Chapter 111

A large number of people from the underworld poured into Songzhou City, which also alarmed Guo Chonghou, the imperial envoy. He came to the governor's mansion and asked Pang Jun, "Sir Liu, what happened in the past few days? I found that many people from all walks of life suddenly appeared in Songzhou City."

　　Pang Jun informed Guo Chonghou of the specific reasons and assured him, "Sir Guo, I plan to hold a banquet tonight and invite representatives of these people. This is to let them go back and restrain their followers and not cause trouble. Otherwise, I will impose severe punishment on them. Please rest assured, I will try my best to prevent them from disturbing you." After much persuasion, Guo Chonghou left the governor's mansion with doubts.

　　Pang Jun hosted a banquet at the largest restaurant in Songzhou City, Yuebinju, to entertain representatives from various sects. Representatives from various sects began arriving at 3 p.m. Pang Jun, who was watching quietly from the sidelines, asked Sun Zihan, "Who on the list is here, who is not here? Who is going to ignore me?"

　　Sun Zi Han looked at the list and said, "Your Excellency has hosted a total of ninety-two representatives from various sects. Seventy-three of them have arrived, and fourteen are on the way. As for the rest..." He didn't finish his words and shook his head.

　　Pang Jun said expressionlessly: "Okay, I know, go down first, the guests are here, don't keep them waiting for too long." After that, Pang Jun stood up and walked towards "Yuebinju".

　　Seeing Pang Jun coming, the official in charge of reception called out his name loudly: "Songzhou Governor, Mr. Liu Jun has arrived!"

　　Hearing the name of Liu Jun, the originally noisy martial artists present soon quieted down. A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy in white, handsome and elegant, walked to the center of the venue as if no one was around, and said in a clear voice: "I am Liu Jun, the governor of Songzhou, representing the emperor. Today's banquet is in my capacity as the host. Welcome everyone to Songzhou as a guest."

　　Seeing such a young and handsome man, most of the martial artists who had never heard of Pang Jun's name reacted first that they had been fooled. Where was the governor? Why did a kid come? Or was there some conspiracy at tonight's banquet?

　　However, when those who did not believe saw the representatives of several major sects saluted Pang Jun one after another, they realized that the young man in front of them was indeed the governor of Songzhou!

　　Then, Pang Jun poured a glass of wine, raised it high, and said to the people present: "Here, I would like to offer a toast to everyone. First, as the parent official of Songzhou, I should fulfill my duty as a host. Second, as a martial arts junior, most of the people present are my predecessors, so I should drink a glass first to show respect."

　　Seeing that Pang Jun was so polite, many martial artists who were originally wary of him couldn't help but feel a little good about him and returned the greetings.

　　At this time, someone said, "Master Liu, although the major martial arts sects have always had disciples entering the officialdom, we, from small families, have never had much contact with the government. Moreover, we have never heard which sect you are from, Master Liu. What is the purpose of inviting us here tonight? If you don't explain clearly, I won't be able to eat this meal in peace."

　　"Excuse me, who is this..."

　　"I will always keep my surname and name, Zhou Xiaohe of the Xiaoshan Sect." The Xiaoshan Sect is a small sect in Chuzhou. It is more like a mountain stronghold than a sect. The people in the sect often do sneaky things. This time they came to Songzhou purely under the banner of retrieving the martial arts secrets of their sect, but in fact they are trying to fish in troubled waters.

　　Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Pang Jun said, "Since everyone wants to know the purpose of my invitation tonight, I will speak frankly. It's very simple. In the martial arts world, there are grudges and conflicts of interest. People have more or less grudges. I also know the purpose of your coming to Songzhou this time. I don't want to care about the grudges between you. I just want the people of Songzhou to live and work in peace. I implore you to control your followers and never violate the law in Songzhou City with force and hurt innocent people. Otherwise, don't blame me for not informing you in advance."

　　"What do the grudges between us martial artists have to do with you, a high-ranking official in the imperial court? We can solve them however we want, why bother meddling in other people's business!"

　　"That's right. What's so great about a young boy becoming a high-ranking official by relying on his family background? Come, come, practice with your grandfather. I guarantee that you will go back crying and call for your mother. Hahahaha."

　　Except for some members of famous and upright sects, most of these people have another identity, that is, they are outlaws. Cheating and deceiving are commonplace for them. They are unruly and not only did they not take Pang Jun's warnings to heart, but they also spoke rudely and provoked him in public.

　　Pang Jun looked coldly at the people who were shouting the loudest, and said calmly: "In other words, you are not going to abide by the rules and are going to challenge the authority of the court?"

