Demon Fox

Ming Shu didn't know if the Director was secretly working some magic again, arranging things so cleverly.

Lost in thought, the new issue of [Starfall] arrived.

This time, it slid down amidst the morning's rosy dawn, mixed with twinkling starlight, and stopped in front of Chong Li.

She was still meditating, or perhaps asleep. After a long wait, she finally opened her eyes and reached out to catch the little star shining before her.

She performed the hand seals and incantations for decryption, opening the encrypted information within and then deciphering it piece by piece.

One, Earl Ying had already arrived in Jiujiang Prefecture, adopting a new identity as the new Prefect of Jiujiang Prefecture.

Two, the (Southern) Daoist Sect would be holding a new Dao Discussion Conference at their ancestral home, Dragon Tiger Mountain, widely inviting cultivators from all over the world to attend.

Great True Men would appear to expound the Dharma then! It was truly highly anticipated!

Three, the Grand Libationer of the Imperial Academy, one of the Twelve Directorates, had been replaced by the new Emperor's first imperial decree of the new year.

That Great Scholar, a Scholar of the seventh rank [Great Scholar Realm], named Zhu Lingyu, had already left the Royal Capital to wander the four directions.

Four, Great Scholar Zhu Lingyu encountered a Buddhist cultivator from the Western Regions' Buddhist Sect outside the Royal Capital, estimated to be of the seventh rank [Integration Realm] strength.

The two fought a great battle, neither gaining the upper hand, and parted ways.

Five, the former County Magistrate of Qing Shui County, Li Jixu, was transferred to Donghai Prefecture as Prefect due to his merits.

He wondered if he had offended someone, to be promoted from the position of County Magistrate of a superior county to Prefect of an inferior prefecture.

Donghai Prefecture was now impoverished, a truly inferior prefecture.

Under the attacks of pirates, even the most profitable sea salt could not be produced normally.

Six, a new group of pirates had appeared on the North Sea, calling themselves the [Evil Dragon Island] forces. During the New Year, they had a fierce conflict with Qunwa Island.

Qunwa Island likely lost. The coastal areas like the North Sea and East Sea might become the sphere of influence of Evil Dragon Island.

When Ming Shu finished reading these messages, his heart felt heavy.

He had originally thought he could use the group of captives he held to exchange for some resources from the pirates, but who knew they were so incompetent themselves? It seemed they would be stuck with him.

He decided to continue squeezing their labor. He couldn't afford to lose money on food costs either. He told Old Zhao to implement a two-shift system, no, a three-shift system. They shouldn't stop at night, just take turns resting.

Ming Shu still held a sliver of hope. The only good news was that his old friend Li Jixu was coming to take up his post here. It seemed he would have to pay a visit then. If they could help each other, and he could piggyback on the Prefect's influence.

As for the Grand Libationer? That was too far removed from them, no need to think about it.

As for the Twelve Directorates? He could ask Old Zhao and Zhao Siqi. They were collectively known as the Inner and Outer Twelve Directorates, with six Inner Directorates and six Outer Directorates.

The Six Inner Directorates were: Imperial Seal Directorate (equivalent to the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Directorate of Seals, with immense power), Imperial Artifact Directorate, Imperial Horse Directorate, Imperial Cuisine Directorate, Imperial Use Directorate, Imperial Communications Directorate (responsible for all internal, external, overt, and covert information transmission).

The Six Outer Directorates were: Sky-Toppling Observatory, Imperial Academy, Secret Archives Directorate, Works Directorate, Waterways Directorate, Supervision Directorate.

The Secret Archives Directorate was similar to a sect's library, but with greater functions and authority, and much stricter. It collected and stored countless classics, books, documents, and scrolls.

The Works Directorate managed construction, manufacturing, repair, and weaving, and belonged to the technical departments. It was similar to the Imperial Artifact Directorate, which specialized in artifacts used by the imperial family.

The Waterways Directorate was in charge of rivers, canals, ferry crossings, boats, and dikes.

The Supervision Directorate was another supervisory department independent of the Censorate, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of Justice. It was directly responsible to the Emperor and primarily supervised the Twelve Directorates and the three judicial departments.

