Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 131 The Pressure of Being the Top Rookie
“Hey, so according to you, your master knows that you’re working as a maid here with me now…” Lu Xingzhou suddenly said.

Pei Chuyun snapped out of her daze, a half-smile playing on her lips: "What, are you scared? You know I have backers, and you'll get beaten up if you bully me?"

"I'm not bullying you, what are you afraid of? But will your master let you play here forever?"

"She just thinks I'm trying to hook you up, what's so strange about that to our sect..." Pei Chuyun said leisurely, "She won't care how exactly I plan to do it... but..."

"what?"

"The stories she told me might have a cautionary message in them." Pei Chuyun turned around, put her arms around Lu Xingzhou's neck, and smiled. "After all, my mother was impregnated by someone for no reason. Do you think I'll feel a little self-reflective after hearing them?"

Lu Xingzhou immediately replied, "I would never be as scummy as my father-in-law."

Pei Chuyun spat out, "Who's your father-in-law?"

As she spoke, her eyes sparkled, and she said with a grin, "But what you had a good chance of getting now has become much more difficult."

Lu Xingzhou whispered in his ear, "Was there really any hope?"

"No, no." Pei Chuyun shrank her neck as if tickled, and said reproachfully, "You're like a pig in heat as soon as you come back!"

Lu Xingzhou was both amused and exasperated: "It's you who keeps bringing up this topic, and when I go along with you, you complain about me."

Pei Chuyun hummed twice and leaned against him without moving.

Before he returned, I was filled with restlessness and confusion, but these feelings vanished in just a few words, leaving only a sense of peace.

It seems like I can feel at ease as long as he's around; all those messy things can be taken care of with him around.

It's infuriating! I was clearly strong enough to beat him up, so how did it turn out like this...?

It's hard to say what Pei Qingyan's attitude is for the time being, but her master's attitude is quite clear, and he doesn't hesitate to speak frankly: he wants to make her a spy planted in the Pei family by the Charming Maidens' Joyful Union Sect, and he doesn't give her enough trust, requiring her to prove herself.

Although this is the natural model for interaction among demonic sects, it is ultimately a sect where one has grown up for eighteen years. The sense of belonging and dependence it provides is not as strong as that of Lu Xingzhou, whom one has only known for a short time. This inevitably makes the literary and artistic little demon girl sigh.

How ridiculous... He even jokingly threatened him that "there's someone behind him," but heaven knows who was behind him, he almost mistook him for the person behind him.

Yes, he was hugging me from behind.

Pei Chuyun comfortably adjusted her position and mumbled, "I'm tired, hold me while I sleep."

"In the middle of the day..."

"Is a nap not allowed?"

"Okay, okay." Lu Xingzhou picked her up and placed her on the bed with affection, but he didn't lie down himself. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked her hair. "Rest well. I'll read a book next to you."

Pei Chuyun grabbed his hand, not letting him leave, her voice still tinged with trepidation: "Pei... ever since he saw me yesterday, he's seemed distracted. I think he's started investigating secretly. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll come to our door in the next couple of days."

Lu Xingzhou knew that Pei Chuyun still longed for family affection deep down, especially given the nakedly self-interested nature of the Demon Sect. She wanted to know if things were any better with her father.

Like a helpless kitten suddenly struck by misfortune... she didn't want any answers, she just needed someone to be with her.

Lu Xingzhou rubbed her small hand and smiled easily: "Do whatever you want. Even if someone in the Pei family tries to harm you, Pei Qingyan will protect you. Remember our principles: as long as we're willing to slack off enough, we're invincible."

Pei Chuyun asked, "What about your matter?"

"Huh? What do you want?"

"You went out today and came back so late. Are you alright?"

"Me? I'm waiting for the Huo family to invite me to dinner, or maybe they'll invite me to visit the garden."

Pei Chuyun's eyes widened: "Are you going to acknowledge your relatives too?"

"You're wrong." Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly. "I'm going to kill someone."

Pei Chuyun finally felt a sense of purpose: "I'll help you."

Lu Xingzhou pinched her nose: "Of course, you're my little maid. If the young master wants to kill someone, aren't you going to hand him the knife?"

