"Arrest him, take him to the Lord Mansion, and seal off the shop," the burly man furrowed his brows and waved his hands without hesitation.

As soon as he finished speaking, his men immediately began to clumsily make their move.

The diners in the shop had all run off, leaving the servers hiding among the onlookers outside, not daring to show themselves.

Hu Tu's face turned pale, instantly losing his composure.

Seeing someone coming to arrest him, he subconsciously struggled, but before he could break free, he was hit with a dull blow to his back.

Hu Tu staggered from the blow, his mind slightly foggy, his steps unsteady, nearly falling over.

Fortunately, someone came down the stairs and reached out to steady him.

"Is it just some silver that was lost? Pay it back, and that's the end of it. Why resort to beating?" Yuan Ming supported him and moved to one side, looking toward those fierce and evil personal soldiers of the Lord Mansion.

"Nonsense! Did our Lord lose just some silver? It's face that was lost! Who is this meddler, get lost, and if you interfere further, you'll be considered an accomplice and taken away too," the burly man glared with round eyes, angrily scolded.

Although Hu Tu was in a panic, he couldn't bear to drag Yuan Ming into this and hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, saying:

"I'll go with you, this has nothing to do with him..."

"Brother Yuan, you should leave quickly."

Just as he was about to step forward, Yuan Ming quickly pulled him in.

"Oh, so we have someone with a death wish here, are you trying to resist arrest?" The irate burly man saw the small movement and, far from being angry, laughed instead.

"That's not the case. Aren't you looking for a painter? I am the one," Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"You're joking with me, right? I'll cut you down first!" The burly man couldn't hold back his anger now.

As his words fell, he furiously drew the curved blade at his waist, swinging it overhead towards Yuan Ming.

"No..."

Hu Tu reacted quickly, in his panic, immediately trying to pull Yuan Ming away.

However, upon tugging, he found himself as if pulling against a bronze statue, completely immovable.

Yuan Ming merely waved his hand casually, and the ordinary curved blade was twisted by a great force, immediately twisted into a corkscrew, along with the burly man who spun several times in mid-air before the force dissipated, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Whoa..."

Yuan Ming's move really shocked the onlookers, who couldn't help but let out a chorus of gasps.

Seeing this, the other personal soldiers of the Lord Mansion drew their swords but only circled around, none daring to step forward.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming smiled and took a step closer to the burly man.

The latter, having fallen into a mess, ignored the pain in his arm and, fearful, kept retreating.

"Don't come any closer! I know you're a cultivator... Our Lord Mansion also has cultivators. If you dare to kill, you definitely won't escape the blame," the burly man, after all, was worldly and spoke with an outwardly fierce but inwardly timid tone.

Each of those Cultivators serving in the Lord Mansion would kill as casually as breathing; he could be easily crushed by them, and he always greeted them respectfully as "superior immortal."

"Who said anything about killing you? Let's go, take me to the Lord Mansion, isn't this just a matter of a painting?" Yuan Ming chuckled softly.

With that, he reached out to pull up the shivering burly man, quietly transferring a stream of mana into him, healing the twisted and displaced meridians in his injured arm.

"You... You really are a painter?" The burly man, noticing the reduced pain in his arm, steadied his spirits and asked.

"Quit the nonsense and lead the way," Yuan Ming commanded.

A group of personal soldiers from the Lord Mansion had come in a rush to accuse and charge, only to nearly be led away by someone else.

As they were about to leave, Yuan Ming turned and gave Hu Tu, who was completely stunned, a smile, saying:

"There's nothing to worry about, just keep business as usual."

Hu Tu forced a smile, watching their departing backs, and slumped down on the steps of the staircase.

"Is he really still the same Yuan Ming?" Hu Tu's heart was filled with mixed feelings.

Meanwhile, Yuan Ming, following the personal soldier, arrived at the Lord Mansion.

"You... Please wait here... I'll go forward and report," the burly man left Yuan Ming in a courtyard and hurriedly left, rubbing his shoulder.

Yuan Ming was not in a hurry, sitting beside a stone table in the courtyard with a serene look, surveying his surroundings.

Upon inspection, he found that many of the decorative items in this modest courtyard carried a strong Central Plains style, very different from the ubiquitous architectural decor of the Southern Border.

Yuan Ming was deep in thought when the burly man returned.

"The Lord is currently entertaining guests. I'll report later," the burly man said.

Yuan Ming didn't mind and casually asked, "Have you had any guests from the Central Plains visiting the Lord Mansion recently?"

Upon hearing this, the burly man visibly froze.

"So, there have been. How long have they been here, and have they left?" Yuan Ming asked.

The burly man clearly didn't want to answer, but intimidated by his status as a cultivator, he dared not pretend he hadn't heard and could only brace himself and say, "A month ago, indeed, some people from the Central Plains came and have been staying in a side courtyard of the Lord Mansion; they haven't left."

