I became the demon of the female devil

Chapter 368 The Empress's People Arrive! Eavesdropping!
Tiannan Prefecture, Pucheng.

As the capital city, all the core institutions of Tiannan are located here, including the Tianlin Guard branch.

Inside the yamen's residence, in the study, Kuang Jie sat in a chair, his right hand wrapped in bandages.

Because his hand injury had not yet healed, he was unable to write and could only dictate, while the clerk next to him recorded the contents on a document.

After leaving Fengmu County, he went to Jiutou Mountain according to the directions given by Chen Mo. When he saw the piles of dismembered corpses there, his head was buzzing.

The Gu God Cult has been resurrected, with hundreds of its members hiding in his territory!
This was just one of the small outposts, which almost turned the entire Toyogi Prefecture into a ghost town, demonstrating just how fast it developed and how destructive it was!
If this trend is not stopped as soon as possible, the consequences could be disastrous!

Kuang Jie realized the seriousness of the matter and dared not conceal anything. He wrote down the whole story, emphasizing the great contributions of Chen Mo and others, without mentioning himself at all.

As the clerk was writing, he felt something was amiss and asked in confusion, "Sir, if we report it like this, all the credit will go to those officials in the capital, and we'll just be supporting characters, not getting any benefit at all?"

"You're lucky to be alive, and you're still thinking about taking credit?" Kuang Jie rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, "Do you think this is dealing with other branches, where credit is split in half?"

"That's Chen Mo!"

"Xu Chengbi, the former head of Tiannan, died at his hands. You think I'm invincible when it comes to these tricks?"

The clerk glanced at Kuang Jie's right hand and muttered, "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. He came up and attacked right away, not only injuring you but also beating one of our brothers half to death. Isn't that going too far?"

"To say something like that shows you're narrow-minded and haven't seen a real dragon crossing the river."

“This kind of person wouldn’t bother targeting you, because you’re not even in their sights.”

"As a local bully, what you have to do is obediently give way, lest you get crushed by him if he's not careful."

Kuang Jie cracked his knuckles and sighed, "To be honest, I really have to thank Chen Mo. If it weren't for his intervention, I wouldn't even be able to keep my head, let alone my official hat... This beating was totally worth it."

He knew in his heart that the other party took action not only because they were offended, but also because they were a warning to the Tiannan branch for its inaction.

When he wrote that letter of introduction, he had already reached a tacit understanding with Chen Mo to attribute the credit to him. To some extent, this was also a way to divert attention and make the higher-ups ignore the fact that he had "neglected his duties."

Seeing this, the clerk said nothing more and organized the documents as required.

Just as they were about to hand it over to Kuang Jie for review, a sudden burst of chaotic footsteps and shouts came from outside.

"stop!"

"Who let you in?!"

Immediately afterwards, the door was pushed open with a "bang," and an elderly man with white hair, dressed in coarse linen clothes, slowly walked in.

"Are you Kuang Jie?" the old man asked in a deep voice.

Kuang Jie frowned, raised his hand to stop the constables who were chasing after him, and nodded, saying, "It is I. And you are...?"

As the saying goes, "a fall into a pit, a gain in your wit," having just suffered a loss, he did not act rashly before figuring out the other party's identity.

thump—

The old man walked to the opposite side and sat down, then tossed a jade token over, which landed right in front of Kuang Jie.

The token had dark scale and claw patterns on the front and the four large characters "As if the Holy One were present" on the back. All the lines were engraved and filled with gold.

"This, this is..."

Kuang Jie's pupils contracted, and he could barely speak.

The old man remained silent, glancing towards the door.

"Everyone, step back! No one is allowed to approach the study without my permission!" Kuang Jie shouted hurriedly after realizing what was happening.

"Yes."

Everyone, including the clerk, withdrew.

Only the two of them remained in the study. Kuang Jie got up, closed the door tightly, and then took three steps at a time to the old man. He knelt on one knee and held up the token with both hands.

"This humble official greets Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy!"

"Lord Kuang, you are too polite."

The old man reached out and took back the token, saying calmly, "I am Zhonglihe, a royal retainer. I have come south to handle a case on the orders of the Empress Dowager. There are some places where I may need Lord Kuang's assistance."

Zhong Lihe?
Kuang Jie felt the name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

However, he had no time to think further and bowed his head, saying, "Lord Zhong, please give your orders. I will do my best to cooperate!"

