Chapter 186 - 181: The Impressive City Patrol Guard

"Have you made up your mind to rent a place?" Ding Huan arrived at the real estate agency, and the clerk immediately greeted him with a smile. "I'm not looking to rent; I'm looking to buy a small courtyard, at least one with four rooms. Do you have any?" Ding Huan said. The clerk appeared helpless, "My friend, it's not that I'm making things difficult for you, but you're not a citizen of the Blazing Star Lord Country, so you simply don't have the eligibility to buy a house. Even if you bought one, it would be taken from you because the house wouldn't be considered yours." Ding Huan took out his appointment letter as City Patrol Captain, "Look, I'm now the City Patrol Captain. Can I buy a house now?" "You, you really became a City Patrol Guard? And a captain?" The clerk stammered, not out of surprise, but from fear. Because becoming a City Patrol Guard meant at most a month to live; being a captain meant at most three days. He was worried that if he angered Ding Huan, Ding Huan might do something desperate, like killing him. "That's not for you to worry about; just tell me if you'll sell or not." Ding Huan put away his appointment letter as City Patrol Captain. "Sell, sell..." The clerk struggled to control his emotions and cautiously said, "Sir, you'll need to go to the West Wind City Household Registration Office to get registered as a resident of West Wind City before you can buy a house here." After saying this, he worriedly pointed to a red house in the distance to avoid further provocation from Ding Huan, "That building over there is the Household Registration Office." "Thank you. Also, could you tell me where the best locations are?" Ding Huan asked, worried that the clerk didn't understand. The clerk replied with a smile, "It's in the Crystal District." "How much is a small courtyard there?" Ding Huan tapped on the counter. The clerk dared not delay, "A better one needs about three hundred crystal stones; a lesser one could go for seventy to eighty crystal stones." When Ding Huan left the real estate agency, he thought to himself that it wasn't cheap at all. If he didn't have a bunch of Blossom God Crystal Stones, he really couldn't afford it. No, he couldn't use the Blossom God Crystal Stones; they were only for his own cultivation. Besides, the Blossom God Crystal Stones seemed to contain higher Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi than the trading crystal stones here. Don't I have a bunch of level-one talismans? Ding Huan decided to check a Cultivation Shop to see if he could sell his talismans. The registration process was straightforward, though the clerk treated Ding Huan as if he were looking at a dead man. However, guided by the principle of not offending someone desperate, the clerk processed Ding Huan's registration as quickly as possible. When he left the Household Registration Office, Ding Huan was an official resident of the Blazing Star Lord Country. ... If one were to ask which street in West Wind City was the most bustling and prosperous, it would undoubtedly be Shengdao Street in East City. Here one could find genuine magic artifacts and genuine Taoist Cultivation Methods. The cultivators who shopped on Shengdao Street all had some backing. Thus, many people chose to rent shops on Shengdao Street. Here, if you had good merchandise, you didn't have to worry about not being able to sell it at a good price. Of course, Shengdao Street wasn't without its disadvantages. Compared to other places, human cultivators were in the majority there. Once a dispute arose, it often led to fatalities. Previously, the locations with the highest death rates among City Patrol Guards were Shengdao Street and North City. Just think, even the City Patrol Guards were frequently killed; ordinary folk stood no chance. At this moment, Yan Mei, Lao Liu, and three City Patrol Guards were following the woman who reported the incident to Shengdao Street. Shengdao Street was still exceptionally lively, and the business of other shops was not affected even if one was vandalized. "Qu Fu..." The woman cried out sorrowfully in front of a shop whose signboard was smashed to pieces. Inside the shop, chaos reigned, and four men were rummaging through searching for something. A middle-aged man, covered in blood, lay on the side, his hands still bound by ropes despite his condition. As soon as the woman saw the bloodied man, she rushed in and embraced him. The men rummaging through the store turned around just in time to see the woman hugging Qu Pu. "Thought you could escape and dared to return..." A long-haired man sneered as he moved to grab the woman, acting as if he hadn't seen the few City Patrol Guards. The three City Patrol Guards retreated in alarm, but they soon noticed Yan Mei, who was standing aside, doing nothing. Yan Mei didn't just do nothing; he watched them mockingly. The three City Patrol Guards shuddered with fear, certain that if they didn't handle this matter now, they might be fine for the moment. However, if they didn't act, they definitely wouldn't escape their captain's wrath later. Wait for someone higher up to take their side? They'd be dead and cold by then. Moreover, they didn't believe that their deaths as mere guards would prompt the City Lord Mansion to intervene. "Stop." A City Patrol Guard finally overcame his fear and charged forward. Calling for a halt might still offer him a chance to survive. "Now, running away would only work if he left West Wind City, otherwise he'd definitely get his neck chopped off by that merciless captain." Escaping West Wind City would be tantamount to choosing death. Seeing teammates stepping forward to ask the others to stop, the two other City Patrol Guards didn't continue to back off; instead, filled with fear, they took two steps forward. "Hey, City Patrol Guards? Lately, not many of you have come to seek death—what's the matter today? Chewed too much on Joy Sticks? Daring to trouble the Iron Power Alliance?" "Don't you