Chapter 176: The Head of the Demon Suppression Division is Indisposed

Half an hour earlier, Sheng Yuanyao had looked strangely at A-Nuo, who had come to find her: "Why do you want me to close the Qingyao Garden? Do you have any idea how much money the Qingyao Garden makes in a single tea break?"

A-Nuo said honestly: "Because Master needs to deal with an assassin there, and he's afraid of accidentally hurting the visitors."

"Why does your master have to target my money to deal with an assassin... uh, no, wait. If your master is dealing with an assassin, why aren't you there?"

"I'm going in a moment. Besides, they're on their way too."

"The... ?" Sheng Yuanyao was alert: "Who else is there!"

A-Nuo covered her little mouth with her hand, her eyes darting around.

Sheng Yuanyao exploded: "Using my money, my garden! You're going there to flirt with Pei Chuyun, aren't you!"

A-Nuo turned to run: "Um, I'm going to help Master..."

"Stop right there!" Sheng Yuanyao grabbed her: "I'm going too! It's just staking out an assassin, isn't it? You don't think I'd be afraid just because I show up, do you?"

"Of course not, of course not! Sister Yao is a peerless hero; no assassin would dare show their face if they saw you!"

"Save it." Sheng Yuanyao dragged A-Nuo out of the office, just as a subordinate walked in with a manuscript: "Editor-in-chief, this is the latest news on the rising stars from the south. There are quite a few with very impressive records..."

"Leave it there for now, I'm taking the afternoon off." Sheng Yuanyao dashed to the office of the Deputy Chief Constable: "Deputy Zhou, I have something to do this afternoon, I'm taking a leave, okay?"

The Deputy Chief Constable looked up from his documents, his eyes lingering on A-Nuo's face: "What for? Don't tell me you're going to the Qingyao Garden again? The Chief has ordered that such requests are not to be approved in the future."

A-Nuo smiled.

Everyone really understands Sister Melon.

Sheng Yuanyao gritted her teeth. If telling the truth doesn't work, she'd just have to make up an excuse, right? That's easy enough.

She said righteously: "My father is sick."

Deputy Chief Zhou: "?"

He casually called a subordinate: "Go and see if the Chief is in."

Sheng Yuanyao panicked: "Why tell the Chief about such a small matter?"

Deputy Chief Zhou was silent for a moment: "I'm just checking if he's actually sick... Editor Sheng, have you forgotten who your sick father is?"

Sheng Yuanyao: "..."

The subordinate returned quickly: "The Chief is indeed not in today."

Deputy Chief Zhou was stunned for a moment, then saw Sheng Yuanyao with her hands on her hips: "See? You think I'd lie?"

Deputy Chief Zhou had no choice but to approve the leave, and Sheng Yuanyao dragged A-Nuo away in a flash.

Watching Sheng Yuanyao's retreating figure as she hurried off, Deputy Chief Zhou sighed: "If the Chief is truly unwell, I must gather some colleagues and go to the Sheng residence to pay a visit."

While Sheng Yuanyao rushed to the Qingyao Garden, a group of high-ranking officials from the Demon Suppression Division headed to the Sheng residence with gifts.

When passersby asked out of curiosity, they replied: Chief Sheng is unwell, we are going to visit him.

Before long, the news that Chief Sheng was unwell had spread throughout the capital.

It was rare for a peak second-rank powerhouse to fall ill; could it be that a great demon was attempting an assassination?

Sheng Qingfeng didn't get to work on time that afternoon because he was hosting Pei Qingyan at home.

Pei Qingyan had come to pull strings for his daughter. Pei Chuyun wanted to go to the second level of the Demon Subjugation Domain to find a succubus, and she had asked her father to use his influence with Sheng Qingfeng. Although Pei Qingyan didn't know his daughter's true intention for wanting to go to the second level, he thought the place was quite suitable for her to train, so he came to put in a good word.

Sheng Qingfeng was just saying that a small matter like the second level of the Demon Subjugation Domain was certainly worth doing a favor for Minister Pei. The two were chatting happily when the house was suddenly bustling outside. A retainer came in, wiping sweat from his brow: "Master, colleagues from the Demon Suppression Division are here to visit. They say they heard you are unwell and have come to pay their respects."

Sheng Qingfeng was dumbfounded: "What illness? How come I don't know about it?"

"They say the Young Lady asked for leave, saying her father was sick."

Sheng Qingfeng was stunned.

Pei Qingyan almost laughed out loud and kindly reminded him: "Chief, if this gets out, it won't be good for your daughter. I think you'd better just pretend to be sick."

