Chapter 52

The cultivation session concluded.

Shi Qingsheng walked in from outside.

"Sir, someone at the gate has delivered a letter, specifying that it is for you to read."

"My letter?"

Shen Changqing raised an eyebrow slightly, took the envelope, and then waved for Shi Qingsheng to leave.

He opened the envelope.

He pulled out a blank piece of paper, with no marks on it.

In response,

Shen Changqing stood up, fetched a bottle of white wine, and mixed it with tea water, then slowly applied it to the white paper.

Immediately after,

he took it outside and held it up to the sunlight.

After a few breaths,

black characters suddenly appeared on the previously blank paper.

"Indeed!"

Shen Changqing smiled.

Upon receiving the blank paper, he had immediately thought of the secret message from the Heavenly Inspector, and then used his memory to decipher the hidden message.

Sure enough,

the white paper revealed the content of the secret message.

Back in the inner hall, Shen Changqing carefully read the content of the secret message, then used his true qi to burn it completely.

The letter was from the Heavenly Inspector.

He hadn't been to Yongfu Pawnshop for a few days, and the people from Yongfu Pawnshop couldn't conveniently come to the government office, so they had sent the information they had gathered through a secret message.

The content of the secret message

recorded the location of the Eternal Alliance's base in Lin'an City and some detailed intelligence.

"Zhang Family!"

Shen Changqing lightly tapped his fingers, and his eyes turned cold.

The Zhang Family

was a relatively well-known family in Lin'an City. Before Zhao Fang became the county magistrate, the previous magistrate was from the Zhang Family.

But after the Zhao Family rose to prominence, the Zhang Family became much more low-profile.

According to the intelligence from the Heavenly Inspector,

the Zhang Family was the base of the Eternal Alliance in Lin'an City.

Moreover, in the past one or two years, there had been frequent cases of people disappearing in Lin'an City. After the investigation by the Heavenly Inspector, all clues pointed to the Zhang Family.

"In the past one or two years, the number of missing people in Lin'an City has been significant, but there has been no commotion. Clearly, Zhao Fang has suppressed it forcefully. Without any signs of demonic activity, the Heavenly Inspector wouldn't have investigated deliberately.

Years of stability have made the Heavenly Inspector here complacent.

If not for this specific investigation, the problem with the Zhang Family wouldn't have been discovered."

Shen Changqing understood the situation and had no way to address the complacency of the Heavenly Inspector.

The Heavenly Inspector was spread throughout the Great Qin Empire.

Some places had constant demonic disturbances, while others remained peaceful, or even if there were disturbances, they were minor and had no significant impact.

As a result,

a polarized phenomenon emerged.

The more dangerous the place, the more frequently the Heavenly Inspector was replaced, and the higher their vigilance.

The safer the place, the more rooted the Heavenly Inspector became, and the more complacent they became.

These matters,

Shen Changqing, being just a low-ranking Yellow Rank Demon Slayer, had no way to interfere much. Fortunately, this time, Situ Bei had provided him with the information he needed.

According to the intelligence from the Heavenly Inspector,

the Zhang Family had problems for about ten years.

Their purpose was to serve as a base for the Eternal Alliance and to secretly cultivate some demons.

Even more,

the letter suspected that the demon in Guyue Village was cultivated by the Zhang Family.

"If the demon in Guyue Village was cultivated by the Zhang Family, then the demon that attacked the government office and escaped is likely hiding with the Zhang Family. It's possible that the Zhang Family is hiding more than one demon."

"However, the more demons, the better. A small family like the Zhang Family probably doesn't have any Grievance-level demons. The Grievance-level demon that night was likely sent directly by the Eternal Alliance."

Combining the information from the Heavenly Inspector, Shen Changqing could roughly judge the strength of the Zhang Family.

Even though he knew the Zhang Family was a base for the Eternal Alliance, he couldn't just attack them without any preparation.

Comparing his own strength,

Shen Changqing felt confident in dealing with one Grievance-level demon, but two would be a different story.

At the same time,

if a Grievance-level demon was powerful enough to almost reach the Calamity level, he would turn and run.

"Someone!"

"Yes, sir!" A constable waiting outside the inner hall immediately stepped in.

"Have Zhang Yue come to see me."

"Yes, sir!"

—

A quarter of an hour later,

Zhang Yue walked in and bowed, "Greetings, sir!"

"According to the information, gather all those people and tell them I have important matters to discuss." Shen Changqing handed him a piece of paper.

Seeing this,

Zhang Yue took it with both hands, read the information carefully, and then bowed, "Sir, I will take care of it immediately!"

"Go ahead."

Shen Changqing waved, and Zhang Yue bowed and left.

