"It seems that you have some involvement with the demons." Hao Yu looked at a middle-aged man, who was supposed to be the owner of the brothel that attacked Zhao Ru's. While he didn't really want to get entangled in their business, he still had to thank Zhao Ru for playing along.
"Sir. I don't know anything about it." The owner shook his head furiously, trying his best to explain. After all, the one next to him was none other than Ding Ruoling..
Ding Ruoling had agreed to take care of the other brothels to ensure that there were no more demons hiding inside the city.
Hao Yu said, "You can explain it later. Now, let's go to the government office for questioning."
"Sir, I truly don't know anything! That's right. I have been charmed by those fox demons. It's not my fault, I'm just a normal person who can't resist their magical ability." The more desperate the brothel owner was, the more suspicious he became. And that desperation seemed to bring out some results.
Both Ding Ruoling and Hao Yu heard his confession straight out of him.
"Mr. Cultivator. Have you ever mentioned the type of the demon?"
"Not at all. In fact, I have never mentioned anything related to demons. You are the first person in this city to know about it." Ding Ruoling explained.
Hao Yu's face darkened. "Then, how does he know about the demons?"
The brothel owner turned pale. He realized that he had screwed up.
Unfortunately for him, Hao Yu didn't let him do anything more than this. He ordered his subordinates, "Take him away!"
Without hesitation, two soldiers grabbed both of his arms and dragged him out of the brothel.
Hao Yu didn't interfere with the business. It was the brothel owner who admitted it, so he had no choice but to apprehend him. It ended up helping Zhao Ru though.
Since the owner had been taken away, Hao Yu turned to Ding Ruoling, asking, "How is the situation in the brothel?"
"There is no more trace of the demons in this brothel. It seems that we can move on to the next brothel."
"Got it." Hao Yu looked around to see if he could find anything related to demons.
After that, they continued to the brothels that had been listed by Ding Ruoling. Some of the owners didn't know anything, but some actually experienced the same thing as this one.
They looked like they were charmed, but they actually knew the whole time and didn't bother to report this to the authorities as if they had sided with the demons.
Hao Yu immediately brought them back for questioning.
Of course, there was a massive clean up and the brothels had to be closed for further investigation. This included Zhao Ru's brothel.
But to thank her for her part, Hao Yu decided to prioritize her brothel first. In other words, she could reopen the fastest, allowing her to regain a bit of her popularity. But after that, she could only rely on herself if she wanted the brothel to continue.
Hao Yu also gave the report to the Magistrate, implying that he had taken care of the situation.
Only after double-checking that the demons weren't there anymore, Ding Ruoling finally returned to the mine so that he could bid his farewell to the fellow cultivators in the mine, including Elder Bing.
"So, you have completed your mission…" Elder Bing frowned.
"Yes, Sir. It's thanks to Administrator Hao that I could finish all this so quickly."
"I see. That young man seems to be talented." Elder Bing nodded in agreement. "Tell me briefly about what happened."
Ding Ruoling recounted everything. While he portrayed himself in a good way, he didn't forget to show how Hao Yu resolved the problem.
"It seems that I have underestimated that kid." Elder Bing contemplated for a moment.
"Is there something wrong with him, Elder?"
Elder Bing didn't reply to him. Instead, he was muttering in his heart, 'He managed all those problems within a few days. Did he give the job of the construction to someone else? But I have been checking the construction from time to time. It doesn't seem that they are lagging behind.
'Leaving the construction matter to him seems to be a good idea. If that's the case, we will have a new place filled with Spiritual Qi.'
Elder Bing smiled. Even Ding Ruoling was quite shocked to see him smiling as he normally only showed them his stern face.
Elder Bing said, "Before leaving, tell him this. If the construction projects encounter any problems, don't hesitate to go to me and request some help. If it's not too troublesome, I will lend him some help."
Ding Ruoling never expected that a mortal would actually gain recognition from an Elder.
Meanwhile, the other cultivators were surprised for another reason. They had heard about the extermination of the previous administrator and his family.
This showed that Hao Yu had surpassed the previous administrator. Unfortunately, Hao Yu couldn't get even more recognition because he would have to leave the city soon.
Ding Ruoling cupped his hands, acknowledging his order.
…
Meanwhile, Hao Yu was reporting the matter to Leng Xiu.
"I see. There were really demons in this city." Leng Xiu frowned. He didn't look so surprised.
"You were already aware of them." Hao Yu squinted his eyes, demanding an explanation from Leng Xiu's reaction.
"Do you know the objective of the demons?" Leng Xiu replied to Hao Yu with a question.
"No."
"Do you know that the sects are not the only ones who resist them? The imperial army is also helping the cultivators."
"Yes. While cultivators are powerful, they don't have the numbers to make up the difference."
"We are located not far from the border, right? I think you can guess the rest by yourself."
"So, they are trying to remove the Imperial Army from the picture by infiltrating the human city. If that's the case, why don't they directly come to manipulate you?" Hao Yu asked while squinting his eyes.
Leng Xiu suddenly smirked as if everything had gone according to his plan. Hao Yu couldn't help but feel chills down his spine as he took a step back. "You… are you being manipulated?"