New Mission

"Lord Wu!"

"You were looking for me!"

The Demon Suppression Division office.

"Regarding the matter with the Southern Border Gu Tribe last time, it's been classified as merit for Ding Zhong."

"Ding Zhong will be rewarded with one hundred Talisman Coins and one hundred merit points."

"Adding this month's salary, that's a total of two hundred Talisman Coins."

Wu Cong said, handing a money pouch to Song Chengan.

"Speaking of which, your merit points can be saved up. As long as you accumulate three thousand merit points, you can exchange for a storage Magic Tool from the Demon Suppression Guards in this prefecture."

"You can exchange for storage Magic Tools too?"

Song Chengan was a little surprised to hear this.

Wu Cong chuckled upon hearing this.

"Behind us, we have the Imperial Court."

"Let alone storage Magic Tools, if you have enough merit points, you can even exchange for a Nascent Soul Pill."

"Oh, right, there's another mission for you this time."

Wu Cong said, handing a scroll to Song Chengan.

"Refugee district at the pier outside the city?"

Wu Cong nodded.

"There's a fisherman in the refugee district who has turned into a Demonic creature and has already caused two deaths."

"The situation is urgent, you need to handle it immediately."

"I'll head over now."

"By the way, why don't I see Wen Chengyun and the others?"

Song Chengan was a little curious.

He hadn't seen Wen Chengyun, Qian Xin, An Mingxin, or the others since he returned this time.

"They're all out handling official business."

Wu Cong smiled, "Why do you think I was so eager to recruit you all into the Demon Suppression Division?"

"It's because I truly don't have enough people on hand."

"Before you joined the Demon Suppression Division, I was the only one watching over the vast Lingqiu County, and I was simply overwhelmed."

"I see."

Song Chengan nodded.

Indeed.

From what he knew, there were already four or five demon disturbances.

He couldn't imagine how many more he didn't know about.

"Lord Wu!"

"You just said that the Demon Suppression Division office has always been short-staffed. Then why didn't you recruit people directly into the Demon Suppression Division before?"

Song Chengan was puzzled.

If they were really short-staffed.

Why didn't they recruit people before, and instead allowed demons to wreak havoc for so long?

Wu Cong looked a little helpless at Song Chengan's words.

"I dared not."

"Dared not?"

"Before, Lord Lu and Lord Liu were fighting for the position of Commander, and almost all the Demon Suppression Division offices in the Chen Kingdom were busy taking sides."

"Everyone was putting all their effort into supporting their superior's superior to ascend to power. How could they have the energy to care whether the Demon Suppression Divisions in various regions were adequately staffed?"

"And we Captains of the Demon Suppression Divisions are considered important figures in our respective counties."

"But in the eyes of those big figures, we are just small fry. If I dared to recruit personnel without the approval from above, I would be impeached."

"It could easily lead to losing my official position."

"There was no choice but to wait for the higher-ups to decide the victor."

"And now?"

Song Chengan clicked his tongue.

So it was the big bosses fighting amongst themselves.

"Lord Lu made a clever move. I heard his sister entered the palace and became a concubine."

Song Chengan was speechless.

"Speaking of which, you people are really lucky."

"I became this captain by climbing up step by step through merit from the border army."

"But now, you can directly transform and become Demon Suppression Envoys of the Demon Suppression Division."

"You immediately have official status."

"If you achieve merit in the future, you can be promoted step by step."

"In the future, those who want to become Demon Suppression Envoys will have to pass the martial examination."

Upon hearing this, Song Chengan quickly said, "They are the lucky ones."

"Your subordinate can become a Demon Suppression Envoy entirely thanks to Lord Wu's cultivation."

Wu Cong chuckled upon hearing this, "What I mean is, you need to work harder recently and earn more merit."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"If you earn more merit, I can recommend you to my superiors then!"

Song Chengan understood that Wu Cong truly considered him one of his own.

"Lord Wu, don't worry! Your subordinate understands!"

By the dock.

