Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion

Having finished escorting the Demon Person back to the Demon Subduing Bureau and locking him in Demon Subduing Prison, Ning Xiu's first order of business was to report to Su Qianqian and give her a detailed account of the mission.

She would then compile his report into a dossier and send it to Heavenly Eye Tower for filing.

Every Demon Subduing Captain sent out on a mission had to follow this procedure. No one was exempt.

Ning Xiu had Ren Qianxing take the Spirit Gathering Banner to be stored in the place designated for such Demon Person items. Then the two parted ways, and Ning Xiu headed to Fifth Examination Hall to have Su Qianqian record his mission.

As Great Shang's foremost blade for slaying demons and exorcising evil, and its shield for protecting the land and its people, the Demon Subduing Bureau had been granted immense authority by the emperor.

It could deal with imperial relatives and nobles above, and execute civil and military officials, wealthy merchants, and commoners below.

It examined the emperor, the royal family, the vassal lords, officials, and commoners. That was the meaning behind the name Fifth Examination Hall.

Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains usually worked here, so when an Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captain needed to find a superior, this was the place where he was most likely to succeed.

Stepping into the sprawling Fifth Examination Hall, Ning Xiu immediately spotted a rusty iron stele hanging from a beam.

Two lines were carved into its surface:

"Our lifelong wish is to restore Great Shang to an age of peace and prosperity, when the people live in comfort and travel without fear."

"Slay every demon and evil spirit in the world, every fiend and Fierce God, and reclaim the twenty-four provinces beyond our borders."

The stele was mottled with rust and clearly centuries old, for back then there had been twenty-four provinces beyond their borders.

Over the past few decades, the Demon Subduing Bureau had continually sent out reinforcements and reclaimed four provinces. Now, only twenty remained.

The elder who carved these words must have been among the first generation of Demon Subduing Captains. Their generation dreamed all their lives of restoring Great Shang to the glory of its thirty-six provinces. Yet even today, that goal remains a distant dream. Ning Xiu sighed inwardly.

Still, the will of those who came before had been passed down as faithfully as the words carved into the stele.

It made every Demon Subduing Captain understand exactly why he had joined the Bureau.

I only hope that in my lifetime, I can fulfill the aspirations of those who came before me.

To the left of the main entrance stood a chest about half a person's height. Ink, brushes, paper, and an inkstone sat atop it, along with a slot just wide enough for someone to reach inside.

Ning Xiu went over to take a look and learned that the Bureau had recently launched a slogan contest. The winning slogan would be posted at Champion Camp, so the new apprentices could shout it during their training.

It was meant to boost their morale and ambition.

Any Demon Subduing Captain could write down a slogan they thought was good, sign their name, and drop it into the chest.

If the Bureau approved and selected their slogan, they would receive a mysterious reward.

It was the kind of contest where he couldn't lose, no matter what, so Ning Xiu naturally wasn't about to pass it up. He immediately picked up a brush and wrote down a few lines.

"Today, I take pride in the Demon Subduing Bureau; tomorrow, the Demon Subduing Bureau will take pride in me."

"When the youth grow strong, the Demon Subduing Bureau grows strong."

"If training won't kill me, I'll train until it does. I'll work hard for a thousand days, then join the Demon Subduing Bureau."

After blowing the ink dry, he reached into the chest to drop in the paper, then turned and walked into Fifth Examination Hall.

After asking around, Ning Xiu found Su Qianqian's office. It was a room no more than ten paces long or wide.

Su Qianqian sat beside a wooden desk, reviewing dossiers that had just been sent over from Heavenly Eye Tower.

Hearing someone enter, she looked up without thinking. When she saw that it was Ning Xiu, delight flickered across her face. "You're back. Why didn't you let me know ahead of time?"

Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains sent out to investigate or carry out missions faced a consistently high risk of dying far from home when things went wrong. Leaving Chaotian Capital could mean never returning.

So seeing Ning Xiu, a newcomer, come back safe and sound naturally made Su Qianqian happy.

Ning Xiu walked up to the desk and said calmly, "My lady, I've finished investigating the case of more than ten people drowning in Wendeng County. I also brought back the Demon Person behind the trouble. Ren Qianxing and I took them to Demon Subduing Prison."

"Well done. I only wanted you to find out what was behind that strange drowning case, but you exceeded the mission expectations."

Su Qianqian looked at Ning Xiu with satisfaction. Then her gaze shifted to the Drum Beating Golden Hammer in his hand.

The moment she noticed the orange-red talismanic markings on the Weng Jin Hammer, her curiosity turned to shock.

"Where did you get that Weng Jin Hammer?!"

