Chapter 357: Robbery and Murder

At these words, the surroundings erupted in an uproar, and people began whispering to each other. They never expected to encounter such a situation.

Many timid people immediately fled. Others, relying on their strong backgrounds or confident in their cultivation, decided to stay and observe the unfolding situation.

The black market staff members' expressions changed drastically, and many guards discreetly surrounded them.

The auction hostess subtly shook her head at her colleagues, then hastily forced a smile and approached Sang Qian. "Sir," she said, "is there some misunderstanding? All our activities here have been reported to the authorities."

As she spoke, she slipped a stack of banknotes into his arms.

For the black market to have thrived in Bright Moon City for so many years, it was impossible for it not to maintain good relations with the authorities. Even tonight's auction had been arranged and reported to the relevant departments, though certainly under a different guise.

Sang Qian pushed her away abruptly. "Don't try that with me!" he commanded. "Search them!"

"Yes, sir!" His subordinates immediately charged towards the backstage like hungry wolves. The items previously auctioned had already been delivered; only the salt certificates remained.

Qin Wanru was somewhat puzzled. She whispered, "Didn't you say he wouldn't come in such a grand manner? What is this, then?"

Zu An pointed to their clothes. "Didn't you notice?" he said. "They're not wearing official uniforms this time; they're all in plain clothes. And they claimed to have received a public report about contraband here, without mentioning 'salt certificates' at all. Clearly, they want to handle this quietly."

The hostess on stage looked troubled. "General Sang," she said, "isn't this perhaps a bit out of line?"

For someone in her line of work, familiarity with the city's powerful and influential figures was a basic requirement. Given Sang Qian's father's position and his own, he was a well-known figure in the city, so it was not at all surprising that she recognized him.

"What's out of line?" Sang Qian said, maintaining a businesslike demeanor. "We are inherently responsible for apprehending criminals. If your items are all legitimate, then you have nothing to worry about. We will never wrongly accuse an innocent person, but we will also never let a single wrongdoer go."

The black market crowd looked indignant. Several of them were restless and wanted to charge forward, but were held back by their companions.

Seeing that Sang Qian and his group were serious, the black market side also seemed resigned. The other spectators finally couldn't stand it anymore and started leaving one after another.

Zu An, however, pulled Qin Wanru. "Let's go!" he said.

"Just like that?" Qin Wanru looked bewildered, even forgetting to scold him for rudely pulling her hand.

"If we leave with the crowd now, no one will notice us; staying here would be too conspicuous," Zu An explained. "Besides, both sides clearly won't clash in this location."

Qin Wanru was startled. "You think the black market people would dare to act against Sang Qian?"

"They wouldn't dare openly, but secretly, it's hard to say." Zu An recalled Qiu Honglei's solemn warning to him, knowing that the forces behind her would absolutely not stand by and let such a huge loss occur.

Firstly, these salt certificates were worth several million taels. Secondly, Sang Qian had broken the rules.

If the black market didn't intervene, their reputation would be completely ruined in the future.

To some extent, this credibility was even more important than several million taels of silver.

It's a pity Sang Qian didn't know this. From Qin Wanru's tone just now, it was clear that in the eyes of Bright Moon City's influential figures, they only considered the black market an insignificant force, easily bullied.

How could they have known that a colossal power was hidden behind the other party?

Alas, this was the disadvantage of information asymmetry.

Zu An led Qin Wanru out of the courtyard, but they didn't go far. Instead, they hid in a large tree nearby.

Although Qin Wanru was somewhat skeptical of his judgment, seeing him speak with such certainty, she subconsciously believed him a little.

As the two hid in the tree, Qin Wanru's eyes suddenly narrowed. She had seen the very ruffians who had just harassed her, including Ji Wuli.

"Damn it, I didn't expect the officials to show up," one of them grumbled. "I was still planning to go find that girl."

"Isn't it strange?" another one added. "At first, I thought that girl was ugly, but now that I think back, she gets more appealing the more I recall her. My heart is itching for her."

"Heh heh, with that perky butt and those full breasts," a third one snickered, "who needs to look at her face?"