Pei Chuyun angrily grabbed his hand, but didn't argue. Instead, she hugged his arm and closed her eyes: "The little maid is going to sleep. Don't talk."

Lu Xingzhou looked helplessly at his arm that she was holding, but did not pull it away.

Ah Nuo sighed in her room.

So why did you rent this courtyard with three rooms in the first place? One of them is always empty. Why not just open two rooms? That would save so much money.

…………

In the afternoon, all departments of the Demon Suppression Division were solemn.

Sheng Yuanyao, the only daughter of Sheng Qingfeng, the First Deputy Chief Constable, and the head of the Capital City Anti-Theft Division, was attacked and wounded while strolling in the garden at dawn.

According to witnesses, if a person in a wheelchair hadn't fallen from the sky, it would have been considered an assassination.

The perpetrator is Ye Wufeng, the mastermind behind the murder case in the outskirts of Beijing last month, which is currently under investigation by Director Sheng. This is a blatant act of retaliation.

Also present at the garden were Pei Yu, the son of Prime Minister Pei, and over a dozen other young masters and ladies from various families in the capital. This was not only an insult to the Demon Suppression Bureau, but also a serious provocation against the security of the Great Qian capital. Prime Minister Pei personally intervened, and the long-abandoned head of the bureau, who had only been drinking tea and waiting for retirement, flew into a rage, smashing his cup in a rare display of anger.

Deputy Chief Constable Sheng, his face dark with anger, summoned each of his subordinates and berated them for a full half-hour before personally taking on the task. Given his rank, he rarely handled cases below the third grade anymore… The person primarily responsible for this case was indeed Sheng Yuanyao, who was now bedridden, and as her father, he had to settle the score.

However, this venue is not easy to find.

Originally, the Demon Suppression Division had a somewhat vague understanding of the location of the Yama Palace's hideout in the capital. After all, the Yama Palace was always taking on business, and no matter how meticulous their surveillance system was, if it remained unchanged, it would be easy for them to find loopholes. The Demon Suppression Division had been keeping an eye on things and had already gained some confidence.

If it were a matter of retaliation, Sheng Qingfeng was absolutely confident that he could find and wipe out the hideout within a day, at least to put on a show of force and not lose face for the Demon Suppression Division.

The daughter, lying on the bed, sullenly said, "Let the others from the Underworld go..." Her reasoning was quite reasonable: Ye Wufeng might not even be at the Underworld's hideout, and a blind attack would cause too much noise, making it easy for Ye Wufeng to escape. Her enemy was Ye Wufeng, not anyone else; wouldn't it be pointless to lose the big picture for a small gain?

With that said, a major operation would be difficult, and how easy would it be to precisely target and capture Ye Wufeng? Heaven knows where Ye Wufeng is right now; he might have already left the capital. Are the Demon Suppression Division just going to suffer in silence?
Sheng Qingfeng paced back and forth, instructing, "You all go and pretend to be customers, specifically requesting the Soul Collector to kill someone, and see how the people of the Underworld respond."

The subordinate asked, "Where is the target of the task?"

"Let's screen the targets and find someone who won't arouse suspicion from the Underworld and whom Ye Wufeng would be interested in taking action against..."

"My lord, based on information from various sources, there's a good chance that Lu Xingzhou is a judge before the King of Hell. Should we make him our target? How about we go and speak with him first?"

Sheng Qingfeng: "...Don't choose him. If something goes wrong, someone will make trouble for me."

subordinate:"?"

"As for the matter of Lu Xingzhou being suspected of being a judge, let's keep it to ourselves for now. Making wild guesses about things that haven't been confirmed is bad for someone's reputation. He's a promising alchemist who's about to enter the Alchemy Academy for assessment, not someone to be smeared. On another level, even if he was a judge before, he isn't anymore. If he really enters the Alchemy Academy, it means he's turned over a new leaf, and we shouldn't bring it up anymore."

"Yes."

“Go screen some more candidates. There are so many people available in the capital, and you only think of Lu Xingzhou? Why don’t you go find Pei Yu? Doesn’t he need to give me an explanation for what happened to his mother?”

