Chapter 53 Behind the Scenes
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Inside a magnificent restaurant in the southern district of Beidi City, a handsome, elegantly dressed young man with blond hair and blue eyes leaned back in his chair, holding a glass of light red fruit wine.
He held the wine glass in his right hand, his left hand resting naturally on the armrest of the chair, calmly looking ahead:
"Holmes, did you mess things up?"
Before him, the captain of the guard responsible for handling the bodies of the extortion gang looked gloomy:
"In terms of the result, that's right, but it wasn't my fault. That kid is simply a desperado!
"From the start of the operation to when I arrived at the scene, it was only a few minutes, but in the end, all I saw were the corpses of the thugs.
"According to the laws of Beidi Province, the city guard does have the right to adjudicate such matters.
"If I had caught him on the spot, with both sides arguing endlessly, then I could have 'invited' them all to the Public Security Office in the name of mediating the dispute.
"But in this situation, if I want to move against him, I must accuse him of being a suspect, which is completely different!
"The former would only entangle him in trivial matters, leaving him no time to cultivate, at most making him annoyed... while the latter is an irreconcilable feud!
"I don't want to be regarded as a mortal enemy by a powerful Soul Master."
The young man tapped the wooden armrest with his index finger and asked:
"Can't you just get him to cooperate with the investigation?"
Guard Captain Holmes shook his head, "The law favors Soul Masters. He can refuse to cooperate with the investigation unless I directly point the finger at him."
The young man was silent for a moment, then tentatively said:
"Then just treat him as a suspect and arrest him."
Holmes looked at him with an idiotic expression, "I told you, I don't want to have an irreconcilable feud with a powerful Soul Master. The price you offered isn't worth it for me to do that."
Annoyed by his gaze, the young man said with a hint of anger:
"Then how can I explain this to my cousin Brady? I patted my chest and guaranteed that I could create trouble for them."
"That's your business," Holmes shrugged.
"Is this the attitude you use to handle things?"
Holmes said coldly:
"Abbott, if you have any dissatisfaction, let Brady come and tell me himself. I'm not your subordinate.
"Also, let me give you a piece of advice, don't assume that the people you want to deal with will act according to your rules.
"For those desperadoes, using the most primitive means of violence directly is what they like and are best at."
After speaking, Holmes got up and left the room directly.
The City Lord of Beidi City is not a local noble, but an official directly appointed by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, which to a certain extent plays the role of controlling the Beidi nobles and preventing noble rebellions.
And the city guard is an armed force directly under the City Lord. Without sufficient reason, the nobles cannot interfere at will.
Therefore, Holmes does not need to worry too much about the feelings of these nobles, not to mention that Brady and Abbott are only heirs, not real squires.
"Let's go," Holmes faintly ordered to the two subordinates guarding the door.
"Yes, sir."
The young guard unconsciously tapped the upper and lower edges of his eye sockets with his index finger and thumb, then immediately put it down.
After they left, the sound of a glass breaking came from the private room.
...
Although the school also provides dormitories, most noble students either rent or purchase residences outside the school.
Bi Da'er had purchased a property in Beidi City, and it was quite large.
Amon, Yan Jin, and Lei Yin also temporarily lived in his house.
After Lei Yin returned, he told Amon what he had encountered.
"It's a trivial matter, don't take it to heart," Amon said indifferently after hearing this:
"Brady probably made a move. He is still using Bi Da'er as an imaginary enemy, trying to weaken Bi Da'er's prestige by suppressing us.
"If you really get entangled with those thugs, it will be troublesome when the city guard comes.
"Because once you go to the Public Security Office with them, it won't be so easy to get out smoothly.
"At that time, it will be a competition of connections and backgrounds, which is the field that those nobles are best at.
"As for Yan Jin's teacher, Walter, since he didn't publicly announce that he accepted Yan Jin as a disciple, and didn't even spread any rumors, it means that he deliberately blocked the news and doesn't want too many people to know for the time being.
"He won't interfere until a critical moment."
"It seems that there is no need to deliberately hide the matter of accepting disciples. Is this another kind of test?" Lei Yin guessed, grabbing his chin.
"Walter should have other plans, which has nothing to do with us... Your Soul Power level is a bit low, speeding it up is what you should do most right now," Amon reminded.
"Yes, I understand, Mr. Amon," Lei Yin nodded.
...
In the City Lord's Mansion, in the empty and spacious reception hall, City Lord Cubero sat on the main seat, leaning against the back of the chair, dozing off.
Before him, Guard Captain Holmes respectfully reported the situation.
"Lord Cubero, I have refused Brady and others' request to use the power of the city guard to target certain students in Beidi Academy according to your request."
Cubero was expressionless and his eyes were a bit hollow. He said faintly:
"The city guard itself is not for their service, right?"
"This..." Holmes broke out in a cold sweat and said hesitantly:
"I thought it was just a small matter, so I didn't refuse before."
"Alright, you don't need to explain," Cubero's calm voice sounded:
"Don't you think the nobles of Beidi are too tacit?"
"Tacit?" Holmes wondered.
Cubero continued:
"Yes, Beidi Academy is a good example. The nobles control the selection rights for the Soul Master Competition, so that talented students have to rely on their wings.
"They tacitly cut off the channels for many excellent students to be loyal to the royal family, causing a large number of talents to be lost...
"Tell me, is this my dereliction of duty?"
Holmes remained silent, these were not things he could comment on.
Cubero chuckled, "Why am I telling you so much? Alright, go down, remember your duty, you are serving me, serving the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Family."
"Yes," Holmes respectfully left the City Lord's Mansion.
After he left, Cubero's already stiff body became even more sluggish, and his originally hollow eyes completely lost their luster.
His whole person suddenly turned into countless invisible threads and scattered.
These threads wriggled like small snakes and eventually converged in the hands of a figure in a black cloak deeper in the mansion.
The threads also disappeared with a little halo.
The figure in the cloak muttered in a slightly old voice:
"The nobles' tacit understanding only exists when the distribution of benefits is consistent. If the original distribution of benefits is accidentally broken, then they are just a mob of sand before a consensus is reached."
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