Chapter 27: Home Delivery

Inside the main hall of the Demon Suppression Bureau, letters and account books awaiting review were piled as high as a small hill. For this audit in Jinnan Prefecture, the Ministry of Personnel had assigned Pei Hu a team of highly capable subordinates.

The man sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, flipping through accounts with three writing brushes tucked into his hair, was Zhang Kun, a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. His most celebrated achievement was uncovering fraudulent accounting and the embezzlement of over thirty thousand Spirit Rhyme Pills within the Huanshui Prefecture branch of the Demon Suppression Bureau, a feat he accomplished by detecting minute differences in the paper color of the ledgers.

Sitting opposite Zhang Kun was Sun Yi, a man who, despite his silver hair, was only in his early thirties. He was a handwriting expert currently busy sorting piles of correspondence into various categories. The other members of the entourage were all veteran auditors with exceptional individual abilities. Pei Hu had come well-prepared for this mission.

At this moment, Pei Hu was not in the main hall; he was in the room where Zhao Xiaoshi was being held under house arrest, accompanied by Xiao Kui. Each time the Ministry of Personnel conducted an audit, they occupied over a dozen guest rooms, with security handled by the Imperial Guard. Although Zhao Xiaoshi possessed the cultivation of the Qi Refining stage and could easily deal with the guards, she could not escape the Demon Suppression Bureau. Seeing a glimmer of hope for survival, she was not foolish enough to incriminate herself.

Zhao Xiaoshi had heard in the main hall that Lord Pei was going to audit the accounts. She did not know why he had appeared in her room with his people now. The woman named Xiao Kui looked only in her teens, dressed in a dark purple tight-fitting dress. Her slender, willow-like waist gave way to a curvaceous figure. Carrying a cloth bag over her shoulder and holding four Demon-Slaying Swords in her hands, she stood behind Lord Pei.

She placed the swords from her hands onto the table one by one. When she set down the final blade, Zhao Xiaoshi’s pupils constricted; she recognized it as the sword she had discarded. After returning from her last mission, her master had rewarded her with five hundred Spirit Rhyme Pills and a Tier 3 Demon-Slaying Sword. With the help of the pills, her cultivation had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. As for the basic Demon-Slaying Sword she had used for five years, she had casually tossed it into a corner of the room. She wondered why Lord Pei wanted this broken blade.

Now, there were four Demon-Slaying Swords on the table. Pei Hu stood by the table, scanning them with lowered eyes, before speaking suddenly: "I am certain you betrayed your teammates."

Zhao Xiaoshi was stunned for a moment before retorting, "I did not."

Pei Hu said nothing more. He slowly sat down in a chair, waiting for the show to begin. "Xiao Kui, proceed."

"Yes." Following the command, Xiao Kui took a piece of parchment from her cloth bag. She unfolded it to reveal strands of hair wrapped inside. "There are four Demon-Slaying Swords on the table. Three are severely damaged, and one is lightly damaged. This lightly damaged sword has three deep scratches on the blade, likely caused by a demon beast’s claws."

"On the hilt and guard of this sword, two different types of beast fur were found. One is brown, short, and coarse, feeling like needle points. The other is gold, long, and soft, feeling like silk."

Zhao Xiaoshi listened, bewildered, not understanding the purpose of this, but she stared at the woman before her with furrowed brows.

"The three severely damaged swords have the same scratches on their blades, and the fur collected from their guards and hilts matches the same brown short hair and gold long hair. All of this proves that the owners of these four swords fought side by side. For some reason, one of them fled during the battle, leaving the other three to endure a brutal conflict. My lord, Xiao Kui has finished."

Lord Pei nodded with satisfaction and praised, "Brilliant, truly brilliant."

Zhao Xiaoshi, who had been contemplating a countermeasure, suddenly felt her mind go blank. She felt as though she were being watched by a pair of eyes, and under that piercing gaze, she felt naked, unable to hide any thoughts. It was as if a voice came from the abyss, accompanied by a buzzing sound that made her head ache as if it were splitting apart.

"Do you want a chance to redeem yourself?"

Zhao Xiaoshi’s dead, hollow eyes gradually regained a spark of life. "I do, I want it, my lord, I want it..."

Pei Hu must have studied emotional control, as he immediately switched to a kind expression. "Stay here and rest easy. When I have need of you, I will naturally give you a chance to make amends."

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!"

Seeing that the matter was settled, there was no need for Pei Hu to stay. He stood up and said to Xiao Kui, "Xiao Kui, let’s go."

"Yes."

Before the two could leave the room, a loud explosion echoed from outside. "Boom!"

Xiao Kui frowned. "My lord, please return to the main hall of the Demon Suppression Bureau. I will go and see what happened."

Pei Hu did not respond, simply nodding in agreement. Xiao Kui followed the sound and arrived at a spacious courtyard, where a man was practicing his punches, while a thin little girl sat on a large rock nearby. The man threw a punch into the sky, but nothing happened.

"Did you get it wrong again?" the little girl asked like a miniature adult.

Chu Chen still cared about his dignity; having been reminded by Wu Xingyao several times, he was determined to succeed on his own this time. "I don't need you to remind me, I can remember it myself."

"Then take your time remembering."

"I shouldn't have brought you back."

Wu Xingyao looked indifferent. "Master, if you don't want your disciple, then I shall leave. It’s just that I’m not sure what will happen when Mistress returns..."

"You little brat, you've learned to threaten your master? You ungrateful wretch!"

"I am not an ungrateful wretch." As she spoke, Wu Xingyao hopped off the rock and noticed an outsider had arrived. Chu Chen turned around, and a bright smile slowly bloomed on his face. Wasn't this the woman who had flashed by in the main hall? That tight dress, that slender waist, that incredible waist-to-hip ratio—practicing punches? Why bother with punches now?

Chu Chen walked over enthusiastically to greet her. "Can you see your toes when you look down?"

"What?" Xiao Kui asked.

Damn it, why did he say what was on his mind? "I meant, does the young lady have any business here?"

"Nothing special. I just heard a strange noise, and my lord asked me to come and check on the situation."

"No need to be alarmed, it was just me practicing my punches." Having said that, he performed a few empty flourishes in front of the girl.

Xiao Kui stepped back, her eyes filled with terror. Chu Chen immediately stopped his movements and hurriedly explained, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, they are just empty moves."

Xiao Kui pointed behind Chu Chen and asked, "What is that?"

Chu Chen turned around to see a massive creature falling from mid-air—a spider demon with a human face and nine legs. "Boom!"

The spider demon landed steadily, raised its tail, and sprayed a web directly toward Wu Xingyao. A flash of white light streaked by, and the web missed its mark. Bai Ning held Wu Xingyao as they appeared on the wooden steps of the courtyard.

"I've brought you what you wanted."

Chu Chen cursed inwardly, blaming his volatile master—couldn't she have beaten it half to death before bringing it to him? It was jumping around as if it had just woken up. But for the sake of the Thousand-Silk Needles, he had no choice but to fight.