Chapter 235: 228 Parting Ways

"So, you intend to use both methods, using whichever one works better?" Back at their lodging, Tang Zhao told Jiang Shenyi about his experience, and Jiang Shenyi asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, after all, it concerns the lives of the common people; one must try as much as possible."

"That's true. But is there enough time? Isn't it very urgent?"

"It should be enough, right? It's just one technique; three days should be enough."

Jiang Shenyi's mouth twitched as he heard this: "... Consider it my mistake for asking. You just said you were discouraged by Zhang Xiansheng, so how come you don't practice 'do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself' at all? Never mind you, if you say it works, then it works. I know what you mean; you just focus on learning, and leave the outside matters to me."

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I am naturally at ease leaving things to you, Senior Brother. I will leave you everything that needs to be used or prepared, and if you lack anything, just come to me. Actually, there isn't much to do; just keep in touch with Mai Jie, listen to her arrangements, and handle some of the hands-on tasks. If she is short of people there, we should help her more. Also, keep in touch with Zhang Xiansheng; for the sake of avoiding suspicion, Mai Jie probably cannot go there often."

Jiang Shenyi, who was the most competitive, said, "Fine, leave it all to me. Don't worry too much, just focus on your work with peace of mind. I will prepare whatever I need myself. You use your brain, I use my hands; this is the best way!"

Having handed over the matters of contacting the Land Inspection Division and Zhang Rong to Jiang Shenyi, Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and set his mind to learning the Moving Demon Cave Technique.

He was not just learning new knowledge, but also integrating this set of methods with his own planned ones to form a more stable and powerful means, ensuring as much as possible that the relocation of the Demon Cave would succeed in one go.

This was a very arduous task. Firstly, because Zhang Rong was not a professional, the knowledge he relayed became increasingly obscure and difficult to understand; just understanding and learning it would take some time, though with the help of the Glasses, this time would not be too long.

Furthermore, comparing and grafting the two methods together was another effort, and in the end, time would certainly have to be set aside for testing and verification; all in all, three days was actually not enough.

Therefore, he had to spend some of his family fortune.

For example, several layers of good fortune needed to be continuously applied, hoping to improve his intuition and avoid detours.

There were also the Glasses, providing annotations at any time to resolve doubts.

And there was... Canning Time.

Hiss...

Although it was worth it, it pained his heart.

Having held the Sumeru Sword, he could use the Can Cang Sword Technique multiple times, but only after trying it himself did he realize that canning had a limit.

Canning could not create something out of nothing; it required a balance of storage and withdrawal. Especially with something as ethereal as time, one could only rob Peter to pay Paul, using only the time he had previously possessed.

The reason Ping Jiangqiu could open jars recklessly back then was because he had been so bored in the jar that he would often can time to skip ahead, so he wouldn't be left with nothing to do. By the time Tang Zhao entered, he had already saved up many years. Tang Zhao's practice used the accumulation of his previous decades.

Tang Zhao did not have that much free time; he felt he didn't have enough time for learning every day, so how could he have any extra? But he had also consciously saved some for emergencies, so he would steal an hour or two from himself every night; these years, bit by bit, added up to half a month.

Three days is not enough, but what about half a month?

As the saying goes, "Raise an army for a thousand days to use it for a single moment"; using it now was putting good steel on the blade. Therefore, Tang Zhao's budget was all his family fortune, with half a month as the limit—the faster, the better.

Only by superimposing all this did Tang Zhao have the qualifications to speak of certainty.

However, before that, he first put on the Glasses, took out the Lotus Pond, and brought out the Moving Demon Cave Technique he had already copied.

Since he had to learn, he naturally had to learn the higher version.

Sister Xian, are you satisfied with the Lotus Pond I specifically begged the Sword Saint for on your behalf? If you are happy, would you like to show it?

Glasses, upgrade me!

Early the next morning, Mai Shiyu returned to the government office in a much better mood, not even dropping her expression when she saw the two unwelcome guests in the seats.

"Why have the two Doctors come so early today?" Mai Shiyu offered a greeting with rare politeness. "Could it be that you have calculated the time and location of the Demon Cave?"

The two Doctors from Qingtian Temple sat there without returning the greeting, their faces as dark as water. In the past, whenever Mai Shiyu mentioned the location of the Demon Cave, they would be somewhat guilty, but today they acted as if they had obtained a huge handle, full of righteous indignation.

The Town Guardian sat at the head of the table, rubbing his forehead, his old face full of helplessness as he said, "Deputy Envoy, the two Doctors have come to hold us accountable today."

Before Mai Shiyu could ask for details, the older Doctor Li stood up with a thud and shouted, "The Land Inspection Division has done a fine job! You have operated in Xun City for so many years, yet you actually allowed a major criminal to sleep soundly right under your nose without doing anything. This is clearly dereliction of duty!"

Mai Shiyu's expression changed drastically, thinking: Do they know about Zhang Xiansheng calculating the Demon Cave? How did they know? Who leaked the news?

The Town Guardian sighed immediately after, "This is indeed a case of 'darkness under the lamp.' The Land Inspection Division treats Xun City as the headquarters for the commandery; who knew the Demon Cult was so cunning that they would also set up a branch in a nearby village..."

Mai Shiyu murmured, "Demon Cult?"

The younger Doctor Wang said, "What else could it be but the Demon Cult? Good heavens, we went out to handle official business, scouting for the location of the Demon Cave, and ended up running straight into the demons of the Demon Cult plotting in secret. The Demon Cult almost discovered our identities; if we hadn't been witty enough to escape and intercept a passing carriage to run back, we might have met with some misfortune. If something happened to the promising Doctors of Qingtian Temple here, could you bear the responsibility?"

