Whereabouts of Xu Shang

The government office of Huai'an City.

Covered in dust from his travels, Zhang Shi strode forward. At the entrance, a guard stopped him. "General, if it is not an emergency, please wait a moment. The Duke is inside handling affairs."

The administrative area of the office was divided into an outer and an inner hall. The outer hall was guarded by personal troops and furnished with several grand wooden chairs for those waiting to see their superiors.

The inner hall was where official business was conducted.

Zhang Shi could faintly hear voices coming from within.

Just as he was about to ask, a man walked out from the inner hall. It was Wang Ming, the very man Zhang Shi had always considered his rival and sworn to completely crush and surpass in every aspect.

"Is the Duke busy?" Zhang Shi asked.

"Yes!" Wang Ming wouldn't hide anything from Zhang Shi. Besides, even if Ren Tianye were present, he wouldn't keep this a secret from Zhang Shi. He explained, "Huai'an City is a land of rivers and lakes with a strong commercial atmosphere. Now that we have taken it, Huai'an will serve as our great rear base."

"However, we don't have enough manpower to replace everyone with our own people. The Duke is currently interviewing the former officials of Huai'an City one by one to select capable talents."

"Oh, right..." Wang Ming paused, then continued, "Lord Pei Jingzhi is also here. Right now, he is conducting the interviews alongside the Duke. The Duke also wants Lord Pei to revise and perfect the laws of the Demon Suppression Department, clear away the foul atmosphere of Yun Capital, and restore a bright and just world."

Zhang Shi said, "Pei Jingzhi?"

"Is that the Pei Jingzhi whose wife found eighteen lovers and whose children aren't even his own?"

Wang Ming shot Zhang Shi a glance.

It was indeed that man, and those rumors were true, but... did he really have to say it out loud?

Zhang Shi wasn't stupid either; he immediately shut his mouth and waited.

Although he had no interest in civil administration, his greatest wish being to showcase his hard-earned lightning-fast combat tactics across the vast lands, he never questioned or opposed the Duke's decisions.

In fact, he revered and respected them.

After all, he knew that while generals were needed to conquer the world, civil officials were needed to govern it. Especially over the past two days, he had profoundly witnessed the terrifying and absurd nature of those obsessed with romance, making him realize even more the need for a clear and rational environment to bring the world back to normal.

Therefore, even though he had matters to report, he simply waited outside the door, watching one Huai'an official after another go in and come out.

It wasn't until evening approached that the stream of officials finally began to dwindle.

"Is that the last one?"

"Yes, General Zhang Shi."

"Good." Zhang Shi sat back down and saw an imposing, meticulously groomed middle-aged man in official robes walking inside with measured, steady steps.

"That is Lord Zhou," Wang Ming introduced to Zhang Shi. "This Lord Zhou is in charge of all penal and legal matters in Huai'an City. I heard he strictly abides by the rules and is completely impartial. There's a high chance the Duke will entrust him with heavy responsibilities."

Zhang Shi wasn't interested in this, but he listened patiently. After all, they might have to work together someday.

Then, from the inner hall, he heard the sound of Lord Zhou kneeling to pay his respects. Soon after, following questions from the Duke and Pei Jingzhi, Lord Zhou's clear and resonant voice rang out, as if it could cleanse the very universe.

"Your Grace, Lord Pei, this humble official believes that the foundation of governing Huai'an City lies entirely in strict adherence to the rules."

"Everything must be done according to established regulations, with no room for selfish or arbitrary judgments. Every department in the government must fulfill its duties and act strictly in accordance with the law."

"Criminal litigation, taxation, and civic affairs must all be handled according to the system. There must be proper measure in advancing and retreating, and rules in handling matters. The law must not be disrupted by personal desires, nor should standards be broken by favoritism."

"Superiors and subordinates alike must keep to their duties and act according to the rules."

"Only then can Huai'an City have clear discipline and stability in all matters."

The voice was so full of righteous awe that even Zhang Shi curiously peeked inside. Then, he saw Lord Zhou back out of the room.

