My lord, a small gift, unworthy of your regard.
Signed, Dai Li of the Blood Moon Sect.
Song Chengan picked up the book.
It was a book on the Divination Art.
"Does this mean the matter ends here?"
Song Chengan understood what the Shaman meant.
She hoped it would end here.
Even if it did not end here, there was nothing he could do.
Song Chengan could hardly investigate the Blood Moon Sect.
The Blood Moon Sect.
One of the Six Demonic Sects.
A true behemoth.
If a tiny Demon Suppression Division in Lingqiu County dared investigate the Blood Moon Sect, they probably would not even know how they died.
"Let's head back first."
Song Chengan took the book, had Steward Zhu send several men to keep watch over where the Shaman lived, then returned.
"Big Brother Song!"
Song Chengan was walking down the street when he heard someone call out. He raised his head.
He was somewhat surprised.
It was Yu Changfu.
Two people stood beside him.
They appeared to be his wife and daughter.
"What brings you here?"
A smile appeared on Yu Changfu's face.
"Xiaoqin, hurry and call him Uncle Song!"
Yu Changfu pulled the girl beside him forward as he spoke.
The girl was seventeen or eighteen, at the age when a young woman stood as graceful as a willow.
Yet it seemed to be her first time in Spirit Mound, and she looked timid and shy.
"Qin's mother, this is Big Brother Song!"
"Uncle Song!"
"Big Brother Song!"
Yu Changfu cupped his fists. "Now that Xiaoqin's illness is better, I thought I'd bring them to Spirit Mound to buy some cloth and make a couple of fine outfits for the two of them!"
A delighted smile also appeared on Song Chengan's face.
"Did you buy any?"
"It'll be dark soon. Have you found somewhere to stay?"
"I have several empty rooms at my place."
Song Chengan said.
He knew Gushan Ridge was quite far from here.
He worried that they would have nowhere to stay tonight.
Staying overnight in Lingqiu City was not cheap.
"No need, Big Brother Song!"
Yu Changfu cupped his fists.
"I have an old childhood friend making a living here in Lingqiu City. We already agreed to stay at his home."
"Then have you eaten?"
"Let me treat you to a meal."
Song Chengan said.
In an era when people went hungry for most of the year, treating someone to a meal was the weightiest courtesy.
"My household rarely cooks year-round, and my cooking isn't much good either."
"Come on, let's find a restaurant. I'll treat you!"
"No need, Big Brother Song!"
Yu Changfu hurriedly waved his hands upon hearing this.
He knew Song Chengan was practically an immortal, so how could he trouble him?
"What are you saying, Brother Yu? Come on!"
"Since we've run into each other, I have to show some hospitality!"
Song Chengan would not take no for an answer. He grabbed Yu Changfu and would not let him leave.
"Sister-in-law, Xiaoqin, follow us!"
Song Chengan brought them to a nearby restaurant and had the waiter serve all the finest food and wine.
They also brought out two jars of good liquor.
"That Big Brother Song truly is a generous host."
Yu Changfu's wife held a hairpin in her hand, while his daughter held several boxes of rouge.
Big Brother Song had insisted on taking the two of them to buy them.
He had even wanted to buy Yu Changfu a set of clothes, but Yu Changfu had refused with all his life.
"Of course. Big Brother Song is an immortal!"
"Come, let's go see your Second Uncle Rong."
As they spoke, the group went away into the distance.
"You seem to be in a rather good mood today."
"Did something pleasant happen?"
After hearing Song Chengan's report, Wu Cong asked with a smile.
"On my way back to the city today, I ran into a friend and his wife and daughter."
"Hearing that his daughter had recovered from her illness, and seeing how happy their family of three was, made me happy as well."
Wu Cong said after hearing this, "That truly is a great joyous occasion."
"The Blood Moon Sect?"
"I never expected that Shaman to be a member of the demonic path."
"That was what the note she left said, but I'm not sure whether it was true."
"It was probably true."
"There aren't many who would dare impersonate someone from the Blood Moon Sect."
"Should we continue investigating?"
Wu Cong considered it.
"We will not investigate the Blood Moon Sect. We'll act as if we never learned that people from the Blood Moon Sect were involved."
"But you need to question Ye Jin at the Drunken Red Pavilion."
"Make sure no demon blood and flesh appears again."
"Shouldn't we arrest her directly?"
Song Chengan asked doubtfully.
Judging by the yamen's usual way of handling matters.
Shouldn't a group of men rush over now, drag her in, and torture her for answers?
If she was guilty, convict her.
If she was innocent, squeeze silver out of her.
Wu Cong smiled. "Miss Ye is no ordinary figure in Lingqiu City."
"She excels in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and her poetry is especially peerless."
"Most importantly, countless talented young men in the city are her favored guests."
"I fear that if we took her in one moment, a crowd would be at our door the next, demanding that we release her."
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
It was not exaggerated in the slightest.
"Besides, if she could produce demon blood and flesh, there must be a cultivation faction behind her."
"Go ask her later. As long as she promises that demon blood and flesh will not appear again, this matter ends here."
Song Chengan fell silent.
He had always heard that if the Demon Suppression Division caught someone colluding with demons, they would be exiled or beheaded at the drop of a hat.
But now it seemed that for important people with status and backing, even directly creating a demon was merely a trivial matter.
It was something that could be pursued—or not pursued.
Even the saying that the Son of Heaven and commoners were equally guilty before the law... sounded like a joke.
"This subordinate will go shortly."
