Rectifying and Renovating Townships

"Bang!"

The door was kicked open violently. Su Jin, dressed in the uniform of the Demon Suppression Division, had a cold look on his face, yet his words carried a touch of dark humor.

"I must grant you this wish."

"From now on, in this Guanxiang Town, I will certainly let you travel horizontally."

"Men!"

"Make this guy named Lu Li travel horizontally!"

The Demon Suppression Guards quickly rushed in. Following Su Jin's orders, they immediately gave Lu Li a brutal beating. They beat him until he could no longer stand and could only lie on a stretcher, being carried out horizontally by others.

Wang Guifang, however, almost went mad.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Stop it right now! Stop! Do you know that my son is about to become General Chen Xiong's brother-in-law? How dare you treat him like this! I will make sure all of you die without a burial place!"

"Slap!"

With a heavy slap across the face, Wang Guihua's voice came to an abrupt halt.

Following that was Su Jin's cold, indifferent voice.

"Chen Xiong is long dead."

"Now, Wusheng Pass belongs to the Lord Duke."

"And we are the Demon Suppression Division!"

"Men, take them to see the Lord Duke!"

The Demon Suppression Guards dragged and shoved the two of them, quickly bringing them out onto the streets. A large crowd had already gathered there, all of them residents of Guanxiang Town who had been herded to this spot by the soldiers.

They were trembling with fear, but upon seeing the miserable state of Wang Guihua and Lu Li, they were instantly stunned.

"What happened to those two?"

"Didn't you hear those soldiers? It seems they abused Lu Shuang, so they are being punished."

"Really? That family is a bunch of weirdos, always arguing even when they're in the wrong. Is this newly arrived Duke actually going to deal with them?"

"They should have been dealt with a long time ago. Lu Shuang is such a good kid, but look at what they forced her into. She almost ran away to the capital and never came back."

...

Riding on his Night-Illuminating Jade Lion, Ren Tianye swept his gaze over the two of them and then spoke coldly, "Wang Guifang, you adopted an orphan girl. Even if you did not treat her as your own, you should have treated her normally. Yet, you mistreated her like a slave, overworked her endlessly, severed all kindness, and violated human decency."

"Coveting wealth, you forced the orphan girl into an arranged marriage."

"To secure a marriage for your son, you treated her as mere goods, utterly devoid of conscience."

"I hereby decree!"

Ren Tianye raised his voice.

"Your adoption relationship with Lu Shuang is annulled. Lu Shuang is immediately restored to a free citizen, shall establish her own household, and will forever have nothing to do with your family."

"As for you two..."

"Xie Changfeng!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Xie Changfeng immediately stepped forward.

"I leave these two to you. In my administration, merits must be rewarded, and faults must be punished."

"Yes, sir!"

Xie Changfeng answered loudly, deliberately casting a side glance at Wang Guihua and Lu Li. Damn it, Xie Changfeng absolutely despised people like this; it was simply outrageous.

In a way, they were even more detestable than those mind-bewitching demons.

After Ren Tianye dealt with the mother and son, the chaotic noises at the scene suddenly ceased. The crowd seemed to gradually sense that this high official from the capital was completely out of tune with their Cloud Capital, yet he was overwhelmingly dominant and forceful.

"Report!"

At this moment, a light cavalryman came galloping from a distance.

"Lord Duke, General Zhang Shi has bypassed the mountain. It is estimated that in another two days, he will reach the designated location."

"General Zhang Shi asks the Lord Duke to make preparations..."

Before the light cavalryman could finish his sentence, he stopped.

Looking at the current situation, it seemed... there was no need for that anymore.

Ren Tianye spurred his horse and continued moving forward.

He came to Guanxiang Town partly because the army needed a brief rest and to adjust the troop deployment at Wusheng Pass. Since he had some free time, he also intended to clean up Guanxiang Town, which was attached to Wusheng Pass, while rectifying the pass itself.

Arriving in front of the plastic surgeon's clinic, Ren Tianye directly cut off his source of business.

"Under the rule of the imperial court, demons and monsters are absolutely not allowed."

