Chapter 107: Stepping Up to the Platform

Pei Chuyun did not know why she had not launched a sneak attack when the battle had been most entangled just now.

Perhaps it was because she sensed Lu Xingzhou already suspected her and must have been prepared, so it was not a good opportunity for a sneak attack; or perhaps it was because she also found the Infant Ghost disgusting and felt she should not cause trouble for Lu Xingzhou at such a time.

But she was very clear that Lu Xingzhou would have a second battle immediately.

Lu Xingzhou would not wait until Huo Lu officially became the Prefectural Assistant before making his move.

Although Huo Lu had already become the Prefectural Assistant after accepting the appointment, he had not officially taken office, so the public did not know; even if the case were exposed, he could claim ignorance, and as long as he dragged in the Prefect to mediate, there would be plenty of room for maneuver. Therefore, if one wanted to move against him, it could only be done now; if one waited until after he officially took office, it would truly be difficult to act.

And for this battle against Huo Lu, the Prefect would not intervene; the only ones Lu Xingzhou could use were A'nuo and Jing Ge, perhaps adding the black-clothed man who had previously gone to the inn to find him.

Huo Lu also had a third-grade Guardian beside him; the power balance would not tilt greatly, and it would still be a relatively entangled battle, with opportunities for sneak attacks.

"You know I am..." Pei Chuyun murmured to herself, "but I truly cannot figure out what other means you could have against me and the Evil Infant. One last try; if it still fails, I, Pei Chuyun, will avoid you for the rest of my life."

In any case, the teleportation treasure's cooldown had finished; if something went wrong, she could still flee. Pei Chuyun, clutching her last shred of confidence, flew back.

She now barely understood whether it was the obsession of revenge or simply wanting to see what other moves Lu Xingzhou could make...

Bringing the Prefect Meng Guan into the Infant Ghost battle truly left Pei Chuyun stunned. While the vast majority who knew of this case still classified Meng Guan as a suspect colluding with demonic cultivators, Lu Xingzhou had already attempted cooperation; Pei Chuyun had not even dared to think along those lines, and likely Jing Ge, Huo Lu, and others were currently as if falling into a dream.

Meeting such an opponent right out of the gate... having been defeated by him several times was truly no injustice.

The Hall of Yama losing such a strategist... would the Yama Lord really be willing to part with him? Pei Chuyun felt she truly wanted him.

Over there, Meng Guan and Jing Ge could not believe Lu Xingzhou's bare words that "someone is coordinating support and will arrive in time"; both wanted to give chase.

If such a beastly thing escaped, Dream Return City would truly know no peace forever.

Lu Xingzhou sat back in his wheelchair and said leisurely, "Earlier I said that following me would allow us to root out the demonic cultivators; Brother Jing probably did not quite believe it. How is it now?"

Jing Ge coughed dryly, "I believe it."

Although he still did not understand how the Infant Ghost had inexplicably come out to kill you on its own, the matter had truly happened, so he had to admit defeat.

Lu Xingzhou smiled, "Then I will say now: if Brother Jing fulfills his promise and helps me deal with Huo Lu, you will see the Infant Ghost again. Do you believe me, Brother Jing?"

Jing Ge simply did not know what expression he should wear; after a long moment, he said, "Since Brother Lu says so, then I will believe it."

Lu Xingzhou turned to Meng Guan, "Prefect my lord, how about a deal?"

Meng Guan looked at him with some gravity, "What does Mr. Lu wish to say?"

"I wish to kill Huo Lu, and Prefect my lord also hopes to use my hand to remove Huo Lu..."

Meng Guan immediately said, "This matter, this official cannot intervene. If Mr. fails to remove Huo Lu, then he fails; it is not this official who sent Mr. to do it."

Lu Xingzhou waved his hand, "Prefect my lord misunderstands... What I mean is, I am not certain what commotion will arise when dealing with Huo Lu, or whether it will be seen by others. If such a situation truly occurs, I hope Prefect my lord will help cover it up; at the very least, remove the heavy charge of murdering an imperial court official. I, Lu, do not wish to be a wanted criminal, nor do I wish to implicate the Heavenly Sword Sect. This small matter, given that our goals are the same, should not be difficult for you to lend a hand, my lord?"

