Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

This time, the destination was Beiyuan County of Liyang Mansion. After Gu Chen arrived at the headquarters of the Jing Tian Department within the inner city of Tiandu, he met Song Yu and Wang Yan.

It was Gu Chen's first task since his promotion to Metropolitan Procurator, and also his first time undertaking such a task, so he had no experience. The reticent Wang Yan did not speak, while Song Yu briefed Gu Chen on some key points.

Afterward, Gu Chen joined Song Yu and Wang Yan, heading to the rendezvous point to meet the people from the Mingjing Department.

This time, the Mingjing Department's team was led by two second-level mirror holders, including eighteen third-level mirror holders and thirty-two clerks.

The two second-level mirror holders from the Mingjing Department were about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. One had an average build and ordinary appearance, but bore a mean look with coldness in his eyes, making it clear at first glance that he was not an easy person to get along with.

The other second-level mirror holder, having a physique not much different from that of Wang Yan, bore a fierce look in his eyes, standing there without uttering a word.

"May I know how to address the two gentlemen?" asked Song Yu with a smile, greeting them with a bow.

The mean-looking second-level mirror holder sized up Gu Chen and the others for a moment, saying nothing.

He turned his head and shouted to the people behind him, "Depart!"

Following this, the people from the Mingjing Department mounted their swift horses and left in a cloud of dust.

Seeing this, Song Yu frowned and said in a low voice, "It seems that the ones leading the Mingjing Department this time are not easy to get along with."

Wang Yan nodded, and soon after, the three of them also mounted their swift horses and quickly followed.

It took three days for Gu Chen and the others to travel from Tiandu to Beiyuan County in Liyang Mansion. Along the way, Song Yu tried several times to cozy up to the two second-level mirror holders from the Mingjing Department but was met with rejection. The other party completely ignored Gu Chen and his companions, treating them as if they were air.

Despite feeling annoyed, Song Yu refrained from commenting further.

Thus, three days later, they arrived at the county seat of Beiyuan County in Liyang Mansion. A Commandant held the rank of a fifth-grade official in Da Xia and wielded considerable authority in a county, second only to the local county governor.

At that moment, the Commandant's Mansion had already been thoroughly sealed off, with outsiders unable to enter and insiders unable to leave. There were guards on duty for the past few days, and anyone daring to trespass or attempt to escape faced the risk of death.

The two second-level mirror holders from the Mingjing Department, the mean-looking one named Yan Hua and the other named Cheng Song, now arrived at the entrance of the Commandant's Mansion with an imposing air. Yan Hua waved his hand and said coldly, "Confiscate!"

Hearing this command, the followers immediately kicked open the gate, rushing in like a horde of bandits and thieves.

The Commandant of Beiyuan County, surnamed Zhang, had a large estate with several courtyards. On the day Commandant Zhang's troubles began, the entire Zhang Mansion was sealed, and even the funeral proceedings couldn't be carried out.

At the moment, faint sobbing could be heard from within Zhang Mansion. The servants, taken aback by the aggressive intrusion of Yan Hua and Cheng Song, were all startled.

They had no idea what was happening or what they were about to face.

The abrupt incursion by the Mingjing Department naturally provoked panic among the people of Zhang Mansion, with a lady exclaiming, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Get out of the way!"

Yan Hua pushed the woman, who was the lawful wife of the Beiyuan County Commandant Zhang, to the ground with excessive rudeness and commanded, "Search!"

Male members of the household rushed out, attempting to interfere, but before they could even speak, they were struck down by a heavy slap from Yan Hua. His eyes were chilling as he pointed his blade at the man's throat and said coldly, "If you don't want to die, then stay in line!"

The man, who was slapped by Yan Hua, had several teeth shattered, and now found himself stunned, trembling uncontrollably as he saw Yan Hua's blade pointed at his throat.

"You, you, you, and you, stay here and make sure no one comes in or out. Anyone daring to obstruct the case will be executed without mercy!" As he said this, Yan Hua coldly glanced at Gu Chen and his companions, clearly directing his words at them.

Song Yu's expression darkened immediately as he said, "We are also here for the case. What do you mean by this?"

Yan Hua snorted and replied, "You can participate in the case, but I fear some might use it as a pretense to indulge in unclean practices."

Hearing this, even the consistently silent Wang Yan's expression grew stern as he glared at Yan Hua.

"What, are you thinking of starting a fight?" Cheng Song's eyes flashed fiercely as he spoke in a threatening tone.

