Chapter 150: The Three Fire Old Dame Meeting (Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

"This..."

Zhou Leizi's heart skipped a beat; he denied it: "My farming method has only cultivated soybeans so far; I haven't used any other seeds."

Xu Yuan looked at Di Youzhi: "Is that true?"

Di Youzhi didn't need to look at Zhou Leizi; he knew the bastard was begging with eyes like a dog's.

"Indeed," Di Youzhi said. "I've been on duty with Zhou Leizi every day and have never seen him use broad beans."

Xu Yuan nodded, walked to the table, and picked up his brush: "Good. I'm writing a letter to the Commandant, reporting yesterday's incident."

"I've heard the 'farming method' is also called the 'male farming method,' and seems linked to Lin Zi's 'female weaving method'—I'd like to recommend the Commandant investigate further..."

Zhou Leizi lunged forward and knelt: "No—"

"My lord, spare my life! I confess, I confess everything..."

Xu Yuan tapped the table with his finger; Zhou Leizi, defeated, placed a few broad beans where his finger had pointed.

Xu Yuan picked one up and examined it.

Identical to the ones burned from inside the rat.

"Heh," Xu Yuan sneered. "You secretly spied on your superior—and among those superiors is a noblewoman of a great clan. Zhou Leizi, your nerve is astonishing. I might spare you, but if Captain Song finds out, he won't."

Di Youzhi's body turned icy. It wasn't just about Zhou Leizi's foul mouth—it was far worse!

Di Youzhi hesitated a moment, then gritted his teeth and rushed over, kicking Zhou Leizi to the ground: "You idiot, I'll peel you alive!"

"Enough!" Xu Yuan snapped, halting him. "Stop acting."

Di Youzhi retreated awkwardly to the side.

Xu Yuan still held his brush: "Zhou Leizi, confess honestly."

"Yes, yes, I was arrogant—I thought you were from Nanshu Sect, sent to our Zhancheng Office to pick faults... so I wanted to secretly probe..."

His voice grew quieter.

"Hmph." Xu Yuan glanced at him. "No other motive?"

"Absolutely none!" Zhou Leizi raised his hand in oath. "I'm just foul-mouthed and petty, but I wouldn't dare do anything else."

Xu Yuan put down his brush, picked up the broad bean again, and asked: "Can these beans control puppets?"

"I don't have that kind of power. These beans are only slightly stronger than soybeans—so far, they can only control rats and wild cats. Anything larger won't work."

Xu Yuan snorted: "You say you're timid? Nonsense. You dared not only spy on me, but also monitor Shanhe."

Zhou Leizi stared, dumbfounded: "L-Lord, you... you knew about that too?"

Di Youzhi's nose nearly crooked with rage: "Zhou Leizi! I really underestimated you!"

Zhou Leizi mumbled: "I just saw Shanhe always causing us trouble, so I thought maybe I could catch them in a mistake."

"But I only sent a rat over—I didn't hear anything useful."

Suddenly, Xu Yuan's mind stirred: Someone in Quhui Office wants to find Shanhe's weak spot—could it be that Shanhe is secretly watching Quhui Office too?

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan asked: "When you used rats to spy on me, was someone egging you on?"

"Egging me on? No..." Zhou Leizi suddenly realized something and stopped mid-sentence.

Di Youzhi also sensed something wrong: "Zhou Leizi, tell the truth!"

"That day..." Zhou Leizi clenched his teeth and confessed: "I said I didn't trust outsiders, and Lu Xiang kept goading me."

Di Youzhi gripped his blade and strode toward the door: "I'll go fetch him right now..."

Xu Yuan said coolly: "If you do that, you'll alarm the snake."

Di Youzhi froze, turned back, and dropped to one knee: "I had no such intention!"

Xu Yuan looked at the two kneeling men, his fingers slowly tapping the table—tap, tap, tap...

Again and again.

Each tap felt like a heavy hammer striking their hearts.

Two veteran Quhui Office men couldn't stop cold sweat from sliding down their foreheads.

This young Inspector, they said, came from humble origins, was valued by the Commandant, and was promoted into Quhui Office only after earning merit.

