What Is She Supposed to Be?

Outside the hall, a young man with a straight, upright bearing stood beneath the corridor eaves.

He too wore fitted black clothes patterned with red, and the hilt of the blade at his waist was wrapped in tightly wound leather cord.

As though he had heard the footsteps, the man turned around.

Their eyes met.

Both of them froze.

It really was an old acquaintance.

The very one she had met that day in Jincheng County.

By now, his injuries had clearly healed. The bedraggled state he had been in that day was gone, replaced by an innate sharpness between his brows.

Yet the instant he saw Jiang Yuechu, that sharpness vanished.

Wei He had said there would be a specially selected newcomer joining the squad today.

But he had not said it would be this one!

Even after so many days, he still vividly remembered how this seemingly harmless young girl had punched a Bone-Chiming Realm Great Demon to death.

And it had even been a Bone-Chiming Great Demon with an innate divine ability!

Such a fierce figure was now becoming his subordinate?

"Hiss..."

Seeing that the young man before her was only sucking in cold breaths without any intention of speaking, Jiang Yuechu could only speak first. "I am Jiang Yuechu."

"Liu... Liu Chen."

He answered instinctively, then immediately came to his senses. He hurriedly straightened his back and cleared his throat. "I am Liu Chen, Squad Commander of Xuan Camp."

Yet that introduction made him feel somewhat ashamed.

Before a monster capable of punching a Bone-Chiming Great Demon to death, emphasizing that he was merely an Eighth-Rank Squad Commander was no different from a mouse showing off its sharp claws before a cat.

"Squad Commander Liu."

Jiang Yuechu nodded, without giving it much thought.

"Great Tang has stood for eight hundred years. The founding progenitor established himself through martial prowess, swept across the six directions, and secured the realm. Yet the flourishing of humanity also drew the covetous gazes of countless demons, fiends, and evil spirits between heaven and earth. In his later years, the progenitor lamented the hardships of the common people, and thus gathered extraordinary talents from across the land to establish an office east of the Imperial City."

"This office belonged neither to the Three Departments nor the Six Ministries, and it was not part of the central government. It answered directly to the Emperor. Above, it could execute treacherous officials who disrupted the court and colluded with demons; below, it could punish demonic evils that plagued a region and slaughtered the people. It could execute first and report afterward, by special grant of imperial authority..."

Jiang Yuechu's heart stirred slightly.

The Demon Suppression Office—the name made it sound as though it existed solely to slay demons and eliminate devils.

But its actual responsibilities went far beyond that.

The Demon Suppression Office's authority stood above the hundred officials and outweighed the law of the land.

Above, it could oversee civil and military officials; below, it could suppress the martial world.

Anyone found colluding with demons, regardless of official rank or the power of their clan and family, could be investigated.

Over the centuries, those who had died beneath the Demon Suppression Office's blades included Great Demons that had terrorized regions for a thousand years, as well as reigning prime ministers who stood at the pinnacle of the court.

Black clothes, red patterns, blades carried at their sides.

Those eight words were the Demon Suppression Office's backbone in Great Tang.

"Apart from the Head Office in the Imperial City, each of Great Tang's fifteen circuits has its own commandery. Our Longyou Circuit Commandery oversees all demon-related affairs throughout Longyou."

"Below the commandery are the four divisions: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Yellow."

The two passed through a long corridor, and the space ahead suddenly opened up.

"The Yellow Division handles intelligence and reconnaissance. It is the Demon Suppression Office's eyes and ears."

"The Earth Division is responsible for garrisoning and patrolling the various prefectures. They clear out lesser demons and monsters, and protect the cities."

As Jiang Yuechu listened, she roughly got the picture.

The Yellow Division handled intelligence, while the Earth Division was basically city watch.

Then this Xuan Camp of hers...

"When the Yellow Division discovers demon tracks and the Earth Division cannot handle them, we take action. We have only one duty."

"What is it?"

He turned to look at Jiang Yuechu, enunciating each word.

"Slay demons. Eliminate devils."

Jiang Yuechu's eyes lit up.

Good.

This was perfect.

No patrolling streets, no standing guard, no dealing with trivial chicken-feather-and-garlic-skin nonsense.

Going to work meant killing monsters.

Performance reviews depended entirely on the number of monsters killed.

"Normally, you need not do anything else. Just remain on standby in the camp. Once there is a mission, I will notify you."

Seeing no reaction from her, Liu Chen thought she had been intimidated, so he added, "Of course, if you wish to practice at the training grounds or read the records in the library, no one will stop you."

"Understood."

Jiang Yuechu nodded.

But then she suddenly thought of something.

"What about... the Heaven Division?"

Liu Chen was walking ahead when his body paused at those words.

"The Heaven Division..."

He murmured to himself, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "That is not a place people like us should be thinking about."

Seeing that Jiang Yuechu was still watching him, Liu Chen took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

"Those who can enter the Heaven Division are all dragons and phoenixes among men, geniuses favored by heaven. The lowest position in the Heaven Division starts at Subordinate Sixth-Rank Langjiang. Our entire Longyou Circuit Commandery has only a dozen or so of them, even counting every last one."

"And the Great Demons the Heaven Division faces are also the most dangerous and terrifying."

As he spoke, Liu Chen's gaze unconsciously fell upon Jiang Yuechu's face.

So young.

So strong.

Punching a Bone-Chiming Great Demon to death—such an accomplishment would be enough to inspire pride even across the entire Demon Suppression Office.

Perhaps in the future, she truly might...

He looked at Jiang Yuechu, his expression turning incomparably solemn.

"The Heaven Division does not only value talent and strength. It values merit even more."

"If one day you can slay a Demon King on your own, perhaps you may have a chance to enter it."

Jiang Yuechu clearly failed to catch the implication behind his words.

"A Demon King..."

As they spoke, they had already arrived before Xuan Camp's barracks.

This place was much quieter. Men stood or sat in groups of two and three, most of them polishing their weapons.

When they saw Liu Chen leading over a delicate, pretty young girl, quite a few turned their heads to look.

The Demon Suppression Office never kept idlers.

And Xuan Camp accepted even fewer useless people.

How had a girl who looked soft-skinned and still not fully grown appeared here?

Whose connections had she used?

Liu Chen naturally sensed the atmosphere. He cleared his throat.

"This is Jiang Yuechu. From today onward, she is one of Xuan Camp's comrades."

Comrades...

Before Jiang Yuechu could feel nostalgic over that form of address,

a voice rang out.

"Since when did Xuan Camp start recruiting little girls?"

"Could it be that we fight and kill all day, and the yang energy is too heavy, so they found a girl to balance it out?"

The moment those words fell, everyone burst into laughter.

Liu Chen's expression darkened. "You all know the Demon Suppression Office has always been strict in its recruitment. Since she was able to enter the Demon Suppression Office, she naturally has her own abilities. So what if she is a woman?"

"Besides, that famed Right Demon Suppression Envoy is also a woman!"

At those words, the crowd's laughter abruptly stopped.

Clearly, everyone present knew the name of that Right Demon Suppression Envoy.

But even so...

What kind of person was she?

Only in her twenties, she had slaughtered a host of Great Demons alone by the Eastern Sea. Even among the Demon Race, her vicious reputation resounded far and wide; ten thousand demons turned pale with fear at the mere mention of her name.

And this woman before them...

"What is she supposed to be? How can she compare with that lady?"