“Miss, please don’t be impulsive, absolutely don’t be impulsive. I’m the one acting recklessly, I’m the one acting recklessly.” The shopkeeper slapped himself hard on both sides of his face. Soon, a faint odor of urine wafted over.

“The smell is unpleasant. Let’s go outside.” Shao Mingyuan said with a smile.

Everyone walked past the shopkeeper one by one, not even sparing him a glance.

Outside the tavern, government soldiers had indeed surrounded the area. Each held a long sword, the blades reflecting cold light in the sunlight, chilling to the bone.

“Are you the villains who killed the former town magistrate of Haimen Ferry?” the lead constable demanded.

Yang Houcheng strode forward and said coldly, “We are righteous warriors who eliminated the Japanese pirates who came to plunder the people of Haimen Ferry.”

“Righteous warriors?” The lead constable pointed his sword tip directly at Yang Houcheng. “Stop talking nonsense. You only need to say whether you killed the former town magistrate or not!”

The townspeople gathered at a distance to watch the excitement. Hearing the constable’s question, someone shouted, “It was them!”

Soon others echoed, “That’s right, it was them!”

Someone felt compassion and said quietly, “They did kill those Japanese pirates after all—”

“So what? When we knelt and begged them to stay, they ignored us completely. We were just lucky that the accomplices seeking revenge for those Japanese pirates didn’t come; otherwise, could we still be standing here talking?”

With this said, the anxious voices in the crowd immediately disappeared.

Upon hearing the townspeople’s confirmation, the lead constable immediately pulled out his badge and held it up to Qiao Zhao and the others, declaring loudly, “I am a constable from Haimen County, ordered to arrest the murderers who killed the former town magistrate of Haimen Ferry. Surrender yourselves!”

“A Haimen County constable?” Chi Can raised his eyebrows and patted his chest. “I’m so scared!”

The lead constable was stunned for a moment after noticing Chi Can, then cleared his throat. “Stop your smooth talk!”

Chi Can withdrew his gaze and said to Yang Houcheng, “Stop wasting words with them.”

Yang Houcheng reached into his coat, pulled out a token, and held it up to the lead constable’s face, saying coldly, “Open your dog eyes and see what this is!”

The palm-sized token had a gold border around the edge. The lead constable’s eyes widened suddenly as he gasped, “This is—”

“We are Imperial Guards, ordered to conduct business in the South Sea. Now our mission is complete, and we’re preparing to return. What, does your county magistrate want to obstruct us?”

“No, we wouldn’t dare…” The lead constable’s eyes darted around as he smiled. “Since the Imperial Guard officials have come from afar, please move to the county office so our county magistrate can properly entertain you distinguished guests.”

He was just a small constable who had never seen an Imperial Guard token. Who knew if it was real or fake?

If it were real, he couldn’t afford to offend them. If it was fake, he couldn’t explain letting them go just like that. So he’d better let the county magistrate have the headache.

“Entertain? You mean let your county magistrate verify the authenticity, right?” Chi Can asked with a mocking smile.

The lead constable chuckled.

He was now somewhat convinced these people were from the capital. Just look at this young master—with his temperament, he’d be beaten to death in the blink of an eye, and with his looks, he’d be captured by Japanese pirates within a cup of tea’s time. If he were an ordinary person, how could he have survived until now?

“Have your county magistrate come here to entertain us.” Shao Mingyuan spoke at this moment.

The lead constable was startled and couldn’t help but look at the speaker.

The man before him was very tall, wearing a fitted black robe that accentuated his robust figure. His eyes and brows were cold as frost and snow, making people afraid to meet those deep black eyes.

The lead constable instinctively averted his gaze.

Shao Mingyuan said calmly, “We have many people, so it’s inconvenient to go over. If your county magistrate is willing, he can come here for a drink.”

The tall, well-built man turned back to glance at the tavern’s name and smiled faintly. “I’ve tasted this tavern’s wine, and it’s quite good.”

“This—” The lead constable hesitated.

If he just ran back and told the county magistrate to come to Haimen Ferry, the magistrate would scold him to death.

“Sir, you don’t understand. The restaurants in our county seat are much better than this small tavern. It would be better to drink there.”

Shao Mingyuan smiled faintly. “If we only wanted good restaurants, why not return to the capital to drink? Little brother, you don’t know—we want to drink at this tavern naturally because it has unique qualities.”

“What unique qualities?” The lead constable was confused and asked instinctively.

What unique qualities could this small, broken tavern have? How did he not know?

“Hehe.” Shao Mingyuan chuckled and looked at the lead constable meaningfully. “The scenery here is unique—Japanese pirates appear at any time for us to practice on.”

He spoke these words with a calm expression, but the lead constable’s heart went cold.

Right, how could he forget? This group not only killed the former town magistrate of Haimen Ferry but also eliminated a group of Japanese pirates.

Given those pirates’ fighting ability—

The lead constable couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.

Even if he doubled the men he brought, they couldn’t defeat those Japanese pirates. Facing these people would be like lighting a lamp in a latrine—seeking death!

“Little brother?” Shao Mingyuan called out with a smile.

The lead constable came to his senses and laughed dryly. “In that case, please wait here for a moment. This humble official will go report to our superior.”

After speaking, the lead constable coughed and ordered, “You two stay behind to properly attend to these officials. The rest, follow me.”

After walking several dozen zhang, someone asked quietly, “Boss, we’re just leaving like this? Only leaving two people—aren’t you afraid they’ll run away?”

The lead constable slapped the man. “Are you stupid? Those people kill Japanese pirates like chopping cabbage. Is there a difference between leaving two people or leaving a whole group? If they run away, that’s our luck!”

“What about Haizi and the others who stayed behind—”

The lead constable sneered coldly. “Those two blind fools—I’ve wanted to teach them a lesson for a long time.”

His subordinates’ hearts went cold upon hearing this.

The lead constable looked around at everyone and said coldly, “Let’s be clear—at the county magistrate’s place, don’t say a single word you shouldn’t. Whoever talks, I’ll take good care of them later.”

“Boss, don’t worry. We understand. You’re doing this for our good.”

The group of constables gradually departed.

Yang Houcheng stroked his chin and asked, “Tingquan, do you think the Haimen County magistrate will come?”

Shao Mingyuan turned and walked back into the tavern, returning to the private room to sit down again. He smiled and said, “Most likely he will. Haimen Ferry is a necessary passage for us to go to sea. After what happened in Jia Feng, I don’t believe Xing Wuyang has any precautions. That Haimen County magistrate probably already knows our identities.”

“Then why did the constables he sent act like they knew nothing?”

“Just testing our attitude—to see whether we’d openly admit it or be evasive. Learning that we’re immediately returning, the Haimen County magistrate is probably very satisfied with this answer, so he’ll most likely come.”

After Shao Mingyuan finished speaking, he picked up the now-cold tea and brought it to his lips. Just as he was about to drink, a pale hand reached across to stop him.