Sun Manor.

County Magistrate Sun Yuan sat upright in the seat of honor, a cup of steaming tea beside him. The room was silent. He frowned slightly, feeling a little worried.

The men he sent out had not returned even now, which meant something must have happened to them.

Thinking like this, he felt even more uneasy and harbored some resentment towards Zhang Hefeng. If he hadn't insisted on reporting the matter, how would the Sky Patrol Envoy have come to this remote and poor Qing Shui County?

He decided that once Chen Yuan left, he would take some measures against Zhang Hefeng, forcing him to leave Qing Shui County. He couldn't allow anything beyond his control to happen here.

This thought flashed by, and Sun Yuan couldn't help but turn his attention back to Red Sun Mountain. It absolutely couldn't be exposed, or his official hat wouldn't be safe.

He had sold that piece of land to a wealthy merchant from the prefectural city for a mere penny. At that time, the merchant had praised him for a long time, feeling that everything in Qing Shui County was under control.

Nothing would happen. With the protection of that high-ranking official from the prefectural city, news of the Red Sun Stone mine wouldn't reach the prefectural city at all.

It was just a pity that Chen Yuan had somehow learned about Red Sun Mountain.

At first, Sun Yuan hadn't reacted, but being able to sit in the position of county magistrate meant he wasn't a fool. Soon after Chen Yuan left, he noticed something fishy.

Why did those bandits suddenly cause a ruckus on Red Sun Mountain and then leave, barely getting any benefits? And the timing of Chen Yuan's arrival was too coincidental.

As soon as the news came back, Chen Yuan immediately wanted to search.

It was clear that he had known about the situation on Red Sun Mountain for a long time, and was just looking for an excuse. And within the Qing Shui County Yamen, the only person who could have contact with Chen Yuan and also have knowledge of Red Sun Mountain was Zhang Hefeng.

Sun Yuan felt that this was completely Zhang Hefeng's scheme, just to get the Sky Patrol Envoy to intervene.

But after figuring this out, Sun Yuan didn't have any good solutions. That Chen Yuan didn't seem to respect him much, and insisted on investigating Red Sun Mountain.

After thinking it over, he decided to send his trusted subordinates to Red Sun Mountain to persuade Cheng Tao, preferably by showing weakness first, and then devising other strategies after Chen Yuan left.

At worst, he could act from the prefectural yamen, exert pressure on Chen Yuan, and entice him with benefits. As long as he didn't make the matter public, everything would be fine…

"Master, master…"

Just as Sun Yuan was deep in thought, a servant from Sun Manor rushed in anxiously, with a look of unease on his face.

"What happened?"

Sun Yuan had a vague feeling that something was wrong, and put the teacup in his hand on the table.

"Sun Hai is back."

The servant said quickly.

"Back?" Sun Yuan was startled, then overjoyed. Sun Hai was the trusted subordinate he had sent to Red Sun Mountain, and had even been granted the Sun surname.

He was considered quite loyal.

He had been a little worried before, but now that he was back, everything should be fine.

Seeing the unease on the servant's face, Sun Yuan frowned:

"Let him come in quickly."

"Master… Sun Hai has blood on him."

Sun Yuan's body stiffened, and he said in a low voice:

"Let him in."

"Yes."

Soon, Sun Hai, covered in blood, was brought in. The blood on him was all from the foremen who had been killed by Chen Yuan's men. That's right, under the orders of a certain Sky Patrol Guard, Sun Hai had also killed people.

"Master."

When Sun Hai saw Sun Yuan, he quickly lowered his head and bowed.

"Why are you back so late?" Sun Yuan's face was very calm.

"Reporting to Master, this humble servant was detained by that Sky Patrol Envoy Chen…"

"Hmm?"

"When this humble servant arrived at Red Sun Mountain…"

Sun Hai swallowed, and told everything that had happened today in detail.

After listening, Sun Yuan clenched and unclenched his fist, staring straight into Sun Hai's eyes and saying coldly:

"Then why are you back?"

"It… it was Patrol Envoy Chen who sent this humble servant to persuade Master to surrender." Sun Hai quickly knelt on the ground, lowering his voice as he spoke.

"What!"

Sun Yuan slammed his hand heavily on the table:

"Sun is an official of the imperial court. How dare Chen Yuan use the word 'surrender'?"

He felt insulted. No matter what, he was still a local official, a seventh-rank county magistrate. Did Chen Yuan really dare to take action?

"Master, Patrol Envoy Chen told me to tell you that Magistrate Zhang has all your crimes. If you know what's good for you, surrender as soon as possible… You… you also know that the Sky Patrol Envoy has the right to execute first and report later."

Sun Hai stammered as he repeated Chen Yuan's words.

"Outrageous!"

Sun Yuan stood up immediately, preparing to order people to summon the manor guards and order the county yamen constables to come and protect him immediately. It was true that the Sky Patrol Envoy had the right to execute first and report later, but he did not have the right to directly dismiss his position as county magistrate.

Even if he had evidence of his crimes, he was still the Qing Shui County Magistrate.

"You… quickly go to the county yamen…"

Before Sun Yuan could finish speaking, he saw the bitter expression on Sun Hai's face and frowned:

"What do you want to say?"

After hesitating for a moment, Sun Hai pointed outside and said in a low voice:

"Master, give it up. The Sky Patrol Envoy's people are everywhere outside!"