How could he possibly possess such refined, ruthless control over subordinates?

In just moments, Di Youzhi and Zhou Leizi clearly felt: their lives and futures rested entirely in this young Inspector's hands.

Zhou Leizi dared use forbidden methods to spy on his superior—Xu Yuan reporting it meant immediate execution.

Di Youzhi failed to supervise properly—that was dereliction of duty; just now, he tried to seize Lu Xiang, raising suspicion of warning him!

Either charge alone could strip him of the position of Inspector he'd earned after five years of diligent service.

Both men now dared not harbor the slightest disrespect toward this young Inspector.

Especially Zhou Leizi.

He wished he could slap himself hard—had he not spoken carelessly, none of this would've happened.

But in truth, Xu Yuan was only thinking how to deal with Zhou Leizi.

After a moment's thought, he decided to follow his heart: Zhou Leizi was a bastard, but he had grit.

Xu Yuan admired that.

"Last night, you were on night patrol?" Xu Yuan suddenly asked.

Di Youzhi nodded quickly: "Yes. After returning from patrol, we clashed with two... Inspectors from Shanhe—and we're grateful you intervened."

"Don't flatter me," Xu Yuan grumbled, then pointed at each of them: "You, Di Youzhi, get to stay in Quhui Office. You, Zhou Leizi, are still alive—both because of that night patrol!"

Both men looked bewildered, but knew they were off the hook; they silently exhaled in relief.

Xu Yuan paused, then said: "Go back and say I punished Zhou Leizi because he repeatedly slandered me."

"Then secretly observe Lu Xiang. Understood?"

"Understood!" Both replied in low voices.

Xu Yuan frowned again: "Don't just treat Lu Xiang as an insider traitor! He is currently a suspect, but he might be like Zhou Leizi—just with a sharp tongue."

Zhou Leizi's old face turned red, and he fiercely slapped himself.

Crack!

It was crisp and loud, swelling half his face.

Xu Yuan laughed heartily: "This is good. Just say the Patrol Inspector did it."

Zhou Leizi forced a sheepish laugh.

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Enough, go."

The two left the room, heads down, and quickly walked out of Xu Yuan's courtyard before straightening up and wiping away their sweat.

Di Youqi, furious, kicked Zhou Leizi hard again: "You damn thing almost killed me!"

Zhou Leizi didn't dodge and took the blow: "Heh, I knew I hadn't followed the wrong person. Brother Di, you are loyal!"

After the two left, Fu Jingyu walked in, his face grim: "The entire Zhan Cheng Office has such audacity!"

From Lin Zi down to Zhou Leizi, including Di Youqi in the middle, all were serious violations!

What Fu Jingyu could tolerate least was breaking the rules.

Xu Yuan waved to drop the matter and asked: "Has the report to the Commander been sent?"

"Just sent." The scribe was Fu Jingyu.

It wouldn't have been impossible for Xu Yuan to write it; Xu Yuan could read, but he could only write plain vernacular. He feared that after reading it, the old Lord Ma would reply and scold him to read more books, so Xu Yuan dumped this task on the Young Master Fu.

Yu Yunhang also entered from outside: "Zhu Sili has arrived. He didn't stay long at the office; he took the Rank Dan Xiu from the office to continue the aftermath at the Lord's Grave."

After a night, some unruly evil spirits might have bred in that mud river, so Zhu Sili must go to hold the position."

Xu Yuan nodded; the situation inside the Zhan Cheng Office was truly awkward. Zhu Sili, the highest-ranking official, considered himself a sinner and only wanted to stand his final watch.

If Xu Yuan gave orders... it would be unjustified and illegitimate.

They could only wait for the Commander's reply to see how to arrange things.

"So what shall we do today?" Yu Yunhang asked.

Fu Jingyu suggested: "Go search for Zhang Laoya again."

In fact, it was to investigate those four people impersonating the Purification Bureau.

Lang Xiao Ba stuck his head out the door: "My lord..."

The three looked at him together. Xu Yuan frowned and shouted: "Come in."

Lang Xiao Ba obediently entered and said: "Several people have arrived outside the door, claiming to be from the Ping Tian Society."

