Da Xuan Martial Saint

The news of Chen Mu being ambushed by a villain spread quickly throughout the City Defense Division, shocking countless prefects.

Although the current world was chaotic and criminals had no regard for the law, with government officers being killed from time to time, it was still unprecedented in recent years for a Head Constable to be brazenly attacked in broad daylight.

After cleaning himself up at the City Defense Division and changing into a new long gown, Chen Mu waited for news from Min Baoyi until the afternoon when he finally received an update.

"The villains from City West?"

Chen Mu raised an eyebrow.

He had only been appointed Head Constable for a few days and had just become familiar with the gangs in Ninth District. He wasn't quite familiar with the mixed forces in South City District, let alone City West, a completely different area.

But as far as he knew, City West was even more chaotic than South City District. In the most remote areas, fights and conflicts were a daily occurrence, where almost everyone was a fierce thug. Even ten-year-old children could pick up a cleaver and fight for their lives, naturally breeding even more brutal and overbearing gangs.

The problem was.

The villains from City West should have nothing to do with him.

Min Baoyi didn't care about formalities and sat directly in front of Chen Mu. He then let out a sigh, "I'm not familiar with these villains from City West either, we don't really cross paths, so I went to ask Chief Officer Xu."

Chen Mu handed over a cup of tea and asked, "What did Chief Officer Xu say?"

Min Baoyi shook his head, "She didn't say much, just mentioned that you were implicated and asked me what compensation you wanted. Also, she said to leave the matter at that and advised you not to mess with West City Area for now."

Chen Mu was not surprised upon hearing this.

He had absolutely nothing to do with City West or any villains there. To be ambushed out of the blue, the only connection he could think of was Xu Hongyu.

Indeed, good things do not come for free. He had just taken Xu Hongyu's money and the Skin Toughening Method, and trouble had already found him.

Xu Hongyu was also very straightforward, directly telling him that he was caught up in something and fearing that he wouldn't be able to restrain his anger. She warned him not to pursue it any further. Then, she suggested he think about what kind of compensation would be appropriate... In his past life, he was used to dealing with such situations.

Now, facing the backlash in this life, it was a woman using the same tactic on him, and he had no choice but to obediently consider what compensation would be suitable.

The first thing that came to mind was to ask for the Body Refinement method after Skin Toughening.

For him now, achieving Perfection in Skin Toughening wasn't going to take long, and he would need the Body Refinement method afterward. However, Xu Hongyu didn't know this, and she might think he was being overambitious and not only refuse but also reprimand him.

He couldn't argue with her because he couldn't exactly announce that he was a Skin Toughening genius who achieved Minor Achievement in one month.

"Hmm... this could be a good opportunity."

Chen Mu's thoughts shifted, and a contemplative expression appeared on his face as he considered something.

Today's ambush was a close call but ultimately due to the attackers underestimating his strength. Had he not achieved Minor Achievement in Skin Toughening, the outcome could have been uncertain. This kind of incident could happen again, which meant that Chen Yue staying with him was not safe.

If he could use his connection with Xu Hongyu to send Chen Yue to a martial arts school in the Inner City Area, it would be most appropriate. On one hand, the Inner City Area was safe, and on the other, it was about time for the young girl to learn martial arts given the state of the world and her age.

With that in mind.

Chen Mu displayed a look of 'concern' and said, "To share the worries of the Chief Constable is my duty. A little danger is nothing, but my younger sister at home is still young. I worry about her being implicated. And if something were to happen to me, leaving her with no one to rely on, it would be hard for her to survive.

If the Chief Constable could do me the favor of sending her to the Inner City to learn martial arts, whatever the future holds, she would at least have a skill to depend on."

Min Baoyi laughed upon hearing this, "That's no problem at all. The Yu Family runs a martial arts school in the Inner City, training a considerable number of people every year, and they have separate institutes for males and females. If Chief Officer Xu makes a request on your behalf, there will be no issue."

As a major family from the Inner City, they generally trained their own private soldiers, partly selected from a vast number of slaves, servants, and family retainers, but also by recruiting some disciples with good potential through their martial arts schools.

In fact.

