423: Chapter 332 423: Chapter 332 It’s not that he lacked compassion, he was simply a fellow disciple, ah, it should be the Immortal Sect’s responsibility to rescue her!
These women didn’t go to the Immortal Sect, instead, they followed the two senior brothers to his place!
Perhaps it was because they were just frequently active disciples of the Outer Sect, the Immortal Sect wouldn’t pay much attention to them, as thousands upon thousands die on missions, the cultivation world is so ruthless, only those who survive and prove capable are valued.
Even if it were some elite disciple who initiated a plea for help from the Immortal Sect, they could only seek aid from their immediate management.
There wouldn’t be an entire Immortal Sect’s worth of Capable Beings coming to their aid, as everyone was striving for cultivation, and the higher-ups wouldn’t exhaust themselves for the sake of their disciples.
They watched from high above as the crowd below buzzed with excitement, and the public trial of these bandits was far from over.
The County Magistrate had been hiding in the Government Office all this while, the commotion outside had nothing to do with him.
At this moment, his trembling relatives came to him, inquiring what should be done!
In this place, where stockades were so rampant, a wealthy man would pay to secure an official post for his son, usually, only the County Magistrate and his own children along with the legitimate wife and concubines would live in the inner courtyard.
With such a significant event occurring, the family members of the County Magistrate all came to inquire what was happening, fearful that if things were not handled well, not only would they lose their positions, but they might also become targets of the bandits’ revenge.
Remembering the formidable individuals from earlier, the County Magistrate trembled as he recounted the story to his family.
Don’t think he was unaware that those powerful people were still in the skies above; if he didn’t send these bandits to a place of detention this time…
…to provide the public with an explanation, this matter could not be left unresolved.
On the main street of the county city, crowds numbering in the hundreds or thousands gathered, making the street livelier than it had ever been!
It seemed that some women who had not dared to come out before…
…now boldly appeared among the crowd wearing veils to watch the scene unfold.
Whether the County Magistrate liked it or not, the sound of gongs and drums was drawing nearer, and he could see his subordinates pressing the bandits back.
After hearing the explanation, what could his family members do?
If they disobeyed, they would be punished immediately; if they complied, they might face retaliation before long.
Both options were risky, so they could only gamble that justice would prevail over evil.
Today, the commoners acted so boldly, it was truly a rebellion; without an explanation, they might just tear open a breach today.
The County Magistrate had even more trouble deciding now; he didn’t dare keep these bandits in their local prison.
If the management was lax and the bandits escaped, the first place to become unsafe would be his own residence.
With such thoughts, he felt compelled to send these bandits to a distant location, preferring to grant the credit to someone else.
There was no choice for the County Magistrate; although some bandits were killed and others captured, he heard that many had fled the stockade, including women and children.
Bandit children would eventually grow up, and when the time came, they would seek revenge against him; by ceding the credit to his superiors, if these bandits were pursued and rescued, they would not be traced back to him.
The County Magistrate was reluctant to face the public, but this time he had no choice.
The usually imposing Lord, whom no one dared to approach at the Government Office, where entering meant harm or injury, had to come out today.
Today, the same Lord, whom commoners had never seen or dared to approach, displayed the authority that all feared.
They saw up close that he was just an ordinary person; their fears had been all in their minds.
The County Magistrate called his Advisor to come forward, instructing him to have the Government Officials immediately escort the bandits to the higher authorities for judgement.
The Advisor, understanding the Lord’s intent, immediately wrote out the charges, then read them aloud on the spot, ordering the immediate transfer of the bandits to the State Prefecture Prison.
When the crowd heard the announced verdict, they broke out into joyful laughter.
The scene filled with chatter and bustle, with no fear even though this was the entrance to the Government Office.
“Thanks to the help of those Immortal Masters, otherwise, we might have suffered for a lifetime.”
“From now on, we won’t have to be oppressed by these bandits—such a happy occasion!”
Amidst their joyful voices, the crowd dared not discuss matters like tax relief or remission in front of the officials.
They were also worried that, with the bandits gone, there might be increased oppression from the officials.
