Chapter 513: Stimulation

The roaring grew louder and louder. Inside the counter area, Lin Dong was calculating just how much damage Lin’s Inn would suffer soon. Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong also heard the harsh noises outside, their faces filled with displeasure.
“What’s going on? Go take a look!” Zhang Yuquan shouted at a court official.
The official was right nearby, yet he continued to wave his staff, trying to push his way in. It wasn’t that he refused to obey orders, but the increasingly loud roaring, combined with his full attention on the siege, meant he couldn’t hear what Zhang Yuquan was saying.
“Damn it!”
Zhang Yuquan slammed the table violently, stood up, and swung his hand hard at the official’s back of the head.
The official fell to the ground, looking at Zhang Yuquan in awe, still unable to understand his words.
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Yuquan decided to go check personally.
“Stop the noise!” Xin Yuehong twisted her waist, ready to follow Zhang Yuquan outside to show off her power and enjoy the fear others felt in her presence. But Zhang Yuquan turned back.
“Sir, what’s wrong?” Xin Yuehong stepped forward, not realizing that Zhang Yuquan couldn’t hear her at all. Nor did she know that his face was now as pale as paper.
Boom…
Finally, the roaring reached its peak. As the entire inn trembled, hundreds of kitchen knives, axes, and shovels, along with their owners, rushed into the main hall.
In an instant, they overwhelmed the entire hall like a tide. Outside, even more people kept pushing their way in. Every gap narrowed, and many were pushed out through the back door.
In just a moment, Lin’s Inn’s main hall was on the verge of exploding.
Inside the counter area, Lin Dong’s spiritual energy surged, creating an invisible barrier that turned the entire counter into a restricted zone.
Countless knives and axes swayed before him, and faces that had once been fearful and panicked now showed anger and menace. Xin Yuehong was terrified, her face turning pale, her legs giving out as she collapsed to the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably. This sight made the people around her, who had previously admired her, feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.
“You little witch! For following that corrupt official and acting tyrannically.”
A cloth shoe with a small hole stepped on Xin Yuehong’s chest.
Her sharp cry of pain only made the surrounding people more excited. More heavy feet trampled on her head, limbs, and body, causing her agony and tears. She screamed in pain, no longer bearing any trace of the dignity of a magistrate’s wife.

“Dare you, you miscreants! I am Zhang Yuquan—Zhang Yuquan!” Compared to Xin Yuehong, Zhang Yuquan was much calmer. He firmly believed that the real troublemakers had turned into bandits, and the rest were just ordinary people who could be beaten and insulted at will—no one would dare touch him, the esteemed prefect.

What he didn’t know was how high Hu Changyong’s reputation for fairness, integrity, effective governance, and kindness had grown over more than a decade in Chengfeng County. Since Hu Changyong didn’t dare stand up, indeed no one else did either. His timidity was indeed a flaw worth criticizing in such a situation. But if someone tried to kill Hu Changyong, over 90% of the people in Chengfeng County would not agree to it. Even some wealthy families who had suffered under Hu Changyong and harbored resentment toward him would refuse as well.

Losing the privileges that came from collusion between officials and merchants meant those wealthy families would lose many advantages they valued. But having a capable county magistrate also brought them many benefits. If the common people prospered, they would become richer as well.

“You wretched official!” A calloused palm slapped Zhang Yuquan in the face, spinning him around like a top.

“That’s for trying to kill Lord Hu!” A heavy foot kicked Zhang Yuquan to the ground as he spun.

Countless hands and feet began to move, attacking Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong.

The hall instantly erupted into chaos. The yamen officials were used to attacking others together, but they had never been attacked by the crowd themselves. In an instant, they were knocked to the ground and beaten.

“A drop of water can form an ocean!” Yun Lan sighed softly. In her mind’s eye, some officials were already being beaten to death. Yet those officials hadn’t committed crimes worthy of death. With such a dense crowd, even with her strength at the Eighth Level of Heart Reversal, she couldn’t save them.

Of course, Lin Dong, at the Seventh Level of Heart Reversal, had a way to save those officials. His Divine Sky Technique was enough to protect all of them at once. But his priority for rescue was Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong. His thoughts differed from Yun Lan’s. While Yun Lan believed the yamen officials didn’t deserve death, he valued helping Hu Changyong overcome his timidity more. As long as Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong survived, a few more deaths among the others would only serve to spur Hu Changyong on.

A bold and capable official, when governing more people in the future, could benefit even more people. Hu Changyong’s greatest flaw was his inability to stand up to power.