Sheng Qingfeng said irritably: "How could I get sick with my cultivation? If I say it's qi deviation, I'll lose my position."

Pei Qingyan comforted him: "Just make up an assassin, it'll be fine. You can even count it as a work-related injury... I'll help you testify."

One month after the new Chief of the Demon Suppression Division took office, the demon tribes of the Northern Territory, fearing his reputation, sent a great demon to sneak in and assassinate him. Chief Sheng was heroic and invincible, repelling the assassin. Upon hearing the news, the Emperor bestowed many medicinal herbs to honor his loyalty and courage. Demon Suppression Division riders were dispatched throughout the capital to hunt down the great demon.

Amidst the chaos, Pei Chuyun and Lu Xingzhou sat side by side by the lake, watching the rippling water: "Speaking of which, the Qingyao Garden is usually so crowded, why is there no one here today?"

Knowing that people from the Alchemy Academy were lurking nearby, the little demoness didn't even dare to lean into the man's arms. This scene, which looked like a secret meeting, wasn't even as good as the private world Lu Xingzhou and Sheng Yuanyao had shared; at least they hadn't been afraid of being intimate then.

Lu Xingzhou replied: "Of course it's because the people of the capital are sensible; they know Miss Pei wants to meet her lover here."

"Save it." Pei Chuyun said with a smile: "How can you be my lover? Does a lover dare to touch me?"

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

"Hey..." Pei Chuyun nudged him: "You used Sheng Yuanyao's place and even made her clear the area, just to flirt with me. Won't Sheng Yuanyao fall apart?"

"Yuanyao and I are friends... it's not what you think."

"You two can just keep lying to yourselves." Pei Chuyun giggled: "But she's having a much harder time than me. I only have to maintain a bit of face for the Pei family on the surface; I don't really care. As for her, she can't even let go of it herself."

Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "She also deserves a better destination."

"Hypocrite." Pei Chuyun glanced at him and smiled: "It's just that right now, you really can't say with any confidence that you're a good destination, let alone worth someone honestly being your concubine."

Lu Xingzhou didn't brag, just smiled and didn't answer.

When Pei Chuyun said this about Sheng Yuanyao, wasn't she also talking about herself?

In fact, in terms of cultivation speed alone, excluding the past when his meridians were severed and he couldn't progress, since his legs healed, Lu Xingzhou's growth has been unprecedented. Going from seventh rank to fourth rank in a mere half-year is something never seen in history; even Huo Heng suspected he was popping elixirs...

Filling up the fourth rank is just a matter of time for energy accumulation; that's easy. The key is the great hurdle of the third rank. No one can confidently say they can break through it in the short term; that's where countless people have been stuck for a lifetime.

It's something that requires crossing a minor heavenly tribulation, and the Heavenly Dao recognizes it as a huge watershed. If you can't break through it, don't even talk about anything else. Even delaying it for a few years is hard to bear, let alone anything else; perhaps even the little demoness who is currently being all lovey-dovey might abandon him.

But Lu Xingzhou never felt this would be a problem in his heart... If even this kind of hurdle were to become an obstacle, then he wouldn't have the face to stand before them.

He thought for a moment and finally answered with this sentence: "You got one thing wrong."

Pei Chuyun asked curiously: "Which one?"

"You said a lover wouldn't dare to touch you... of course he would." Lu Xingzhou leaned closer and closer: "If I don't create a false impression of being lost in love, how can I fish..."

Pei Chuyun pushed his mouth away: "If you want to fish, what about my reputation... your teacher is watching..."

Although she said that, her push was very weak.

The vicious things she said, like "I want to break free from your influence" or "You aren't a good destination," were actually just excuses to harden her heart and leave. She had been suppressing the desire to nestle in his arms and kiss him for who knows how long.

She had absolutely no resistance to his advances, playing hard to get.

In the eyes of the people lurking and watching, this was Lu Xingzhou taking advantage of the date to get handsy, and Miss Pei was resisting.

Just because a young lady is willing to go on a date with you doesn't mean she's willing to do this and that with you so quickly, you filthy lecher!

"Clang!"

Just as Lu Xingzhou's mouth was about to touch Pei Chuyun's flushed cheek, a sword light suddenly erupted, like a celestial being flying from beyond the heavens, arriving in an instant.

The rippling lake light before them seemed to be illuminated by the brilliance of this sword, as if they were trapped in a ten-thousand-sword array.

The young couple, who seemed lost in love, simultaneously dodged. One hand, delicate as a butterfly, brushed toward the swordsman's tiger's mouth, while the other leg kicked sharply toward the swordsman's waist.

