Yielding? Guarding Someone Else's Beautiful Wife?

The Demon Suppression Bureau office in Changle County.

Inside the Centurion's quarters, a quiet and elegant study with an antique charm.

Under the guidance of two squad leaders, Gu Cheng pushed open the door and looked into the room.

A middle-aged man in dark official robes was bent over his desk, practicing calligraphy.

The man appeared to be around forty to fifty years old, with streaks of white at his temples and an exceptionally ordinary appearance.

He held the brush in his right hand, holding his breath and concentrating, writing slowly on the Xuan paper, like an old turtle strolling through the clouds.

Gu Cheng's gaze shifted down and he noticed the character the man was writing was "静" (jing - quiet/calm).

He didn't make a sound to disturb him, standing quietly in front and observing patiently.

After achieving Grand Perfection in the Pure Heart Manual.

Gu Cheng's divine sense was incredibly keen. He quickly sensed that as the middle-aged man moved his brush, a faint, sharp aura spread from the strokes he was writing, permeating every corner of the study.

Although this aura was as faint as a thread, it was clearly discernible.

It was as if the brush he held was not a writing brush, but a sharp sword radiating a chilling light.

It seemed he wasn't truly practicing calligraphy.

But rather, he was using the act of practicing calligraphy to cultivate some profound sword technique!

Seeing this, Gu Cheng couldn't help but look serious.

As expected of the highest-ranking official in the Changle County branch of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

From just this tip of the iceberg he displayed, the strength of this Centurion was definitely not that of a simple Mortal Breaking Realm martial artist.

No wonder that even though the Demon Suppression Bureau office was always slacking off, the demons on Black Wind Mountain never dared to cause trouble in the city, only daring to harass the surrounding villages.

It must be because Centurion Zhao was stationed in the city, right?

Gu Cheng didn't know much about this Centurion Zhao before.

He only knew that he rarely paid attention to matters within the office and had delegated all the day-to-day work, big and small, to the several Centurions under him.

He was purely a hands-off manager.

Yet today, he had suddenly summoned him to report, which was highly unusual. What was the reason?

Just as Gu Cheng was pondering this in his mind, Centurion Zhao's character "Serenity" was finally finished.

He put down his brush, examined it carefully, then looked up at the handsome young man and asked:

"Gu Cheng, come, come, come. What do you think of my calligraphy?"

Saying this, he picked up the calligraphy from the table and showed it to him.

Gu Cheng looked up and examined it closely, then said with a serious expression:

"Centurion, your cultivation is profound, and your swordsmanship is exceptional. Naturally, your calligraphy is strong and vigorous, quite extraordinary."

"It's just a pity that your state of mind is not calm at this moment, so this character '静' lacks a certain spiritual charm."

"???"

Centurion Zhao was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting such an unusual evaluation.

He then chuckled, shook his head, and casually crumpled the calligraphy in his hand into a ball, throwing it on the ground.

"Gu Cheng? Heh, how did I not notice before?

I never expected that besides that girl from the Lin family, there would be such an interesting young man in this office..."

The middle-aged man sat upright in his grand chair, looking the handsome young man up and down, his eyes filled with admiration and approval.

"Alright, enough small talk. I summoned you here today mainly for two things."

"The first thing..."

Centurion Zhao extended an index finger, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he said with a half-smile:

"I heard you had a conflict with the eldest young master of the Zheng family today? And even killed someone?

Do you know that the old patriarch of the Zheng family specifically sent someone to find me..."

Hearing this, Gu Cheng's brow furrowed slightly.

What did he mean?

Were they not planning to retaliate in secret, but instead chose to report him directly to Centurion Zhao?

What was the difference between this and tattling to the teacher in primary school when you couldn't win?

Just as Gu Cheng was silently grumbling in his mind, Centurion Zhao smiled slightly, handed a wooden box on the table to the other party, and continued:

"...He specifically sent someone to find me, wanting me to convey his apologies to you."

He claimed that he had been negligent in disciplining his son previously and would strictly restrain him in the future. He hoped for your understanding.

"And the contents of this box are the compensation from the elder Master Zheng."

"???"

Gu Cheng took the wooden box, his confusion deepening.

Compensation and an apology?

This script felt wrong. Why did the Zheng family just surrender?

If they surrendered, who would hire assassins to come and die?

Who would he get his lifespan from now?

Gu Cheng was greatly displeased.

But when he opened the box, his dissatisfaction vanished in an instant.

