Chapter 301 - Master Dongran

"Calm down, Brother Ze!" Jue hurriedly called out, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Before he knew it, Dongci Ze had already rushed out from his seat towards the entrance.

"Did he say Xi?"

"So that's Dongluo Xi?"

"Since Dongci Ze personally said so, there shouldn't be any mistake. That must be the young lady of the Dongluo Family!"

A commotion arose as the others patrons in the inn began to discuss among themselves.

"Brother Ze is really too oblivious," Jue frowned. "Doesn't he know that both of them can be considered famous figures in Bog Town right now?"

"Love really makes one lose all rationality," Xing smiled. "Isn't that right, Young Brother Tianzi?"

"Eh?" Lu Tianzi was caught by surprise there. "Why are you asking me?"

"Oh because I'm sure you will agree," Xing laughed.

Lu Tianzi could only smile bitterly, not knowing how to react.

Others might be looking at them, but it was as though Dongci Ze did not even notice. He quickly arrived in front of the cloaked figure, pulling her straight into his embrace.

"Brother Ze!" Dongluo Xi buried her head in Dongci Ze's chest. "It's so good to see you again."

"Silly lass, did you come all the way just to see me?" Dongci Ze stroked the back of her head. "Now is a dangerous period, you really should be staying in the safety of your home instead."

"I'm sorry, but it is especially because it is a dangerous period that I want to make sure that you are all right," Dongluo Xi explained. "I promise that I will stay home from now on."

"Excuse me," one of the inn patrons interrupted their conversation. "May I know if you are Dongluo Xi of the Dongluo Family?"

Dongci Ze immediately realised that he had unintentionally exposed his lover's identity.

"I'm sorry, we are a little tired so we will be leaving first," Dongci Ze answered the man before grabbing Dongluo Xi's hand to head for the exit.

"Wait a moment!" the man called out from behind, only to be ignored him as they quickly exited the inn.

But the man was not about to give up just like that.

"Hey, that's Dongluo Xi for sure!" he turned around and called out to his companions who were still seated at their table. "Let's go after them!"

Without saying more, all of them rose from their seats and headed for the exit. Not just them, but even most of those from the other tables followed suit.

"Damn it, that guy just can't stop making us worry, can he?" Jue slammed down his wine cup in frustration. "Let's go after them!"

"Yes, Captain!" his companions stood up in unison.

Lu Tianzi instinctively stood up as well, an action that Nanlan Qianxue promptly followed. But this only caused Jue to raise an eyebrow at them.

"Young Brother Tianzi, Young Sister Qianxue, I understand that you are worried as well. But this matter might be a little tricky to handle. Perhaps it would be better for you to stay here for now," Jue said. "Otherwise, you might end up getting hurt if a scuffle breaks out."

"Is the situation that bad?" Lu Tianzi was surprised to hear that.

From what Jue was saying, it almost sounded as though the other inn patrons could end up resorting to violence against Dongzi Ce and Dongluo Xi.

Considering that they were relatively innocent, that would be quite the harsh treatment!

"Hopefully that doesn't happen, but no one can be sure," Jue sighed.

"Don't worry, we will just watch from afar then," Lu Tianzi promised.

"This… all right then," Jue nodded after a moment of hesitation.

He did not want to spend too much time debating with Lu Tianzi either. Since the young couple had already said that they would stay back, it should not be much of a problem.

With that, the Iron Claw Brigade rushed out of the inn and chased after the other patrons.

It did not take too much effort for them to catch up either.

Dongci Ze and Dongluo Xi had not been able go far before the other inn patrons caught up with them.

When the Iron Claw Brigade found them, the other inn patrons had surrounded the couple, and were plastering them with questions.

Dongluo Xi tugged at the top of her hood, nervously trying to hide her face from everyone. But it was already far too late for that.

"You are definitely Dongluo Xi, aren't you?"

"It has already been a month, so why hasn't your father come out to say anything?"

"That's right! Your mother's puppet has already been jailed, so why is she still hiding in her house and not taking responsibility for her actions?"

"Your mother masterminded the death of your lover, so why aren't you doing anything about it? Do you just not care?"

"Is the Dongluo Family hoping that your mother can get away with it just by lying low for a while? Tell her that she can forget about it!"

"Everyone, please stop," Dongci Ze pleaded. "Xi has nothing to do with this matter at all!"

"How can you say that, Dongci Ze? She is part of the Dongluo Family, so surely she knows a thing or two. Who would believe that she is completely unaware of what her parents are doing?"

"Even if she doesn't know about their actions prior to this, surely she knows by now. And yet she is just sitting by and doing nothing about it!"