These words dared not be spoken aloud; they were simply different mortals, whose lives here had not been good, yet it was still better than wandering.
After all, this was their root, where being refugees didn’t necessarily mean a better life—homeless, lacking food.
Even if they were the lowest of ants in their hometown, that was their fate.
The County Magistrate had instructed the Advisor to make arrangements.
The latter wiped the sweat from his forehead; indeed, even such actions filled him with dread.
Here, they had seen people high in the sky.
To be able to stand in the air for so long, to use Flying Artifacts, these were individuals he could not afford to offend.
Lai Jianlin saw that matters had come to this and decided that they would not intervene further.
Speaking softly with Luo Yaxuan, they decided to leave one or two individuals behind to secretly protect the farmers here.
Of course, they feared that the escaped bandits might seek revenge later on.
To save a life, save it completely; to send the Buddha, send him all the way to the West.
They didn’t really trust the officials to pay attention to future developments here.
In the Cultivation World, officialdom wasn’t necessarily useful; some places were quite dark.
The most likely victims were mortals.
As a Cultivator family with abilities, most would not bother with these ordinary people.
Just like themselves, these cultivators, if they weren’t seeking their sect members this time, they wouldn’t have paid any attention to these ordinary beings.
Already feeling like there wasn’t enough time for cultivation, they wished to spend even more time in seclusion to cultivate.
Seeing that the bandits had been taken away and the Immortal Masters in the sky were about to leave, the locals knelt in worship.
Watching as these high-fliers took to the sky.
Then, they didn’t dare linger here any longer, for fear of retribution and suppression from the government officials.
The subordinates left behind by the two young masters stayed hidden, ready to contact their families at any moment.
For a while, there were no other changes; the county town began to calm down.
They did not believe it would stay calm; such tranquility could hide other lurking dangers.
This county town was only a little over a hundred miles from Immortal Lord City; it took them just over an hour to arrive.
Upon reaching Immortal Lord City, they dispersed, each returning to their respective families.
Immortal Lord City presented a scene of bustling serenity—a place newcomers from Nangong Ximen and the West Gate Immortal Sect found suitable for cultivators.
In the past, their families might not have been strong enough, which is why they sent elite disciples to join the Immortal Sect for cultivation.
Now, the second-tier families had grown stronger and chose to give up entering ordinary Immortal Sects.
Luo Yaxuan returned with his fellow disciples, master, and his master’s wife and sister to their family clan.
Lai Jianlin, along with Ding Ling and Mo Wen, and the four women, went back to his family clan.
Back in the Immortal Lord City with his family, Lai Jianlin first arranged for the women to stay in the guest rooms before contacting Jiang Tang.
Jiang Tang had gone to inspect two potential sites for establishing the Saint Sect and had been gone for some time without sending any news.
Lai Jianlin took the initiative to contact Jiang Tang, inquiring about their current situation and mentioned that someone had been poisoned, asking if he had time to send some antidote.
Jiang Tang’s reply was that he should bring people to find him, as he was arranging for some to start establishing the Saint Sect at those two locations.
Lai Jianlin, hearing the massive scale of Jiang Tang’s construction, understood that establishing an upper-tier Immortal Sect in one location would require substantial manpower, resources, and a great deal of money.
He knew that Jiang Tang probably wasn’t short of money, and now both of their families, or even several families, were relying on the Saint Sect established by Jiang Tang.
In the early stages of establishing the Saint Sect, not proactively helping was unacceptable.
Even if they could not contribute money, they could contribute effort by letting their family members help manage those working on the construction.
Lai Jianlin told Jiang Tang he’d come to find him in a day, not immediately, one reason being he needed to inform his family.
He also explained the situation to Luo Yaxuan.
United as brothers, they would together exert their efforts and follow Jiang Tang towards the peak of cultivation.
After Lai Jianlin passed the message to Luo Yaxuan, he held a meeting with his family to strategize, starting to dispatch people to carry out this task.
He would be involved as well, having decided that if they were to develop within the Saint Sect, they must do so without any reservations.