The Tianlin Guard is independent of the Six Ministries and is only responsible to the royal family. Since the old man in front of him has a token representing imperial power, he naturally dares not be negligent.

Zhong Lihe asked, "Are you aware that two commanders of the Tianlin Guard came from the capital and arrived in Tiannan the day before yesterday?"

He was ordered by the Empress to secretly follow Chen Mo to the Southern Frontier, his intention being to protect him.

Embarrassingly, he actually lost track of them halfway through...

Logically, Zhong Lihe shouldn't have made such a basic mistake, but that's exactly what happened, as if his perception had been clouded.

I've searched almost all over Tiannan these past two days, but I haven't found any trace of Chen Mo and the others.

Worried that something might have happened to the other party, and disregarding the need to conceal their identity, they went directly to the Tianlin Guard branch to see if they could find anything.

"Two commanders of a thousand?"

Kuang Jie was taken aback for a moment, then hesitated and asked, "Could you be referring to Lord Chen Mo?"

Zhong Lihe's brow twitched, and he sat up a little straighter. "You've seen them?"

“It’s more than just that I’ve seen it; the story is a long one.” Kuang Jie stood up and handed the report to Zhong Lihe. “This is a record of what has happened in the last two days. I hope Lord Zhong will take a look.”

Zhong Lihe examined the pages carefully, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Chen Mo led the team to thwart the Gu God Cult's conspiracy, helped the city's residents expel the Gu worms, saved nearly 20,000 lives, and destroyed their stronghold at Nine Heads Mountain, killing hundreds of cult members..."

Are you sure this information is true?

Kuang Jie said solemnly, "I guarantee with my life that there is not a single falsehood in this."

Zhong Lihe's throat moved slightly.

Chen Mo only arrived in Fengmu County yesterday, and in less than two days, he has already solved such a big case?
What he didn't expect was that the Gu God Cult, which he had personally destroyed, would make a comeback so quickly!

Moreover, they seem to be coming on strong and have big ambitions!
"Ultimately, it all comes down to Yin Tiankuo."

“He ran away from me back then, so it’s only right that I put an end to this matter.”

Zhongli He's eyes flashed with a cold light as he asked, "Do you know where Chen Mo and his group are now?"

Kuang Jie dared not conceal the truth and answered truthfully: "When I parted with Lord Chen, he was still in the county town. He should be heading to Bailu City next."

"Then let's go and take a look at Toyogi Prefecture first."

Zhong Lihe made up his mind, stood up and said, "Our conversation today is confidential, so don't let a third party know about it."

Kuang Jie nodded repeatedly, "This humble official understands, and will pretend that you never came."

"Okay." Zhong Lihe's figure flashed and he suddenly disappeared.

Kuang Jie looked around and, after confirming that the person had left, breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back into his chair.

"First two commanders arrived, then a royal retainer. Is it really necessary to make such a fuss just to eradicate the remnants of the Demonic Cult?"

"Wait a minute..."

"The imperial guard who joined forces with the Shence Army to wipe out the Gu God Cult back then, wasn't his name Zhong Lihe?!"

Kuang Jie swallowed hard.

This is a ruthless person who even dared to kill the prefect!
It seems that the situation in southern Xinjiang is about to change again!
……

……

Toyogi Prefecture.

As dusk fell, the moon rose high in the sky.

The candlelight in the courtroom was dim. Ji Weifeng leaned wearily against his chair and asked, "Have everything been arranged outside?"

The clerk bowed and replied, "We have checked again. The total number of people infected with Gu is 19,827. There are no errors or omissions. The Gu worms that were expelled from the body have all been collected and burned."

"That's good." Ji Weifeng rubbed his temples.

The events of the past two days have had a profound impact on him, and he is still somewhat dazed.

What he couldn't understand was that after dealing with the Li family so many times, he hadn't noticed a single problem.

Looking back now, he realized that more than one of the constables had experienced abnormal physical symptoms before, losing weight rapidly as if they had been seriously ill, but he had subconsciously ignored these signs.

"what happened?"

Ji Weifeng pondered to himself.

Having spent so many years navigating the officialdom of southern Xinjiang, one would think it impossible for someone to be so careless...