Song Chengan was naturally no stranger to this place.

He often came here to fish.

"Give me two buns!"

"I'll have two too!"

"Me too!"

"I want meat buns!"

"How much?"

As soon as the three street patrol constables appeared, the old man selling buns looked distressed.

"Officers, what are you talking about? These few buns aren't worth much."

"They're free, free!"

Ding Dahai nodded.

"Old Lin, your buns are good."

"If anyone dares to cause trouble for you in the future, just come to me, and I'll get justice for you."

"Oh, Brother Song!"

Ding Dahai ate two buns and felt a bit thirsty. He was about to go to the nearby fruit vendor to get some pears to quench his thirst.

Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he saw Song Chengan.

"Captain Ding!"

Song Chengan smiled.

He had naturally seen Captain Ding eating and drinking for free, but he wasn't foolish enough to step forward and say something about making Ding Dahai pay.

He was a Demon Suppression Envoy.

Like Ding Dahai, they both worked for the yamen, and there was no hierarchical distinction between them.

If Ding Dahai gave him face, then he was Brother Song.

If Ding Dahai didn't give him face, then Song Chengan couldn't do anything about him.

This group of constables loved to extort and blackmail.

When Song Chengan's restaurant was still open, constables often came to eat for free.

"Give me two buns."

Song Chengan said to the old man selling buns.

"How much?"

"They're free, also free!"

Old Lin's face was bitter.

Well, here comes another one.

Song Chengan smiled and said, "How can buns be free? It's not easy for you to earn money."

Song Chengan took out a few coins and threw them to Old Lin.

Song Chengan's action instantly stunned Old Lin.

He didn't know whether to accept it or not.

He couldn't help but look at Ding Dahai.

The two yamen runners behind Ding Dahai immediately changed their expressions.

Their gazes towards Song Chengan also turned unfriendly.

Ding Dahai, on the other hand, still had a smile on his face.

"Old Lin, you should take it."

"This Brother Song here is a newly recruited Demon Suppression Envoy from the Demon Suppression Division."

"If your family has a monster trouble in the future, you can come ask Brother Song for help."

To be honest, Song Chengan's payment earlier had also made Ding Dahai a little unhappy.

It was because they hadn't paid, but Song Chengan deliberately bought a pancake and paid for it.

This felt like he was intentionally targeting them.

However, Ding Dahai was a shrewd person after all.

He didn't show his displeasure on his face.

Instead, he acted as if he hadn't seen anything.

"Captain Ding, why are you guys here?"

Song Chengan also put on an act, as if he had no other intention and just genuinely wanted to buy a pancake.

Song Chengan was genuinely curious about this question.

This was because the Refugee Quarter had been established thirty years ago.

There was no one here at first.

But thirty years ago, Sanjiao Prefecture had a major flood, turning most of the prefecture into a vast expanse of water. Some refugees fled from Sanjiao Prefecture to this place.

They lived here and made a living by doing odd jobs at the docks.

Later, for easier management, a new quarter was established here, called the Refugee Quarter.

However, the Lingqiu County yamen had always ignored this place.

It was probably the attitude of, "Solve your own problems, don't bother this lord."

Of course.

"If you have problems, don't come to me, but all taxes must be paid in full."

This was the current Refugee Quarter.

The yamen didn't manage it.

So these yamen runners naturally wouldn't come here usually, which made Song Chengan curious.

Ding Dahai replied, "It's just that there's been a monster causing trouble here recently. His Lordship is merciful, so he sent us to watch over things."

"To help the Demon Suppression Division deal with this demon, after all, it's near Lingqiu."

His Lordship.

That was the Lingqiu County Magistrate, Xiong Huaiyi.

The County Magistrate, County Vice-Magistrate, Chief Clerk, and Registrar.

According to their power, these were the four lords of Lingqiu County.

"I didn't expect the Demon Suppression Division to send Brother Song!"

Song Chengan understood immediately upon hearing this.

The docks were too close to Lingqiu County.

