Reversing the Milky Way

Hu Lian's voice made Bai Cheng a little nervous.

“I came from somewhere else to enroll at the White House Academy. This is my first time here, and I don’t know the rules.”

Upon hearing this, Hu Lian's expression turned serious, and his eyes kept darting back and forth between Bai Cheng and his body.

"Oh? So you're someone going to register for the White House Academy. Well, since this is your first offense, you can leave after paying the fine. This is the border woodland outside the White House Academy. Everything here belongs to the White House Academy. Anyone who trespasses here is required to serve a year of hard labor and be fined fifty silver coins. Since this is your first offense, we'll only fine you fifty silver coins. Remember, there are many places in White Maple City that ordinary people are not allowed to enter. Otherwise, if you encounter someone from your territory, they might just kill you. They're not as easy to talk to as our city guards."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng was taken aback.

"What? You want to fine me fifty silver coins? What's the difference between this and robbery? Besides, you said I'm a first-time offender, shouldn't you just expel me? Moreover, this is my first time here, and I didn't know that outsiders are not allowed to enter this place. Besides, I haven't damaged a single tree or blade of grass here, and I'm only a few hundred meters away from the forest exit. If it's really necessary, I'll just leave."

Upon hearing Bai Cheng's rebuttal, Hu Lian's eyes narrowed slightly. His facial expression revealed his anger at Bai Cheng's response. The city guard held an extremely high position in Baifeng City; ordinary people treated them with utmost respect, and even members of powerful sects dared not easily offend them. Bai Cheng, however, was not even at the Qi Condensation Realm level; in their eyes, he was no different from an ordinary person.

"Nonsense! Do you think this is your backyard? You can come and go as you please?! Do you know that if you refuse to obey, we have the right to execute you here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Lian's face turned fierce, and the other two people stepped forward and surrounded Bai Cheng on either side. Bai Cheng cursed inwardly at this sight.

He had come to this forest hoping to save on hotel accommodation costs, but he never expected that his actions would result in a fine of fifty silver coins, which infuriated him. However, he was helpless against the three city guards. If he were alone, he was confident of escaping, but he was not so sure of himself against three at the same time, especially since Hu Lian in front of him was a cultivator at the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

The main concern is that these people are members of the city guard. If they escape today, the consequences could be severe if they issue a warrant for his arrest. Seeing Bai Cheng's unwilling expression, Hu Lian remained indifferent. He wasn't worried about whether Bai Cheng had powerful backers. After all, as a member of Baifeng City's guard, he represented the city's prestige. Even if Bai Cheng had family influence behind him, he wouldn't dare to easily provoke the city guard. This was why the Baifeng City guard could move freely throughout Baifeng City.

"Kid, don't be ungrateful. Do you know that if it's a cultivator's first offense, it's a hundred silver coins? The fifty silver coins fine you're being given is only because you're still an ordinary person."

As these words fell, the atmosphere in the room became tense. Bai Cheng clenched his fists tightly. He had suffered a great loss this time. After two days of running around, he only had 290 silver coins left. But if he paid the fine, he would have spent over 100 silver coins in just five days in Baifeng City. He couldn't accept this situation. He knew that over 100 silver coins was enough to live a luxurious life for a year in an ordinary place.

At this moment, Hu Lian saw that Bai Cheng still wanted to put up a stubborn resistance. The weapon behind him flew quickly into his hand under his control. The remaining two people did the same when they saw this.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the forest was exceptionally quiet. The sounds of mosquitoes and birds had disappeared, and all that could be heard was Bai Cheng's heart pounding.

Hu Lian slowly raised his left hand. The atmosphere was extremely tense, as if a major battle was about to erupt at any moment. Just as he was about to signal the two men to capture Bai Cheng, Bai Cheng suddenly shouted.

"Wait!"

Bai Cheng's voice was so loud that it startled a flock of birds in the distant jungle.

"My lords, I'll pay the fine, but I don't have any money right now. Could you please offer me something of equal value as collateral?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Lian slowly stopped what she was doing.

