The appearance of the young girl diluted the slightly gloomy atmosphere in the Taoist temple.
Referred to as "Big Turnip" by the girl, Yuan Anjiang's face showed signs of displeasure as he said gruffly, "Hall Master Li, how long has it been since the murder happened, and why have you only just arrived?"
"It's already quite good that I could make it."
Li Nanshuang muttered, putting on a fake smile, "I went to the Judicial Council for some work, heard that Big Turnip you were being transferred, and planned to buy a good pot of wine to celebrate with you. But I got to the winery and realized I had no money. How about you lend me some first?"
Big Turnip?
Jiang Shouzhong glanced at Yuan Anjiang.
Well, his head is indeed big.
But our boss really loves to give people nicknames, not even sparing those from the Judicial Council. No wonder he has such a bad reputation.
Although Yuan Anjiang was annoyed, he was helpless against the young girl in front of him and snorted coldly, "Your Wind Thunder Hall has been at the bottom of the assessments for nine consecutive months. You, as a superior, should also have some spirit of improvement. After all, the soldiers under you are not bad."
Yuan Anjiang glanced at Jiang Shouzhong, his eyes expressing a bit of pity.
Such a promising youngster, how did he end up with such a boss.
Lucky for him to have met me, a true talent spotter.
In a few days when the new department is set up, I must transfer this young man over.
"Big Turnip, what kind of talk is that? What do you mean not progressive? You go check the Archive Hall, see if there's any case that our Wind Thunder Hall has mishandled?"
Li Nanshuang rolled her eyes.
Yuan Anjiang opened his mouth but had nothing to say.
Though the performance of Wind Thunder Hall was very poor, all the cases they handled were done properly, without a single error or oversight.
Even Phoenix Dance Hall, recognized as the top among the Liushan Division, occasionally made mistakes.
In the past, he might have been puzzled, but now seeing Jiang Shouzhong's performance, Yuan Anjiang couldn't help but feel emotional, having such talent under him, it would be odd if there were mistakes.
With a silent sigh of regret, Yuan Anjiang could no longer be bothered to argue with Li Nanshuang. He waved his sleeve and left the Taoist temple with his subordinates.
As he walked out of the temple gate, he couldn't help but look back at Jiang Shouzhong again.
The more he looked, the more he liked him.
The young man is really excellent.
After returning, he certainly intended to highly recommend him to the new department manager, Lord Ran Qingchen.
He believed Lord Ran would like this young man very much.
"This Big Turnip, since becoming a supervisor, has become so arrogant."
Li Nanshuang muttered softly, taking a swig from the flask on her waist and asked Lu Renjia, "Old Turtle, did Big Turnip give you guys a hard time just now?"
Old Turtle was the nickname Li Nanshuang gave to Lu Renjia.
Because Lu Renjia often called himself 'Jia', which Li Nanshuang heard as 'turtle', and later straightforwardly called him 'Tortoise'.
Lu Renjia couldn't stand it and complained for three days and three nights.
Perhaps Li Nanshuang also felt it was a bit too much, so she changed it to 'Old Turtle'.
Lu Renjia continued to complain, but the woman didn't pay him any attention, so he had no choice but to accept the nickname.
Hearing the boss's question, Lu Renjia patted his chest and said, "Originally that Big Head… uh, Mr. Yuan was going to give us a major demerit, but luckily I, Old Jia, have some sway and pulled some family connections, so he didn't make it difficult for us."
Of course, Li Nanshuang didn't believe Lu Renjia's brags.
She knew very well what his shoehorn face was worth.
Initially, this guy tried to pull connections with her, claiming they were from the same folks.
It turned out, he meant a dog raised by the sister-in-law of a cook at her sect, Huoyun Mountain's back kitchen, happened to share a litter with another dog raised by the village head's nephew near his hometown.
Li Nanshuang said, "Liushan Division is setting up a new department. Big Turnip must have come to scout and pick people."
New department?
Aside from Jiang Shouzhong, who had already heard the news from Yeying, Lu Renjia and Zhang Yunwu both looked puzzled.
Li Nanshuang belched, and said leisurely,
"Probably due to the Demon Clan getting more and more rowdy recently, the court has decided to establish a new department specifically for dealing with these demons."
"Particularly concerning is the female demon of the Sky Demon Sect, who had recently killed the former Magistrate of Qingzhou. This matter had a tremendous impact, and the court was also furious."
The demoness Li Nanshuang mentioned is called Qu Hongling, who is the current Sect Master of one of the eight major forces of the Demon Clan, the Sky Demon Sect.
