57: Chapter 56: Ashen Faced 57: Chapter 56: Ashen Faced The atmosphere within the private room was less than agreeable.

You Sunzhi’s face was an ashen blue, Gao Jianli was greatly amused, and Li Chuping was as still as an ancient well.

Setting that aside, there were people fanning the flames.

The Daoist from the Blood Transformation Sect, Autumn Brightness, was very emotional,

“The Quanzhen Sect has stood tall on the Continent for thousands of years, and not without reason; with continuous emergence of talent, one after another, such sense of responsibility, such courage, is truly rare within my Blood Transformation Sect!”

Another Daoist, Dragon Hidden, also said, “When I return, I must spread this tale so that our junior followers can witness the backbone of Quanzhen disciples, unafraid of authority and brave enough to take responsibility.

It’s a pity that he is not one of my Blood Transformation disciples, or I would have directly rewarded him with hundreds of Spirit Stones…”

The two of them were in harmony, but their actual intention was to embarrass Quanzhen Sect, to make them sweat, go red in the face and to stop posing as if they were the leading faction of the Demon Sect when in fact they were rotten to the core.

There’s competition even among the Demon Sects; there is no place in this world free from strife!

It’s only under the pressure from the Daoist and Buddhist Sects that there is forced mutual aide, a collective advance and retreat; if one day the Daoist and Buddhist Sects vanished from this world, these sects would indeed turn on each other savagely.

Of course, the Daoist and Buddhist Sects weren’t any different; humans are such a species, always able to find reasons to attack each other; this is the exclusivity of the Dao.

This junior cultivator is indeed promising, but no matter how promising, he is merely at the Energy Induction stage—who can guarantee how far he will grow?

However, his current value is quite interesting; he has the ability to throw the upper echelons of Jin City Quanzhen into chaos.

That is their reason for helping him.

Once the word spreads, the higher-ups in Jin City Quanzhen will have to think twice before acting clandestinely.

In contrast, the assessments from the other two heavyweights of Jin City Quanzhen were much more concise,

Gao Zhonglang stroked his beard and smiled, “He’s a man of mettle.

Should his cultivation reach new heights, he may join my central army mansion; there will be plenty of opportunities to kill.”

Capital Commandant Li shook his head noncommittally, “Too reckless.

There are many ways to do things; he chose one that embarrassed everyone…”

A man of mettle?

Just a polite way of saying he has a good reason.

Since he likes killing, then provide him the stage for it.

Too reckless?

It’s just a personality flaw, after all.

His intentions were good, but his methods were mistaken…

That was the subtle expression of their opinions.

Of course, the South City Prefecture Office was under the jurisdiction of Mu Shuai’s Prefecture, with You Mu as the principal official, who had the final say, and it was not their place to overstep their bounds.

You Sunzhi had already regained his composure; in fact, his previous rage was nothing more than seizing an opportunity to make a point.

How could someone of his realm not be able to control his emotions?

Raising his cup, “Come now, such minor matters, concerning a mere junior cultivator, are not worth expending heart power over…”

……

Hou Niao and his party were escorting the prisoners back to the office, and though everyone was excited, they were also anxious, wanting to ask questions yet not daring to.

Hou Niao, despite his usual mild demeanor, was known to be a smiling tiger who would draw his sword and kill in an instant.

Now, no one knew who had been killed.

He had even inquired about the owner of Tianxiang Building before leaving, truly leaving people at a loss for words.

They had only made it halfway when Inspector Huang hurried over, shouting at the top of his lungs,

“You!

This time, I’m nearly dragged to death by you…”

A few more steps, and the archivist, the secretary, the prefectural officers—one after another—also came to meet him.

Seeing that they were unaware of the banquet at Tianxiang Building showed their lower status in Jin City.

They all had the same attitude: complaints on top of complaints, endless grievances…

But Hou Niao knew what they meant; in fact, they were asking about the attitudes of the three major officials, weren’t they?

Should he respond inadequately, he believed these people were indeed capable of tying him up and delivering him to fulfill their obligations.

