Chapter 70

The change happened suddenly. Neither Mu Feng nor Hao Jingchuan had expected that in an official occasion where the County Governor was hosting a banquet and the entire county's officials were present, this pair of young people would suddenly erupt and hurt someone.

Mu Feng couldn't even react. Sheng Yuanyao's saber had already slashed his neck, and on the other side, Lu Xingzhou had patted a bone-piercing nail into him with his left hand and had long since thrown away the wine pot with his right, slamming a punch into his dantian.

Mu Feng couldn't do anything in time. With a roar, his clothes were shattered, his muscles bulged, and his whole body grew a circle larger, with monster-like hair covering his body. Along with this, his pupils turned red, and his fangs were fully exposed.

"Demon!" Many people at the banquet were horrified and avoided their seats, hiding far away.

This was the manifestation of his true form caused by the eruption of all his demonic power, leaving no room for concealment. In reality, it didn't help the situation much; although the demon's physique was strong, it wasn't invulnerable to blades and spears. Sheng Yuanyao's saber had already cut into his neck, and Lu Xingzhou's fist force, a spiral of ice and fire, slammed heavily into the location of the demon pill.

Mu Feng's neck was cut by more than half, and his unformed demon pill was completely ruined. He spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped in his seat: "You... you..."

Sheng Yuanyao knocked him unconscious and grabbed him, and the subordinates of the Demon Suppression Division in the outer hall immediately surrounded them for protection. Sheng Yuanyao let out a breath and sneered: "My lord, now that I say the demon came from the county, am I wrong?"

Hao Jingchuan seemed to have some movement, but he forcibly endured it, sighing: "City Lord Sheng, since you suspected County Assistant Mu... Mu Feng, you should have informed me privately. Why erupt in the banquet hall like this? Do you not trust me?"

"My lord, you speak too seriously." Sheng Yuanyao said indifferently: "I couldn't be sure who it was at first, but I just tested it a little, and it just so happened that this person couldn't hold his temper and revealed his true colors... I was afraid that he would escape afterward, so it was better to take advantage of this time when there was no defense and launch a surprise attack; it was easier to succeed. It's not that I don't trust you, nor was it intentional to cause trouble at your banquet. I hope you will not blame me."

Her words were watertight, and Hao Jingchuan seemed to have nothing to say, just sighing: "Well, since that's the case, this demon will be handed over to the county for disposal. City Lord Sheng has made a contribution in eliminating the demon, and I will report it truthfully."

Sheng Yuanyao raised her eyebrows: "Handed over to the county for disposal?"

Hao Jingchuan said: "Since the demon was discovered at my banquet, it is naturally my responsibility, and it should be handled by me."

In fact, under normal circumstances, handing it over to a superior for disposal wouldn't be a problem; it would shift the responsibility and avoid clashing with the superior. But Sheng Yuanyao didn't care; she didn't want to be this City Lord anyway, and the Demon Suppression Division was directly managed by the imperial court, so no matter how big the County Governor was, he couldn't manage it. Official etiquette and socializing were one thing, but when it involved credit, she didn't care about any County Governor.

Especially since she still had a faint sense of unease in her heart... Mu Feng just had a bad attitude and leaked his demonic aura after being tricked by her words, which didn't mean there was only one demon here. If she took Mu Feng back for a detailed interrogation, there might be other gains. If she handed him directly to Hao Jingchuan, there was no need to think that it would be covered up and there would be no further steps.

After all, it was his County Assistant who had an accident, and he, Hao Jingchuan, had a great responsibility. How could he continue to expand it? Did he still want his official hat? ...And this wasn't just his own official hat; it was a matter that would make all the officials in Dongjiang County feel insecure.

"First of all, this is the duty of the Demon Suppression Division, and it doesn't have much to do with the City Lord or the County Governor." Sheng Yuanyao directly pushed back: "Secondly, this case, from investigating clues to the battle and arresting the culprit on the spot, was all handled by the Xiazhou Demon Suppression Division. Why must it be handed over to the county for disposal? How can I explain this to my colleagues in the Xiazhou Demon Suppression Division!"

Hao Jingchuan sighed with a sad face, and the Chief Clerk beside him came out to persuade: "City Lord Sheng, doing this breaks the rules..."