Gu Chen's brow furrowed slightly, knowing that Yan Hua and Cheng Song were clearly doing this on purpose, fearing that Gu Chen and his companions would take advantage of the situation to harvest benefits for themselves, intending to monopolize the loot.

Normally, in such joint law enforcement matters, both sides would have an unspoken understanding. The Mingjing Department would take the larger share, and the Jing Tian Department would also grab something for themselves. Everyone would benefit, ensuring that no one left empty-handed.

But clearly, this time, Yan Hua and Cheng Song simply did not want to let Gu Chen and his two companions get off so easily. All along the way, they purposefully gave them the cold shoulder.

Seeing this, the third-tier mirror-holders sneered coldly, as they naturally did not wish for Gu Chen's trio to share the spoils. More hands meant less for these subordinates.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yan's forehead vein throbbed, clearly unable to bear it much longer, but Song Yu, perceptive and observant, quickly pulled at Wang Yan.

"Hmph!"

Yan Hua and Cheng Song, extremely smug, glanced at Gu Chen's trio and headed toward the inner courtyard to start looting their spoils.

"Let's go too," said Song Yu.

Following suit, Gu Chen's trio also entered the inner courtyard. As soon as they stepped in, countless eyes darted their way, fearing they would stealthily take something.

Gu Chen's trio did not care, for after all, raiding a house was indeed within the purview of the Mingjing Department's responsibilities. If they really started a fight over this, they would be in the wrong.

This was the cunning of Yan Hua and Cheng Song. They knew they had no right to stop the Jing Tian Department from conducting its investigation but could keep an eye on Gu Chen's trio, preventing them from gaining any advantages and intentionally causing them trouble.

They were certain that Gu Chen's trio could only swallow their anger and endure it.

Song Yu and Wang Yan were indeed aggrieved, but there was nothing they could do. Gu Chen followed these two to the location where the Commandant had died, and the three began to look for clues.

Meanwhile, Yan Hua and Cheng Song, along with their men from the Mingjing Department, were grabbing everything in sight. Before long, the entire Commandant's Mansion had been pillaged, as if locusts had swept through.

"You bandits, you're nothing but bandits!" cried the family members of the Commandant, Yan Hua, feeling irritated, barked, "If you don't want to die, then shut your damn mouths!"

Upon seeing this, the people from the Mingjing Department's faces darkened, and they made gestures as if to draw their swords.

Yan Hua's sinister gaze swept across the crowd, and seeing his fierce demeanor, everyone fell silent, their bodies trembling like sieves— the scene quieted down instantly.

"That's more like it," Yan Hua sneered coldly, with a cruel smile.

At this moment, a third-tier mirror-holder stepped forward and whispered to the two, "Boss, the count is off; there's a shortage of silver. All together, there's barely thousands of taels."

Upon hearing this, Yan Hua's eyes darkened. He grabbed a person by the neck and demanded, "Speak! Where have you hidden the embezzled silver?!"

The woman trembled with fear, unable to produce a coherent sentence. Seeing this, Yan Hua coldly said, "Speak, or die!"

"I... I don't know..." The young maid, terrified by Yan Hua, was nearly crying.

Smack!

With a slap from Yan Hua, the maid's face instantly swelled, and then he threw her aside as if discarding trash.

The people trapped in the Commandant's Mansion, whether servants or womenfolk, had never witnessed such a scene. Each of them was terrified, tears and snot streaming down, but the fear of Yan Hua's brutal expression prevented them from uttering a sound.

With the amount of silver off, Yan Hua grew increasingly irritable. He roughly dragged up the Commandant's principal wife and interrogated, "Speak, where is the silver hidden!"

The woman was so frightened that her complexion turned deathly pale, devoid of any color, and she cried incessantly as Yan Hua struck her with another slap.

"Mother!"

A child of five or six, seeing his mother struck, mustered courage from who knows where and charged at Yan Hua, biting fiercely into his thigh.

Enraged by this, Yan Hua exclaimed, "Seeking death!"

A savage light flashed in his eyes, and he kicked out.

A child of five or six could never withstand Yan Hua's powerful kick. One kick like that and the child would undoubtedly be killed.

"Chen'er!" The child's mother cried out in alarm, struggling incessantly in Yan Hua's grasp.

Gu Chen's trio had just finished investigating the scene of the Commandant's death, thinking of questioning his family about some doubtful points. They had just arrived when they witnessed this scene.

"Stop!"

Gu Chen's eyebrows furrowed in anger, his heart aflame with rage as he charged forward.