Mayor's Reception

During the day, Ye Wei'an presents himself as a righteous law enforcer who eliminates harm for the people.

By evening, he had become one of the local tyrants, and was a guest of honor of Mayor Bartók.

The dinner was held in the mayor's mansion, which was in the typical southern Faron style.

A long oak dining table was covered with a clean white linen table, silver cutlery gleamed in the candlelight, and the aroma of oak barrel-aged ale and golden-roasted wild boar filled the air.

Besides the mayor, the most powerful people in Firefall Town were also seated at the table:

The presidents of several guilds, including the blacksmith guild and the brewing guild, the large merchant guild that controlled the flow of grain in half of the territory, and several manor owners—they were not only rich, but also had a number of private guards.

These powerful figures who wielded immense influence in Firefall Town were now sitting upright, their eyes occasionally glancing furtively at Ye Wei'an, who sat in the main seat.

Whenever Ye Wei'an cut off a piece of meat or picked up a wine glass, there would be a chorus of almost fawning responses from those around him.

"My lord, the removal of the Gray Raven, this malignant tumor, is truly the most satisfying thing that has happened to Firefall Town in a hundred years!"

"That's right, we were deceived by him before, and were even forced to do business with him, which was extremely distressing..."

Ye Wei'an put down his wine glass, elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth, and a purple glint flashed in his eyes.

[Detection of Thoughts] Activated.

If you are only peeping into other people's superficial thoughts, then the person being spied on will not realize that they have been "mind-read".

He looked at these tense old foxes and knew exactly what they were thinking.

It's not a celebration of justice being served, but a reckoning of fear.

The Grey Crows have been operating in Firefall Town for many years, and their smuggling and profiteering have long since extended to every corner.

He couldn't have handled such a large-scale operation on his own; these local tyrants were all, to varying degrees, his accomplices.

The crows exploited the town and surrounding villages more efficiently, while the villagers, sheltered under their black umbrella, comfortably shared in the bloody profits.

"Since you've all brought up exchanges," Ye Wei'an pulled a thick stack of papers, some with bloodstains on the edges, from the pocket of his robe and casually slapped them on the table. "I have some interesting things here."

The atmosphere at the table froze instantly; even the clinking of glasses ceased.

"This is Gray Raven's own handwritten confession, along with the statements from his bodyguards, thugs, and informants," Ye Wei'an's fingers lightly traced the stack of papers. "During the interrogation, they spilled quite a few names in order to save their lives. For example, which merchant houses helped the bandits sell stolen goods, which guilds helped them transport embargoed goods, and even... how many gold coins certain individuals gave Gray Raven to gain a foothold in town. Take a look at the details yourselves."

The originally enthusiastic atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.

Thorne, the guild leader of the Timber Guild sitting on the left, took the paper with trembling hands. After scanning only a few lines, large beads of sweat fell from his forehead onto the table.

Without saying a word, he handed the paper to Old Kelin, the grain merchant next to him.

The papers were passed from hand to hand among the guests, and only the soft rustling sound and suppressed breathing could be heard in the room.

The confession not only recorded which merchant houses helped the robbers sell stolen goods and which guilds transported embargoed goods, but more importantly, it detailed how Grey Raven used the lady's background to forcibly intervene in the market, manipulate prices, and use this to blackmail everyone present into forming a "monopoly alliance."

When the confession reached Mayor Bartók, he stared intently at the statement detailing his tacit approval of smuggling and acceptance of kickbacks, and the silver fork in his hand clattered into the plate.

The faces of the wealthy guests turned from red to white, then from white to green, and cold sweat streamed down their temples.

They knew all too well how deep their cooperation with the Gray Ravens was; if Ye Weian wanted to arrest them, half of the people present would be in the dungeon tonight.

Even without using [Thought Detection], Ye Wei'an could sense their fear.

He looked at the flock of lambs to the slaughter, then suddenly chuckled and snapped his fingers.

Blue and white flames suddenly appeared on the stack of testimonies.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the confessions that were enough to bankrupt them and cost them their lives twisted and shrank in the magical fire, eventually turning into wisps of ashes in mid-air.

"Grey Raven and his henchmen are all heinous thugs. How can you believe their dying accusations?" Ye Wei'an said gently, watching the ashes fall. "I think everyone here is the most loyal subject of the Xia Xing family. You must have been blackmailed by them and led astray. Let bygones be bygones."

After the deathly silence came heavy, relieved breathing.

