Several important officials gathered at the prefectural offices in Liuzhou City, all because of the riot that had broken out at noon.
At that moment, not only were the prefect, deputy prefect, and assistant prefect-the three highest-ranking officials of the prefectural offices-present in the main hall, but so were the various circuit intendants and two prefectural education officers!
It was no small gathering, and even Yuchi Peng, who had come to attend the meeting, wore a deep frown.
But he also knew that the place where the incident had occurred was rather special. Because of Master Huang, many wealthy gentlemen who admired his literary talent lived around White Willow Lane on South Street, as did many elderly teachers and instructors. In this riot, as many as a hundred households in that area had gone missing. Many had not even left bodies to be found, and most were respected teachers of learning and unblemished reputation!
The public explanation was that an earth dragon had turned over, but how could something this big truly be concealed with talk of an earthquake? Even setting aside those teachers' families, their students would certainly come demanding an explanation.
"Lord Yuchi... are you certain a monster was responsible?"
The elderly official asking the question was over fifty, his beard entirely white. He was none other than Lord Zhou Xun, the prefect of Liuzhou.
"Does the prefect think I submitted a false report?" Yuchi Peng rolled his eyes at him, his tone thoroughly impatient. That thing had been as hard as forged steel, actually blocking his meteoric-iron saber with its flesh. If that was not a monster, what was?
It was his first encounter with a monster of such terrifying strength. Their head-on clash had not only split the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, but knocked out a whole mouthful of teeth. As a bloodline bearer, his teeth recovered quickly, and new ones had grown in within just a few hours, but they were still new teeth and had not fully grown. Air leaked through when he spoke, so he had very little patience for answering questions now!
The prefect, assistant prefect, and several other important officials exchanged glances before finally nodding. "Commander, none of the households that suffered this calamity were ordinary commoners, and the monster you spoke of has yet to be brought to justice. This subordinate believes we should report this to the imperial court and have powerful experts dispatched here to capture the true culprit and reassure the people!"
"Indeed..." The deputy prefect beside him nodded as well. "Since the founding of the new dynasty, our Jiangnan region has always enjoyed favorable winds and timely rains, and no incidents involving evil creatures have ever occurred. Many of those involved this time were highly respected teachers, learned men with students everywhere. If the evil creature is not captured soon, the people will surely be gripped by fear!"
"Bullthit!!" Yuchi Peng roared in agitation through the gaps in his teeth, but his peculiar pronunciation left the officials in the hall looking at one another.
Yuchi Peng flushed and spoke with even greater embarrassment and anger. "With me here, what need is there for the higher-ups to send any experts? A mere evil creature! I was only careless for a moment. When I encounter it again, I will take its head and give you an accounting!"
As the youngest of those who had inherited noble titles, Yuchi Peng had been stationed in Liuzhou for five years without achieving anything. Now that something had finally happened, if he failed to handle it and this pack of civil officials who did not know shit petitioned the throne for help, would his peers not laugh their teeth out when he returned to the capital?
He could not afford to lose face like that!!
"This... how can that be allowed?" The prefect immediately grew anxious. "For something so serious, if we do not notify our superiors at once and something worse happens, who will bear the responsibility?"
"I will!!" Yuchi Peng glared at him. "I'm warning you bastards. If anyone dares report this behind my back and I catch them, it won't end with merely stripping you naked in public and giving you a whipping!"
"You!!" The Liuzhou officials rose angrily, declaring in unison, "You uncouth brute! How dare you!!"
This bastard had stripped the previous prefect naked and whipped him in front of the prefectural offices. To this day, it was considered a humiliation for Liuzhou's civil officials. Now this fellow was growing ever more unbridled, actually daring to threaten them outright!
"Heh..." A savage grin appeared on Yuchi Peng's fierce face. "Whether I dare... you sour, stinking scholars need only try me!"
"You... you lout!!"
"Heh... fuck your mother!"
"You... you... you!"
The hall immediately descended into chaos. The deputy generals behind Yuchi Peng stepped back a little, and the one named Lu Jiaming quietly approached Wei Gongcheng. "Gongcheng, why aren't you trying to talk him down today?"
Wei Gongcheng remained expressionless at the question. "His lordship lost face this time. No one can talk him down."
"That's true..." Jiaming stroked his chin, looking entirely in agreement.
But the sight sent a chill through Wei Gongcheng's heart. This fellow's movements, habits, and manner of speaking were almost exactly the same as the real Jiaming's. That Painted Skin Mister... truly deserved death!!
And what chilled him even more were the others in the hall.
That imperial examination graduate surnamed Chen had said more than half of Liuzhou's officials were the other party's people. At the time, he had thought the scholar was making wild claims. Now it seemed... the man had actually been conservative...
How was this merely half?
The prefect, deputy prefect, and assistant prefect-the top three officials-were all the same. He could see it perfectly clearly: their movements were awkward and stiff, exactly like Jiaming and the others!
The two education officers, and the other commander of equal rank to Lord Yuchi... were all the same!!
The officials overseeing every branch of government throughout Liuzhou were actually... like this without exception...
Had he and Lord Yuchi spent five years alongside these officials?
If they remained undiscovered, could the other party turn the whole of Jiangnan into this as well?
At that thought, Wei Gongcheng felt not just his heart, but the blood throughout his entire body turn cold.
Those of them from bloodline aristocratic clans had heard their elders speak of the horrors of the previous dynasty's ghosts and monsters since childhood. Only now, experiencing it himself, did he understand what sort of things their elders had faced back then!!
