This Humble One is Jiang Yuechu

Chapter 36: This Humble One, Jiang Yuechu

In the courtyard, seven or eight men crowded around a stone table, shouting and gambling with fiery enthusiasm.

A fat, bald monk in an ill-fitting robe clutched a gourd of wine, his face flushed red with laughter, a small pile of copper coins before him.

Across from him, a man with a face full of rough flesh and fierce eyes pounded the table, cursing and grumbling.

At the other end of the yard, a young man in brocade robes, holding a longsword, wore a look of disgust as he watched the gamblers, meticulously wiping his blade as if associating with this lot sullied his sight.

Jiang Yuechu's arrival drew little attention.

Only a man sitting in the corner, silently sharpening a short knife, lifted his eyelids to glance at her before lowering his head again.

Jiang Yuechu swept her gaze across the courtyard.

Without needing an introduction, she could roughly match the troublemakers to Liu Chen's descriptions.

She didn't speak immediately, simply standing at the entrance with her arms crossed, holding her blade.

Finally, the brocade-clad young man wiping his sword seemed to sense something and frowned as he looked over.

When he saw a slender young woman standing at the door, his eyes filled with confusion.

This woman was pretty enough, but what was she doing here?

At the gambling table, the rough-faced man who had lost money was fuming. Seeing Jiang Yuechu staring at them, he redirected his anger.

"Where'd this little bitch come from? Scram, don't block your grandpa's view!"

As his words fell, the courtyard fell silent in an instant.

Everyone's eyes snapped onto Jiang Yuechu.

"Amitabha..." The fat monk took a swig of wine and belched. "This female benefactor, could it be you've taken a wrong turn? This is the Demon Suppression Bureau's sacred ground, not a place for a delicate Bodhisattva like you."

Hearing this, Jiang Yuechu only sneered coldly, ignoring the man's shouts.

She said calmly, "Liu Ke, Chen Tong, Bujie—all here, right?"

The copper coins still lay scattered on the table. The fat monk's smile froze.

The rough-faced man was stunned for a moment, then glared at her fiercely. "Who the hell are you? How do you know our names?"

In the corner, the brocade-clad young man, who had been wiping his sword, stopped his movements.

Bujie the monk set down his wine gourd and said with a chuckle, "This female benefactor, what business do you have with us three brothers? Could it be... you've come to beg alms at our Demon Suppression Bureau?"

The crowd burst into laughter again.

But this time, the laughter was noticeably weaker, tinged with wariness.

Just then, a man in the crowd suddenly let out an "ah," as if recalling something, and slapped his thigh.

"Wait... I remember now! Isn't she the girl who pinned Old Zhao to the pillar and beat him up in the yard a few days ago?"

At these words, the courtyard fell silent once more.

"Which Old Zhao?"

"The one under Liu Chen's command. I heard he was a decent String-Hearing mid-realm expert, but in that girl's hands, he didn't last a single move!"

"Hiss..."

A wave of sharp intakes of breath.

Many present hadn't witnessed that day's scene, but they knew the weight of a String-Hearing mid-realm expert.

Another man in the know lowered his voice and added, "That's not all! I heard she was personally chosen by General Wei, and Lord Xu himself said so at the time!"

General Wei! Lord Xu!

With those two names, the weight shifted entirely.

The gazes that had been tinged with frivolity and disdain instantly changed, laced with shock and suspicion.

There was actually a woman like this in the Demon Suppression Bureau?

But...

Even if she was a fellow Bureau member, a tough character with some backing and skill, so what?

A woman, barging into their rough-and-tumble territory, calling them out by name—what exactly did she want?

Liu Ke slowly stood up, sheathing his cleaned longsword, and looked at Jiang Yuechu with an arrogant expression.

"Even if you're a colleague in the Demon Suppression Bureau, so what?"

"Miss, you've barged into our barracks without cause and called us by name—aren't you a bit too disrespectful of the rules?"

Normally, this kind of casual visit wasn't a big deal.

After all, brothers from different squads often kept in touch privately.

But who were the people here?

Jianghu folk!

What do Jianghu people value most?

Face.

A woman of unknown origin barges into their territory, calling them out by name.

If that's not a provocation, what is?

Before Jiang Yuechu could even react—

The scar-faced man had already snatched up the waist knife thrown on the ground.

Clang—

Blade light flashed.

In a few strides, he was before Jiang Yuechu, the gleaming blade nearly touching the tip of her nose.

"Who the hell do you think you are, ordering us around? Believe I'll split your skull open right now?!"

Everyone in the courtyard changed color.

They knew Chen Tong had a violent temper—one wrong word and he'd throw a punch.

But no one expected him to draw a blade on a colleague inside the Demon Suppression Bureau's barracks.

A few wanted to intervene, but looking at the blade and Chen Tong's murderous face—

They ultimately didn't dare, nor did they have the strength to.

And those who did have the strength...

The fat monk just raised his gourd to his lips, took another swig, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

The brocade-clad young man, arms crossed over his sword, watched coldly from the sidelines, a sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

Amid the gazes of shock, fear, or mockery—

Jiang Yuechu acted as if she hadn't seen the blade pointed at her.

She ignored it entirely, lowering her eyes to look at a speck of dust on the tip of her boot.

Then, her thin red lips parted slightly, her voice flat.

"Put the knife down."

Chen Tong froze, then flew into a rage.

"You motherf—"

Before he could finish, he twisted his wrist, and the waist knife whistled toward Jiang Yuechu's face!

But in that instant—

Jiang Yuechu raised an eyebrow, tightening her grip on the waist knife at her side.

The next second—

She swung it, scabbard and all, casually smashing it into his shoulder.

A dull thud.

Chen Tong's eyes were filled with disbelief.

His body uncontrollably slammed both knees into the ground, cracking two fissures in the bluestone slabs!

Clang.

The long knife slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.

He lay sprawled on the ground, veins bulging on his neck as he strained with all his might, yet he couldn't rise.

And all of this was caused by nothing more than the still-sheathed waist knife resting lightly on his shoulder!

"......"

The fat monk's smile froze, his hand holding the wine gourd stopping midair.

In the corner, the sneer on the brocade-clad young man's face turned into stark shock.

They all knew Chen Tong's strength.

But now...

He was being pinned to his knees by a seemingly frail girl's scabbard, utterly helpless!

Chen Tong stared fixedly at the clean black boots before him, his bloodshot eyes struggling to look up.

The girl remained as unruffled as ever.

She lowered her eyes, her voice flat.

"Forgot to introduce myself..."

"This Humble One is Jiang Yuechu. From now on, I'm your squad leader."

Bujie, Chen Tong, Liu Ke.