Chapter 207: Chapter 197: After the Parade of Shame, Is It the Autumn Execution?

The gray-clothed constable’s foul attitude toward the scar-faced brute was understandable. The man, wanted by the authorities, had committed countless evil deeds; his hands were practically stained with the blood of innocent people.

If his superior gave the word, the constable would have loved nothing more than to draw his sword and lop the man’s damned head right off.

The gray-clothed constable coldly taunted the scar-faced brute, then raised his waterskin. Right in front of the man, he took a long, satisfying drink.

"Give me water... Quick, give me water!" Seeing that the constable had no intention of sharing, the scar-faced brute’s eyes blazed with fury. He reached out, trying to snatch the waterskin.

But he was too far away to reach it. All he could do was roar in helpless rage.

After quenching his thirst, the constable dangled the waterskin just out of the man’s reach, deliberately taunting him.

"You’re scum. Save your strength! Stop this useless struggling and shouting. Just focus on surviving for now!"

The onlookers lining the streets saw the constable taunting the brute. Instead of showing any sympathy, their applause and cheers only grew louder.

As someone from the Otherworld, Lin Li watched the constable taunt the scar-faced brute and listened to the cheers of the crowd. He thought to himself,

’These bandits are really hated! Huh? I think I recognize that one.’

The first prison wagon held the scar-faced brute. The second held a bald man, and the third contained a man with a silver earring and a tattoo on his arm.

The wagons that followed held more than a dozen other bandits. However, from the fourth wagon onward, their appearance and presence were far less imposing than the three men at the front.

Of these first three, the bandit in the third wagon looked somewhat familiar to Lin Li.

He thought for a moment, and a rather comical scene surfaced in his memory.

It was that cunning bandit who had deliberately goaded his own accomplice into attacking their enemy, just to buy himself time to escape.

That was it. The bandit in the third prison wagon was none other than San, the very same man who had led the ambush on Zhu Xinru’s party and gotten a brutal beating from Lin Li for his trouble.

’That cunning bastard. He betrayed his own partner just to save his skin. I can’t believe that not long after, he ended up in the hands of the local authorities.’

’Judging by this public parade, if things go the way they do in historical dramas, these bandits will probably be beheaded before long.’

Lin Li watched the procession of prison wagons recede into the distance until it rounded a corner and vanished from sight.

He then retracted his gaze and turned to look down the other end of the street.

A brown carriage approached slowly from the distance. A small yellow flag on its roof told Lin Li it was a "taxi."

He raised his hand and waved at the approaching carriage. The driver, a young man in his early twenties, saw the gesture and knew he had a customer.

He flicked the reins, urging the horse to a trot toward his waving customer.

"Whoa..."

"Looking for a ride, sir?" the young driver asked Lin Li after stopping the carriage.

"Yes." Lin Li nodded.

"Where to, sir?"

"I just arrived in Dongwu City and I’m not familiar with the area. I’d like to hire your carriage to take me on a tour of the city. How much would that cost?"

"Huh? You want to hire my carriage to take you on a tour of Dongwu City?"

The young driver had never had a customer like this before. His face was a picture of surprise.

"Yes. Is that something you can do? I’d need you from now until sunset," Lin Li asked.

The young driver thought for a moment, then nodded. He could do it.

He quickly calculated the price in his head, then quoted it to Lin Li. "Sir, to hire me to drive you around Dongwu City until sunset... that’ll be, uh, two hundred coppers."

"Done." Lin Li didn’t even try to haggle. He simply nodded in agreement.

’Uh... did I quote him too low?’ The young driver, who had never been hired for a full day before, felt a pang of regret at how quickly Lin Li agreed.

But he’d named the price, and the customer had agreed. There was no going back on his word now. The young driver gestured for Lin Li to board the carriage.

As Lin Li lifted the curtain and climbed into the carriage, he froze. It wasn’t because the interior was luxuriously decorated.

No driver of a for-hire carriage would spend extra money on fancy interior decorations.

What stunned Lin Li was the blast of cool air that greeted him as he entered. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The cool air filled the entire compartment, a welcome relief for Lin Li after suffering in the sweltering heat outside. A feeling of comfort washed over him.

He moved further inside and sat down on the low couch at the far end of the compartment.

Lin Li looked around the interior of the carriage and quickly discovered why it was so cool inside.

In the exact center of the carriage’s ceiling was a square metal plate.

This square metal plate was about ten centimeters per side and was entirely black.

The metal plate was thin and unremarkable. If it were to fall on the ground, anyone would mistake it for a worthless piece of scrap.

And yet, this small, unassuming black plate was a Spiritual Artifact. It was emitting a faint Spiritual Energy Wave and was currently regulating the temperature inside the carriage.

Lin Li touched the unassuming black metal plate with his finger and found its surface to be very cold, probably only between five and twelve degrees.

When he focused his Perception on it, he discovered that the unassuming black plate was constantly emitting a faint Spiritual Energy Wave.

’So that’s why Wang Gui’s restaurant was so cool. He must have had one of these Refrigeration Spiritual Artifacts installed...’

Gazing at the Spiritual Artifact embedded in the ceiling, Lin Li was reminded of his recent lunch with Wang Gui in his VIP room.

At the time, he had wondered why the room was so cool—it felt just like a modern, air-conditioned room.

He had extended his Perception to investigate the room back then.

Soon enough, Lin Li had detected a very faint Spiritual Energy Wave emanating from the lampshade on the ceiling.

Since his host was present, it wouldn’t have been appropriate for Lin Li to dismantle the lampshade for a closer look. So, he had set his curiosity aside and didn’t pursue it.

It was funny how things worked out. The question that had puzzled him in the restaurant was now being answered in a simple carriage.

"Please sit tight, sir. We’re heading out," the young driver called back to Lin Li.

"Okay," Lin Li replied. The young driver then flicked the reins, and the horse set off, pulling the carriage at a steady pace through Dongwu City.

"Driver, this carriage is nice and cool!" Lin Li called out from his seat on the low couch.

"It sure is... The Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact inside is the latest model. Cost me a pretty penny!" the young driver said with a laugh.

With the weather being so hot, a lot of customers wouldn’t even consider hiring a carriage if it didn’t have a Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact to cool it down.

...