The Demon Suppression Division's Doubts

Zhou An had been pondering how to carve in a way that would save more time.

Then he heard what Yu Hang said, raised an eyebrow, and lowered his voice.

"They asked you about it?"

Yu Hang had not been slacking off in his room all day. Something must have happened for him to act like this.

Combined with what Yu Hang had just said, Zhou An knew they must have questioned Yu Hang.

After all, Yu Hang had encountered the mysterious expert that night. It was only natural that they would question him.

Yu Hang nodded. "They asked me about the mysterious expert. I brushed them all off, but from what Division Magistrate Zhang said, it seems they want to find the mysterious expert and join forces to deal with the Beast Cult."

To be honest, Yu Hang was a little worried.

As the saying went, a tree standing above the forest would be the first to be toppled by the wind.

His brother had suddenly become an expert. He was happy about it, of course.

But there was also a practical problem to consider.

There were many experts in this world, but how many of them truly met a good end?

The more outrageous things became these days, the more likely something was to go wrong.

That was why he did his best to keep Zhou An's secret.

But if anything unexpected happened, Zhou An's identity would be exposed.

When that time came, who could say whether it would be good or bad?

"Keep a low profile. Whatever you do, don't go stirring up trouble," Yu Hang reminded him.

Zhou An nodded, indicating that he understood.

He truly had not been stirring up trouble.

The only recent incident had been when he encountered a Demon Suppression Division member and a Beast Cult protector in the alley, and he had stepped in.

That had only been because he heard that the other man was a protector, and his Knife Skills had just reached Level Three.

He had wanted to test the Beast Cult's strength and see whether there was any gap between himself and the other man. That was why he had acted.

He had not expected the other man to be so weak. He had not even lasted a single breath against him.

Yu Hang was right, he thought. It was better to keep a low profile these days. Being too conspicuous made it easy to become a target.

"You still have to stay at the yamen?" Zhou An asked.

Yu Hang said helplessly, "I don't have the ability to make Knife Light Forms a Line, so I can only stay here. I'm afraid of running into danger if I go out, but it doesn't matter. Reading is the same wherever I am."

"That's true. It's safer here, and the Beast Cult wouldn't dare do anything," Zhou An said.

At that moment, the constables also stood up. It was time to clock out.

It was the same everywhere.

They dragged their feet at work, but the moment it was time to leave, they acted as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Zhou An did not continue the conversation. Still thinking about his Knife Skills, he left the yamen.

After returning home, Zhou An did not immediately practice his Knife Skills. Instead, he looked at the wok in the kitchen.

"All abilities need to develop in balance. If I only have one ability, it'll be easy for others to counter me," Zhou An thought.

He had activated two skills in total now, but he could not neglect either of them.

They were both his trump cards.

If he only had one ability, others might figure it out and counter him. But if he had another hidden method, the outcome would be completely different.

Zhou An planned it out in his mind and quickly came to a decision.

"Knife Skills during the day, wok tossing at night."

He could now openly carve inside the yamen, but he could not toss a wok there.

He was only a kitchen assistant. Tossing a wok in the yamen would arouse suspicion.

But nighttime was different.

At night, his home was his own little world. He could do whatever he wanted.

Most importantly, wok tossing was still Level Two.

He could still gain proficiency from it, so naturally, he would not give it up.

Having made up his mind, Zhou An went into the kitchen, picked up the iron wok, and began tossing it.

His proficiency slowly rose. The satisfying feeling of grinding hard and gaining rewards filled Zhou An with delight.

While Zhou An was grinding away, things on the other side had fallen into a difficult situation.

In An Ding County, the Demon Suppression Division stood at the very center of the entire county seat, and the area around it was even more prosperous than the yamen.

The reason for all this was the Great Chu Emperor's decree.

The Demon Suppression Division existed to safeguard the safety of a region and prevent it from being harmed by the strange and uncanny.

That was why the Demon Suppression Division was needed even more in the busiest areas.

The Demon Suppression Division in An Ding County was a two-story building. Surrounded by single-story houses, it looked exceptionally conspicuous.

Yet no commoners dared approach it.

This mysterious institution placed immense pressure upon the people.

No one wanted to cause trouble. Everyone simply wanted to live a steady life.

Thus, no commoner dared set foot within a hundred meters of the Demon Suppression Division.

At this moment, in a room at the center of the second floor.

Division Magistrate Zhang scratched his head with difficulty, his face full of conflicted frustration.

Six members sat beside him. They were the finest among An Ding County's people.

The Demon Suppression Division in An Ding County only had a few dozen people in total.

These six oversaw those few dozen people, saving Division Magistrate Zhang a great deal of trouble.

Recently, based on intelligence from above, they had done everything they could to suppress the Beast Cult, with considerable results.

They had killed many Beast Cult members, and there had not been any particularly strange incidents lately.

But now, Division Magistrate Zhang was growing troubled.

After being suppressed, the Beast Cult had actually chosen to retreat and hide.

Division Magistrate Zhang was not afraid of confronting them head-on. What he feared was them resorting to underhanded tactics.

He could not find any traces of the Beast Cult now. All he could do was guard An Ding County with all his strength and prevent another case involving loss of life.

But it could not go on dragging like this forever!

Knowing that Beast Cult members were still out there was like having a fishbone stuck in his throat.

Division Magistrate Zhang felt as though a sword hung over his head, ready to fall at any moment.

The Demon Suppression Division itself would be fine, but if the Beast Cult turned its retaliation toward the common people, their few dozen men would have a hard time protecting them all.

This matter had reached a bottleneck.

The six supervisors of the Demon Suppression Division did not dare say much. They watched their noses and kept their minds to themselves, continuing to remain silent.

This was a major matter. None of them dared draw the fire onto themselves.

As the saying went.

Just do what your superiors assign you. Do not overstep your bounds and meddle in other matters.

Superiors did not like that.

"How is the investigation into the mysterious expert going?" Division Magistrate Zhang broke the silence.

Since the Beast Cult matter had reached an impasse, it was not a bad idea to change approaches and investigate the mysterious expert.

Last time, one of their people had been saved by the mysterious expert. From that, they could infer that the mysterious expert was not opposed to them.

They could therefore try to recruit him.

Being able to cut someone into pieces within a single breath—this blade technique left even Division Magistrate Zhang deeply astonished.

The supervisor on the left shook his head. "Sir, we searched the entire county and brought out the household records for comparison, but we found no outsiders entering or leaving An Ding County recently."

Another person continued, "This is just a remote little county. Not many people come and go. Sir, could this have been done by someone from within An Ding County?"

Someone from within?

Division Magistrate Zhang tapped the table with his fingers. After thinking for a while, he felt that it was indeed possible.