Seeing Meng Guan hesitate slightly, Lu Xingzhou added, "Of course, I will also create some spectacle to make it easier for Prefect my lord to speak. At the very minimum, if Huo Lu cries for help, Prefect my lord should try to delay things a bit."

Meng Guan sighed slightly, "Agreed. Even for the merit of Mr. rooting out the Infant Ghost, this official should appropriately provide some assistance."

The so-called delay was something Meng Guan would do even if Lu Xingzhou did not ask...

Lu Xingzhou smiled, "If we truly bring up this merit, I would actually like to ask Prefect my lord for one more small favor."

"Please speak."

"I know Prefect my lord himself does not wish to pursue Brother Jing... plus Brother Jing has made great contributions here; could his wanted status be revoked?"

Jing Ge was stunned for a moment.

This fellow was asking for a favor, and it was actually for himself?

Meng Guan sighed, "Official matters are not calculated this way... unless Your Majesty grants a special pardon, otherwise this official cannot do it."

Jing Ge shook his head, "It does not matter."

Meng Guan looked at him, "We have worked together for many years; I truly do not wish for you to fall into ruin. How about hiding your name and coming to work for my Prefectural Office in the future?"

Jing Ge laughed heartily, "I said before that joining the Demon Suppression Bureau was for seeking justice, not for a bowl of rice. This incident has reminded me that justice does not necessarily have to be confined by status... once this matter is settled, I will travel the world on my own to practice my justice. What is ruin? There is no need to add that extra pair of chopsticks to Prefect Meng's household."

Having said that, he turned to Lu Xingzhou, "Brother Lu, shall we go find Huo Lu now?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled, "Yes."

"Let's go."

A'nuo pushed Lu Xingzhou away at a sprint, Jing Ge followed behind with long strides carrying his long sword on his back, and Meng Guan watched the backs of the three, sighing softly.

Huo Lu felt that Lu Xingzhou, being located in a demonic cultivator's den, was surely doomed to die.

To create a posture of being unrelated to himself, Huo Lu made a huge spectacle bidding for the courtesan at the Yi Hong Lou, the price soaring to a thousand taels of gold, his extravagance stunning the people of Dream Return City.

Huo Lu was very satisfied with this effect; he believed that tomorrow his gesture would be widely broadcast, and whether Lu Xingzhou was dead or missing, he could clear his name.

Over there, the Prefect's guard team stormed Hongfa Temple; here, the courtesan auction had also settled.

In truth, Huo Lu was not particularly interested in women. In his youth, he had been lustful, but as he grew older, he naturally knew that secretly contending for the family estate was the most important thing now, so he had reined in his desires considerably, being much more sensible than Huo Yu.

Anyway, since he had bid, he could not waste it; Huo Lu, holding the courtesan, was leisurely about to enter the room when a guard ran over quickly, saying urgently, "Young Master, something has happened at Hongfa Temple! The Prefect led a crowd to storm Hongfa Temple, excavating a large number of infant skeletons; Abbot Yuanhui's identity has been exposed!"

Huo Lu was horrified, his third leg going soft, "What is going on? How did the Prefect know? Where is that bastard?"

"Unknown. Now the army has sealed off Hongfa Temple and is arresting the demonic monk; no one knows the details inside. We only know that ghostly wailing and fierce shrieking filled the sky above, and demonic qi surged to the heavens; Hongfa Temple's background can no longer be concealed."

"Go." Huo Lu pushed the courtesan away, "Let's go see. I am the Prefectural Assistant after all; I have the qualification."

The group rushed out of the brothel and headed straight for Hongfa Temple.

It was already late at night; even in a bustling city, the roads were almost empty, cold and desolate.

Footsteps echoed in the darkness; it was the chill of spring, and under the cold, silent moonlight, an unexplained air of grimness appeared.

At the end of the dark alley, Lu Xingzhou sat there quietly, silently watching Huo Lu's group approach. Beside him, a young boy stood still; what looked like a quite loving scene in the daytime appeared even more eerie in this night.

Huo Lu's heart skipped a beat; he stopped abruptly and said coldly, "You are still alive..."

