A Disheveled Jiao Yu

Northern Pacification Bureau, mess hall.

"I thought you weren't coming." Fox Murong glanced at Wen Shihan, her tone teasing.

"I lost. This meal's on me."

Wen Shihan rolled her eyes at her, her voice cool.

It seemed the awkwardness from earlier hadn't affected her state of mind at all.

"Perfect! Uncle Yang, two more stir-fried dishes, and three jugs of wine!"

Fox Murong called toward the kitchen.

Meals at the mess hall were free, but if you wanted something good, you had to pay.

"Hold on, Fox girl."

Old Yang didn't come out, merely answering from inside.

In just a few days, Fox Murong had made herself familiar with everyone in the Northern Pacification Bureau, from top to bottom.

Everyone fondly called this clever, eccentric girl Fox girl.

"You really know how to take advantage. She's treating me, yet you're not holding back at all." Wei Xuanfeng laughed.

"That's not how you should put it. What I'm about to tell you will definitely be worth the price of this meal." Fox Murong teased Wen Shihan. "Little Sister Shihan, you definitely won't lose out."

Wen Shihan couldn't be bothered with her.

"Stop keeping us in suspense and get on with it."

The stir-fried dishes weren't ready yet, so Wei Xuanfeng brought over some pickled vegetables and three bowls of rice.

"I'm telling you, the good days for the three of us are about to end!" Fox Murong took the rice and ate it with the pickles as she spoke. "You heard those wolf howls these past few days, right?"

"Mm. From the sound of them, they seem a little like the Xuanlan Wolf Demon," Wei Xuanfeng replied.

"Not like—it is the Xuanlan Wolf Demon!" Fox Murong wore an exaggerated expression.

"Impossible. White Lotus Mountain is at least two hundred li from the Northern Pacification Bureau, and even Wumeng Mountain is over a hundred li away." Wei Xuanfeng immediately rejected the notion. "A lone wolf could never break through the army camps unless it was..."

As long as they reached the Martial Warrior realm, they could enlist in the Great Jin Dynasty's army.

These soldiers possessed meager cultivation, so their purpose was simple.

In wartime, they served as cannon fodder. In peacetime, they stood watch.

Using these bodies of flesh and blood, they built line after line of defense beyond the cities, allowing the people within to live and work in peace.

Otherwise, how could the Demon Suppression Directorate possibly protect such vast cities with so few people?

"That's right. The eight military camps outside Kang City were all smashed to pieces by the wolf demon pack. They say those soldiers died horribly..." Fox Murong said. "Usually, when demon beasts come down from the mountains, they're after the people in the cities. But do you know what this wolf demon pack is after this time? Our Northern Pacification Bureau!"

Once she said that, even Wen Shihan looked up at her.

"They're coming for us?" Wei Xuanfeng frowned.

Normally, demon beasts descended the mountains because there were too many adult demon beasts within their ranks.

To preserve their own rule, demon beast leaders would lead their clans to attack human cities.

If they took them, the pressure would ease. If they failed, the pressure would still ease...

But he had never heard of demon beasts attacking the Northern Pacification Bureau outside the city first.

"Mm. From what I've heard, the Xuanlan Wolf Demon's siege of us isn't for food, but rather..." At this point, Fox Murong beckoned for the two of them to lean closer, then lowered her voice. "Do you remember Boss Jiao saying that our Fifth Pacification Bureau found some kind of treasure on White Lotus Mountain?"

Wei Xuanfeng and Wen Shihan nodded.

That was why Lord Yang had been so delighted that he treated the entire Northern Pacification Bureau to a feast.

They had also been lucky enough to taste a mouthful of Immortal's Drunk.

And because of that one mouthful, Wei Xuanfeng and Wen Shihan's inner force had always surpassed Fox Murong's.

"Then do you know what treasure it was?" Fox Murong asked with a sly grin.

"If you keep dragging it out, believe me, I'll rip your nose right off." Wei Xuanfeng directly pinched her delicate little nose.

People who kept others in suspense were fucking annoying. Would saying it all in one breath kill them?

"Tch, keep your hands to yourself. Fine, fine, I'll tell you..." Fox Murong said mysteriously, grinning. "The Fifth Pacification Bureau took several hundred men and went straight for the Xuanlan Wolf Demon's nest. Then they brought back a treasure called the Earth Immortal Spring Lotus!"

"Earth Immortal Spring Lotus? Never heard of it."

"What would a country bumpkin like you know? This Earth Immortal Spring Lotus ranks eighth among the world's ten greatest poisons!" Fox Murong continued. "Don't be fooled by its toxicity—it's an essential ingredient for refining nine-turn pills! Do you understand how valuable nine-turn pills are?"

"Don't..." Wei Xuanfeng and Wen Shihan shook their heads.

"Honestly... Put it this way: for a martial artist to advance from the Martial Master realm to the Martial Grandmaster realm, besides cultivating bitterly for years, they also need a pill called a Qi-Gathering Pill. That Qi-Gathering Pill is a six-turn pill, and a single one costs over ten thousand gold! With this Earth Immortal Spring Lotus, they can refine more than ten of them! Understand now?"

Just as she said this, Old Yang happened to bring over the stir-fried dishes and cloudy wine.

"This girl sure knows quite a lot." As he returned to the kitchen, he couldn't help but chuckle.

At the table, Wei Xuanfeng took a bite of food before finally nodding.