"That woman is like a ripe peach, fresh and juicy," another chimed in. "Getting with her would definitely be heavenly. I'm even a little envious of the man next to her; he lives like a god every day."

Zu An felt somewhat awkward listening. These guys were full of vulgarities; they were truly courting death to a certain extent. It was a pity he didn't have any long-range attack methods, so he couldn't stop them from spouting nonsense.

Qin Wanru, standing by, was already pale with anger. She casually plucked a few leaves and flicked them with her fingers; the leaves shot out in the darkness, leaving trails of green light.

Zu An watched, both astonished and admiring. As expected of a powerful expert with Sixth-rank cultivation, such a graceful move was something he could never achieve.

"Ouch, my butt!"

"Who hit me?!"

"My back!"

"Damn it, who slapped me? I lost a few more teeth!"

The men cursed repeatedly, cautiously looking around, but found nothing.

"There aren't any ghosts, are there?"

"Now that you mention it, I feel a chill down my spine."

"Let's go, let's go!"

Seeing the men leave in a panic, Zu An was somewhat surprised. "You didn't kill them, my lady?" he asked.

"Do you think I'm such a vicious woman?" Qin Wanru huffed in annoyance. "Although these guys are despicable, their crimes aren't punishable by death. A good lesson is enough."

Zu An couldn't help but laugh. "I didn't expect you to truly have a sharp tongue but a kind heart, my lady."

Qin Wanru's face flushed slightly. "Shut up. They're coming out," she said.

Zu An peered through the gaps in the leaves. Sure enough, he saw Sang Qian and his group emerging. In the middle of their group was now a carriage carrying several large boxes, which were clearly the salt certificates.

"Strange, they didn't arrest anyone," Qin Wanru remarked. Being of higher cultivation and having better eyesight, she quickly got a clear view of their procession.

"Sang Qian probably doesn't want to blow this out of proportion," Zu An analyzed. "This move is clearly meant to tell the black market, 'We won't touch your people, but he wants this batch of goods.' He's forcing them to accept their loss."

Qin Wanru couldn't help but glance at him again. This guy's mind was agile when analyzing problems; how was this like the silly ruffian she once thought he was?

*Humph,* she thought. *His previous demeanor was probably all an act. How dare he deceive me!*

Rage points from Qin Wanru +379!

Zu An was startled. Why was she suddenly getting angry for no reason?

"Come on, let's follow them!" Having been pulled by him all this time, Qin Wanru was a bit annoyed. So this time, she decided to take the initiative, simply grabbing his collar and quietly following.

After all, this was within the city. Although it was a bit remote, there were houses and structures everywhere along the road, making it easy to find cover. Thus, even carrying a person, she wasn't noticed by others.

Only Zu An looked depressed. Being carried like a chick, he thought, *Don't I have any dignity?*

Qin Wanru began to weigh her options. Sang Qian was only a fifth-rank official; even with a group of subordinates, she wasn't without a chance to snatch the salt certificates.

Moreover, she had Zu An as a helper.

The only trouble was those large boxes; they probably wouldn't be easy to take away.

Sensing her eagerness, Zu An quickly said, "Don't rush, someone else will go."

As if to confirm his words, just as he finished speaking, many arrows suddenly shot out from the boxes ahead.

Although Sang Qian immediately drew his saber to block, many arrows still broke through his defense, killing many of his subordinates behind him.

Immediately after, a group of black-clad figures with gleaming blades leaped out from the houses on both sides and charged directly towards them.

Sang Qian was both shocked and enraged. "Who are you people?" he shouted. "Do you know that ambushing and killing imperial officials is a capital crime punishable by the extermination of your entire clan!"

The black-clad figures remained silent. They merely continued to hack at everyone with their blades, every strike aiming for vital points.

In just a moment, all of Sang Qian's subordinates were wounded.

Several had even died.

Qin Wanru's expression subtly changed. "Where did these black-clad figures come from?" she exclaimed. "Their individual cultivation levels are even higher than those of the Red Robe Army!"