"Oh? An equivalent amount of goods as collateral? What kind of goods?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng slowly took out a small bottle from his pocket. This was the Spirit Gathering Pill he had bought a few days ago to prepare for the event. It should be noted that the price of this pill varies from place to place. In Wuling Town, the price of this pill was between forty-five and fifty silver coins, but in Baifeng City, it only costs forty silver coins to buy one.

Upon seeing the pills Bai Cheng had taken out, Hu Lian immediately recognized them as the Spirit Gathering Pill.

"You probably won't need this kind of thing for now, right?"

"Alas, this was originally a pill that I wanted to try when I reached the Qi Condensation Realm, but I don't need it at the moment. I bought this one to prepare for the future."

Upon hearing this, Hu Lian seemed to have heard a joke and began to mock Bai Cheng. Even the other two couldn't help but laugh out loud after hearing Bai Cheng's words.

"Hahaha, you little rascal, you're all talk and no action. You want to wait until you reach the Qi Condensation Realm before taking it? I bet you haven't even reached the half-step Qi Condensation Realm yet. Who knows how many years it will take you to reach the Spiritual Qi Realm? By then, I reckon this pill will be almost expired! Ahahaha."

The other two quickly echoed this sentiment.

Bai Cheng forced an awkward smile when he heard Hu Lian's mocking words.

"Uh, hahaha, what you say is true, sir. You see, I impulsively bought a Spirit Gathering Pill and was worried about it. Now that the Spirit Gathering Pill has come in handy, I can use it as collateral."

Upon hearing this, Hu Lian jokingly extended his right index finger, scolding Bai Cheng, and then took the pill bottle that Bai Cheng had handed over.

"Hahaha, you little rascal, hmm."

However, his attitude then changed completely.

"Young man, this Spirit Gathering Pill is indeed excellent, but there is only one of these pills available. It cannot be used as collateral for fifty silver coins, at most forty silver coins. Quickly hand over the remaining ten silver coins, and we will consider this a lenient punishment."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng couldn't help but curse inwardly.

'Hold'.

Then, he greeted them with a smile.

"Hey, sir, look at this Spirit Gathering Pill of mine. It cost fifty silver coins when I bought it, but when I came to White Maple City, I didn't know it was only worth forty silver coins. Look at this..."

Despite Bai Cheng's obsequious and ingratiating demeanor, Hu Lian still refused to let him go.

"What a joke! Someone who can impulsively buy a Spirit Gathering Pill can't even come up with ten silver coins? Hurry up and open your box. If you really can't come up with ten silver coins, then we'll naturally let you go."

After speaking, Hu Lian glanced at the box next to Bai Cheng. Bai Cheng, however, was seething with anger and was on the verge of exploding. If he didn't want to escalate the situation, he would have simply run away.

"Uh, brother, I really don't have ten silver coins left. If I did, I wouldn't be camping out in the forest!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Lian was completely stunned, as if struck by lightning.

'Right, if this kid had money, why would he spend the night in the forest?'

However, he immediately thought that Bai Cheng's wooden box could block the detection of divine sense, so there must be something good inside.

"Stop talking nonsense, open the box. We'll check it and then let you go. Do you think we're afraid of taking your things?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng clenched his fists, and he once again tried to curry favor with the three city guards in front of him.

"Hey, buddy, I really, really..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a sharp sword hovered directly in front of his forehead.

"Stop talking nonsense, kid, don't force us to take you back."

Hu Lian wielded his longsword, repeatedly brandishing it in front of Bai Cheng. Bai Cheng's expression darkened. He didn't believe Hu Lian's words at all, but the other party was, after all, a member of the city guard. Fighting with them would be very disadvantageous for him, and besides, the forest was quiet at night, and no one would notice if something happened.

Thinking of this, he pretended to squat down and try to open his backpack, but his eyes were fixed on the forest exit not far ahead.

At this moment, Hu Lianqian picked up the bottle of the Spirit Gathering Pill that Bai Cheng had given him and began to examine it carefully, without any sense of vigilance.

