All Thorns?!

"How are the people in the team under my command...?"

Jiang Yuechu was somewhat curious.

At her words, the strange look on Liu Chen's face deepened. He glanced around, and only after confirming there was no one nearby did he lower his voice.

"It's not exactly trouble. It's just... they're hard to manage."

"You know how short-handed our Demon Suppression Bureau is these days. To replenish our numbers, the Bureau has relaxed its recruitment standards over the past few years. As long as they have some skill, whether they're hardened soldiers discharged from the army or jianghu folk with nowhere left to turn, people from all walks of life may join our Demon Suppression Bureau."

Jiang Yuechu nodded. She did know that.

After all, she herself was the best example.

"The brothers discharged from the army, or those from other backgrounds, are easier enough to deal with. Give them food, and they'll risk their lives and obey the rules."

Liu Chen sighed. "But those who've spent their lives roaming the jianghu... they're troublesome."

"Every last one of them is unruly and arrogant, thinking highly of themselves. Their heads are filled with so-called jianghu rules and settling grudges with a free hand. They don't consider themselves people of the imperial court at all."

"Oh?"

Jiang Yuechu found herself growing interested.

"There are three you should pay particular attention to."

As Liu Chen walked, he spoke. "The first is called Liu Ke, the illegitimate son of Liu Boren, master of Falling Goose Villa."

"Falling Goose Villa?"

"Yes. Here in our Longyou Circuit, it counts as one of the prominent great sects."

Liu Chen explained, "This Liu Ke displayed outstanding talent from childhood. He entered the String-Hearing Realm in his early twenties and has gained some fame among Longyou's younger generation. But he is, after all, illegitimate, and he was ostracized everywhere within the villa..."

"He joined the Demon Suppression Bureau partly out of spite, and partly because he wanted to make a name for himself and show his old man what he could do."

"Though our Demon Suppression Bureau need not bow to those jianghu sects, Falling Goose Villa has deep roots in Longyou, and Liu Boren has ties with quite a few officials in the various prefectures. If anything happens to Liu Ke under your command, I'm afraid it may cause some unnecessary trouble."

Jiang Yuechu nodded, understanding now.

A proud, high-minded discarded son of a powerful family, with no small amount of backing.

"What about the other two?"

"Another is called Chen Tong. He's an old hand in the jianghu, making his living by taking people's money and dispelling their disasters. Later, he offended someone he shouldn't have and was hunted down by his enemies. With nowhere else to go, he came to the Demon Suppression Bureau."

Liu Chen's tone grew more solemn. "People like that have violent tempers. They recognize only fists, not official rank."

Jiang Yuechu rubbed her chin.

This one would be easy.

If he refused to submit, beat him. Beat him until he cried for his mother.

"And the third?"

"The third..."

Liu Chen's expression became stranger than ever. "I heard he came from Vajra Temple... His dharma name is Bujie."

"A monk?"

Jiang Yuechu froze. "A monk joined the Demon Suppression Bureau?"

Liu Chen gave a bitter smile. "Vajra Temple is a major Buddhist sect. But this monk Bujie drinks wine, eats meat, brawls, visits brothels—apart from killing, he has broken every precept there is. In the end, his master kicked him straight out of the mountain gate."

"After coming down the mountain, who knows why, he came to our Demon Suppression Bureau. He said... he wished to cultivate amid the mortal world, slay demons and eradicate evil, and prove his own path of Vajra Wrathful Gaze."

Jiang Yuechu's eyelids twitched.

What a lineup.

"Lord Xu probably sent you to lead this team because he wanted you to go and steady the place."

Liu Chen looked at her with a trace of sympathy in his eyes. "In any case, be careful in all things."

Jiang Yuechu tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Careful?

Right now, she only wanted to meet these three great talents as soon as possible, then have a cordial discussion with them about their ideals in life.

As the two spoke, they arrived at the storeroom.

It was still that One-Eyed Old Man, dozing against his chair. Hearing movement, he opened his eye impatiently.

Jiang Yuechu handed over the document.

The old man took it. His gaze lingered on the young woman, and he recognized her.

After all, there were only so many girls in the entire Longyou Circuit Demon Suppression Bureau.

And one as pretty as this was even rarer.

He lazily scanned the document, assuming she had come to collect healing medicine or something similar again.

But when his eyes fell upon the official post and name written on the document, his hand abruptly stopped, and his one eye suddenly widened.

"An eighth-rank Team Leader... Jiang Yuechu?"

He raised his head, his wrinkled face written all over with disbelief.

"This has only... only been a few days?"

A bitter smile appeared on Liu Chen's face.

It was not just this old clerk—even the others found it unbelievable when they heard.

The old man stared at Jiang Yuechu for a long while, as though he meant to find a flower blooming on her face. At last, he clicked his tongue in wonder and shook his head, muttering, "The young are to be feared," before slowly getting to his feet.

From a locked wooden chest behind him, he took out a heavy cloth pouch and tossed it onto the table.

"Promotion Bonus. Ten taels. Count it."

Jiang Yuechu took the pouch. It weighed heavily in her hand. Opening it for a glance, she saw ten brand-new, government-cast silver ingots inside.

She silently tucked the money pouch into her robes and cupped her fists toward the old man.

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for? It's the Bureau's rule."

The old man waved a hand and lay back down in his chair, closing his eyes. Yet his mouth continued to mutter, "Damn it, I've worked at the Demon Suppression Bureau all my life, and I've never seen anyone rise through the ranks this fast..."

After collecting the money, the two left the treasury.

"Your team is in the barracks up ahead."

Liu Chen pointed at a row of somewhat dilapidated buildings in the distance. "I won't see you over."

Jiang Yuechu nodded.

Liu Chen looked at her and opened his mouth, seeming to want to give her a few more words of advice. In the end, though, it only turned into a sigh.

"Just... be careful."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Brother Liu."

Behind him came the girl's cool voice.

Liu Chen paused, then turned around to look at her in puzzlement.

Jiang Yuechu solemnly cupped her fists toward him and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for today."

She raised her head, her gaze earnest.

"..."

Liu Chen froze.

He had not expected her to offer such a formal salute.

Ever since the battle at Black River, he had known that the gap between himself and the girl before him would only grow wider and wider.

What he had done today was half out of camaraderie for a colleague. As for the other half, was there not also some thought of forging a good connection in advance?

Yet she seemed to have taken his little, insignificant calculation as a genuine bond of friendship.

"Th-That's nothing!"

Liu Chen's old face reddened as he hurriedly waved his hands. "You and I are both brothers of the Bureau. Wouldn't saying such things make us strangers?"

Jiang Yuechu said nothing, merely watching him in silence.

Whatever his motives, he had been willing to lay his heart bare and explain every key point to her one by one. Jiang Yuechu would remember this kindness.

"Come on, come on! Bet big or small! No more bets once the stakes are down!"

"I'm betting big!"

"Fuck! Small again! Bujie, you bald donkey, are you cheating?"

"Amitabha. This humble monk is a man of the cloth. At the gambling table, it is all by the Buddha's blessing. If you have lost your money, benefactor, do not slander this humble monk's innocence."

Before Jiang Yuechu even drew near, a burst of clamor reached her ears.

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