And just as the swordsman's sword, which seemed to have stolen the creation of heaven and earth, approached within a few feet of the young couple, he felt as if he had fallen into a quagmire, obstructed by an array.

"A trap!" The thought flashed through the swordsman's mind. He didn't linger, instead twisting his body and kicking Lu Xingzhou's leg, using the force to float back and retreat directly.

The space behind him suddenly collapsed, as if he had fallen into another dimension.

Mrs. Ye appeared in the distance behind them, wearing a veil, her hands pressing a magic seal, her long hair flying.

Even though it was daytime, it was as if the stars of the sky had appeared in the firmament, weaving a net from which there was no escape.

"First rank!" The swordsman was horrified and decisively crushed a jade talisman.

"Bang!" The air exploded in place, and the assassin had already disappeared.

"Spatial escape technique, instant displacement..." Ye Tinglan looked at Pei Chuyun with deep meaning, quickly locked onto the direction of the opponent's escape, and chased after them, disappearing in an instant.

Pei Chuyun broke out in a cold sweat: "This teacher of yours is so strong..."

"The look she gave you meant she knew you also had this kind of escape technique." Lu Xingzhou asked urgently: "Can you lock onto the location where the opponent left?"

"No. I don't even know how this teacher locked onto them..." Pei Chuyun's blood almost curdled from that look from Mrs. Ye, and she still had lingering fears: "Does she suspect that I'm in cahoots with this assassin?"

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look at the spot where the swordsman and Mrs. Ye had disappeared and shook his head: "There are many spatial escape techniques; it's not just the Succubus Joy Sect that has them..."

He didn't know which force had a top-tier demonic swordsman and spatial escape techniques under its command.

Theoretically, any first-rank force could do it, but if it wasn't the Huo family or Prince Jin, then which family could have this ability? Was Mrs. Ye's look suspecting the Pei family?

It wasn't impossible... Pei Qingyan didn't want his daughter to mix with the yellow-haired boy and sent someone to assassinate him; it was logical.

Pei Chuyun also thought of this and her face turned pale: "No, it shouldn't be..."

Lu Xingzhou rubbed her head: "It's fine. Actually, if it were your family, it would be a good thing; it means that if I were sensible and left, there would be no follow-up. It's only troublesome if it's some other unknown force; we don't even know their purpose."

Pei Chuyun's expression was very ugly: "Then I hope this teacher of yours can catch the assassin and reveal the truth."

Over there, the assassin had instantly displaced to a certain place in the city, feeling even more shocked than Lu Xingzhou.

Who on earth was that veiled woman? She was so terrifying that she could even track a spatial escape technique that could move several miles in an instant. Her aura was already following behind; it was the first time in his life he had seen such a thing!

But fortunately, he had displaced first, so there was always a split-second time difference. As long as he hid in the streets where the nobles lived, that woman wouldn't be able to come in and search.

Just as he was thinking this, several fierce generals from the Demon Suppression Division swept past: "This person just came out of a spatial escape technique; he might be the demon who assassinated the Chief. Take him down!"

Swordsman: "?"

How was the Demon Suppression Division searching for demons at this time? Who the hell was assassinating the Chief at this time?

With just that split-second of obstruction, Mrs. Ye had already appeared behind him.

With wolves in front and tigers behind, the swordsman had no way to heaven and no door to earth. He smiled miserably and suddenly severed his own meridians, falling to the ground and dying.

Ye Tinglan frowned and stepped forward to examine the body, her heart also filled with astonishment. She really hadn't expected the opponent to be so resolute, severing his own meridians without a word.

A dead soldier...

Among the few third-rank powerhouses in this world, how many had the qualifications to make them dead soldiers? Even the Pei family and the Huo family, even if they had many third-rank powerhouses under their command, didn't have the qualifications to use them as dead soldiers!

Whose people could this be?

"This lady." The people from the Demon Suppression Division stepped forward and surrounded Ye Tinglan: "What is the situation between you and this person?"

"This person is the assassin who assassinated the Alchemy Academy students in the Demon Subjugation Domain that day. This time, it was a trap set by the Alchemy Academy. I thank you all for your help. The cause of this matter was personally experienced by your Editor Sheng, who knows it better. Please, Demon Suppression Division, take the body back for a detailed investigation into his background. Hmm... perhaps your Chief's assassination also has something to do with him?"

As Ye Tinglan said this, she stood up, her beautiful eyes landing not far to the side.

The assassin's subconscious escape position was here; it was highly probable that he had come out from here.

But this area was mostly noble mansions...

Inside, there was not only Prince Jin but also many others.