Chapter 30

Things started off smoothly.

Many of the houses in the slums lacked official documentation, let alone the additional shacks.

Stover Rodney treated all of them as legally recognized living environments.

When the dazzling gold coins were taken out, almost no one refused.

However, on the third day, which was the eighth day since Stover Rodney met the Gongsun Murong team, trouble came.

He had already bought more than 17,000 houses, covering nearly 1.6 square kilometers, and he had only spent less than 6,000 gold coins, as many people chose to return and live in their houses later.

He was about to occupy four large blocks of the cross-street area.

But in the northwest, marked as the fifteenth block, he encountered twenty families who had previously agreed to sell their houses but now refused.

These twenty houses were scattered throughout the fifteenth block. They didn't want money or houses; they just refused to move.

They said they were willing to live in low, narrow houses, willing to smell the stench of the sewers, and willing to walk on garbage-filled paths.

A group of noble youths stood by, watching the commotion. They claimed they were there to play, and they occasionally encountered such matters, wanting to uphold justice and oppose violent evictions.

Stover Rodney didn't foolishly argue with them.

He understood that the current situation was beyond his control and required the owner's intervention.

He believed that a competent steward should not cause trouble for the owner, especially when dealing with nobles. One should never expect to balance conflicts between nobles with one's own abilities, unless the owner is powerful enough to command the respect of the nobles as if they were commoners.

So he sent an adventurer back to find the young master and young miss.

Narasha and Gongsun Murong were queuing at the entrance of the Celeste Academy.

A freezing rain had fallen the day before, and winter had arrived quickly, so quickly that it left no time for reaction.

It had been sweltering just a few days ago, but now people were saying that a heavy snowfall was inevitable within ten days.

This was the first winter recruitment for the Celeste Academy, with the next one scheduled for the second winter.

Many people wanted to enter the first academy in the capital, but very few could pass the entrance exams.

The Celeste Academy did not require a certain level of combat qi or care whether you were a mage.

As long as you had abilities recognized by the academy, you would be admitted. Being good at arithmetic, writing, or even moving gracefully to music could get you in.

Even if you claimed that you were ten years old and could eat as much as ten adults in one meal, you would still be admitted.

Narasha and Gongsun Murong stood at the entrance of the comprehensive examination area, not at the mage or combat qi examination areas, as they needed to learn writing first.

The queue was long, and based on the examination process, they would have to wait at least an hour.

Of course, the two were not in a hurry.

Gongsun Murong pushed a small cart with a rectangular thin iron trough divided into eight compartments. The compartments contained boiling water, and charcoal was placed underneath.

Four compartments had milky white water, and the other four had red water.

The water was boiling and bubbling.

Next to the cart was a small stand with bean products that the locals had never seen before, such as bean skin, tofu, and bean curd.

There were also edible mushrooms available in the capital and a few types of meat.

They were skewered and placed in the boiling water.

Narasha called out like a water seller in the desert.

"Spicy hot pot, spicy hot pot, two copper coins per skewer, five copper coins for three skewers, delicious spicy hot pot, warm your stomach with one bite."

Narasha called out and demonstrated, eating with great enjoyment.

The bubbling broth also stirred people's appetite; just the smell made their stomachs growl.

"Two copper coins can buy thirty times the vegetables; merchants are always cunning," a woman with her son, who was there for the examination, complained.

There was only one large leaf on each skewer, and it cost two copper coins. Only a fool would buy it.

"Alright, vegetables are one copper coin per skewer, two copper coins for three skewers, and the rest are still two copper coins per skewer."

Narasha felt it was a bit expensive, so she lowered the price, especially for the vegetables, which were similar to the cabbage in the images shown by Brother Murong's steward. Two copper coins could buy a large head of cabbage.

She washed, tore, and skewered them, making over sixty skewers, so two copper coins per skewer was indeed expensive.

The person who thought it was expensive was a commoner, but there were also those who didn't think so. One of them walked over, threw down a silver coin, and grabbed a large handful of skewers, placing them in the two different colored broths.

Then, when Narasha said it was ready, they took them out and slurped them, praising the taste.

Some even bet a gold coin and called their friends to eat freely.

Of course, there were also those who came in carriages and ordered Narasha and Gongsun Murong to serve them nearby.

After Moses and the others, who accompanied the young master and young miss, expressed their attitude with swirling combat qi, the people in the carriage could only curse, "Nobles have no shame."

Then they got down and joined the others, slurping and muttering, "Truly driven by poverty."

Narasha was happy to collect money, but her only regret was that no one had come to rob her with weapons. That would have been a bigger harvest, especially from those in carriages. If they had tried to rob her, she might have even gained an extra carriage.

As noon approached, a few teachers responsible for the examinations, unable to resist the aroma, also came out to buy. Narasha wisely offered them a few cups of wine and a dish of salted beans, leaving a deep impression on the teachers.

However, just as it was their turn, the person sent by the steward arrived.

Narasha's anger boiled along with the broth.

