Demon Suppression Office—What Can It Do to Baosha Temple?

County Magistrate Qian felt nothing but misery.

Damn it, he had finally managed to placate those plague gods from the Demon Suppression Office and was just about to see them off. What were these monks joining the fray for?

Was the situation not chaotic enough already?!

He could curse all he wanted in his heart, but he did not dare show the slightest disrespect on his face.

The leading monk ignored the county magistrate's embarrassment. His gaze merely settled on Jiang Yuechu as he pressed his palms together and gave a slight bow.

"This humble monk is Hui Ming of Baosha Temple. Greetings, my lady."

He pointed to the young monk behind him, who likewise had his palms together but wore an arrogant expression.

"This is my junior brother, Hui Yuan."

By all rights, the other party was a distinguished monk of Baosha Temple and had taken the initiative to offer a greeting. In both sentiment and reason, she ought to have risen and returned the courtesy.

Yet she remained seated, as steady as Mount Tai.

Such a bearing was no longer mere discourtesy. She simply had not regarded him as worthy of notice.

Hui Yuan's face immediately darkened. Anger flashed between his brows as he was about to rebuke her.

"You—"

"Junior Brother."

The anger on Hui Yuan's face stalled. In the end, he forcibly suppressed it, merely snorting coldly and turning his head aside.

Hui Ming shook his head, that tranquil, unruffled smile still on his face, then turned to County Magistrate Qian.

"Lord Qian, this humble monk wishes to speak with this female benefactor alone for a few words. Might you make this convenient?"

"This..." County Magistrate Qian looked toward Jiang Yuechu in difficulty.

On one side stood the Demon Suppression Office; on the other, Baosha Temple. He could not afford to offend either.

Jiang Yuechu finally raised her eyes and calmly watched Hui Ming for a long while.

After a long time.

She said, "Everyone, leave."

The moment those words fell, Liu Ke and the others were all taken aback.

"Squad Leader..."

"Go, go, go. The adults are talking. What would we look like standing around here?"

Monk Bujie was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He grabbed Liu Ke, who still wanted to say something, then shoved Chen Tong and the others, who were frozen in place, dragging and herding them outside.

Though everyone harbored doubts, Jiang Yuechu's expression remained unchanged. They could only follow Monk Bujie and leave the hall together with the county magistrate and Monk Hui Yuan.

With a creak.

The hall doors slowly closed.

For a time, the atmosphere in the courtyard was rather awkward.

Unlike the others' silence, Liu Ke's face was dark as water as he glared unfriendly at the equally displeased Hui Yuan.

"Baosha Temple truly cuts an imposing figure."

"You raised demons in captivity and brought calamity upon the region. Now that the matter has come to light, you want to rely on Buddhism's name and lightly brush it aside?"

"What kind of Buddha are you cultivating?"

Hui Yuan had already been holding back a bellyful of anger. He sized Liu Ke up and down, then suddenly seemed to remember something. A look of realization appeared on his face.

"So it's you—the bastard from Falling Goose Manor who cannot stand in the light."

"What? You suffered grievances at the manor and had nowhere to vent them, so you came here to run wild before me?"

The instant those words came out, Liu Ke flew into a towering rage. He immediately drew his sword. "You're courting death!"

"Oh! Sirs! My lords!"

Seeing that the two were about to fight, County Magistrate Qian was scared out of his wits and hurriedly spread his arms to block them.

"You mustn't, you mustn't! This is the county yamen! Harmony brings wealth; harmony is precious!"

Compared with the tense clamor outside, the room within was quiet to an excessive degree.

Hui Ming strolled over and sat down beside Jiang Yuechu.

Without the slightest distaste, he picked up the tea cup before him, though no one knew who had drunk from it, tipped back his head, and took a sip.

"Good tea."

He set down the cup and let out a satisfied sigh.

As though what he had tasted was not crude tea dust, but nectar from jade cups.

"My lady must find this amusing."