"Ping Tian Society?" Xu Yuan's heart skipped a beat: "What do they want?"

"They say... they are here to demand payment from Lord Lin for those four well-ladders."

The Ping Tian Society was indeed renowned for craftsmanship. For instance, they often bragged that the bronze cannons used by the Northern Capital Divine Machine Grand Camp when fighting the Snow Demon Ghosts were produced by them.

Lin Zi had urgently commissioned four foldable and concealable well-ladders from them.

This was true; several of Lin Zi's confidants had confirmed the matter.

The people from the Ping Tian Society came to collect the debt—the leader among them wore a red wood and brass tube around his neck.

As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, his voice was extremely loud.

People from the Shanhe Office were already peeking at the intersection, so the Captain at the office gate quickly led them inside to avoid the Shanhe Office laughing at them.

The craft object on his neck was specifically prepared by the Ping Tian Society for debt collection.

If they made a scene, your face would look bad, so they could usually get the money back smoothly.

Zhu Sili was not here; the highest official in the office now was Xu Yuan.

So this matter was reported to Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan had no choice but to come out with a stiff neck. The moment he saw the craft object on that neck, he felt it should be a set with his own earlobe.

"What do you mean?" That person, seeing Xu Yuan was only wearing the uniform of a Deputy Patrol Inspector, opened his throat again, his booming voice carrying far: "You only sent a Deputy Patrol Inspector to deal with us? Where is Lin Zi? Let him come out!

It was agreed back then: payment immediately upon the extermination of the evil spirits!

Can the Purification Bureau really default on its debts?"

Xu Yuan noticed the other person's gaze toward him was not abnormal, so he finally relaxed.

"How much is still owed?"

"Four well-ladders, one thousand taels each, totaling four thousand taels. Lord Lin hasn't paid a single coin!"

It wasn't considered expensive, after all, the requirements for this craft object were not actually high.

The craft cultivators of the Zhan Cheng Office could also make them, but they couldn't match the speed, so Lin Zi went to find the Ping Tian Society.

Xu Yuan pondered: "The office is truly inconvenient these days. Grant us a day or two of grace."

The man refused, shouting loudly: "Lord Lin! Lord Lin! Come out! You made a promise to our Ping Tian Society back then..."

His shouting grew louder and louder, gradually threatening to spread beyond the bounds of the Zhan Cheng Office.

Lang Xiao Ba, seeing this, got angry and grabbed him: "Shut up! We are the honorable Purification Bureau; could we really default on your mere four thousand taels?"

The man shook Lang Xiao Ba off: "Let Lin Zi come out! You can't make the decision; I have nothing to say to you!"

Lang Xiao Ba pointed at Xu Yuan: "Lord Lin is no longer in charge of the Zhan Cheng Office. The lord before your eyes can make the decision!"

"He is just a Deputy Patrol Inspector..."

Lang Xiao Ba cursed: "Dog eyes looking down on people!"

The man looked at Xu Yuan in confusion: "Can you really make the decision?"

Xu Yuan certainly didn't want to take this blame. Lang Xiao Ba, that fool, had unintentionally "sold" himself, but indeed, this person couldn't continue making a scene. Someone in the office had to step up and handle things.

"These two days, the office is dealing with the Lord's Grave matters. Come back in a day or two; the silver will not be short."

The man suddenly removed the artifact from his neck, bowed to Xu Yuan, and introduced himself: "I am Wu Jinghan, elder of the Pingtian Society's Zhan City branch. May I ask your lord's esteemed name?"

"Xu Yuan."

"Forgive me, Patrol Inspector Xu. Our society has long struggled to recover debts from the government offices, which is why we resorted to this measure."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Our Cleansing Office is different from other government offices."

Wu Jinghan said: "My lord, may we enter to discuss this?"

Xu Yuan raised his hand and gestured the man inside.

"Even if you granted us a few extra days, all we ask is for the Zhan City Office to approve one request—then we will forfeit these four thousand taels of silver."

"Oh?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. "What request?"

"We wish to establish a new shrine in Nancheng. We've already purchased the land. If your lord issues a single official decree approving this, we will donate these four thousand taels to you all for tea and music."

