Ten Lords Bureau Daily (1)

A week passed, and under Huohuo's guidance, Bai Sheng familiarized himself with the vast Ten Lords Bureau.

Honestly, a place like this had a lot of rules, and many issues required the Judges to intervene. The Ten Lords Bureau on the Luofu had a total of four Judges.

The Judges of the Ten Lords Bureau all received systematic training and experienced various tasks. However, when it came down to practical application, their duties were divided into four departments: "Arrest," "Lock," "Punishment," and "Inquire."

Xueyi, whom he had met before, was the Judge of the "Arrest" department. Wielding an iron chain and a demon-breaking awl, she tirelessly sought out major offenders, apprehending and subduing them. She used a puppet body to "return to the living" and fulfill her mission.

Simply put, she was responsible for catching fugitives.

Hanya was the Judge of the "Inquire" department. Appointed by the Ten Lords, she wielded the Nether Prophecy Heavenly Brush to read all manner of sins and deliver karmic retribution. She had once drunk Oblivion River Wine and used dream divination to ponder the turbulent flow of karma and destiny for Xianzhou inhabitants, predicting the timing of Mara-struck appearances.

In terms the Xianzhou people could understand, she was a human radar, responsible for detecting the Mara-struck and handing them over to the "Arrest" department for processing.

As for Huohuo, she was the Judge of the "Lock" department, guiding souls and transforming misfortune into good fortune. She used banners and spirit talismans to help lost souls find their way.

Her job was to guide the souls of Xianzhou inhabitants who were trapped by the Mara-struck, which made her and Bai Sheng's roles quite complementary. However, Huohuo was currently only responsible for managing and maintaining the demon-exorcising tools. As for other duties, she would have to wait until she matured further before they could be entrusted to her. She was still a Trainee Judge, meaning she was in a probationary period.

It couldn't be helped. This Little Fox Person had been promoted too quickly, and this was partly to temper her rising prominence and prevent her from being targeted by those with ill intentions.

Bai Sheng hadn't met the Judge of the "Punishment" department yet. Xueyi had mentioned that he had been sent out and wouldn't be back for decades.

(PS: Honestly, I was afraid of being backstabbed and couldn't be bothered to write about this character. Hehe ??·??·????)

"Ugh, I'm so bored!"

Huohuo sat on a chair, swinging her legs. Hanya had gone to handle a Mara-struck case, and Xueyi had recently tracked down the whereabouts of a group of Abundance spirit beasts, Changyou, which were very close to the Xianzhou. Therefore, Xueyi needed to be dispatched.

Today also happened to be a day off, so besides the essential staff, almost no one else was in the Ten Lords Bureau.

"So, what do you usually do, Huohuo?"

Bai Sheng asked, so bored he had started constructing puppet dolls to play with.

"I usually organize the demon-exorcising tools, but the warehouse door is locked today, so I can't get in. I also draw paper figures."

"Let's skip that then, it doesn't sound very interesting."

Bai Sheng had seen Huohuo's paper figures before. How should he put it? They were quite creative, with all sorts of expressions, and they didn't compromise their normal functionality.

Logically, drawing paper figures was similar to drawing talismans. Even a slight deviation would lead to failure, requiring everything to be redone. But this little Huohuo, through some unknown research, had managed to draw all sorts of expressions on the paper figures while maintaining their basic functions. Some of them were even extremely exaggerated.

"Oh, right, Huohuo, why do you have such dark circles under your eyes? Are you not sleeping well at night?"

Bai Sheng had wanted to ask about this for a long time, but he hadn't felt familiar enough with her back then. Now, after a week of interaction, he felt it was okay to ask.

"Ah, my dark circles? It's actually because I often stay up late watching horror movies."

Huohuo said, at the same time, she picked up a paper figure with her small, delicate hands and struck a boxing pose.

"Why do you stay up late watching horror movies? Are you seeking atmosphere?"

Bai Sheng asked curiously, continuing to press for details.

Just then, a ball of green-blue foxfire floated over. Before Huohuo could speak, it chimed in:

"It's all because this little crybaby wants to build up her courage. She boldly claimed she could watch them all, but what happened? Every time, she'd get scared and run back to her blanket after just five minutes."

It was Grandpa Tail. After a week of getting to know each other, Grandpa Tail and Bai Sheng both believed the other was not a bad person.

"You stubborn old grump, you're finally coming out?"

Bai Sheng teased. He had figured out that this Grandpa Tail was the typical type with a sharp tongue but a kind heart. Although he spoke harshly, he was actually very concerned about Huohuo. Many of the external demon-exorcising missions were completed only after Grandpa Tail possessed Huohuo.

"You little brat, talking about me? I'm just worried about my mobile meal ticket getting scared. I hate the taste of fear the most."

Grandpa Tail said, turning his head away dismissively.

Whether he was truly indifferent or not, it was impossible to say.

"By the way, Huohuo, can I ask a rather... sensitive question?"

"Eh? What do you want to ask, Ah Sheng? Just tell me directly."

The large green tail behind Huohuo swayed. Although Grandpa Tail was residing in Huohuo's tail, Huohuo could still feel her own tail.

"Is it true that because of Grandpa Tail, you became that ominous Fated Calamity?"

Bai Sheng recalled some information he had seen on a case file a few days prior.

Huohuo nodded, then complained with a hint of melancholy, "Isn't it? How could I have known that my act of kindness back then would result in this? I'm timid, yet I have to do this job. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to deal with him!"

After speaking, Huohuo glanced at Grandpa Tail, who was floating in the air. Her ears twitched, making her look innocent and pitiful.

"Hey! I don't dislike you, and you're starting to dislike me? Do you think you got promoted so quickly because of who? Besides, your tail tastes terrible. If it weren't for this damn talisman, I wouldn't want to be with you!"

As expected, whenever Huohuo brought this up, Grandpa Tail would inevitably get agitated.

Seeing Grandpa Tail's reaction, a faint smile touched Huohuo's lips. She thought to herself:

Hehehe, the method Ah Sheng taught me is really effective. Grandpa Tail can't be so arrogant now.

"Grandpa Tail, I can create a puppet body, one that's no weaker than Xueyi's. I can separate you and Huohuo. You can reside in the puppet, which would also fulfill your wish to be separated. What do you think?"

Bai Sheng said. He had the ability, and the materials could be found in the Ten Lords Bureau, which had plenty of peculiar items.

"You should worry about yourself first, kid. I don't need your concern. If I leave her, what will I eat? Are you trying to starve me to death?"

"Suiyang are creatures of the spiritual realm, belonging to the Astral Spirit Class, Formless Order, Soul Essence Family, Suiyang Subspecies.

Suiyang are pure energy beings without fixed forms, often referred to in many civilizations as 'The Formless' or 'Sparks of Essence.' Suiyang enjoy parasitizing and controlling flesh and blood bodies, sensing the myriad changes in the nervous system that arise from emotions. This act of 'devouring the seven emotions and six desires' brings satisfaction to the formless Suiyang. Hosts that are parasitized will uncontrollably perform stimulating actions..."

Huohuo added knowledge about Suiyang from the side.

"Alright, alright, stop your chanting. I'm not dealing with this anymore, goodbye!"

Grandpa Tail, utterly bewildered by these two, simply darted back into Huohuo's tail.