The magistrate of Anyi County hadn't been in a good mood these past couple of days.
He was annoyed.
Somehow, people had been coming to complain these past few days, saying that someone in Dragon Spring Town, the most remote town under Anyi County's jurisdiction, was breaking the law.
Later, upon inquiry, he learned that these people had come to report Mr. Xu, who had opened a school in Dragon Spring Town.
With Great Zhou newly established, even a small place like Anyi County had mountains of administrative affairs to handle.
As the county magistrate, how could he have time to explain the differences between the old and new dynasties to these peasants?
So he sent them all away.
Ridiculously, those people from Dragon Spring Town still muttered as they left, wondering why there was no reward money.
A teacher who was willing to condescend to teach these peasants had finally come to their town, yet they came to report him? And even wanted reward money?
Absurd.
However, considering that Dragon Spring Town was once a prosperous township, the magistrate couldn't ignore it completely, so he sent a clerk with his officially sealed blank documents to Dragon Spring Town.
First, to legitimize Xu Zhixing's school.
Second, to appoint a local person as Dragon Spring Town's village head.
Due to busy administrative duties, the clerk couldn't leave immediately and delayed for a day.
During this day, things became quite serious in Dragon Spring Town.
The villagers who had gone to report to the county hadn't received any reward money, nor had they understood the officials' attitude toward Xu Zhixing's school.
After making a wasted trip, they were full of discontent.
Upon returning to Dragon Spring Town, they could only direct their discontent at Xu Zhixing.
The next day, a group of elderly people, mixed with several disabled young men, came to make trouble at Xu Zhixing's door.
They were shouting about tearing down his school.
Among them, a young man with a lame leg was the most aggressive.
Perhaps because this round trip to the county had cost him the most, his attitude toward Xu Zhixing was particularly vengeful.
"Tear down the school, make him leave Dragon Spring Town! The county officials said that opening a private school is a capital offense, and we people of Dragon Spring Town will be punished too. We can't let him stay here."
The lame man's face was red with anger, as if he had some deep grudge against Xu Zhixing.
Stirred up by his instigation, other villagers' emotions were also aroused.
"Right, make him leave, tear down the school!"
"Get out, don't harm our whole town!"
Although many people had gathered at the school entrance, only the few who had gone to the county were really causing trouble.
The others had just come to watch the excitement, occasionally joining in the shouting.
Facing these villagers, Xu Zhixing maintained his pleasant demeanor.
He raised his hand to quiet them and said loudly:
"Everyone, please hear me out."
Xu Zhixing's voice was deep and steady. Although not particularly loud, it subdued those villagers who were shouting at the top of their lungs.
Everyone gradually quieted down, not running away like last time, but waiting to hear what Xu Zhixing would say.
Xu Zhixing sighed, cupped his hands and said:
"Everyone, I am Xu Zhixing, and as you can see, I am a scholar and a teacher."
As soon as he finished speaking, the lame man immediately shouted angrily:
"Look, he admits it himself! Let's tie him up and take him to the officials!"
Others weren't as extreme as the lame man, but their expressions weren't pleasant either.
Xu Zhixing looked at the lame man with a smile and said:
"Brother, since you say the county officials declared I deserve death, why haven't they come to arrest me after a whole day?"
The lame man was stunned, stammering:
"Perhaps... perhaps... the officials are too busy. Once they have time, they'll come arrest you."
Xu Zhixing smiled helplessly and said calmly:
"Fine, let's say they're busy. In that case, why don't we wait a few more days to see if officials come to arrest me? If they do come, it proves I am indeed guilty and deserve death. But if they don't come, wouldn't that mean you can believe that I, Xu Zhixing, haven't broken any laws?"
The lame man hadn't thought of this, nor had the other troublemakers given it deep thought.
They had just made a wasted trip and felt resentful, which was why they came to vent at Zhixing Academy's door.
But hearing Xu Zhixing's words, they felt he had a point.
Whether the school was illegal or not would be determined by the officials.
The lame man saw that Xu Zhixing had convinced everyone with just a few words and suddenly felt he had lost face.
He grabbed Xu Zhixing's arm and shouted harshly:
"Don't believe him, everyone! He is guilty and will harm us all. Let's tie him up and throw him out of Dragon Spring Town!"
Xu Zhixing was startled, quite helpless.
It really felt like the situation of a scholar meeting soldiers - unable to reason with them.
"Let go of the teacher..."
Suddenly, a somewhat childish voice rang out. Yu Wenqing kept pushing through from outside the crowd.
Behind him was a man with a pale face and weak body, looking as if he might fall with every couple of steps.
But no one noticed that after this man followed Yu Wenqing into the crowd, he moved through the gaps between people as if walking on open ground, easily and naturally, without any difficulty.
Yu Wenqing pushed through the crowd, came to Xu Zhixing's side, glared at the lame man, and shouted again:
"Let go of the teacher!"
Then he went to pull at the lame man's hand that was grabbing Xu Zhixing.
The lame man looked at Yu Wenqing, recognized him as the son of that consumptive who had come to Dragon Spring Town a year ago, and sneered:
"Little consumptive, what business is this of yours? Get lost!"
Then the lame man reached out and pushed Yu Wenqing away.
Just as the boy was about to fall, his consumptive father seemingly casually moved a step sideways, happening to block behind him, stopping Yu Wenqing's backward fall.
Xu Zhixing was suddenly alarmed, but seeing that Yu Wenqing hadn't fallen, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.
He turned to look at the lame man, the gentleness in his eyes completely gone.
"Brother, laying hands on a child is going too far."
The lame man was about to retort when he suddenly felt his grip on Xu Zhixing loosen.
Xu Zhixing had merely twisted his wrist to break free from his grip.
Then his vision blurred, and before he knew what had happened, he felt his arm locked behind him.
Then everything spun, and with a bang, he was thrown to the ground.
The lame man hadn't yet come to his senses when he heard Xu Zhixing's voice become gentle again.
"Since brother doesn't want to reason, I happen to know some martial arts as well."
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
They couldn't believe that Xu Zhixing, who appeared so scholarly and weak, could throw a grown man over his shoulder and slam him heavily to the ground.
Yu Wenqing's father, that pale-faced middle-aged man, saw this move of Xu Zhixing's, and his eyes clearly brightened for a moment.
But in an instant, they became subdued again.
Only now did the lame man realize he had been taken down by Xu Zhixing in one move.
The violent impact made him feel as if all the bones in his body were broken, and his chest was so constricted from the fall that he couldn't breathe.
After several breaths, he finally managed to exhale a breath of turbid air and regain his ability to breathe.
Seeing this, the people around looked somewhat fearful.
This scholar's temper didn't seem as good as it appeared.
Xu Zhixing smiled at them and asked:
"Fellow villagers, shall we wait a few more days to see if the officials will really come to arrest me?"
The onlookers hurriedly nodded.
"Yes, yes, let's wait and see, wait and see..."
Xu Zhixing smiled and said no more.
He remembered a saying from his previous life.
Once you decide to treat the world with savagery, you'll find that people around you seem to become gentler.
This saying seemed to make sense in this strange world too.
"Bad news, the officials are coming... coming to arrest Xu Zhixing..."
Just then, someone in the distance suddenly shouted at the top of their lungs.