Without showing the slightest reaction, he listened as Nanny Sun began to speak.
“Lord Duke…” Nanny Sun said, “At my age, what reward could I possibly ask for? For the rest of my life, all I hope for is that our former Demonic Suppression Office will no longer continue to decline.”
“So…”
“Your old servant would like to make a bold request.”
“Zhou Xiong is, after all, the descendant of an old friend of mine. Though he has committed a grave offense, I still hope Lord Duke can show him mercy and spare his life.”
“It would also preserve a spark of our former Demonic Suppression Office.”
Ren Tianye had received intelligence about Zhou Xiong long ago—information about everything Zhou Xiong had done in Pukou City, especially… his ambitions.
To be fair, no one in power wanted a subordinate with such ambitions, especially one who was disloyal. Thus, although Ren Tianye had never seriously considered how he would deal with Zhou Xiong after taking Pukou City, his subconscious inclination had been to eliminate him.
A man like that was best eradicated root and branch.
Unfortunately, the old veteran Nanny Sun had thought of this as well and had pleaded for mercy in advance.
Ren Tianye pondered for a moment before saying, “I can spare his life for now. Let him remain in prison.”
“As for whether he will ever have the chance to rise again, that will depend on his own conduct, as well as… whether the situation requires him.”
Nanny Sun was satisfied with this outcome.
She immediately moved to kneel and thank him, but Ren Tianye helped her back to her feet and smiled.
“Is that the only matter?”
“Because I know that, apart from Zhou Xiong—who cannot even be considered an active member of the former Demonic Suppression Office—there is another genuinely talented young man from the former Demonic Suppression Office here in Pukou City.”
“I would very much like to meet him.”
Nanny Sun naturally knew whom Ren Tianye meant. It had to be Song Shaoyi. Moreover… Song Shaoyi was one of the heroes who had helped capture Pukou City this time.
A true hero!
It was Song Shaoyi who had rallied the residents of Pukou City.
And besides…
Nanny Sun herself had long wanted to meet Song Shaoyi. In their exchange of letters, Song Shaoyi had clearly stated that he had come to assist Ren Tianye on the orders of the former Chief of the Demonic Suppression Office.
The Chief!
The former Chief of the Demonic Suppression Office!
The Chief, who had vanished for so many years, while countless former members of the Demonic Suppression Office had already passed away or disappeared!
She desperately wanted to know what had really happened.
Unfortunately, the circumstances had never been right. Even now, she had yet to meet Song Shaoyi, and she was becoming increasingly eager to do so.
“Lord Duke, in our previous correspondence, Song Shaoyi clearly said that he would come to pay his respects when you entered the city.”
“I imagine he is either at the gates or already on his way here.”
Ren Tianye smiled. “Then I suppose I should send someone to meet him.”
After a pause, he called, “Su Jin!”
Su Jin entered from outside.
“Song Shaoyi is a key member of the former Demonic Suppression Office. Strictly speaking, he is also one of your people in the Demonic Suppression Office. He has even been in contact with the former Chief of the Demonic Suppression Office. For now…”
“You will go and receive him.”
“Yes, Lord Duke.” Su Jin’s face was filled with curiosity as well. As the commander of the current Demonic Suppression Office, she was no less interested than anyone else in this former Demonic Suppression Office that had appeared out of nowhere.
She went out to meet him, but unexpectedly, she had to wait half a day before finally finding Song Shaoyi.
After exchanging their identities, Song Shaoyi said apologetically, “Commander Su, this subordinate was not deliberately late. It was simply because Brother Chen Liang was leaving. I was worried about him, so I personally saw him off, which caused the delay.”
Su Jin smiled.
This Song Shaoyi was rather interesting.
He had opened his mouth and called himself “this subordinate,” directly acknowledging her as his superior.
She nodded and smiled. “It is no matter.”
“However, Lord Duke has already been waiting. Come with me.”
“Yes!”
After entering and paying his respects to Ren Tianye, Song Shaoyi recounted the matter of seeing Chen Liang off.
“On his way to Yunjing, Young Master Chen once received a favor from someone. Now that the matter in Pukou City has been settled, he says he must first repay that favor before considering whether to serve Lord Duke. I hope Lord Duke will understand.”
Ren Tianye inwardly sighed at the missed opportunity.
