Chapter 688

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

No matter how her heart churned, on the surface she would certainly refuse the seemingly fair compromise — isn't that trampling the imperial court's dignity underfoot?

Li Guo's dignity cannot be lost; even if the fox demon's proposal struck the court and the Emperor right in the heart, they cannot say it — they can only let the fox demon understand it tacitly rather than speak it aloud.

System: …

So pretentious~

"This isn't being pretentious; it's the tacit understanding between adults.

The fox demon does all this merely to establish its authority; the court finds the Jiangning forces troublesome, and rather than waiting until the tail grows too large to shake off, it's better to use the fox demon's hand now to eliminate the trouble before it fully grows."

Bowing her head to fiddle with her pretty nails, Shen Yao lay sprawled on the couch, speaking and laughing.

She had the System keep an eye on the fox demons inside Jiangning City whenever it had time; unexpectedly, they would most likely get hold of a personnel list that had drifted in from who knows where — on it happened to be mostly people connected to Jiang Sheng, and they happened to have the opportunity to dispose of them.

"Happened to?" Isn't that a bit too coincidental? The fox demons' luck is this strong?

Shen Yao smiled faintly, telling the System not to quibble over such trifles — just monitor the fox demons' next moves around the clock and everything will become clear.

"Rest assured, I won't let you down; after all, when it comes to internal strife, humans are the professionals."

No matter the era, humans have internal strife completely mastered.

Shen Yao smiled mockingly; after all, she had transmigrated through so many worlds, and her original body was an old hand at conspiracies and schemes — such petty tricks, everyone knows how to use them.

System: … seems even more worried, especially at its own Host's expression — tsk, who knows who'll be unlucky this time.

Offending Shen Yao might not bring misfortune, but blocking the court and the Emperor's path certainly will.

Just as Shen Yao said, Master Yuan Kong on the surface naturally refused the proposal outright; when the fox demon returned to its garrison in a rage, it saw a young fox demon eagerly hand over a personnel list.

Saying the person it had been watching had spilled the beans; whether from fright or something else, they died right after writing the list.

The young fox demon still felt a bit regretful after speaking, because it wasn't sure if the list was real — what if some people on it had nothing to do with Jiang Sheng?

"Doesn't matter; anyone written on the list — there's no such thing as innocent or not innocent."

The fox demon clan leader still had some brains; he thought: indeed, two-handed preparation was the right move. That big monk doesn't know flexibility, so just bypass him. After all, they're not moving against Jiangning's commoners — would they really fight to the death with the big monk and them?

"Organize the list, one copy per person, then split up and act."

The fox demon passed the list back to the elders beside him, saying they'd been in Jiangning for several days and done nothing — how could that do? They must seize the time.

"Yes, Clan Leader."

The fox demons moved swiftly; the names on the list were solid, and since Jiangning City was so large, they'd already done a simple investigation earlier — now matching names to faces, they figured everything out in just a few days.

"Turns out it's this simple; thought it'd be hard," the young fox demon muttered beside the old fox demon, unable to hide the grin on its face.

"Thanks to the Clan Leader's wise and mighty foresight, preparing two hands in advance yielded this result," the old fox demon praised the Clan Leader, then told the young fox demon not to run around — they'd still need to go meet up with the other clansmen later.

Inwardly he also wondered at how fast their progress was, even suspiciously smooth — could it be that these people in Jiangning City are so fearless they don't know the meaning of fear?

He shook his head, tossing the questions out of his mind and ignoring them; the old fox demon kept smiling as he approached the commoners at the doorway, and with just a few clumsy opening lines he wheedled out names matching those on the list in his hand.

Meimei found the young fox demon already sitting at a stall eating and drinking; the old fox demon pulled the young fox demon away.

After they left, the ordinary commoners who had been surrounding the area transformed completely — their bearing returned to the usual cold solemnity, and they slipped away secretly toward the relay station.

Inside the relay station, Lin Xingzhi was in charge of this matter; Master Yuan Kong was responsible for protecting the station's safety.

Hearing the returning Imperial Guards and attendants report that everything went smoothly without error, Lin Xingzhi let out a breath, waved his hand to let the exhausted people go rest, and himself turned back to the room to pour out his heart to Shen Yao.

Shen Yao: …

Shen Yao embraced Lin Xingzhi to give him support; the System in her mind had already exploded into fireworks.

Aaaaaah!

The System couldn't help it — who let the story's direction match Shen Yao's words to a tee? It really did secretly leak info to the fox demons, but not a total leak.

Fox demons — no, should say demons — truly are a knife in human hands that stabs exactly where pointed!