"Report!" A subordinate came running in, panting, "Another incident!"

Sheng Qingfeng frowned: "What's the panic? Speak slowly."

"Chu Qingchen said he was keeping an appointment and left the Pei family to have afternoon tea at a teahouse... He had only just arrived at the teahouse entrance when Ye Wufeng, who had been lying in wait for a long time, slit his throat with a sword. He then left behind the words, 'I am right here, what are you going to do about it?' and disappeared."

The atmosphere inside the main hall of the Demon Suppression Division suddenly became quiet.

Everyone was secretly glancing at Sheng Qingfeng's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot.

This is outrageous... A teahouse! This is murder within the city! This is the capital! Under the Emperor's nose!
The Yama King's Palace was always arrogant, because the Yama King himself was arrogant. Who would have thought that the newcomers below would follow suit and be just as arrogant!
"She's really narrow-minded and vindictive." After a long while, someone whispered, "Is this a response to Chu Qingchen's earlier words?"

"Chu Qingchen is from a prestigious family, a fourth-rank upper-level cultivator, and ranked seventh among the rising stars. How could he be so easily defeated, unable to even withstand a single move?"

"First place is still first place... especially when it's assassination."

Sheng Qingfeng coldly asked, "Whose appointment did Chu Qingchen go to?"

"I heard..." the subordinate hesitated, "I heard it's Huo Jin."

"Damn it!" Sheng Qingfeng slammed his fist on the table, shattering it. "What is the Huo family doing?!"

No one answered. In reality, this doesn't necessarily prove that the Huo family colluded with Ye Wufeng. It's quite normal for the Huo family to want to get to know the rising star, the seventh-ranked player. It's not surprising that the news leaked out and Ye Wufeng found out in advance and laid an ambush.

It has to be said that Ye Wufeng created a very strong sense of oppression.

The top rookie is indeed extraordinary... After being dealt with like this, those who have offended him don't even dare to go out easily. It seems that Ye Wufeng's actions were somewhat deliberate, a way of showing off, as if to prove that even without a judge in the underworld, there are stronger figures?
Without the intervention of a senior expert, it would have been impossible for Sheng Yuanyao and her group of young people to deal with this, so the current scene of death and injury seems understandable.

Sheng Qingfeng laughed angrily: "He's just the top rookie, not the best in the world! Even if the King of Hell himself came, he wouldn't dare to be as arrogant as him! Deacon Chen!"

The subordinate hurriedly bowed and said, "Yes, sir."

"First, take some men and set up surveillance at a distance, keeping an eye on the area suspected to be a Yama Palace outpost. If there is even the slightest trace of Ye Wufeng, send a message immediately."

"Yes."

"Get to the pretense of being a customer right away, and make an appointment with Pei Yu."

"Yes."

Sheng Qingfeng tugged at his collar and cursed, "What 'first place among new talents'? He's nothing but a coward. If it weren't for his sneak attack, his direct combat ability might not even be as good as Princess Chaohuang's."

None of the subordinates answered. That might be true, but their profession is assassination...

"Chu Qingchen is dead?" Inside the inn, Lu Xingzhou heard the exclamations and conversations outside and muttered to himself, "Not a single one listened to my advice."

Pei Chuyun, waking up from her afternoon nap, leaned lazily against the headboard and yawned: "Why don't you just say that your Yama Palace's assassination methods are disgusting?"

“The art of assassination…” Lu Xingzhou sighed, “It sounds disgusting… but it also means that as long as we can create a situation that forces him to confront us head-on, his threat can be reduced by half.”

Pei Chuyun's eyes sparkled: "What kind of mischief are you up to now?"

Before the words were finished, a knock came from outside the courtyard: "Is Young Master Lu here?"

Ah Nuo opened the door and peeked in, asking, "Who is it?"

A servant-like man smiled obsequiously: "I am the attendant of the Fifth Young Master Huo... The Fifth Young Master asked his esteemed master, Yan Yu Lou, to speak again, saying that he offended him a few days ago and wanted to apologize to his master. For the sake of family ties, let bygones be bygones."

Lu Xingzhou smiled enigmatically: "Here we go?"

(End of this chapter)