Xiong Huaiyi was worried that this monster might act recklessly and cause trouble within Lingqiu County city, so he sent Ding Dahai and some men to keep an eye on it.

"By the way, if Brother Song wants to investigate this monster, you can go find Steward Zhu of this quarter."

"We brothers will continue our patrol?"

"That's fine, Captain Ding. You go ahead and be busy. I'll go find Steward Zhu myself."

Song Chengan nodded.

After speaking, he asked Old Lin next to him for Steward Zhu's address and then left.

"This guy, Song."

"He clearly saw us brothers eating pancakes without paying, yet he deliberately acted like that."

"He made himself look upright, but made us brothers look like dirty scoundrels."

Seeing Song Chengan walk away, Liu Da said with some dissatisfaction.

Ma Er nodded in agreement, "This fellow used to be a worthless gambler in a gambling den. I don't know how he learned cultivation and became a Qi Refiner."

"Now he's gotten lucky, caught a fish, and became a Demon Suppression Envoy, catching Captain Wu's eye."

"Lucky brat."

"If it weren't for his damn luck, I'd show him what I'm capable of."

Ding Dahai chuckled as he listened to his subordinates grumble.

"You can say these things amongst yourselves, but don't let this guy hear them."

"You guys didn't see him on the street that day. He was wielding the Demon Subduing Staff, and he was ferocious."

Liu Da clenched the Water-Fire Staff in his hand upon hearing this and said, "We brothers are just blowing off some steam."

"Now that this guy has gained power, flying high like a flood dragon, how could we brothers dare to provoke him?"

Liu Da said this out loud.

But in his heart, he thought, I hope you, Song Chengan, remain a divine immortal of the cultivation path your entire life, a Demon Suppression Envoy in the Demon Suppression Division.

If you ever fall on hard times.

Then don't blame us brothers for settling today's score.

Ding Dahai shook his head.

"You two are just too petty."

"You can't stand that Song Chengan, whom you used to look down on, has become someone important."

"So, every little move Song Chengan makes irritates you."

"There's no need for that."

"People like us can't be gentlemen or good people."

"We can only bully those we can bully and show respect to those we can't afford to offend."

"Song Chengan isn't someone we can't afford to offend, but there's no need to make an enemy of him."

"Be fierce when you need to be fierce, and smile when you need to smile."

"Captain Ding is right," Ma Er said.

Ding Dahai paused here and looked back at his two confidantes.

"Back then, the Jiang Family's gambling house took Song Chengan's family's winery and land through a setup."

"I remember Gao Er was protected by you two back then."

"Tell me the truth, were you involved in this?"

Liu Da shook his head. "That Gao Er was just a street punk. My brother and I never bothered with him."

"We just found excuses every now and then to extort some silver from him for fun. We never participated in that setup."

"That's good then."

Ding Dahai nodded.

He always felt Song Chengan was a smiling tiger.

He seemed amiable on the surface.

But who knew if he was keeping a tally in his heart!

Especially since this guy was a Qi Refiner who cultivated Spiritual Power. Once his cultivation grew strong enough, he might settle old scores with past acquaintances.

Ding Dahai had no proof.

But he had always been a good judge of character.

He felt Song Chengan was that kind of person.

He had seen such figures before.

That person was also from Lingqiu.

After becoming an immortal, he returned to his hometown.

He spoke of old times, saying he no longer hated anyone, and then he slaughtered all those so-called enemies he claimed not to hate.

"Captain, how should we arrange tonight's patrol?"

Ding Dahai raised an eyebrow.

"Patrol what?"

"That demon person is so ferocious. If you and I were to run into him, wouldn't we lose our lives?"

"Let's just go through the motions during the day and find a place to sleep at night."

"Let Song Chengan handle it himself."

"Come on, let's find a place to eat."

"Wait a moment," Liu Da said, then turned to Old Lin. "Old Lin, two more buns!"

"I'll take two as well."

"Me too, two meat buns."

Old Lin's face grew even more bitter.