Footsteps came from outside the room.
Jiang Yuechu's brow twitched slightly.
Someone had arrived.
Jiang Yuechu's thoughts stirred, and she dispersed the Dragon Transformation Art.
The surging Qi and blood within her body, like a great river, also calmed down.
She raised a hand to tidy the stray strands of hair by her temples.
Although her transformed appearance, if one didn't look closely, was no different from an ordinary person.
There were still some changes after all.
If someone with ill intentions noticed a clue, it would always be trouble.
She casually grabbed a scroll of official documents that had already been marked red from the desk.
Spreading it out before her, she frowned slightly, feigning an appearance of being busy with official duties.
This main hall was spacious and was originally Wei He's territory.
Although she was a hands-off manager, pushing all those messy affairs onto Wei He.
That old fellow was stubborn.
He insisted on the order of seniority, and had to vacate this main hall, which symbolized the Dusi's authority.
It was hard to refuse such hospitality.
Jiang Yuechu had no choice but to reluctantly come here every day and sit for an hour or two.
Nominally presiding, in reality, she was slacking off.
Tap, tap, tap.
The footsteps stopped at the door.
A tall, slender figure stepped over the threshold, bringing in a chill from outside.
The newcomer was dressed in dark regular clothes, with a face as handsome as jade.
It was Xu Changfeng.
The Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Yellow Character Camps each had their own divisions of labor.
The Earth Character Camp and Yellow Character Battalion were usually the busiest because they were responsible for intelligence and guarding.
Only the Xuan Battalion specialized in slaying demons, and the Heaven Character Camp consisted of elites.
In the past, if there were no major demons invading, these two camps were the most leisurely places.
As the Deputy General of the Xuan Battalion, Xu Changfeng usually assisted Wei He in handling the Dusi's various administrative affairs.
He was, so to speak, Wei He's right-hand man.
Now.
Jiang Yuechu had just taken office, and Wei He had become the head steward.
Xu Changfeng, the former second-in-command, naturally became a frequent visitor to report on work to her.
However... while he was once her subordinate, their positions were now reversed.
Jiang Yuechu sat high in the main seat, her expression calm.
Xu Changfeng stood below, his gaze sweeping over the young girl's face, a mix of emotions in his heart.
Xu Changfeng took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions in his eyes.
He straightened his clothes and bowed.
"This subordinate Xu Changfeng pays respects to Commander."
The main hall was silent for a moment.
Jiang Yuechu did not immediately tell him to rise.
She raised an eyebrow slightly, pretending to be surprised as she looked at the person below.
"Oh."
"Isn't this Lord Xu?"
"Why such a grand gesture? Quickly, rise, quickly rise."
Xu Changfeng's mouth twitched slightly.
Why had he never noticed that this girl had such a mischievous streak before?
"Rituals cannot be abandoned."
Xu Changfeng replied stiffly, then stood up.
"Come, come, come, sit."
Jiang Yuechu pointed to the chair beside her.
"Thank you, Your Excellency."
Xu Changfeng didn't stand on ceremony and sat down.
His gaze, however, lingered on the young girl for a moment unconsciously.
For some reason.
After only a few days apart.
The aura of this Commander seemed to have changed again.
Although he couldn't see it clearly.
But vaguely.
It actually gave him a sense of oppression, like facing a vast ocean.
Was it an illusion?
"Lord Xu is usually like a Dragon that shows its head but not its tail; why do you have time today to visit my humble abode?"
Xu Changfeng looked at the young girl's expression, which was clearly indifferent, yet her eyes held a hint of mischief.
He couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Your Excellency is joking."
Xu Changfeng said with a stern face and stiff tone.
"This is the Dusi's main hall, Your Excellency's office, not a humble abode."
"Moreover..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the official document that was clearly upside down in front of the young girl.
"If Your Excellency is busy, This subordinate will take his leave now and dare not disturb Your Excellency... reading official documents upside down."
"..."
Jiang Yuechu's expression remained unchanged, and she naturally rotated the official document in her hand one hundred and eighty degrees.
