Vanguard Battalion Captain

Chapter 48: Vanguard Battalion Captain

Liangzhou Prefecture is located in Longyou, so logically, heavy rain should not be common.

Yet these past two days, the heavens seemed to have drunk too much, uncharacteristically pouring down a torrential rain—like the customers of Drunken Flower Pavilion, coming in a rush and leaving in a rush, leaving only muddy puddles in the gutters.

Inside the small courtyard of Demon-Pacifying Ward, Jiang Yuechu slowly opened her eyes and exhaled a long, white breath.

[Tiger Roar Demon Suppression Blade (Perfection)]

With one hundred and eighty-five years of Dao Cultivation poured into it, the Tiger Roar Demon Suppression Blade had finally advanced from Proficient to Perfection.

She picked up the Horizontal Blade from the table and dragged it forcefully across the skin of her arm.

The skin remained unbroken.

She added more strength, yet still the same.

Only when she used full force did the sharp blade leave a shallow white mark on her skin, while the blade itself showed a faint trace of damage.

Tsk...

The standard-issue Horizontal Blades distributed by the Demon Suppression Bureau were all forged uniformly by the Military Crafts Workshop.

Though not divine weapons, they were tempered through a thousand hammerings, and ordinary iron could hardly damage their edge.

Such a blade, which had never broken even when dealing with demons, was now damaged by her own body.

This Mouth-Sealing Qi-Solidifying Method was indeed ferociously domineering!

Amid her astonishment, Jiang Yuechu felt some satisfaction.

With such hardened martial skill on her person, if she faced an enemy in the future, even standing still and letting them cut at her would take considerable effort.

Just as she was thinking this.

A knock came from outside the door.

Jiang Yuechu frowned slightly.

In Demon-Pacifying Ward, everyone lived under the Demon Suppression Bureau. Aside from Liu Chen, she had little interaction with others.

On a rainy day like this, who would come looking for her?

Puzzled, she rose, walked into the courtyard, and pulled open the gate.

Outside the gate, the rain fell like a curtain.

A figure stood silently in the rain, posture straight as a pine.

In dark civilian clothes, handsome as jade.

Who else could it be but Xu Changfeng?

Beside him, a man with a cold, hard face held an oil-paper umbrella for him, the canopy tilted to cover most of Xu Changfeng's head, while half of his own body was already soaked by the rain.

Jiang Yuechu was startled.

She had no dealings with this direct superior beyond that day's report—how had he found his way to her home?

But though puzzled, she maintained proper courtesy.

"Lord Xu."

Jiang Yuechu clasped her fists in salute.

"Mm."

Xu Changfeng merely responded indifferently. "Let's talk inside."

"Yes."

Jiang Yuechu stepped aside.

Xu Changfeng strode in, and the man behind him folded the umbrella and followed.

The interior was simply furnished, everything visible at a glance.

"Please, have a seat, my lord."

Jiang Yuechu pointed to the chairs in the room.

She thought to boil some water for tea, but then remembered she couldn't find even a pinch of tea leaves in her courtyard, so she abandoned the idea.

Instead, she took two coarse porcelain bowls, filled them with cold boiled water, and set them on the table.

Xu Changfeng didn't mind. He sat down casually, his gaze sweeping the room.

"Your place is quite quiet."

"This subordinate lives alone; quiet is better."

Jiang Yuechu stood to the side, hands at her sides.

She couldn't gauge his purpose in coming, so she chose to speak little to avoid mistakes.

Xu Changfeng picked up the bowl of cold water, took a sip, and said nothing.

In the room, only the patter of rain outside filled the silence.

A long time passed.

Xu Changfeng set down his bowl and asked casually, "What do you usually enjoy doing?"

"..." Not this. Surely this superior hadn't braved the heavy rain just to make small talk at his place?

She grumbled inwardly but kept her face neutral, replying flatly, "Nothing more than training in martial arts and reading books."

