Chapter 179: Drunk on Wine, Intoxicated by Emotion

Chapter 179: Drunk on Wine, Intoxicated by Emotion

In the front courtyard.

"Senior Apprentice Li?" Jiang Ning saw Li Qing's figure and was slightly surprised.

"Junior Apprentice Jiang, do you mind me disturbing you?" Li Qing asked.

"Not at all!" Jiang Ning smiled faintly, "Senior Apprentice Li, follow me!"

Then he patted Xiao Doubao's head, "Xiao Doubao, go play by yourself for a while!"

"Okay!" Xiao Doubao obediently nodded and skipped away.

For a child, there's never a lack of things to play with.

Even the few ants on the ground could keep them entertained for a long time.

Soon after.

Jiang Ning led Li Qing towards his eastern courtyard.

Along the way.

"Senior Apprentice Li, why do you have time to visit me today?"

"Because I'm leaving!" Li Qing replied.

"Leaving?" Jiang Ning paused, slightly taken aback.

"Mhm!" Li Qing nodded, "Since I couldn't enter the Inspection Bureau, to pursue my martial arts development, I'm leaving today with my father to study martial arts at the Sword Mansion in Bashu Prefecture. I came to see you today to bid you farewell."

The two of them chatted as they walked towards the eastern courtyard.

A moment later.

In the pavilion of the eastern courtyard.

The two sat facing each other.

After their conversation, Jiang Ning understood.

In Bashu Prefecture's Sword Mansion, Li Qing's father had connections, allowing her to study martial arts there.

The Sword Mansion was a much more powerful sect than the Medicine King Valley.

Within the Sword Mansion, a Grand Master presided, making it a place of formidable strength.

Therefore, for Li Qing, becoming a disciple of the Sword Mansion was an excellent choice.

If not for her father's extensive connections, she wouldn't even have had the opportunity to join the Sword Mansion in Bashu Prefecture.

And Bashu Prefecture was over 2,000 kilometers away from Luoshui County.

With this departure, it would be a long time before they met again.

That's why Li Qing came to bid farewell today.

Because after today's farewell, there might never be another chance to meet.

Sitting face-to-face, Jiang Ning thought for a moment and then said, "Senior Apprentice Li, since you're leaving, I should naturally hold a farewell banquet for you."

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—

The clear wine poured into the cups, and instantly, silver sparkles flashed by.

At the same time, a strong aroma of alcohol spread.

"Senior Apprentice Li, I wish you a safe journey!"

The next moment.

"So spicy!" Li Qing took a tiny sip and immediately stuck out her tongue.

Jiang Ning drank his cup, and the wine slid down his throat smoothly, without any burning sensation.

He then looked at Li Qing, "Senior Apprentice Li, this wine is a treasure, a true treasure. Don't waste it."

As expected!

He wants to get me drunk!

Hearing Jiang Ning's words, Li Qing immediately understood.

Soon after.

She took a deep breath, picked up the cup, and drank it all in one go.

In an instant.

As the wine flowed down her throat and into her stomach, Li Qing's face turned rosy.

Clang—

Li Qing's cup landed heavily on the stone table.

"Junior Apprentice Jiang, I want more!"

"Of course!" Jiang Ning smiled and refilled both their cups.

There was a black stone in the wine flask, and this wine could improve one's bone structure and martial talent.

Jiang Ning later realized that the white dragon fish's remarkable transformation was due to the black stone's effects.

So he was well aware that the black stone was an exceptionally precious and unique object.

With this black stone, when soaked in water, it could produce an endless supply of heavenly treasures.

After learning of Li Qing's request, Jiang Ning was no longer stingy. He used the wine soaked with the black stone to bid her farewell.

This could also improve Li Qing's bone structure and enhance her martial talent. For him, this resource was abundant and inexhaustible.

Every day, by soaking the black stone in any liquid, whether wine or clear water, the same effect would occur.

After Jiang Ning poured the second cup of wine, Li Qing drank it all in one go.

As the two cups of wine went down, Li Qing's face was instantly flushed with a rosy glow.

After a moment.

"Junior Brother Jiang!" Li Qing looked at Jiang Ning and suddenly smiled dreamily, her face flushed.

Suddenly.

"Burp—" Li Qing let out a loud burp, her gaze unfocused and wavering.

"Your alcohol tolerance..." Jiang Ning shook his head, "It's really terrible!"

Seeing that Li Qing was already eight or nine parts drunk, Jiang Ning finished the last cup of wine.