“The three distinguished officials were harmonious, amiable, and reasonable.

They grasped my hand and expressed their concern, saying, ‘Young man, the future of Quanzhen is entrusted to you…'”

The prefecture officer also took hold of his hand, “Brother Hou, you’ve worked hard during this night’s investigation.

Don’t go back, stay at the Prefecture Office.

I’ll give you my study to use; this way, we can have a good chat—we haven’t had such an opportunity since you arrived.”

This was for fear he would run away.

If the Commandant needed to account for them tomorrow, where would they find him?

That night, after Hou Niao joined the Quanzhen Sect, was the most valued he had ever felt.

The entire South City Prefecture Office was brightly lit just for him; he slept soundly while the prefecture officer, secretary, archivist, and inspector stayed awake all night.

They took turns interrogating the unfortunate mortal bailiffs but could ascertain no clear picture—how could they hear the answers Hou Niao gave upon his ascent?

Those were realms where Upper Cultivators cast soundproof barriers.

One couldn’t blame these officials for losing the sharpness of cultivators.

Within the worldly hierarchy of the Quanzhen Sect, some offices truly were composed of elites, such as the Commandant’s, the Central Army’s, the Capital Commandant’s, and even those Quanzhen cultivators dispatched across the vast reaches of Da Feng Plain, all requiring combat prowess.

But in Jin City, in offices dealing with ordinary mortals, it was entirely different.

They were basically retired, also losing the vigorous spirit that cultivators possess.

Having lived ordinary lives for too long made them prone to worrying about gains and losses, fearful of losing such a stable and affluent life.

It should be known that in Jin City, there were many idle, aged cultivators like them; indeed, there were more turnips than holes…

The assignment issued by You Sunzhi in the private room at the beginning was too high-level; it hadn’t reached their level.

So, they spent a night on tenterhooks, waiting for the other shoe to drop—would they continue muddling along, or would they be sent home to retire?

At dawn, he sat for meditation in the prefecture officer’s study, then unswervingly reviewed in the courtyard what he had understood in the Soul Realm.

Afterwards, the servants prepared a bathing tub, and a dedicated chef brought up a delicate breakfast.

With the help of a pretty young maid, he tidied up and stepped into the Prefecture Office’s main hall.

All the main officials were present, carefully scrutinizing a decree, their gazes filled with surprise when they saw him enter.

Inspector Huang read aloud the punishment they had decided upon for him: a half-year suspension of his stipend supply…

“That’s it?” Hou Niao asked.

“That’s it!” Inspector Huang was equally perplexed.

But one thing was certain, the main officials of the South City Prefecture Office were temporarily safe.

As for what lay ahead, that would be a step-by-step matter.

To kill a person and be penalized with a half-year’s resource supply seemed fair on the surface, but who knew the profound implications hidden beneath this seemingly flimsy decree?

The general consensus was: the higher-ups probably wanted to avoid this storm for now and wait until the situation had settled before dealing with the aftermath.

No matter what, they had to start getting busy, summarizing detailed records of all the cultivators in South City who had died or been orphaned in the past ten years, ultimately producing a written report for submission…

Some would be in trouble!

Once the investigation was complete and the details verified, heads would roll, and it wouldn’t end peacefully.

It was fortunate that the South City Prefecture Office had no authority over such resource allocation; otherwise, all these old cultivators with their insecure willpower would be held accountable, without a single one remaining unstained.

Inspector Huang sighed, “Why did you have to be so obstinate?

Don’t you know how many people’s livelihoods you’ve affected, how many bear deep-seated hatred for you in their hearts…”

The prefecture officer, however, spoke a frank word, “Not necessarily.

There are also those who are grateful to him.

In this world, doing nothing ensures no trouble, but once you act, you’re bound to offend someone.

Yet within that lies opportunity— who can explain it clearly?”

Hou Niao smiled and drifted out the door—what was there to be so sentimental about?

It was but a matter of raising my three-foot sword, to let a yard of blood flow!