The paper contained the specific addresses of various martial factions, such as the Guiyuan Sword Sect, who had come to Lin'an City.

They couldn't possibly sleep on the streets.

So Shen Changqing had already used the Heavenly Inspector to find the exact locations of these factions.

In less than an hour,

Cui Cheng and others arrived one after another.

Ten people from five factions were seated in the inner hall.

Being from the Guangyuan Prefecture, it didn't mean they were all friendly. In fact, most factions had some friction, so when they met, they all kept their eyes on their noses, sitting quietly.

Soon,

Shen Changqing stepped in from outside.

Seeing this, everyone stood up and bowed, "Sir Shen!"

"Everyone is here!"

Shen Changqing smiled and took his seat at the head of the table.

After he sat down, someone immediately asked, "Sir Shen, what has happened that you have suddenly gathered us here?"

After he spoke,

the others also showed signs of confusion.

They didn't have much interaction with Shen Changqing, so his sudden gathering of them must have a purpose.

To be honest,

none of them wanted to be deeply involved with the Demon Suppression Bureau or the imperial court.

Their previous visit was just to confirm some matters.

Mainly to avoid any direct conflict with the Demon Suppression Bureau when competing for demon blood.

Shen Changqing said, "I have already told you all before, as long as you do not disrupt the peace in Lin'an City, I will not impose too many restrictions on you. However, as fellow citizens of the Great Qin, if there are demons causing trouble, we cannot stand idly by."

"Sir Shen, what do you mean?" Cui Cheng had a bad feeling.

"According to the information from the Demon Suppression Bureau, there is a demon base in Lin'an City. As citizens of the Great Qin, it is our duty to eliminate demons. Therefore, I have decided to take action to destroy this demon base.

However, most of the constables in the government office are just ordinary people. Even if there are one or two Body Cultivation Realm martial artists, they cannot stand up to demons.

I hope you all can lend a hand and help eliminate the demons."

Shen Changqing spoke slowly.

After he finished,

many people's expressions changed.

"Sir Shen, do you have any information about this demon base?" A member of the Heavenly Saber Sect asked solemnly.

The others, though unwilling, did not immediately refuse.

Shen Changqing said, "I suspect that the demon from Guyue Village originated from the demon base in Lin'an City. However, Lin'an City is just a small place, so the demon base, though present, is not very strong.

To be honest, as a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, it is my duty to eliminate demons.

Therefore, I will take action to destroy the demon base alone, but to ensure success, I need you to surround the demon base and prevent anyone or any demon from escaping.

Similarly, if I am in trouble, I hope you will come to my aid.

After all, if even I cannot handle the demons, and they start a rampage, you will not be able to stay out of it."

Hearing this,

the representatives of the various factions felt a mix of tension and relief.

Not having to take direct action was the best outcome.

If they were just to provide support, it shouldn't be too dangerous.

As for Shen Changqing's strength,

everyone had their own guesses.

If even he couldn't handle the demons, they would have to consider whether to temporarily leave Lin'an City.

Immediately,

Cui Cheng bowed, "Since Sir Shen has spoken, the Guiyuan Sword Sect will definitely support you first!"

"The Heavenly Saber Sect has no objections!"

"The Fentian Manor has no issues!"

"The Seven Stars Sect—"

Everyone responded quickly.

Even if they didn't agree, they had no choice.

After all, they were already in the government office, and with Shen Changqing's position, no one could refuse his request.

If this matter wasn't handled well,

it could cause a lot of trouble.

Moreover, just providing support was not a big deal, and no one wanted to offend Shen Changqing or the Demon Suppression Bureau behind him.

Of course,

their quick agreement was also due to Shen Changqing's demonstrated strength, which played a significant role.

If it were a newly initiated Pulse Cultivation Realm martial artist,

even with the Demon Suppression Bureau's backing, the various factions wouldn't have paid much attention.

"Very well, the factions of Guangyuan Prefecture are indeed righteous and dedicated to eliminating demons."

Shen Changqing smiled kindly.

Then,

his expression turned serious.

"Since everyone agrees, I will not waste any more time. The longer we wait, the more people will suffer. We will destroy the demon base today. Someone!"

A loud call, and a constable came in from outside.

"Have Zhang Yue come to see me!"

"Understood, sir!"

Soon,

Zhang Yue hurried over.

"Sir, what are your orders?"

"Gather all the constables and follow me to the Zhang Family. Seal off the entire area around the Zhang Family, and do not let anyone escape." Shen Changqing ordered coldly.

"Understood, sir!"

Zhang Yue did not ask for reasons and bowed to accept the order.

Then,

Shen Changqing stood up and looked at Cui Cheng and the others, "The government office's strength is limited. I will rely on your assistance to surround the Zhang Family."

"We will do our best to help!"