Chapter 29: Empress: This Palace is Exhausted

Tianlin Guard headquarters, Guishui Division office.

Shen Shuchou sat before his desk, his expression grave.

Not long ago, the Battalion Commander in charge of the Binghuo and Dinghuo divisions had personally sought him out, demanding that he convict the Yan brothers as soon as possible.

The case must be closed within three days!

The meaning was clear:

This case must absolutely not implicate anyone else!

But the problem was, Yan Liang had already confessed long ago, and Chen Mo had even stripped him bare of every secret...

Originally, Shen Shuchou had no desire to get involved in this matter.

But since the Empress had yet to give instructions, he could only grit his teeth and hold on.

"That brat Chen Mo, he catches the people and then washes his hands of it..."

"He takes the credit, I take the blame; he really is a heartless wretch!"

"Once this mission is over, I'll send him to capture the Ten Great Heavenly Demons; if he can't catch them, he's not allowed to return!"

Shen Shuchou muttered through gritted teeth.

Clatter, clatter, clatter—

At that moment, a burst of hurried footsteps rang out, and a runner stumbled in.

"My, my, my..."

"My your head, what kind of decorum is this, panicking like that?"

Shen Shuchou frowned.

The runner ignored the reprimand, swallowed hard, and said, "My lord, Platoon Leader Chen has returned!"

"Heh, he still dares to return? I was just about to find trouble for him..."

"He has returned with the corpse of one of the Ten Great Heavenly Demons!"

"..."

Shen Shuchou suspected that perhaps the recent pressure had been too great, causing him to suffer auditory hallucinations.

He reached up to dig at his ear and asked:

"What did you just say? Say it again?"

The runner was concise and to the point: "The case in Tongling County, the mastermind behind it was the evil ghost Qin Wuxiang, who has been beheaded by Platoon Leader Chen! The corpse is currently lying in the training yard!"

After a brief silence, Shen Shuchou stood up abruptly and strode out of the office.

The entire training yard was already packed, shoulder to shoulder, with the clamor reaching the heavens!

He pushed through the crowd and walked to the center, only to see a headless corpse lying on the open ground before him.

Beside the corpse sat a head, its features blurred and lacking facial organs, with a purple magatama emblem imprinted on the center of its forehead.

As a member of the Tianlin Guard, who had not dreamed of capturing one of the Ten Great Heavenly Demons, becoming famous throughout the world, and bringing glory to their family?

Shen Shuchou was no exception.

He had reviewed all the files on the Ten Great Heavenly Demons and knew their characteristics like the back of his hand—

One look was enough to basically confirm that this was indeed the corpse of the tenth Heavenly Demon, Qin Wuxiang!

"You all didn't see it; that battle was truly earth-shattering, blotting out the sun and moon!"

"Qin Wuxiang transformed into a hundred-foot-tall giant demon, his demonic flames soaring to the heavens, arrogant and unstoppable! He leveled an entire city block with a single slap!"

"Yet Platoon Leader Chen merely smiled slightly and said indifferently: 'How dare a firefly's light compete with the brilliance of the moon? Blade, come!'"

"With a casual slash, the blade qi tore through the void, causing a celestial phenomenon, and he cleaved that giant demon in two on the spot!"

"The power of that one strike was terrifying!"

Qin Shou stood in the crowd, speaking eloquently as if he were performing a crosstalk routine.

The surrounding people listened as if they were there in person, their hearts racing with longing, letting out gasps of amazement from time to time.

"Where is Platoon Leader Chen? Why don't I see him?"

Someone asked loudly.

Qin Shou shook his head and sighed:

"The Platoon Leader is great in every way, he's just too low-key."

"He said: 'Do not hoard credit, do not shirk blame.' He didn't want to hog the limelight, choosing instead to let us little brothers have the chance to shine."

"That, my friends, is what you call character!"

The other runners who had carried out the mission nodded one after another, expressing their agreement.

Platoon Leader Chen truly has such great character!

"Chen Mo... Chen Mo..."

A chorus of shouts suddenly erupted.

Then, more and more people joined in, gradually merging into a roar like a mountain-toppling sea!

This was one of the Ten Great Heavenly Demons! And it was a first kill, at that!

It wasn't just the Guishui Division; the entire Tianlin Guard felt honored!

"Chen Mo! Chen Mo!"

The shouting was deafening.