"As expected, all nobles are the same! As long as it benefits them, they are willing to overlook anything!"

Unable to watch on, Jue shouted out from behind. "Everyone, please step back and give them some space!"

His actions naturally drew the attention of the group, opening up a gap for Jue and his companions to step into the centre.

"What is the meaning of this, Captain Jue? Is the Iron Claw Brigade intendng to side with the nobles now as well?"

"That's not it," Jue tried to appease the crowd. "I understand that everyone is frustrated, but aren't you going after the wrong people here? Brother Ze is not lying when he says that Dongluo Xi doesn't know anything about the matter. Even though she is part of the Dongluo Family, her family is not telling her much because of her relationship with Brother Ze. Surely everyone can understand that much?"

"Then what does Captain Jue suggest we do? Keep letting things drag on like this?"

"Yeah, if the mistress of the Dongluo Family refuses to come out, we would just have to force her to do so! I don't believe she will just sit by and watch if her precious daughter is in danger!"

"If her daughter is in danger?" Jue frowned before glaring at the person who just spoke. "What do you mean by that?"

"What? Did I say anything wrong?" the man retorted without fear.

Upon hearing this, Dongci Ze pulled the anxious Dongluo Xi closer to him protectively.

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Jue chided. "You want to resort to violence just to accomplish your goals? How would it make you anything different from those nobles that you are so against?"

"What's wrong? That's just paying them back in their own coin!" the man was not daunted at all.

"We don't have to actually harm Dongluo Xi either. We just have to keep her with us and prevent her from returning. That will force the Dongluo Family to do something at least!" another person chimed in.

"It might not be the best solution, but it is still a solution nevertheless. If the Iron Claw Brigade does not have any alternative plan, please don't get involved. Otherwise, even though you are the ones who exposed the incident in the first place, we can only consider you to have switched sides!"

One by one, the others in the inn expressed their agreement.

It was a rowdy scene in the middle of the quiet street, something that naturally drew the attention of others.

After realising what was going on, more and more people joined the crowd, surrounding the Iron Claw Brigade and the couple.

"Tch!" Jue clicked his tongue in frustration.

This was exactly why he had warned Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue to stay low.

Now that they were targeted by the townsmen, things would get really tricky depending on what they do next. Even someone with a bit of reputation like him had ended up in such a sticky situation, so things would only be worse if it were Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue who had no rapport with others whatsoever!

Jue took a quick scan of the crowds, and his frown deepened.

He might be at the Peak Essence Condensation realm, but there were quite a number of Essence Condensation realm martial artists among the crowds as well. So even if they wanted to force their way out for now, it would not be an easy task at all.

"Aren't you going to help them out?" Nanlan Qianxue asked.

"I did promise that I would only watch from afar. I don't see any reason to break my promise," Lu Tianzi shrugged.

"How reliable," Nanlan Qianxue smirked.

"Man of my word," Lu Tianzi replied unabashedly.

They might be acquainted, but their relationship was nowhere near good enough for him to provoke the ire of the townsmen for their sakes. After all, it was not as though they were any in danger at the moment.

On top of that, he had already noticed someone else heading their way.

From the other end of the street, a man had been attracted over by the commotion just like the others before.

However, there was a stark difference between him and the rest of the crowd.

He was dressed in luxurious long robes lined with golden threads, and his short hair was greying around the temples. A single glance was enough to tell that he was of a high stature. Either that, or at least a man of great wealth.

But the one thing that set him aside the most was not this, but his cultivation level.

He was not only at the Origin Core realm, but he was even a Fourth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist!

That was the main reason why Lu Tianzi wanted to continue observing the situation before decided on his next course of action.

The man had a solemn expression on as he steadily approaching the rowdy crowd, each step he took being firm and stable.

"What is going on here?" the man questioned authoratively, his powerful voice silencing the crowd and forcing their attention upon him.

Upon seeing him, expression of shock immediately showed upon the faces of the townsmen.

"Master Dongran!" Jue exclaimed in relief.

"Mm," the man nodded. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"Nothing much, it is just a little misunderstanding," Jue tried to gloss over the situation. "What is Master Dongran doing out here?"

"There's no need to hide things from me," the man's sharp gaze scanned across the people present. "I am well aware of what is happening. I just want to know why this is happening."

The expressions of shock on the townsmen turned into that of guilt upon hearing what he said. The townsmen started hanging their heads low in shame, stealing nervous glances at each other as though hoping for someone to answer in their stead.

Lu Tianzi could not help but feel amazed upon witnessing this scene.

For him to be able to silence the rowdy crowd this easily, just who exactly is this Master Dongran?