"Once this matter ends, we'll set off and leave," Lin Xingzhi said with a bitter smile, mentioning that their departure on patrol came much earlier than expected — not only could they go to Qingping City, they could stay there for several more months.

"Outside Qingping City there's a mountain, tall and densely forested; I come from there."

Opening her eyes, she became a rabbit that had gained sentience — still deceived in body and heart, ultimately dying miserably as a background board.

Later she defied fate and changed her destiny (seems not so hard either, after all these things are easy as pie for Shen Yao, a Senior Tasker); she avoided the towns that would make her a background board, went to Qingping City, and after several months wandered to Floating Clouds City, met Lin Xingzhi, and bore children.

Mm

Raising her hand to tap the tabletop, Shen Yao smiled and told Lin Xingzhi that on her way from Qingping City to Floating Clouds City, she also encountered a rat demon — the little demon had no other abilities to speak of, but happened to possess the power to dizzy people; it was by catching this rat demon that she first learned of the fox demon Hua Yue.

She thought avoiding Jiangning City would keep her from being entangled; she never expected that after she became pregnant in Floating Clouds City, on the road back to the capital she would rest in Jiangning City.

Sigh

Truth be told, some things twist and turn, and indeed make one marvel at the wonder of fate.

Lin Xingzhi just leaned against Shen Yao like that, slowly listening to the things she told him.

All trivial little matters; the only difference was that none of these matters involved Lin Xingzhi at all — they happened before the two met.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too good, or perhaps age had come and made one prone to reminiscing.

Shen Yao told Lin Xingzhi many things from her past — people on the road, and those cities one after another, each with a different style.

In a blink, years had passed; she wondered how those people she'd crossed paths with were faring.

"When we reach Qingping City, Yao Niang will also have a chance to meet them.

I believe they won't be doing too badly; strictly speaking, it's also Yao Niang's hometown."

People always harbor a hard-to-let-go sentiment for their native place; Shen Yao is a demon, yet she is no exception.

Shen Yao smiled and nodded with an "Mm." "Hope they all get what they wish for," whether it's that osmanthus tree or everyone at the escort agency.

…………

Jiangning City has been in a state of panic recently, the reason being the constant appearance of fatal incidents.

As for this, commoners are not particularly panicked; only those wealthy and powerful families who cherish their lives are trembling with fear, unable to sleep at night.

"What can be done? What does the Government Office say? And those Daoren and Masters?"

"Sigh, nothing can be said, no one can be used! We are merely fish on a chopping block, to be killed or carved up at will."

"No, I don't believe it! The Emperor and the Imperial Court just watch as we meet with disaster? This is Li Guo territory, how can those demon creatures be allowed to run rampant?"

……

Some words cannot be spoken too absolutely; look, once the Fox Demon Clan acts, indiscriminate slaughter of innocents? Merely standard operating procedure.

Fortunately, when previously utilizing the Fox Demon Clan, the Imperial Court and the Emperor had already factored these considerations in; among this group of people killed now, a detailed calculation reveals they are not actually that innocent.

The System watched with repeated shock; it hadn't expected that humans truly are experts at internal strife.

After this battle, these Jiangning forces that had risen and faintly showed the potential to be leaders will fall silent; wanting to be as dazzling as before, I'm afraid there is still a very long road to walk.

'This is also the purpose of the Emperor and the Imperial Court; the Emperor has not yet aged to the point of needing an Heir, and the Imperial Court also does not wish for Jiangning's power to grow great and spiral out of control.

The gun shoots the bird that sticks its head out; the Jiangning forces, as a rising star of the Jingcheng, were previously far too high-profile and arrogant,' which is why they needed to join forces to strike a warning blow.

At Zhuying Town, Lin Xingzhi's little tricks only amounted to scratching an itch; only now are the Imperial Court and the Emperor truly moving against them in earnest, striking with the force of thunder, not giving the slightest chance to react or resist.

System: ……

Shen Yao lay back on the couch with a smile, indicating the situation here is crystal clear to the Jingcheng; she believes it won't be long before the culprit staying at Huang Jue Si 'actively' chooses to confess and commit suicide, to appease the Fox Demon Clan's anger and put a perfect period on this farce.

'Actively?'

Jiang Sheng doesn't look like the type to take the initiative at all; otherwise, he wouldn't have single-mindedly schemed against the Fox Demon Clan back then — one must know he is not a cultivator of the Dao.

'Active, no matter how active, it is definitely active and sincere admission of fault.'

Shen Yao blinked, thinking: clever people all know how deep the water runs here, but clever people equally would not really clamor about it, making a scene known to everyone everywhere.

The System secretly regretted it could not go to the Jingcheng, could not investigate thoroughly; otherwise it truly wanted to know just how this Jiang Sheng was 'active'.