"This is just the initial interview by the Duke and Lord Pei for these Huai'an officials. Later, they will also review their past administrative records," Wang Ming explained from the side.

Zhang Shi nodded. Seeing that there was no one else in the room, he quickly asked a guard to announce him. A short while later, the guard invited him in.

"General Zhang Shi, the Duke is waiting for you inside."

Zhang Shi stood up and walked in.

Wang Ming followed him.

"How did it go?"

Seeing Zhang Shi and Wang Ming, Ren Tianye's posture relaxed a bit. After all, coming from a military background, he didn't really like the red tape and formalities of meeting civil officials. But it couldn't be helped; heavy is the head that wears the crown.

The necessary etiquette had to be maintained.

However, with no outsiders present, Ren Tianye could loosen up quite a bit.

"Your Grace, about Xu Shang... this subordinate is incompetent. I failed to catch him."

"You still haven't caught him?"

Ren Tianye felt a bit helpless. Su Jin had already taken action, and he had even sent Lu Shuang to help Zhang Shi. How could Zhang Shi still let Xu Shang get away?

"Your Grace..." Zhang Shi felt very wronged. "I didn't expect Xu Shang to manage to escape by running down a sheer cliff. I truly did my best."

Still feeling a bit defiant, Zhang Shi added, "I dare say, even if it were someone else, they might not have caught him either."

Ren Tianye immediately turned to Wang Ming and asked, "Wang Ming, if it were you, what would you have done?"

Wang Ming replied, "Your Grace, I am not as capable as General Zhang Shi, so I surely wouldn't have caught him either. However, if I had entered the city, I would have immediately found Xu Shang's paramour and simply waited at her house."

Zhang Shi: ???

"Even if Xu Shang ran away, didn't he leave behind his paramour's corpse? I feel we could have made some use of that."

Zhang Shi: ???

Ren Tianye nodded, turned his head, and asked Zhang Shi, "Now, do you understand?"

Zhang Shi replied with a bitter face, "Your Grace, I understand."

"As long as you understand. Make sure to learn from this next time. By the way, what is Xu Shang's current situation?"

"He fled to the neighboring Yuan City!" Zhang Shi's face turned serious. "Yuan City originally does not belong to Yun Capital, but it is not far from Huai'an City. Xu Shang seems to have a good relationship with the defending general of Yuan City, so he ran there."

"When I pursued him there, the defending general of Yuan City kept the city gates tightly shut and refused to let me in to make the arrest, showing contempt for the imperial court. I actually wanted to fight my way in, but..."

Zhang Shi paused, then said, "Lu Shuang reminded me from the side that Yuan City is subordinate to the imperial court. Refusing to open the gates means the City Lord of Yuan City is defying the royal laws, a crime punishable by death. But if I were to attack the city without authorization, my crime would be even greater."

"Moreover, I only brought a few hundred men to hunt down Xu Shang. Therefore, Lu Shuang suggested that I return first to request an edict from Your Grace."

"I thought Lu Shuang made sense, so I hurried back."

Ren Tianye nodded and said, "It seems Yun Capital has a wide influence. Even the surrounding cities are deeply entangled with it."

With that, he gave Pei Jingzhi a look. Pei Jingzhi immediately drafted an imperial edict on the spot. Ren Tianye took out the jade seal he had acquired from Xiao Mingzhao and brought it down with a heavy thud, stamping the document before having it handed to Zhang Shi.

"Go back, and bring me Xu Shang's head."

"If the defending general of Yuan City dares to stop you again, bring me his head as well."

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Shi was overjoyed.

With this imperial edict in hand, he was going to show the defending general of Yuan City the true meaning of his lightning-fast combat tactics!

He quickly stepped out, intending to take advantage of the remaining daylight to lead his troops forward. Bangchui, who had been waiting anxiously outside all this time, strode over.

"General, General..."

Seeing that it was Bangchui, Zhang Shi's face lit up with joy. "Bangchui, where is that fine steed? Bring it out quickly! The situation is critical and I must rush to Yuancheng. This is the perfect opportunity to take it for a ride and experience its lightning speed!"

...