Chapter 467: Chapter 467 Current Situation of Qingmu (First Update)
 

Kunlun Secret Realm.

Qingmu Town.

Qingmu Town had long since evolved from the small village it once was into a sizable city.

Normally, caravans from all over Kunlun would shuttle through here daily.

However, since last month, the number of caravans had sharply declined, and now the place was utterly deserted, without a single caravan in sight.

Bian Qingmu sat in the Council Hall, holding a decree from Jizhou City, her expression extremely grim.

Bian Hua looked on and finally couldn’t bear it any longer, standing up and saying, “Sister Qingmu, this new City Lord of Jizhou City is simply too arrogant, actually demanding that we Qingmu Town pay all our back taxes in full! But before he took office, there were none of these damn taxes at all! This is nothing but blatant extortion!”

Bian Qingmu remained silent.

“Yes! Sister Qingmu, these people are truly going too far! Are they not afraid that Immortal Master Xue An will come back and settle the score with them?” Bian Tian, who had grown into a striking young woman, couldn’t help but say angrily.

Bian Qingmu gave a wry smile at her words.

If they really were afraid, they wouldn’t have put us in this situation.

Upon calculating, it had been over two years since Xue An had left Kunlun.

In the beginning, everything proceeded as usual, and Qingmu Town prospered.

But everything had changed since last month.

First the caravans stopped coming, and then came the demands for tax payments.

But Bian Qingmu knew that all this was just the surface of the problem.

Thinking of this, Bian Qingmu couldn’t help but recall the letter she had received a few days ago from Zhu Ruyan in Kunlun City.

The situation described in that letter had also left Bian Qingmu deeply worried.

The two newly emerged forces, the Fire King Temple and the Profound Wind Tower, had taken over Kunlun City and had repeatedly declared that should Xue An dare to appear, they would certainly eliminate him.

That was the real root of Qingmu Town’s current plight.

Without the backing of these two forces, how would the Jizhou City Lord dare to be so impudent?

“Enough, don’t speak of it anymore! You two go and shut the city gates, I’ll handle these matters!” Bian Qingmu instructed.

Bian Hua and Bian Tian exchanged looks, hesitant to speak, but ultimately bowed their heads and said, “Yes!”

The siblings left the Council Hall and headed towards the city gates.

Along the way, they saw that almost none of the shops were open, and the once-bustling streets were desolate and quiet.

Bian Tian couldn’t suppress her annoyance, “These profit-seeking ingrates, when they saw our prosperity, they all flocked here, but now at the first sign of trouble, they run faster than rabbits!”

Bian Hua shook his head and sighed softly, “Enough, these merchants are just like that, they’re not worth getting angry over. The key now is to figure out how to help Sister Qingmu overcome this predicament.”

“But how can we help? The Jizhou City Lord is demanding an impossible sum! He’s basically plotting our death!” Bian Tian said dejectedly.

Bian Hua was silent for a moment, knowing that what his sister said was true, and he couldn’t help but let out a deep, long sigh.

“If only Immortal Master Xue An would come back!”

“Exactly! Only Immortal Master Xue An can deal with those damned people!” Bian Tian said bitterly.

By then, the siblings had arrived at the city gates.

The guards were all leaning sluggishly against the corner walls, gossiping idly, and didn’t show any intention of standing up even when they saw the two approaching.

Bian Tian, unable to bear it any longer, quickly walked over, “It’s time, hurry up and close the city gates!”

A few guards glanced up at Bian Tian, then lowered their heads to resume their idle chatter.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Didn’t you hear me?” Bian Tian was even more infuriated.

At that moment, Xiong Laosan, the head of the soldiers, raised his head and let out a cold chuckle, “Miss Bian Tian, if the brothers can’t even get a meal, how can they have the strength to close the city gates?”

“You….” Bian Tian was left speechless by his remarks.

“We were supposed to be paid our salary last month, but until now we haven’t seen a single hair of it. You all are high and mighty cultivators, while we are just common folk. Without money, we can’t even afford a meal, so naturally, we don’t feel like moving!”

Xiong Laosan’s words ignited the anger of the soldiers under his command.

“That’s right, we demand our salaries!”

“How can this be right? You all indulge in luxury while we are left to gnaw on the cold wind of the Northwest?”

“Exactly!”

Bian Tian was just a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl who had never dealt with such matters. She blushed and turned red-eared under the soldiers’ verbal assault.

At this time, Bian Hua stepped forward, saying sternly, “What do you think you’re doing? Xiong Laosan, when Qingmu Town was thriving, you begged the Town Master hard for this position. Plus, you’ve all embezzled quite a bit of money over the past two years, haven’t you?”

“Now it has only been a month since the salaries were not distributed, and here you are talking nonsense. Don’t you have any conscience at all?”

Under Bian Hua’s questioning, Xiong Laosan’s face turned from blue to white, and finally, with a grinding of teeth, he threw his hat on the ground.

“I don’t understand what you are talking about. I only know that it is natural to be paid for work done. It’s not just that we haven’t been paid for a month; even being one day late is unacceptable! Brothers, Qingmu Town is done for! The City Lord of Jizhou City specifically wants to deal with them, we’re quitting!”

“Right! We’re quitting!” With that shout from Xiong Laosan, all his subordinates stirred up in commotion, getting to their feet.

Seeing this situation, Bian Hua was filled with rage and drew the long sword from his waist.

“I bet you’ve been instigated by someone else to deliberately create trouble!”

“Oh look, he dares to draw a sword! Do you really think your grandpa Xiong is afraid of you? Brothers, attack! If anything happens, the City Lord of Jizhou City will have our backs!” Xiong Laosan said with a vicious laugh.

His words confirmed Bian Hua’s suspicions.

These scoundrels had indeed betrayed Qingmu Town and become the lackeys of Jizhou City.

Bian Hua was seething with anger, sword in hand, and swiftly slashed out several times.

However, his innate talent for cultivation was mediocre, and his sword strikes didn’t even come close to touching Xiong Laosan.

Xiong Laosan let out a grim laugh, “Boy, you dare to challenge your grandpa Xiong with that little skill? I’ll teach you a good lesson today!”

With that said, his hands suddenly grew large and emitted a thick black aura, “Black Bear Palm!”

With one punch, Xiong Laosan sent Bian Hua’s long sword flying.

Staggering back a few steps, Bian Hua exclaimed in shock, “You actually have cultivation?”

“Heh heh, all thanks to the City Lord’s generosity!” Xiong Laosan said with a smug smile, grabbing Bian Hua in one swift move.

At the same time, Bian Tian was also surrounded by a few soldiers.

Seeing the delicate features of Bian Tian, all of their eyes shone with lust, engaging in the scuffle while uttering indecent remarks.

“Tsk tsk, this little girl is so tender, seems like you could squeeze water out of her!”

“Heh heh, once we catch her, we brothers will be in for a treat!”

“I’ll be the first!”

These words caused Bian Tian to blush furiously, nearly exploding with anger.

Yet her abilities were only slightly better than Bian Hua’s, and these soldiers now all possessed decent cultivation levels. As a result, under their assault, Bian Tian was rendered utterly defenseless and in perilous danger.

Being momentarily careless, Bian Tian’s long sword was knocked away, and then one of the soldiers, laughing viciously, pounced at her.

But at that moment, a pitch-black dagger emerged out of thin air and sliced open the soldier’s throat.

Blood splattered.

The corpse fell to the ground.