　　"So what? Do you think I'm afraid of you? Ah!" Before he could finish his words, he heard a scream. The person who had just spoken rudely had blood gushing out of his right ear. A man wearing a black robe and exuding a cold aura was holding a long sword and pointing it at the people who had just been shouting. The tip of the long sword was dripping with bright red blood, and a bloody ear had fallen to the ground.

　　"You dare to attack!? Brothers, let's go together and kill that dog official and his lackeys!" Several people around him drew their weapons in anger and attacked Pang Jun and the man in black, Lin Rui.

　　Ling Tianfang and Qi Lin, who had been staying beside Pang Jun, saw those martial artists approaching and quickly drew their weapons and went forward to meet the enemy. They were originally masters selected from the army, and their opponents were not people with superb martial arts skills. The three of them faced seven opponents and still had the upper hand.

　　"Amitabha," at this time, Master Tianye of Shaolin Temple sang a Buddhist name, walked up to Pang Jun and said, "The people in the martial arts world are unruly and have offended the donor. I hope that Master Liu will be merciful and spare these people." The big monk knew that Pang Jun wanted to establish his authority in front of the people in the martial arts world by dealing with these troublemakers. Now that most of these people have fallen, he has already established his authority, so he just needs to ask Pang Jun to let them go.

　　Pang Jun nodded and said, "Well, I'll give you a favor and stop it!"

　　At his command, three of his men kicked those troublemakers aside and returned to Pang Jun.

　　However, just as the three of them were returning, suddenly a slight sound of breaking air came from the crowd. Pang Jun, who had been on the verge of life and death for a long time, felt a throbbing in his heart. He did not dodge, but raised his left hand, pinched his index finger and middle finger, and caught the hidden weapon that broke through the air in his hand. This wonderful "telepathic finger" shocked the people present. Pang Jun turned his head to look at the direction where the hidden weapon was launched at him, and his figure flashed. After a few jumps, he came to the edge of the crowd, grabbed a middle-aged man's hand, and clamped it hard. The middle-aged man screamed in pain, and something like a bamboo tube slipped from the man's sleeve and fell to the ground.

　　"You shameless bastard, you dare to attack an official appointed by the imperial court." Pang Jun put one hand on the man's shoulder and pushed down hard. The man's knees fell heavily on the stone floor with a "bang". It seemed that his legs were crippled. "Take him away and put him in custody." Then several officers came in and dragged the man out.

　　Pang Jun's body movements and this move instantly shocked those who were ready to make a move. All the martial artists present had to raise strong doubts. Is this young man really only sixteen years old? His body movements and internal strength are much higher than most of the people present. There are only a handful of people of his age in the martial arts world who have such martial arts skills. However, Master Tianye and Mu Qi, the top masters, can see that Pang Jun still has some strength left. They sighed in their hearts, what a genius.

　　At this time, Pang Jun sighed again and said, "Originally, today is the day when I hold a welcoming dinner to welcome you all to Songzhou. I don't want to see bloodshed. However, things don't go as I wish, and I have no choice but to do so. Songzhou was in chaos before, and it's hard to have a few days of peace. I really don't want the people to live a dangerous life where they are worried about their future, so I have to take drastic measures. I hope you can understand the feelings of a parent official who has been trembling with fear for three months after taking office. Thank you very much." After that, he bowed sincerely to all directions.

　　Most of the martial artists present were shocked by Pang Jun's thundering methods. At this moment, Pang Jun suddenly retracted his murderous aura and looked sincere, making it impossible to tell which one was the real him. But they all had the same idea now, not to anger this young man, otherwise they would definitely not have a good time in Songzhou. So everyone expressed that they would follow the laws of the court and not disrupt the lives of civilians in Songzhou City.

　　Pang Jun bowed to the people present again and said, "Thank you all for your cooperation. Liu Jun is very grateful. On behalf of the people of Songzhou, I thank you all again. Also, in recent days, the imperial envoy of the court has come to Songzhou on official business. I hope everyone can cooperate and try not to disturb the imperial envoy. Otherwise, both you and I will not escape punishment. I hope you will forgive me."

　　When they heard that there was an imperial envoy in Songzhou, everyone present became even more nervous. It would be fine if it was just a civilian, and they could just pay some money to get rid of any problems. But if the imperial envoy really made a mistake, it would be a slap in the face of the Great Jin Dynasty. Not to mention what kind of punishment the court would give them, even this young man in front of them would not let them go. So they all patted their chests and promised that they would never cause trouble, and asked Pang Jun to rest assured.

　　Seeing that his warning of using courtesy before force seemed to be effective, Pang Jun did not stir up the tense atmosphere again. He invited everyone to sit down and dine. The feast was a great pleasure for both the host and the guests.