“You, come here!” One of the guards pointed to Chu Xinghan, his face twitching impatiently. He didn’t seem to hold with much regard the person he was intent on victimizing.

Defiance shot out from Chu Xinghan’s eyes. His resilient, resolute nature had once caused him to be discarded by the Purple Sun Sect. In fact, he had almost died at the hands of a former ally.

After all these years, he was still the same stoic, indomitable man.

Chu Xinghan had no intention of cooperating: Jiang Chen saw it in his eyes. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

A moment later, his actions confirmed this. Chu Xinghan raised his head, glaring coldly at the uppity guard.

“I am only a wandering cultivator, but I am no dog. Do you take me for some animal you can order around? You can kill me, but you cannot humiliate me!”

The guard was unprepared for such adamance. The murderous lieutenant from earlier grew icy. He brandished a sleeve towards Chu Xinghan, sending gleaming steel towards the young man’s head.

His bloodthirst was almost instinctive. He didn’t want to waste any words. Why do that, when cutting the guy in half was so much easier?

This subordinate of Commander Yan’s was clearly much stronger than Chu Xinghan. He was a mid empyrean expert, and gave no opportunity for his weaker prey to flee from the blow.

Jiang Chen’s intervention was nearly instantaneous. He’d known before Chu Xinghan had spoken that the young man would not go quietly. The prospect of him being attacked was almost a certainty.

Thus, he reflexively tossed out a magnetic storm toward the attacker. A different drawing force pulled Chu Xinghan towards himself.

The fluidity of his motions belied their difficulty. His martial expertise was on display for all to see.

This unexpected turn of events caused the situation to descend into chaos once more.

All of the Blue Eagle Guards drew their blades. Their eyes were trained upon Jiang Chen with hungry interest, waiting only for their captain’s order to pounce.

The wandering cultivators were overjoyed to see someone stick up for them. The few who’d been stopped were already despairing at being shamed or killed today. That someone would intercede on their behalf was a blessing from heaven!

The vicious cultivator stumbled as Jiang Chen’s magnetic storm slammed into him, almost biting the dust in his unsteadiness.

All eyes rested upon Jiang Chen. He had stood in the corner prior to now as someone unassuming and unnoticed. That had immediately changed when he joined the fray.

The wandering cultivator who had visited Jiang Chen earlier was agape with surprise. He had thought the impassive man a coward, but it was obvious that that was a misunderstanding.

Commander Yan examined Jiang Chen with great scrutiny. “I’ve been paying attention to you for a while. Are you simply interfering in others’ business? Or are you the criminal we’ve been after all along?”

Jiang Chen sneered. “I’ve traveled all over the world and have been to the Ten Divine Nations as well. However, this is the first time I’ve seen law enforcement behave in such an arrogant way.”

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The captain cracked a sinister grin. “There are many firsts in life. I’m sure you’re prepared for the consequences of acting this way?”

“What consequences are you talking about? Actually, don’t bother answering that. I’m not interested,” Jiang Chen retorted coolly. He didn’t much care what these guardsmen had in mind for him.

“To resist the Blue Eagle Guard is to make an enemy of us.” When Commander Yan’s tone grew frosty, the atmosphere around him did as well.

But party tricks like that didn’t scare Jiang Chen one bit.

Yes, the captain was a strong and capable cultivator with a powerful consciousness. Regardless, trying to scare the young lord with a mental ability was a foolish endeavor.

Cultivation-wise, while Jiang Chen might only be at the threshold of advanced empyrean, his consciousness rivaled demigods’.

Therefore, this Commander Yan’s ninth level empyrean consciousness wasn’t worth very much in his eyes at all. The pressure the man tried to exert felt barely more than a spring breeze. There was minimal actual effect.

Derision curled at the corner of the young man’s mouth. “Commander Yan, was it? I’m rather curious. If it were some common criminal, the Blue Eagle Guard alone would be enough. The fact that you’re here means it’s not that simple. Why not make plain what you’re here for?”

From the details of the situation, Jiang Chen supposed that these guards and their captain could very well be here for him. The reason? Because he had shown off so much ancient jade earlier.

Perhaps they did have another criminal they were after, but a trumped up excuse seemed more likely.

Commander Yan’s expression darkened as questions swirled in his mind. Just who was this young man? He seemed to be able to see clearly through everything.

He didn’t like the youth in front of him, not one bit. Not his smile, not the way he talked, and certainly not the way his eyes seemed to pierce his soul.

“I’ve no interest in wasting words. The Bluesmoke Isles has seen many instances of ancient jade being excavated without permission by some rogue or bandit. We’ve received information that this individual has been roaming near Miracle City as of late. This inn could very well be his hideout. Therefore, you better make every effort to accommodate our inspection. If you don’t, your fate will be determined by whatever I say!”

Jiang Chen burst into peals of laughter.

“I see no reason to explain myself then. Sure, I have some ancient jade with me. Your excellent investigative abilities will no doubt conclude that I am that bandit, correct? I wonder, who’s really the bandit here? I think you’re failing to notice some important suspects right in front of you.”

Anyone could hear Jiang Chen’s sarcastic insinuation: these guardsmen were using the excuse of arresting a criminal to conduct robbery.

Commander Yan’s face was as black as coal.

There was a bandit he was after, but he wasn’t here because of that. He had heard from Sister Liu that this person possessed a tremendous amount of ancient jade, and the temptation of such a princely sum had lured him here.

Though she’d informed him that the ancient jade wasn’t freshly excavated, the captain didn’t care at all. Did it matter whether this person was the bandit or not? Not really.

He had something that the commander wanted!

Jiang Chen was smart enough to guess that this was the case. Thus, both men had a tacit understanding of the other’s motives.