Volume One: Menial Servants of Changshui County Chapter Twenty-Two: A Barrage of Questions

The next day, March 11.

Renyin, Guimao, Yichou.

All affairs are auspicious, no taboos.

At dawn, Lu Jiuzhang borrowed a handcart from Aunt Zhao, his neighbor, and hauled dozens of standard-issue sabers to the Demon-Slaying Bureau.

Once he arrived at the office, his colleagues came to redeem their own weapons with money. Lu Jiuzhang collected payment from each, earning a handsome profit. Even after his generous brother’s death, he managed to help Lu Jiuzhang one last time, ensuring he would not worry about food and clothing for the foreseeable future!

When returning the saber to Zhou Cheng, a Demon-Slaying Guard, Lu Jiuzhang noticed that his spirit had mostly recovered. It must have been the pill given by Chen Xuanfeng that worked its magic. After all, it was a medicine meant for an eighth-rank martial artist, and Zhou Cheng was only ninth-rank, so the effects were doubled.

Yet Zhou Cheng’s empty sleeve hung loosely, stirring a pang of guilt in Lu Jiuzhang’s heart. This matter had originated from him; those monsters had appeared with the sole intent to kill him. Zhou Cheng had simply been a bystander, and now he had lost an arm because of it.

Of course, Lu Jiuzhang knew it was not truly his fault; the blame lay with whoever sought his life from the shadows.

“Lord Zhou!” Lu Jiuzhang cupped his hands in greeting. “Here is your saber.”

Zhou Cheng accepted his weapon, caressing the scabbard for a moment. From now on, he would be a one-armed swordsman!

Despite his loss, Zhou Cheng was not overly distraught. Better to lose an arm than his life. If that woman in black and Chen Xuanfeng had not arrived when they did, he might not have survived.

“Here are two taels of silver,” Zhou Cheng said, pulling out a pouch and handing it to Lu Jiuzhang. There were exactly two taels in it, not a coin more.

“Thank you, Lord Zhou!” Lu Jiuzhang expressed his gratitude and prepared to leave.

“One more thing,” Zhou Cheng added. “Regarding Miaodi Village, there may be an investigation. Be prepared in advance. You surely have secrets—some secrets should be kept, but if you’re caught off guard and forced to reveal them, it won’t end well for you.”

So they would begin looking into the business with those four monsters at Miaodi Village?

Lu Jiuzhang was not surprised. Out of their squad, nine had perished and only he remained. It would have been stranger if the matter went unexamined.

It was only the excuse that caught him off guard.

...

Speak of the devil and he appears. No sooner had Lu Jiuzhang returned to the office than a menial came to inform him: Yuan Wufeng, Deputy Director of the Demon-Slaying Bureau, was summoning him.

There were currently three deputy directors at the Bureau. One had accompanied the chief to Anxi Prefecture on a demon-suppression mission and had not yet returned. That left Chen Xuanfeng and the one called Yuan Wufeng. Today, Chen Xuanfeng was supposed to be off duty, leaving Yuan Wufeng in charge.

Relieved that it was not Chen Xuanfeng, Lu Jiuzhang let out a long breath and made his way to the rear courtyard where the deputies handled their affairs.

Lu Jiuzhang was not familiar with Yuan Wufeng; he had never even seen him before.

...

When Lu Jiuzhang arrived at the back of the Bureau, he found a fair-skinned man seated at a desk, bent over his writing.

Sensing someone’s arrival, the fair man looked up. He possessed an indescribable handsomeness, though it was tinged with a trace of effeminacy.

“Ahem... You’re here?” The fair man glanced at Lu Jiuzhang, his voice unusually sharp—Lu Jiuzhang would have said it hardly sounded like a man’s at all.

“Sit down!” Yuan Wufeng dispensed with airs, pointing to the stool across from him.

When Lu Jiuzhang had taken his seat, Yuan Wufeng finally spoke. “The business at Miaodi Village is highly suspicious. In the past decade or more, there has never been a case where several monsters attacked a village simultaneously.”

“Moreover, only your squad suffered heavy losses. The others were unharmed.”

“I’ve spoken to Zhou Cheng and pieced together the events. He, too, only encountered the monsters after running into you.”

At the desk, Yuan Wufeng fixed Lu Jiuzhang with a probing stare, questioning him relentlessly.

No matter how effeminate he seemed, Yuan Wufeng was still an eighth-rank martial artist. Under that pressure, Lu Jiuzhang found it hard to breathe.

“I do not know,” Lu Jiuzhang replied at once. “When I entered the village, I immediately ran into a monster—a fox demon. It was immensely powerful, and under its enchantment, the others all fell...” He had not finished before Yuan Wufeng interrupted him.

“Then how did you escape from the fox demon?” Yuan Wufeng pressed. “That fox demon was ninth-rank. All ten of you were ordinary men.”

“I’ve already examined the cause of its death—it was struck down by heavenly thunder, and there were faint traces of Confucian magic around the site.”

“I surmise that anyone capable of summoning such thunder must at least be a seventh- or even sixth-rank Confucian cultivator.”

Back then, drawing on the power of the great scholar Lu Shiyi’s statue in the Kui Star Pavilion, Lu Jiuzhang had forcibly activated the Literary Pool, unleashing a strike equal to a seventh- or even sixth-rank Confucian. No wonder the fox demon had not even had a chance to dodge before it was slain.

Now he understood: ever since he opened the Kui Star Pavilion, he had a trump card to save his life.

But while Confucian arts were devastating to monsters, could they be as effective against human martial artists? And after using that one strike, he was left terribly weakened. Should he encounter another foe, the risk would be great.

He would have to grow stronger himself.

“Answer my question!” Yuan Wufeng snapped, seeing Lu Jiuzhang lost in thought.

“Director Yuan, you must have heard from Lord Zhou Cheng that there was a woman in black that day. I suspect she was the one who intervened.” Lu Jiuzhang had no intention of exposing the Kui Star Pavilion so early, so he attributed everything to the woman in black—Li Muyun.

Besides, she had already left Changshui County. Yuan Wufeng would not be able to find her.

“That woman’s cultivation, at most, is ninth-rank, and she is a martial artist, not a Confucian. Do you take me for a fool?” Yuan Wufeng barked.

“I really do not know,” Lu Jiuzhang insisted, shaking his head. “I have never left Changshui County in my life, nor do I know any masters, let alone practice Confucian or martial arts. And with so many monsters present, why was the Bureau’s support so late in arriving?”

“If the officials of the Bureau had acted sooner, perhaps such a tragedy could have been avoided.”

This, too, was a source of Lu Jiuzhang’s anger. If people were targeting him, so be it—he was not one to shrink from a fight. But dragging others into it just to cover the real motive behind his murder was going too far.

“Are you questioning me?” Yuan Wufeng said coldly.

“I would not dare. I merely wonder how such a thing could happen—it should never have come to this,” Lu Jiuzhang replied, softening his tone.

Yuan Wufeng waved his hand. “You may go. I will discuss this with Deputy Director Chen Xuanfeng.”