In the boiling crowd, Shen Shuchou stood frozen like a statue, his expression somewhat dazed and incredulous.

"I was just talking nonsense, he actually caught a Heavenly Demon?!"

He knew better than anyone: to be one of the Ten Great Heavenly Demons, was Qin Wuxiang someone to be trifled with?

Even if Chen Mo could win, it certainly wouldn't have been easy.

He must have gone through a bitter struggle!

When he had arranged this mission, he hadn't thought it would be so dangerous...

Having just cracked the barbarian slave case, only a few days had passed, and he had already brought him such a huge surprise!

"This brat, he really has brought me glory!"

"But business is business; I'll still find trouble for you regarding the scapegoating... but it won't be too much trouble."

Zhaohua Palace.

Incense curled within the hall.

Behind a glass screen, a figure in a bright yellow phoenix robe sat, and a slightly languid voice spoke:

"How is the case progressing?"

Yan Peizhi, standing below, grew solemn.

He knew the Empress's question had two layers of meaning: one regarding the Ministry of Revenue corruption case, and the other regarding the barbarian slave case.

"Reporting to Your Highness, under the joint interrogation of the three divisions, the case is progressing very smoothly. The three Ministry of Revenue officials have all confessed, and the embezzlement of disaster relief funds was their own personal doing..."

The Empress listened quietly, neither confirming nor denying.

Yan Peizhi knew the Empress was waiting for him to continue.

"Regarding the case of keeping barbarian slaves, as far as this old official understands, the Yan brothers have confessed to their crimes without reservation."

"As for whether others are involved, this old official still needs to..."

At that moment, a female official walked quickly into the hall.

She bypassed the screen and whispered something into the Empress's ear.

Seeing this familiar scene, Yan Peizhi couldn't help but shiver, thinking to himself that there wouldn't be more bad news, would there...

"Good, very good."

"You really have given this Empress a 'surprise'!"

The Empress was silent for a moment, then sighed and said.

Yan Peizhi breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed it must be good news.

"I never expected that he would actually be able to bring the tenth Heavenly Demon to justice, removing a scourge for our Great Yuan!"

"Removing a scourge for the people, his merit is as high as a mountain; he shall be heavily rewarded!"

The Empress's voice echoed in the hall.

Yan Peizhi's expression was one of astonishment.

The Heavenly Demon List recorded hundreds of demon lords.

Among them, many had been brought to justice, and no small number had been executed on the spot.

The list had been updated dozens of times, yet the top ten had remained completely unchanged for so many years!

And now, someone had actually slaughtered one of the Ten Great Heavenly Demons?

That was truly a great achievement!

"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness!"

"Our Great Yuan truly is full of heroic spirit and talented people! This is the blessing of the people and the fortune of the nation!"

"I wonder which hero performed this magnificent feat?"

Yan Peizhi said with a joyful expression.

Recently, everything had been going poorly for him, and he hadn't been able to hold his head up before the Empress; having finally caught a chance to curry favor, he naturally had to grasp it firmly.

Once the Empress identified the person, he would then steer the conversation toward "Your Highness's golden words and sagely illumination," indicating that none of this would have been possible without the Empress's cultivation.

He made sure to flatter her until she was beaming with joy and glowing with radiance...

In an instant, the entire process of flattery had already played through Yan Peizhi’s mind.

This was the self-cultivation of a veteran court official.

"Come to think of it, you know this person, and he even shares an inextricable bond with your Yan family."

The Empress said in a calm tone.

Upon hearing this, Yan Peizhi was even more pleasantly surprised.

Could it be the merit of some department head or official in the Ministry of Justice?

It really was like being handed a pillow just as one was nodding off!

"Your Highness, please stop keeping me in suspense; who exactly is this sacred person?" Yan Peizhi asked impatiently.

"Chen Mo," the Empress said.

Yan Peizhi was stunned, "...Who?"

"Chen Mo, the person who personally captured your nephew and threw him into the Imperial Prison."

The Empress said indifferently: "Both are Platoon Leaders of the Heavenly Qilin Guard; Chen Mo roots out evil and saves the people from fire and water, while your nephew is busy keeping barbarian slaves and corrupting the imperial court..."

"Sometimes, even I cannot figure out who the real rebels are."

Boom!

It was as if a bolt of lightning from the blue had exploded in his ears!

Yan Peizhi’s knees went weak, and he collapsed directly onto the ground!