"What rules?" Sheng Yuanyao asked knowingly: "Which law of the imperial court stipulates that demons caught by the Demon Suppression Division need to be handed over to the County Governor for disposal?"

Of course, it was the unwritten rules of the officialdom. Did you really want to overturn everyone's official hats? ...Hao Jingchuan's expression was very ugly. How could he say this in public?

Encountering a young lady with a First-Grade high official as a father, these tacit understandings of the system didn't work. Hao Jingchuan truly didn't know how to argue with Sheng Yuanyao, and he just kept sighing helplessly.

It was just the Chief Clerk speaking: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since the demon was caught here, the county's meaning is the rule!"

"Oh, so it's a personal rule. I don't know if this 'county' refers to County Governor Hao or you, Chief Clerk Xie?" Sheng Yuanyao sneered: "When I was polite to you, I called you Chief Clerk. If I don't want to be polite, who are you? What is your rule worth?"

Chief Clerk Xie trembled with anger: "You!"

"Let's go!" Sheng Yuanyao led the group to retreat.

Don't look at how awesome her words were; she was also a bit empty in her heart. This was someone else's territory after all. If the county officials didn't care and insisted on keeping them by force, it would be really difficult to handle.

However, looking at Hao Jingchuan's sad face and sighing, this matter really didn't seem to have much to do with him.

"City Lord Sheng, please wait." Hao Jingchuan finally spoke: "Can we talk aside?"

Sheng Yuanyao subconsciously looked at Lu Xingzhou, and Lu Xingzhou nodded imperceptibly, signaling that she could listen to what he had to say.

Sheng Yuanyao trusted Lu Xingzhou's judgment inexplicably, so she handed the demon over to her subordinates for protection and followed Hao Jingchuan a few steps to the outside of the side corridor.

Hao Jingchuan said in a low voice: "Miss Sheng, although Chief Clerk Xie's words are unpleasant, this matter... sigh, it truly makes our entire Dongjiang County look very ugly. How about we each take a step back? This incident will be handled by our Dongjiang County, saying that Dongjiang County discovered that County Assistant Mu was a demon, so that our county won't be implicated; and as for Xiazhou, we will say that the clues were provided by you all, and the final capture of the demon was also achieved by you all fighting to the death. How about that?"

He spoke extremely sincerely. Using "Miss" instead of "City Lord" was even more of a plea for private friendship.

To be honest, Sheng Yuanyao's impression of this superior was quite good. At the very least, he didn't take on the airs of a superior, had a bit of a "good old man" vibe, and this kind of compromise plan was also a conventional operation for such old officials, which wasn't strange.

But this matter truly couldn't be handled this way... Sheng Yuanyao also put away the attitude she had just used to retort Chief Clerk Xie and said very sincerely: "My lord, this is not an official matter of how to weaken responsibility and divide credit, but it means that Dongjiang County may still be hiding other demons. Your method seems to make everyone happy, but in reality, it cannot solve the fundamental problem."

Speaking of this, her heart stirred slightly.

Did her father ask her to visit the County Governor more often because he knew there was something wrong with this matter and wanted her to learn how to compromise and retreat? Even knowing that there were still demons left?

How could this be...

Hao Jingchuan was asking: "Then, according to Miss Sheng's opinion, is there any other way to turn things around?"

Sheng Yuanyao said: "If County Governor Hao is willing to preside over a major cleanup of Dongjiang County and search out all the demons, then this matter can be handed over to County Governor Hao to be fully responsible, and I will only assist. As for the so-called credit... it's actually not that important."

Hao Jingchuan was silent for a moment, then finally nodded, sighing quite a bit: "Miss Sheng has a public heart. How could I not feel it? Let's do as Miss Sheng said."

Sheng Yuanyao let out a breath and turned back to the hall. If the county was really willing to do a major cleanup, that would be the best, doing much more than she, a mere Xiazhou City Lord, could do.

It seems the County Governor is just an old slicker, and his nature is okay...

Just as she was thinking this, the demon-probing stone she had been holding in her hand vibrated violently. Sheng Yuanyao was horrified in her heart, and an unbelievable thought flashed through her mind—

Was this County Governor behind her, who looked like a good old man, also a demon?

And a Third-Grade Great Demon!

He was the root of all the demons in this Dongjiang County; he hid truly deeply...