Ning Xiu glanced at his hammer. "I made a friend in Wendeng County, and he generously gave it to me. My lady, do you know this Weng Jin Hammer?"

Su Qianqian looked incredulous. "The orange talismanic markings carved on the hammer are orthodox Immortal Path thunder arts, profound beyond measure. Only True Persons of the Immortal Path can inscribe them.

"Of all the thunder-art True Persons in the history of the Demon Subduing Bureau, only one used Weng Jin Hammers as weapons. If I'm not mistaken, this hammer belonged to the late Purple Thunder True Man."

"You have a sharp eye, my lady. That's exactly what the seller from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Caravan said when my friend bought it."

Su Qianqian continued, "Purple Thunder True Man wielded a pair of Weng Jin Hammers. The hammer with orange talismans was called Startling Thunder; the one with purple talismans was called Purple Lightning. Only when wielded together could they unleash their true might.

"They could summon thunder from the heavens and call down lightning, with the Thunder God's aid to repel every evil."

Ning Xiu had never imagined that the Drum Beating Golden Hammer was so powerful.

According to Su Qianqian, the one in his hands was the Startling Thunder Hammer. He was missing its counterpart, the Purple Lightning Hammer.

Once joined together, the pair of hammers would transcend the bounds of ordinary weapons and become something like a Magic Treasure.

That was the true might of a weapon wielded by a True Person of the Immortal Path.

In an instant, Ning Xiu found himself liking the Startling Thunder Hammer more and more. The longer he looked at it, the more pleased he was.

He then asked, "My lady, I bought this Startling Thunder Hammer, even if I did pay for it. If the Demon Subduing Bureau finds out, will they take it back? After all, you said Purple Thunder True Man used to be a Demon Subduing Captain."

Su Qianqian shook her head. "You don't need to worry. When a Demon Subduing Captain dies in battle while away from home, anything he leaves behind is considered ownerless property. Finders keepers. The Demon Subduing Bureau won't interfere.

"We're glad when a successor inherits the belongings of our predecessors. In a way, Purple Thunder True Man is still fighting for the Bureau, just in another form.

"Keep it and use it without a worry. No one will come after you for it."

"I understand," Ning Xiu replied.

"Chaotian Capital has been unsettled lately. Ever since someone anonymously exposed Spring Full Pavilion for harboring Evil Spirits, the whole capital has been combed from end to end to make sure there isn't another Spring Full Pavilion.

"Several Bronze Leopard Squads went out to slay demons not long ago, so we're a little short-handed in the Bureau. Since you've returned to the capital at a time like this, you'll have to take on a little extra work and join the Bureau's investigation."

"That's all right, my lady. I don't mind the hard work."

After recounting every detail of his trip to Wendeng County, Ning Xiu left Fifth Examination Hall once Su Qianqian had finished writing up the dossier.

The monthly salary and merit points varied by rank for Demon Subduing Captains. An Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captain like Ning Xiu received fifty taels of silver and a dozen or so merit points each month.

If he had carried out a mission that month, he would receive additional silver and merit points at the end-of-month settlement, depending on how the mission had gone.

Silver was for daily expenses, while merit points could be exchanged for the chance to study new cultivation techniques at Three Saints Hall.

They could also be spent on rare medicinal herbs and pills from the Spirit Repository, or armor and weapons from the Forging Workshop. If you had materials of your own, the Bureau's smiths could even forge custom equipment for you.

The quality of these items couldn't compare with the work of ordinary craftsmen.

So when new recruits joined the Bureau, they usually spent their first merit points on a better set of gear to improve their chances of survival.

After leaving Fifth Examination Hall, Ning Xiu suddenly found himself at a loss. Following Su Qianqian's instructions, he had joined a temporary investigation team assembled from scratch.

But the team's shift began at the hour of the ox, still several hours away.

He really had nowhere to go in the meantime. Should he ask Su Qianqian to let him serve as a temporary Executioner in Demon Subduing Prison again?

Just then, Ning Xiu remembered the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion Ren Qianxing had mentioned earlier.

He did need a solution to the inconvenience of carrying the Startling Thunder Hammer around. Carrying a three-hundred-and-twenty-pound hammer all the time looked imposing, but it could be a real ordeal.

The Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion stood in the eastern corner of the Demon Subduing Bureau. Ning Xiu had assumed it would be something like a grand hall.

But when he asked around and finally found the place, he couldn't help being stunned by its sheer size.

He entered through the gates and found a vast, orderly plaza inside. White stone slabs covered the ground, clean and neat.

The plaza was filled with stalls beneath parasols, along with wheeled wooden carts. Farther in, rows of shops stood side by side.