As he was thinking, a soft cough sounded. At the sight of the newcomer, the Liuzhou officials, who had been red-faced and thick-necked with anger, stopped paying attention to Yuchi Peng and stepped forward to offer their greetings.
"What brings you here, Education Commissioner?"
Yuchi Peng frowned, and Wei Gongcheng also looked over in astonishment.
The newcomer had a refined appearance and was clearly over fifty. He was none other than Lord Mu Hongqing, the education commissioner of Jiangnan Province!
"I could hear Lord Yuchi's imposing manner from far away..." The newcomer returned their greetings with a smile, then looked at Yuchi Peng. "Are you confident, Lord Yuchi?"
Yuchi Peng paused. Though somewhat reluctant, he still stepped forward and saluted. "This subordinate greets the education commissioner!"
The education commissioner was the highest educational official in a province, directly subordinate to the imperial court. At Subordinate Third Rank, he already counted as a high official. Though Yuchi Peng had inherited his title, he still had to show this highly respected educational official some courtesy.
Moreover, as a member of a bloodline household, Yuchi Peng knew very well that the provincial education commissioners were no ordinary people. They were sorcerers who stood on equal footing with bloodline households like theirs!
"I have already received a secret report..." Mu Hongqing looked at Yuchi Peng with smiling eyes. "The monster's appearance is quite distinctive: the face of a little girl and the body of a nine-foot-tall man. There is an entry in the Record of Strange Tales. It should be the legendary Ghost Child. A monster of this kind has not appeared in a thousand years. This must be reported to the imperial court!"
Yuchi Peng's expression turned angry. "Do you not trust me either, Education Commissioner?"
Seeing the other man looking ready to lay hands on an old man like him at the slightest disagreement, Mu Hongqing's mouth twitched. He sighed, narrowed his eyes in thought, and finally held up three fingers. "Three days. I can give you three days at most, General. If you cannot capture that Ghost Child, I will request personnel from the imperial court. The crown prince's consort selection is imminent. There must be no unrest. Do you understand?"
These words finally dispelled Yuchi Peng's anger. He cupped his hands. "Rest assured, my lord. Three days will be enough. I will bring you the head of that Ghost Child, or whatever it is, and give you an accounting!" With that, he strode out of the hall without looking back.
"Please forgive him, Education Commissioner. His lordship did not mean to be rude. He is merely a little anxious..." Wei Gongcheng hurried forward to apologize.
"No matter..." The education commissioner shook his head with an amused smile. "Isn't everyone in the Yuchi Household like this? Keep an eye on your lord. He must not push himself beyond his limits..." As he spoke, he handed Wei Gongcheng a black paper talisman. "If you encounter that monster, burn this talisman immediately. I will come to your aid at once."
"Thank you, my lord!" Wei Gongcheng hurriedly accepted it in excitement.
"We all serve the imperial court. What is there to thank me for? Go on..."
"Jiaming, Gongcheng!!"
Yuchi Peng rushed back to the commander's residence and immediately had his two deputy generals assemble all his personal guards!
"My lord!" The two hurried forward.
"Take the military command token and bring troops into the city from outside. Search the entire city! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find that damned thing for me!"
As he spoke, he flung out a large handful of black spherical objects.
"The usual rules. Give each man one. Once the troops are mobilized, have our men lead them in squads of twenty. If you encounter that damned thing, do not confront it head-on. Ignite a black bomb immediately!"
"Yes!!" Both hurriedly accepted their orders!
Yuchi Peng nodded. The next instant, a pair of enormous wings spread open. They looked as though they had been forged from black refined iron, magnificent beyond compare. Fully extended, they spanned at least seven meters and shone dazzlingly even in the sunlight!
With a boom and a beat of his wings, Yuchi Peng shot off the ground, flying several hundred meters straight up in an instant and becoming a black speck high overhead. From a thousand meters in the air, he looked down over all of Liuzhou City!
Wei Gongcheng and Jiaming exchanged a glance, then each began arranging for the personal guards to leave the city. As personal officers of the Yuchi Household, they had grown accustomed to this way of working with Yuchi Peng since childhood.
Thanks to their Heavenly Peng Bloodline, members of the Yuchi Household possessed astonishing speed in the air. As long as a signal was sent, their lord could arrive anywhere in Liuzhou City in an instant!
This was also why, through several dynasties, members of the Yuchi Household had always served as the imperial family's chosen commanders of the imperial guards. This unique ability to fly allowed them to reach the site of any incident at any time. They could well be called the finest divine guardian generals!
"You take the north and west gates. I'll take the east and south!" Gongcheng told Jiaming directly.
"Right!" Jiaming chuckled, then immediately took the military command token and excitedly went to summon his subordinates.
Wei Gongcheng did not dare delay either. He immediately ordered the personal guards to mobilize troops at the east and south gates. But after issuing his orders, he did not follow them at once. Instead, he quietly made his way to the rear courtyard.
As he was about to reach the storehouse in the rear courtyard, Wei Gongcheng suddenly thought of something. Frowning, he took out the black paper talisman the education commissioner had given him and found somewhere to hide it. Only then did he continue toward the rear courtyard...
Although the education commissioner did not have that puppetlike stiffness, he remained deeply wary. In Liuzhou as it was now, he no longer dared trust anyone!!
The bookmarks suddenly jumped, haha! An unexpected delight, an unexpected delight.
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