remember last year my Iron Power Alliance killed seven of your City Patrol Guards? You think that was too few?" The long-haired man grabbed the woman by the hair and dragged her in front of the three City Patrol Guards, his tone filled with mockery. "So arrogant, to be so brazen in front of us City Patrol Guards." Yan Mei hadn't expected these cowardly City Patrol Guards to actually dare to step forward. "Deputy captain, hurry and call the captain..." The first City Patrol Guard who had called for a stop didn't dare to make a move, and after seeing the long-haired man dragging the woman over, retreated several steps anxiously. During his retreat, he kept pleading with Yan Mei to call for help. Yan Mei didn't call Ding Huan but turned to Lao Liu instead: "Lao Liu, what do you think we should do?" Knowing Brother Huan as he did, he was certain Brother Huan had sent Lao Liu here with a purpose. Lao Liu didn't even answer Yan Mei, it just opened its mouth and shot out several Water Arrows. "Spurt! Spurt!..." Four Iron Power Alliance members had blood beams burst from their foreheads, and fell down unbelievingly as they looked at Lao Liu. The only thing on their minds was, how could such a formidable Demon Beast come here with the City Patrol to kill people? Lao Liu disdainfully glanced at Yan Mei without saying a word. The implication was clear, what to do? Naturally, just kill them and be done with it. Following Brother Huan, and still asking what to do about such a trivial matter? "Deputy captain..." The three City Patrol Guards were terrified, not having seen that it was Lao Liu who had struck; they all thought it was Yan Mei instead. "Dispose of these bodies," Yan Mei said indifferently. "Yes," the three City Patrol Guards quickly followed the order, and went to deal with the bodies. Dealing with the bodies meant stripping them of their belongings; the bodies themselves were left piled on the side of the street. Shengdao Street was still bustling, and as Lao Liu killed the four members of the Iron Power Alliance, all four had been inside their shops and hadn't come out. Not many people saw that four members of the Iron Power Alliance had been killed. "Thank you, thank you, Captain..." The woman, after being freed, first knelt before Yan Mei, then quickly went to check on her husband, Qu Pu. The bodies of the four Iron Power Alliance members were dumped on the main street, and only then did people on the street realize what had happened. When they found out that it was Iron Power Alliance members who had been killed by the City Patrol, the whole street erupted. The City Patrol was usually fair game for everyone, completely unregulated. Since when could the City Patrol kill members of the Iron Power Alliance? In this area, aside from Alliance Leader Pan Qi, Iron Power Alliance and East City Association were kings. If Iron Power Alliance smashed a shop here, they most certainly had given Crystal Stones to Pan Qi first. Since they had given Crystal Stones, smashing a shop was legal, and if people legally smashing shops were killed, once Alliance Leader Pan returned, many would die. The crowd began retreating, the frequent murderers and robbers of Shengdao Street watched the City Patrol coldly. Previously, the City Patrol had also killed some alliance or gang members, but mostly they would be dead within a couple of hours. Don't think that just because Iron Power Alliance was outside the city, as soon as they received the news, they would come to the city to kill, no need for Alliance Leader Pan to make a move. And surely, Iron Power Alliance had already received the news. On the diagonal from where the four Iron Power Alliance members were killed was a grocery store with a unique name, Unique Grocery. At this moment, a woman stood at the entrance of the shop, watching the scene unfold before her, shook her head in disbelief: "This City Patrol really doesn't know whether they're alive or dead, knowing they will surely die, yet still dare to kill Iron Power Alliance members. Uncle Seven, when the Iron Power Alliance people come, should we lend a hand?" What she meant by lending a hand was not to help the City Patrol, but to help the Iron Power Alliance. In fact, to say lending a hand was pretense; did Iron Power Alliance need help to kill a few City Patrol Guards? To say lending a hand meant when Iron Power Alliance people came, they would shout in support to gain favor from Iron Power Alliance. The man she called Uncle Seven, an old man with white hair and beard, glanced at the woman beside him and snorted: "Have you just seen these three useless City Patrol for the first time? Ever seen them come out before? Don't they always come out with their heads low to clean up bodies? Can they really dare to kill Iron Power Alliance members?" "Uncle Seven, what do you mean?" "Obviously, it was the newcomer who made the move, that young man must have just joined the City Patrol, a newbie calf. If he could kill four Iron Power Alliance members at once, naturally he has some skills. Don't get involved in this matter until there's a result. Besides, if he knew they were Iron Power Alliance and still dared to kill, it won't end here." The old man stroked his beard, calmly speaking. Indeed, no sooner had the old man finished speaking than everyone saw a young man stepping into the middle of the street. Yan Mei was not like Lao Liu who only knew how to fight; he was well aware of why Ding Huan had sent him, so right after Lao Liu killed the four Iron Power Alliance members, he stepped into everyone's sight: "Everyone, starting today, the new captain of the City Patrol is Ding Huan, and I, Yan Mei, am the deputy captain. From now on, the entire West Wind City will strictly enforce the laws of Blazing Star Lord Country, and anyone who dares to break the law will be killed without mercy." The crowd suddenly became lively. When had the City Patrol become so powerful? Was this because they thought dying was too simple, or because they thought dying was too slow?