In the darkness, Lu Xingzhou's expression could not be seen; only his chilling voice could be heard, very different from his usual demeanor, "None of you are dead, so how could I bear to die first?"

Huo Lu took a deep breath, "What do you want to do? Assassinate me in the street?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled, but his voice held no amusement, "Doing it in the street is indeed not very proper, but I can't help myself... Actually, I originally had two much simpler plans that I discarded on my own... Does Fourth Brother want to hear them?"

This statement was tantamount to openly declaring, "I am going to kill you," and the old man beside Huo Lu stepped forward.

Huo Lu waved his hand to stop him: "Listen to what he has to say."

Lu Xingzhou said indifferently, "Originally, I knew quite a few assassins; this old geezer beside you truly cannot protect you... but I feel that having an assassin suddenly take your life would be too painless for Fourth Brother, too cheap for Fourth Brother."

Huo Lu sneered: "What about the second plan?"

"In the Battle at Hongfa Temple, I tried to lure Fourth Brother here, then, just like with Huo Yu, fabricated a story that he died at the hands of a martial artist, leaving me with few lingering troubles..." Lu Xingzhou sighed: "But then I thought again and felt uncomfortable. Why should the posthumous reputations of you few pieces of trash each sound better than the last? So I abandoned that plan, preferring to block someone in the street, creating endless future troubles. Fourth Brother, tell me, am I not treating you better than I treated Huo Yu?"

"If you put it that way, your elder brother has treated you quite well too; killing a younger brother in the street is not a good reputation either, but your elder brother will bear that burden this time." Huo Lu finally stopped obsessing over the issue of the bad reputation for fratricide, waved his hand, and said: "Uncle Lin, kill him."

The old man, Uncle Lin, flashed a sword light and flew to stab Lu Xingzhou.

A blade light suddenly appeared in the sky, slashing down in anger.

With a loud "Clang," Jing Ge and Uncle Lin both staggered, evenly matched in power.

The clash of blades between two third grade Wu Xiu created a shockwave that burst the windows around the street and alleys; countless people woke from their sleep and quietly hid inside their houses to watch.

"Isn't this the wanted man, Commander Jing?" Huo Lu said coldly: "Indeed, a shameless thing, even mixing with wanted criminals."

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly, paying no mind to it.

The eyes of the crowd are sharp; in the hearts of the onlookers, would they really regard Jing Ge as a wanted criminal?

On the contrary, Huo Lu, standing opposite Jing Ge at this moment, is the very thing in people's eyes that was like the former Prefect.

Last time, fabricating a title of heroic resistance against demons and monsters for Huo Yu; doing such a thing once was already disgusting. That time was to clean up the mess for Shen Tang and Sheng Yuanyao, not wanting to drag them into the Huo family's grievances, so it was done helplessly.

And this time, the task is to trample the Huo family's reputation into the mud.

At the same time, it will be Lu Xingzhou's first battle moving from a behind-the-scenes planner to the forefront.

Except for those Wu Xiu who have no scruples, normal cultivators of the third grade or above who start a conflict within a city, to avoid accidentally injuring the crowd, will all voluntarily ascend to the sky to fight; this is an unwritten rule among high-grade cultivators. After Uncle Lin and Jing Ge exchanged one strike, they extremely tacitly and voluntarily ascended to the clouds to fight.

On the ground, Lu Xingzhou and Huo Lu faced each other again. A-Nuo pushed the wheelchair toward Huo Lu. Lu Xingzhou smiled lightly: "This younger brother has been away from home for ten years; I am very envious that all of you can enjoy your parents' company at their knees. Whenever I think of it, I grind my teeth. Now it seems that the Fourth Young Master of the Huo family, dressed in brocade and eating delicacies, is actually not my match, a stray dog with a broken breath, and needs a protector to step in, bringing laughter to Menggui City."

Huo Lu could almost feel that countless glances hiding behind the houses were filled with mockery; his expression turned iron-green: "You want to fight me one-on-one?"

"Of course. A duel on the long street, life and death are not considered." Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly: "Is Fourth Brother afraid?"

(End of this chapter)