The headquarters of the Heavenly Qilin Guard, Water Bureau Office.
Shen Shuchou sat before his desk, his expression grave.
Not long ago, the thousand-household commander overseeing the Bing Fire and Ding Fire bureaus had come to him in person, demanding that the Yan brothers be convicted as soon as possible.
The case had to be closed within three days!
The meaning was obvious:
This case absolutely could not implicate anyone else!
The problem was, Yan Liang had already confessed everything. Chen Mo had even stripped him down to his very last pair of underpants...
Shen Shuchou hadn't wanted to get involved in this in the first place.
But Her Highness still hadn't given him any instructions, so he could only grit his teeth and hold on.
"That brat Chen Mo—he grabs someone and then washes his hands of the whole thing..."
"He takes the credit, I carry the blame. What a rotten little bastard!"
"When this assignment's over, I'll send him after the Ten Heavenly Demons. He can't come back until he catches them!"
Shen Shuchou muttered through clenched teeth.
Thud, thud, thud—
Just then, hurried footsteps rang out, and a runner stumbled into the room.
"C-C-C..."
"What's with all the stammering? Pull yourself together!"
Shen Shuchou frowned.
The runner paid no heed to the scolding. He swallowed and said, "Sir, Flag Chief Chen is back!"
"Heh. He dares come back? I was just about to go after him..."
"He brought back the corpse of one of the Ten Heavenly Demons!"
"..."
Shen Shuchou wondered if the pressure had finally gotten to him and made him hear things.
He dug a finger in his ear and asked,
"What did you just say? Say that again."
The runner kept it brief. "The real culprit behind the Tongling County case was Evil Ghost Qin Wuxiang. Flag Chief Chen beheaded her! The body is on display at the Training Grounds!"
"..."
Shen Shuchou rose and hurried out of the Water Bureau Office.
The Training Grounds were already packed, people jostling shoulder to shoulder as the din rose like a crashing tide!
He pushed through the crowd and made his way to the center. There, on the open ground before him, lay a headless corpse.
A head rested beside the body. Its face was blurred, without any features, and a purple hooked-jade insignia was stamped between its brows.
As a member of the Heavenly Qilin Guard, who hadn't dreamed of bringing one of the Ten Heavenly Demons to justice, making a name across the land, and bringing glory to their family?
Shen Shuchou was no exception.
He had studied every record on the Ten Heavenly Demons and knew their distinguishing features by heart—
There was little doubt that this corpse was Qin Wuxiang.
"You should've seen it! That battle shook the heavens and earth, blotting out the sun and moon!"
"Qin Wuxiang transformed into a hundred-zhang demon, her fiendish flames soaring to the sky, utterly invincible! One slap flattened an entire street!"
"But Flag Chief Chen only smiled faintly and said, 'A firefly dares rival the bright moon? Bring me my blade!'"
"With a casual swing, his blade energy tore through the void and stirred strange signs in heaven and earth. It split that giant demon in two on the spot!"
"The might of that single strike—terrifying beyond belief!"
Qin Shou stood amid the crowd, rattling off his tale like a stand-up comedian.
Everyone around him was utterly engrossed, hearts swept away by the story, and cries of amazement rang out now and then.
"Where's Flag Chief Chen? Why can't I see him?"
someone shouted.
Qin Shou shook his head and sighed.
"Flag Chief Chen is wonderful in every way, but he's just too modest."
"He said, 'I won't claim credit that belongs to others, nor shirk blame that's mine.' He didn't want the spotlight, so he gave us little guys a chance to shine instead."
"That's what you call a man with real character!"
The other runners who had gone on the mission nodded in agreement.
Flag Chief Chen really did have such magnanimity!
"Chen Mo... Chen Mo..."
A shout rang out.
Then more and more people joined in, until their cries swelled into a deafening roar!
This was one of the Ten Heavenly Demons—and the first ever captured!
Not only the Water Bureau, but the entire Heavenly Qilin Guard shared in the glory!
"Chen Mo! Chen Mo!"
Chen Mo, deafening to the ears.
Shen Shuchou stood motionless in the crowd, like a statue.
Silence, deafening to the ears.