Then, he put away the wine flask.

"Senior Apprentice Li, let me escort you home!" Jiang Ning came to Li Qing's side, supporting her arm to prevent her unsteady body from falling to the ground.

An hour later.

The Li Family Manor's main gate.

"Senior Apprentice Li, we're home!" Jiang Ning patted Li Qing, who was asleep on his lap.

"Are we home?" Li Qing mumbled in her sleep, her eyes unfocused and her face still flushed.

"Yes, we're at your home!" Jiang Ning opened the carriage curtain and pointed to the Li Family Manor's gate.

"Alright then!" Li Qing nodded slightly.

Jiang Ning helped Li Qing down from the carriage.

After a moment.

As Jiang Ning left, Li Qing's unfocused gaze suddenly cleared, and she watched the carriage move away, stomping her foot in frustration.

"Miss, what's wrong?" A maid in a pink dress, seeing her mistress's strange behavior, asked curiously.

"Nothing!" Li Qing seemed to want to say something but stopped.

She wanted to complain, but she didn't know who to vent her frustrations to.

The outer city.

The Inspection Bureau.

"The Inspection Bureau is trampling on lives, and no one is doing anything about it! My son died unjustly! It's so unjust!"

In front of the Inspection Bureau, an elderly man in his seventies wailed loudly.

Beside him lay a rolled-up straw mat.

As he spoke, he repeatedly banged his head on the hard ground in front of the Inspection Bureau.

His forehead was already stained with dust and blood.

Behind the old man stood more than ten stern-faced constables.

The man who had died in the straw mat was their colleague, an old constable.

The night before, this old constable had died at the hands of someone from the Inspection Bureau.

Today, they had come together to seek justice and an explanation.

"Get out of here! If you continue to cause a disturbance at the entrance, I'll have you all arrested!" Zhao Hu, who had just come out of the Inspection Bureau, glared at the scene in front of the gate, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

At this moment, he also felt regret.

He shouldn't have been so arrogant and vengeful yesterday.

He shouldn't have beaten the constable to death.

And after the death, he shouldn't have panicked and fled without properly handling the situation, especially when the constables arrived, causing him to lose his composure.

"Arrest him, and I want to see how a mere inspector like you dares to arrest me?" A man in his late thirties slowly stepped out of the crowd.

"Captain Lin, my son died unjustly!" The elderly man cried even louder upon seeing this middle-aged man.

"Rest assured, leave this matter to me. Your son has served under me for so many years, and I won't let his death go unexplained!" Constable Lin reassured the elderly man and then turned to Zhao Hu.

At this moment, Zhao Hu suddenly scoffed, "What? Last night, I discovered that this man was colluding with the Evil Deity Sect. He resisted arrest and even tried to silence me. As a member of the Inspection Bureau, am I not allowed to enforce the law?"

"Nonsense!" Constable Lin retorted coldly, "You say there's collusion, but where's the evidence?"

"I have evidence!!!" Just then, a voice rang out from within the Inspection Bureau.

A man in a black blood-stained robe emerged.

"Captain Liu!" Upon seeing this man, Zhao Hu immediately bowed his head, feeling relieved.

After this incident, he had sought instructions from Liu Zhao Nan.

Liu Zhao Nan had told him to go out and handle the situation while maintaining the dignity of the Inspection Bureau.

At this moment, Liu Zhao Nan's appearance and words calmed Zhao Hu's heart.

Liu Zhao Nan's words were clearly meant to protect him.

"Liu Zhao Nan, what evidence do you have?" When Lin Constable saw Liu Zhao Nan appear, his heart suddenly tensed.

Yesterday, he had witnessed Liu Zhao Nan's strength at the training ground.

He had seen Liu Zhao Nan's power, an Eighth Stage Peak, several times stronger than his own Ninth Stage.

In front of Zhao Hu, he had confidence, but facing Liu Zhao Nan, he felt less assured.

Liu Zhao Nan raised his hand and threw out a letter in his hand.

"This is material evidence, a letter from Xia Zhao. As for witness testimony, Zhao Hu himself is the witness. He saw it with his own eyes."

"You're talking nonsense!" Constable Lin couldn't help but curse.

Because of Liu Zhao Nan's actions, it was as if he was treating them all as fools, spouting nonsense with his eyes closed.

Upon hearing Chief Lin's scolding, Liu Zhao Nan's eyebrows furrowed, and his piercing gaze landed on him.

The next moment—

Liu Zhao Nan kicked a stone on the ground in front of him.