How else could he be active? First find someone to persuade; once persuasion fails, then have someone lend a hand.

During this period Jiang Sheng certainly wouldn't give up; he said a whole basket of good words and bad words, and in the end even threatened and reviled the Imperial Court, truly not feeling he was in the wrong at all.

"Jiang Ren, why make things difficult for us? Jiangning frequently transmits ill tidings; the Emperor and the various Lords in the Court see it and are anxious at heart — whose fault is this anyway?"

"Naturally it is the Fox Demon Clan's fault; why doesn't the Imperial Court let the Masters of Huang Jue Si act, and the Daoren of the Dao Guan? Those Fox Demons wantonly kill Court Officials and their families — this is trampling the Imperial Court's face."

"Indeed, indeed; the Imperial Court's face cannot be lost, therefore I have come this trip today. Jiang Ren, we are all clever people.

Why bother doing that kind of futile thing? Obediently go die, and everyone looks good."

Jiang Sheng: ……

With words like that, precisely because they are clever people, Jiang Sheng is even more unwilling to die.

He painstakingly exerted every effort to obtain this chance to become a superior person; how could he throw away his life over a few sentences?

Moreover, there is no need to worry about safety inside Huang Jue Si; thoughts turning over, Jiang Sheng made up his mind to act dumb — anyway, he simply refuses to admit fault.

The people who came: ……

Fine, since he doesn't want to go gracefully, they'll help him go gracefully!

"My Lord, what shall we do? The Minister is still waiting for a reply."

"What's the rush? Since Jiang Ren is unwilling to cooperate, we cannot trouble Jiang Ren.

Like this, you go find someone……," the man finished speaking swiftly, a ruthlessly fierce expression flashing across his face, "The Masters of Huang Jue Si know best how words should be spoken; you just boldly arrange it. If anything happens, the Minister is there," unless the Emperor and the Imperial Court want to abandon Minister Liu.

"Understood, this petty person understands."

Just this one back-and-forth, and the previously determined Jiang Sheng was soon discovered to have committed suicide in Huang Jue Si; a thick letter of confession was left beside him, stating everything was his fault, and now he chose one life for one life, hoping the Fox Demon Clan would stop in time.

'Will the Fox Demon Clan stop?' The System felt they absolutely would not, because this group of demons had clearly killed until their eyes were red; what Jiang Sheng or not Jiang Sheng, he had long since been outside their consideration.

By this time several days had passed since the Jingcheng sent word; the scale of the storm Jiang Sheng's death stirred in the Jingcheng is unknown, but in Jiangning City it was like thunder piercing the ears — after all, he was the culprit who openly caused the wealthy families constant trouble; I'm afraid everyone in Jiangning City already hates him to the point of grinding their teeth.

'The Imperial Court gives the Fox Demon Clan another chance; the price of them not stopping on their own is being jointly annihilated by the Buddhist temple and the Dao Guan,' this is not like before when they begged the Fox Demons to do things, and the Buddhist temple and Dao Guan could turn a blind eye; the situation has now reversed — if the Fox Demons don't give the Imperial Court face, they will certainly be liquidated.

Picking up the teacup at hand and bringing it to her lips for a taste, Shen Yao stood up and went out the door; gazing at such a bright sky, she smiled faintly, 'If you like listening to gossip, seize the time,' because it won't be long before they depart.

The Fox Demon Clan is indeed rampant; perhaps they tasted sweetness in Jiangning City, letting them overlook the terror of the Dao Guan and Buddhist temple.

So when the Dao Guan and Buddhist temple joined forces to annihilate them, the Fox Demon Clan unsurprisingly suffered a heavy loss.

Shen Yao still remembers that day — not a cloud for ten thousand miles, yet a bolt of thunder from a clear sky; the air floated with a thick scent of blood, the entire Jiangning City shrouded in a killing atmosphere.

Yuan Kong Master that day alone fought several Fox Demon Elders and did not fall behind; meanwhile, the hidden Buddhist temple and Dao Guan disciples ruthlessly dealt with the other Fox Demons.

In the very end, naturally the Fox Demon Clan chose to admit defeat, retreating with their remaining clansmen, and promising never to set foot in the mortal world again for life.

For this, Yuan Kong Master also suffered some internal injuries; their trip to Qingping City had to be temporarily postponed, to wait until Yuan Kong Master recovered before departing.

Traveling south for several months, experiencing all manner of wind, frost, rain, and snow along the way; fortunately, in the end they all turned danger into safety.

The inspection tour progressed steadily; passing through city after city, each with its own features; when the tall Qingping City Wall loomed before her eyes, Shen Yao felt a rare stir of homesickness-tinged melancholy in her heart.

In the end, she had still returned.