Immortal Cage - Chapter 60: Witness Your Incompetence
The people around saw that Yulie did not move, thinking that he was afraid of the ghost soldiers. Someone shouted, "Yutou, just follow Duto and you won't have to worry about the ghost soldiers draining your qi."
Someone else sneered, "This Yulie really has no shame, Duto is taking care of him, and he still acts so arrogant."
Another person gloated, "Heh! Maybe he's scared. When the ghost soldiers attack, he'll be even more pathetic."
Radish Head and Lao Hu also reacted.
The former had a pale face, looking at the dark energy in the air with fear. The latter took a deep breath, quickly kicked Radish Head, and whispered, "Hurry, you go to the medicine hall later, and ask to see that old man for Yuge..."
The discussions rose again.
After waiting for a few moments, Duto saw that Yulie did not move, just staring at him.
His brows furrowed slightly, and his voice turned cold:
"Yulie, I've already given you enough face today. You injured your colleagues in the alchemy room for no reason, you must make a trip to the yamen, don't force me to take action!"
Swish! The eyes of everyone present turned to Yulie.
But a light laughter suddenly rang out.
Yulie stared at Duto, and crisply opened his mouth:
"Duto, what kind of thing are you, to call yourself 'brother' in front of me!"
His voice was clear, with a hint of mockery, like a bucket of cold water, making the murmurs in the venue all quiet down.
Everyone's faces were shocked as they stared at Yulie, momentarily unable to react.
Even Duto himself, holding the sign, had a somewhat dazed expression, thinking he had misheard.
Immediately, Duto realized he hadn't misheard, his face twitched, his eyes stared at Yulie fiercely, as if looking at a dead man.
With a cold snort, Duto grabbed the sign, about to let the ghost soldiers descend and bind Yulie. But at the moment before he waved his hand, he frowned and hesitated.
Duto's eyes were filled with suspicion, thinking to himself, "I've carefully investigated Yulie's background, and he doesn't seem to have much connection with that old man. Why is he so audacious today... Could there be someone else behind him?"
Duto was conflicted, with countless thoughts running through his mind, and he gritted his teeth:
"Regardless! Today, I'll follow the rules and take this guy to the yamen first. If someone comes to claim him later, I'll ignore it, anyway, causing trouble won't come back to me."
He glanced at the round-faced child next to him with a look of joy in his heart.
Ever since he lost a lot of money in the gambling house last time, Duto had been suspicious of why Yulie suddenly had money, suspecting that Yulie had come into good fortune and targeted him.
For the past half month, he had been cautious, first inquiring about Yulie's background himself, then spreading rumors to see if Yulie had any other backing in the alchemy room.
After waiting for a while, Duto confirmed that Yulie used to be a poor child, but now that he had come into wealth, he used the excuse of Yulie being absent from work for too long to have someone replace Yulie's position.
In this way, he not only received a bribe in advance to cover his gambling debts, but also incited the round-faced child to conflict with Yulie, while he sat back and watched the situation unfold.
As expected today, Yulie's sharp tongue led to a conflict with the round-faced child, giving him a perfect excuse to arrest Yulie.
Once Yulie was arrested, the round-faced child could extract every bit of information from Yulie and squeeze out his path to wealth!
After making his decision, Duto looked towards Yulie, thinking to himself, "People don't get rich without windfalls. Dare to deceive me! If no one comes to claim you later, I'll squeeze every drop of oil from your bones!"
Woo!
The ghost soldiers swirled, following Duto's gesture, and pounced towards Yulie.
A chill rose!
The round-faced children near Yulie's side all had their faces changed, quickly retreating. Lao Hu also pulled Radish Head, hurrying to step back.
Yulie still stared at Duto, his expression unchanged.
He faced the approaching ghost soldiers and reprimanded:
"Evil spirits, how dare you defy your superiors, capture him at once!"
His voice was like thunder, booming in the ears of the surrounding children, instilling fear.
To the astonishment of the children, as soon as the dark energy reached Yulie's head, upon hearing his command, they immediately turned around and flew away.
Swoosh! The ghost soldiers took human form and landed behind the round-faced child. The round-faced child, who was initially joyful, turned pale.
His face turned ashen, his heels involuntarily lifted, his body stiffened.