Xu Yuan glanced at Fu Jingyu—he truly did not know how the Cleansing Office normally handled such matters.

Fu Jingyu's face darkened; he rummaged in his robes and found only three thousand taels in silver notes. He turned to Song Lu: "Sister, lend me some."

Song Lu smiled faintly and handed him her purse outright: "Take it, Brother."

Fu Jingyu opened the purse, withdrew one thousand taels, and handed the full sum to Yu Yunhang: "You know what to do."

Yu Yunhang nodded, took the silver notes, stepped before Wu Jinghan, and suddenly grinned, revealing a row of stark white teeth.

He flung the notes into Wu Jinghan's face, then delivered a sharp slap—CRACK! —the blow loosened Wu Jinghan's teeth, filling his mouth with blood!

"Take your money and get out!"

"What the hell are you Pingtian Society? Do you dare negotiate terms with our Cleansing Office?"

Wu Jinghan clutched his face but dared not retaliate, whining: "Y-you—you hit me? The Pingtian Society supplies bronze artillery to the Beidu Divine Machinery Camp!"

Fu Jingyu said coldly: "Do you want us to investigate which officer or clerk in the Divine Machinery Camp took your silver and added your name to the roster?"

Wu Jinghan picked up the silver notes from the floor, stuffed them into his robes, and said not another word—he bowed his head and hurried away.

Xu Yuan's eyebrows rose several times—was the Cleansing Office this brutal?!

From dealing with the Fu Dong Tianwang's demonic influence to yesterday's tomb incident, the Cleansing Office seemed rather ineffective.

Xu Yuan's assessment of the Cleansing Office… was truly not high.

Yet now, the once-arrogant Pingtian Society, beaten and silent, dared not even breathe here!

Fu Jingyu said: "Next time, treat such secret societies like the Pingtian Society with no courtesy."

Xu Yuan frowned: "What's this roster in the Divine Machinery Camp?"

Fu Jingyu did not wish to speak of such sordid matters, so Song Lu smiled faintly and explained for her brother: "Five years ago, during a drill at the Beidu Divine Machinery Camp, one of their artisan-made cannons exploded."

Three men died on the spot.

Unluckily, the Son of Heaven was visiting for inspection at the time—his imperial rage ignited a major scandal.

The Divine Machinery Camp's weapons had always been supplied by the Ministry of Works' Artisan Workshops. But using this incident as leverage, the Camp demanded the right to procure arms independently.

But the Ministry of Works was no pushover; after repeated clashes, it was the Divine Machinery Camp's commander who first faced demotion for alarming the Son of Heaven.

Yet the Camp could not simply surrender. In the end, they created the 'Divine Machinery Camp External Procurement Roster.' According to the rules, the Camp could purchase from any name on the list—but the new commander was shrewd: he kept names on the roster but never actually bought from outside. All weapons remained from the Artisan Workshops."

Speaking of the Pingtian Society, Song Lu's tone turned dismissive: "So groups like the Pingtian Society paid off minor officials in the Divine Machinery Camp to secretly add their names to the roster."

Xu Yuan understood: "So when they sell their cannons, they boast: 'Our cannons are used by the Divine Machinery Camp.'"

Song Lu nodded.

Xu Yuan deduced further: "Then perhaps that explosion during the Son of Heaven's inspection wasn't due to faulty cannons?"

Regarding the Son of Heaven, Fu Jingyu remained silent.

Song Lu grinned: "Everyone suspects it, otherwise why was the commander dismissed? But no one dares say it out loud—heeheehee."

Xu Yuan shook his head and asked: "Why does the Pingtian Society suddenly want to build a shrine? Who do they worship? Their Pingtian Great Saint?"

Fu Jingyu snorted: "They have some hidden agenda!"

From when Xu Yuan was hunted by the Holy Lady in Ghost Wushan to now, when the Pingtian Society comes begging at his door, less than a month has passed.

Yet the balance of power between them has completely reversed.

Xu Yuan no longer gave the Pingtian Society much thought and turned to Lang Xiao Ba: "Tell us the full details of the case—someone is impersonating the Cleansing Office to steal."