"After you finish, go to the archives and write up the case file."
"Once this assignment's merit rank has been assessed, I'll give you Talisman Coins."
"Alright!"
The Drunken Red Pavilion was the finest brothel in Lingqiu City, located on bustling West Street.
It was a notorious gold-devouring den in Lingqiu City.
When Song Chengan arrived, people streamed in and out without end.
"Welcome inside, young master. Is there a young lady you know well?"
The moment Song Chengan approached, a young woman warmly pressed herself against him.
Song Chengan took out the Demon Suppression Division's waist token and flashed it.
Lowering his voice, he said, "Demon Suppression Division. I wish to see Miss Ye Jin."
The young woman's expression instantly stiffened, and she did not dare act presumptuously.
"Please wait a moment. I'll call Madam Liu at once!"
"May I know your honored surname, my lord? This humble woman is Liu."
Before long, a woman around forty emerged.
Song Chengan understood that she was the madam of the Drunken Red Pavilion.
As for the proprietor.
Song Chengan did not know.
However, according to certain hearsay, the proprietor of the Drunken Red Pavilion was someone who moved freely through both the black and white worlds of Lingqiu City.
"May I ask your honored surname, my lord?"
"Lord Song!" Madam Liu respectfully bowed.
"May I ask why Lord Song has come to see Miss Ye?"
Song Chengan smiled. "Madam Liu need not worry."
"There are simply some matters I wish to discuss with Miss Ye. It is nothing serious."
"Otherwise, I would not have quietly had someone call for you."
"Does Miss Ye have time?"
"She does, she does."
"Miss Ye is in a poor mood today and has not received guests."
"I'll go inform her at once!"
Hearing Song Chengan say it was nothing serious, Madam Liu also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Congratulations to Lord Song for first cultivating true divine abilities, then becoming a Demon Suppression Envoy."
Song Chengan looked up.
Ye Jin wore a veil over her face and held a pipa in her arms.
Her voice was soft and gentle.
Her appearance could not be seen, but with that bearing alone, she possessed a pitiful charm that stirred compassion at first sight.
"Oh?"
"Miss Ye knows me?"
"Who in the city does not know Lord Song?"
"At thirty, you turned back from the lost road, cast aside literature to cultivate the Dao, and reached the Dao Seed Mid-stage within mere months."
"You even mastered a staff technique in just over a month!"
"Such comprehension!"
"Such character!"
"Lord Song is truly a hero among men."
Heh.
Upon hearing those words, Song Chengan knew he had encountered a hard bone.
In so little time, she had investigated his background so thoroughly.
Miss Ye's origins were likely quite extraordinary.
"Miss Ye, do you know that an incident occurred today in the Refugee Quarter by the docks outside the city, where an ordinary person transformed into a demon?"
Ye Jin nodded. "I heard a little about it."
"Lord Wu said—"
"He hopes Lingqiu City will remain as peaceful as it was before."
"Miss Ye was able to produce the flesh and blood of an East Sea Merfolk. Her background must be anything but ordinary."
Perhaps she was a disciple of some great sect, out Cultivating the Heart in the Mortal World.
"Lingqiu County's Demon Suppression Division is unwilling to provoke an opponent like her. It would be far too troublesome."
At this point, Song Chengan looked at Ye Jin. "I presume Miss Ye is unwilling to fight the Demon Suppression Division to the death as well?"
"After all, behind the Lingqiu Demon Suppression Division stands the Liangzhou Demon Suppression General Division, and behind the Liangzhou Demon Suppression General Division stands the Demon Suppression Temple."
Ye Jin chuckled softly at that.
"Of course."
"This little woman merely wishes to quietly complete this round of Cultivating the Heart in the Mortal World, not return to her sect in such a sorry state and become a laughingstock."
Song Chengan let out a breath of relief.
He said,
"Since that is the case, this matter will be easy to handle."
"We will not pursue this matter any further. We will simply say that Qi Feng obtained the demon flesh and blood from the Shaman."
"And you must guarantee us that such dangerous things will no longer appear in Lingqiu County."
"Things like demon flesh and blood, or pills that can turn people into monsters."
"Can you do that?"
Ye Jin smiled and nodded.
"Since Lord Song has put it that way, how could this little woman fail to appreciate your kindness?"
"Please report back to Lord Wu that demon flesh and blood will no longer appear in Lingqiu."
"At the very least, no demon flesh and blood will flow out from me."
"Good!"
Song Chengan cupped his fists.
"Then I shall not disturb Miss Ye any longer. I will take my leave!"
"Take care, Lord Song!"
"Lord Song."
When Song Chengan came out, Madam Liu was waiting outside the door.
The moment she saw him emerge, she cautiously studied his expression.
"It was only a small matter. We have discussed it clearly."
Madam Liu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lord Song, it is still early. Why not stay a little longer instead of rushing back?"
"I'll have two girls accompany Lord Song for a drink."
Song Chengan: "..."
"No need."
"I still have matters to attend to."
"I'll be leaving now."
"Very well, then. I'll see Lord Song out!"
As Madam Liu spoke, she stepped forward and slipped a piece of silver into Song Chengan's hand.
"Thank you for making the trip. Just a small token of appreciation—please have a drink, Lord Song."
"You... you..."
"Don't do this again next time."
Song Chengan weighed it in his hand. It must have been twenty taels.
Without changing expression, he tucked the silver into his sleeve.
Money from a brothel was all hard-earned blood and sweat.
Why refuse what was offered for free?
Before you continue