Chapter 25: The Only Flaw

Although Pei Hu was a civil official, he had dealt with the Demon Suppression Division many times over the years and understood the significance of a Demon-Slaying Sword to its members.

He was neither a practitioner nor fond of martial arts, but he was no fool; he could see exactly what these three swords had endured. The twisted, deformed blades and the tufts of hair caught in the hilts were testament to a brutal and desperate battle.

Pei Hu studied them for a moment before turning his gaze to a young woman with her hair tied back in a tight, practical style.

"Xiaokui."

"Present."

The girl stepped forward as she spoke.

"Go and process these pieces of evidence."

"Understood."

As she replied, she held out her palms to receive the three swords and retreated backward out of the hall.

"Young hero, it is your turn to speak."

Chu Chen detested this title. He had no desire to be some "young hero"; he only wanted to keep his head down and survive. But given the current situation, staying under the radar was becoming increasingly difficult.

"My Lord, please, just call me Chu Chen."

"Very well, Chu Chen. Tell me, why are you so certain that she betrayed her teammates?"

"Reporting to you, my Lord, we were ambushed by demons on our way back from a mission. I was unfortunately captured, while the others took the opportunity to flee."

Chu Chen gave a brief account of how he escaped from the demons and later encountered Dong Qin, Fang Lingling, and Cheng Meimei.

"So, you are saying that before they died, those three entrusted you with bringing their swords back to the Demon Suppression Division?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Let me ask you: when you were ambushed, did you see the direction in which the others fled?"

"They scattered in all directions."

Pei Hu nodded silently upon hearing this. He turned to Zhao Xiaoshi and asked, "You heard what was just said. I ask you: did you abandon your post during the battle, using your colleagues' lives to buy time for your own escape?"

"I did not!" Zhao Xiaoshi denied it instantly, shooting a vicious glare at Chu Chen before turning back to look respectfully at Pei Hu. "My Lord, this is all nonsense from Chu Chen. You may not know this, but Chu Chen only joined the division a few days ago; there is no camaraderie between us. Furthermore, he is a disciple of General Bai Ning. Everyone in the Jinnan Demon Suppression Division knows that General Bai Ning has an eccentric temperament and has always been at odds with my master and the other three generals."

"During this mission, Chu Chen deliberately concealed his true cultivation level—who knows what his motives were? After he escaped the ambush on the way back, he must have harbored a grudge because he didn't save us. Finding that the three of them had already fallen, he intentionally picked up their swords just to come back here and frame me."

Hearing this, Pei Hu looked at Chu Chen again. "What she says is not without reason..."

It was not that Pei Hu could not tell who was lying and who was telling the truth; rather, he intended to muddy the waters. Whether this young woman had betrayed her teammates was secondary. The most important thing was identifying who was conspiring behind the scenes. Zhao Xiaoshi was to be kept around for now—she was still of use. When the time came for her to die, it would be done cleanly and decisively.

"My Lord, she is lying," Chu Chen said earnestly.

"No rush. Whether she is lying or not will be determined once Xiaokui has finished her report."

As he spoke, Pei Hu slowly stood up. "This New Year's Eve, the Emperor will return to Longjiang County for ancestral worship, and the Ministry of Personnel must dispatch staff to accompany him. The five-year year-end audit has been moved forward to mid-September. Manager Xu, bring me the mission logs, resource allocations, correspondence with other regions, and the treasury accounts for the past five years."

"Yes, my Lord. Please rest for a moment; I will send someone to prepare them immediately."

Once Manager Xu had given the orders and the generals had all departed, he whispered, "Lord Pei, shall we hold dinner at the Taihong Restaurant?"

"Does the Division not have a kitchen?"

"We do, my Lord, but since your retinue has come all the way from the Imperial Capital, we naturally wish to host you properly."

"There is no need."

Pei Hu’s blunt refusal made Xu Liang realize the severity of the situation. This audit would be far stricter than those in the past. Yet, there was no need to panic; he was confident in his ability to cover his tracks. The relay stations kept records of all correspondence sent by the Demon Suppression Division. If the number of letters logged by the Division differed from the relay station records, it would arouse suspicion. Manager Xu was far too capable to make such a mistake.

Those letters that could not see the light of day appeared, on the surface, to be nothing more than normal social exchanges—sharing travel anecdotes or asking someone to critique a poem. To decipher the true content, one needed a specific grid overlay and to rotate it at precise angles. Only the characters appearing within the grid revealed the actual message.

With such a meticulous communication method, Manager Xu had nothing to fear; no one would be able to uncover it. As for the accounts of the Demon Suppression Division, they were equally seamless. The allocation of cultivation resources was perfectly reasonable, handled strictly according to regulations. Even his own daughter had never received special treatment.

Cultivation resources for the Demon Suppression Division were provided by the various sects of the Tianyuan Continent. Sect cultivation was tedious and grueling, focused on the pursuit of the Great Dao and immortality, and the requirements for disciples were extremely high. It was not like the Demon Suppression Division, where anyone with a modicum of talent could qualify. The sects needed a massive population base to screen for potential disciples, and a stable dynasty was the foundation of a stable population. The sects, the Demon Suppression Division, and the dynasty formed a mutually reinforcing closed loop.

Taking Yun Prefecture, where the Great Ning Dynasty was located, as an example, there were three major sects: the Guangqi Sect in the northwest, covering forty-one empires; the Lieyang Sect in the northeast, covering thirty-seven empires; and the Lingyun Sect in the south, covering sixty-three empires. The Great Ning Dynasty fell under the jurisdiction of the Lingyun Sect. All cultivation resources were obtained through the Lingyun Sect’s allocation, which the dynasty then distributed to the local Demon Suppression Divisions.

The personnel of the Demon Suppression Division used these resources to improve their cultivation, protect the peace of the people, and maintain population stability. In return, the sects gained a stable population base, those with average talent had a place to cultivate, and the dynasty remained free of large-scale demonic unrest, which was crucial for political stability.

All three parties benefited, and this relationship had persisted in Yun Prefecture for thousands of years. Manager Xu would not be foolish enough to tamper with the cultivation resources. His only concern was an exorcism mission from two years ago, during which Han Yi, a garrison general of the Pengcheng Army in Jinnan, was unfortunately killed. That mission had been a mere pretext; the true objective had been to eliminate Han Yi.

That garrison general had been part of a conspiracy to rebel, but he had begun to harbor thoughts of defecting. Fortunately, he was discovered in time and dealt with quickly. At the time, the matter had been urgent, and there had been no time to make it perfect. Manager Xu could not help but worry that some loose ends might have been left behind.