“Foreclosing on my city?!”
Sitting amidst the wreckage of his split palanquin, City Lord Cao Kun (Goodness: -42) clutched the shaved left side of his upper lip and let out a shrill, panicked laugh.
Even so, his eyes darted venomously toward the elderly, silver-bearded man standing behind Shen Qiaoqiao—Guildmaster Bai (Goodness: 86), head of the local White-Deer Merchant Guild.
“How did this old bastard escape my dungeon?!” Cao Kun snarled, scrambling to his feet and pointing a trembling finger at Shen Qiaoqiao. “Don’t listen to this lower-realm witch’s nonsense! I am an Imperial City Lord holding a third-grade mandate from the Nine-Prefecture Immortal Court! Even if you beat my guards, seizing an Imperial City Charter by force is open rebellion! The Eastern Prefecture Governor will send an army to flatten this street!”
In the surrounding crowd, several local merchants whispered nervously. After all, for three hundred years, the Imperial City Lord’s seal had been the highest law in Azure-Mist Border City.
Inside the bazaar doorway, Lin Mo crossed one leg over the other and tapped the armrest of his folding chair.
“Attorney Shen,” Lin Mo said mildly, “City Lord Cao says we’re rebelling. Did you forget to bring the paperwork?”
