"Alas."
A feeling of compassion for all under heaven rose in Su Che's heart.
What was the point of humiliating me like this?
It was like trying to wake someone pretending to be asleep forever.
Likewise, even if you shouted yourself hoarse, could you make someone who was already socially dead die twice?
I, Su Che, Little Tyrant of the Iron Whip of Jiankang, a super-scumbag who once stopped the forty-nine-year-old wife of a Ministry of War Assistant Director to fool around with her.
Though those things actually had nothing to do with me, my reputation could not possibly be damaged by something as trivial as "you're so fast."
You could not destroy something that did not exist in the first place.
Su Che took a sip of tea that was nearly cold, then calmly walked over to the Sword Case and bowed to it.
The Sword Case swayed gently, as though asking a question.
How about it? Shall I chop this noisy hag to pieces for you?
"You need to understand the situation. You're trapped here by me now, and after three days, you'll vanish into thin air. Fighting me does not help your current situation."
Su Che looked at the demon. "And you need to understand that I'm the only one who can help you now."
"And there is room for cooperation between us."
"Cooperation? I told you such a huge secret, and that still doesn't count as sincerity?"
"Cooperation means I ask and you answer. You tell me what I want to know, then I give you back your freedom—not that you fob me off with things I have no need to know at all."
What a joke. Your brother here did not even have Ninth Grade cultivation yet. Rice had to be eaten one bite at a time, and roads had to be walked one step at a time.
It was better to be steady in life.
"Tell me, do you know about the silver that went missing from the treasury?"
Sister-in-law Qi frowned tightly. "What silver went missing?"
"Come on, calculate it for me. Who stole the silver?"
"I can't calculate that."
"What kind of attitude is that? Aren't you very good at fortune-telling?"
"I say, Young Master Su, is this your first day wandering the martial world? Don't you know that nine out of ten fortunes are scams?"
Mm, actually, three months ago, I had a very stable job.
The demon explained why her calculations were so accurate. It was nothing more than gathering information, reading faces and expressions, and using clever rhetoric.
Shanyin County was not that large anyway, with only so many households in total. She also possessed the ability of Night Roaming, so playing these people around was hardly difficult for her.
Take that honest man who wanted to have his wife treated.
The demon had first already learned the condition of his wife's illness. Then she had learned that Old Song at the coffin shop possessed something that happened to correspond to her illness, so she pointed him in the right direction like some immortal.
And that Jade Fat Flower was inherently a Yin object. Taking it would naturally disrupt the harmony of Yin and Yang, resulting in childlessness.
As for if that man took another wife, the demon had planned to send some gold, silver, and money to his household, ensuring that his days would flourish day by day.
All in all, Su Che found this whole operation utterly baffling.
"You listen at walls every night, making money and stirring up trouble everywhere. What are you doing it all for? Aren't you tired?"
"Who told you I'm not tired? But there's no helping it. It involves mortal incense offerings. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."
The demon looked as though Su Che's realm was too low, so even if she explained it, he would not understand.
"What are the demons around Shanyin County like? Where do they come from?"
"Demons come and go very frequently. Didn't I just move here from the Ten Isles of the Eastern Sea? Among the demons around Shanyin County who have truly taken shape, there are plenty besides One-Eye, whom you've met. Especially Black Mountain Freak, Master Qing, and Lord Yutu—the three of them are great demons with solid foundations. With that Sword Case of yours, you can't suppress them."
"How do you compare to them?"
"Hmph."
The demon's meaning was perfectly clear. There was still an enormous difference between herself and those demons.
"Does Young Master Su have any other questions?"
"No."
Su Che said.
At first, he had thought this demon was a genius. He had not expected her to be the hardworking sort of genius, and that inevitably made things somewhat dull.
It seemed that I still have to rely on myself for that treasury silver theft case.
"Then Young Master, you can undo this embarrassing thing now, right?"
"Mm, no problem." Su Che smiled. "We agreed on it. You help me, and I'll help you."
"Then undo it!"
"No problem. In three days."
"After three days, I'll be gone."
"I know. Don't be in such a hurry."
For some reason, a trace of drowsiness rose in Su Che's heart.
"Let's leave it at that for now. I'm going to sleep for a while."
"Wait, hey! You're giving out already?"
Su Che slowly returned to his room and quietly lay down on the bed.
At this moment, at the Heaven-and-Earth Northern Pole, where neither sun nor moon could cast their light.
A figure wearing a tall crown and robes of stars and clouds walked slowly across a plaza paved with jade. The plaza was utterly empty, while countless statues of immortals, divine generals, and celestial maidens floated above it. Some smiled with lively grace, while others closed their eyes in meditation. Every one of them was lifelike.
Orchids pushed up from beneath the jade stones, radiating a clear, lustrous glow.
An enormous Azure Dragon drifted slowly through the sky. It held a condensed ball of firelight in its mouth, illuminating the heavens above this place.
At the very center of the plaza stood a massive Bronze Divine Tree, extending layer upon layer toward the sky, plunging straight into its deepest reaches. All manner of images shifted across its trunk.
There were giants wielding axes and shields, dancing proudly, and colossal beasts with dragon bodies and human heads, roaring against the sky.
The figure slowly arrived beneath the giant tree, where a massive long table of green jade stood. He naturally took the seat at its head.
A flat bronze mask, smooth as a mirror, covered His face. His temples had already turned gray, exuding an ancient aura.
He sat in the tall green-jade chair, His eyes seeming to sweep across the four seas and eight wildernesses through the bronze mask.
At last, His gaze settled upon a certain place at the long table.
Because of one person's foolish agitation, the original plan had no choice but to be brought forward yet again.
He extended both hands, shaping an image in the Void with taps and strokes.
It was a mask.
Made of greenwood, it resembled a bird and bore tiger patterns across its face.
He softly breathed out a single phrase.
"Return home..."
A figure crossed the Void and suddenly appeared upon a long chair.
Su Che sat quietly on the green-jade long chair, looking at the person seated at the head.
"Um, hello."
Su Che weighed his words and decided it was best to offer a greeting first.
"Everyone here has a codename. You may call me Zhongyuan. And your codename is this."
The lofty figure gestured at the mask before Su Che.
"Everyone here has their own hatred, their own purpose, and something they wish to obtain. When all that anger condenses together, it becomes this place. Put on this mask, and you will choose another kind of destiny."
The man calling himself Zhongyuan said, "I can sense your pain. You were framed until your reputation was ruined, and even the Destiny Pattern of the Sixfold Azure Dragon was seized from you. That must have been painful, no?"
Sorry, big brother, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?