The Demon Suppression Bureau's offices in Changle County.
Inside the Thousand-Household Office was a quiet study, elegant and steeped in antiquity.
Guided by the two junior officers, 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.
He looked to be in his forties or fifties, with gray at his temples and an exceedingly ordinary appearance.
Holding a brush in his right hand, he held his breath and focused, slowly writing on the rice paper, like an old tortoise ambling across the clouds.
Gu Cheng's gaze lowered. The man was writing the character for "stillness."
So he didn't disturb him, but quietly stood before him and watched patiently.
After reaching Great Perfection in the Pure Heart Manual,
Gu Cheng's spiritual sense had become remarkably sharp. He soon detected that as the middle-aged man moved his brush,
a faint, biting aura spread from the strokes he wrote, filling every corner of the study.
Though the aura was as fine as a thread, it was unmistakable.
It was as if the man held not a calligraphy brush, but a gleaming, razor-sharp sword.
Clearly, he wasn't really practicing calligraphy.
He was using the act of writing to cultivate some profoundly advanced sword technique!
At the sight, Gu Cheng's expression turned solemn.
As expected of the highest-ranking officer in the Changle County branch of the Demon Suppression Bureau.
Even this tiny glimpse of his strength showed that the Centurion was no ordinary Mortal Breaking Realm martial artist.
No wonder the Demon Suppression Bureau was usually a nest of slackers, yet the demons on Black Wind Mountain never dared run wild in the city and only harassed the surrounding villages.
It had to be because Centurion Zhao was stationed in town, right?
Gu Cheng didn't know much about Centurion Zhao.
He only knew that the man rarely concerned himself with the bureau's affairs and left all the daily work, big and small, to the several captains under his command.
He was a complete hands-off boss.
So why had he suddenly gone against the grain and summoned Gu Cheng to report to him? What was this about?
While Gu Cheng wondered to himself,
Centurion Zhao finally finished writing the character for "stillness."
He set down his brush, studied the work for a moment, then looked up at the handsome young man and asked,
"Gu Cheng, come, come. What do you think of my calligraphy?"
As he spoke, he picked up the work from the desk and showed it to him.
Gu Cheng looked it over carefully, then replied with a straight face,
"Centurion, your cultivation is profound and your swordsmanship peerless. Naturally, your calligraphy is vigorous and powerful, quite extraordinary."
"Unfortunately, your state of mind isn't very still right now, so this character lacks a little of its spirit."
"???"
Centurion Zhao paused, clearly not expecting such an unusual assessment.
Then he chuckled and shook his head, crumpling the work in his hand and tossing it to the floor.
"Gu Cheng? Heh, how did I not notice before?
"Who would've thought that besides that girl from the Lin family, there'd be another interesting young man like you in this bureau..."
Seated in a grand armchair, the middle-aged man looked Gu Cheng up and down, his eyes full of appreciation and approval.
"Enough small talk. I summoned you here mainly to tell you two things."
"The first thing..."
Centurion Zhao raised one finger, the corners of his mouth curling into a knowing smile.
"I hear you clashed with the Zheng family's young master today. You even killed someone?
"Did you know that the Zheng family's old master sent someone here to see me in person..."
At that, Gu Cheng's brows furrowed slightly.
What did that mean?
Were they not planning to send people after him in secret, but instead chose to complain directly to Centurion Zhao?
How was that any different from running to the teacher when you couldn't win a fight at school?
As Gu Cheng silently grumbled to himself,
Centurion Zhao smiled and handed him a wooden box from the desk, then continued,
"...He sent someone to see me so he could offer you an apology through me.
"He said he'd neglected to discipline his son and would keep him on a tighter leash from now on. He hopes you'll be magnanimous."
"And what's in this box is the Zheng family patriarch's compensation."
"???"
Gu Cheng took the wooden box, even more puzzled.
An apology and compensation?
Wasn't this script supposed to go another way? Why had the Zheng family folded so quickly?
If they folded, who would hire someone to come die at his hands?
And who was going to give him the lifespan he needed?
Gu Cheng was deeply dissatisfied.
But when he opened the box, his dissatisfaction vanished in an instant.
There was only one reason: they'd given him far too much.
A thick stack of banknotes—at least a hundred, and every single one worth a thousand taels!