I was only joking, and he actually brought back a Heavenly Demon?
Shen Shuchou knew the score. How could Qin Wuxiang be an easy opponent, if she'd become one of the Ten Heavenly Demons?
Even if Chen Mo had won, it couldn't have been that easy.
He must have gone through a bitter fight.
When he'd assigned the mission, he hadn't expected it to be so dangerous...
He'd just cracked the Barbarian Slave Case a few days ago, and now Chen Mo had brought him another enormous surprise!
"That brat—you've made me proud!"
"But one thing's one thing, and another's another. I'll still come after you for dumping the blame on me... though I won't make too much trouble for you."
Zhaohua Palace.
Incense drifted through the palace hall.
Behind a glazed screen, a figure in a bright yellow phoenix robe sat with a hint of languor in her voice.
"How is the case progressing?"
Yan Peizhi straightened beneath the dais.
He knew the Empress's question had two meanings. One was about the Ministry of Revenue corruption case, and the other was about the Barbarian Slave Case.
"Your Highness, with the three judicial offices conducting a joint interrogation, the case is progressing very smoothly. All three Ministry of Revenue officials have confessed. The embezzlement of disaster relief funds was their own doing..."
The Empress listened quietly, making no comment.
Yan Peizhi knew she was waiting for him to continue.
"As for the case of raising Barbarian Slaves, from what this old minister understands, the Yan brothers have admitted to their crimes without reservation."
"As for whether anyone else was involved, this old minister still needs to..."
At that moment, a female official hurried into the hall.
She went around the screen and whispered something in the Empress's ear.
Watching this familiar scene, Yan Peizhi couldn't help shuddering. He wondered if there was another piece of bad news...
"Good. Very good."
"The widow has been given quite the 'surprise'!"
The Empress fell silent for a moment, then sighed.
Yan Peizhi breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed like good news.
"Who would've thought he could bring the Tenth Heavenly Demon to justice and rid Great Yuan of a scourge!"
"He has rid the people of a menace and earned merit as great as a mountain. He must be richly rewarded!"
The Empress's voice echoed through the hall.
Yan Peizhi looked astonished.
The Heavenly Demon Ranking listed more than a hundred fiends.
Many had been arrested and brought to justice, and no small number had been executed on the spot.
The list had been updated dozens of times, yet the top ten had remained utterly unchanged all these years!
And now someone had killed one of the Ten Heavenly Demons?
That was undeniably a tremendous achievement!
"Congratulations, Your Highness! My felicitations!"
"Great Yuan is indeed rich in bold heroes and brilliant talents! This is a blessing for the people and a boon for the nation!"
"May I ask which hero accomplished such a feat?"
Yan Peizhi asked, delighted.
Nothing had gone his way lately, and he'd been unable to hold his head high before the Empress. Now that he'd finally found an opening to curry favor, he naturally intended to seize it.
Once the Empress named the hero, he would steer the conversation toward "Your Highness's words ring like golden bells, your wisdom shines like the sun," and emphasize how it all came from her careful cultivation.
He would be sure to flatter her until her phoenix face brightened with delight...
In the space of a moment, Yan Peizhi had run through the whole routine in his head.
That was the self-cultivation of a seasoned court official.
"As it happens, you know him. He also has quite the connection to your Yan Family."
The Empress spoke evenly.
Yan Peizhi was even more delighted.
Could it be some bureau official or clerk in the Ministry of Justice?
Talk about a pillow arriving just when you were nodding off!
"Your Highness, stop keeping me in suspense. Who is this extraordinary hero?" Yan Peizhi asked impatiently.
"Chen Mo," the Empress said.
Yan Peizhi froze. "...Who?"
"Chen Mo. The man who personally had your nephew thrown into the Imperial Prison."
The Empress said coolly, "He is also a Flag Chief in the Heavenly Qilin Guard. Chen Mo uproots corruption and evil, saving the people from peril, while your nephew busies himself raising Barbarian Slaves and corrupting the court..."
"Sometimes even the widow can't tell who the real traitor is."
Boom!
It was as if five thunderbolts had struck him at once!
Yan Peizhi's knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the floor.
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