Those who knew it was the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion knew. Anyone else would have thought it was one of Chaotian Capital's marketplaces.

"Can this chaotic place really have a way to solve the problem of carrying the Startling Thunder Hammer around?" Looking at the disorderly pavilion, Ning Xiu couldn't help but wonder.

"Silver Scale Breastplate! Five taels of gold apiece, limited stock, first come, first served!"

"Azure Sea Spirit Pearl, taken from inside a clam maiden! Extremely rare! Name your price!"

"Half a ruined book, with an unusual fragrance from its pages. Origin unknown. One hundred taels of silver!"

Ren Qianxing hadn't mentioned that the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion was the largest marketplace for extraordinary people in the Demon Subduing Bureau.

Every cultivator affiliated with the Bureau came here to buy and sell. Some wares were genuine treasures, while others were nothing but money traps.

Whether you found a true treasure among the stalls depended entirely on your knowledge and discernment.

As Ning Xiu walked by with a huge hammer over his shoulder, he instantly drew the attention of cultivators watching him from near and far. They all sized up the unusual-looking young man.

Quite a few of them recognized the hammer on his shoulder at a glance.

"The Startling Thunder Hammer of Purple Thunder True Man, an Immortal Path Rank 3 who died on a mission ten years ago! What a treasure!"

"Who's that kid? He looks unfamiliar. How come I've never seen him in the Bureau before?"

"He actually got his hands on Startling Thunder. But why does he only have one? Where's Purple Lightning?"

Ning Xiu couldn't hear their hushed comments. He kept walking, looking around as he went.

He was trying to find the solution Ren Qianxing had mentioned for the problem of carrying his weapon.

Just then, a stall in the distance caught his eye.

The stall wasn't selling anything else. It displayed only two cushions. Ning Xiu walked closer and saw a burly man sitting on the left cushion. His muscles bulged, his head was shaved, and he wore nothing but a loincloth.

On the right cushion sat a pretty woman with two small white horns growing from her forehead.

At the sight of the horned woman, Ning Xiu froze. The Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion sold Demonic Creatures? Wasn't that against the Bureau's rules?

Perhaps the stall owner guessed what Ning Xiu was thinking from his expression, because he promptly explained, "This young lady here isn't a Demonic Creature. She's a half-human."

Half-humans were descendants occasionally born when a human and a Demonic Creature mated.

They looked unmistakably half-human, half-demon, with obvious traits of Demonic Creatures.

Unlike Demonic Creatures, aside from a few features that resembled them, half-humans were otherwise completely human.

"Are they not considered a threat? They can even be confined and sold?" Ning Xiu asked, puzzled.

"Young brother, half-humans are no different from people. They grow up with proper guidance, and aside from a few minor traits, they're just like anyone else. According to the rules, they can be bought and sold, much like maids and servants. Half-humans are pitiful, really. Their mothers were violated by Demonic Creatures, and it wasn't their choice to be born with these traits. Surely we should give people like them some way to live."

Since that was the rule, Ning Xiu didn't press the matter.

Seeing the hammer on his shoulder, the stall owner offered, "Young brother, that weapon of yours must be heavy. Carrying it around by yourself every day must be exhausting. I recommend buying this strong fellow here and having him serve as your Servant Soldier. When you travel, you can have him carry your weapon and keep your hands free. Wouldn't that make life easier?"

Servant Soldiers were a common arrangement for martial artists. You hired someone strong to carry your weapon for you.

When a fight broke out, you took the weapon back from the Servant Soldier and joined the fray.

It was a bit like Zhou Cang carrying Guan Yu's blade and leading his horse.

But Ning Xiu wasn't very keen on that solution. Having another person following him around would be inconvenient.

Besides, his Startling Thunder Hammer weighed three hundred and twenty pounds. It wasn't something just anyone could carry.

Still, the idea of a Servant Soldier gave Ning Xiu another thought.

Why not ask a puppeteer to build him a puppet with a compartment inside to hold the Startling Thunder Hammer?

Just like Ren Qianxing's two puppets, it could follow him around at all times.

Whenever he needed the hammer, he could open the puppet and take it out.

When he didn't need it, he could store it inside the puppet again.

Wouldn't that be perfect?

There were three thousand paths to the Great Dao, each with its own way of storing things. No one had ever said martial artists weren't allowed to rely on the Puppet Path.

After settling on the idea, Ning Xiu immediately began looking for a puppet shop.

Tomorrow would be April 1. The IDs that sent the most monthly passes, recommendation tickets, and tips would be listed on the rankings for the whole month.

If you still had tickets, everyone, feel free to send them in.