That made a full hundred thousand taels of silver!
With that fortune, he could visit Spring Breeze Tower every day and spend his nights with its most celebrated courtesans until an iron pestle wore down to a needle, and still might not use it all!
It was more than enough to buy the remaining ingredients for the Boiling Blood Powder, too.
"Were they so terrified by Dong Lei's corpse that they didn't dare oppose me, and chose to pay for peace instead?
"Or... is the Zheng family busy with something else and unwilling to make an enemy of me at this critical moment?"
Gu Cheng stared at the colorful stack of banknotes in his hand, his thoughts in turmoil.
He didn't believe the Zheng family had truly folded.
But no matter what, this fortune had eased his urgent need.
He'd already started secretly planning to plunder the Zheng family.
Now they'd compensated him with a hefty sum themselves, sparing him a lot of trouble.
Besides, he still had plenty of lifespan left. It wouldn't matter if no one came to die at his hands...
Once he'd thought it through, Gu Cheng gently closed the box, accepting the Zheng family's compensation.
Seeing the young man accept the money,
Centurion Zhao nodded with satisfaction and held up two fingers.
"The second thing is that I've found you a decent assignment.
"Gu Cheng, have you heard about that 'flower-plucking thief' lately?"
"I've heard a little." Gu Cheng nodded.
"I hear the flower-plucking thief has incredible lightness skills and prowls the city every night. The wives and daughters of several wealthy families have fallen victim to him.
"The bureau sent two captains to investigate, but they still haven't found a thing.
"So many wealthy families have spent huge sums hiring martial arts experts as guards, to keep their womenfolk safe..."
"Exactly. That's why Shopkeeper Song from the southern part of the city pulled some strings and came to me. He wants to hire an expert from the bureau to guard his home for a few days."
Centurion Zhao smiled, revealing the hidden blade in his words.
"Shopkeeper Song took a second wife a couple of years ago, a beauty like a flower. Naturally, he's afraid the flower-plucking thief will target her.
"But he doesn't trust the martial artists out in the world, so he came to the Demon Suppression Bureau and specifically requested you to help guard the place."
"But... why me?"
Gu Cheng was thoroughly confused. He didn't think he'd ever even met Shopkeeper Song.
"Because the two tiger demons you killed helped him immensely, albeit indirectly."
Centurion Zhao explained unhurriedly,
"Shopkeeper Song runs several medicine shops, and most of the herbs he sells come from Hundred Herbs Mountain.
"If you hadn't killed those two tiger demons and allowed the herb gatherers to keep going up the mountain, his business would've suffered badly.
"Shopkeeper Song specifically invited you over this time so he could thank you properly, while he was at it."
"I see..."
Gu Cheng nodded in understanding.
Sow a cause yesterday and reap its fruit today. Between each sip and each peck, all was fated.
Still, rather than guarding another man's beautiful young wife, he'd much rather be assigned under Lin Qingyan and go out of the city to slay demons.
He was about to politely refuse, but the Centurion spoke first.
"Of course, Shopkeeper Song won't have you work for free."
Centurion Zhao had noticed Gu Cheng's lack of enthusiasm, so he sweetened the deal.
"Besides generous pay, if you ever need herbs for your cultivation, he'll do everything he can to provide them.
"Think of it as forming a good connection with a young martial arts prodigy like yourself."
Providing the herbs he needed?
Gu Cheng's expression shifted. His Boiling Blood Powder was still short a few precious medicinal herbs.
If he could form a good connection with the wealthy Shopkeeper Song, he wouldn't have to worry about finding herbs anymore, would he?
Gu Cheng considered it for a moment, then agreed...
After Gu Cheng took his leave,
Centurion Zhao watched the direction the young man had gone, then murmured to himself,
"What an interesting young man. I wonder if all those absurd things he did before were deliberate, or if that's simply his nature?"
"If it's the latter... Uh, with such a beautiful young wife under his guard, he won't 'steal from the house,' will he?"
A hint of mischief flashed across Centurion Zhao's face.
He shook his head, took out a fresh sheet of rice paper, and once again began practicing calligraphy.
Only this time, he wasn't writing the character for "stillness."
Each stroke outlined a big, unmistakable character: "green"...
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