Showing Off, Guest Retainer?

"How did you know there was a third-tier demon beast on Dangyun Mountain?"

Chief Clerk Sun didn't care in the least that he'd let his composure slip. He even fixed Chen Zhuo with a scrutinizing gaze.

This Lord Sun's martial cultivation might be even higher than I'd expected...

Chen Zhuo took a deep breath, dispelling the oppressive feeling in his chest, then said, "Where I learned this isn't important."

"What matters is... I can help you extract the True Blood of a third-tier demon beast."

"You?"

Chief Clerk Sun studied Chen Zhuo for a while, then slowly sat back down without saying a word.

Besides suspicion, there was also a trace of anger in the way he looked at Chen Zhuo.

Chen Zhuo sipped his tea expressionlessly, knowing that if he hadn't just revealed the secret that there was a third-tier demon beast on Dangyun Mountain, the man's reception wouldn't have been mere anger.

His silence was actually giving Chen Zhuo a chance to prove himself.

Words could never be as persuasive as concrete action.

How could Chen Zhuo not understand that?

After swallowing a mouthful of tea, he reached behind his neck and plucked out a sesame-sized gu worm. It appeared in his palm.

Once outside his body, the gu worm tried to burrow through the flesh of his palm, but the skin it had once pierced with ease seemed to have turned into a thick layer of refined iron.

Seeing that it couldn't burrow in, the gu worm beat its wings and tried to fly away. No matter how hard it flapped, though, it couldn't escape Chen Zhuo's palm.

"A gu worm? This is interesting."

Chief Clerk Sun's gaze fell on Chen Zhuo's palm, and a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

He was surprised that something as out of place in Baiyun County as a gu worm had appeared on Chen Zhuo. More than that, he was surprised to see the flesh of Chen Zhuo's palm trembling in minute, irregular ripples.

That was why the gu worm couldn't find a foothold to fly out of his palm.

"I remember the first time I met you, Lord Sun, was because of that Three-Shreds Dish..."

Before he finished speaking, Chen Zhuo extended the index finger of his other hand and drove it straight into the gu worm.

After changing his blood, his fingernails had become as hard as refined iron. Gu worms were famed for their eerie nature, but their bodies were fragile.

The gu worm let out a faint squeal, and its body broke in two.

"Today, I'll make you another Three-Shreds Dish, Lord Sun. I hope you'll enjoy it."

Chen Zhuo raised his index finger and began slicing up the gu worm's remains, using his nail as a blade.

His finger quivered at blinding speed. In no time, the gu worm had been sliced into thin strands.

With ordinary eyesight, they were almost impossible to see.

"Wings, legs, and body, all distinct. It counts as a Three-Shreds Dish."

Chen Zhuo held out his palm.

Chief Clerk Sun's pupils contracted.

As he stared at the "Three-Shreds Dish" in Chen Zhuo's palm, waves seemed to surge through his heart.

Such delicate, precise cutting—how could a White-Uniform Runner possess a skill like this?

Could he be... a Blade-Catcher?

At the thought, a bright gleam suddenly lit Chief Clerk Sun's eyes.

"I imagine you've already guessed who I am, Lord Sun."

Chen Zhuo caught that gleam and smiled faintly, then tossed out another thunderbolt.

"If I'm not mistaken, Registrar Wang and the Long River Gang must each have a rather capable Blade-Catcher."

"Otherwise, that mansion wouldn't be there."

Blade-Catchers captured demons, refined demons, and ate demons.

The fact that Huang Tiansheng could command demon beasts was proof enough that an even more powerful Blade-Catcher stood behind him.

Commanding demon beasts fell under the category of capturing demons. Like changing one's demon blood, it was an unorthodox branch of the Blade-Catcher's trade.

Humans and demons were different by nature. Most Blade-Catchers used demons to make up for their own shortcomings, but those who followed unorthodox paths forcibly commanded demon beasts for their own use.

Sooner or later, this would invite a backlash.

"That's right. The Long River Gang does have Blade-Catchers—and more than one."

Chief Clerk Sun gave a slight nod.

Now, when he looked at Chen Zhuo, the suspicion in his eyes had turned to eagerness.

He didn't say it aloud, but in his heart he admitted that Chen Zhuo's guess was almost flawless.

If the Tianhe Gang hadn't somehow recruited several Blade-Catchers, they wouldn't have been able to run rampant in Baiyun County like this, and the Sun Family wouldn't have gradually fallen into a disadvantageous position.