Sun Yuan's pupils shrank, and he took a deep breath. Then, as if all the strength in his body had been exhausted, he collapsed directly onto the chair. The Sky Patrol Envoy's people were everywhere outside.

His men couldn't break through at all.

Moreover, Zhang Hefeng must have intervened, otherwise the few people Chen Yuan brought wouldn't be enough to surround Sun Manor.

No one within Sun Manor could resist a Coagulating Core martial artist.

Drinking all the water in the teacup on the table, Sun Yuan said in a low voice:

"Take me to see Chen Yuan."

......

......

Accepting his fate, Sun Yuan lost the confidence to resist. Under Sun Hai's lead, he walked out of the manor. As soon as he went out, he saw dozens of people surrounding Sun Manor.

He didn't like living in the county yamen, so he had built a large mansion outside. But this also made him more dangerous. At least if he lived in the county yamen, ordinary people wouldn't dare to besiege it.

Sun Yuan's eyes swept over the people one by one. Most of them were constables from Qing Shui County. Except for the few people from the Sky Patrol Envoy, no one dared to meet his gaze.

He was almost escorted to the inn where Chen Yuan was staying.

In fact, Chen Yuan's original intention was to directly arrest Sun Yuan to save time, but Zhang Hefeng felt that it was inappropriate. No matter what, Sun Yuan was still an official of the imperial court.

Without the order of the prefectural governor, taking action against a seventh-rank county magistrate was a serious crime. Although Chen Yuan had the right to execute first and report later, it was best not to use this right if possible.

Moreover, if they wanted to control the Red Sun Stone mine, they couldn't make too much of a fuss.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be suppressed at all, and swallowing the Red Sun Stone mine would be even more absurd.

When Sun Yuan was brought to the inn, Chen Yuan was talking and laughing with Zhang Hefeng. Seeing Sun Yuan's pale face, Zhang Hefeng stood up and waved his hand with a smile:

"How can you treat County Magistrate Sun like this? Step back first…"

Sun Yuan didn't have much cultivation, and with him and Chen Yuan here, he couldn't cause any trouble.

The people from the Qing Shui County Yamen turned to leave, but Mo Donghe and the others stood still as if they hadn't heard, seemingly ignoring Zhang Hefeng's words.

This made his face a little ugly, but he didn't dare to say anything.

He had no choice but to turn his gaze to Chen Yuan: "Brother Chen?"

"Step back first."

Chen Yuan waved his hand and ordered.

Only then did Mo Donghe and the others turn to leave.

"County Magistrate Sun, have a seat."

Chen Yuan looked at Sun Yuan without changing his expression, pointing to the chair next to him.

"Magistrate Zhang has good methods, actually using Patrol Envoy Chen's hand to attack this official…" Sun Yuan looked at Zhang Hefeng with a sneer and sat down directly, ignoring his expression.

"County Magistrate Sun, what are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean?" Zhang Hefeng smiled and didn't admit it.

But in this situation, admitting it or not didn't matter anymore.

"Does Patrol Envoy Chen really want to take action against this official?" Sun Yuan looked directly at Chen Yuan: "As long as Patrol Envoy Chen stops now, Sun can treat today as if it never happened."

"Do you think it's still necessary to say this now? The only reason I'm willing to see you this time is to ask you one question." Chen Yuan's expression remained unchanged, and his indifferent gaze lingered on Sun Yuan for a moment.

"What question?"

"Who is the person behind you?"

"Do you think I'll tell you?"

"Do you think I won't be able to find out if you don't tell me?"

"You…" Sun Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

"County Magistrate Sun, you won't be able to survive, but your family is still alive. Think carefully… otherwise, a group of bandits might break into Sun Manor tonight."

"And your family members in the prefectural city… if you want to protect them, then be honest. Don't worry, Chen is just giving them a warning. As long as you don't pursue the matter, everyone will naturally be at peace."

Chen Yuan's fingers tapped on the table, rhythmically and regularly, as if each tap hit Sun Yuan's heart, making him feel a little flustered.

After a long silence, perhaps sensing that Chen Yuan's words were true, Sun Yuan let out a long breath:

"It's the current Prefectural Vice-Magistrate!"

A look of understanding flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes. The only people who could be Sun Yuan's backer were those few, including this Prefectural Vice-Magistrate… Afterwards, Chen Yuan obtained some evidence of the Prefectural Vice-Magistrate's crimes from him.

With this thing, that person wouldn't dare to take action, and might even cooperate with him a few times.

Sun Yuan confessed a lot, from how they initially discovered that the abandoned mine had Red Sun Stones again, to how they transported those things away, all of which were recorded in detail.

In exchange, Sun Yuan also made Zhang Hefeng and Chen Yuan guarantee that they wouldn't harm his family.

After resolving Sun Yuan's matter, Zhang Hefeng bid farewell. He wanted to seize power before the next Qing Shui County Magistrate took office, while Sun Yuan was imprisoned in the Qing Shui County Jail, waiting for someone to come and deal with him after Chen Yuan returned to the prefectural city to report.

Early the next morning, Chen Yuan and his party set out on the road back to the prefectural city. The two boys, Gui Jin and Gui Huo, had already been released by Chen Yuan not long after he subdued them, preparing to let them return to the prefectural city first.

The first was to control the other two ghost children, and the second was to investigate the Azure Flood Dragon Society more thoroughly….

Zhang Hefeng didn't come out of the city to see them off. Chen Yuan didn't want to make a big show either. It was good to keep a low profile.

————

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