"In this matter, Baosha Temple indeed failed in its discipline and allowed that beast to descend the mountain on its own, disturbing the local area and troubling the lords of the Demon Suppression Office. This humble monk truly feels ashamed."

"This humble monk has come for two reasons. First, under my sect's orders, to bring that wicked beast back and keep it under strict watch. Second, to apologize to my lady."

From the wide sleeve of his monk's robe, he drew out a banknote and gently pushed it before Jiang Yuechu.

"This is five hundred taels of silver."

"I know that my lady and the brothers under her command have traveled a great distance from Liangzhou Prefecture and endured hardship along the way. Please accept this little silver as a token of this humble monk's regard, to welcome you all and wash away the dust of your journey."

"Furthermore..."

Hui Ming paused, the smile on his face deepening further.

"Baosha Temple owes my lady a favor."

A favor.

Those two words carried weight a thousand times greater than five hundred taels of silver.

Longyou Circuit was filled with martial sects and factions from all walks of life, their roots and branches tangled together.

As one of the three great leaders, Baosha Temple had stood firm for centuries without falling.

The depth of its foundation and breadth of its connections had long surpassed the bounds of ordinary martial sects.

This favor meant that, within Longyou Circuit, no matter how great a mess one stirred up—

So long as it was not treason or rebellion, Baosha Temple could settle it for you.

Hui Ming looked at the girl's unruffled face, and the smile at his lips deepened.

He believed no one could refuse such terms.

After all, she was only a minor squad leader. To receive a favor from Baosha Temple was already a heaven-sent opportunity.

However.

Jiang Yuechu did not look at the banknote. Instead, she calmly asked, "Did the beast under your sect harm people in this place?"

The smile on Hui Ming's face faltered slightly.

He clearly had not expected her to ask such an ill-timed question.

Then he shook his head and laughed.

"A beast's wild nature is hard to tame. Once it descends the mountain and hunger gnaws at its belly, it cannot avoid indulging in a little meat and blood."

"But rest assured, my lady. They were merely rustic villagers from the wilds. Not many could have died, and it certainly will not alarm those above or make things difficult for you."

Jiang Yuechu finally lifted her eyes and stared at him directly.

"How many died?"

"..."

The smile on Hui Ming's face faded somewhat.

After a long while.

"Every year, countless millions of common folk perish to natural disasters and man-made calamities. Why must my lady insist on these few people?"

He sighed, then drew another banknote from his sleeve, stacked it atop the first, and pushed them over.

"Very well. This humble monk did not consider things thoroughly enough."

"I shall add another five hundred taels, making it a round sum of one thousand taels of silver, along with one favor from Baosha Temple. Not only will my lady be able to report back to the Commandery Office, but she will also gain a windfall and forge a good bond. Why not do it?"

"..."

Jiang Yuechu let out a long breath.

One thousand taels of silver.

And a favor from Baosha Temple.

The terms he offered were indeed tempting.

She had never thought of herself as a good person.

Before the tiger demon, she had personally killed the half-dead Pei Changqing, exchanging his life for that sliver of survival needed to activate her golden finger.

She did not regret it.

If she had to do it again, she would still make the same choice.

But she had had no choice then.

Had she not done it, she would already have been buried in the tiger demon's belly. By now, she would probably have turned into a lump of shit.

But now, the choice rested entirely upon a single thought of hers.

Should she swallow her pride and accept his terms?

Or...

Jiang Yuechu suddenly smiled.

A person could not speak of righteousness and morality too much in a lifetime, but there ought to be at least a little of it.

Otherwise, living that way would be far too meaningless.

She extended two fingers and slowly pushed the two banknotes on the table back.

The smile on Hui Ming's face stiffened slightly.

"What does my lady mean by this?"

"Nothing much."

Jiang Yuechu rose to her feet and looked down at him. "I simply feel that your favor is not worth much."

Hui Ming's expression finally darkened.

"My lady had best think this through."

"For the sake of a few irrelevant mud-legged peasants, is it worth becoming enemies with Baosha Temple?"

Outside the hall.

