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Xing Shabei had lowered his head in the end.

There was nothing he could do; with Cloud Leopard providing the means and Su Chen providing the content, Xing Shabei wouldn’t be able to bear it if this matter were to explode on him.

Xin Shabei actually knew exactly why Su Chen was willing to back off. In the end, it was just to scoop up people.

If he continued to press whether or not the convoy had actually been robbed, Xing Shabei wouldn’t be in a good spot, and Duan Feng and the others might die in prison.

Confronting Su Chen over Duan Feng and the others wasn’t worth it.

If Su Chen did his best to try and save them but wasn’t able to, it wouldn’t be his fault. He would be able to win over the hearts of the people regardless.

If Xing Shabei were to continue holding out, not only would an accusation come down on him from the higher-ups, but he would also lose the favor and loyalty of those below him.

Thus, even though it looked like he had a choice to make, there was only really ever one possible path.

Of course, it still needed to look like the case was being investigated. As for how long the investigation would last, that was hard to say.

After just half an hour, Duan Feng and the others had been released from prison.

Even though they had been locked up by Xing Shabei for a few days and weren’t in the best condition, they were still relatively healthy. However, they had suffered quite a bit, and their bodies were covered in wounds.

Duan Feng, in particular, was tormented quite badly. He gritted his teeth and said, “I won’t ever let Xing Shabei go! Knowledge Executor Su, you have to take revenge for us!”

“I know. Leave this matter to me. You guys go back and rest first so that you can heal,” Su Chen said as he handed them each a vial of medicine.

The medicine could recover their wounds, but the consciousness energy they had expended needed to be slowly recovered.

After settling Duan Feng and the others, Su Chen said goodbye to Cloud Leopard and headed to the City Lord’s residence.

The people at the City Lord’s residence had long since recognized Su Chen, and they hurriedly invited him in.

An Siyuan was basking in the sunlight in the flower garden in his backyard. His bald head reflected the sunlight brilliantly.

When he saw Su Chen arrive, An Siyuan chuckled, “You are finally willing to come out.”

“Su Chen greets City Lord.”

“Alright, we don’t need to be so formal. You know what’s happened in the Origin Bureau, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dammit, this time it’s my fault. I wasn’t able to get you the position as City Head. A perfectly fine Origin Bureau is about to land back in their hands,” An Siyuan sighed as he shook his head.

Su Chen, however, was calm and composed. “Not having the City Head position is different than not having the Origin Bureau. These two are still different from each other.”

An Siyuan laughed loudly, “Good, well said! It seems like your fighting spirit is still at a hundred percent.”

“It’s a joy to fight with other people. Since those Bloodline Nobility Clans want to make trouble for me, I don’t have any qualms about giving them a fight,” Su Chen replied with a laugh.

Then, he explained broadly what had happened earlier.

When he heard that Duan Feng and the others had been saved, An Siyuan sighed in relief, “So you’ve already saved them. Very good. Even though I wanted to help in this matter, I couldn’t muster up enough manpower to do so. It’s for the best that you were able to deal with it on your own. What are you thinking of doing next?”

With his position as the City Lord, his valuation of Su Chen was evident simply by him asking Su Chen what he was thinking his next steps would be.

Su Chen said, “Even though Xing Shabei is the City Head, I didn’t waste my efforts this past half a year in the Origin Bureau. If he wants to boss people around, I can make him a mere figurehead. All we’ll be doing is fighting anyway, and neither of us fears the other.”

An Siyuan was the City Lord, but hadn’t he been turned into a mere figurehead for the most part by the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans?

Xing Shabei wasn’t Liu Wuya. As a new arrival, ensuring strict obedience within the Origin Bureau wasn’t going to be so easy.

Government officials were always jockeying with each other, always attempting to undermine one another. The most important thing was who got the last laugh.

The world of Origin Qi Scholar government positions merely involved a few more underhanded tactics and a bit more violence. The basic essence of it, however, wouldn’t change.

“There is another thing that is much more important to me than dealing with Xing Shabei,” Su Chen continued.

“Oh? What is it?” Upon hearing Su Chen say such a thing, An Siyuan’s interest was piqued.

“A suppression force!”

“A suppression force?” An Siyuan was stunned. “To suppress who?”

“Naturally, the pirates,” Su Chen replied. “These years, the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans have colluded with the pirates to monopolize the waterways and control the economic lifeline of Clear River City. On dry land, criminals control the shops, and on water, pirates control the ferrying of goods. These pirates are the claws and teeth of the Bloodline Nobility Clans. If we want to deal with those clans, we’ll need to declaw them and knock their teeth out first.”

“But suppressing the pirates is much easier said than done!” An Siyuan shook his head. “The criminals are mixed in with the civilians, making it hard to determine their identities. The pirates hide along the waterways, are adept at traversing them, and appear and disappear without a trace. There are definitely some strong experts among them as well, giving them highly variable strength. If the force we send is too large, they will all lie low. If the force we send is too weak, we won’t be their opponents. The Bloodline Nobility Clans’ collusion with the bandits is going to be very hard to break up!”

“Would it be possible to mobilize the Lingyuan Navy?”

An Siyuan shook his head. “The Lingyuan Navy isn’t under the jurisdiction of Clear River City, and I cannot direct them. Even though I have a few friends there, the Bloodline Nobility Clans have their own fair share of connections with them as well. I can only affect one part, as can they, canceling out our efforts. It’ll be hard to mobilize the navy as well! Otherwise, why would I allow them to run wild until now?”

“If that’s the case......” Su Chen thought for a moment, then said, “Why not leave it to me?”

“You?” An Siyuan was shocked. “You want to wipe out the pirates? Where will you get the manpower? Those pirates have quite a few powerful experts and aren’t easy to deal with. In addition, a battle on water is very different from fighting on land; the situation is going to be highly complex. Even a powerful expert will have his strength roughly halved if he falls into the water.”

Su Chen laughed, “I know, but that’s what gives me confidence. If it were a battle on land, I would be nearly as confident.”

These words were enough to give An Siyuan pause. After some time, he finally nodded and said, “It seems like you’ve done the math a long time ago. Fine, I won’t stop you. Do you need my help at all?”

Su Chen handed An Siyuan a piece of paper. “This is what I need.”

An Siyuan glanced at it and was a bit shocked.

It wasn’t that Su Chen’s appetite was too great; rather, it was quite small.

He glanced up at Su Chen. “Just this?”

Su Chen nodded. “As long as you can get me these, I can take care of the rest.”

An Siyuan stared at him meaningfully. “A few boats and some accessory equipment is no problem. I can take care of this for you. But in terms of manpower, you don’t need me to provide you with a few more people?”

Su Chen shook his head. “Thank you for your good intentions, but I have a way to take care of it on my own.”

An Siyuan’s help might be with good intentions, but it could also involve other motives.

According to Su Chen’s plan, what he needed to do next was something that was going to be an important source of his strength. He needed people who would listen to him absolutely. Under these circumstances, Su Chen didn’t wish to use someone else’s influence.

An Siyuan was only responsible for helping him acquire some necessary tools. After all, most of the shops in Clear River City were owned by the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans. Wanting to buy something from them without the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans knowing and even interfering was somewhat difficult

“Very good. I’ll prepare these things for you as soon as I can.” An Siyuan stowed the piece of paper away.