As Su Yibo scanned the crowd, the City Lord showed a hint of displeasure: "Even if you're going to intimidate the common people, don't be so blatant about it in front of me."
The City Lord didn't display any expression of dissatisfaction, as Su Yibo's father held a much higher official position than him. The City Lord also had backing, but that was the backing of the City Lord's office, not the City Lord himself, whereas Su Yibo's backing was his father.
Therefore, giving Su Yibo some Face was unavoidable.
Su Yibo's actions in Haoyue City could be described as causing widespread public resentment, and sometimes the City Lord felt unhappy about it: "He does so many bad things, and he does them so ruthlessly.
This is my jurisdiction; isn't he going too far? Does he consider my Face as the City Lord? The other three Families combined don't cause as much trouble as your Su Family..."
The City Lord was the true administrator of Haoyue City, and maintaining peace and order was something that had to be done on the surface.
He couldn't control the affairs of the four great Families, but bad deeds couldn't be done too excessively or too egregiously.
This principle concerned the City Lord's own Face and his record of maintaining public order.
To put it more realistically: "It's so cold today, and you've dragged everyone out, and that's one thing, but you, Su Gou, have also called out this Lord.
Normally, you, this dog, bite people everywhere, and that's one thing, but this time you're dragging me into it."
The City Lord began to curse this time, thinking, "He hasn't given this Lord much benefit, and now he's slapping my Face."
The City Lord tightened his snow-proof padded jacket and glanced at Su Gou.
There is also a common phenomenon in the world: when one villain is punished, other villains will become more restrained, and society will thus achieve peace.
What's more, this was the most evil beast in Haoyue City; if someone came to deal with him, other villains would be scared, fewer villains would come out to do bad things, society would become harmonious, and the common people would be happier.
It's just that this person hasn't appeared yet...
Since Su Yibo spoke in such a way, Father Lin couldn't argue too strongly.
He stood tall and said with a raised head: "I, Lin, dare not claim to be a great good person or a great philanthropist, but at least I conduct myself properly.
I would never dare to commit crimes like illegally possessing prohibited items.
Please provide evidence; I, Lin, dare not accept such a charge."
"Evidence? Haha, Yin Cui is the witness.
She has already confirmed before the City Lord that she indeed saw them.
Oh? Where is your precious son, Lin Han? Is he hiding at home, too afraid to come out? This is the behavior of a guilty party.
Alright, bring Yin Cui out for me!" Su Yibo first laughed, then accused in a very loud tone.
A person emerged from the carriage behind: Yin Cui.
She slowly came before the City Lord, raised her hand, bowed, and said to the City Lord: "What this commoner said is not false.
I indeed saw those prohibited items in the Lin Family; I can confirm it."
Yin Cui's expression was firm, and she didn't even glance at Father Lin throughout the entire process.
"Yin Cui, why would you say such a thing? When did our Family ever have prohibited items? Our Lin Family has always treated you very well."
Although Father Lin knew that Yin Cui must have been forced by the devil Su Yibo, he still directly refuted her for the sake of the Lin Family's reputation.
Yin Cui merely lowered her head slightly, her left hand supporting her right wrist, which was the proper etiquette for a woman in front of the crowd and the City Lord.
It wasn't because she was embarrassed by Father Lin's words that she lowered her head.
On the contrary, Yin Cui not only didn't look at Father Lin, but her expression also showed no change, as if she hadn't heard Father Lin's words at all, ignoring Lin Chendong.
"Shut up! Is Yin Cui a name you can call? You should call her Young Miss Yin Cui, or Mrs. Su.
What is your status?" Su Yibo was furious and cut off Father Lin's words.
The City Lord didn't want to see this Su Gou continue to bark loudly in front of everyone, lest it damage his own Face.
He slowly said, pretending to be calm: "Alright, no need for further words.
Since there is a witness, then material evidence is needed.
Young Miss Yin Cui, you will go with my team into the Lin Residence to find the evidence.
Lin Chendong, you also don't need to speak for now.
If it's a false accusation, I will give you justice."
The City Lord spoke a few words to one of his soldiers, and then he led the team into the Lin Family, with Yin Cui naturally brought along.
Father Lin's Face was ashen, but he could only wait for the result, knowing in his heart that this was a premeditated act by the devil, and probably nothing good would come of it.
The City Lord's soldiers came out after about half an hour of being inside, with several soldiers holding three boxes in their hands.
The crowd saw this and secretly thought: "Damn, that was too fast."
