Wu Yong walked slowly into the city, with Tang Jun and the other officers forming a dark mass at his side.
Dozens of tall horses advanced in short steps, their iron shoes clattering against the flagstones.
Everyone wore smiles of shared pride.
After all, they were all young men whose hot blood had yet to cool.
Yet these officers in flying fish robes subtly clustered around a handsome youth.
Even Wu Yong, a chief banner officer, willingly went ahead to lead the way.
"Lu Guan?"
Zhao Tielin rubbed his eyes, staring at the scene before him in disbelief.
The youth looked calm, one hand resting on the saber at his waist, exactly as Zhao Tielin remembered him.
Yet... if he had not recognized Wu Yong, the chief banner officer of the First Squad, this display would almost have convinced him that Lu Guan was the chief banner officer.
The dozens of men subtly revolved around Lu Guan; wherever he went, the procession veered with him.
With such a display, this was clearly no time for Zhao Tielin to approach and get to the bottom of things.
Full of questions, Zhao Tielin watched the First Squad parade through the city with the demons' remains.
Yes, a parade!
Along the way, more and more townsfolk joined the onlookers.
It was nearly curfew, when every household should have been shutting its doors, yet the streets now teemed with people. Anyone who did not know better would have thought it was an early-morning market.
This was quite a spectacle.
When had Qianqiu County ever held its head so high?
"That's a White Bone Demon! I saw it in the mountains. It nearly ate me!"
A man who looked like a hunter pointed at the white skeleton on a horse's back, his voice booming as though afraid others would not hear.
"A tiger demon! That's the tiger demon from Yellow Flower Ridge! Heavens, it ate my grandfather!" Another young man clenched his fists, his eyes red and his whole body trembling.
Even the bailiffs responsible for enforcing curfew did not disperse the crowd. They merely maintained order in silence, their gazes likewise fixed on the demons' remains.
They stood at the edges of the crowd with their hands on their sabers, yet the corners of their mouths curled upward, their hearts filled with satisfaction.
Most of these bailiffs were Qianqiu County locals. Whose family had not lost a few relatives or friends to demons?
Today, at last, they had vented some of that bitter resentment.
The procession headed west until it reached the Demon Suppression Bureau.
It was just quitting time, and officers filed out through the side gate.
But the moment they stepped outside, the sight before them stunned them.
Especially after seeing the many skeletal remains and the greater demons on those two large carts, their shock reached unimaginable heights.
"Chief Banner Officer Wu, what's going on?" an officer asked.
"Slaying demons! Exterminating fiends!" Wu Yong replied.
Then he hurriedly stepped aside to let the man responsible show himself.
After all, no one knew better than he did whose achievements had produced this scene.
He had contributed, but compared with Lu Guan's efforts, his little contribution was not even worthy of carrying his shoes.
Lu Guan stepped forward slowly, his gaze indifferent.
Standing below the stone steps outside the bureau, he looked up at the plaque above the two vermilion gates and called out clearly:
"Tell Zhou Kaishan to come out."
???
Not only were the officers at the entrance dumbfounded, even those beside him were stunned.
We know you're fierce, Master Lu, but you're not a commandant yet!
Strictly speaking, merely addressing his superior by name in public was enough to saddle him with a charge of contempt for a superior.
The Demon Suppression Bureau's hierarchy was rigid as iron. How was an officer calling the commandant by his full name any different from slapping him in the street?
Wu Yong tugged at Lu Guan's sleeve and lowered his voice. "Brother Lu, mind your words..."
He feared the youth was too young and hotheaded, too rigid and thus easily broken.
He had clearly rendered a great service, but after this, it might well turn into a case of arrogance over his achievements.
If his merits were canceled out by his offenses, that would be a terrible loss.
Among the crowd, Wang Quan, the deputy suppression commissioner, watched with keen interest.
Arms folded, he leaned beneath an old locust tree, a hint of a smile on his lips.
"Interesting. It seems someone else slew the demons."
His voice was so low that only the young man in blue beside him could hear. He paused, sweeping his gaze over Lu Guan.
"And this young officer... seems to know something of the inside story."
Upon realizing this, a trace of appreciation entered Wang Quan's gaze as he looked at Lu Guan.
He seemed to have guessed what the youth intended to do.
"Since you've called for me, here I am."
At the bureau entrance, the main gates opened wide.
The two heavy vermilion doors swung inward, their hinges giving a dull groan, and a burly figure appeared before everyone.
Zhou Kaishan swept a casual glance over them, but his gaze visibly froze when he saw the corpses of the White Bone Demon King and the tiger demon.
He recognized that nine-foot skeleton, and he recognized that headless tiger corpse.
Only then did he realize what the commotion outside the bureau was about.
Yet no matter how he thought about it, he could not understand how these two greater demons had died.
The White Bone Demon King was one thing. Once Wu Yong and Lu Guan joined forces to employ the Secret Method, Gather Blood into a Blade, there was indeed a risk of it being slain.
Thus, he had made lavish promises and invited the tiger demon from Yellow Flower Ridge to join it.
Two greater demons in the True Qi Realm facing a mere Qi and Blood Realm officer-surely that meant certain death, with no chance of survival?
Only then had he felt at ease enough to sit in the bureau and await news.
Yet now, not only had the other party returned completely unharmed, but both greater demons were dead.
Could someone tell him what had happened?!
"Ha, so you're Zhou Kaishan!"
A woman in filthy clothing suddenly stepped out from among the flying fish robes.
Although she was bedraggled from head to toe, her lovely face still caught the eye, even making people overlook the question of how a woman had suddenly appeared among a group of demon suppression officers.
Yu Qianqian pointed at the burly figure and cursed furiously, "You fed an entire county's people to demons! And you call yourself a commandant? Are you worthy of those flying fish robes you're wearing?"
Her clear voice carried far beneath the setting sun, reaching the people's ears.
"Shameless scum, you should have died long ago!"
As her words fell, the surroundings suddenly went silent.
Everyone was stunned by this unexpected revelation.
That notorious Commandant Zhou, who ran roughshod over everyone and preyed on the townsfolk, was actually a traitor to humanity who colluded with demons!
...This did not seem a particularly difficult fact to accept.
In mere moments, everyone accepted this truth.
In fact, some had harbored similar suspicions long ago, and had even reported them to Langya Commandery City, but the matter had ultimately come to nothing for lack of evidence.
Zhou Kaishan visibly froze. He had not expected anyone to speak of this to his face.
The burly man's eyes filled with darkness, veins bulging at his temples as he said through gritted teeth, "Slandering an imperial official? You're courting death!"
Before his words had even faded, he became a black blur. True Qi erupted, and a grayish-white wave of Qi surged around him.
Then he struck at Yu Qianqian with his palm!
The wind from his palm was sharp as a blade, carrying the full might of the mid True Qi Realm, enough to smash an ox into bloody pulp on the spot.
In the crowd, the handsome young man beside Wang Quan felt his pupils contract. His hand was already on his sword hilt, and he was about to act.
But someone was faster.
A streak of silver flashed past.
Blood sprayed across the sky, and a severed arm fell to the ground.
Lu Guan stood expressionless, the long saber in his hand already having drunk blood.