Chapter 31

Fortunately, Sheng Yuanyao's cultivation was quite good after all. Her hands flew to brace against Lu Xingzhou's shoulders, touching and separating instantly, stopping her momentum at close range, not even pushing Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair backward.

Lu Xingzhou picked up Anuo, who was lying on the ground like a salted fish: "Commander Sheng has good kung fu, Anuo, learn from her."

Speaking of which, you're in your official uniform, why do you smell so fragrant too...

Sheng Yuanyao retreated awkwardly: "You guys... are done?"

What kind of talk is that... Shen Tang was full of annoyance: "Commander Sheng, what brings you here?"

Lu Xingzhou waved his hand and smiled: "Commander Sheng is, of course, here to ask how to handle the deaths of the Huo family guards and Liu Qingcang."

"Correct." Sheng Yuanyao finally entered the rhythm of business, asking with a solemn face: "I wanted to ask yesterday, what did you do to Huo Yu and those people... later I felt it wasn't good to ask in public, so I thought I'd go take a look myself first."

"And then?"

"The Huo residence was covered in corpses. Everyone Huo Yu brought died completely, including Liu Qingcang. But it's very strange, I couldn't find the corpses of the two fifth-grade guards."

In fact, not only Huo Lei and Huo Ting, but even the Shadow's corpse had been disposed of by Lu Xingzhou, but Sheng Yuanyao didn't know of the Shadow's existence, so no matter how she counted, it was just two guards missing.

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "How does Commander Sheng want to close this case?"

"Originally, Huo Yu came here with great fanfare to find you, and now everyone is dead... even if he was killed by a demon in front of everyone, it's still very hard to clear your suspicion regarding the deaths of those guards. I want to ask first, what is your own explanation?"

Lu Xingzhou was a bit surprised: "Could it be that you can actually follow my explanation?"

Sheng Yuanyao was expressionless: "It's also a reference. I'll say it upfront: if you don't have anything good to say, then I will report your suspicion truthfully. After all, too many people know, and I can't hide it."

"Is there a possibility... that the two guards saw Huo Yu die, were afraid of being punished, and killed the others and ran away?" Lu Xingzhou blinked: "Maybe they even took some treasures with them."

Sheng Yuanyao glared at Lu Xingzhou in annoyance. She naturally knew that Lu Xingzhou had killed them, so she wouldn't believe this nonsense.

But she quickly became thoughtful.

The problem here wasn't whether she believed it or not, but whether others would believe it, and how to report it most advantageously. No matter how young Sheng Yuanyao was, she had a family background and deeply understood the principles of officialdom.

The public's current understanding is that Huo Yu was ostensibly investigating Huo Shang and had set his sights on Lu Xingzhou, but in reality, he was secretly investigating demon matters. This was something he himself said in front of everyone, and the demon even responded with "So you're the one investigating me."

I have to say, this trap was dug by her, Sheng Yuanyao. Outside the secret room, she told the demon that someone named Huo Yu was investigating it...

And then Huo Yu bravely fought the demon and unfortunately sacrificed himself; this was also watched by the masses.

Although some experts might see that the situation wasn't quite right, no one could have hard evidence. Young Master Huo bravely sacrificing himself fighting a demon sounds good to the Huo family too. If you insist on saying he was kidnapped and killed in a muddle, and you can't produce hard evidence, guess which one Grand Tutor Huo would prefer to hear? Therefore, generally, no one would be bored enough to go looking for trouble.

If one were to report it this way, there is a key question: when Huo Yu was fighting the demon, where were the guards?

If the guards had already been killed by someone else, how would Huo Yu have the heart to fight the demon alone? No matter how you think about it, it's unreasonable.

Also, if the guards were killed, what about the responsibility for that place, and her, Sheng Yuanyao's, responsibility? Young Master Huo's guards were all killed, what were you in Xiazhou doing!

The most reasonable explanation really is that the guards had ulterior motives, deliberately tricked Huo Yu into going to his death, and then killed the other guards to seize the treasure and leave.

This way of reporting is the simplest and has the least responsibility; all the responsibility lies with the guards who deserted in the face of battle and Xu Bingkun, who was harboring the demon. However, once you sort it out like this, it really has nothing to do with Lu Xingzhou at all. Huo Yu's previous pursuit of Lu Xingzhou could entirely be a measure to deceive Xu Bingkun.

In fact, because the Huo family knew that there was still a Shadow carrying pills who had gone missing, this explanation would make the Huo family more likely to believe that the Huo Lei brothers had hijacked the Shadow.

Sheng Yuanyao knew full well that Lu Xingzhou had done it, and having her report it this way would always feel a bit off; it was clearly a total fabrication. But she knew very well that all the subordinates of the Demon Suppression Division and all the officials in Xiazhou City would be very happy to write it this way, saving so much trouble.

"Was all of this planned in advance?" Sheng Yuanyao finally sighed and asked, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Regarding the disappearance of the guards' corpses alone, it was indeed planned to shift the blame onto them." Lu Xingzhou said frankly: "I said I would wrap up all the gossip for you."

"Then, your early hint to me about the demon case was also using me?"

"That's really not it. After all, I didn't know you would go to slay the demon at that time, and I didn't expect to be able to coordinate like that. I'm really not a god. At the time, hinting to you that the City Lord was harboring a demon was truly to find you some merit. Later, seeing the demonic energy soaring, I naturally adjusted the plan."

Sheng Yuanyao's charcoal-black face finally looked a bit better, and then she sighed with some exhaustion: "This trip to Xiazhou has turned me into an official slicker like everyone else in such a short time... I joined the Demon Suppression Division, really not to become like this."

