Chapter 60: A New City Head

The next morning, Su Chen, Iron Cliff, and the Shadow Servants returned to Clear River.

When he returned to the Su Palace, Li Shu greeted him happily. “Young Master, you’re back!”

“Mhm. Has the palace been peaceful while I was gone?”

“Everything has been peaceful,” Li Shu hurriedly replied.

Most of the time, Su Chen was buried in his research, so no one would know even if he disappeared for a period of time unless something just so happened to occur.

“Has anything big happened nearby lately?”

“Big? There was something,” Li Shu replied aftering thinking for a moment. “A few days ago, the fleet the ten Bloodline Nobility Clan Alliance sent out encountered a disaster. Apparently, they ran into some bandits, and most of them were wiped out immediately.”

When he heard this, Su Chen laughed, “That’s quite an interesting piece of information.”

“That’s right.” Li Shu still didn’t realize what was happening. “The ten Bloodline Nobility Clans ran into pirates...... but aren’t the pirates reared by them? What a joke. They probably ran into some other trouble and blamed it on the pirates.”

“The ‘some other trouble’ that they ran into me,” Su Chen said calmly as he took a sip of the tea that Mingshu brought forward.

“They ran into you?” Li Shu said, his eyes wide. “Young Master means......”

“We cleaned them up,” Iron Cliff said in a low voice.

Li Shu was stunned.

It seemed that everything big that happened here in Clear River City had something to do with Su Chen.

The Bloodline Alliance’s fleet was quite large. They had a few hundred martial artists and dozens of Origin Qi Scholars. How had Su Chen done it?

However, Li Shu knew to not ask about things that he shouldn’t. After the initial shock had passed, he collected himself and said, “Young Master is truly talented! But we can’t let this matter get out.”

“No worries. I wore a mask, so they won’t be able to find out. But I imagine that they will probably figure it out sooner or later; after all, Iron Cliff’s size was still obvious,” Su Chen said calmly. “In any case, we’re already mortal enemies, so it’s fine if they find out.”

“Right, Young Master, there’s one more thing.” Li Shu suddenly thought of something.

“What is it?”

“There’s a new Origin Bureau City Head.”

“Oh?” Su Chen squinted his eyes.

——————————————————

At the Origin Bureau.

Su Chen walked towards the Origin Bureau casually and saw Cao Zhengjun walk out of it, totally flustered. When Cao Zhengjun raised his head and saw Su Chen, his eyes lit up. “Aiya, my goodness, you’ve finally returned.”

“What? If I didn’t return, was the sky going to collapse on top of the Origin Bureau?” Su Chen asked with a smile.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“The sky wouldn’t collapse, but the Origin Bureau may no longer be under the Su name,” Cao Zhengjun said in a lowered voice.

Su Chen’s expression grew serious. “Cao Zhengjun, what are you saying? When was the Origin Bureau ever under the Su name? On a large scale, it is under the Lin name and serves only the emperor, and on a small scale it is under the An name and serves only the City Lord. You and I are both only lowly workers at the Origin Bureau, doing things according to the rules. How could we casually take something public for ourselves?”

Cao Zhengjun was embarrassed. He replied after some time, “Sir Su is right in instructing me. This little one just wants to inform you......”

“A new City Head has arrived?”

“So Sir already knows,” Cao Zhengjun said as he wiped the sweat on his forehead.

“I just got the news.” Su Chen began to head inside. “When did he get here?”

“Three days ago. He wanted to meet Sir Su as soon as he came, but the people at your palace said that you were currently behind closed doors. The new City Head was very unhappy and has been restructuring the Origin Bureau......”

When Cao Zhengjun came to this point, he paused.

Su Chen stared at him. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Cao Zhengjun clasped his hands and said, “Duan Feng, He Qiwei, Gong Yuan, and Li Zhi were all arrested.”

