The Barbarian's True Colors: Seizing Power and Wielding Authority

Cizhou Branch Censorate.

The office was a scene of utter chaos. Minor clerks clutching bamboo slips and case files hurried back and forth everywhere, while officials high and low whispered anxiously beneath the eaves and beside the corridors. When they saw Su Che heading toward the main hall, none could hide the panic in their eyes.

I raced back overland on a paper horse, while Li Yizhen had flown for his life. News of his defeat probably wasn't news within the Circuit Censorate anymore. Before long, word of the court army's defeat will spread from here throughout the city. When that happens, the chaos will only worsen.

Su Che strode forward. The imposing main hall of the Circuit Censorate stood before him. Two fierce and grotesque statues of Feilian stood outside, with bird heads, deer bodies, snake tails, and leopard markings all over. The fine, drizzling rain beat against them, making the statues seem almost alive.

An elderly clerk in low-ranking robes slowly stepped forward and said respectfully.

"Greetings, Judicial Punisher. The Chief Clerk and the two Circuit Inspectors are currently discussing matters in the hall. Shall this subordinate announce your arrival?"

Su Che cast him a cold glance and stepped forward.

"Judicial Punisher, please wait. This concerns military secrets and must not—"

"Military secrets? What military secrets could there possibly be now?"

Su Che snorted coldly. "Move."

At his sharp shout, the clerks all retreated.

With a flick of his sleeve, Su Che strode into the hall.

The heavy wooden doors slowly opened. Wang Jian and Xiong Shou sat on opposite sides of a table, dressed in official robes, their expressions grim.

Su Che's overbearing intrusion into the Circuit Censorate could naturally not be concealed from those before him. All of them possessed cultivation. Even if Wang Jian did