Demon Sword Immortal

"crunch-"

Bai Xiang opened the door, ready to officially set off.

This time she didn't look for Ma Yue because she had a feeling that someone in her group would want to talk to her about private matters, and it wouldn't be appropriate to bring anyone else along.

"Grandma, you're finally out!"

The old beggar was still lying at the door. When he saw her, he immediately jumped up and imitated Bai Zhuqing, following her around like a shadow.

"We are from the Demon Suppression Bureau... I'm not lying to you, look at this token!"

"Your Aunt Tao Shuohua and I are colleagues~ She's told me a lot about you, and every time she praises you for not only having amazing talent but also having very positive values!"

This is the first time I've ever seen Xiao Taozi think so highly of someone!

The old beggar grumbled inwardly, then recalled Tao Shuohua's smug expression when he praised Bai Xiang.

Do you see it?

Great genius!

I found it first!

I, an old man, don't stoop to the level of the younger generation...

The old beggar had a constipated expression on his face, and his tone finally started to become a little unfriendly.

"Hey! I've been waiting for you for so long, and you not only won't feed me, but you also completely ignore me when I talk to you!"

This is utterly disrespectful to elders!

"'You old man'?"

Bai Xiang stopped, turned around, and looked at him with a half-smile: "...'You old man'?"

The old beggar didn't react at first, then his expression turned serious: "How did you find out?"

"Your hand."

Bai wanted to keep walking forward, talking as he went.

"Wrinkles and age spots on the back of the hands are easy to disguise."

"But the sword cocoon on the other side cannot be disguised."

"..." The old beggar followed her and fell silent.

As he walked, he suddenly tore off his fake beard and eyebrows, revealing a face that, while still somewhat old, was definitely much younger than before.

"My name is Yu He," he introduced himself formally. "I'm at least sixty years old, surely I can be called 'old man'?"

Bai Xiang ignored him, and Yu He wasn't annoyed. He just chatted around and asked some random questions.

"Have you had breakfast?"

"have eaten."

Have you had lunch?

"have eaten."

"Are you going to recruit a job? Why didn't you get someone to drive you today?"

"I'll take a taxi there."

"That's so expensive! How about I treat you?"

Bai Xiang finally turned her head to meet his gaze again, her golden eyes clearly showing contempt.

The Demon Suppression Division, which is so highly praised, doesn't even know how to provide a car for a 60-year-old veteran.

That's exactly what she meant.

Yu He's face gradually turned red: "It's not what you think!"

He started to launch into a long-winded explanation to Bai Xiang, saying things like "the organization is having difficulties" and "investigators are not suited to be assigned cars," instantly filling the road with a cheerful atmosphere.

"I may not have a car, but I can give you this!"

Seeing that Bai Xiang had walked to the side of the road and was really going to hail a taxi, Yu He finally got anxious and took out something to hand to Bai Xiang.

Bai looked down and saw that he was holding a cell phone.

But it was no longer a 'Nokia'; instead, it had a standard flat body, a large screen, and was wrapped in a black leather case with a red trim.

This is a smartphone.

"Let me teach you how to use it... Huh?"

Before Yu He could finish speaking, Bai Xiang took his phone away.

He stared in disbelief as Bai Xiang fumbled around for a few seconds and then unlocked the screen with a swipe, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

Although it's a hostless system and there's no password set, you seem to know it way too well.

"Have you used it before?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I've seen others use it."

Yu He remained silent.

Bai Xiang could not be certain whether anyone among people of Fang Xiaochun and Xiang Xian's level used this thing.

"This is our department's communication phone..."

Yu He sighed and began to honestly introduce Bai Xiang.

"This thing has many functions, but mainly three."

"The first one is you... yes, the icon you just clicked. After you go in, you need to align your eyes with the camera above to complete the iris authentication."

"This way, the machine will 'recognize its owner,' and no one but you can open it. If it is forcibly opened a third time, it will self-destruct and spontaneously combust."

Bai Xiang completed the verification directly, without being polite at all.

"Let me introduce the other features."

“What can an identity do? You’re smart enough to guess.” Yu He nodded. “That’s right. From now on, you are a member of our department. Not only can you communicate with the main group through this, but you can also use our intranet—that’s the second point.”

"Internal network?"

"There is a lot of secret information that cannot be found outside."

"Can I watch all of these?"

"Not now, your level is too low."

How many levels are there in total?

"Currently, there are six, which is in line with our tradition from six to one, unlike foreigners."

"I am currently at level six."

"Yes... Each level has its own permissions, which need to be upgraded to unlock. You now have basic permissions, including authentication, communication, and access rights."

