Jiang Chen settled into his seat with a relaxed air and smiled at Huang'er. "No need for us to get involved. Someone else will cause them trouble."
Huang'er nodded. "I just hope it isn't aimed at us."
Her concern wasn't without reason. After all, one should never show off their wealth. They had displayed so many ancient jades today — it was entirely possible they had attracted attention.
The so-called Blue Hawk Guard might not be as noble and righteous as they claimed. There were plenty of shady dealings they were more than capable of pulling off.
Jiang Chen, for his part, was utterly unfazed.
It would be best if the Blue Hawk Guard didn't cross him. But if they did, Jiang Chen certainly wouldn't hold back. He had been in an irritable mood these past few days, busy collecting Ling Shi.
If the Blue Hawk Guard were foolish enough to go looking for trouble, Jiang Chen wouldn't hesitate to teach them a lesson.
Outside, things had already descended into chaos.
Numerous cultivators were cursing and swearing at the Blue Hawk Guard, protesting their actions.
However, that did nothing to dampen the Blue Hawk Guard's determination to enforce their authority.
Before long, several out-of-town cultivators had been beaten half to death by the Blue Hawk Guard, howling and screaming until they had no choice but to cooperate with the investigation.
This only escalated the conflict further.
Hearing about the Blue Hawk Guard's heavy-handedness, many cultivators grew indignant. They poured out of their rooms and into the open, voicing their support for those who had been beaten.
The atmosphere of defiance continued to simmer.
More and more cultivators streamed out of their rooms, spontaneously forming temporary alliances to stand against the Blue Hawk Guard.
This scene actually caught Jiang Chen somewhat by surprise. He hadn't expected that the cultivators staying in this inn would have such backbone, daring to stand up to the Blue Hawk Guard.
After all, the Blue Hawk Guard held absolute authority in the Blue Smoke Island Domain. Virtually no one dared to defy them. Most of these cultivators were independent rogue cultivators, and quite a few had come from distant places.
They had absolutely no foothold here, and confronting the Blue Hawk Guard was an exceedingly unwise move.
Yet still, more and more cultivators kept stepping forward, forming temporary coalitions and facing off against the Blue Hawk Guard.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jiang Chen's door was being pounded.
Jiang Chen's brow furrowed. Had the Blue Hawk Guard really grown so blind that they were coming after him?
He opened the door, his gaze cold as he stared at whoever stood outside. To his surprise —
The ones knocking were not the Blue Hawk Guard. They weren't the uniformed, aggressive cultivators he had expected either. Instead, they were several rogue cultivators.
One of them cupped his fists in a salute. "Brother, sorry to bother you. The Blue Hawk Guard are pushing us too far, bullying us out-of-town rogues. This isn't even the first time they've staged a midnight raid. Every time, it's chaos. We can't just let them trample all over us. Everyone's getting ready to go out and protest — Brother, surely you don't intend to stay out of it?"
Jiang Chen gave a mild smile. "I just arrived and don't fully understand the situation yet. The Blue Hawk Guard are conducting an investigation and arresting wanted criminals — is there something wrong with that?"
"Something wrong? Do you have any idea how many innocent people they've dragged into this lately? How many cold cases with no leads they've pinched people on?"
Jiang Chen shook his head. "I don't."
"Brother, let me put it this way — the Blue Hawk Guard say they're after wanted criminals, but in truth, nobody knows who they're actually after. If you're carrying a large amount of valuables, I'd suggest you keep your guard up. If they find it on you, you're in for a world of trouble."
"What do my belongings have to do with them?" Jiang Chen looked genuinely taken aback.
"Heh. If they say it has to do with them, then it does. Don't forget — this is the Blue Smoke Island Domain, not your home. Your word doesn't count here. Only theirs does."