Volume One: Menial Duties in Changshui County Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Long-Held Scheme

He had no idea how long he’d slept.
Lu Jiuzhang awoke only because he heard someone calling beside his ear.
Blinking away the haze of slumber, he found Wang Yunshan standing next to him.
“Brother Lu, why are you sleeping here?”
Wang Yunshan asked.
What was that supposed to mean?
Had he really been asleep so long that Wang Yunshan only just noticed?
Most likely, Wang Yunshan had been absorbed in gambling with dice, paying little attention to anything else.
“Brother Wang, is something the matter?”
Lu Jiuzhang asked, still groggy.
“Director Chen wants to see you.”
Wang Yunshan replied.
Director Chen? Chen Xuanfeng?
Why would he be looking for him?
Lu Jiuzhang was puzzled.
“Why does Director Chen want to see me?”
He asked.
“How would I know?” Wang Yunshan shook his head. “Anyway, you’d better go quickly. The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back, and after the shift’s over, I’ll take you to the Red Pavilion for some fun. Lost all morning, but started winning this afternoon… heh heh…”
Wang Yunshan laughed heartily.
Judging by his expression, he must have won quite a bit; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so cheerful.
“All right!”
Lu Jiuzhang nodded, washed his face by the pond, and then headed to the Director’s office in the back courtyard.
On the way, he wiped his face with his sleeve, straightened his clothes, and only then stepped into the rear courtyard.
Chen Xuanfeng was not at his desk, but stood in the courtyard, gazing at the distant sunset.
Lu Jiuzhang followed his gaze. The sky was ablaze with evening clouds beneath the setting sun.
A proverb says: “Do not go out in the morning glow, but travel a thousand miles in the evening glow.” It seemed tomorrow would be fair weather.
He had slept for quite a while, indeed.
Another day wasted, Lu Jiuzhang sighed inwardly, then walked to Chen Xuanfeng’s side. “Director Chen!”
“Ah, you’re here.”
Chen Xuanfeng nodded but did not turn to face Lu Jiuzhang, remaining with his back to him. “I hear you’ve advanced to the ninth rank of the Scholar’s Path?”
“Yes, actually I reached it before joining the Demon-Hunting Bureau.”
Lu Jiuzhang replied.

“Why didn’t you report this to the county office?”
Chen Xuanfeng asked.
“I truly didn’t know I needed to.”
It was the first time Lu Jiuzhang had heard of such a requirement; he’d never been told before.
“The laws of the Great Zhou require all ranked cultivators to be registered,” Chen Xuanfeng explained. “Heroes who wield martial might defy the law—when their strength grows, they have the power to cause harm.”
“If not controlled, it can lead to chaos.”
That reasoning sounded fair, but Lu Jiuzhang suspected there were deeper motives.
If ranked cultivators went unchecked, the emperor himself would have reason to worry.
Gathering such powerful individuals under one banner could easily form a formidable force, threatening the foundation of the Great Zhou.
“Why did I never notice you’d reached the ninth rank of the Scholar’s Path?”
Chen Xuanfeng, still with his back turned, slowly turned to face Lu Jiuzhang, staring intently at him.
His gaze was sharp, as if seeking to pierce Lu Jiuzhang’s heart.
“Director Chen, everyone has a few secrets of their own.”
Lu Jiuzhang smiled.
“So, was it you who killed that fox demon?”
Chen Xuanfeng pressed the question.
Lu Jiuzhang found himself at a loss for words.
He recalled what Zhou Cheng had said: since there are secrets, one must do everything possible to keep them hidden; no matter how many excuses, make them seem reasonable.
When the deputy director Yuan Wufeng interrogated him, Lu Jiuzhang had managed to evade.
But now that his strength as a ninth-rank scholar was exposed, how could he deny involvement?
The power unleashed was that of a fifth-rank scholar.
Though it was borrowed from the Star Pavilion, it was still of the fifth-rank Scholar’s Path.
Without a plausible excuse, how could he prove the fox demon’s death had nothing to do with him?
“No, I’m as puzzled by the fox demon’s death as anyone.”
Lu Jiuzhang denied it firmly. “That day, there wasn’t just one figure in black; there was also a man in white robes, his hair bound and crowned, a sword at his waist, surrounded by auspicious clouds.”
“With every step, the air was filled with the words of sages.”
Lu Jiuzhang spun a story on the spot. “But for some reason, only I could see him; Lord Zhou Cheng seemed blind to it all.”
“Why didn’t you report this?” Chen Xuanfeng demanded.
“Sir, it’s not that I failed to report it, but the whole affair was so bizarre I thought perhaps I was hallucinating.”
Lu Jiuzhang replied.
“A fifth-rank scholar already possesses the power to shape reality with their words, far surpassing Zhou Cheng’s cultivation. It’s possible Zhou Cheng couldn’t perceive it.”
Chen Xuanfeng muttered to himself, then turned his back again.

“Do you know the identity of the woman in black?”
Chen Xuanfeng continued his questioning.
“I don’t. She was extremely formidable, but I didn’t recognize her.”
Lu Jiuzhang denied again.
“Heh… Truly ignorant, or just pretending? That woman should be Miss Muyun, the former courtesan of the Red Pavilion, shouldn’t she?”
Chen Xuanfeng sneered.
He seemed to have everything at his fingertips.
For a moment, cold sweat broke out on Lu Jiuzhang’s forehead, and he began to worry whether his earlier excuse could deceive Chen Xuanfeng.
“This matter is settled. You have reached the ninth rank of the Scholar’s Path, and the Demon-Hunting Bureau will reward you accordingly; the same as for the ninth rank of the Martial Path—two hundred taels of silver.”
Chen Xuanfeng said, “Scholars of the ninth rank are more valuable to our bureau than martial artists of the same rank. You ought to be promoted to Demon-Hunting Guard.”
“But you are still young, and Director Zhong has not yet returned, so I cannot make the decision. For now, you’ll remain in the position of menial staff, but your salary will match that of a Demon-Hunting Guard: fifteen taels of silver a month, plus three taels in bonuses.”
Chen Xuanfeng declared.
This was a deliberate attempt to keep Lu Jiuzhang down.
If he could become a Demon-Hunting Guard, he would hold an official position.
If Magistrate Wang wanted to deal with him, he’d have to consider the implications.
After all, the Demon-Hunting Bureau couldn’t be bullied at will.
But so long as he remained a menial worker, it didn’t matter.
Menial staff were not formally part of the bureau; they were considered external members.
To become a full-fledged member, one had to be ranked—a strict requirement.
So, was Chen Xuanfeng’s summons merely to suppress him?
Or had he already reached an understanding with Magistrate Wang, joining forces to take him down?
“Oh, and one more thing…” As Lu Jiuzhang was about to leave, Chen Xuanfeng said, “A hundred kilometers west of the city, signs of a monster have appeared. Tomorrow there will be an extermination operation.”
“The creature is not strong, so Zhou Cheng and you will lead the team.”
With that, Chen Xuanfeng waved his hand, indicating Lu Jiuzhang could leave.
Another monster tomorrow?
Was it a coincidence, or had it been planned all along?
Whatever the case, Lu Jiuzhang dared not take it lightly.
Fortunately, he’d already arranged a partnership with Steward Zhao from the Thousand Mechanisms Tower, leaving behind a martial arts eighth-rank bodyguard.
Otherwise, tomorrow’s trial might be hard to weather.