County Magistrate Qian stood caught between Liu Ke and Hui Yuan, his fat face filled with a weeping expression. He only wished he could grow legs and flee.

"My lords, my lords, let us speak things out properly, speak things out properly!"

How could Liu Ke listen to persuasion? Though the sword at his waist remained sheathed, sword intent already radiated from him. He glared at Hui Yuan and said word by word, "Since when does the Demon Suppression Office's handling of a case require an outsider like you to point fingers?!"

Hui Yuan gave a sinister laugh, his eyes full of mockery.

"What? You think the Demon Suppression Office's name can suppress me?"

"Baosha Temple has stood in Longyou for centuries. Even if your Demon Suppression Office's Commander were here, he would have to show my Buddha a measure of respect. What the hell are you?"

"Today, my senior brother is inside discussing matters courteously with your superior, which is already giving you tremendous face. If you know what is good for you, tuck your tails between your legs and obediently get back to Liangzhou Prefecture. Never mind merely indulging a demon in eating a few people—even if I had killed them with my own hands, what could your Demon Suppression Office do to Baosha Temple?"

Once those words were spoken, not only did Liu Ke tremble with rage, but Chen Tong and the others beside him also felt their anger surge up, each glaring furiously.

A martial sect actually dared utter such wild and arrogant words before their Demon Suppression Office!

This was no longer provocation. It was naked humiliation!

"You're fucking courting death!" Chen Tong roared, about to draw his saber.

"Do not act rashly!"

Monk Bujie's fat body swayed. Though he moved after Chen Tong, he arrived first, clamping down hard on Chen Tong's wrist as he shook his head at everyone.

"Do not cause trouble for Lady Jiang."

Chen Tong's movement froze. Fury churned in his eyes, but in the end, he slowly released the hand gripping his saber hilt, his spirit deflating at once.

What angered them was not Hui Yuan's belittlement of the Demon Suppression Office.

It was that what Hui Yuan said was the truth.

Baosha Temple was not someone they could afford to offend.

This matter would most likely end just as Hui Yuan had said—without result.

Seeing the anger the others dared not voice, the mockery at Hui Yuan's lips grew ever heavier.

Liu Ke looked at Hui Yuan's wildly arrogant face, then at the black uniform with crimson patterns of the Demon Suppression Office upon himself, and suddenly found it incomparably glaring.

"Wandering the martial world and joining the Demon Suppression Office... in the end, what difference is there..."

Monk Bujie sighed and leaned close to his ear. "There is still a difference."

"One is a house cat, and the other is a stray cat."

County Magistrate Qian listened from the side, so frightened that his legs trembled and he could barely stand.

Damn it, Baosha Temple was actually this overbearing!

It seemed he needed to hurry back and burn a few more sticks of high-grade incense at the temple.

No, he needed to set up dedicated spirit tablets in the rear courtyard for Baosha Temple's Buddhas and make offerings to them every day!

Just as everyone in the courtyard harbored different thoughts.

Suddenly, an explosive sound rang through the courtyard!

Crack!

The thick door to the hall instantly shattered into pieces!

Amid the flying wood chips, a white figure was sent flying backward, spraying a scarlet line of blood through the air.

Carried by a tremendous force, the figure crashed down with a boom, smashing apart the bluestone floor of the courtyard. It rolled several times before finally bleeding away that terrifying force.

A white-robed monk lay sprawled on the ground in a miserable state, half his face swollen high, blood hanging at the corner of his mouth. Not a trace remained of his former solemn, dignified appearance.

Liu Ke stood dumbfounded, while Chen Tong's hand loosened from his saber hilt.

Monk Bujie's wine gourd fell to the ground, and County Magistrate Qian rolled his eyes, nearly fainting on the spot.

Everyone in the courtyard, including the once-unmatched Hui Yuan.

All wore faces of utter horror as they turned in unison toward the shattered doorway.

Behind the falling wood chips and drifting dust.

Jiang Yuechu adjusted her slightly rumpled sleeve, her expression indifferent as she slowly stepped out.