LIGHTNOVELONLINE chapter 573
News doesn’t come knocking on the door; it was only because Ye Yong felt bored and decided to take a stroll that he didn’t miss the information about the Xuan Yang tribe.
He planned to continue walking towards the city center to see if there were any more gains. Qian Han and Qian Rong knew that the Xuan Yang tribe had their eyes on their benefactor, so they wouldn’t let Ye Yong go alone and followed behind to protect him.
Stepping into the inner circle, compared to the quietness of the middle circle military camp, this place was obviously much noisier.
Although it was nighttime, the streets were brightly lit, soldiers were tightly scheduled, patrol intervals were short, and public security was well maintained.
The surroundings were all residences of high-ranking officials and nobles; commoners didn’t dare to trespass and sat on the ground, discussing the current situation.
Ye Yong passed through the crowd of humans and demons, hearing mostly about the tragic death of the young master of the Kuang family in prison, the culprit escaped and wasn’t caught, and the city lord’s faction was shielding the suspect.
Good heavens, with the army pressing down outside, ready to attack at any moment, the crowd’s discussion wasn’t about whether Shilin City could be defended, but this kind of gossip. It was undoubtedly Kuang Quanbing and his people starting to take action.
Creating public opinion.
At that time, they would push a few leaders to accuse injustice, and the rest of the uninformed residents, under the high-pressure environment of the siege, would also find an outlet to vent. At this time, the actions of the security soldiers would be very important. Either violently suppress and kill the leaders to quickly quell the disturbance, or reason with them to slowly stop the farce.
Two approaches, two different results.
The first approach would have immediate effect in a short time, ensuring instant obedience, but the people would only submit to force and wouldn’t dare to continue. Dissatisfaction and pressure would only accumulate more and more. When the time was ripe, with a little incitement, the disturbance would turn into a riot. The second approach would be much more troublesome, but if handled properly, it could keep the residents rational and clear-headed, not easily swayed.
“The spy who killed young master Kuang Biao hasn’t been caught yet. Can we really get safe protection?”
“Who knows, I heard that the spy is hiding in the Barbarian Prime Minister’s mansion. The young master of the whole army tried to catch him, but was confined by the law enforcement team sent by Lord Lingyu.”
“Why protect that spy?”
“In my opinion, the siege is just a show. Jin Honglian must have obtained the secret realm pass and wants to monopolize the power in the city, kicking out Lord Polou’s lineage. She deliberately lured the enemy deep, and then she will cleanse us commoners, making Shilin City her sole domain.”
“No wonder they didn’t deal with that spy, it was all for show!”
“Gathering us in the inner circle, on the surface it’s to protect us, but in reality, it’s to prevent us from escaping. The management above is truly despicable.”
Ye Yong had an aura tool, and Ling Han and Ling Rong had profound cultivation. Passing by wouldn’t attract attention. They could see some sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked guys weaving through the crowd, spreading unsettling rumors. When patrol soldiers were nearby, they immediately fell silent, but resumed once they left.
“Lord Ye Yong, do we need to…” Ling Rong made a throat-slitting gesture.
Ye Yong shook his head, this was not a good time to act.
“I want to see Lord Lingyu! Why is she protecting the murderer who killed Young Master Kuangbiao!”
“Is a spy outside the city more important than the deputy city lord’s son? Then what are we commoners? Are we just disposable pawns?”
Before long, some simple-minded guys were stirred up, standing up in anger.
“Hand over the criminal from the Barbarian Prime Minister’s mansion!”
“We need a reasonable explanation!”
More and more residents responded, but since it was just a verbal appeal without any extreme behavior, the soldiers didn’t know what to do and had to ask their superiors for instructions.
“What’s all this noise? Are you trying to rebel?” The adjutant, who had been resting in his tent, rushed to the scene upon hearing the report from his subordinates. He floated in mid-air, glaring angrily at the crowd below.
Although the residents were fearful, they still expressed their thoughts.
“Do you think you, a bunch of stinking fish and shrimp, can meet Lord Yu? What a joke! Do you think Lord Yu needs your opinions to act?” The adjutant’s task was to maintain order. If the people disobeyed and caused a disturbance, he would be held responsible. Although Lord Yu had instructed to prioritize calming the people’s emotions, the adjutant had his own ideas. The more you appease these troublemakers, the more they take advantage. It’s simpler and more convenient to kill a few as a warning to others.
“Kill those leaders!” The adjutant ordered the guards. The guards drew their crossbows and, without hesitation, pulled the triggers.
The residents clearly did not expect the adjutant to directly resort to killing. The gap in cultivation was evident, and they couldn’t dodge even if they wanted to.
“Don’t fear enemies like gods, but fear teammates like pigs.” Ye Yong shook his head and signaled to Han and Rong to intervene.
“Clang!” The few deadly arrows seemed to hit an invisible wall of air and fell to the ground.
“Who is it!? Interfering with law enforcement! Are you rebelling?” The adjutant, a bull demon, glared with his large bull eyes.
“Talking about rebellion again? Don’t you have any other words?” Ye Yong thought for a moment, then deactivated the aura tool and stepped out.
“Hmm?” The bull demon’s position wasn’t low. He had seen Ye Yong at a banquet before, where Ye Yong was the first to offer a pass to the Demon Hundred Forest Secret Realm and was a guest favored by the city lord: “Young Master Ye, this is a matter of Shilin City and has nothing to do with you, an outsider.”
“It indeed has nothing to do with me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t stop you from doing something stupid.”
The bull demon, being a late-stage Nascent Soul demon king, naturally couldn’t feel good being spoken to like this by a mere human cultivator. However, due to Ye Yong’s special status, he could only suppress his temper and say, “The rioters want to incite a rebellion. How is it stupid to deal with them in advance?”
“But you have to deal with the real rioters.” Ye Yong waved his hand, and a dozen terrified demons floated up from the crowd.
“Who are they?” The adjutant was quite puzzled. How could Ye Yong, with his cultivation level, make mid-stage Golden Core demons float, and even block crossbow bolts from a distance…
“They are the culprits who spread rumors and incited public anger.”
“Nonsense!” “Adjutant, he is obstructing your law enforcement and couldn’t find a good reason, so he pushed us out.” “Please, adjutant, investigate clearly.”
“Everyone, think about it. Didn’t they come to talk to you first and then say things that made you uneasy or even angry?”
“That’s right.” “It’s them.” “They are the real rioters!” Several innocent residents, having survived the ordeal, nodded quickly. The surrounding residents also recalled and agreed.
“Nonsense! I am a guard of the Kuang family! How could I be a rioter! Look carefully!” A demon took out a token, indeed proving he was a guard of the Kuang family. They exchanged glances, and one of them acted as the spokesperson: “Actually, we are just upset that Young Master Kuang Biao was killed, and the murderer is still at large. Young Master Quan Bing wanted to seek justice but was confined. We just wanted to ask the deputy city lord together. Is that wrong?”
“What a clever retreat to advance.” Ye Yong admired these minor characters for coming up with such a reason. It seemed that without the protagonist present, the intelligence-reducing aura hadn’t affected them, and they were all quite smart.