I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

The man grasped his hand and nodded repeatedly: "Sure, sure, of course. Then I'll shamelessly take advantage of you and call you Xiao Jing."

The man named Bae Hyo-eun had a voice that seemed to have been deliberately trained; it was deep, magnetic, and quite pleasant to listen to.

"Come on, Xiao Jing, let's go inside and talk."

Pei Xiaoen gestured with her hand, indicating that she should.

As the group walked into the villa, Xue Jing smiled and patted Pei Youguang on the shoulder as he passed by.

"Let's go in together, there is light."

Pei Youguang paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, okay."

Upon seeing this, Pei Xiaoen's eyes flashed, as if she were deep in thought.

He then quickened his pace and stepped forward, patting Pei Youguang on the shoulder. He said gently, "Youguang, go and arrange some tea. Use the tea from the top cabinet in my room. Bring it to my study after it's brewed."

Having not seen his father treat him with such gentleness for so long, Pei Youguang's well-to-do face showed a look of flattery and surprise, and he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Okay, I understand!"

"This way, please." Pei Xiaoen turned to Xue Jing and led the way.

The two turned left and right until they arrived at an antique-style room with four large bookshelves.

After taking their seats on the wooden chairs, the two chatted for a while. Pei Xiaoen was quite the conversationalist, seemingly knowing a little about everything under the sun, even possessing considerable professional knowledge of martial arts. He chatted with Xue Jing in a very respectable manner, and always maintained a somewhat inquisitive attitude, which satisfied Xue Jing's desire to confide in him, making him quite happy.

Xue Jing was a fairly eloquent person, but even he couldn't help but secretly admit his inferiority to Pei Xiaoen.

When Pei Youguang brought in two cups of tea, the two sipped the tea for a while. Pei Xiao'en used vivid language to talk about some knowledge about tea, subtly mentioning how precious the tea they were drinking was to show his respect for Xue Jing, before starting to talk about serious matters.

"...Xiao Jing, to be honest, the reason I've asked you to come here is because there's something very important, even concerning the survival of Qingcheng, that I want to ask you for a favor."

Pei Xiaoen put down his teacup and spoke with a solemn expression.

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow: "Please speak."

After carefully considering his words, Pei Xiaoen said:

"I am the secretary of Councilor Chu Minyi. This request to you is actually on Councilor Chu's behalf..."

“Xiao Jing, you should also know that there is currently a ‘Heavenly Nest Insect Mother’ in Qingcheng, right? After all, you personally dealt with the few ‘cockroaches’ born from the Insect Mother.”

Xue Jing nodded.

Pei Xiaoen lowered his voice: "In fact, the origin of this Heavenly Constellation Insect Mother involves something quite complicated. Even I don't know the specifics. Let's leave that aside for now. The current situation is... we can't find the Insect Mother."

"According to experts, after this period of reproduction, the Sky Nest Queen has likely given birth to a swarm of Sky Nest insects powerful enough to threaten the entire city..."

"If we can't find it soon, the later it gets, the more terrifying the number of insect swarms we'll face."

"However, during this time, our government has mobilized all the resources that Qingcheng can currently muster, and launched a carpet search, turning the entire city upside down, but we still haven't been able to find the whereabouts of the insect queen."

Xue Jing asked doubtfully, "Could it be outside the city?"

Pei Xiaoen shook his head: "Although it is indeed possible, if the Queen Insect wants to achieve the effect that 'certain people' want, its location should not be outside the city."

"If it's really outside the city, then things are simple; the insect swarm won't be able to take Qingcheng head-on."

Xue Jing nodded: "Then what do you need me to do?"

Pei Xiaoen said, "Although we conducted a thorough search, there are still a few places that we didn't find... or rather, we couldn't search for them."

“That’s the home of the thirty ruling councilors, located in the northern district.”

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow and said, "That's unlikely. These are the thirty people whose interests are most closely tied to Qingcheng City. Would they really do something like 'destroying the city'?"

“It is indeed unlikely, but it is the only remaining possibility, and we must confirm it in any case,” Pei Xiaoen said.

"Xiao Jing, I know this is a bit much, but could you please investigate this matter?"

He said it in a pleading tone.

Xue Jing thought for a moment and asked, "Why me?"

“Because you are the only one in Qingcheng who is qualified,” Pei Xiaoen affirmed.

Xue Jing was taken aback: "Me?"

Pei Xiaoen nodded: "That's right, you are a member of the 'Sixth Agency'. This organization has the privilege of 'acting first and reporting later'. The ruling councilors are the highest-ranking people in Qingcheng, but you have the right to investigate them."

Xue Jing scratched his head: "Why don't you just find someone from the government office? Why do you have to ask me... You can't be without even this much contact information, can you?"

Bae Hyo-eun smiled wryly and said, "There really isn't one, or rather, we can't find a reliable one... Investigating ruling councilors is a dangerous thing."

“People in government agencies don’t really like to pay attention to local government officials like us, especially those who are in high positions and have a lot of power.”

"And you, Xiao Jing, although I don't know the specifics, you are highly regarded in the organization and are fully capable of doing this job."

Pei Xiaoen stood up, bowed to Xue Jing, and pleaded, "Xiao Jing, could you please accept our commission for the sake of Qingcheng and the safety of your hometown?"

Xue Jing looked thoughtful and did not rush to answer, while Pei Xiaoen remained in a bowing posture.

