Chapter 68: Another First-Class Merit, Promoted Directly to the Huadong General Bureau

Tu Jie's efficiency was still very high.

In less than half an hour, all the remaining members of the Li, Zhao, and Lei families in the city had been rounded up, not one missing, and sent outside the city, along with a large amount of resources.

When handing over the Space Ring, his heart was aching faintly.

Yue Beishan confirmed the quantity was sufficient and nodded, then glanced at the several hundred remaining members of the three families and looked toward Jiang Qin.

"You are now the Town Guardian Special Envoy of Hanyue City. These people will be dealt with by you."

Jiang Qin didn't hesitate, casually waving his hand as several hundred slashes burst forth.

Heads rolled to the ground, each pair of eyes filled with unwillingness and fear.

Of course, he didn't kill them all—he kept the three key figures alive.

Li Ruyue looked at the dead, unclosed eyes of her clansmen at her feet, so frightened her body trembled, her voice shaking as she spoke: "J-Jiang Special Envoy, I was only following the orders of the clan elders. I don't want to shirk responsibility, but… could you give me a chance to atone for my crimes?"

"I have the intelligence you want to know, such as where those children were sent from."

A look of disdain curled at the corner of Jiang Qin's mouth. With a casual wave, three streams of Divine Image Power shot out, crippling the meridians of the three and reducing them to ordinary people.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not killing you now because I don't want you to die so easily."

"As for the intelligence you're talking about, I'm not the least bit interested. What you've done has already been exposed—it'll only take a little time to investigate it all out. Did you really think the Investigators of the Zhenling Bureau were all just freeloaders waiting to die?"

……

When Jiang Qin returned to Hanyue City, cleanup work was still underway outside the city walls.

Su Lingwei and Chen Xiaohu sat on the city wall, seemingly chatting about something. Seeing Jiang Qin return, they hurriedly stood up.

Jiang Qin tossed the three Li Ruyue captives over.

"Get a cart frame and have someone push them around the city for a couple of good rounds. Don't let anyone kill them, or it'd be far too easy on them."

"Got it!"

Chen Xiaohu nodded and grinned.

Torturing people—he was actually quite good at that.

It happened that the citizens in the city were on edge because of the Fierce Beast siege, so now giving them a way to release their emotions would let them feel a bit better.

In less than ten minutes, the three began their parade of punishment through the city.

The citizens hurled every kind of filthy abuse, and rotten vegetables, foul fruits, and stinky eggs were tossed unceremoniously, all aimed at their faces.

Once they had been the lofty heads of the three major groups.

Now they had fallen so low that even stray dogs on the roadside could take a bite at them.

The most regretful was Lei Hu—power and status not enjoyed for even two days, the seat not even warmed yet, and now everything was over. If he'd known this, why would he have seized power in the first place? Dying sooner and being reincarnated would have been much better.

Afterwards, naturally, came a thorough investigation of everyone connected to the three major families.

The Investigators were swamped beyond belief, having to squeeze in even time to eat every day. No choice—who could blame them when the entire upper echelon of the Public Security Bureau had been wiped out?

Once the matter was settled, it was time to reward the meritorious.

The next day, the underground hall of the Hanyue Town Spirit Bureau.

All Investigators and peripheral personnel assembled, standing in neat formation, gazing adoringly at the figure on the stage.

That was the Bureau Chief of the Huadong General Bureau.

And now he was personally coming to reward them!

Yue Beishan stood on the stage, first giving collective praise to all the Investigators, and every reward they deserved would not be shortchanged.

"…In addition, Hanyue Town Spirit Bureau Chief Cao Hai, Investigator Su Lingwei, and Chen Xiaohu performed outstanding meritorious service in this battle. Each is awarded a Second-Class Merit Medal. I hope you continue your efforts!"

The three went up on stage to receive their medals, expressions of joy on their faces.

But everyone knew this was still just the small part—the main character of this reward ceremony had yet to appear.

Everyone knew how dangerous this Fierce Beast siege had been, and that it contained a massive conspiracy. If not for the Special Envoy, Hanyue City would likely never have held out until reinforcements arrived, and would have ultimately become the sacrificial pawn in someone's scheme.

At this point, Yue Beishan suddenly changed the subject.

"Where there is reward, there is also punishment. Next, I will solemnly issue a warning to Hanyue Town Spirit Bureau Town Guardian Special Envoy Jiang Qin!"

"Not reporting before acting is one thing, going to an enemy country on your own is another, and you nearly destroyed Bajier City causing diplomatic disputes between two nations. A major demerit! Additionally, during your tenure guarding Hanyue City, you are fined to hand-copy a copy of the Zhenling Bureau's rules and regulations every day, to be inspected by me personally."

Everyone listened dumbfounded, wondering if their ears had malfunctioned.

What do you mean, going to an enemy country on your own and nearly destroying one of their cities?

Was their Special Envoy really that bold?!

And for doing something like this, he was only punished by hand-copying the rules—this was blatant favoritism, all bark and no bite.

Jiang Qin, standing at the front of the formation, rubbed his nose.

Hand-copying? Not in this lifetime.

And what followed was just as everyone expected—after the punishment came the reward for Jiang Qin.

"Town Guardian Special Envoy Jiang Qin arrived in Hanyue City less than a month ago and already cracked a major case, eliminating parasites for the nation and recovering losses. He even braved danger to rush into an enemy country to eradicate the criminals. I hope everyone can have this kind of resolve, but don't imitate him—act rationally."

"Therefore, headquarters has decided to award Jiang Qin one First-Class Merit Medal, and exceptionally promote him into the Huadong Zhenling General Bureau."

The crowd erupted. This reward was not much in material terms, but it was immensely important to internal personnel.

According to regulations, even graduates of Zhenling Academy start at local Zhenling Bureaus, then provincial Zhenling Bureaus, and only then the General Bureau.

This was equivalent to someone being promoted directly from a municipal government to a department directly under the central government.

Although the position was still that of an office clerk, the power it represented was vastly different.

Previously, Jiang Qin had to call Cao Hai "Bureau Chief Cao," but from now on he only needed to call him "Little Cao."

At the back of the formation, Su Lingwei's expression was a bit unnatural.

Seeing this, Lin Lao thought she was feeling anxious, and comforted her with a smile:

"Don't be so impatient. That kid is a freak—you can't compare him to normal people. Being able to chase after his shadow is already impressive enough."

"It's not that."

Su Lingwei shook her head and said in a sulky tone, "I'm thinking, if I'd known you and Grandpa were coming so fast, I would have gone along with you at the time. If I'd gotten myself a little injured, maybe this second-class merit could have been upgraded to a first-class merit."

Lin Lao: "..."

With the conferring of merits concluded, it was time to part ways.

An hour later, outside the Hanyue Town Spirit Bureau.

Yue Beishan looked at Jiang Qin and said, "With your current strength, keeping you cooped up in this little Hanyue City is a bit of a waste of talent. And now that the festering sore of Hanyue City has been removed, when do you plan to go to the East China Headquarters to report for duty?"

"Director Yue, I plan to stay another two months, and leave once Hanyue City is back on the right track."

"Very well, then we'll do as you say."

Yue Beishan did not press the issue.

Moreover, Jiang Qin's cultivation had advanced far too quickly, which was not necessarily a good thing. He needed to calm his mind and properly temper his disposition.

Take this time, for instance, when he nearly blasted Bajier City into ruins.

Far too reckless in his actions!