Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

Respect humanity, respect interests.

Thanks to the days of diligent patrolling and Yi Chen's encouraging whistle-blower reward system, South City had apprehended several hundred people in an afternoon.

Under the promise of protecting whistleblowers' identities by the Public Security Bureau, there was a surge in responses; anyone late to the scene would miss out on shiny silver coins.

Yi Chen understood all too well.

As a Taoist adept in human nature, Yi Chen deliberately aligned personal gains with societal safety and, using lie-detecting spells to filter out false data, he had already gained the upper hand.

Nighttime.

Within a spacious courtyard owned by the Public Security Bureau, it was now overflowing with people.

From the peddlers and porters to the silk-clad nobility, all were required to squat with hands over their heads.

Around them, fires crackled in braziers, providing light and warding off the chill of the night.

Under the glow of the fire, expressions varied widely among the crowd.

Some had shifty eyes, some were stricken with grief, and others were seething with anger.

Umbrella Girl had not expected Yi Chen's unscrupulous mobilization at all.

Umbrella Girl had considered inciting some to falsely report others, but those ordinary folks were quickly exposed and sent to mine.

Moreover, Yi Chen had specifically instructed to detain those who reported more than five individuals.

This increased the difficulty and cost for Umbrella Girl to meddle to an unacceptable level.

It was as if Umbrella Girl had developed undetectable cheats with great effort, only to have the authorities directly ban those with aberrant behavior by analyzing play records, without regard for fair play.

And they restricted IP comments...

You say there's no issue? Fine, go ahead and appeal~

Currently, the appeal meeting was in full swing.

Within a side courtyard lay a dozen severed limbs and mutilated corpses—those who could not explain their anomalies or were caught lying by Yi Chen.

If people did not wish to remain dignified, then he could only help them to be so.

Another peddler was brought up.

"Li Fugui, tell me, why has your walking posture changed so dramatically recently?" Yi Chen asked coldly.

"Your honor, it's not that I've switched my core, I've been suffering from hemorrhoids," Li Fugui was near tears, having been dragged away mid-squat at home by two officers.

Yi Chen: "....."

After sensing that Li Fugui was telling the truth, Yi Chen waved his hand to have people take him away to eat potatoes.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are necessary.

Even if they provided a clear explanation, they could not leave and must be under unified management until reinforcements from the Public Security Bureau arrived.

----

"Merchant Zhang, tell me, why have you been so fond of eating green tangerines and buying them lately?"

"Sir, I'm henpecked, I've recently kept a mistress outside, and I'm afraid of being discovered by the tiger at home; I had to disguise myself this way," Merchant Zhang sobbed profusely.

"You are very creative, take him away."

----

"Boss Ximen, why have you been sneaking into the woods lately?"

"Sir… can I… not say it?"

"I'll count to three."

"Three"

"One"

"Adultery, I'm committing adultery; I've been meeting up with Little Golden Lotus in secret, sir. I like married women."

"The wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a theft, but a theft is not as satisfying as being caught~" Boss Ximen was desperate.

"With the integrity of Jian'an and the legacy of Wei Wu, take him away."

----

"Zhao Dechu, I've heard you've been quite generous lately. Where's the silver coming from? Don't think about lying, otherwise, the skeleton beside you will be your example."

"This… Sir…."

"I'm counting to three!"

——

...

Time ticked away, second by second, as person after person was checked. Though some suspicious characters whose explanations were murky were uncovered, even more were simply people mistakenly seized for a variety of messy reasons.

The assorted messy reasons made Yi Chen both laugh and cry.

Soon, another person was brought in.

It was none other than Scholar Li.

Yi Chen rubbed his temple and began the routine questioning,

"Spill it, Scholar Li, I heard you recently made a tidy sum, and when did you get your hands on a secret wonton noodle recipe?"

"This...this...this..." Scholar Li's forehead was now beaded with large drops of sweat as he seemed to be wrestling with his conscience.

"Your crappy trinkets are of no interest to me, just speak frankly, or do you see those people on the ground?"

"This...this...this... I found the silver, and I saw the secret recipe in some ancient book…"

"Scholar Li, you really are a straw poking a frog, utterly satisfied with yourself. How dare you try to deceive me with lies at a time like this?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Chen's pupils instantly shrank, and his expression grew a tad more serious.

"I'm counting to three!"

"Three"

"One"

"Stubborn fool."

Without further ado, a massive pale blue fist of energy surged directly towards Scholar Li.

The Daoist priest was in a hurry.

Such sneaky creatures must be transcended on the spot.

Suddenly, a light click came from somewhere on Scholar Li's person.

It sounded like the shattering of glass.

A fierce, centipede-like creature stood up, abruptly appearing before Scholar Li.

It seemed to hold a grudge against Scholar Li; with a stamp of its enormous leg, it caught Yi Chen's casually thrown punch, and with a flick of its long pink tongue from its mouthparts, it strangled Scholar Li in two.

"Demon Insect greets you, fellow Daoist. Your methods are truly breathtaking to behold,"

"May I ask, venerable Daoist, does killing at will not weigh upon your karma?"

"Killing follows the heart; fortune and blessings are one's own to bear; you should join our Holy Sect."

Under the moonlit night, the monstrous insect articulated its mouthparts as if chastising Yi Chen, creating a bizarre scene.

The creature was shrouded in sinister Yin Qi, its presence terrifying to behold.

Seeing this, Yi Chen abruptly stood up, and a sneer of ferocity couldn't help but escape his face.

After searching for so long for small fry, he had finally hooked a big fish.

If he wasn't mistaken, the strange occurrences in South City were likely caused by this monstrous bug.

It remained unknown how the creature had concealed its aura and form, eluding his detection until now.

The creature had been careful in its dealings, not doing anything to Scholar Li's person directly, but luring him with wealth, attacking his heart; thus, it had remained undetected until this moment.

Damn it.

The old society turns people into ghosts.

Seeing the towering four-meter-tall insect standing in the night sky, Mo Yu, who stood behind Yi Chen, seemed to remember something. He quietly stepped back and exclaimed, "Be careful, Daoist Priest! This Demon Insect is the steed of the Lady of the Red Chamber; its cultivation is incredibly profound."

Upon hearing this, the Demon Insect puffed up its insect belly with pride as if boasting of its status as the Lady's mount.

It opened its mouthparts and proclaimed loudly, "Swallowing skies and earth, sun and moon, the insect soars through the clouds to devour…"

However, before it could finish speaking, Yi Chen had already transformed into a pale blue streak of light, striking fiercely towards it, with rumbles of thunder following close behind him.

"So you're just a little weasel!"

"Fuck your mother."

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"You, a mount, have a poetic title as well?"