Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 193 Rice

"it is good."

The relaxed smiles on everyone's faces made Old Liu's heart tighten. The trump card he had played with his last bit of strength seemed to be a joke in everyone's eyes.

The county magistrate, the registrar, Manager Chen, Madam Tang, and even the yamen runners were all suppressing their laughter.

Magistrate Cao added, "However, according to the rules, you falsely accused your daughter-in-law of having an affair with her cousin. If it's true, I will naturally punish both of them. If it's false, then you will have to be given twenty strokes of the cane!"

Old Liu was covered in sweat. After thinking for a long time, the relaxed atmosphere around him made him break out in a cold sweat that soaked through the coarse linen clothes on his back. However, he was still unwilling to give up and accepted the condition under great pressure.

The silver needle pricked two fingers and was placed into a bowl of water. The constable kindly handed the bowl and chopsticks to Old Man Liu, allowing him to stir the water as he pleased.

But no matter how he stirred it, the two drops of blood remained distinct.

"Sign the document, case closed." With Magistrate Cao's order, two bailiffs placed Old Man Liu on a long bench, preparing to administer the beating.

Shopkeeper Chen helped his cousin up, and held her and the child in his arms. The soft body in his arms snuggled closer to him.

Shopkeeper Chen, oblivious to everyone else, gave his cousin a big peck on the cheek and said smugly, "This old man, I told him outright before that if we took his family's land, the county magistrate would get a share, but he just wouldn't believe it and even took out his savings to hire a lawyer to write a lawsuit for him."

His words made the young woman in his arms chuckle. And he made no attempt to lower his voice, as if he deliberately wanted Old Man Liu to hear him.

As Shopkeeper Chen was about to leave with his cousin in his arms, he suddenly felt that the sunlight in front of him seemed strange, like the peculiar sunlight refraction only seen in summer. But it was winter now, so how could there be such sunlight?

However, it was too late for him to stop. The two of them crashed into the invisible wall in front of them, and an invisible cloth fell down, revealing a blood-covered man inside.

Although the man had a somewhat frightening aura about him, and Manager Chen couldn't figure out how he hadn't seen such a big person standing there.

But that didn't stop him from identifying the man by just a glance at his coarse clothes. He was very tall, with a face that was reddish-purple, and his clothes were filthy with bloodstains, making him look like a butcher.

Seeing his cousin who had been knocked down and his wailing child, Manager Chen was furious and yelled, "Are you blind? How dare you block my way!"

As he spoke, he was about to slap the man across the face.

Swish.

Before his hand could fall, the black blade flashed and his entire hand was severed.

Shopkeeper Chen stared in horror at the man in front of him who had done nothing but patted his shoulder and wiped himself.

More than the pain, he was terrified. Even though he was half in the sunlight and even though he was in the county government office, he felt a bone-chilling cold all over his body.

He was terrified that his hand had been chopped off just for trying to slap him, but instead of being angry, he was filled with dread. Thankfully, it was only a hand. He didn't even care about his cousin and child; he just wanted to leave.

However, the pain, though delayed, still forced him to the ground. Manager Chen knelt on the ground, clutching his severed arm, writhing in agony but only daring to groan softly. Fear could overcome everything.

Magistrate Cao's face was ashen, and the yamen runners, no longer caring about Old Man Liu, rushed towards Lin Fan with their weapons in hand.

Lin Fan walked slowly, the black sword swirling around him. He slowly took the saber off his back, which he had borrowed from one of Duan Ye's knights.

As Lin Fan passed by Old Liu, his sickle, which seemed to be forever stained with blood, accidentally fell to the ground next to Old Liu.

Old Liu lay prone, staring at the sickle before him. He only remained stunned for a few seconds before a jolt of electricity coursed through his body. He glared fiercely at the couple crawling on the ground, slowly leaving the area. The resentment, fear, and injustice in his eyes vanished, replaced by rage. He grabbed the sickle and pounced on the two like a jackal.

With Lin Fan and Zi Yue working together, the constables were quickly defeated. Their weapons, whether wooden sticks or iron rulers, could not withstand a single slash from the black knife, or were easily cut down by Lin Fan with a light blow.

After taking only a few steps, the constables scattered instantly. They weren't suicide soldiers, and in such a clear situation, escaping for their own lives was the priority.

"Go and call the militia, and anyone else you can, call them all!" Magistrate Cao ordered the fleeing yamen runners and the registrar who had escaped among them, though it was unclear whether they listened.

With such a huge commotion, it's impossible to keep quiet, and Lin Fan had no intention of doing so.

Ignoring the commotion behind him and the fleeing crowd, Lin Fan raised his sword at the official in blue robes before him. "Magistrate, I ask you, has Zhan Peng been here? And where is he now?"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Cao, who had just stood up, sat down again. "Never heard of this name. Look at what you've done. Surrender to me now, and I'll show you leniency."

Hearing this unsatisfactory answer, Lin Fan rushed forward. Zi Yue, riding on the black blade, was even faster, and she thrust her blade towards Magistrate Cao's face.

"If you don't want to talk, don't blame us for forcing you to open your mouth."

The black knife was only an inch away from Magistrate Cao's face when it was abruptly stopped, as was Lin Fan's saber.

Lin Fan had to squint to see that two grains of rice had blocked their knives.

"Rice? What kind of strange thing is that?"

Lin Fan wasn't particularly surprised that his attack was blocked. Having been in this world for so long and traveled to so many places, this was the first time he'd faced a county magistrate. In Baishi County and Taixin County, no matter how big the trouble, he'd never seen a magistrate appear. He could sense that these lowly seventh-rank officials were no ordinary scholars. They possessed a peculiar composure and an air of detached confidence.

"Oh, such a big mouth, but these are all the tricks you can use?" Magistrate Cao said disdainfully.

Lin Fan and Zi Yue drew their swords and slashed again, but even more rice flew out of Magistrate Cao's pocket, blocking the rain of sword light. Each grain of rice, once struck, lost its magic and fell to the ground. However, there was simply too much rice; at a rate of one grain per slash, it was unclear how long it would take to consume it all.

Magistrate Cao was not simply defending; as the rice was gradually spread out in front of the two men, he seemed to be trying to grab one of them and the other with his knife.

The two sensed something was wrong and retreated simultaneously. However, the rice accurately caught their movement, and some of the rice spun in the air, shooting towards Lin Fan and Black Knife like small arrows with a whooshing sound.