Once Chen Mu reached Min Baoyi's level and assumed the position of Prefecture Chief, he could then send his own children or relatives to the Yu Family's martial arts school to train. Nepotistic ties were something the Inner City's major families were keen on.

"That's great."

Chen Mu smiled.

Arranging a good place for Chen Yue to go settled one of his concerns. As for the villains and the West City... he kept them in mind. Time would tell.

...

South City District, City Guard General's office.

Bang!

On the third floor of the main building, in a certain hall office, two doors were violently pushed open.

Xu Hongyu's figure appeared in the doorway.

He Mingxuan was sitting leisurely on a wisteria wooden chair, sipping tea. Seeing Xu Hongyu storm in furiously, he smiled unperturbed and said, "Chief Xu graces us with her presence, what brings you here? If you needed me, a simple summons would have sufficed."

Without a word, Xu Hongyu strode directly to He Mingxuan's desk, her delicate hand lightly lifted, and with a slap on the table, the solid yellow-wood desk trembled violently. Starting from where Xu Hongyu's palm hit, a dense array of cracks burst forth, and finally, the entire desk shattered and collapsed.

The tea cups and tea on the table likewise scattered and shattered on the floor.

The loud noise echoed through the main building. All the Head Constables and Prefecture Chiefs could hear it clearly. Everyone's actions nearly came to a halt, they exchanged glances and then went back to their duties as if nothing happened, not even bothering to look upstairs.

He Mingxuan's previously composed face suddenly stiffened, his smile fading into a cold expression:

"What exactly do you mean by this, Chief Xu?"

"..."

Xu Hongyu did not answer, just coldly staring at him.

He Mingxuan naturally knew why Xu Hongyu had come. Although those men didn't even manage to kill a minor Head Constable – which was indeed quite incompetent – he was delighted to see Xu Hongyu so infuriated. However, he hadn't expected Xu Hongyu to come looking for him directly without even investigating after learning about the incident.

"Chief Xu seems to be overstepping her authority a bit too much. I believe I haven't made any mistakes in my duties these past days. If you really dislike me, you might as well file a complaint with the Metropolitan Commander and have me transferred out of the South City District," He Mingxuan said with a cold laugh.

He wasn't afraid of Xu Hongyu causing trouble, because, to be frank, this matter had nothing to do with him, nor was it orchestrated by him in secret. He merely quietly released some information. Not to mention that Chen Mu had no real issues, but even if he had died, it would have been the gang's doing, and no investigation would lead to him.

Xu Hongyu continued to stare coldly at He Mingxuan, not responding to his words, and indifferently said, "Listen well. If anything else happens in the Ninth District, no matter the reason, I will only come for you. This time it was in your hall office; next time it will be on the Life and Death Platform!"

With those words, Xu Hongyu turned and left.

He Mingxuan's face turned completely dark as he sat there, still holding half a cup of tea, watching Xu Hongyu's figure disappear out the door, leaving only a mess on the floor.

This is outrageous!

That madwoman…

To risk a confrontation on the Life and Death Platform over a mere subordinate, she must be seriously deranged!

And what kind of ridiculous logic is it to blame him for any trouble in the Ninth District!

Is there no reason left?!

The teacup in He Mingxuan's hand was crushed to pieces, water splashing everywhere, his chest heaving with rage, yet he had to forcefully suppress his anger…

Because he was no match for Xu Hongyu.

If Xu Hongyu truly went mad and insisted on dragging him to the Life and Death Platform to face the City Guard General as a witness, he would inevitably be put in a difficult position. If he had to fight her out of sheer necessity, there was a real chance he might die by her hand.

And besides…

What kind of times are these, to still talk about the Life and Death Platform.

That thing hadn't been used by anyone for decades, ever since the Imperial Court's influence began to wane.

"Forget it."

He Mingxuan took a deep breath, pushing down the anger in his heart.

He himself had lost his wits, trying to play games and reason with a madwoman. It was truly asking for trouble. After all, with the Yu Family facing internal and external troubles, their downfall was inevitable. Once the Yu Family's influence was in jeopardy, Xu Hongyu would be nothing but a plaything in his hands, to be manipulated at will. It wasn't worth it to provoke her now.

As for Chen Mu, since Xu Hongyu cared so much, it was better to let him live a bit longer.