章節 33: The Vice-Captain's Orders
Lin Mu had seen the captain of the town guards a few times before, thus knew what he looked like. But when looked at the vice-captain, he was surprised. This vice-captain was not the one that he knew. Of the two vice-captains, Lin Mu had killed one, and the other was alive, but this person was not the same one.
"Who's this person?" Lin Mu muttered.
The captain and vice-captain seem to be discussing amongst themselves when they were walking outside. When they finally came in front of the crowd, only did they stop. They scanned the crowd with their eyes and gauge it.
Lin Mu knew that they may use spirit sense, thus he stood at a far enough distance such that it won't reach him. Though he himself wanted to use his spirit sense to observe the cultivation base of the two people.
"Residents of Northern town." The captain spoke in a loud voice, which silenced the muttering crowd.
"We have heard your complaints and concerns. We have also done a preliminary investigation of last night's incident. The Town head has also listened to it and has decided on a course of action..." The captain spoke and was then interrupted by the crowd.
"What do you mean complaints and concerns! This is a threat to our life." People from the crowd shouted.
"Yeah, we had to make our own night vigil because the town head didn't agree to assign guards."
"You people only found out because of the night vigil. If they were not there who knows what would have happened."
The crowd could no longer keep silent and everyone started shouting. The captain could be seen getting more and more tense with each passing moment. But it was now that Lin Mu saw something that pulled his attention.
The vice-captain that was standing beside the caption was not getting tense. Instead, he seemed to be getting annoyed instead.
"SILENCE!" The vice-captain shouted.
"One more word and we shall arrest all who defy." The vice-captain declared.
The crowd went silent for a moment from the vice captain's shout and then erupted in an even greater uproar.
"You can't do that."
"We are not in the wrong here, you are."
The people from the crowd hooted.
~crack~
Suddenly a cracking sound was heard, as the vice-captain disappeared from his position.
~aaagh~
"MY ARMMM!!" shouted the man who had protested.
The vice-captain was standing above him and had his leg placed on the man's arm. From the awkward angle, it was bent at, one could tell that it was broken, if not from the painful shouts of the man.
"Anyone else?" The vice-captain spoke with a domineering voice.
The people were stunned upon seeing this act. Soon fear replaced their stunned expressions, and they stepped back a few steps.
Even the captain of the guards seems to be shocked by the vice-captain's actions. He quickly came towards the vice-captain and spoke to him.
"Why did you do this? This was too harsh." The captain said with concern.
~hmmph~
"These people will not understand unless we make an example." The vice-captain spoke after harrumphing loudly.
The Vice-captain then lifted his leg from the injured man's arm and walked back. The captain too followed him.
"Now listen to this with all your attention, because I'm only going to say it once." The vice-captain spoke.
The people in the crowd all gulped and listened with intent. The vice-captain nodded with a little satisfaction and looked at the captain with a smug look. The captain did not speak anything and just sighed.
"From today onwards, no one is to leave their houses at night under any conditions. The guards will be patrolling at night and if anyone is found wandering out at night, they will be arrested on the spot." The vice-captain spoke.
The vice-captain then took a pause and looked around in the crowd.
"We suspect that the culprits of last night's incident may be one of the townspeople, thus if we find anyone wandering out in the night they will be arrested without any excuses and sent to prison." The Vice-captain added.
The people in the crowd became even more fearful after hearing the orders and gulped. After this, the captain came forward and placed his hand on the vice-captain's shoulder.
"Fear not though, as long as everyone follows the orders they will all be safe." The captain spoke in an assuring tone.
The crowd finally calmed down a little bit after hearing the captain, even though it wasn't as much because the injured man was still grunting in pain.
"Also, the town head has ordered to meet all the people who were part of the night vigil. So all those that are already in the crowd should come forward now and the rest shall report here later as well." The captain informed.
"Now, disperse." The vice-captain ordered.
The crowd quickly left, for the fear that the vice-captain stuck had in their hearts was still fresh. Lin Mu was feeling incredibly suspicious of all the words that the captain and vice-captain of the town guards spoke.
Though the most suspicion he had was on the vice-captain. He did not know this person who had suddenly popped out of nowhere and had also become so domineering. The town guards had never behaved like this before. Sure, they were overbearing sometimes, but never as much as the vice-captain.
Lin Mu was standing a little distance away from the crowd, so the captains had not seen him yet. He then stopped a random person who was walking by and spoke to him.
"Brother, do you know who that vice-captain is?" Lin Mu asked the man.
"That's the new vice-captain of the town guards. His name is Han Lei." The man answered.
'Han Lei? Is he related to the Han Xu somehow?' Lin Mu thought.
"Why was the vice-captain replaced though, and where is the other vice-captain as well?" Lin Mu asked curiously.