This woman is decisive in killing, possessed of exceptionally strong demonic power.
It was said that she was the adopted daughter of the previous Sect Master of the Sky Demon Sect, Ms. Qiu, and had become a top-notch expert before even reaching the age of twenty.
Very few had seen her face, and no one knew her demonic form.
The so-called demonic form is the true innate body of a demon.
Either a tiger, a wolf, a bug, a bird, or even a mountain, plant, or stone.
Qu Hongling's sudden emergence had raised concerns within the Liushan Division, believing that if this demoness were not eliminated, she would become a great threat in the future.
Over a year ago, the Dark Guard Department of the Liushan Division had gathered intelligence that Qu Hongling went to One-Line Sky in search of the Youming Demon Spring. In order to avoid startling the snake, the Liushan Division secretly dispatched experts from the Dragon Tiger Department and teamed up with several Jianghu figures to head to One-Line Sky to execute this demoness.
Among these Jianghu figures was Su Shanke, who was known as the second fastest blade in the world.
However, the process of exterminating the demon did not go smoothly.
After many twists and turns, only Su Shanke and a few others successfully found Qu Hongling and fought her in Jade Gorge.
No one knew the specifics of that gorge battle.
It was only known that ultimately, only Su Shanke returned, and he was out of his senses, behaving insanely and suffering from amnesia.
Qu Hongling also disappeared since then, without any news.
Just when everyone thought that Qu Hongling had died in Jade Gorge, unexpectedly, half a year later, Ms. Qiu of the Sky Demon Sect suddenly stepped down due to illness.
And the new Sect Master was none other than Qu Hongling, who had disappeared for more than six months.
According to later rumors, people then understood that the demoness had been injured in Jade Gorge and had spent more than half a year in seclusion to recuperate.
Jiang Shouzhong had seen a portrait of this demoness in the Archive Hall of the Liushan Division; her appearance was very ordinary.
As for the authenticity of the portrait, it was hard to determine.
Lu Renjia sneered disdainfully, "The Magistrate that was killed, I know him. He exploited the common people, squeezing them dry, relying on his distant cousin who was a noble concubine in the palace, and doing whatever he wanted.
Moreover, he had been dismissed and detained half a month ago, ready to be escorted to the Capital for questioning. I heard he was still trying to pull strings in secret. It's best that such a scoundrel is dead."
"Exactly, exactly."
Zhang Yunwu felt there was merit in these words, nodding in agreement.
Li Nanshuang rewarded him with a chestnut, "Even so, he was still an official appointed by the court, which should handle his case. What right does a demoness have to act as the hand of Heaven?"
"Exactly, exactly."
Zhang Yunwu felt his leader's words also made sense, nodding vigorously, his expression simple and honest.
Lu Renjia stroked his jet-black beard, somewhat puzzled, "It's strange, she being a Sect Master, why would she have a grudge against this Magistrate.
"I remember she even attempted to assassinate this Magistrate before, but was unsuccessful. Could it really be her acting as the hand of Heaven? There are officials more corrupt than this Magistrate, why focus solely on him?"
Li Nanshuang curled her lip, "Who can understand the mind of a demoness? Initially, she even fought her own people, almost causing a civil war within the Demon Clan."
The internal strife within the Demon Clan that Li Nanshuang mentioned occurred not long after Qu Hongling became Sect Master.
The massacre at Anhe Village had shocked everyone; according to the investigation results publicized by the court, the perpetrator behind the scenes was one of the eight major forces of the Demon Clan, Thousand Beasts Forest.
All under the heavens were indignant toward the Demon Clan.
Yet before the court and Jianghu figures could launch a punitive expedition, Qu Hongling attacked Thousand Beasts Forest.
It was said that the demoness seemed to have gone into a frenzy, killing several experts of Thousand Beasts Forest. If the Alliance Hierarch hadn't intervened to mediate, the internal conflict might have burnt even more fiercely.
Those wishing to see the Demon Clan destroy itself from within lamented this missed opportunity.
"Boss, if a new official department for exterminating demons is established, who will take charge?"
Lu Renjia asked curiously.
The establishment of a new department by the court implied that the new director would become the officially recognized representative to support righteousness and eliminate demons, with a limitless future.
"Who else could it be..."
Li Nanshuang picked up her gourd of wine and took a small gulp, her clove-like tongue brushed over her upper lip wet with liquor, her tone lazy, "Of course, the young miss of the Ran Family."
"In the future, this world will be quite a spectacle. With Ran Qingchen on the side of righteousness and Qu Hongling on the side of demons, who do you think will have the last laugh?"