Yongzhou Pass, the City Lord’s Mansion.
Within the high walls of the compound, the silence was unnerving.
At that moment, the other two veteran Captains, Zheng Qiao and Zheng Yu, had been ordered to lead their teams back from the Demon Mountain.
They had men posted to guard the mansion tightly.
Six courtyards and numerous empty rooms were cleared out.
The thirty-some new recruits who had fled back in disarray were then herded into them separately.
PHEW.
Zheng Qiao came out of one room, then immediately stepped into the next.
Beside the courtyard wall, numerous constables from the Demon-slaying Bureau stood in silence, their expressions tinged with worry.
’The situation must be dire if even the new recruits have to be separated for individual interrogation.’
After a long while,
the two brothers of the Zheng Family finally walked out of the courtyard and said coldly, "Guard them carefully. No one is to step out of their room. Prevent them from colluding on their stories!"
Leaving these instructions, the two of them hurried to the main hall.
Yu Duchuan sat in the main seat. Below him to his left were his numerous disciples, while the seat of honor to his right was occupied by Vice General Xu Zhonglin.
"Reporting to the Vice General, all thirty-four men have been interrogated. Their testimonies are largely identical, so they should be telling the truth."
"Gong Yue did not follow your instructions to scout the perimeter incrementally. Instead, he planned to use a new recruit named Chang Yi to lure out a Little Demon. He severely wounded Chang Yi, hung him from a treetop, and then scattered the recruit’s Essence Blood throughout the valley..."
Zheng Qiao paused here to explain, "This recruit has a relative, a former disciple of the Chen Family who became a Demon. His Cultivation was at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment. Two months ago, he fled toward the Border Region, and all trace of him was lost."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the many disciples turned rather strange.
Even Yu Duchuan shot them an odd look.
’It wasn’t that he had a problem with the method,’ he thought. ’After all, the harder the Demon-slaying Bureau works, the greater my own chances of ascension.’
’The problem is, Yongzhou is vast. What damn use is a piece of two-month-old intelligence?’
’That Little Demon might have already died out there, or it might have gotten lucky and escaped past the Border Region into Great Shun.’
’Even if it was still lingering in this Demon Mountain, a mere Early-stage Foundation Establishment Demon would most likely flee at the first sign of the Demon-slaying Bureau’s arrival.’
’Which Demon in this world doesn’t still have a few relatives?’
’The moment they become a Demon, even their closest kin would want to turn them in to the Demon-slaying Bureau for a reward.’
’Those cold-blooded Demons would never believe in so-called familial bonds.’
’For Gong Yue to act so ruthlessly against his own subordinate over such an illusory and vague possibility... he was clearly desperate for a promotion.’
"Gong Yue was indeed just trying his luck, so he had the other new recruits continue searching the mountain for Demons as normal."
Zheng Qiao gave a bitter smile and quickly recounted what happened next. "They recklessly charged deep into the mountains and alarmed the Moon-Devouring Demon General. That Demon not only slaughtered every last Captain but also left their corpses hanging on the new recruits... and left a letter."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and handed the blood-stained envelope to the Vice General.
A chilling aura radiated from Xu Zhonglin. His expression was devoid of grief or joy as he reached out, took the envelope, unfolded it, and read its contents with cold eyes.
"You can keep these stinking fish and rotten shrimp."
"Send me something worthwhile. I’m starving!"
The characters were smeared in the Captains’ blood. It was just two short sentences, yet it was filled with undisguised contempt!
Veins instantly bulged on Xu Zhonglin’s forehead. In his mind, he could almost see an arrogant, mocking face.
"What is it? Let me see," Yu Duchuan said, glancing over with curiosity.
"Just the mad ravings of an ignorant beast. No need to dirty the Mountain God’s eyes."
The Vice General slowly crushed the letter in his hand, his eyelids lowered as he struggled to suppress the furious rage surging in his eyes.
’Ever since he joined the Demon-slaying Bureau and climbed to the rank of Vice General, what Demon hadn’t trembled in fear at the sight of him?’
’When had he, Xu Zhonglin, ever suffered such humiliation?’
’Gong Yue’s death was one thing, but that Profound Turtle Shell Armor had been borrowed from the Demon-slaying Bureau.’
’The plan had been for Gong Yue to accumulate enough merit and then officially exchange it for the armor upon returning to Yongzhou. No one would have cared that he’d requisitioned it in advance.’
’But now, this Top Grade Magical Artifact was lost.’
Xu Zhonglin was already burning with anxiety. Now, this Demon was courting death with its provocations. Uncontrollable rage surged through his chest!
But at this moment, he could only swallow his anger.
’Without enough information, rushing blindly into the vast Demon Mountain would only lead to the same fate as that fool Gong Yue.’
"There is one more thing."
Zheng Qiao hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and said softly, "While this subordinate was conducting the interrogations just now, I noticed that morale is wavering."
Gong Yue’s methods weren’t actually a major problem in themselves.
In the Demon-slaying Bureau, there was more than one way to command subordinates; making them obey willingly wasn’t a requirement.
You could entice them with benefits or intimidate them with fear, but the one thing you couldn’t do...
...was appear foolish in front of your subordinates!
If Gong Yue had managed to capture the Demon,
even if it had nothing to do with Chang Yi, he would have left the new recruits with the profound impression of a man who had everything under control.
Letting them know that following him would lead to rewards would have been enough.
But he was slaughtered by the Demon. In that light, his prior actions toward Chang Yi could only be described as utterly foolish!
These few dozen new recruits were nothing to the Demon-slaying Bureau as a whole, but they were the foundation of Vice General Xu’s future retinue.
Moreover, if word of this got back to Yongzhou, it would damage the Vice General’s image in the eyes of the other new recruits.
"To rally their spirits, a great victory is all it takes."
Xu Zhonglin slowly rose to his feet. "You will go and investigate again. A Demon that arrogant is bound to have left traces behind."
He turned his head, his voice turning vicious. "We will make this Moon-Devouring beast the first major achievement of my Demon Cleansing campaign!"
Hearing this, a strange expression flickered across Zheng Qiao’s face. He slowly took out a Jade Gourd. "That new recruit, Chang Yi... he had the same idea as you."

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