"If women love beauty and are willing to spend silver on cosmetic changes, the government has nothing to say. But if anyone is forced or voluntarily undergoes surgery just to please some wealthy or powerful figures, merely to look like the first loves of those dignitaries, then..."

"Do not blame the blade in my hand for being unmerciful!"

"At the same time, if the beloved of a wealthy family or a high official passes away, and there is any further attempt to summon the soul of a first love, I will not show mercy either. I will make them know what happens when they become mind-bewitching evil creatures!"

Ren Tianye's voice was as cold as a blade, laying down iron-blooded laws against every bad custom he witnessed.

For a moment, all the people in Guanxiang Town were left in utter astonishment.

Was the sky about to change?

From now on, did they no longer have to exhaust themselves pursuing romantic love?

Could they just farm and live their lives?

"All of you, remember this. From now on, whether it is the imperial court or Cloud Capital, merit is supreme, law is the standard, and the livelihood of the people is the foundation."

"Love is no longer a free pass!"

Ren Tianye applied both grace and authority. His words fell upon the crowd's heads, rumbling like thunder, making everyone gradually realize the implications.

The sky was truly changing!

Shortly after...

A wave of cheers and joy erupted from the crowd as they slowly began to absorb these changes.

After Ren Tianye finished speaking, he inspected Guanxiang Town a bit more, keeping busy until the afternoon before finally wrapping up.

He called for the Deputy Demon Suppression Envoy, Xie Changfeng, and asked him to recommend a few talents.

"Cloud Capital has a profound influence in these areas. Once I leave, I fear their customs will be hard to change. We need people stationed here long-term, and your Demon Suppression Division is perfect for the job."

Xie Changfeng quickly knelt on one knee and said, "Lord Duke, your subordinate has two people to recommend. Both are top-notch experts and have also caught the eye of Lord Su Jin. They are perfectly suited to remain here."

"One is named Bai Xi."

"The other is named Fu Moyu."

Ren Tianye nodded. He generally did not interfere with these lower-level personnel matters. If both Su Jin and Xie Changfeng felt there were no issues, he would not object.

He immediately agreed and told Xie Changfeng to proceed.

Just as Xie Changfeng left, another light cavalryman came galloping over, dismounting right in front of him.

"Report! Lord Duke, General Zhang Shi has bypassed to the rear of Wusheng Pass, traveling through steep cliffs. Within half a day, he can launch an attack. Please make preparations, Lord Duke..."

Just like the previous messengers, he only spoke half his sentence before realizing something was wrong.

Ren Tianye felt a bit helpless.

What kind of unnecessary suffering was Zhang Shi putting himself through?

Traveling through steep cliffs... he really had learned some skills on the grasslands, it was just that... they were completely useless right now.

He waved his hand rather powerlessly, dismissing the cavalryman. Then, from the soldiers who had surrendered this time, he selected one thousand men, and added another thousand selected from the men he had brought with him.

He formed a troop of two thousand men.

He handed them over to Wang Ming.

"That border outpost, go and take it down."

"Yes, sir."

Wang Ming accepted the order.

Unlike the previous time when they had to attack Wusheng Pass, which had Wang Ming worried sick, this time he was very confident about taking down this outpost. After all, it was just a small pavilion built on a mountain pass, small in scale with a limited number of defenders.

He now had two thousand men, more than twenty times the enemy's strength. As long as they were not afraid of sacrifice and dared to fight with their lives, taking a tiny outpost would be a piece of cake.

Thus, Wang Ming led his troops and set out.

However, before they had even marched a couple of miles, a lone rider came galloping frantically from the distance, tightly clutching a white flag. The moment he spotted Wang Ming's troops, and particularly the insignia on the soldiers, he began to shout at the top of his lungs.

"O great Imperial Army! We are the garrison soldiers from the outpost established by Chen Xiong, and we have come specifically to surrender to you!"

"We have come to surrender!"

"We have come to surrender!"

The shouts rang out loud and clear. Sitting astride his horse, Wang Ming froze in surprise.

You have got to be kidding me. Did we just take another position without breaking a single sweat?

Granted, this outpost was not exactly a formidable stronghold to begin with, but did it really have to be this ridiculously easy?

They surrendered before we even had a chance to lift a finger?

......