"Enough, it's all in the past, there's no point in dwelling on it." "This time, we are so grateful for Lord Chen's help, otherwise it would have been a disaster!"

"It's a pity that Lord Chen left in such a hurry that he didn't even give me a chance to express my gratitude."

Ji Weifeng shook his head. Even if he was in a hurry to solve the case, it wouldn't make a difference if he didn't have a little time to eat.
That strange feeling grew stronger.

"Master, is there anything else you need?" the clerk asked.

Ji Weifeng waved his hand and said, "It's alright. The brothers in the yamen are exhausted these past two days. Let them all get some rest."

"Yes, please don't stay up too late. Taking care of your health is the most important thing."

"Okay, let's go down."

After the clerk left, the courtroom fell silent.

Ji Weifeng picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, hesitated for a moment, and began to write on the silk paper.

As local officials, except for those who plot rebellion or treason, all matters had to be reported level by level. They had to be submitted to the prefectural government for review first, and then the prefectural government would decide whether to report to the Ministry of Personnel.

In other words, the version that the imperial court finally saw had long been altered beyond recognition, and the superiors would definitely absolve themselves of all responsibility... Then the responsibility was delegated layer by layer, and eventually it fell on them again.

When the sky falls, the tall ones never hold it up; instead, they hold up the short ones to take the blame.

This is why very few county magistrates complete their full term...

"Fortunately, this case was handled personally by Lord Chen, so the prefectural government should not dare to act recklessly."

About an incense stick later, Ji Weifeng finished writing the document and was preparing to put it into a wooden box and seal it with sealing wax.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open with a bang, and a gust of night wind blew in, extinguishing the lamp on the table and dimming the light.

"Who?"

Ji Weifeng looked up and saw a figure standing at the door.

By the moonlight, one could vaguely make out the official robes; it seemed to belong to a clerk.

"Didn't I tell you to go and rest? Why are you back?" Ji Weifeng asked, frowning.

The advisor lowered his head and remained silent; a faint smell of blood seemed to waft through the breeze.

Ji Weifeng realized something was wrong and hurriedly took out a tinderbox from under the table, lit it, and relit the candle.

Upon seeing the scene before him, he was instantly filled with dread—

The advisor who had just been talking to him was now shriveled up, his eyes bulging, and he looked like a skin and bones dried corpse. A black rope was tied around his neck, with the other end hanging on the door frame, swaying gently in the night breeze.

"Help! Someone, help me!"

Ji Weifeng's face turned pale and his legs went weak. Just as he was about to shout for help, a hoarse voice came from behind him: "Don't shout, they've all gone to sleep."

Turning around abruptly, a tall figure draped in a blood-red robe slowly emerged from the corner.

"Who are you?!" Ji Weifeng stepped back, drew his sword hanging on the wall, and waved it wildly. "Let me tell you, Lord Chen hasn't gone far yet, and he could be back at any moment. You'd better get out of here!"

"Don't worry, he's no longer within Tiannan territory." The man in the blood-red robe said in a low voice, "This mission failed, and the sect leader is very angry. I need to know Chen Mo's next move, otherwise I'll have to take you back to apologize to the sect leader in person..."

Seeing Ji Weifeng's bewildered expression, the man in the blood-red robe paused slightly and muttered to himself, "Look at my memory, I almost forgot to take out the Soul-Locking Gu."

Immediately afterwards, he took out a piece of wooden flute from his sleeve, put it to his lips and started to play.

Accompanied by the "whooshing" sound of the flute, Ji Weifeng felt a tickle in his nose. He reached out and pulled out a white worm about half a finger long!
Its entire body was covered in murky mucus, and its spiral-shaped mouthparts opened and closed constantly, making it look extremely creepy.

puff--

Ji Weifeng remained silent for a moment, then crushed the insect, causing green sap to splatter everywhere.

He raised his head again, his face no longer showing any panic, his eyes as cold and indifferent as water.

"This matter has even alarmed the sect leader?"

"It's all that idiot Li Chichang's fault. Even though I told him to be careful, he still managed to slip up and drag the Jiutoushan base into it."

Ji Weifeng pulled out a handkerchief, wiped his hands, and said, "Chen Mo led his men towards Bailu City. His strength has already broken through to the Grandmaster level, and he seems to have other experts with him. It's best to avoid trouble for now and not confront him head-on."

"understood."

