Chapter 166: Clean and Decisive (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Jia Yi was also assigned a private room.

That gust of cold wind slid past him with a whoosh, and as soon as it slipped through the door crack, Jia Yi was already prepared to strike.

At Di Youzhi's command, Jia Yi pinched one nostril shut and sprayed the other directly at the crack.

Three thin wisp of black qi flew out from his nostril and entered the crack.

Upon landing, they spun and transformed into three Yin Soldiers.

Two Yin Soldiers held shields and black tridents, while the third held a set of shackles.

The two Yin Soldiers pushed the old ghost back with their shields, and the old ghost, unable to resist, fell to the ground.

The two soldiers stepped forward, clamped the old ghost between their shields on both sides, pinned him so he could not move, then thrust their tridents out from under the shields, locking the old ghost tightly in place.

The third Yin Soldier smashed the heavy shackles down onto the old ghost.

Crack!

The old ghost was completely shackled.

Jia Yi stroked his chin: "That was a bit overly cautious; one Yin Soldier would have been enough to deal with him."

In the other two private rooms, a Rank Dan Xiu was in charge of each.

As for those old ghosts at the Eight Immortals table, they were handled by pairs of Captains, each employing their own methods.

Some possessed abilities that countered Yin Spirits, so their strikes were clean and decisive.

Others could not counter them, so they had to maneuver through several rounds of combat, but the final outcome did not change.

From the moment Di Youzhi shouted "Attack" to the capture of the last old ghost, it took only... half a ke.

Huang Chengwei was the first to see the "Ghost Lord" who had been burned by Di Youzhi into a wisp of blue smoke.

That one was the so-called "Great Ghost Lord," the leader of all the Ghost Lords.

To put it bluntly, he was drowned by a single spit.

The existence that had previously displayed various "supernatural powers" in the village temple, inspiring boundless awe in the villagers, turned out to be so utterly helpless before the Purification Bureau...

As one "Ghost Lord" after another was either killed or captured, Huang Chengwei gradually grew numb.

His understanding was completely overturned.

Thus, he sat there dazed and stunned, his earlier arrogance gone.

Xu Yuan, who felt extremely uncomfortable sitting on that bench, jumped down and said: "Di Youzhi, Jia Yi, you two are in charge; interrogate these ghostly creatures thoroughly. This Patrol Inspector is going to rest."

"Rest assured, my lord, we will handle it."

Jia Yi perked up; his performance had not been in vain, as Patrol Inspector Xu had finally mentioned his name again!

Regarding this "great battle," Xu Yuan did not feel there would be any surprises.

Over the past two hundred years, the Purification Bureau had accumulated experience, and its methods for dealing with ghostly creatures were the most complete and perfect.

Moreover, he himself was stationed there.

Xu Yuan entered the room that Di Youzhi had just burned with abdominal fire, preparing to lie on the bed and sleep for a while.

However, after entering for only a short while, he kicked the door open and came out, cursing: "Di Youzhi, you dog, why does your mouth smell so bad?"

The Captains burst into laughter. Di Youzhi's old face turned red; he felt somewhat embarrassed, yet a smile spread across his face: "This subordinate will go to Huicheng immediately to buy ten jin of green salt and rinse my mouth three times every day from now on, hehe."

The Patrol Inspector's harsh scolding of him was actually telling everyone that he had a close relationship with him!

Xu Yuan chose another room, burned it thoroughly with his abdominal fire to clean it, and only then lay down.

However, Shi Bading squeezed in, rubbing his hands and smiling: "Brother Xu, hehe, I am an expert at interrogations..."

He had come to Huangya Village just to mooch off the merit.

But Xu Yuan had organized and coordinated everything from start to finish with perfect order.

Shi Bading had done nothing but glare and scold, contributing not the slightest bit; this simply would not do.

Xu Yuan understood Shi Bading's intentions and never hesitated to grant favors in the flow of events.

That was why he had allowed Shi Bading to accompany him to Huangya Village during the day.

But since Shi Bading had failed to mooch any merit, he was now shamelessly approaching Xu Yuan to negotiate splitting the merit with him.

Shi Bading was truly at his wit's end...

Xu Yuan thought for a few moments and quickly made a decision.

The merit from Huangya Village could indeed be given away.

It was merely the extermination of a group of ghostly creatures; compared to Xu Yuan's previous great achievements, it was truly nothing.

But it could not be given away for nothing.

If Shi Bading wanted it, he would have to exchange it for other benefits.

Xu Yuan smiled: "Jia Yi and Mao Dabin both wish to follow me, your humble younger brother."

Shi Bading waved his hand: "After we return, they will be subordinates of Lord Xu!"

Xu Yuan nodded; relying solely on this would certainly not be enough to exchange for the merit of Huangya Village.

This was a test; only if Shi Bading agreed readily could Xu Yuan discuss the subsequent matters with him.

"Brother Shi ultimately suffered a defeat at Shuangjiang Pass; even with the merit from Huangya Village, I fear Master Xie will not agree to offset the fault with the merit."

Shi Bading turned back, closed the door, and with only the two of them left in the room, he sighed and sat down: "I, old Shi, am a Wu Xiu; Patrol Inspector Xu, please speak plainly."

Xu Yuan did not believe this.

You are in your thirties, while I am not yet twenty; how could you not understand what I mean?

Xu Yuan fell silent and simply looked at Shi Bading.

After the two stared at each other for a moment, Shi Bading averted his gaze and helplessly said: "Master Xie has connections above him, so it is difficult to push him out."

Xu Yuan thought for a moment; as for who Master Xie's backer was, he would simply ask Elder Qu upon his return.

So he said something else: "Lord He has four Patrol Inspectors under him; is he intending to permanently assign these four to each manage one patrol station?"

Since He Youxing's arrival added two patrol inspectors, Xu Yuan had formed this guess.

"That is not the case," Shi Bading replied. "Zhan Cheng originally had only two patrol inspectors. Before Lord He arrived, he reviewed some case files from Zhan Cheng and felt the staff was too thin, so he added two more patrol inspectors."

Xu Yuan nodded; then his guess was wrong.

But it did not matter.

Xu Yuan: "I want the Nancheng patrol station."

Lord He had not originally had this idea... but this idea could exist.

Shi Bading opened his mouth: "This..."

His first reaction was that Xu Yuan was asking for far too much, and moreover, this matter was not one he could decide on his own.

Even if I agreed, without persuading Lord He, it would be meaningless.

But immediately after, Shi Bading suddenly felt: this was a brilliant idea!

Shuangjiang Pass was a failure for himself.

And just as Xu Yuan had just said, even if he managed to take the merit for Huangya Village, when he got to Xie Qingman, he feared he would not even pass the argument of "merits and faults canceling each other out."

Lord He's expected "big hit" had already gone silent.

Having lost the initiative, it was now Xie Qingman's turn to make a move.

If Wan Yun successfully completed his first mission, the situation would undoubtedly be unfavorable for Lord He's side.

But if... the system of "four patrol inspectors each managing one patrol station" were truly established as a rule, Lord He's side would unquestionably occupy two patrol stations.

This would be half of Zhan Cheng's territory.

No matter how the situation developed in the future, Lord He's side would already stand in an invincible position.

As for whether this matter could be settled...

With one Law Master and three patrol inspectors supporting it, could Xie Qingman and Wan Yun oppose it?!

The more Shi Bading thought, the brighter his eyes became!

After the failure at Shuangjiang Pass, Shi Bading knew that upon returning, he would certainly be scolded by Lord He.

But if he presented this strategy, he would instead be highly valued in Lord He's eyes!

(End of this chapter)