Yu He paused for a moment, then said to her, "The third thing is that you can also directly post your personal commissioned tasks through the large group. This large group includes the entire Qizhou. As long as the price is right, someone will do the work for you."

Bai Xiang found it amusing: "My colleagues?"

"Of course, you wouldn't expect Lord Fang to do things for you, would you?"

"What kind of reward is this usually? Points for leveling up?"

"No, points cannot be traded; they can only be obtained through missions!" Yu He said seriously. "As for the reward... you can offer whatever you want; no one will care. Even if you throw up a shoe as payment, someone will naturally want it... Oh, sorry, I was being presumptuous."

He only realized halfway through his sentence that Bai Xiang was a woman, and it was inconvenient to use such a metaphor.

"There are certain rules to follow when trying to make these kinds of insider deals."

After a pause, seeing that Bai Xiang didn't seem to care, he continued to instruct her on how to play with the device.

"You need to deposit something at the gold shop—that is, your reward—and then submit a commission through this. Our intermediary will help you notarize it. Once it is confirmed that the other party has completed the task, you can withdraw it."

"Not a face-to-face transaction?"

"Most people don't want too many people to know who they are."

"This is great." Bai Xiang was completely absorbed in playing on his phone and had already opened the intranet search bar to start experimenting with searching for some terms.

"Why is Qizhou the only one in the large group?"

"Because Lord Fang is only in charge of Qizhou."

Yu He sighed.

Bai sensed a hidden meaning in his words and stopped what she was doing to look at him.

"Lord Fang is merely the Governor of Qi Prefecture," Yu He said, spreading his hands. "Even the 'establishment' of the Demon Suppression Division, if it weren't for the 'Yu Li' system, which stipulated from the very beginning that it must have..."

"Do you think we're still alive today?"

Chapter Thirty-Four: Entrustment

Yu He's words have completely exposed the political stance of the Demon Suppression Division.

It sounds like the Demon Suppression Bureau also has many grievances against the imperial court.

Right.

After much thought, Bai Xiang also felt it made sense.

The Great Yu Kingdom lasted for 1600 years, but in reality, it was just a matter of a new family changing dynasties every hundred years or so, and changing the surname Yu to make it legitimate.

But that's how the rules are—you either don't respect these rules from the beginning, or you overturn them all by force. Once you start respecting them, besides changing your surname, you'll inevitably have to accept everything about 'Yu Li' (the rites of Yu).

The Yu ceremony includes not only various feudal rules, such as walking posture, clothing specifications, wine pouring angle, ancestor worship and celebrations, but also some regulations and legal provisions.

This thing is constantly being changed.

Indeed it is.

In modern times, various new cultures and ideas are impacting traditions, and some outdated rituals will be abolished.

For example, in ancient times, women would never wear skirts that exposed their ankles—even such skirts, which would be considered conservative by modern standards, would be considered indecent.

The debate over whether to protect or abolish Yu Li will inevitably continue in the imperial court.

A new imperial family, once it ascends to the throne, will inevitably want to demonstrate its authority by revising the laws and regulations. This is an inherent and irreconcilable conflict between the emperor and his ministers.

Some of these "etiquettes" are things that government officials will concede to.

However, there are certain "etiquettes" that most government officials insist on and refuse to budge from, which the imperial family absolutely cannot allow to be abolished.

The Demon Suppression Division should fall under this category of 'etiquette'.

Judging from its name, this is an organization that only deals with demons. They cannot interfere in the court or people's livelihood, but they possess a transcendent status, and even the imperial family has no right to abolish them.

That day, the family would indeed be unhappy with the Demon Suppression Division.

It's not that I'm unhappy about these people slaying demons and doing good deeds. It's that I'm unhappy because these good deeds are done under the name of the Demon Suppression Bureau, and under the name of the Great Yu Emperor who established this system.

Hmm... I'm upset because they're not 'one of us'.

They must have been targeted, so they have to keep a low profile, which is also to avoid suspicion.

Bai wanted to turn his gaze away from Yu He.

No wonder they're not satisfied.

She felt she might know why Yu He no longer had a car.

But the account still needs to be settled.

While playing on her phone, she extended her right hand towards Yu He.

"Huh?" Yu He was taken aback. What did this mean?

"Not enough." Bai Xiang said without looking up, "Don't tell me that this is a gift that everyone who joins will inevitably receive, the so-called 'benefits' you gave me."

How can this little girl be so clever!

Yu He was so angry at his own clownish behavior that he laughed. In despair, he took out the machine and started swiping around on it.