Subduing Demons

At these words.

Qin Jiu felt a chill run through his heart.

A single demon had been enough to massacre the Zhao Family—a major power once on the same level as the former Qin Family.

And now.

This man said demons were gathering to besiege the city.

What a peculiar choice of words.

He felt that even if an army were camped at the city gates, it might not be able to fully surround the county town—just how many demons were there?

Not just him.

In that moment.

Everyone else felt a wave of cold dread.

Ordinary people might not grasp the terror of demons, but everyone present was a martial artist. A First Refining Skin Polishing master could lift a thousand-pound cauldron with one arm; those at Second Refining, Third Refining, or even Internal Strengthening were no longer common mortals.

Yet these beings.

Were nothing but lambs to the slaughter before demons.

So hearing this news, who could stay calm?

"Everyone, calm down."

At that.

The man seemed to realize he had misspoken and quickly added, "When I said demons are besieging the city, I don't mean the kind that attacked the four great families of the inner city. In fact, according to the County Magistrate's investigation, there are at most three demons of that level."

"The rest are lower-grade, or even ungraded demons."

"Ordinary martial artists can kill them."

"That's the main reason the County Magistrate established the Demon Suppression Bureau. He's currently with Commander Fu investigating and tracking those few high-level demons, unable to spare himself. The County Office is short-handed, so he asked everyone to contribute."

"Feng Yuan, can you not speak in fits and starts?!"

Han Zheng scolded with a dark face.

The others, having breathed a sigh of relief, also glared at the speaker with clear displeasure.

The latter looked sheepish.

Qin Jiu watched this scene, but his heart did not lighten.

Instead, it grew heavier.

The demon that wiped out the Zhao Family had three more of its kind, perhaps even more. If they all appeared in the inner city...

And behind the demons, there seemed to be a greater hand pulling the strings.

The next morning.

Everything in the county town seemed unchanged.

But even without stepping outside, Qin Jiu felt an oppressive sense of a storm about to break.

It even directly affected the Qin Family guard force.

"Young Master, eleven men in the guard force are clamoring to leave the Qin Family. How do you wish to handle this..."

In the East Wing courtyard.

Wang Yue came to report early.

Qin Jiu's expression was blank as he pushed through his stance practice and said flatly, "They can't just collect generous pay when the Qin Family is prosperous and stable. Suppress this for now. I want to wait for the County Office to send someone and hear the Demon Suppression Bureau's needs before deciding."

Demons besieging the city.

All major powers would need to send men to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

As one of the four great families, the Qin Family was certainly on that list. The martial artists to be transferred could only come from the guard force.

The guards who had heard the news.

Naturally wanted to leave the Qin Family to avoid fighting demons to the death.

But as the saying goes—eat the lord's grain, serve the lord's cause. In the past, the Qin Family's strength had allowed all its guards to live in peace, far less grueling than escort convoys that ran back and forth. Countless martial artists had sought to join the Qin Mansion in recent years.

Now that trouble had come, they wanted to leave.

How could he let them go?

Only about half an hour later.

The County Office's man arrived.

It was Feng Yuan, whom he had seen the night before.

He walked into the reception hall, cupped his hands toward Qin Jiu, and said, "Greetings, Family Head Qin."

"Feng was once a constable in the Patrol Office, and now serves as a clerk in the Demon Suppression Bureau. I've come today to inform the Qin Family of the exact amount of grain and silver you must pay, as well as the detailed requirements for the personnel you need to provide."

"Please, have a seat."

Qin Jiu raised his hand, gesturing for him to sit.

Feng Yuan waved his hand and said, "Head of the Qin Family, no need to be polite. This Humble One must hurry to the next household."

"Let me first speak of the grain and silver."

"The Qin Family must pay five thousand taels of silver, or five hundred taels of gold, along with ten dan of coarse grain. If you cannot pay in grain, you may substitute with gold or silver, but the price will be ten percent higher than the market rate. As for personnel, the Qin Family currently needs to provide one martial artist at the Three Refinements level, five at the Second Refining level, and ten at the First Refining level."

"These figures were determined based on each family's operations within the city, and were set by the County Magistrate, who returned last night, along with Commander Fu. Therefore, I am merely relaying the information. If you have any objections, you must discuss them with Commander Fu."

Feng Yuan spoke.

Then he added, "In truth, aside from the Qin Family, the Han Family, the Qian Family, and even the Li Family, who swallowed up the Zhao Family's assets, are all paying roughly the same share."

"In Commander Fu's words..."

"The larger the influence and assets, the more people you have, the greater the share you must pay."

"Because the Demon Suppression Bureau is protecting them."

"Is that so."

Qin Jiu neither agreed nor disagreed.

He thought for a moment, then asked, "What about the Four Seasons Pharmacy, the Weapon-Forging Shop, the Canghai Martial Arts Hall, and those various large and small gangs? How much do they have to pay?"

"Well..."

Feng Yuan's face showed a troubled expression at this.

Seeing this, Qin Jiu nodded to Wang Yue, who understood and pulled a silver ingot from his sleeve, pressing it into Feng Yuan's hand.

"Steward Wang, what are you doing..."

Feng Yuan's expression shifted.

He quickly waved his hand in refusal.

But in the end, he couldn't resist an Internal Strengthening martial artist, and could only let the other man stuff the silver into his chest.

"I ask that the Head of the Qin Family not reveal what I am about to say."

Feng Yuan hesitated, then said, "The Four Seasons Pharmacy does not need to pay grain or silver to the Demon Suppression Bureau, but they must provide pills to the Bureau—not just healing pills, but also great pills that can advance one's martial realm, including those needed by Internal Strengthening martial artists."

"The Weapon-Forging Shop is the same."

"Only they need to provide weapons for the Bureau's people."

"As for the Canghai Martial Arts Hall, they are similar to your families, just with a slightly smaller amount. And those gangs—their amounts are only greater than yours, not less, because their territories are large and their people are many. What they must pay is enough to cripple them."

"As for the other large and small forces inside and outside the city, they are all the same as you, paying grain and silver according to this rule."

Feng Yuan finished speaking.

Then, hesitating, he added one more sentence.

"Head of the Qin Family, consider this an extra word from This Humble One. The personnel the Qin Family sends to the Demon Suppression Bureau—you'd best arrange for trusted confidants or direct-line descendants. If they survive this demon extermination campaign, the future benefits will be countless."

"Oh?"

Qin Jiu wanted to press further.

But Feng Yuan only clasped his hands in a salute, then hurriedly left the hall.

"Uncle Wang, what do you think?"

"This matter reeks of strangeness at every turn."

Wang Yue frowned and said, "But no matter what that person's intentions are in establishing the Demon Suppression Bureau, we can only go along with his will. Whether Feng Yuan's words are true or false, and what will become of this demon extermination campaign in the end, no one can predict."

"We can only adapt by staying still."

After he finished speaking, he had Wang Yue go to the accounting room to fetch the silver.

As for the grain, Qin Jiu didn't touch it, only instructing him to convert it into the corresponding banknotes.

After Wang Yue left.

Qin Jiu rubbed his brow, then cast a deep glance toward the County Office in the inner city before slowly closing his eyes.

The Ghost Illumination talent activated silently.

"County Magistrate..."

"Let me see what you're really made of."