It was because what the other party gave was simply too much.

This thick stack of silver notes had at least a hundred sheets, and they were all large denominations of one thousand taels each!

That was a full one hundred thousand taels of silver!

With this fortune, he could play with courtesans at Spring Breeze Pavilion every day until an iron rod was ground into a needle, and he still might not be able to spend it all!

It was more than enough to buy the remaining medicinal ingredients for the Boiling Blood Powder.

"Could it be that they were so terrified by Dong Lei's corpse that they didn't dare to oppose me, so they chose to pay to avert disaster?"

"Or perhaps... the Zheng family is busy with other matters and doesn't want to make an enemy of me at this crucial moment?"

Gu Cheng gazed at the stack of colorful silver notes in his hand, his mind racing.

He didn't believe that the Zheng family had truly surrendered.

But regardless, this huge sum of money had solved his urgent need.

He had already started secretly planning to raid the Zheng family.

Now that they had directly compensated him with a large sum of money, it saved him a lot of trouble.

Moreover, his remaining lifespan was still quite abundant, so it wouldn't matter even if no one came to die...

After thinking this through, Gu Cheng gently closed the wooden box, accepting the Zheng family's compensation.

Seeing the young man accept the money.

Centurion Zhao nodded with satisfaction, extended two fingers, and continued:

"The second matter is that I've found you a good job.

Gu Cheng, have you heard about that 'flower thief' recently?"

"I've heard a little," Gu Cheng nodded slightly.

"I heard that the flower thief has exceptional Qinggong and commits crimes all over the city every night. Several wealthy families' wives and daughters have fallen victim to his wicked hands.

The yamen dispatched two Centurions to investigate the matter, but they have yielded no results so far.

Many wealthy families have hired top experts from the martial arts world as guards to prevent their female family members from suffering misfortune..."

"That's right. So Shopkeeper Song from the South City used his connections to reach me, wanting to invite an expert from the yamen to act as a guard at his mansion for a few days."

Centurion Zhao smiled slightly, revealing his true intentions. "Shopkeeper Song remarried a beautiful wife two years ago, so naturally, he's afraid she'll be targeted by the flower thief.

However, he doesn't trust people from the martial arts world, so he came to the Demon Suppression Bureau yamen and specifically requested you to help."

"This... why me?"

Gu Cheng was greatly puzzled. He didn't seem to know Shopkeeper Song before, did he?

"Because the two tiger demons you killed previously indirectly helped him a great deal."

Centurion Zhao explained unhurriedly. "Shopkeeper Song runs several pharmacies, and most of the medicinal ingredients he sells are sourced from Hundred Herbs Mountain.

If you hadn't eliminated those two tiger demons, allowing the medicinal farmers to continue collecting herbs on the mountain, his business would have been significantly impacted.

Shopkeeper Song specifically invited you this time to thank you properly."

"So that's how it is..."

Gu Cheng nodded in understanding.

What was sown yesterday bears fruit today; in every action and reaction, there is a destiny.

However, compared to being a bodyguard for someone else's beautiful wife, he still wished to be assigned under Lin Qingyan and go out of the city to kill demons.

Just as he was about to politely refuse, the Centurion spoke first.

"Of course, Shopkeeper Song won't have you working for free."

Centurion Zhao also noticed Gu Cheng's lack of enthusiasm and continued to sweeten the deal.

"In addition to generous compensation, if you lack any medicinal herbs during your future cultivation, he will fully support you.

Consider it building good karma with a young, talented martial artist like yourself."

Providing missing medicinal herbs?

Gu Cheng's expression shifted slightly. His Boiling Blood Powder was just missing a few precious herbs.

If he could build good karma with the wealthy Shopkeeper Song, he probably wouldn't have to worry about medicinal herbs anymore, right?

Gu Cheng pondered for a moment, and finally agreed to the arrangement...

After Gu Cheng took his leave.

Centurion Zhao retracted his gaze from the direction the young man had departed, murmuring to himself:

"What an interesting young man. I wonder if those absurd things he did before were intentional, or if it's just his nature?"

"If it's the latter... well, with such a beautiful wife by his side, he shouldn't be 'stealing from his own house,' should he?"

A hint of amusement flashed across Centurion Zhao's face.

Shaking his head, he took out a brand new sheet of Xuan paper and picked up his brush to practice calligraphy again.

However, this time, he was no longer writing the character 'quiet'.

With every stroke and line, he was clearly sketching a large character: Green