After a while, Xue Jing slowly spoke, "Let's not rush to accept or not... Let's talk about the payment."

……

Chapter 199 Generous Rewards, Flexible Bottom Lines: Xue Jing, the Dark Dragon Knight in the Dead of Night (4K)

remuneration?

Upon hearing this, Pei Xiaoen raised her head and said sincerely:

"As for the reward, you will definitely get a satisfactory figure. This is a major event that saves the entire city, and our government will never treat a meritorious person poorly..."

Xue Jing smiled noncommittally, then simply wagged his index finger at him:

"Don't rush to make any promises. The reward I want is not something as simple as money."

Pei Xiaoen thought to herself, "This is really difficult... He doesn't seem like a young person at all."

Although he knew that someone like Xue Jing, who was highly regarded even within the organization, could not be regarded as an ordinary youth.

However, despite being mentally prepared, he was still surprised by the boy's unusual maturity and difficulty after getting to know him a little better.

This has nothing to do with their strength or ability, but rather with their mindset.

Logically speaking, his manners and interactions throughout the entire process were impeccable. He had laid the groundwork beforehand, accumulating a certain degree of goodwill before making his request. He tried to downplay the seriousness of the matter, mentioning that it concerned the safety of the entire city, so as not to appear as a forced moral blackmail. He also emphasized that "only he could do it," giving the requester a sense of mission and pride in personal heroism.

It's hard for most teenagers to resist this kind of talk; they'll all be affected to some extent.

But Xue Jing... acted like someone who was simply there to discuss business, completely disregarding these things, and immediately asked about the compensation.

It's like a seasoned veteran with enough experience to see through superficial embellishments and get straight to the heart of the matter.

No, not necessarily. Maybe it's just a matter of low moral standards...

However, since he had asked for payment, it meant he was willing to accept the commission. Pei Xiaoen was secretly delighted and confidently said:

"You said that whatever our government can give you, we will definitely not be stingy!"

That was a grand statement, but it was practically meaningless... Xue Jing didn't mind, he simply tapped the table with his finger and chuckled:

"First of all, it's money... Although I need more than just money, it's still essential. Ten million is definitely not enough."

Huang Po's process of forging the sacred embryo requires the construction of the "Five Internal Organs Temple," which consumes more and more precious medicines and incurs enormous expenses. Once the organ training is completed, the "Heart Nourishing Medicine" required for the next stage becomes ridiculously expensive.

Money isn't exactly a difficult thing for him to handle, but since he has the opportunity, he'll still try to make a big profit.

Xue Jing put his index fingers together and made a 'ten' sign.

"One billion, fixed price."

Then, without any change in his tone, he added, "Cash."

"..." Pei Xiaoen's lips twitched.

One billion... That's a huge number for ordinary people, but it doesn't seem like much when it comes to a city government.

That's the government, such a huge entity, how could they not come up with a mere 1 billion?

However, in reality, it's actually a bit difficult to come up with.

Just as most billionaires cannot come up with a billion in cash, the government, although it has money, has a predetermined purpose for every penny, and it is far from enough. Many projects have to borrow money because they do not have enough funds.

One billion in cash is a considerable problem for the current Qingcheng government.

But no matter how difficult it is, it can't be more difficult than the potential destruction of Qingcheng.

Then, thinking about the terrifying political achievements his faction would gain if they resolved this major crisis… Pei Xiaoen gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement:

"Okay, we will try our best to raise the funds."

"But...it takes time; a sum of one billion isn't something that can be produced immediately."

Xue Jing nodded: "I understand. I'll give you some time to prepare... Let's talk about something else."

Pei Xiaoen's eyes twitched: "...You tell me."

Xue Jing smiled and said, "Have you ever heard of divine relics?"

……

After signing a secret agreement stamped with the seal of the Qingcheng government, Xue Jing left the Pei family, keeping his presence concealed, and followed a route that would not attract attention, working on [Concealment] as he walked home.

On the way, Xue Jing took the agreement and started reading it.

The agreement stipulated the remuneration that the Qingcheng government would give to Xue Jing for commissioning him to investigate the thirty ruling councilors of Qingcheng.

Firstly, within a month, one billion Zhuxia coins in cash were transferred to Xue Jing's bank account.

Secondly, the Qingcheng government must find a way to obtain ten divine relics that Xue Jing has never seen before within three months. If the deadline is exceeded, the Qingcheng government must pay Xue Jing a compensation of 100 million Zhuxia coins for each month that is exceeded.

This condition terrified Pei Xiaoen, who shook his head repeatedly. He knew that divine relics existed and was aware of how difficult it was to obtain them.

One or two might be manageable, but ten divine relics?

The Qingcheng government will probably pay Xue Jing enough compensation to last for ten years...

However, Xue Jing later 'reluctantly' relaxed the conditions, saying that the divine relics he obtained did not need to be given to him, as long as he could have access to them and study them for a while, he would return them soon.

After careful consideration, Pei Xiaoen felt that the condition was achievable, since it was just a 'loan'. Many councilors had connections with the Divine Relics Containment Company. So, after calling Councilor Chu to confirm, he agreed.

Xue Jing closed the agreement in his hand and tucked it into his clothes, feeling quite pleased.

The agreement was contingent on him actually uncovering something and resolving the crisis in Qingcheng before he could receive these rewards.

But the thought that a billion Zhuxia coins and ten divine relics were not far from him made him feel rather pleased.