"Bang!" A pair of palms printed on Sheng Yuanyao's back silently. Sheng Yuanyao knew she couldn't dodge it and was waiting for death, but a sword light shot out silently from the shadows behind the corridor, stabbing at Hao Jingchuan's back neck!

At the same time, a mirror light appeared behind her; it was Lu Xingzhou who had been prepared, having used a high-grade mirror light talisman in advance, acting on Sheng Yuanyao's back.

Hao Jingchuan suddenly encountered an inexplicable attack, and his sneak attack on Sheng Yuanyao naturally weakened. The mirror light shattered with a bang, and Sheng Yuanyao was able to react, quickly dodging away, surprisingly unscathed.

Sheng Yuanyao looked at the sword light that saved her; it was also a familiar face.

She had seen him in the capital—Yang Dechang, the guest retainer of the Huo family, who was currently fighting with Hao Jingchuan... For a moment, they were evenly matched.

Huo family people... how could they be lurking here and saving her in time?

That's right, Lu Xingzhou's ambiguous identity... Sheng Yuanyao glanced at Lu Xingzhou, too busy to think more, and flew back to the hall, shouting sternly: "Quickly take the demon and go!"

In an instant, the officials in the hall and the guard team outside surrounded them directly. Chief Clerk Xie laughed sternly: "It has come to this; do you think you can still get away?"

Sheng Yuanyao felt cold in her heart, and the people of the Xiazhou Demon Suppression Division couldn't believe it either. Up to now, including Hao Jingchuan, no one had revealed their true demonic form; they all still looked like a group of human bureaucrats, but the demonic aura was already overflowing, and the jade in her hand was almost numb from the vibration...

This mere Dongjiang was actually full of demons! Everyone had lived under the rule of demons for so long, and they were completely unaware!

No wonder even Lu Xingzhou had implicitly warned her before that it was best not to investigate this matter further... Had he anticipated such a situation early on?

Dozens of demons rushed toward the Demon Suppression Division team. Lu Xingzhou shuffled a stack of talismans like playing cards.

Several demon-suppressing talismans, slowing talismans, and force-unloading talismans landed precisely on the demons in the front row.

At the same time, sword light suddenly rose outside the County Governor's mansion.

Zhang Shaoyou and other newly affiliated Heaven-Walking Sword Sect members, looking like a support team arranged by the Demon Suppression Division, chopped the guards outside the door flying with a few swords and broke in.

Zhang Shaoyou found Hao Jingchuan for the first time and joined forces with Yang Dechang to pincer him.

The two looked at each other, their eyes showing a bit of strangeness... A day ago, they were also on the same side and had chatted a few times at the Incense-Burning Tower; a day later, they were on the same side again, only the camp had changed. Truly, the world is unpredictable.

While the two were cherishing each other, Hao Jingchuan was almost going crazy.

He had specifically brought Sheng Yuanyao to the corner outside, just waiting to secretly capture Sheng Yuanyao and have his subordinates replace her face, and everything would be solved. As a result, why did two Third-Grade sword cultivators who ruined things appear inexplicably, and both were so strong!

How did the Xiazhou Demon Suppression Division pop up with so many powerhouses... This Zhang Shaoyou wasn't from the Incense-Burning Tower? Why didn't the Incense-Burning Tower go to fight the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect, but instead started fighting me?

"Bang!" In the hall, Sheng Yuanyao and the demonized Chief Clerk Xie exchanged a blow. She couldn't hold her ground and retreated a few steps, just as Lu Xingzhou was also shaken back by someone, and the two bumped into each other back to back.

Sheng Yuanyao panted a few times and said in a low voice: "Thanks... You, when you truly cooperate, you are truly reliable to the point of amazement."

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Even the few times you felt I tricked you, in reality, I didn't let you suffer any losses."

Sheng Yuanyao "snorted": "So you've been quite good to me?"

"Someone like you... shouldn't suffer losses." Lu Xingzhou suddenly pulled Sheng Yuanyao away, just in time to avoid the demon claw inserted by Chief Clerk Xie.

Sheng Yuanyao slashed her waist saber toward Chief Clerk Xie's throat: "Dongjiang has an army, and I don't know how many are demons. The battle broke out in such a place, and we will eventually suffer losses. Do you have any other ghost ideas?"

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