Lin Mu wanted to know what the people knew about Han Xu after he had killed him. He also wanted to know why the other vice-captain was replaced, as he certainly seemed to be someone with a higher authority. Even the captain did not dare to stop him when he acted and just spoke a few measly words after he injured the man in the crowd.
"Oh, you didn't hear? Vice-captain Han Xu disappeared after the spirit beast attack. Most people think that he was eaten. Because of this, the other vice-captain went to investigate the matter and got injured in the process as well. He was then promptly sent to Wu Lim city for treatment." The Man answered.
"Then where is this Han Lei from?" Lin Mu asked.
"Oh, he is former vice-captain Han Xu's elder brother, who came here from Wu Lim city as his replacement." The man spoke.
"Wait, doesn't this mean there should be an additional vice-captain then?" Lin Mu questioned.
"There is, but I don't know who it is. We haven't seen him yet." The man answered.
Lin Mu nodded to the man's reply and thanked him before leaving.
"This is extremely strange." Lin Mu spoke in his mind.
"Seems like the people behind the incident are making their move. The town head declaring a curfew like this is probably due to their intentions." Xukong speculated.
"That seems like it senior. If they are able to order the town head, then this means that he is involved in it too. Han Lei being Han Xu's brother leaves little doubts as well." Lin Mu replied.
"How should we approach this now? I'm supposed to help Hong Luo at night and they have told all the members of night vigil to report as well. This seems extremely suspicious." Lin Mu asked.
"Perhaps you should consult your new allies. The rest, I'll leave it up to you. You need to learn how to judge situations like these yourself and make your own decisions." Xukong spoke in a calm tone.
Lin Mu did not mind senior Xukong's words and took them in a good stride. He knew that he was only doing to help him learn and grow.
'Seems like I can't meet the Night vigil members for now. It would only complicate things further.' Lin Mu thought.
Lin Mu decide to walk back to the safe house of the Hei corps instead of his own as there was a chance that some people may spot him in the residential district. He reached the safe house after thirty minutes and saw that the carriage was no longer there in the alley.
Lin Mu knocked on the door and waited for it to open. It had been a little more than two hours since Lin Mu had left the safe house, thus the people in the safe house were not expecting him to return this fast. The door of the safe house was opened by the old woman who saw him and let him inside.
章節 34: Planning An Approach
Upon walking inside, Lin Mu saw that there was someone else sitting in the shop. The man was dressed in the clothes of a high official and he had seen him before. It was one of the men that had come with the leader of the Hei corps, Hei Wan.
Lin Mu nodded to him in greeting and saw him reciprocate as well. He then walked inside the other room under the guidance of the old woman. The old woman came to a stop in front of the wall and held out her hand.
"The badge." The old woman spoke.
Lin Mu withdrew the badge from the ring while putting his hand inside the pouch and handed the badge to the old woman. She looked at it for a moment, before inserting it into a small slot that was hidden in the seam of the wall.
The wooden panel of the wall shifted and Lin Mu walked inside it. After stepping in, the panel closed back, and he started walking down the passageway, into the stairwell. He reached the entrance of the safe house a couple of minutes later and opened the door.
As soon as the door was open, he saw two people standing in front of the door. They seemed to be alert and ready to attack. But after seeing Lin Mu, they relaxed and sat back down on their chairs.
"I need to report something. Where's Hei Bao?" Lin Mu questioned.
The man who was sitting in front of Lin Mu was one of the members of the Hei corps that Lin Mu had not met yet.
'He's probably someone that came with Hei Wan.' Lin Mu thought.
"You can head on inside. The captain is having a meeting with the rest of the Hei corps." The man spoke.
Lin Mu simply nodded and went to the room that was to the right. He opened the door and saw the ten members of Hei corps standing around Hei Bao and Hei Wan. They turned around to look and saw Lin Mu entering.
"You're here already?" Hei Bao said.
"I have a couple of things to report and I also would be needing your help with something." Lin Mu replied.
"Go ahead." Hei Wan spoke in affirmation.
"The town head has declared a strict curfew at night. The captain and new vice-captain of the town's guards declared to the residents." Lin Mu spoke.
"We already know about the curfew." Hei Bao spoke.
"That's not all, I learned a few more things. Apparently, this new vice captain is named Han Lei, he's Han Xu's brother. He's meant to be his replacement." Lin Mu spoke with a serious tone.
"Then that means..." Hei Shi spoke before she was interrupted.
"The culprits are making their move. They are probably controlling the town head as well." Hei Bao postulated.
"This Han Lei is rather overbearing too. He broke the arm of a resident just to make an example out of it. The captain did not seem to stop him either and there's another new vice captain that we don't know of." Lin Mu added.