The ghost soldiers clung to the person, almost like a parasite, making it impossible for the person to move freely and subject to the commands of the one who summoned them.
The round-faced child felt numb all over, sensing the coldness and the presence behind him, he immediately panicked and shouted, "Help me, Duto, save me!"
A loud scream rang out, startling the others.
Duto and the other children looked at Yulie in shock, their eyes filled with confusion.
They clearly saw Yulie slowly take out a badge from his sleeve and waved it in front of them.
Seeing Yulie take out the badge, their eyes widened in disbelief. Someone with sharp eyes couldn't help but ask, "Is that badge..."
"Middle-ranking disciple!"
"When did Yulie get promoted to a middle-ranking disciple?!"
"He's only been in the alchemy room for a few months, right?!"
People's eyes were filled with disbelief as they stared at Yulie, realizing that he was now a middle-ranking disciple, with the badge signifying his status.
As Yulie had been facing Duto and the ghost soldiers without any panic, it was because he was also a middle-ranking disciple, on par with Duto and the others.
As for the badge in Yulie's hand, it was the copper badge he received after being promoted to a middle-ranking disciple, which granted him various privileges in the town, including the ability to command the ghost soldiers.
Although Yulie had just physically assaulted the round-faced child, due to his status as a middle-ranking disciple and the round-faced child being a lower-ranking disciple, as long as Yulie didn't kill him, the prohibition within the ghost soldiers wouldn't be triggered.
On the other hand, lower-ranking disciples, no matter the reason, were weaker in arguments when provoking middle-ranking disciples. Middle-ranking disciples could call on the ghost soldiers to detain them, but they couldn't use private punishment and had to go to the yamen for judgment.
In the scene,
Duto's expression was uncertain, as he looked at Yulie up close, feeling that Yulie's smile was particularly mocking.
The round-faced child beside him turned pale, trembling and shouting, "No! Go away! Spare me..."
His voice made Duto feel even more uncomfortable.
Duto's expression changed, and he suddenly moved the badge, causing the ghost soldiers to seal the round-faced child's mouth, quieting the scene.
Afterwards, Duto took a deep breath, and said to Yulie, "Yuge, when did you get promoted to a middle-ranking disciple?"
Yulie squeezed out a smile, just short of being obsequious.
Yulie looked at him with a dry smile and said, "Recently, recently."
"Heh, congratulations." Duto forced a few dry laughs and then bowed to Yulie, saying, "Since Yuge is already a middle-ranking disciple, then today's matter was just a misunderstanding. Yuge will handle it all."
With that said, Duto turned around with a composed face, looked around, and was about to turn and leave quickly.
Today's calculations were wrong, he had never expected that Yulie had already become a middle-ranking disciple, making a fool of himself. Therefore, he had to immediately abandon his plans, retreat, and avoid any further trouble.
To prevent himself from losing control and offending Yulie even more, making it difficult to turn back and creating a new enemy!
At this moment, Duto was still unaware that Yulie had long seen through his schemes.
As he turned around, Duto gritted his teeth, "Damn it! How long has it been since Yulie completed the 'Like a Wolf, Like a Tiger' transformation, not even half a year! How did he manage to achieve the 'Bronze Bones, Iron Body' and become a middle-ranking disciple? Where did the money come from? Why didn't he show up to fight that high-level disciple in the beginning?"
At the same time, Duto felt a wave of regret, regretting that he hadn't acted sooner, hadn't caught Yulie before he broke through. Otherwise, if he had acted earlier, he might have made a big profit.
His face darkened, and he walked away quickly.
Just as he was about to leave, a voice suddenly sounded behind Duto, causing him to pause:
"Duto, please stay!" It was Yulie's voice.
Duto didn't want to respond, trying to leave. But Yulie's next words made him stop in his tracks.
"In the town, positions are held by the capable. Duto, I see your incompetence, and I intend to take your place."
Yulie stood behind Duto, clasping his hands, and said with a smile:
"Since there are many witnesses here, why delay it? Let's settle it today. Duto, step down and leave the alchemy room?"
These two consecutive sentences clearly echoed in the ears of the disciples in the alchemy room.
Leaving everyone stunned, bewildered, and dazed. Some showed excitement, as if watching a great show.