The Imperial Guards, like Yama, slaughtered until the Empress cried out for help.

The hour of Xu (7-9 PM).

Shen Qing led the scholars and others back to Luoshui City first.

There are no problems with Baiying Manor anymore. Two of the three leaders were killed by Shen Qing, and the other is in prison. Nearly two hundred of the Japanese pirates under him were also killed by Shen Qing.

There might be a few more Japanese pirates returning later, but that won't be a problem.

They will then face an encirclement and suppression by hundreds of Imperial Guards.

It's a rather desperate situation.

Shen Qing stuffed the diary and the centurion's token from his arms into the scholar's arms.

"Take the diary to the Zhenfu Division."

"Tell them what happened, then come back to the centurion's quarters. I'll take you to eat."

After a day of traveling back and forth, Shen Qing was starving.

However, Shen Qing was in a hurry to go back to the Hundred Household Office to take a bath, as he had a lot of blood on his body from the battle.

Although it is already autumn, Yongning County is, after all, a southern region of the Wu Dynasty, and the weather is still very hot, especially since it just rained a little.

Shen Qing felt like she was going to stink.

Upon returning to the Hundred Households Office, Shen Qing neither visited the prisoners nor reviewed the interrogation results. Instead, he immediately ordered water to be boiled and enjoyed a pleasant hot bath.

Taking a bath after strenuous exercise is always so pleasant, as if all the fatigue is washed away.

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and a captain gently knocked.

"Sir, are you resting?"

"explain."

"Lord Zhang, the Minister of Agriculture of Shennong Academy, has come to see you, sir."

"Okay, I understand. Arrange for Zhang Sinong to go to the main hall first. I'll be there in a bit."

Do you think it will take you just a short while to return to your residence? You received the message so quickly?

It seems that these officials truly care about the people. I reckon Zhang Shoutian has been waiting outside the Hundred Household Office since I left, hoping for my return.

Shen Qing quickly washed up, changed into her own clothes, and headed to the main hall.

As soon as they entered, Zhang Shoutian eagerly went to Shen Qing, grabbed her arm, and looked at her with hope in his eyes.

"Lord Hyakuho, the original species! Has the original species been found?"

Shen Qing nodded: "Don't worry, I've burned all the original seedlings, and killed the two hundred Japanese pirates guarding them as well. The Japanese pirates won't harm the people for a while."

Zhang Shoutian breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."

Jiao Yu hurriedly stepped forward and helped Zhang Shoutian up: "Master, you see, I told you, Lord Shen would definitely find the original seed."

"That's very impolite of you to do that."

Shen Qing waved his hand and took out a cloth bag from his pocket: "It's nothing. By the way, I also took a handful when I burned the original species. See if they're useful. If not, I'll burn them too."

Zhang Shoutian, who had just sat down, stood up again, staring intently at the cloth bag. Shen Qing reached out, and Zhang Shoutian immediately snatched the bag away. Without saying a word, he strode out of the Hundred Household Office, muttering to himself.

"We need to decipher this batch of original strains as soon as possible..."

Jiao Yu hurriedly said, "Lord Shen, please don't be offended. The original seed is causing a great deal of trouble. If we can crack this batch of original seeds, we can crack the method by which the Japanese pirates cultivate this batch of seeds."

"It's alright, Jiao Yu, I have one more thing to tell you."

"Please speak, sir."

"Although the Japanese pirates have been eliminated and the original species have been destroyed, I am afraid that some seeds may still have flowed into the countryside. I need you to come up with some identification methods and send some people to check in places like Luoshui City."

"Do you have enough manpower?"

Jiao Yu nodded to himself, thinking to himself, "As expected of a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he is indeed very thoughtful."

"My lord, there are twelve of us from the Shennong Academy stationed in Ningzhou, including my master and me."

Shen Qing shook his head: "It's not enough. It's questionable whether twelve people can finish investigating Luoshui City in a few days. After the autumn harvest festival, the farmers will have to start planting."

"There's no time to go through the formalities. Take my centurion's token and go directly to the local government offices to get their cooperation. If any of them don't cooperate or are careless in their work, just execute them. If you can't execute them, come to me and I'll do it."

Jiao Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead. Wasn't this too cruel? He was just a farmer; he had never seen anything like this before.

"Sir, those constables have no basic knowledge, how could they tell the difference?" Jiao Yu said after thinking for a moment.

