Pie from the Sky

"Where am I...?" Jiang Ran slowly came to.

An iron bed, iron bars, walls without so much as a crack.

I've been locked up?

Jiang Ran was somewhat startled. The place was decorated in pure "prison style"—clearly some detention center.

Fortunately, the iron door stood open.

His memories from before he lost consciousness came flooding back.

Su Xue had defeated the demonic cultivators, but the two of them had awakened some powerful existence.

After that... it seemed a purple heavenly bolt had descended, and then he could remember nothing.

"You're awake?" Su Xue hurried over, her voice gentle.

"Officer Su..."

"This is the Third Bureau's detention center. You remained unconscious, so we had no choice but to let you stay here for the night."

Su Xue handed him a bottle of water, her face full of apology.

Jiang Ran took the water, twisted off the cap, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Only then did he finally feel alive again.

"Officer Su, what happened yesterday? How did I pass out?"

"Yesterday..." Su Xue hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell Jiang Ran the truth.

"You were targeted by demonic cultivators. Luckily, you crushed the talisman in time."

"I left a mark on you. It seems my judgment was correct..."

"A mark?" Jiang Ran's gaze shifted slightly.

Su Xue hurriedly explained, "Jiang Ran, don't misunderstand. It was only in case of emergencies. I wasn't using you as bait."

"It's fine, Officer Su. Aren't I alive and well?"

"Thank you for saving me." Jiang Ran smiled, looking completely unconcerned.

In truth, his heart was clear as a mirror. These words were merely something to listen to.

Whether he had been bait or she had truly cared—did it matter? Not one bit.

He only knew that he had nearly died.

"Jiang Ran, I..." Su Xue unconsciously bit her lip, unsure how to explain herself.

Though he had said nothing, this young man seemed to have suddenly grown distant.

Jiang Ran took the initiative to break the awkward silence.

"Officer Su, what about those two demonic cultivators? Are they dead?"

Su Xue nodded heavily and said softly, "One dead, one injured. The leader has already been detained."

"But yesterday, I think I saw... I saw them summon a Demonic Beast." Jiang Ran was immensely curious.

Whether it was that blood-red face or the phantom that later appeared amid the violet lightning, both lay beyond his understanding.

"That's right. It was the culprit behind this case." Su Xue did not hide it from him.

"Blood Asura, one of the so-called Thirteen Demon Venerables of the demonic path, was apprehended by the Immortal Police Headquarters yesterday."

"Jiang Ran, you can rest easy now. No demonic cultivator will threaten your life again."

"Oh?" Jiang Ran swiftly absorbed the information, merely responding with a quiet sound.

Blood Asura, the Thirteen Demon Venerables, apprehended?

Would he truly be safe from now on?

There was only one enormous question mark in Jiang Ran's heart.

He had always thought Tianlu was absolutely safe, that no one could commit violence in a major city like Pingjiang.

But what had happened? Demonic cultivators had directly infiltrated Pingjiang.

One time could be forgiven. One could say the Pingjiang Police Bureau had enjoyed peace for too long and grown lax in its oversight.

But what about the second time? Right under the Pingjiang Police Bureau's nose, demonic cultivators had found Jiang Ran directly.

Jiang Ran did not know whether he was their only target, but he was certain that the appearance of the demonic cultivators was no coincidence.

Everything, every last detail, could prove only one thing.

Unfortunately, Heavenly Lu Kingdom was not absolutely safe. Even in Pingjiang, one could still encounter danger.

"Jiang Ran, rest assured. The chief personally removed the foreign aura from you."

"Next, every police bureau in Pingjiang will enter Level Three Alert. No demonic cultivator will set foot in Pingjiang again."

"Alright, that's great." Jiang Ran forced a relaxed smile.

Rest easy? As if he could. Who would dare keep trusting the Pingjiang Police Bureau?

"Oh, right, Jiang Ran. There's another piece of good news."

"Hm?"

Su Xue held out a hand. "Come. I'll take you somewhere."

Twenty minutes later.

Pingjiang Police Bureau, Logistics Office.

Jiang Ran's mouth fell open, while Su Xue snickered beside him.

Two wanted notices lay before him.

The contents of the notices were unimportant—mostly the two demonic cultivators' methods of operation and information about their movements.

There was only one key point: the reward on the final line!

[One Foundation Establishment Late Stage demonic cultivator, reward amount: 1,200,000 yuan]

[One Foundation Establishment Late Stage demonic cultivator, reward amount: 1,200,000 yuan]

One million two hundred thousand? One million two hundred thousand each—two million four hundred thousand for both?

"Officer Su, you mean these rewards all go to me?" Jiang Ran found it difficult to believe.

He had sold a batch of ore not long ago and had only just gained a net worth of over two million.

But could money earned from selling ore compare to money picked up free off the ground? Absolutely not!

Exchanging for Spirit Stones cost money, buying spirit water cost money, renting spiritual roots cost money...

No one ever complained about having too much money.

"Of course. Both of them came because of you. You are the only victim and also the only witness."

"According to the Immortal Police Bureau's inspection regulations, the rewards should belong to you."

Su Xue answered with utter certainty.

"That's... wonderful!"

"Let's handle the paperwork. The reward can be transferred today."

Jiang Ran let out a breath and steadied his emotions. Then he looked deeply at Su Xue.

"Officer Su, thank you."

With Jiang Ran's intelligence, it was naturally not difficult for him to guess that Su Xue was deliberately helping him.

If they were truly following the rules, the reward could be credited to Jiang Ran, but it could just as easily be counted entirely as Su Xue's merit.

After all, Su Xue had personally killed and arrested those two demonic cultivators.

What was more, Su Xue could have simply never told Jiang Ran about this money or the existence of these wanted notices.

Jiang Ran truly needed this money now. It was perfectly legal, "clean money."

Su Xue wore an apologetic expression. She had always felt guilty over Jiang Ran nearly being harmed by the demonic cultivators, believing it had been her fault.

"Jiang Ran, I'm sorry. I truly didn't mean to put you in danger."

"Officer Su, don't be like that. I should be thanking you." Jiang Ran smiled a dazzlingly proper smile, his teeth gleaming.

"More than two million—I'm rich now. I'll treat you to a meal later!"

"Alright..."

Once he had accepted her money, his hands were short. Naturally, he could no longer show those little "criticisms" in his heart.

Leaving the police bureau with two million four hundred thousand.

Jiang Ran felt that the world had become incomparably beautiful once more.

Back home.

"This money needs to be planned out carefully..." Jiang Ran stood on the balcony, deep in thought.

Was two million four hundred thousand a lot? It absolutely was.

He had been extremely cautious with the two million he had received from selling ore. From the very beginning, he had converted most of it into unregistered Bearer Passes.

Bearer Passes were highly secure, but they also came with many restrictions.

The biggest problem was that they could not be deposited into an account, nor could they be used to purchase the Flying Sword Network's various goods.

Whether he wanted to buy spirit water to gather True Qi or rent spiritual roots, Jiang Ran clearly possessed enormous wealth, yet he could only move with his hands tied behind his back.

Now that he had reward money issued by the police bureau, everything could become reasonable and legal.

With two million four hundred thousand, there were simply too many things he could do.

Even the other two million could be brought into the open.