I Am Immortal in Great Yu

Chapter 93: Chapter 44: Local Ruffian

”Who’s there?” Fang Rui was just about to investigate.

BANG!

The door was kicked open.

——A moment earlier, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family had gone out to empty the water from washing the pots, leaving the door ajar instead of bolted shut.

”It’s your Lord Imperial Envoy!”

A man in his twenties with a scabby scalp, dressed in Ge Cloth, entered. He had the lazy swagger of a good-for-nothing and the reckless air of a ruffian. ”The Taiping Bandits are coming,” he announced. ”It is your duty to defend the land. The County Magistrate has ordered an increase in military conscription... Of course, you can also pay fifty large coins to be exempted...”

The message, both spoken and unspoken, could be boiled down to two blatant words: Pay up!

’This man doesn’t seem like a government officer... more like a local thug!’

Fang Rui frowned. ”Do you have any proof of identity? As I recall, Bailiff Wu is the one in charge of Willow Alley, isn’t he?”

The Bailiff Wu he mentioned was the Official responsible for the Willow Alley area. Thanks to his father Fang Baicao’s connection with him, matters had long been smoothed over. Even with conscription or press-ganging, they wouldn’t come looking for the Fang Family.

——The County Army had suffered defeat after defeat, its prestige greatly diminished. At the same time, heavy losses in manpower had crippled its ability to organize, leaving loopholes like this to be exploited.

Back when Fang Baicao dealt with Fang Rui’s military service, there were no such options.

”I don’t give a damn about some Bailiff Wu! All I, your Lord Imperial Envoy, know is that from now on, I, Lai Liliu, am in charge of conscription for this entire alley!”

Lai Liliu pulled an official document from inside his robes and waved it in Fang Rui’s face.

”Lai Liliu?!”

Fang Rui remembered. A thought struck him. ’No wonder that name sounded familiar. So it’s this guy!’

In South City, everyone knew the name Lai Liliu; he was an infamous local thug. Even here in Willow Alley in East City, Fang Rui had heard him mentioned.

He glanced at the document. It was real.

But...

’These are truly crazy times. It’s like a mouse being a cat’s bridesmaid... no, that’s not right. It’s a thug playing the part of a Lord Imperial Envoy for the government?!’

Fang Rui thought for a moment and understood. It was simply a case of the government’s control weakening. Those Officials had cooked up some scheme, creating temporary positions, outsourcing law enforcement...

’No, not outsourcing. To be more accurate, they’re selling official documents and contracting out law enforcement authority...’

Fang Rui sighed inwardly. Now that he understood the man’s background, he thought for a moment but decided not to confront him.

After all, it was just a small sum of money. Worth it to get rid of this unwelcome visitor.

As for violence? That was always the last resort. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to fight in his own home.

Besides, it was as he always thought: killing a lowlife thug with foul blood like this would only dirty his hands and sully his home.

”Alright, Lord Imperial Envoy. I’ll pay!”

Fang Rui felt around inside his robes and pulled out a piece of broken silver, more than enough to cover the fifty large coins.

”You know what’s good for you, kid!”

Lai Liliu’s eyes lit up. He took the silver and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly noticed Third Lady, who was sweeping with her back to them.

——He had kicked the door in and barged inside. Third Lady had been sweeping at the time and hadn’t had a chance to retreat to the inner room.

After that, deliberately going inside would have drawn attention. So, she had cleverly turned her back, trying to make herself inconspicuous.

But she was noticed anyway!

”Hey, little lady over there. Yes, you. Turn around and let your Lord Imperial Envoy have a look...” Lai Liliu said, rubbing his hands together and striding over with a lecherous chuckle.

”Lord Imperial Envoy, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Fang Rui said, blocking him with an outstretched arm. The smile on his face was growing cold.

’I’m causing trouble for Brother Rui again!’

Third Lady sighed to herself. Seeing there was no avoiding it, she stopped trying to hide and took two steps forward to stand behind Fang Rui.

Just then, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family heard the commotion outside. She said a word of instruction to the two little girls and came out, her face full of worry. But Third Lady immediately stopped her, pulled her aside, whispered something in her ear, and calmed her down.

GULP!

Lai Liliu glanced at the plain-looking Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, then quickly looked away. He stared at Third Lady, taking in her stunning beauty and fair, delicate skin. He subconsciously swallowed, the lustful look on his face growing even more intense.

”Pah! You little punk! If you know what’s good for you, get the hell out of my way, or else...”

He subconsciously tried to shove Fang Rui, but couldn’t budge him. Especially in front of such a beauty, his face instantly flushed red with embarrassment.

”Or else what?” Fang Rui was still smiling.

”Or else I, your Lord Imperial Envoy, will drag you off to the army! You’ll get what’s coming to you then!” Lai Liliu threatened.

”But didn’t I already pay the exemption fee?”

”Haha! What a joke!”

Lai Liliu looked at Fang Rui as if he were an idiot. ”You say you paid, so you paid? Well, I, your Lord Imperial Envoy, say you didn’t! What you say doesn’t count. Only what I, your Lord Imperial Envoy, say counts!”

Unexpectedly, the man before him wasn’t scared as he’d anticipated. On the contrary, he was quite calm. He was even smiling.

”Oh, so that’s how it is!”

The smile on Fang Rui’s face slowly twisted with mocking amusement. ”Lai Liliu, before you came here, did you not bother to ask who I am?”

Since coming to this world, everyone he had met was clever, or at least reasonable. He never expected... to actually run into a fool so determined to die.

”Who are you?!”

An uneasy feeling welled up in Lai Liliu’s heart, but he quickly suppressed it and cursed, ”Who the fuck cares who you are? You think you can put on an act for me, your Lord Imperial Envoy?!”

In his mind, how could a family living in an ordinary place like Willow Alley be anyone important? At best, they might have an Entry Grade Martial Artist!

But based on Lai Liliu’s past experience, even an Entry Grade Martial Artist had to tread carefully around a government officer. That uniform demanded respect and flattery. At most, they’d get a little more consideration than a commoner.

And that was precisely why Lai Liliu, holding the official document, was acting so arrogantly, never missing a chance to call himself ’Lord Imperial Envoy’...