The man in the red robe nodded, then, as if remembering something, asked, "Are you sure you didn't give yourself away?"

“Of course.” Ji Weifeng sneered, “With the Soul-Locking Gu sealing my memories, even I don’t know my true identity. How could Chen Mo possibly figure it out?”

This method is extremely covert; unless one forcibly searches the soul or directly opens the skull to search, no abnormality can be found at all.

"That's good. Your position as county magistrate will be very useful in the future, so it's best if you can keep it." The man in red robes pondered, "Chen Mo has come with great force this time. It seems the imperial court is determined to eliminate him completely. There's a high chance of reinforcements coming, and the risks will only increase. We must refine a new meat fungus as soon as possible..."

"The unrest in the city has just subsided, and it's the most relaxed time. Tomorrow, I will arrange for a physician to put a poisonous curse in the medicine under the guise of conditioning the body, and have those people drink it." Ji Weifeng gave a sinister smile. "Even if it comes to light then, it will be because Chen Mo didn't completely remove the poison, and no matter what, they won't be able to find my fault."

pop, pop, pop—

At this moment, a round of applause broke out, accompanied by mocking remarks:
"Great idea, Lord Ji is truly a genius."

? !
Ji Weifeng's expression froze, and he slowly turned his head to look.

Two figures suddenly appeared in the courtroom.

One of them was Chen Mo, who had already left. He sat in a chair with his legs crossed, looking at him with a playful expression, while the chieftain's secretary, Xu You, stood behind him expressionlessly.

"Lord Chen?!"

Ji Weifeng realized what was happening and quickly changed his expression, pointing at the man in red robes and exclaiming, "I was just pretending to be an accomplice, feigning compliance to keep him calm. You've come at the perfect time, quickly capture this demon!"

"Alright, stop acting. I heard everything clearly from beginning to end."

Chen Mo snapped his fingers, and a paper figure slowly floated down from under the chair. He shook his head and said, "I thought you would at least keep up the act for two more days, but I didn't expect you to reveal your true colors as soon as I left. It seems you really couldn't wait even a moment longer."

Chen Mo had already realized that something was wrong.

The reason is simple: Ji Weifeng acted completely innocent.

The fact that previous attempts to probe had failed to uncover anything only underscores the problem.

Since the Gu God Cult has such a grand scheme, attempting to turn tens of thousands of people into nourishment, how could they possibly let go of this county magistrate who has no cultivation? Aren't they afraid of their scheme being exposed?
More importantly,

After he cured all the people who had been poisoned, the system mission was not completed, which meant that there must still be some who had escaped!

So he pretended to leave and used his paper puppet technique to eavesdrop remotely, and sure enough, he caught them red-handed!
Ji Weifeng and the man in red exchanged a glance, their expressions gradually turning cold.

"Things have come to this point, there's no way to resolve this peacefully; we have no choice but to fight a desperate battle!"

"Do it!"

The two shouted at the same time, but their actions were completely opposite.

One turned and ran towards the back door, while the other crashed through the ceiling and leaped away, both choosing to betray their teammates.

"..."

Chen Mo's lips twitched slightly.

Demolishing and fleeing—that's exactly the style of the Gu God Cult...

Swah——

Just as the man in the red robe crashed through the roof, a blazing blade of light slashed towards him!

Li Yuan stood on the roof ridge, exerted force with one foot, twisted her body, and swung the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) down like a stick.

Caught off guard, the man in the red robe was struck hard in the chest, and his body crashed back down!

On the other side, Ji Weifeng had just arrived at the back door when he bumped into a woman in a purple dress, her willow-leaf eyes gleaming with a bewitching light.

"Want to run?"

Ji Weifeng's throat tightened, and he took a step back.

The man in the red robe struggled to his feet from the bricks and tiles, and stood back to back with him, the atmosphere incredibly heavy.

"Will you confess yourselves, or will you follow the proper procedures?"

Chen Mo stood up, stretched his shoulders, and said calmly, "Huang Nianyun lasted three breaths, and Li Chichang lasted two breaths. I hope you two can show some spirit. The Gu God Sect can't be all spineless, can it?"

……

……

While the fighting raged on, Xu You seemed like an outsider.

With his arms crossed over his chest and his chin resting on his hand, he stared at the paper figure on the ground, looking thoughtful.

"This thing looks familiar..."

(End of this chapter)