"Do you know where in the Central Plains they are from?" Yuan Ming asked.

"I wouldn't know that. They're all very secretive, only dealing with Lord Ba Yin's personal soldiers; we can't see them," the burly man said, shaking his head.

"What have they done since they arrived, or has your Lord Mansion done anything unusual?" Yuan Ming asked again.

"Actually, there has been something... the day after they arrived, the Lord ordered the closure of the Mountain River Gambling House and an inn under the workshop owner's name. Those businesses belong to You Zhuzha, and they have always been providing tributes to the Lord Mansion," said the burly man after pondering for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming got a clue in his heart.

He waited outside for a while, then urged the burly man to go back and report again.

However, this time, the one who came was not the burly man, but a large group of soldiers in full armor and two cultivators supported by the Lord Mansion.

And the burly man from before was dragged back by people, having been beaten black and blue.

"You scoundrel, isn't it enough for one swindler to come, and you want to bring another one?" shouted one of the men, burly with cyan and black tattoos on his bald head, stepping forward.

The burly man had been beaten to the point of barely breathing and couldn't speak to defend himself.

Yuan Ming frowned upon seeing this situation.

"You blind fool, thinking you can come to Lord Mansion and swindle just because you know a bit of low-level magic, are you sick of living?" another man, thin and with a pointed chin like a monkey's, shouted shrilly.

Yuan Ming glanced at the two men, saw they were both around Qi Refining fourth and fifth layers, and knew what he was up against.

"I just came to paint a picture for the Lord; there's no need to make such a big fuss, right?" Yuan Ming said, looking helpless.

"Fellow Daoist Galu, shall you do it, or shall I?" The thin man with the pointed chin didn't pay attention to Yuan Ming and turned to the burly middle-aged man.

"The assistance of Fellow Daoist Hu La is enough," Galu said with a smile.

The thin Hu La nodded, then sneered at Yuan Ming, "You reckless fool, today you will learn how the character 'death' is written!"

As soon as his words fell, he drew a short dagger from his waist. Whispering a few incantations, the surface of the dagger flashed with spirit light and shot out, transforming into a long Black Rope that snaked towards Yuan Ming's neck.

But in just a few breaths, a scream sounded, and Hu La was sprawled motionless on the ground, arms and legs splayed out. The short dagger lay nearby, its spirit light gone.

"I don't know how to write 'death,' but it seems I did a fine job with the character 'big,'" Yuan Ming said with a smile.

Just as his words faded, a roar like that of an angry bear echoed.

The middle-aged man's tattoos lit up, his body shrouded in a layer of cyan ghostly aura, faintly forming the shadow of a bear, and charged towards Yuan Ming.

With every step he took, the ground shook, his momentum undeniably ferocious.

The next instant, he too lost consciousness and lay beside Hu La, matching his posture neatly.

Seeing that two cultivators had been knocked down in the blink of an eye, all the other soldiers were terrified and didn't dare to step forward.

Just then, a low shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard, "Who dares to cause trouble at Lord Mansion?"

With the words, a streak of Golden Light leapt over the courtyard wall, landing on this side.

Following this, seven or eight figures appeared outside the courtyard, one after another walking over. Half of them, regardless of clothing or appearance, were clearly Central Plains people.

In the center was a gorgeously dressed, corpulent middle-aged man with the look of Southern Border People, none other than the master of Iron Tiger Town—Lord Ba Yin.

"Who will explain to me what's happening here?" As soon as Lord Ba Yin saw the scene, he became immediately angry.

"Lord Ba Yin, do not be angered. With our commander here, there's no need to worry," said someone next to him.

All eyes turned to the first person who had flown over.

The Golden Light that had enveloped him was gone, revealing his leather armor. His shoulders were trembling slightly, as if he was also on the verge of anger.

This group had been troubling the Lord Mansion for quite some time, and it just so happened that today Lord Ba Yin was hosting a banquet. They didn't expect to encounter someone causing trouble, especially a cultivator.

Seeing that the Lord Mansion's cultivators couldn't handle it, they decided to intervene, also to repay a bit of the favor.

"Commander Fu, take care of him," someone from the crowd jeered.

The other Central Plains people also shouted along, and while most of the Southern Border People didn't understand, they joined in the heckling and shouting.

Amid the crowd's expectations, Commander Fu, who faced off against Yuan Ming, suddenly bellowed, "Shut up."

This shout frightened everyone.

Even Lord Ba Yin, his body fat trembled with the bellow.

Before the crowd could understand what had happened, Commander Fu at the forefront suddenly "thump" kneeled to the ground, causing further exclamations.

"Young Master, I have finally found you..." Commander Fu's eyes reddened, his hands clasped in a fist towards Yuan Ming, he cried out with a trembling voice.

Young Master?

His shout caused those who had just been yelling to "take care of him" to stiffen.

The men were not fools; after a brief moment of stun, they quickly ran over and knelt on the ground as well.

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