Chapter 309: Matters Blowing UpKilling intent exuded from Wang Yanyi's body. Any other hunter in Qi would have been scared stiff, but unfortunately for Wang Yanyi, Zhang Lie was fearless even in the face of Wang Yanyi's unbridled aggression.
"I won't let them go. Will you attack me, then?" Zhang Lie stomped on the ground, causing the bodies of Wang Po and the others to shudder. Some of the hunters from the council were even knocked unconscious by the trauma.
"You! Zhang Lie, if anything happens to these hunters here, I'll have you torn apart limb from limb!" Wang Yanyi yelled out in anger.
"Limb from limb? Zhang Lie's under my protection. Who dares try to attack him?" Just as Zhang Lie was about to deliver a retort, a loud cry was heard in the distance. The next moment, Xiao Zhengyang, governor of Qi, landed beside Zhang Lie with a thunderous expression on his face.
As he did so, the reinforcements that Wang Yanyi had summoned arrived: dozens of elders from the Tianji Council.
Who could have predicted that this scuffle would have resulted in such a big disturbance? From the perspective of the special forces troops, this altercation had been a minor matter. If Wang Po hadn't continued antagonizing Zhang Lie, the situation surely wouldn't have devolved to this extent, but with so many influential hunters of Qi arriving at the scene, there would be no easy resolution to the affair.
After all, between Xiao Zhengyang and Wang Yanyi lay an uneasy peace, one that could be disrupted by even a small affair. Their personalities were at odds with one another, and they disagreed on quite a number of issues.
As a result, it was almost inevitable that they would take opposing sides in this conflict.
"Ah, of course! None but the governor's men would be so daring as to attack the Tianji Council!" Wang Yanyi called out, refusing to back down.
Xiao Zhengyang crossed his arms. "Don't be so sure of that just yet. Before investigating the matter, how can you be so certain about what's going on?"
He turned and asked, "Zhang Lie, what's going on? You can free the Tianji Council hunters now—don't worry, with me around, no one will dare to touch you!" Xiao Zhengyang thumped his chest.
Zhang Lie sighed and smiled. "It's no big deal. The special forces troops went hunting with me in the forest to obtain some basic and mutated gene fragments, and we had an impromptu feast with alcohol as a result. Despite the fact that we weren't bothering anyone, this fellow, Wang Po, insisted on detaining me for breaking the law! Of course I would resist his subjugation. The reason I forced them all onto the ground was because I was curious about just who their backer was, and, well, you've seen the rest."
Zhang Lie dispelled the force holding the Tianji Council hunters down, then summarized his actions innocently.
"Well, Wang Yanyi?" Xiao Zhengyang fully believed Zhang Lie's words—given Zhang Lie's strength and new position in Qi, there was no reason for him to lie. Indeed, he was very happy that Zhang Lie was willing to explain the situation to him, because it demonstrated that Zhang Lie respected him.
"A one-sided narrative! Wang Po, explain your side of the story!" Wang Yanyi commanded. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.
Wang Po, still bleeding from all his orifices, had just clambered up dazed from the ground. Upon hearing his uncle's words, however, he immediately knelt back down.
"Head, please stand up for me! Not only did Zhang Lie allow his men to drink on duty, he even resisted arrest violently. If you had been any later, I might already have perished!"
The blood streaming down Wang Po's face naturally evoked sympathy.
"Well, Governor Xiao, I believe you've heard Wang Po's testimony. As Zhang Lie mentioned, he did imbibe alcohol with the rest of the troops while on duty. Surely you must agree that detaining Zhang Lie is a reasonable thing to do in this scenario. What right does Zhang Lie have to refuse? As the governor of Qi, surely you don't intend on ignoring law and order!
"Furthermore, even if Zhang Lie does have some accomplishments to his name in the first realm, he's still a newcomer to the second, and his actions today clearly show that he has no sense of respect for the authorities of this realm. From my perspective, he certainly does need some reeducation—a stint in the Tianji Council headquarters would do him some good!
"What do you say, Governor Xiao?"
Essentially everyone notable in the Tianji Council was present, so Xiao Zhengyang certainly couldn't let Zhang Lie go just like that. Otherwise, the Tianji Council would be publicly derided as a powerless authority.
Furthermore, given his understanding of Xiao Zhengyang, though he was direct and forthright, he surely wouldn't choose to go to war with the Tianji Council for Zhang Lie alone.
Unfortunately, Wang Yanyi was entirely mistaken—he had underestimated how highly Xiao Zhengyang valued Zhang Lie, as well as Zhang Lie's own strength.