At the thought, Chief Clerk Sun's gaze grew even more eager.

"Kid, being a Yamen Runner is all well and good, but you'd be better off becoming a guest retainer for my Sun Family. With a skill like yours, name whatever terms you want."

Chief Clerk Sun eagerly tried to recruit Chen Zhuo.

The offer of whatever terms he wanted was undeniably tempting, but Chen Zhuo was no longer the greenhorn he'd once been.

The words Northern Suppressing Faction had come to carry more and more weight in his heart.

Only by becoming a Yamen Runner would he have a chance to enter the Northern Suppressing Faction and gain access to the Demon Prison.

The Demon Prison held demons of all kinds and ranks, which meant there was a great deal of demon True Blood to be found there.

With True Blood bolstering him, his martial cultivation would surge forward without a hitch, and his rate of progress would be unimaginably fast.

Chen Zhuo politely declined. "Thank you for your generous offer, Lord Sun, but I'm used to staying at the Yamen. I don't really want to move."

Chief Clerk Sun furrowed his brows slightly. He hadn't expected anyone to turn down such generous terms.

"Since that's the case, I won't press you. But does the deal you mentioned earlier still stand?"

Chen Zhuo nodded. "Of course. As long as you can bring back that third-tier demon beast and extract all of its True Blood, there won't be a problem."

"Good! Then it's settled!"

Chief Clerk Sun laughed heartily, making the doors and windows tremble.

"You'll be richly rewarded once it's done."

Chen Zhuo shook his head. "Let's not talk about a rich reward yet. I want to ask for one thing today."

"Or, to be precise, I have a question."

Chief Clerk Sun nodded. "Ask. As long as it doesn't involve a secret of the Sun Family, I'll tell you everything I can."

Chen Zhuo lifted his teacup. As time passed, the tea cooled from scalding to warm, but a wisp of steam still rose from the cup.

It reminded him of the white mist on Old Blind Man's fingertips.

Chen Zhuo came back to himself and asked Chief Clerk Sun about his experience with Aperture Opening.

Chief Clerk Sun naturally explained it in great detail.

The conversation went on all afternoon.

The two men surnamed Huang had grown extremely impatient waiting outside.

Huang Yuan'er had even stopped pretending and had people bring out two reclining chairs. He spent the whole afternoon lying in one.

"Does that trick of yours even work? Could that kid have played us?"

After a whole afternoon of waiting, even the fiercest anger had worn away.

Aside from his murderous intent, Huang Yuan'er was now full of doubts about Huang Tiansheng's methods.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

Huang Tiansheng could hear the mockery beneath his nephew's words, and it drove him nearly frantic.

Truth be told, he was beginning to lose confidence too.

One of the four gu worms had completely gone out of his sensing.

The other three were growing fainter and fainter.

He'd been confident that, in all of Baiyun County, even Blade-Catchers were a rarity. How could anyone possibly know how to break a gu worm?

But Chen Zhuo had been inside for so long without coming out, and that had made Huang Tiansheng start doubting himself as well.

Could it be Sun Qifeng?

No, the Sun Family didn't even have a single Blade-Catcher.

As Huang Tiansheng continued to guess, Chen Zhuo finally emerged from the Dianshi Office.

His eyes were vacant, his limbs stiff—the same as before.

When Huang Tiansheng saw Chen Zhuo slowly approach, he finally relaxed completely. Turning to Huang Yuan'er, he gave a cold smile.

"I've finished taking care of my business. You two are still here—waiting for me to treat you to dinner?"

"Dinner? Make it another bowl of beef noodles... Hm?"

Huang Tiansheng heard the words and answered without thinking, but then he suddenly sensed something was off.

He turned and looked closely, only to find Chen Zhuo watching him with an amused smile.

That gaze was like someone teasing a donkey.

There was not the slightest trace of vacancy in his eyes.

Huang Tiansheng froze for an instant, then understood what had happened. His anger flared, and his qi and blood burst forth without restraint.

He gritted his teeth and roared, each word dripping with fury:

"You little bastard, I'll chop you to pieces!"

Hm? That sounded familiar...

Chen Zhuo leaped backward, and a figure as immense as a mountain suddenly appeared behind him.

A cold voice echoed through the air.

"Who did you say you'd chop to pieces?"