The two had to abandon their place in line and head to the northwest slums.

Narasha didn't forget to have Moses and the others push the cart along.

When they arrived, seeing the noble youths on the opposite side, Narasha pouted and said, "You're quite resourceful, Lord Bobo and Lord Derek, you made it in eight days."

"It wasn't eight days, it was seven. We returned last night, on the third day after you left. We noticed something and got off the ship, traveling for four days. The freezing rain yesterday delayed us. Miss Narasha, can you guess when the ship arrived?"

Bobo said through gritted teeth, clearly still angry from the freezing rain.

Narasha tilted her head and smiled indifferently. "How would I know? Maybe it hasn't been fixed yet, or maybe they came right after you got off. Was the journey pleasant?"

"Pleasant, so pleasant it's hard to describe. They arrived in the capital the same day we got off the ship. We haven't caught them yet, but we luckily found out about you. How should we express our gratitude?"

Bobo clenched his fists tightly. If he knew he couldn't beat them, he would have charged forward.

What he discovered was... there was no water on the ship, and seeing the captain and first mate's lack of urgency, he was certain he had been deceived.

Sure enough, after returning last night, he didn't need to ask around; news of the steward Rodney and the adventurers' charge in the city was already spreading.

He wasn't surprised. Gongsun Murong had wanted to kill them on the ship, and people from the countryside didn't understand the sanctity of the law, always wanting to break it.

Unable to swallow his anger, he consulted with others, leading to today's confrontation.

A group of noble youths was ready to escalate the situation, wanting to teach the outsiders a lesson.

Gongsun Murong closed his eyes, resting, while the adventurers showed fierce expressions.

The steward Rodney was very worried. He knew these people; they didn't always bully others, but when they did, they didn't hold back, at least forcing the victims to leave the capital.

The atmosphere became tense, and the twenty families involved in the conflict regretted their decision.

Narasha blinked and said, "Brother Murong and I are going to school. It's almost our turn. Wasting an hour to come here and another hour to go back, it's noon, and everyone must be hungry. Anyone want to eat spicy hot pot?"

"Ha, scared, you're scared. Who wanted to kill us on the mage ship? Who? I'm standing here, come and kill me, cowards, a bunch of cowardly pigs, hit me."

Bobo pointed to his chest, making a fierce expression, as if to vent all the humiliation he had suffered.

The atmosphere became even more tense, and some children started crying.

"Hit him," Gongsun Murong said softly.

Kelisier moved, appearing in front of Bobo in the blink of an eye, and Bobo flew out, Kelisier's foot poised in a kicking position.

Bobo spat blood in mid-air and again when he landed, rolling on the ground in pain, clutching his chest.

Gongsun Murong walked toward Bobo, step by step, unhurriedly, without stirring up any dust.

The noble youths were stunned, no one stepped forward to stop him. They were shocked; the master was foolish, but were the servants also stupid? Bobo was a noble, with strong backing. How could they dare to hit him?

Bobo, rolling on the ground, was no longer thinking about anything else. He desperately wanted to breathe, but he couldn't inhale. He felt he was about to suffocate.

Gongsun Murong walked to Bobo and said, "On the ship, I said there would be no next time."

With that, Gongsun Murong kicked Bobo, who flew another five to six meters, landing and feeling relieved as he could breathe again.

He coughed hard, spat out more blood, and looked at Gongsun Murong, who was approaching again, fearfully, trying to push himself back with his hands.

"This... this is the capital, you should know..."

'Pang'—Bobo flew, unable to catch his breath when he landed.

Gongsun Murong walked over, 'pang'—Bobo could breathe again.

Gongsun Murong walked over.

"Stop, listen to me," Bobo shouted with all his strength.

'Pang'—Bobo flew, 'pang'—Bobo could breathe again, and so on.

"Stop, you'll kick him to death. You'll be finished too. Do you understand? You're a madman," Derek shouted.

He was truly afraid now. Gongsun Murong was trying to kick Bobo to death. Bobo's family was a baron. This was madness. Why did he provoke a madman?

Gongsun Murong glanced at Derek calmly. "Next is you."

Then he continued toward Bobo.

"Brother Murong, can you spare this bully's life? Grandfather has already sent people to negotiate the sale of spicy duck necks, very delicious spicy duck necks, and you'll get a share of the income."

Princess Lucia's voice rang out, accompanied by a group of guards and her steward.

Gongsun Murong finally stopped.

Bobo, lying in front of him, could no longer speak. He trembled in fear, having never felt such terror in his life.

At that moment, he deeply understood a truth: if someone doesn't care about their life, even a noble cannot use their status to oppress them, because they will kill you before they die.

He had felt it just now; this person wanted him dead, and he didn't care about his background.

Of course, he didn't know that Gongsun Murong's intelligent steward had already taught him: "When the Son of Heaven is angry, blood flows and poles float; when a commoner is angry, blood splashes five paces. When the people are not afraid of death, how can you threaten them with death?"