anymore! What matters is that he discovered an incredible treasure!
If we can get all these boxes back, Father might be able to take over as head of the family, and the Kong family could rise to even greater heights!
He turned to the constable and said in an unquestionable tone, "Constable Zhao, this matter is none of your concern. These two people, and their stalls, will be handled by the Kong family."
The Kong family was the most prestigious family in the Peacock Kingdom, so how could Chief Zhao dare to utter a single word of dissent? He quickly bowed and replied, "Yes, yes, Young Master Kong, please do as you please! Men, listen to Young Master Kong's instructions and bring the person over to him!"
Upon receiving the order, the dozen or so constables immediately approached the stall.
The system, which had remained silent until now and was in the form of a young girl, was now furious, her face flushed red. She put her hands on her hips and glared angrily at the approaching constables: "You bunch of bastards who aid and abet evil!"
Yu Luo remained calm.
She slowly placed the palm-leaf fan on the table and stood up.
Under the sunlight, the faint golden divine patterns on her simple blue robe seemed to come alive, flowing quietly like water and emitting a faint light that was barely perceptible to the naked eye. An invisible pressure quietly spread out.
She looked at the approaching constables and Kong Qing, whose face was full of greed, with a calm and indifferent gaze, as if she were looking at a group of ants who did not know their own mortality.
"You." She raised her indifferent light amber eyes, her cool voice reaching the ears of everyone present. "Are you really coming?"
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