The Lin Residence wasn't very large, but it wasn't small either, and besides, if someone hid something, how could they find it so easily?
This Yin Cui completely knew the hiding spots.
After Yin Cui came out, she directly saluted the City Lord and said: "City Lord, these are the prohibited items I previously saw Lin Han take out.
As for whether there are others, I don't know."
After speaking, she returned to Su Yibo's side, and Su Yibo nodded in satisfaction.
Inside one of the boxes found by the soldiers, there were three jade-like stones, with a faint Qi-like substance floating within them.
These items, which appeared to have Qi moving inside, were explicitly mentioned in the list of prohibited items on the Law Enforcement Wall.
Anything that looked like it had Qi moving inside a stone had to be immediately handed over, and its origin explained to the City Lord.
On the Law Enforcement Wall, they were called Spirit Jade, but in reality, the imperial court submitted these Spirit Jade to Cultivation Sects.
These were not needed by Mortals and were called Spirit Stones.
Upon discovering Spirit Stones, their source also needed to be investigated to see if there was a Spirit Ore Vein being mined.
It is said that when Cultivators mine the Spirit Ore here, they will obtain many Spirit Stones.
Each Spirit Stone is polished into individual pieces, and Cultivators can hold them in their hands to absorb the Spiritual Qi within, or use them for spell formations, Alchemy, and crafting Magic Treasures.
Mortals did not know these things, but there was an agreement between the imperial court and the Cultivation World.
These items, not needed by Mortals, had to be prohibited from private possession by Mortals, and the source of the "Spirit Jade" had to be found.
After finding the "Spirit Ore" of the Spirit Jade, it would certainly be mined.
At this time, the imperial court would seal off that Spirit Ore, declaring the mining of "Spirit Jade" as a prohibited act, and people nearby would not be allowed to enter the mining area.
The punishment would be even more severe than for private possession of prohibited items.
In reality, the mining of the Spirit Ore was handed over to the Cultivation Sects.
Only the Emperor and certain high-ranking officials in the imperial court knew how much of these matters.
Of course, there are many sources of Spirit Stones; it's not just about finding Spirit Ore.
They could also be from the secret residences of ancient Cultivators or places where treasures were stored, and finding them would truly be a great fortune for Cultivators.
However, they could also be left behind by other Cultivators due to some accident.
Finding and clarifying the source is necessary, and besides, Spirit Stones are so important to Cultivators that they must be handed over.
Spirit Stones are inherently very important to Cultivators.
Since the relationship between Spirit Stones and Cultivators has been mentioned, let's now talk about Cultivators.
In Yue Ling Country, the common people knew some rumors about Cultivators.
It was said that Cultivators possessed vast Divine Abilities, could fly through the sky and burrow into the earth, summon lightning and unleash electricity, call forth wind and rain, and even destroy mountains and fill seas...
There were many various rumors about Cultivators, but not many people had actually seen one.
The feeling was much like that of ancient Chinese people, who only heard of Immortals in the heavens and rumors of people and monsters Cultivating Immortal arts in the mountains, yet few had actually seen Cultivation.
It's just that in this world, everyone was certain that Cultivators existed, and some people had seen Cultivators.
In the imperial court, the mere fact that Spirit Stones were submitted to Cultivation Sects indicated that the imperial court and Cultivators had a relationship.
Spirit Stones being called "Spirit Jade" was merely to conceal the Cultivators and the mining of Spirit Stones.
It was said that the Emperor in the imperial court was actually chosen jointly by the Sects of the Cultivation World, which meant that the Emperor's descendants were protected by Immortals.
Of course, how could the common people know all these things about the imperial court and the Emperor?
Just like some people said that the Su Family had also produced Cultivators, but who could confirm it?
Occasionally, rumors would spread from people in the imperial court, and some of these rumors the common people felt might be true.
Without the support or permission of Cultivators, how could you stably rule the country?
The Su Family did so many bad things, yet the City Lord never secretly impeached them to the Emperor, and considering how many years the Su Family had served as officials in the imperial court, they never seemed to decline.
The other three great Families might also have Cultivators.
Of course, these were just the common people's conjectures based on rumors.
That is to say, Cultivators indeed existed in this world.
As for what relationship the imperial court had with Cultivators? They wouldn't just tell anyone, right?
From the "Spirit Jade," it could be seen that the imperial court also had a connection with Cultivators, at least a cooperative one.
Why didn't Cultivators appear before the world? These things would only be known later.
