Chapter 233: Retribution

More and more people got dressed and came out, surrounding the scene and loudly asking, “What’s going on? What happened?”

Perhaps caught up in his own performance, the middle-aged man sobbed dramatically while exaggerating the story.

He accused the Golden Guards of ignoring their duty to subdue demons and save people, instead choosing to bully common folk.

At first, when there were only a few people around, the villagers were somewhat intimidated by the outsiders carrying weapons.

But as the crowd grew, and many grabbed farming tools, their courage swelled.

“Aren’t Golden Guards supposed to wear gray robes? Are these five really Golden Guards?”

“What if they’re just some random bandits pretending to be Golden Guards?”

Someone in the crowd pointed out that Golden Guards should be wearing standardized uniforms.

The realization spread quickly—none of the five men were dressed in uniform. In fact, their clothing varied wildly: one looked like a scholar, another like a merchant, and one was even dressed like a butcher!

“Everyone, calm down—calm down!”

“We really are Golden Guards, but we’re unregistered External Agents, so we don’t wear uniforms!”

“We came here because we heard about the black bear demon causing trouble. We just wanted to investigate—we weren’t bullying this man!”

Zhou Zhongtian stepped forward to explain.

But instead of calming the crowd, his words only provoked more ridicule.

“No wonder! You’re just a bunch of small-time errand runners who can’t even get an official uniform!”

“You External Agents really think you’re actual officials?”

“Get out of South Corner Village! We don’t welcome arrogant show-offs here!”

As the situation spiraled out of control, Zhou Zhongtian felt a splitting headache.

This was precisely why, after realizing this was a man-made disaster, he had hesitated to get involved.

“We should withdraw. This isn’t something we can handle…” Zhou Zhongtian said helplessly.

“Give me two sentences’ worth of time.”

With that, Gu Ning’an strode toward the crying middle-aged man. Before approaching, he deliberately removed his blade and tossed it aside.

Seeing this, the villagers, who had been extremely wary of him, relaxed slightly.

What no one expected was that as Gu Ning’an slowly walked into the crowd, the previously chaotic scene fell silent. Even the villagers surrounding the middle-aged man instinctively stepped aside, creating an opening.

Even the man himself, who had been wailing non-stop, quieted as Gu Ning’an approached. “What… what do you want?”

Gu Ning’an studied him calmly and said, “Where did you sell the child? How much did you get?”

The middle-aged man’s mouth twitched before he sneered, “Sold her to the brothel in West Corner Village. Got fifteen taels and seven qian (0.7 taels).”

The moment those words left his mouth, the villagers gasped in shock!

Selling his own daughter to a brothel?!

That was lower than a beast!

Gu Ning’an continued, “Why did you sell her?”

The man sneered, “She wasn’t mine by blood, and she wouldn’t even let me touch her. Why keep her around to waste food? Might as well sell her off early and be done with it!”

“You animal!”

With a furious shriek, a woman shoved through the crowd and lunged at the man, clawing at him with all her might!

In the blink of an eye, his face was covered in bloody scratches.

“You scoundrel, what did you tell me before? You promised to treat my daughter as your own!”

“You bastard, when you couldn’t have her, you sold her to a brothel and now you’re lying about a black bear demon!”

“Today, I’ll die fighting if I have to, but you’re going down with me!”

The enraged woman, like a lioness, pounced on the middle-aged man and began furiously beating him.

“Damn you!” The middle-aged man kicked out in pain, sending the woman flying off of him. With a look of defiance, he cursed, “If I could find a wife, would I have to settle for a worn-out hag like you?”

“And don’t think I did all this because I wanted you! If I hadn’t planned to take you both in, I wouldn’t have bothered to comfort you!”

“Shut up!” Feng Wei could no longer bear it. She stepped in front of the middle-aged man, took out a soft whip from her waist, and sternly said, “Hand over the money you got from selling your daughter!”

“Pah!” The middle-aged man sneered, “Just a bunch of External Agents, you really think you’re above the law?”

“You have no official rank—what right do you have to control me?”

“Even if you are Golden Guards, so what?!”

“This case doesn’t involve demons—so you have no authority over me!”

“If you dare lay a hand on me today, I’ll go to the authorities tomorrow and have you all jailed!”

At these words, Feng Wei raised her hand and cracked the whip, saying in a deep voice, “I’ll give you one last chance—hand over the money!”

Realizing that Feng Wei was really going to take action, the middle-aged man’s face changed. “Don’t rush, don’t rush, I’ll go get the money now!”

By the time he finished speaking, the middle-aged man sprinted off, pushing a villager out of his way toward Feng Wei!

“Damn it, I’m heading to the authorities right now…”

But just after running a few steps, his ankle suddenly twisted, and he fell to the ground!

“Dead … He’s dead!” A piercing scream rang out!

The crowd nearby quickly scattered, revealing the middle-aged man lying on the ground!

At that moment, the man was sprawled out, a pitchfork—its origin unknown—piercing his neck. Scalding blood poured from the wound in a continuous stream.

“Good riddance! Good riddance!”

The woman laughed as she walked up to him, pointing at the middle-aged man’s body and saying, “Look, this is karma! The heavens are watching! Thanks to the Universal Immortal! Mercy of the Bodhisattva!”

As she spoke, the woman paused, and she turned to Gu Ning’an, suddenly kneeling in front of him with a thud. “I owe my thanks to all of you noble officers. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be kept in the dark by this murderous scoundrel!”

Gu Ning’an accepted her bow and continued, “He hid the money in a rat hole in the wall. Go quickly and take it to save your daughter…”

“Okay! Okay!” The woman now trusted Gu Ning’an as much as she would the Universal Immortal. Without hesitation, she rushed into the house and started rummaging in the rat hole.

Moments later, her voice trembling with emotion, she came running out, holding a package of silver coins covered in dirt. “It’s real! It’s real! I’ll go to West Corner Village now to save my daughter!”

Seeing this, Feng Wei gave Gu Ning’an a deep look and then turned to Zhou Zhongtian. “I want to send her along. It’s dark—something bad might happen.”

Zhou Zhongtian nodded. “Alright, go ahead and follow her. Today, we have a legitimate reason. Even if Yang Wang comes, we can’t say we neglected our duties!”