He asked Lang Xiao Ba because he realized the man was a 'know-it-all' of the Zhan City Office—you couldn't ask him to analyze cases or track clues.

But he remembered every case, every anecdote, perfectly.

Last time, Lang Xiao Ba had only given a sketch; now he spoke fluently: the gang had committed five crimes, naming each victim, the time of each theft, and the victims' testimonies—all clear in his memory!

Fu Jingyu was surprised; Yu Yunhang stared in awe: "What cultivation method do you practice? How can you remember everything so precisely?"

Lang Xiao Ba glared at him, puffing out his chest: "I am a Wu Xiu!"

For some reason, Wu Xiu always carried a hint of pride.

"Wu Xiu?" Yu Yunhang looked at him—he saw no difference in size from an ordinary man.

Lang Xiao Ba shrugged: "I'm just a beginner—not even ranked yet."

"Pfft." Yu Yunhang sneered.

"I've always had a good memory. Once I see or hear something, I never forget it."

"You're in the wrong path—you should've joined the Wen Xiu."

Lang Xiao Ba said nothing.

Children from ordinary families had no choice.

Xu Yuan asked: "Any other clues in this case?"

Lang Xiao Ba seemed unconcerned: "These men won't escape. We were tied up by other cases and couldn't pursue them—but these petty thieves? We have our own ways to deal with them."

Xu Yuan grew interested: "What ways?"

"Find the descendants of San Huo Niangniang—they're the largest gang on Zhan City's streets…"

"Who are you looking for?" Xu Yuan thought he had misheard.

"The San Huo Laomu Hui—they call themselves that, but we just call them the San San Nianghui. We've had them secretly watch: those who steal jewels and goldware always need to fence them for silver; using this trail to crack cases, we catch them every time."

Xu Yuan rubbed his chin. Wang Shen only told me: never admit you know San Huo Niangniang out in the open.

This "San Huo Niangniang" was clearly Wang Shen.

Her iron chest full of sword pellets proved she had made many enemies in her day.

But you never told me you left behind a "San Huo Laomu Hui" like this!

"This… what exactly is the San San Nianghui?"

Lang Xiao Ba found it odd that Inspector Wang was so interested in a street gang, but he answered honestly: "The San San Nianghui is not old—it appeared about thirty years ago. Its founder was a Dan Xiu who called herself 'San Huo Niangniang.'"

But whether San Huo Niangniang ever truly existed is highly doubtful. All her deeds are concentrated in a span of three to five years, after which she vanished without a trace.

Many suspect she was a figure invented by the San San Nianghui itself.

Because the legends surrounding San Huo Niangniang are simply too implausible.

It is said she once challenged every well-known Dan Xiu in Southern Jiaozhi—and never lost a single duel.

And she was narrow-minded and volatile: whenever she won, she simply seized the opponent's sword pellets.

She also commissioned some craftsman to forge a special chest for her, naming it "Shi He."

The meaning: only sword pellets that could withstand ten rounds of her attacks were worthy of being stored inside this chest.

Sword pellets that failed to last ten rounds were dismissed as "useless trash" and destroyed.

San Huo Niangniang left behind a lineage within the sect. Unlike other Dan Xiu, this lineage cultivates three kinds of abdominal fire.

But this lineage seems flawed—the San San Nianghui has never produced a cultivator above the Sixth Stream.

Thus, the San San Nianghui has always remained a street-level organization, lacking prestige.

Yet their membership in Southern Jiaozhi is enormous, perhaps because their cultivation method is easy to enter, and the San San Nianghui accepts anyone regardless of background…"

Xu Yuan now understood why he could never admit knowing "San Huo Niangniang."

"Shi He"…

Wang Shen, you really know how to name things.

Do you make those you've defeated proud by thinking their sword pellets might one day be worthy of the "Shi He"?

"When I get back, I'll hide that chest well," Xu Yuan thought to himself.

Then he suddenly wondered: could this chest have been made for Wang Shen by my father?

Given San Huo Niangniang's reputation back then… she probably couldn't have found another craftsman.

Today's three chapters are combined into one.

Word count unchanged.

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(End of Chapter)