Bai Cheng found a suitable angle, and seeing that the time was ripe, a reason popped into his mind. 'Let's go for it!'

As golden lightning began to crackle beneath his feet, he grabbed his wooden box and charged out, snatching the Spirit Gathering Pill bottle he had just given away while Hu Lian was still stunned.

By the time Hu Lian realized what was happening, Bai Cheng had already run more than a hundred meters away. Seeing this, he immediately became furious.

"Damn it, chase after him! Once you catch him, don't hold back! Kill this kid!"

The other two exchanged glances upon hearing this, and then followed Hu Lian on his sword to catch up.

At this moment, Bai Cheng leaped out of the forest, his body surrounded by golden lightning. In just one second, he covered a distance of 100 meters.

As he ran out of the forest, three people followed behind him on their swords.

"Damn it! What's wrong with this kid? How can he run so fast?!"

Hu Lian stared in disbelief at Bai Cheng, who was running not far ahead. As a mid-stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, Hu Lian's sword speed had already reached 100 meters per second. His two early-stage Qi Condensation Realm teammates, even at their strongest, could only manage 100 meters per second, yet they maintained the same distance from Bai Cheng running on the ground.

So, in order to catch up with Bai Cheng, he also did his best to increase the speed of flying on his sword.

"Damn it! Even when I fly on my sword at full speed, I can only reach 150 meters per second. This kid can run at 100 meters per second just on the ground. Is he even human? He runs faster than ordinary demonic beasts."

With Hu Lian using his full sword control technique, he quickly left his two teammates behind, and the distance between him and Bai Cheng gradually decreased. The moment he was less than a hundred meters from Bai Cheng, his expression hardened.

"Kid, you die!"

As he formed a hand seal in front of him, several spiritual swords made of spiritual energy quickly appeared around him, and then he launched an attack on Bai Cheng, who was running on the ground.

As the spirit swords left afterimages on the ground, Bai Cheng nimbly dodged them. Seeing this, Hu Lian quickly flew on his sword to directly above Bai Cheng. With a rapid swing of his sword, three spiritual energy slashes hurtled towards Bai Cheng below.

Upon sensing the attack, Bai Cheng immediately spun ninety degrees to dodge. The area where he dodged was quickly covered by the attack. In an instant, Bai Cheng was seen running forward with all his might, while attacks kept exploding behind him. In just a few seconds, Bai Cheng had created a considerable distance between himself and Hu Lian.

At this moment, Hu Lian had been chasing Bai Cheng for nearly ten miles when he was soon attracted by the market street not far ahead, which happened to be in front of the White House Academy.

Bai Cheng looked at the bustling city street not far away. "It'll be soon. Once we get to a crowded place, we can find a way to shake off this guy behind us. And once there are more people, he, as a city guard of Baifeng City, should have some concerns."

Soon, the commotion in Bai Cheng's direction attracted the attention of some people. Although it was night, the attack released by spiritual power could be seen from a great distance.

"Hey! Look over there, it looks like there's a fight going on!"

As the voices from the crowd grew louder, more and more people noticed Bai Cheng running towards them from a distance.

After Bai Cheng rushed into the bustling street area, his speed was greatly affected by the large crowd. In an instant, Bai Cheng was running through the surging crowd.

Meanwhile, Hu Lian relayed Bai Cheng's information to another patrol team of city guards in the area via a communication jade tablet, and they quickly headed towards the street where Bai Cheng had run.

Meanwhile, Bai Cheng, who was running at high speed, quickly scanned the shops on both sides of the road. He was no longer using his spiritual power, because if he used it, he would be too conspicuous even in a crowd. In the end, he ran into a bustling restaurant that was still open.

Immediately afterward, Hu Lian and another patrol of city guards, who were following closely behind, put away their sword control techniques and landed in front of the wine shop's gate.

"That kid went in! Go after him!"

As soon as Hu Lian finished speaking, he and the city guards who had come to meet him entered the restaurant. After they went inside, they saw that the restaurant's sign read "Qin Le Restaurant".