Chapter 9: Approachable and Down-to-Earth
“Knock, knock, knock…”
Chu Chen was sound asleep when suddenly someone knocked on his door.
“Who is it?”
“Lord Chu, it’s me, County Assistant Liu. We’ve all heard of your heroic deeds.”
“The demon that had been troubling the people for days was defeated by you in a single strike. Truly, a hero emerges in youth!”
Chu Chen sat up with a start, all sleep gone.
He had returned home last night and gone straight to his room to rest. Unless Xu Xiaoyao revealed the matter, no one would know he was the one who killed the demon.
“How did you find out?”
“Lord Xu told me.”
At those words, Chu Chen didn’t even have time to put on his shoes before rushing over and opening the wooden door.
“What exactly did she say?”
“Lord Xu said you were invincible last night, slaying the beast with a single blow.”
Assistant Liu chuckled awkwardly and continued:
“I had underestimated you, Lord Chu. I thought you couldn’t slay demons. I never imagined you were so brave.”
“Please, change your clothes quickly. The townsfolk are all waiting to see you.”
“Where is Xu Xiaoyao?” Chu Chen asked.
“Lord Xu said she had urgent matters and returned to the Demon Suppression Office in Jinnan Town first.”
“Oh, and Lord Xu asked me to pass along a message.”
“Go on.”
Assistant Liu cleared his throat and mimicked Xu Xiaoyao’s expression at the time:
“Tell Chu Chen that I have returned to the Demon Suppression Office in Jinnan Town ahead of time.”
“I will tell everyone how you slew a fourth-order demon with one strike, and how your cultivation soared to the pinnacle of Qi Refining immediately afterward.”
“We will also invite the best storyteller in Jinnan to compose an epic tale of your bravery.”
Hearing this, Chu Chen’s heart sank halfway.
There was another Illustrated Handbook reward involved, and he absolutely could not show off—doing so would be like inviting disaster.
Damn you, Xu Xiaoyao, forcing me into a dead end.
“Damn it!” Chu Chen cursed.
“Lord Chu, what does that mean?”
“It’s a greeting from my hometown,” Chu Chen answered casually.
“Oh, Lord Chu, I ‘damn’ you,” Assistant Liu said, clasping his fists and bowing deeply.
“I ‘damn’ you too.”
“Mutual damnation,” Assistant Liu echoed with a bow, emphasizing the phrase.
“Lord Chu, the people outside are still waiting for you.”
“Got it.” Chu Chen responded and slammed the door shut.
---
As Assistant Liu walked away, he muttered under his breath:
“Damn, I ‘damn’ you… why does it feel like something’s missing after that?”
“Big shots really are different.”
“I’ve rotated through several counties, but I’ve never heard such a dialect before.”
“Clear and catchy—wonderful, wonderful.”
Chu Chen quickly dressed and kept murmuring to himself, his mind filled with thoughts of Xu Xiaoyao.
“Xu Xiaoyao, just wait until I return to the Demon Suppression Office in Jinnan Town. I’ll make sure everyone knows what you’ve done—no one will leave without a bowl-sized debt to pay.”
Dressed and ready, Chu Chen climbed the county government office’s balcony.
The street below was packed with townsfolk who had been waiting a long time, while a few from the other Demon Suppression teams stood at the crowd’s edge.
Assistant Liu immediately called down:
“Everyone, please greet warmly.”
“Let us give a warm welcome to Lord Chu!”
“Salute Lord Chu!”
The townsfolk were well-prepared.
To make Lord Chu feel at home, Assistant Liu had even arranged for officials to teach everyone Chu’s native dialect.
“Lord Chu, I ‘damn’ you!”
“Lord Chu, I ‘damn’ you!”
“Enough, enough,” Chu Chen thought, wanting to slap himself for teaching them this phrase.
“Hmm.” Assistant Liu suddenly cleared his throat.
Someone from the crowd stepped forward and knelt at the foot of the balcony with a thud.
“Lord Chu, you are the great benefactor of our county!”
“My wife and children were killed by that demon. You have avenged me!”
“I have no way to repay you…”
As he spoke, the plainly dressed middle-aged man pulled out a red cloth bundle from behind his back.
Raising it above his head, he declared loudly:
“This is my humble gift, to thank you for avenging me.”
“Present it,” Assistant Liu said.
A clerk approached the man and handed the red bundle up to the second floor.
“Lord Chu, please accept this token of the people’s gratitude.”
Chu Chen took the bundle and opened it to find a gold ingot inside.
He immediately understood—Assistant Liu knew how to handle things well.
“You didn’t extort this from the people, did you?” Chu Chen asked.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then I gratefully accept it.”
With a smile, Chu Chen tucked the gold into his bosom.
Zhao Xiaoshi, seeing Chu’s greedy expression, spat harshly on the ground.
---
“How could someone like this come from the Demon Suppression Office? Shameless.”
After cursing, Zhao Xiaoshi asked those nearby:
“Did everyone hear about it this morning?”
“Yes,” only Cheng Meimei responded.
Zhao Xiaoshi glanced sideways at Chu Chen and began defending Xu Xiaoyao.
“That clueless Assistant Liu actually thinks Chu Chen killed the demon—when it was really Sister Xiaoyao.”
“I went to Sister Xiaoyao’s room this morning; there was blood on the floor.”
Upon hearing this, everyone showed worried expressions.
“Sister Xiaoyao’s injured. Is it safe for her to return to the Demon Suppression Office alone?” Cheng Meimei asked with concern.
“Better worry about yourselves,” Fang Lingling chimed in.
“Sister Xiaoyao left early. If we run into demons on the way back, we’ll each have to fend for ourselves.”
“Damn Chu Chen!” Zhao Xiaoshi cursed, imagining the scene of demon-slaying last night.
“Sister Xiaoyao must have been thinking of the family, going alone to slay the demon.”
“For some reason, Chu Chen tagged along.”
“The mission was clearly to kill a third-order demon; it shouldn’t have hurt Sister Xiaoyao.”
“It must be Chu Chen who caused trouble, leading to Sister Xiaoyao’s injury.”
“Chu Chen is the apprentice of the villain Bai Ning. Sister Xiaoyao must just endure the injustice.”
“Otherwise, why would she leave early?”
Zhao Xiaoshi’s reasoning seemed plausible, and Fang Lingling sighed.
“Ah… If Sister Xiaoyao is leaving, she might as well take us along.”
“With her peak Qi Refining cultivation, we wouldn’t fear small demons blocking the way.”
After listening for a while, Dong Qin, who had remained silent, snorted.
“Hmph! If small demons block the road, the lot of us will fight together. I don’t believe we can’t kill a single small demon.”
“Right, Brother Dong is correct!” Zhao Xiaoshi immediately voiced agreement, eyes slowly turning toward Chu Chen.
“When that time comes… we won’t care about anyone’s survival.”
Descending from the balcony, Chu Chen shook hands with the townsfolk along the street. His nose itched suddenly, and he sneezed.
“Achoo…”
He wiped his mouth and nose, maintaining a friendly smile.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. It’s my fault.”
“Is that a boy or a girl? So beautiful.”
“Old man, your joints are still so strong.”
“Eat less sugar; it’s bad for your teeth…”
The county’s people were moved to tears. It had been a long time since they had met such an approachable lord.