Xu Changfeng raised an eyebrow, seeming a bit intrigued. "Oh? You like reading? What kind of books do you read?"

"A bit of everything, whatever I come across."

"Have you ever heard of the four extraordinary women known as 'Mirror Flower Water Moon'?"

"No."

"What about the 'Three Friends of Winter'?"

"No."

"Then..."

"Sir, I have never heard of any of those you mention."

Jiang Yuechu's temple veins pulsed as she suppressed her growing irritation.

Xu Changfeng was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

The smile flickered and vanished, yet it added a touch of vitality to his stern features.

"You're an interesting person."

Jiang Yuechu made no reply.

Xu Changfeng didn't mind. He withdrew his smile, his tone turning cold again. "Enough. I didn't come here today for idle chat."

Finally, business.

Jiang Yuechu breathed a sigh of relief.

If this had gone on any longer, she might have been tempted to commit insubordination.

Whether she could win a fight was another matter—the main thing was how annoying he was.

"Tell me, what's the situation at Jeweled Temple?"

At these words, the room fell silent.

The burly man beside Xu Changfeng also fixed his gaze on the young woman.

Jiang Yuechu wasn't surprised.

Hechuan County Magistrate Qian Youwei, unless he was a fool, would have reported everything in full detail to protect himself.

Even if the Demon Suppression Bureau didn't ask, Jeweled Temple would.

She could even guess that experts from Jeweled Temple were already on their way to Liangzhou Prefecture.

"I killed two monks from Jeweled Temple in Hechuan County."

"Why did you kill them?"

"They obstructed my duties, colluded with demons, and in their words showed great disrespect toward our Demon Suppression Bureau and the imperial court. By law, they deserved execution."

Jiang Yuechu answered crisply.

"Heh."

Xu Changfeng let out a light laugh. "A fine 'by law, they deserved execution.'"

He stood up, walked slowly to stand before Jiang Yuechu, and looked down at her.

"Do you know what kind of existence Jeweled Temple is in Longyou Circuit?"

"I do."

"Aren't you afraid?"

Jiang Yuechu raised her head to meet those deep eyes, her voice calm.

"I am a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau. Those I killed were men who colluded with demons."

"If the Bureau cannot protect me, then I have nothing more to say."

"..."

Xu Changfeng's face was expressionless. He turned and walked back to the table, pulled a dossier from his chest, and tossed it onto the table.

"Take a look."

Jiang Yuechu picked up the dossier with some confusion, opened it, and her pupils contracted sharply.

[Hereby appoints Jiang Yuechu, Eighth-Rank Squad Leader of Mysterious Battalion, as Vanguard Battalion Commandant for this mission to Yumen Pass.]

Commandant?!

A Seventh-Rank Commandant!

She lifted her head abruptly, looking at Xu Changfeng.

"The matter at Jeweled Temple has already been suppressed by Lord Wei."

Xu Changfeng sat back down, his tone returning to its usual cool detachment. "As for you, rather than waiting in Liangzhou Prefecture for them to come looking for trouble, it would be better to go to Yumen Pass and lie low for a while."

He paused, then added.

"The squad under your command will also be transferred into the Vanguard Battalion, placed under your authority."

"The Vanguard Battalion suffers the heaviest casualties, but of course, it also reaps the greatest merits."

"Whether it brings fortune or disaster depends entirely on your own ability."

Jiang Yuechu took a deep breath, closed the dossier, and clasped her fists in a bow.

"Thank you for your guidance, Lord."

Xu Changfeng said nothing more, walking straight to the door and pushing it open.

The burly man behind him quickly raised an oil-paper umbrella to shield him from the rain.

Xu Changfeng took a few steps, then suddenly stopped, his back still to Jiang Yuechu, and spoke in a flat tone.

"This courtyard of yours is far too quiet; it lacks a certain liveliness."

"If you don't mind, tomorrow you may come to my place and take some flowers and trees to adorn the yard."

"Yes..."