She even smoothed out the creases on the rolled corner with a serious demeanor.
"Speak, what is it?"
When it came to serious matters, Xu Changfeng no longer dwelled on the topic.
His expression became solemn, and he took out a thick booklet from his Huai, presenting it with both hands.
"These are the follow-up files for the Baosha Temple case."
Jiang Yuechu did not reach out to take it, but merely lifted her chin slightly in Indication.
Xu Changfeng understood, opened the booklet, and said in a deep voice:
"According to Your Excellency's instructions, General Wei led people to screen them overnight."
"The land, shops, and gold, silver, and valuables hidden in the cellar that Baosha Temple had embezzled over the years have all been inventoried."
"Converted to silver, it totals over three million taels."
Jiang Yuechu's eyelids twitched slightly.
Three million taels.
In this barren Region, those monks who didn't engage in production actually accumulated such an enormous fortune?
No wonder they were all fat and round.
"Confiscate, it must be confiscated!"
"Take out one million taels to compensate the families of the people harmed by demons over the years, especially those women who were abducted to the mountain; give each of them an additional resettlement fee."
"The rest will be deposited into the Dusi's treasury!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Xu Changfeng's eyes, then turned into admiration.
"Your Excellency is benevolent."
"Wealth is an external possession."
Jiang Yuechu waved her hand, clearly not caring about these worldly possessions.
She was more concerned about another matter.
"What about the people?"
Xu Changfeng turned a page, his tone becoming colder.
"It has been investigated thoroughly."
"Excluding those peripheral monks who genuinely ate vegetarian food and chanted sutras, there are a total of five hundred and forty-two core monks who participated in colluding with demons and harming the common people."
"Among them, one hundred and sixty-four have murder cases on their hands."
"The rest are mostly accomplices who knew but did not report, or were responsible for guarding and transporting blood sacrifices."
At this point, Xu Changfeng paused, then tentatively asked:
"Your Excellency, there is no objection that the one hundred and sixty-four principal offenders should be executed according to law."
"But these remaining three hundred and seventy-eight people... although guilty, their crimes are not punishable by death. Should they be exiled three thousand li according to law and sent to the frontier for military service?"
The Tang Dynasty's laws were strict.
Even the Demon Suppression Division could not arbitrarily slaughter large numbers of people.
Jiang Yuechu, however, shook her head.
Exile?
If they were exiled, who would provide her with Dao Cultivation?
If all these five hundred-plus people were killed, she could at least gather a thousand years of Dao Cultivation.
Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
Moreover, these monks had been acting like tyrants on Qituo Mountain for so many years, enjoying the convenience brought by the Precious Temple.
Now they want to just walk away as if nothing happened?
There's no such easy thing.
"No need for such trouble."
"It just so happens that we can use their heads to offer a sacrifice to the myriad wandering souls."
"Tomorrow, I will personally do it."
A casual remark.
Decided the fate of hundreds of heads.
Xu Changfeng felt a chill crawl up his spine.
He looked at the exquisitely beautiful young girl before him.
She was only seventeen years old.
Yet her decisive Heart-Nature was even more ruthless than those old officials who had been immersed in officialdom for years.
But within this ruthlessness, there was an undeniable sense of satisfaction.
"This subordinate... receives the order."
Xu Changfeng closed the register and respectfully assented.
Jiang Yuechu nodded in satisfaction.
Now, there would be more Dao Cultivation coming in.
Coupled with the remaining three hundred-plus years from before.
Perhaps she could push the White Flood Dragon to the next Realm.
While she was calculating.
Xu Changfeng showed no intention of retreating.
His expression became somewhat strange, as if he was deliberating his words.
"Your Excellency, there is one more matter."
"Hmm?"
Jiang Yuechu responded absently, "Speak."
"During the interrogation of the three chief monks, Forgetting the Mundane, Forgetting Thought, and Wang Jue, they revealed a piece of information to save their lives."
Xu Changfeng lowered his voice.
"It's about that demon monk, Forget-Infatuation, whom Your Excellency slew."