Whoosh—

The sound of the stone breaking through the air exploded.

"Liu Zhao Nan, how dare you!" A loud shout echoed from the crowd.

At this moment—

Chief Lin's expression suddenly changed.

Liu Zhao Nan's sudden attack caught him completely off guard.

This method of attack was beyond his expectations.

As he watched the stone flying through the air, he quickly moved to dodge the incoming attack.

Then, in the next breath—

He had barely moved half his body when the stone, breaking the air, slammed heavily into his left shoulder.

His body lost balance, and he slightly levitated before falling backward, then landing heavily on the ground.

So powerful!

Chief Lin was astonished.

He never imagined that he would be injured by such an attack.

Before this, he had also sparred with eighth-stage peak Divine Power Realm cultivators.

Although he was no match for them, he could still manage a few moves.

But in front of Liu Zhao Nan, he was completely powerless.

A single kick of a stone on the ground was enough to defeat him!

Was this the strength of a captain-level cultivator?

Chief Lin muttered to himself.

This attack made him realize the true power of a captain-level eighth-stage powerhouse.

It was completely different from the strength possessed by ordinary eighth-stage martial artists.

"This is a minor punishment and a warning! If there's a next time, it won't be so easy to overlook!" Liu Zhao Nan said calmly.

His gaze no longer rested on Chief Lin but shifted to the man in civilian clothing who had just emerged from the crowd.

"Chief Inspector!" Chief Lin, being helped up by the man who had just appeared, clenched his teeth against the pain in his shoulder and spoke.

The person who had just arrived was none other than the Chief Inspector of the yamen, the leader of all the constables, Xu Zheng Nan.

His strength was indeed at the eighth-stage peak.

"Are you okay?" Xu Zheng Nan asked.

Chief Lin nodded slightly, "I'm fine, it's nothing serious!"

Hearing this response, Xu Zheng Nan nodded slightly and then looked at Liu Zhao Nan.

"Captain Liu, aren't you going a bit too far?"

"Too far?" Liu Zhao Nan smiled, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

Someone of Xu Zheng Nan's age reaching this level was not someone he considered worthy of his attention.

Moreover, before coming here, he had already reported this matter to Commander Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu's instructions were simple: it didn't matter if it was right or wrong; a forceful approach was all that was needed.

The Inspection Bureau required an excuse, an opportunity to reveal its fangs to all the powers in the city.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary actions were necessary.

The Inspection Bureau's actions didn't need to be right or wrong; even if some people were wrongfully executed, it didn't matter.

As long as the Inspection Bureau fulfilled its duties, that was enough.

It was precisely because of Commander Ye Qiu's instructions that Liu Zhao Nan was fearless at this moment.

Immediately, Liu Zhao Nan said, "The evidence and witnesses are all here. Don't cause trouble. If you continue to offend the Inspection Bureau, even if you, Xu Zheng Nan, are a true ninth-stage Chief Inspector, I have a legitimate reason to suspect you of colluding with the Evil God Cult, and I'll deal with you accordingly!"

Hearing Liu Zhao Nan's words, Xu Zheng Nan was so furious that he burst out laughing.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

"I want to see how you'll deal with me?"

In an instant—

As Xu Zheng Nan's words fell, Liu Zhao Nan's body suddenly moved, lunging several zhang away towards Xu Zheng Nan.

All of this was witnessed by Jiang Ning.

"So fierce?" Jiang Ning watched the scene unfold in front of the Inspection Bureau, feeling astonished.

Then, he looked towards the direction of the Inspection Bureau.

From the top of the tall building, he saw Ye Qiu standing by the railing, quietly observing the scene below.

At this moment, as Jiang Ning's gaze landed on Commander Ye Qiu, Ye Qiu seemed to sense it, and his eyes shifted to Jiang Ning's position.

Their eyes met, and Ye Qiu smiled at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning returned the smile.

Then, Ye Qiu opened his mouth, using his voice to convey his meaning.

"Younger Brother Jiang, do you want to come up and explain?"

Understanding Ye Qiu's implied meaning, Jiang Ning nodded slightly.

Then, he glanced forward.

At this moment, Liu Zhao Nan was fighting with Xu Zheng Nan.

The two men's strengths were not far apart. Liu Zhao Nan was younger and had more stamina.

Xu Zheng Nan, on the other hand, was more experienced, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

It was clear that for a while, neither of them would be able to determine the victor.

Jiang Ning's body leaped, and he swiftly climbed towards the direction where Ye Qiu was standing!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end