"How about letting my junior nephew's sect do their part? Their sect has the largest medicinal herb garden in Ningzhou, and many of their disciples understand pharmacology."

"Hey, nephew, why are you standing so far away? Come here quickly."

Shen Qing then noticed that Su Jiudie of the Red Cloud Sect was standing far away in the corner of the room.

When Su Jiudie saw Shen Qing looking over, she quickly bowed and said, "This humble woman, Su Jiudie, greets my benefactor."

Shen Qing frowned. Red Cloud Sect? After experiencing the two unruly sects, Six Swords Manor and White Cherry Manor, Shen Qing had an extremely low level of trust in sects.

His innate six senses activated, and he began to explore Su Jiudie.

But soon, Shen Qing's furrowed brows relaxed, and a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes.

He felt not a trace of malice from Su Jiudie, only pure and intense gratitude and admiration.

Su Jiudie raised her head, her cheeks flushed.

Jiao Yu looked at Su Jiudie with some confusion, "Why are you blushing like a teapot?"

Shen Qing looked at Jiao Yu: "Your junior apprentice?"

Jiao Yu nodded: "Yes, Su Jiudie's father was also a disciple of my master. According to the seniority, Jiudie is my junior disciple."

Shen Qing waved his hand: "Alright, I'll leave this to you."

At this moment, the scholar ran in from outside and whispered to Shen Qing, "Boss, the diary has been handed over to the Zhenfu Division, and they have already sent messages by carrier pigeon to notify various places."

"And just now I ran into the manager of Luoshui Treasure Pavilion on the road. He said that the Xuan Yu Qing Lian has been found and will be delivered to the Hundred Household Office in less than two days."

The Mysterious Jade Lotus is a treasure that can accelerate the cultivation of the fifth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique. It seems that my strength will increase again.

Shen Qing nodded and rubbed her stomach: "Well done. Come on, let's change our clothes and go eat."

"Alright!"

Shen Qing turned to Jiao Yu and Su Jiudie: "What about you? Want to come along?"

Jiao Yu cupped his hands in greeting: "I won't go, Huang Dou is a more important matter."

Su Jiudie glanced at Shen Qing, then at Jiao Yu.

"My daughter is with her martial uncle."

Shen Qing didn't say much. After all, they had only met once or twice, and at most, they were compatible, but not yet friends. Shen Qing was just being polite. If they came, she would add another pair of chopsticks; if they didn't come, it was fine.

"My benefactor, wait a moment." Su Jiudie ran towards Shen Qing.

"My benefactor, some time ago you saved my life and my senior brother's life. I have been wanting to visit you to express my gratitude, but I have not been able to think of a good gift. Giving money is too common, and as for precious medicine, the precious medicines I can find are unlikely to meet your standards."

"After much thought, I have decided to give this to you, sir."

Su Jiudie took out a red token engraved with clouds from her bosom.

"This is the sect leader's token of our Red Cloud Sect. With this token, you can command the disciples of the Red Cloud Sect!"

Shen Qing took the token and glanced at it.

This is the sect leader's token; its significance is completely different.

Shen Qing smiled and asked, "Are you sure?"

Su Jiudie nodded, her face flushed, "Yes! Please, my benefactor, accept it!"

Shen Qing put the token away: "Okay, I'll take it."

After saying that, Shen Qing walked out of the courtyard.

Jiao Tian then stepped forward: "Nephew, your move was quite bold. Have you thought it through?"

As Su Jiudie watched Shen Qing's figure disappear, the blush on her face slowly faded: "I've thought it through."

"In recent years, some sects in the martial arts world have become too unruly."

"There are more and more malignant tumors like the Blackwater Gang, and now with the White Cherry Manor incident, I have a feeling that the imperial court is going to take action against the martial arts world."

"Rather than waiting to die, it's better to surrender sooner rather than later, especially since there's such a good opportunity."

"Especially since Lord Shen is such a good person."

"This last sentence is what you really think, isn't it?" Jiao Tian muttered to himself, then smiled and looked at Su Jiudie.

"It's good that you've thought it through. I thought you were acting on emotion."

Su Jiudie turned around: "Uncle Jiao, what do you mean by acting on emotion?"

Jiao Tian smiled enigmatically: "I think you've fallen for Lord Shen, haven't you? You're all smitten."

Su Jiudie's face turned red instantly, this time a particularly intense red, and she lightly stomped her foot.

"Oh no, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't."

"Hmph, no, no."