Lu Xingzhou looked at her steadily for a long time and whispered: "I said... this world is a pill furnace. We reside within it, and sooner or later, we will all be refined into a generally smooth shape."

Sheng Yuanyao said with some mockery: "What if I don't want to become a general shape? What if I let this furnace fire become my own flame?"

"Yes, if you have enough power, then you can ignore what the Xiazhou officials think, not care about the Huo family's reaction, and directly arrest me and take me away... but not now."

Sheng Yuanyao was amused, glancing unintentionally at Shen Tang, who was listening to the gossip on the side: "If I really wanted to arrest you, I'm afraid I'd still have to withstand the reaction of certain people here."

Shen Tang smiled slightly and said nothing.

Sheng Yuanyao stretched and walked out with some listlessness: "That's it then. After this matter passes, I will have my father transfer me back to the capital... it's meaningless."

Shen Tang thought to herself that you might not be able to go back, but she didn't say it in the end. She watched Sheng Yuanyao walk away before whispering: "Yuanyao is quite good... there really aren't many young ladies of official families with such a pure heart nowadays."

Lu Xingzhou also smiled and cupped his hands: "Then, Sect Master, I'm going back to rest."

Shen Tang said softly: "Go, you've worked hard. I'll have someone send you some tonic later."

Lu Xingzhou waved at Dugu Qingli: "Goodbye, Little White Hair."

Dugu Qingli was expressionless.

Anuo soon pushed Lu Xingzhou away, and Dugu Qingli asked with a straight face: "You guys were quite fast?"

Shen Tang blushed: "It was longer than expected... he took a break in the middle."

Dugu Qingli: "Is this something I should be hearing?"

Shen Tang: "What are you talking about?"

"Whatever you were doing, that's what I'm talking about."

"We were treating the legs!" Shen Tang couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense with her, looking at her legs with some anticipation: "He said it would only take ten days, and the follow-up would be restorative training. I can really stand up..."

Dugu Qingli hesitated: "If you're better, you're actually stronger than me and capable of self-protection. Can I go now?"

At this moment, Shen Tang actually had a malicious thought that she shouldn't have, feeling that it wouldn't be bad to let Dugu Qingli leave, so that Lu Xingzhou's eyes wouldn't always be nailed to her, and even his farewells were directed at the Little White Hair instead of her...

But knowing that this thought shouldn't exist, she said: "Did the National Teacher instruct you to protect my safety, or to protect me until my legs are better?"

Dugu Qingli said helplessly: "It's to protect your safety, but I feel you won't have any danger in the future either."

"That's where you're wrong... from Sheng Yuanyao's attitude toward us, it's clear that at least Sheng Qingfeng knows my identity. Since Sheng Qingfeng knows, others will know sooner or later. My identity can't be hidden for long. By then, even if I'm allowed to stand firmly, there will inevitably be various hidden arrows aimed at me. Besides, why did a demon appear in Xiazhou, and where did it come from? This is also a hidden danger that cannot be guarded against..."

Dugu Qingli said: "When it really comes to that time, my power won't be able to protect you. But the power that belongs to you can be used..."

Shen Tang asked: "Are you close to the fourth grade?"

"Fighting this demon, I did have quite a few insights, feeling that the fourth-grade barrier is a bit loose, and I should be on the verge of a breakthrough. But Master said I must experience the red dust before I can peek into the upper three grades, and I still haven't noticed what use it has."

Shen Tang sighed: "It's already very impressive. You're not even eighteen this year; you're truly a genius."

Dugu Qingli didn't speak. She didn't feel there was anything impressive about herself, because Shen Tang was already fourth grade, which was truly stunning. Although Shen Tang was older than her, her own so-called loose barrier hadn't broken through yet, and heaven knows how many years a breakthrough would take.

"As for you saying experiencing the red dust is useless... it's because you haven't experienced enough." Shen Tang smiled: "At least you can't understand the discouragement Sheng Yuanyao just had."

Dugu Qingli thought about it and agreed: "I really don't know why she was sad. Clearly, she didn't want to expose Lu Xingzhou either."

"That's two different things..." Shen Tang looked at her for a while and suddenly smiled: "Hey, when I can stand up, how about you go protect Lu Xingzhou?"

Dugu Qingli froze and blurted out: "I'm not fighting that kid for the position of pushing the wheelchair!"

"What if that's your path to the upper three grades?"

Dugu Qingli fell silent and didn't answer.

Shen Tang pursed her lips, her mood suddenly not so good, and she turned her wheelchair herself: "I'll go see what's in the warehouse and send some to Lu Xingzhou... you go cultivate."

Just as she turned, both of them felt a movement in their hearts: "Who!"

With a "whoosh," Dugu Qingli seemed to teleport, blocking in front of a masked man in black.

The Yama Palace assassin secretly complained. It was the first time his ability to hide his tracks hadn't been able to deceive someone of the same level. Where did this white hair come from? Is the so-called Sword Heart Clarity really this outrageous?

"Mis, misunderstanding..." The assassin raised his hands to show he had no malice.

Dugu Qingli pointed her long sword lightly: "Who are you? What is your intent?"

The assassin originally wanted to explain, but his heart suddenly moved.

What's there to explain? The Yama King wants me to send fruit to the Judge, but doesn't let me say where it came from. The Judge is so smart, what reason can I find to fool him? This mission is impossible to do.

It would be better to let these two women pass it on, wouldn't that be clean? It would absolutely not leak the existence of the Yama King...

Thinking of this, he directly took out a smoke bomb and exploded it on the ground, turned, and flashed away, vanishing into the void.

Dugu Qingli was just about to chase when she suddenly noticed an unusual aura. Looking down, a fruit lay in the smoke, its brilliance hidden.