Pei Jingzhi had been looking forward to meeting Chen Liang for a long time. The two of them had fought side by side in the past. Although… not a single one of their endeavors had succeeded, they had still forged a bond of camaraderie.
Ren Tianye had even wanted to meet Chen Liang himself.
Back in the capital, Chen Liang had been nothing more than an obscure nobody to him. But after arriving in Yunjing, Ren Tianye had begun to feel a sense of kinship with him as a fellow countryman.
Of course, Ren Tianye was not about to force the matter. At present, there was something else he wanted to know even more.
He smiled and said, “Then let Young Master Chen leave for now.”
“I am actually more interested in you.”
“In your letter to me, you clearly stated that you came to assist me on the orders of the former Chief of the Demonic Suppression Office. I would like to know…”
“What exactly did the former Chief of the Demonic Suppression Office write in his letter to you?”
Song Shaoyi hurriedly replied, “Lord Duke, there were two matters in total.”
“The first was that Zhou Xiong of Pukou City might become a major obstacle to your conquest of Yunjing, so I was instructed to come to Pukou City early, make preparations, and lend you a hand.”
“The second was that once the matter in Pukou City had been settled, I was to return and seek out my master, and ask him to descend the mountain and come assist Lord Duke as well.”
Ren Tianye was somewhat disappointed. Neither piece of information was of much use.
“Did he provide anything else?” he asked. “For example, when will the former Chief of the Demonic Suppression Office appear?”
“Since he is willing to support me, he should meet me in person.”
Song Shaoyi replied nervously, “Lord Duke, the Chief did not mention any of that in his letter. Besides, he has always been elusive, appearing like a dragon whose head can be seen but whose tail remains hidden. I believe that when the time comes, he will naturally come and pay his respects to you.”
Ren Tianye felt somewhat deflated.
“Then he did not tell you why he established the former Demonic Suppression Office?”
“He did not.”
Song Shaoyi said, “However…”
“I once heard my master say a few things, and I feel they may be related.”
Ren Tianye had already been disappointed, but his spirits suddenly lifted.
“What did he say?”
Song Shaoyi hurriedly replied, “I often hear my master muttering things like…”
“When a nation faces no external threats, its military preparations are abandoned!”
“When there is no path for advancement, the hearts of scholars grow dispirited!”
“When wealth and goods are abundant, extravagance and decadence flourish!”
“When moral education is neglected, human desires run unchecked!”
“When all under Heaven prizes literature and scorns martial strength, yang declines and yin flourishes!”
“When all five conditions are present, the realm will surely indulge in pleasure, and the hearts of its people will become attached to private passions!”
“As the ancient Confucian scholars also said: if such customs endure for too long, people will know only the love between men and women and not the bonds between ruler and subject or the fate of the nation. They will seek only immediate ease and pleasure, giving no thought to dangers in the generations to come. In the end, the realm will fall into ruin!”
The excitement that had just risen within Ren Tianye immediately faded somewhat.
These words were clearly the words of a Confucian scholar. Though they described the situation accurately, they were not especially meaningful. After all, throughout five thousand years of history, softness, romantic attachment, empty debate, and hedonism had all appeared time and again.
But never had they surged so violently as they had in this world.
So violently that it was difficult to comprehend!
Then…
Song Shaoyi continued, “My master had always muttered these things, but over the past two years, he began talking about the Way of Heaven, star officials, the Purple Star, the Daoist sects, the earth’s ley lines, the Five Elements, the destiny of the nation…”
“I feel like he has become rather unhinged.”
“Still, it does seem to make some sense, though I can’t quite make heads or tails of it.”
Ren Tianye frowned slightly as well.
How had this suddenly become entangled with such abstruse matters?
Yet when he thought about how absurd the world had become, it seemed that only these mysterious and inexplicable things could account for it.
He shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
After all, he wasn’t an expert in such matters, and there was no point trying to figure them out.
Wouldn’t it be simpler just to invite Song Shaoyi’s master here?
He said, “I wish to meet your master. Young Master Song, would you be able to arrange that for me?”
Song Shaoyi immediately fell to his knees. “Lord Duke, that was the Chief’s intention from the beginning. If Your Lordship agrees, I’ll return to Yunjing at once and bring my master here.”
…
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