"I understand. So the Xuanlan Wolf Demon came to reclaim the Earth Immortal Spring Lotus. But... what does that have to do with us?"

Wei Xuanfeng still thought like a mercenary.

If the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. He just had to watch which way the wind blew.

If he could win, he would snatch the credit. If he could not, he would make himself scarce...

"You know, Boss Jiao's boss died a glorious death..." Fox Murong took a drink, then lowered his voice. "She was appointed in the heat of battle. Boss Jiao is a Hundred-Household now! It's just a pity that she only has the three of us left under her..."

As though to echo his words, a group of demon slayers entered from outside the courtyard to eat.

They were covered in blood, every one of them wounded.

Wei Xuanfeng had only seen that exhaustion and numbness on their faces on battlefields in his previous life...

It seemed the Xuanlan Wolf Demon had brought a great crisis upon the Northern Pacification Bureau.

"Then we..." Wei Xuanfeng's eyes lit up.

"You're still a lieutenant. Stop dreaming." Fox Murong smiled. "Besides, whether the two of you are recovered from your illnesses or not, I reckon Boss Jiao will come looking for the three of us tomorrow..."

"Not tomorrow. Right now!"

Before Fox Murong had finished speaking, Jiao Yu's voice sounded behind the three of them.

Wei Xuanfeng immediately caught a strong stench of blood. Looking up, he saw Jiao Yu sit down at their table.

She grabbed the wine jug and poured great gulps into her mouth.

Wei Xuanfeng gave her a look. She was utterly bedraggled, her Flying Fish Uniform torn to rags.

It was covered in bloodstains and claw marks.

Jiao Yu's originally fair face was now filthy with dust and grime. Wine trickled from her red lips down her neck, washing little beads of mud into curls...

"Boss, drink slowly. Let me wipe you off."

Seeing this, Fox Murong immediately leaned over, pulled out a handkerchief, and helped Jiao Yu wipe her face.

"Little Murong still knows how to care for people. But don't blame your boss for not caring about you two." Jiao Yu wiped her mouth and gestured for Fox Murong to sit. "Raise soldiers for a thousand days, use them for a single moment. After dinner, go back and change into your Flying Fish Uniforms. You're on patrol tonight!"

After dinner, Jiao Yu brought the three of them to their patrol area—a stretch of forest less than five li from the Northern Pacification Bureau.

They hid among the branches.

"Boss, should we call for backup?!"

Looking at the several dozen Xuanlan Wolf Demons in the distance, Wei Xuanfeng could not help speaking up.

He was confident, but not arrogant.

Judging by the size of those wolf demons, even with Jiao Yu included, he did not think the four of them could defeat them.

"The Northern Pacification Bureau is short on people everywhere right now. Call for whoever you want—no one will come." Jiao Yu smiled. "Go on. The three of you kill this pack of beasts, and afterward I'll recommend you for Little Banner Officer."

The Demon Suppression Directorate's ranks were similar to those of the Ming dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The lowest rank was lieutenant, followed by Little Banner, Chief Banner, Probationary Hundred-Household, Hundred-Household, Deputy Thousand-Household, Thousand-Household, and Pacification Commissioner.

As a Little Banner Officer, one would nominally command at least three lieutenants and seven blade soldiers.

But...

Where could Kang City possibly find that many demon slayers now?!

"Boss, you're already a Hundred-Household, yet you only have us three rotten cloves of garlic under you..." Wei Xuanfeng said with a smile. "Little Banner Officer... aside from slightly better monthly pay, there doesn't seem to be much to it!"

"If you want anything else, your boss doesn't have it either." Jiao Yu gave a sly smile.

"Boss, how about we leave?" Fox Murong gripped his bow, his smile fawning.

"You two crafty little brats, get down there!"

With a sweep of her hand, Jiao Yu directly tossed the two of them from the tree, then turned to Wen Shihan.

"Boss... I'll do it myself..."

Wen Shihan did not hesitate and jumped down herself.

"Boss, you really know how to screw people over!"

The sound of the three landing immediately drew the wolves' attention.

"Your boss is covering you from up here. Just give it everything you've got!" Jiao Yu laughed loudly from the tree.

"Can't give it anything!"

Wei Xuanfeng turned and ran.

The little comradeship he had with Wen Shihan and Fox Murong was enough for treating them to meals.

Live and die together?

Don't make him laugh!

At a time like this, whoever the hell ran slowest was on the front line!

Wen Shihan still wanted to take a gamble, but when she saw Wei Xuanfeng run, she immediately recalled their earlier conversation atop Wumeng Mountain.

"If you don't put yourself in a deadly situation, how can you be reborn afterward?"

"There are many ways to survive. You can also slip away and make a clean getaway."

With that thought, she immediately used One Reed Crossing River to chase after Wei Xuanfeng.

Fox Murong was no slow reactor either. The instant Wei Xuanfeng turned around, she bolted.

But...

She didn't know qinggong, and in an instant, Wei Xuanfeng and Wen Shihan left her far behind.

"Damn it, Old Wei, Shihan, you two are seriously not loyal! Wait for me!"

Up in a tree, Jiao Yu leaned leisurely against the trunk.

The sight made her laugh so hard that her whole body trembled like branches in bloom.

The enormous peaks before her chest looked as though they were about to burst free of their restraints...

"Little ones, that direction leads to a cliff—a dead end..."

"I hope that tonight, you'll learn to trust..."

"In the future, even more difficult tasks will fall upon your shoulders..."