"Brilliant! My lord is truly wise!" The blacksmiths' guild leader, who had been hiding in a corner, was the first to step forward and speak up: "My lord, I see that some of your soldiers are not equipped with iron armor. How can that be? I have ten newly forged chainmails; I'll have them sent to you right away!"

Thorne, the head of the lumber guild, breathed a sigh of relief. He rose and performed a proper kneeling salute: "Your Excellency's fairness is truly admirable. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, the carpenters' guild knows what to do. Three cartloads of the finest hardwood will be delivered to your camp tomorrow!"

Old Klin slumped in his chair, his voice trembling with tears: "My lord, you are merciful! I am deeply ashamed... Tomorrow morning, I will send three thousand pounds of new wheat to your camp. As long as your soldiers are in Firefall, I will provide them with rations for one day!"

Others also expressed their gratitude, with various promises and rewards pouring in.

Ye Wei'an leaned back in his chair, looking at the group of wealthy gentlemen who were extremely grateful to him, and thought to himself, "The wisdom of my hometown is indeed useful. With this, the cooperation will be much easier to discuss in the future."

In fact, both Ye Wei'an and the local bullies knew perfectly well that burning testimonies was essentially useless.

That's just testimony, not evidence. So what if it's burned?

Ye Wei'an could simply have the prisoners write another copy; would those criminals dare to refuse?

Even in the eyes of these local tyrants, burning evidence is useless—this illegitimate young master is a mage (most people can't tell the difference between a mage and a warlock), who knows what wonderful tricks this mage master has up his sleeve?

What reassured them was Ye Wei'an's attitude.

Ye Wei'an's move demonstrated his willingness to forgive and forget, which was what moved them the most.

What the local bullies didn't know was that Ye Wei'an was also feeling a bit scared.

He was glad he seized the opportunity and sold the chips for a good price before they expired.

The current situation is purely because the old baron is still alive, and Gray Raven, for the sake of his wife, dares not clearly identify his true backer. These shady dealings are what we call "handles".

Once the old baron passes away and the lady takes complete control of the territory, things like the Grey Ravens will become an open "rule," and at that point, these testimonies will be worthless, less than a piece of paper.

Despite the generous promises from everyone, Ye Wei'an did not rush to accept the gifts.

He raised his hand with a smile to stop everyone from offering their "thank yous," and even sincerely praised the loyalty of everyone present.

"I appreciate your kindness, but as the son of a lord, I cannot accept gifts from private individuals without due cause."

Upon hearing this, the local strongmen at the dinner table exchanged bewildered glances.

Thorne and old Klin exchanged a suspicious glance—in their view, refusing "small money" often meant that the other party wanted "big money," or was preparing to make exorbitant demands and completely swallow up their business.

Just as the atmosphere became awkward again, Ye Wei'an picked up his wine glass and changed the subject:

"However, when I seized the old oak leather business, I discovered that Grey Crow actually owned a large number of real estates, suburban estates, and even a considerable number of bonus shares in the businesses of the people present here."

Ye Wei'an sighed, looking worried. "Grey Raven has committed too many atrocities in Firefall Town, colluding with bandits and exploiting the townspeople. Now that justice has been served, these victims need compensation. I plan to sell these properties soon to use as compensation, but I don't know if there are any kind-hearted 'good Samaritans' in town willing to support me?"

The people at the table were stunned for a moment, then they realized what was happening.

What kind of "sale" is this?

This is clearly an attempt to sell back to the Grey Crows what they forcibly seized and swallowed back then, under a different guise.

This money, ostensibly "compensation" for the victims, is actually "atonement money" for them to buy their lives!

"Support! We must support this!" Thorne finally won first place this time. "Our carpenters' guild has an unshirkable responsibility to do this kind of good deed!"

"We support it too!" others echoed.

Mayor Bartók, a cunning old fox, clapped his hands and laughed heartily, "Your Excellency is truly magnanimous! Since everyone here has such sincere hearts, let's not wait for 'the near future.' There's no time like the present, so let's start the auction right now, shall we?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of hurried agreement erupted from the long table.

"The mayor is absolutely right, that's exactly how it should be!"

"I absolutely cannot be left out of this virtuous and meritorious deed!"

"The brewing association wholeheartedly supports this!"

Seeing this, the mayor clapped his hands and said, "Someone, remove the tables and rearrange the venue! We'll hold an auction right here in this official residence, and I'll personally be the auctioneer for you, sir!"