Hei Wan turned towards Hei Bao after hearing Lin Mu's report and spoke,
"Forget my previous order, from now on focus on the Vice captains and the town head as well. It's no doubt that they are part of the culprits. This curfew only helps them in their acts. Now they can just abduct people and say that they were arrested for wandering outside."
"Yes, leader." Hei Bao responded.
Hei Wan then turned back to Lin Mu and spoke again,
"Now, what kind of help did you need from us?"
"I went to the mercenary camp an hour ago and met their current leader. He's named Hong Luo and is also a peak stage qi refining realm cultivator. He has asked me for help." Lin Mu answered.
"And what does he need help in particular?" Hei Wan questioned.
"It's with regard to the disappearance of the mercenaries. He wants me to help investigate the matter and also to help him keep a watch during the night. But now that the town head has declared a curfew it would be difficult for me to go out, although that's not my main concern. The town head also wants to meet all the people who were part of the Night Vigil, thus one way or the other I'm gonna have to meet him." Lin Mu explained.
Hei Wan went silent for a minute and seemed to be thinking about it. The other members of the Hei corps also stayed silent, so as to not disturb their leader.
"It should be no problem, I'll dispatch some of our members to keep watch on the mercenaries at night. It aligns with our goals, anyway. As for the investigation about the disappearance of mercenaries, we are already on it." Hei Wan spoke after thinking for a bit and then turned to face Hei Bao again.
"I know what to do." Hei Bao spoke before Hei Wan could even speak.
Hei Wan simply nodded in appreciation.
"Now about this meeting with the Town Head, what are you going to do?" Hei Shi asked.
"I'm going to meet him right now. Better get it done as soon as I can. Delaying it would be no use as they should already know about me because of the other people from the Night Vigil." Lin Mu replied.
"That should be fine, but just in case have Hei Shi follow you. That should help avoid any untoward incidents." Hei Wan suggested.
"I'm fine with that." Lin Mu answered.
"Okay then. Now everyone knows what to do, so get going." Hei Wan ordered.
"Yes, leader!" All the members of the Hei corps replied in unison.
Nodding in understanding, Lin Mu turned back to leave. Hei Shi too followed behind him and left the room, while the other members dispersed as well and went to prepare for their missions.
Before walking out the door of the safe house, Hei Shi picked up her mask and put it on. She also brought an additional mask with her and handed it to Lin Mu.
"What's this for?" Lin Mu asked although he knew why.
"Have it just in case. You are an ally of the Hei corps now anyway, so you have the right to use it." Hei Shi answered.
Lin Mu nodded and took the mask. He then opened the door of the safe house and walked up to the shop above it. The old woman who was watching the shop handed him the badge back before he left.
"I'll take another route and keep on following you. If you find anything suspicious just signal me by putting your hand up with three fingers." Hei Shi informed.
Lin Mu nodded in response but chuckled when he heard Senior Xukong speaking in his mind.
"If you're the one who has trouble, I doubt she will be able to do much. You're already much stronger than her." Xukong spoke.
"That is true." Lin Mu simply spoke before leaving the alley.
"Now then, it's time to go to the guard barracks." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
Lin Mu went to the southern district and reached there after thirty minutes. Along the way, he saw many people discussing and gossiping about the town head's order. They were also talking about the vice captain and how he had injured the innocent man.
'Seems like the people won't mind it if this vice captain disappears as well.' Lin Mu thought.
Lin Mu was just about to enter the guard barracks when someone called out to him.
"Lin Mu!" A voice called.
Lin Mu turned back to see and saw that it was Lu Xiao who had called him.
"Where did you go last night?" Lu Xiao asked.
Lin Mu was dreading this moment for a while now, but now that it had finally come he had prepared his answer.
"I couldn't find the guards and thought it was dangerous to head on alone, so I headed back. But when I came back I couldn't find any of you, so I went back to my house." Lin Mu spoke.
While his excuse had multiple flaws that could be picked out, Lin Mu didn't think that it would be as troublesome. No one had seen him after he left, so no one could verify his claims either.
"Oh, okay then." Lu Xiao simply replied.
"What happened with you guys' last night?" Lin Mu asked.
"We searched the houses as we had decided to and actually found a few more people that were awake. We informed them of the incident, but some of them disagreed with us and refused to leave their homes as they were scared." Lu Xiao replied.
'That understandable. Most people would not think of leaving their homes after an unexplained incident like this.' Lin Mu thought.
"What happened after that? I mean someone informed the guards, right? Did you guys find a guard?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Oh, we didn't just meet any guard, we met the new vice captain himself. Apparently, he was out on his patrol and was heading towards the residential district himself." Lu Xiao answered.
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