Mai Shiyu felt relieved; it was just the Demon Cult. She had thought it was the Heaven Derivation Art. She said casually, "It seems the two of you are blessed by heaven; you are completely unharmed."

Doctor Wang said, "What use is our being blessed by heaven? The National Fortune of the Great Jin is what matters. The Demon Cult has already invaded the area around the commandery city. And you say Yunzhou has good public order? It seems the Gaoyuan Marquis is nothing more than..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he saw Mai Shiyu and the Town Guardian staring at him simultaneously, and even Doctor Li, who was older than him, coughed repeatedly.

Doctor Wang also realized what he was doing, stopped his words, and said directly, "I have brought the intelligence; why don't you hurry up and exterminate the Demon Cult?"

Mai Shiyu said, "Now? Leave the city? There are less than three days left for the Demon Cave..."

Doctor Li said, "There are still about four or five days left."

Mai Shiyu paused for a moment; she certainly couldn't say that their calculations were inaccurate and that there were only three days left, so she just said, "Four days is not generous either..."

Doctor Li said, "Which is more important, the Demon Cave or the Demon Cult?"

Mai Shiyu said, "What do you think? Our Land Inspection Division was established to deal with the Demon Cave; the Demon Cult, by rights, is not even under our jurisdiction."

Doctor Li said, "What a joke! The Demon Cave is but a minor skin disease, while the Demon Cult is a great harm that has penetrated deep into the heart and vitals! How many people die in one Demon Cave incident? How many people does the Demon Cult kill?"

Mai Shiyu was furious. The Town Guardian rubbed his forehead and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Both are important, both are important. The Demon Cave is a demon, and the Demon Cult is also a demon; you can't write two 'demon' characters with one stroke anyway. How about this: we split into two groups. One side will deal with the Demon Cult, and the other will deal with the Demon Cave. Deputy Envoy Mai..."

Mai Shiyu said, "I will stay behind to deal with the Demon Cave."

Doctor Wang sneered, "Truly a woman who has a home but no country."

Mai Shiyu glared at him and suddenly sneered, "Has your temple never taught you not to offend a Sword Guest? Sword Guests are all rude ruffians who might do anything in a fit of rage!"

Doctor Wang shouted, "Ah? Are you threatening me? You all heard it, the people from the Land Inspection Division are threatening Qingtian Temple!"

The Town Guardian continued to rub his forehead until his scalp was almost bald, and said, "I'll go, I'll go, is that alright? Officials, please be at ease. Today I will take the main force of the Land Inspection Division to the countryside to exterminate the Demon Cult. The remaining people will be under the command of Deputy Envoy Mai to handle the Demon Cave matter beautifully. As for the two Doctors, why not go with me?"

Mai Shiyu's mind raced, wondering whether she should keep the two Doctors behind as planned? If they went outside the city, it would be a logical development...

At this moment, Doctor Wang said, "What? Since when does Qingtian Temple go to the front line to kill the enemy? There are so many Demon Cult members; what if..."

Doctor Li glared at him, blaming him for backing down, and said, "We two have important matters to attend to; we must calculate the specific location of the Demon Cave in the city and cannot go with the Town Guardian."

The Town Guardian nodded repeatedly and said, "Understood, understood."

The two Doctors left with their heads held high, leaving only the Envoy and Deputy Envoy of the Land Inspection Division.

The Town Guardian held his head and said, "Deputy Envoy, I am going out this time; I don't know if I can finish in two or three days. The Demon Cave depends entirely on you."

Mai Shiyu cupped her hands and said, "The Town Guardian's trip is also for the sake of the Demon Cave. The people of the Demon Cult are most skilled at destruction and are in cahoots with the Heavenly Demons; how could they not interfere with the Demon Cave? You stamping them out while they are still just sparks, to save them from becoming a great disaster, is also the right thing to do."

The Town Guardian nodded and said, "I hope so. I hope this Demon Cave ends peacefully; I am a man nearing retirement, and this may be the last Demon Cave I handle, so I must not let it ruin my lifelong reputation. Deputy Envoy, you will be left in the city alone, so you must know your limits..."

Mai Shiyu said, "I know, I will certainly do what I promised you before. The Land Inspection Division will only mobilize after the Demon Cave descends. We will never leave any handle for those two... nor will we make things difficult for the Lord Marquis."

Although that was said, the difficulty of Mai Shiyu's actions would certainly be different without the Town Guardian pressing down from above; this was also her first time taking charge alone, facing an entire Demon Cave, and she could not help but feel a little excited.

The Town Guardian stopped talking about this topic and said, "Go choose your people in a moment, and keep your capable subordinates behind."

Mai Shiyu agreed, then suddenly said, "Town Guardian, do not disclose your destination in advance when you set out."

The Town Guardian let out an "Hm?", and Mai Shiyu said, "It is not that I doubt my own brothers. This Demon Sect is too close, and having gone undetected for so many years, only to be stumbled upon by outsiders, who is to say there isn't someone local shielding them? You must be careful."

The Town Guardian smiled and said, "Well said, the Deputy Envoy is truly meticulous."

Mai Shiyu felt a bit embarrassed; the Town Guardian, who had guarded Xun City for many years, how could he not know the principles she herself understood? She thought that wiping out the Demon Sect would be easy, as the Demon Sect forces in Yunzhou were only a few small kittens after all; once the Land Inspection Division arrived, how could there be any room for resistance? She just needed to do her own job well.

Everything, proceed according to plan.