The remaining matter of the Dao Discussion Conference also had little to do with Ming Shu.

As for Earl Ying in Jiujiang Prefecture, that was a strategic passage, an important location in the middle reaches of the Azure Dragon Great River. He had certainly been entrusted with a heavy responsibility by King Chu.

They didn't know the specific situation in Jiujiang Prefecture, so they couldn't make any judgments. What if he was there to kill people and eliminate dissidents? To do dirty work?

After finishing reading the news, Ming Shu was deep in thought when he suddenly saw a small bird fly over.

Chong Li gently reached out and caught it. The little bird, sensing her aura and magic, dissipated into a wisp of smoke.

It transformed into a sentence before Chong Li.

A demon fox fled eastward, and a team of demon hunters was in pursuit.

Demon hunters in the vicinity immediately prepared for battle and participated in the interception.

She had just finished reading and informed Ming Shu and Zhao Siqi beside her when a burly man rushed in from outside the door.

It was Ren Yuan. As a demon hunter, he had also received the news.

Was this also a communication method developed by the Sky-Toppling Observatory? It was quite advanced.

"Since Qunwa Island was defeated, they probably won't come here to extort us for a while. Therefore, we have to face new pirate enemies."

They probably wouldn't bother people like them, who were poor, anytime soon.

Everyone should go about their land reclamation and house construction.

The guard team should prepare for battle.

Ming Shu climbed the arrow tower, personally taking charge of scouting in all directions.

Below, Zhao Dun, Zhao Chuan, and Ren Yuan each led their men to begin patrolling.

Little Zhao set off again, fully activating his Light Movement, and ran into the northern valley to inform the Butcher and the others about the demon fox's appearance.

The news was received in the morning, and by the afternoon, a team of five demon hunters had arrived. However, Ming Shu sat for half the day and found no trace of the demon fox.

The Fate Book gave no reaction. Ming Shu trusted it implicitly, unless the Fate Book itself had a problem and had been deceived.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he could also verify whether this treasure he relied on so heavily would fail him in this regard.

These Demon Hunters were dressed like martial artists. One of them led a Demon Beast Spirit War Hound, whose ability was simple: a keen sense of smell, excelling at tracking. They didn't need to have the Demon Beast Spirit possess them or merge with them; they could directly use it for tracking.

However, when they encountered this particular Demon Fox this time, it always managed to escape. It was likely that the Demon Fox had some innate ability or carried some special item that could disable these Demon Beast Spirit War Hounds, which were skilled at tracking.

Just as Zhao Siqi asked Old Zhao to prepare food, Ming Shu, on the arrow tower, saw signal flares rising from the valley to the north.

There was trouble over there.

He immediately went down, brought Ren Yuan with him, and set off first.

Chong Li would discuss the plan with the Demon Hunters later. He himself didn't have the authority to speak, so he decided not to waste any time.

He'd take the lead and was in a hurry.

There was no time to get a horse, so he had Ren Yuan use his cultivation to carry Ming Shu and run at full speed. The scene was comical, but Ming Shu couldn't bring himself to laugh.

He was carsick. Even though there was no car.

After this period of accumulation and growth, Ren Yuan had already touched the threshold of the fourth stage of the Martial Artist realm. His progress was immense.

Traveling was truly fast, but also truly bumpy. Ming Shu was about to vomit. If he hadn't made significant progress himself during this time, he probably wouldn't have been able to endure it.

By the time Ming Shu and Ren Yuan arrived, the valley was already in disarray. Although there were no casualties among the people, many of the raised chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, and sheep had suffered, gone missing.

It seemed the Demon Fox had come here to eat.

It left immediately after eating. So cunning.

Even with precautions in place, it could still move as if in an empty realm. Its strength was top-notch.

Ming Shu couldn't help but feel a little worried. This Demon Fox was so cunning, how could they capture it? He looked to the south, where the Demon Hunter team was rushing over. Old Zhao and the guards remained at the manor to defend it.

He secretly made up his mind that no matter what, he had to catch this Demon Fox.