In another corner of Mountainhorn Town, a middle aged man sat sloppily behind his beautiful oak desk, casually reading through a scroll in his hand while being fed grapes by his young female attendant.

From time to time, his free hand would ever so accidentally slip and brush past the female attendant’s thigh, causing the latter to jolt in shock.

However, he seemed to be oblivious to her tumultuous thoughts, continuing to be just as careless with his hand.

But as the man was relishing in the moment, a guard suddenly pushed open the door to his study room and entered.

“I pay my respects to Your Honour!” the guard kneeled immediately upon entering.

“Speak, what is the matter?” the man frowned, quickly sitting up and tidying his clothes for a more dignified appearance.

“Reporting to Your Honour, the young master of Hui Family has returned,” the guard reported. “However, he is not in good shape.”

“Not in good shape?” the man raised an eyebrow in scepticism. “What do you mean by that?”

This man was none other than the magistrate of Mountainhorn Town – En Yongping.

As the magistrate, he was in charge of law and order within the town. Therefore, he naturally had to be well versed on the various local factions that wielded significant power.

And out of all the local factions, the Hui Family could be considered the most influential.

Not only did they have control over most of the trade companies within the town, they were also wise enough to understand that they would not be able to hold on to their wealth without sufficient combat power.

Therefore, the Hui Family did not mind spending a big part of their earnings on hiring powerful fighters to join their ranks, even poaching from the military at times.

At the same time, the Hui Family only had a single heir in this generation – Hui Shajing.

Realising that Hui Shajing would be a prime target for their enemies, the Hui family had assigned two of the strongest fighters under their banner to be his aides, making sure that he would be safe and sound no matter where he went.

With such powerful aides by his side, what could possibly have happened to him?

“It is reported that he has been captured by a group of men. Not just that, but they have even brought him back to town while tied up in ropes,” the guard continued. “It is almost as though they were trying to parade him around like a slave!”

“How is that possible?” En Yongping still found it difficult to believe. “What happened to his entourage?”

“They are all captured along with him, Your Honour,” the guard answered.

“What did you say?” En Yongping widened his eyes in shock.

While the Hui Family was not a martial family, the fighters they hired were not to be trifled with.

Even he, as the magistrate, would have to think twice about going against the Hui Family. While he was confident of taking down the Hui Family in an all-out fight, it would inevitably result in heavy losses for his side.

As for the men following Hui Shajing, it was almost a third of the Hui Family’s forces.

Considering that, just who could have subdued the entire group?

No, that was not the main issue here.

The fact that they had the guts to bring him back to the town while parading him like a slave was a greater problem.

This showed that they probably knew exactly who he was, and were not intimidated nevertheless.

In fact, they had even chosen to come for more!

“So, what’s the situation now?” En Yongping questioned. “Have we figured out who those men are?”

“We have not managed to find out the identity of those men,” the guard answered. “But don’t worry, Your Honour. I’m just here to let you know what happened in case the Hui Family asks. The boys are already working on the matter.”

“They are working on the matter? And how exactly are they handling this matter?” En Yongping narrowed his eyes.

“This is Young Noble Hui we are talking about, so the boys have naturally demanded that those men free Young Noble Hui’s group or risk facing imprisonment,” the guard reported. “That was a while back too, so they should already be escorting those men back here at this very moment as we speak.”

Bang-!

“Fools!” En Yongping slammed his palm on the table and bellowed, startling both the guard and the young female attendant.

“Y-Your Honour?” the guard looked visibly confused, not knowing what triggered the man’s rage.

“How can you make such decisions without even finding out who the other party is? Have you become so accustomed to being the top dog here that you have forgotten that there are always higher mountains out there?” En Yongping felt like slapping the guard back to his senses upon seeing the blank look on his face. “Prepare my carriage! I am going there personally to take a look!”

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“Y-Yes, Your Honour!” the guard answered with a stammer.

But just as he was about to go get the preparations done, a loud voice resonated through the entire Magistrate Hall.

“There’s no need for that. We are already here.”

En Yongping had to take a deep breath to calm himself.

That was not the sound of someone shouting from the front of the Magistrate Hall.

Instead, the voice was calm and composed, sounding like someone had spoken right into his ears. Without sufficient internal energy, it was impossible for someone to transmit their voice like this.

Without a doubt, the owner of this voice should be an extremely powerful martial artist!

The question now was... just how strong were these men?

Would he and his men be able to handle them?

“Come with me!” En Yongping told the guard while hurrying out to the front of the Magistrate Hall.

But when he reached the front area with the guard in tow, En Yongping could not help but feel confused by the sight before him.

His guards were looking all stern and ferocious, surrounding a group of five young men who were tied up in ropes.

Hui Shajing and his entourage were there as well.