After much chaos, as Jiang Wei appeared at the back door, Lin Dong shouted again, “Lord Hu is injured. Carry him outside so he can catch his breath and vent his anger too!”
Boom…
The noisy hall roared once more. Lin Dong’s words undoubtedly reminded the people who were fighting fiercely to step back outside. The bailiffs and Zhang Yuquan were also carried out one after another.
“Shopkeeper!” Jiang Wei came to Lin Dong’s side and handed him a gold medal.
Lin Dong took it and was stunned. The queen consort was showing great favor. On the front of the gold medal, the four characters “I Am Personally Present” shone brightly. He had originally thought she would give Hu Changyong a card belonging to the Prince of Qingliu, but instead, it was an imperial card.
An imperial card was the most powerful gold medal in the Great Han Kingdom. No matter who held it, although it didn’t actually carry the inscription “I Am Personally Present” like on the medal, it allowed the holder to execute officials of rank five or lower without explanation. Those who refused to obey would be charged with treason.
Due to its significance, according to the laws of the Great Han Kingdom, every emperor had to reclaim the imperial cards he issued after a new emperor ascended the throne, and at most ten such cards could exist at any time. Past emperors rarely issued permanent imperial cards; instead, special envoys were sent to various places to handle urgent cases, granting temporary cards. Permanent cards were usually given to meritorious officials or those who had saved the emperor.
It wasn’t unusual for a queen consort to have an imperial card, nor was it unusual for her to give it away—after all, she was a queen consort. Though the power of an imperial card was great, it paled in comparison to her status as the queen consort of the Prince of Qingliu. However, to prevent warriors from misusing imperial cards, they had to be registered. If someone used an imperial card to kill an official, they would still be held accountable. Giving an imperial card to a minor county magistrate, even if that magistrate had the status of the Prince of Qingliu, would surely face opposition and accusations in the court. After all, such a magistrate would then have the privilege of beating superiors without punishment and killing colleagues without consequence. Who knew when it might be their turn to face such a card?
If a matter could be resolved with just one card, why give one…
Lin Dong suddenly smiled and said, “The queen consort must have something for me, right?”
Jiang Wei nodded. “The queen consort asked me to convey a message to you—she wants to know if Li Xun can leave for a month so she can take him to her family’s home.”
“Sure!” Lin Dong nodded. Although his plan was to launch Li Xun’s barbecue soon, since the queen consort was showing favor, he couldn’t refuse her request.
“Shall I go inform him now?” Jiang Wei asked.
Lin Dong nodded and turned to Yun Lan. “Want to go see what’s going on?”

Yun Lan nodded slightly, and the two activated their energy shields before following the crowd onto the street. The vast street was packed with people, yet more than twenty meters of space spontaneously opened up in the center. When Lin Dong and the other person used their energy shields to get inside, Hu Changyong was just getting up on that open space. Seeing Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong lying on the ground, convulsing and unrecognizable, Hu Changyong turned pale and fainted. Lin Dong was speechless. He used his spiritual energy to examine Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong’s bodies, temporarily stabilizing their internal injuries as they began to recover. At that moment, Hu Changyong was also awakened in a rush by several locals. “Heavens! Oh my gods!” Hu Changyong cried out upon seeing Zhang Yuquan and Xin Yuehong, showing signs of fainting again. “Sir, sir! It was us who fought them; it has nothing to do with you.” “That’s right, Lord Hu. Go ahead and take your anger out on them. Later, we’ll beat them to death. Even the imperial court won’t dare arrest so many people at once.” “Exactly. There are fifty to sixty thousand people in Chengfeng City, and a million in the entire county—all of them murderers. With such a big incident, even if the imperial court tries to protect those corrupt officials, they can’t do anything to us.” “But… but…” Hu Changyong’s tears streamed down. He choked up, unable to speak a word. This time, it wasn’t from fear, but from emotion. Over the past decade, Hu Changyong had developed deep affection for Chengfeng County. He knew how many villages there were, how long the official roads were, what specialties each place had, where farming or breeding was suitable… He had treated Chengfeng County as his own home and worked hard to protect its interests. There were over a dozen officials in the county government with higher ranks than him, and hundreds in the provincial government. Every time he reported on his work, he would bring specialties bought at great expense to the county and provincial governments, pleading with them. Every three years, he would act like a humble servant hundreds of times, just to avoid offending anyone and keep his position as the county magistrate. Hu Changyong had no interest in being the county magistrate—living in constant fear was unbearable for him. But out of a sense of responsibility, he had to deal with those high-ranking officials who made him nervous just by seeing them. Often, he wished the provincial governor would be even more corrupt and ignore his abilities. But more often, he worried that the governor might become even more corrupt. Many times, Hu Changyong hid in a corner crying, his pain incomprehensible to others. Yet now, he suddenly felt it was worth it. He wasn’t a saint; he had his pride too. The pride of the whole city rising up for him alone made his sense of achievement swell infinitely.

“Dareful rebels! You want to stage a rebellion—this is outright rebellion!” Upon waking and realizing what was happening around him, Zhang Yuquan flew into a rage, his roar like that of a ghost: “Hu Changyong, if you dare gather people to rebel, I will never spare you!”
Hu Changyong’s legs began to tremble. Just as everyone thought he was about to kneel and plead for him, Lin Dong suddenly cried out in panic, “It’s terrible! Rebellion is a grave crime that warrants the execution of the entire family. The old, weak, women, and children must leave the city immediately!”
“Leave… leave the city…”
Hu Changyong’s legs still trembled, but his eyes burned with determination. Amid the chaos, he stood up straight again. With trembling fingers, he snatched the laundry stick from a woman beside him and strode toward Zhang Yuquan, his face twisted in fury.
“Whoever captures the ringleader Hu Changyong will be pardoned and rewarded with a thousand taels of silver. Otherwise, the entire family will be executed, and those who try to escape the city will still be captured!”
Zhang Yuquan shouted loudly, but he was far from as calm as Hu Changyong.