These four were the most loyal to Su Chen. The first thing Su Chen had done when he took control of the Origin Bureau was to deal with Liu Wuya’s loyal supporters. Similarly, the new City Head had immediately dealt with Su Chen’s supporters. The only difference was that he hadn’t killed anyone.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kill them; however, he wasn’t Su Chen.

No matter what, the Origin Bureau still belonged to An Siyuan in name. If someone from the Origin Bureau was killed and the person was an Origin Qi Scholar, An Siyuan would have the authority to question and investigate the situation.

Su Chen could kill as much as he wanted, and An Siyuan’s questioning would only be to clap in support. He would even cooperate with Su Chen in shifting the blame entirely to another group.

If the new City Head were to start killing, however, An Siyuan’s questioning would be very different.

As such, the new City Head couldn’t kill anyone. However, he could find an excuse to arrest those people, thereby making things difficult for Su Chen.

Of course, this kind of method straightforwardly demonstrated his allegiance.

“Under what excuse?”

“He said they colluded with the pirates and conspired to attack the fleet. He also said that the evidence was quite sound.”

“The same fleet that was attacked by the bandits a few days back?” Su Chen was shocked.

“Yes.”

This black pot had been put on Su Chen’s back, but it actually wasn’t really a wrong accusation.

Su Chen couldn’t help but chuckle as he thought this.

Cao Zhengjun was quite surprised that Su Chen still had the heart to laugh.

Su Chen asked, “What’s their situation like?”

“They’re a bit skinnier and have suffered a bit, but they haven’t been harmed too much. Sir, they’re gunning for you!” Cao Zhengjun reminded.

He was already completely on Su Chen’s side, but because he wasn’t an Origin Qi Scholar and was one of the most capable individuals in the Origin Bureau, the new City Head hadn’t touched him. However, Cao Zhengjun knew that if Su Chen allowed the new City Head to continue doing as he pleased, he would be affected sooner or later. As such, he eagerly anticipated the moment that Su Chen would demonstrate his prowess.

“That’s good to hear.” Su Chen didn’t seem to care at all. “Is the City Head within the Origin Bureau?”

“He’s inside right now.”

“Then let’s go and pay him a visit,” Su Chen said as he entered inside.

Cao Zhengjun could only complain silently as he followed along.

After entering the main hall, they saw a tall man sitting at the head of the hall, dumping wine from a wine jug into his mouth. A large knife was strapped to his thigh, giving him an extremely vicious aura.

When they saw Su Chen enter, the eyes that were originally muddled became filled with light. “Are you Knowledge Executor Su?”

Su Chen laughed, “You must be the new City Head, Sir Xing Shabei?”

“You know who I am, yet you do not pay your respects?” City Head Xing said sinisterly.

Su Chen casually pulled out an object and swung it around in front of Xing Shabei. “I have a 2nd-Tier Hero’s Medal, meaning that I don’t have to greet governmental officials up to three tiers senior to me. City Head Xing, you don’t need to wave your one tier superiority in front of me.”

Xing Shabei’s expression slowly tightened. “2nd-tier Hero’s Medal...... Good, very good. Knowledge Executor Su, you truly are an uncommon talent. No wonder you were able to turn this whole city upside down and throw it into chaos.”

Su Chen impolitely responded, “Ever since I, Su Chen, have taken control of the Origin Bureau, I have always done things in an orderly fashion and have never harmed any civilians. I dare say that I have a clear conscience and have upheld heaven and earth. How have I thrown this city into chaos?”

“Do you dare say that the Clear River Dock case wasn’t committed by you?”

“It was done by me. The Long Clear Gang conspired against the law and killed an official of the Origin Bureau. With sound evidence, we apprehended the criminals, but they forcefully resisted and deserved to be severely punished. I was just acting according to the law; the ensuing massacre was completely justified! On the other hand, the Long Clear Gang, ever since that battle, no longer dares to make trouble and has taken on a new policy, representing just another one of my meritorious contributions.”