While they seemed to have been freed from their restraints, they remained standing behind the five men with their heads hung low, their faces as pale as sheets of paper.

On the other hand, the five young men seemed extremely leisurely and composed, seemingly oblivious to their current situation.

In fact, they almost looked more at home than his guards did!

“Are you Magistrate En?” Mo Mian asked the moment En Yongping arrived.

“Insolence! How dare you speak to His Honour in such a frivolous manner?” one of the guards immediately shouted at him. “Hurry up and kneel!”

Mo Mian smirked in response, though his gaze remained fixated on En Yongping.

En Yongping nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva before speaking, “R-Release them.”

“Did you hear tha- eh?” the guard was about to continue berating Mo Mian, only to be shocked by what En Yongping just said. “I’m sorry, Your Honour. What did you just say?”

“I said release them!” En Yongping shouted in annoyance.

His head was already about to explode from desperately trying to figure out his ideal next move, so his guards’ inability to follow through on such simple orders at this point inevitably caused him to flare up at them.

“Y-Yes, Your Honour!”

Despite their confusion, the guards quickly did as they were told.

And as the guards released the ropes on the five men, En Yongping carefully observed the looks on everyone’s faces.

There was not a hint of relief or joy on the five men’s faces as they were freed from their restraints. If he had to describe the looks on their faces, it would actually be more similar to one of amusement.

On the other hand, it was Hui Shajing’s group that looked relieved instead.

When he saw that, En Yongping could not help but feel the blood draining from his face.

This difference in reaction was telling enough of the power hierarchy between the two groups.

The Hui Shajing he knew would never be willing to submit to another party and subject himself to such shameful treatment. Instead, he should be trying his best to get the Magistrate Hall to take his side right now.

After all, he was now back in Mountainhorn Town where he had access to all the support he needed.

Since he was not doing so despite that fact, the gap in strength must be so insurmountable that Hui Shajing did not believe the Hui Family and the Magistrate Hall would stand a chance even if they were to work together!

“At least there is someone here who has brains,” Pu Feixiang commented after he was freed from the ropes.

“Mind your words!” one of the guards shouted angrily in response.

In fact, it was not just him.

All of the guards looked extremely annoyed right now.

This was the first time that anyone had dared to act this haughtily in their Magistrate Hall.

Even the leader of the Hui Family and officials from the city had acted with courtesy when they visited in the past!

If not for Magistrate En’s strange reaction, the guards would have rushed forward to give them a good beating a long time ago!

“Stop,” En Yongping signalled for the guard to back off before turning towards Mo Mian. “I am En Yongping, magistrate of Mountainhorn Town. My men do not know better, so I seek your magnanimity to forgive their ignorance.”

His words only caused the guards to feel even more stifled.

However, they dared not express their discontent towards him, so they could only resort to glaring at the party instead.

“You are a smart person,” Mo Mian smiled.

“I dare not claim that. I am but a lowly official trying to survive,” En Yongping hurriedly replied. “If it is not too much trouble, would it be possible to know where the few of you young sirs came from?”

“We are from the Black Tortoise Sect,” Mo Mian answered matter-of-factly.

It was a simple answer, yet the meaning behind it was anything but that.

The moment En Yongping heard the words ‘Black Tortoise Sect’, he immediately understood that this matter was completely out of his hands now.

Cultivators were powerful entities that possessed abilities far beyond the understanding of mortals like them, able to call the winds and summon the rains.

Thinking about going against one was nothing short of suicidal.

And in this case, not only was the Black Tortoise Sect a cultivation faction, but it was even one of the strongest cultivation factions in the Duyuan Empire!

In fact, while the commoners might be unaware of the truth, the upper echelons of society had access to enough information, and thus knew for a fact that this northern region of the Duyuan Empire was actually under the implicit jurisdiction of the mighty Black Tortoise Sect.

They might not actively participate in ruling the region, but they were still recognised as the de facto leader.

As long as they had made a decision, the north would have to follow their directions.

Even if someone from the city was present, they would still have to obey any official orders that came from the Black Tortoise Sect!

As a mere magistrate of Mountainhorn Town, unless he was sick of living, he would have no choice but to do their bidding as well.

At the thought of that, En Yongping could not help but curse his fate.

Of all the people out there, his ignorant men just had to capture these cultivators from the Black Tortoise Sect.

If they chose to pursue this matter, he would be lucky to escape with his life!

At the same time, Hui Shajing’s eyes similarly opened wide in shock.

Just like En Yongping, he also knew a thing or two about the true powers at play in this world.

And upon hearing Mo Mian’s introduction, Hui Shajing finally understood why his backer had failed him.

After all, how would a random cultivator ever hope to stand against the strongest faction in the northern region of the Duyuan Empire?