As soon as these words were spoken, Shen Qiyuan looked at Liu Ruyi, and Ruyi also lowered her head to look at herself.

“Divine messenger under the Demon King’s seat?” She took out something to show it with amusement, “How is it that I don’t know about this?”

A token forged from the blood of ten thousand demons—only the Demon King possessed one.

The nine-headed serpent looked stunned, then shook its head: “No, you’re not the Demon King. The Demon King is severely injured and hasn’t recovered; currently recuperating.”

Another one deceived by Puhua.

Shen Qiyuan spoke in a deep voice: “When did you meet that Demon King?”

It didn’t want to answer questions from an immortal. The nine-headed serpent continued ramming, trying to break free from these shackles.

Without another word, Ruyi’s black net passed through Shen Qiyuan’s white formation and transformed into countless daggers, rushing straight toward the nine-headed serpent. The nine-headed serpent shrieked in resistance, and the force from both of them caused the daggers to freeze in mid-air, slowly moving in the nine-headed serpent’s direction.

I was somewhat surprised.

This little girl in front of it looked soft and weak—how could her cultivation be so high? Even more powerful than the Demon King.

“Who are you?” it asked with difficulty.

Ruyi found this curious: “Didn’t the previous Demon King tell you about me? I’m his most accomplished disciple.”

Disciple? The nine-headed serpent was somewhat bewildered: “I’ve known the Demon King for nearly three thousand years and never heard him mention having any disciples.”

“Three thousand years.” Ruyi snorted with laughter, “How many years has he been the Demon King? You’ve known him for three thousand years?”

“When I met him, he wasn’t the Demon King yet—just an inconspicuous little demon.” It muttered this sentence, then discovered that the pressing force around it had weakened somewhat, and those threatening daggers were no longer moving in its direction.

Ruyi sat down on the rooftop and said carelessly, “Demon monsters have always bullied the weak and feared the strong. Why would you befriend an inconspicuous little demon?”

That was naturally because it wasn’t very powerful at the time either.

The nine-headed serpent transformed back into human form, purple light gleaming in its triangular eyes: “I met him when we were both humble, and we became the best of friends. Although I’ve avoided the world and focused on cultivation, I know all about his affairs. How dare you impersonate his disciple?”

“Avoiding the world to focus on cultivation, yet your cultivation is only this much?” Ruyi was amused, “You look quite a bit older than me—could it be that your talent is too poor?”

“Nonsense!” The nine-headed serpent became angry, “My talent is first-rate.”

“Then where did your cultivation go?” Her eyes moved slightly, and she said incredulously, “Don’t tell me it was taken by that best friend of yours?”

The nine-headed serpent flicked its snake tongue threateningly: “Don’t speak nonsense. He’s looked after me for thousands of years, nourishing my cultivation with incense offerings. I’ve merely repaid him with some things.”

Ruyi and the person across from her exchanged glances, speechless.

A great demon monster with three thousand years of cultivation, and an ancient divine beast at that, yet its cultivation couldn’t even compare to theirs—what it had repaid to Puhua was certainly more than just a little.

No wonder he could pretend to be the Demon King for so many years without being exposed.

Shen Qiyuan took out a cosmic pouch and collected it inside, fury surging like the sea in his eyes: “I’m going back to the Ministry of Justice.”

“Alright.” Ruyi jumped down from the rooftop and gently touched the tips of his hair. “I’ll wait for you at the tavern.”

The gentle gesture somewhat smoothed the murderous aura on his body. Shen Qiyuan nodded, changed clothes, mounted his horse, and galloped away through the moonlight.

Even though the nine-headed serpent most likely attacked the Heng Kingdom under Puhua’s orders, he was still a blue god at present and still couldn’t interfere with Puhua Temple affairs. Therefore, he could only return to the Ministry of Justice to organize the Duke An manor case properly and hand it over to Lord Zhuo.

Since it involved demon evil affairs, Lord Zhuo presented a thick memorial at the next morning’s court session, stating clearly that the Duke An manor case involved demon evil interference, bewitching the Liu family’s legitimate son into killing Duke An manor’s concubine daughter. In this way, both families had a graceful way to step down, and Grand Preceptor Liu successfully transferred his hatred from Duke An’s manor to Puhua Temple.

He knelt on the ground reporting the many strange and treacherous aspects of Puhua temple, declaring that what was enshrined inside wasn’t an immortal but a demon, and strongly advised the emperor to destroy all stone statues of Lord Puhua to give justice to the many who had died.

Since the demon monster Shen Qiyuan had also been lurking beneath Puhua Temple for many years, Emperor Qian’an finally had a legitimate reason and naturally issued an open decree to destroy all Puhua stone statues throughout the country.

As spring neared its end, Shen Qiyuan stood on the terrace of Meeting Immortals Tavern, reaching out to catch raindrops falling from the sky, his fingertips extraordinarily cold.

“You didn’t hand the nine-headed serpent over to them?” Ruyi stood beside him and asked softly.

Shen Qiyuan shook his head: “The Duke An manor murder case was indeed committed by Grand Preceptor Liu’s legitimate son. The nine-headed serpent is only an accessory.”

“Is my lord handling cases impartially, unwilling to let even demon monsters die unjustly?” she said mockingly.

Turning his head, Shen Qiyuan looked deeply at her: “No, I just want to keep it to seek justice from the Celestial Emperor.”

The nine-headed serpent had devoured his parents and siblings alive, then brought a plague that killed all the people of the Heng Kingdom. This hatred was irreconcilable—how could it be easily settled?

“My lord.” Zhou Tingchuan came up holding up his robes, his face full of joy, “A battle report has come back from the frontier.”

Shen Qiyuan returned to awareness, took the letter to read, his brows relaxing slightly: “Wei Zijue truly is accomplished despite his youth.”

Emperor Qian’an stubbornly refused to send reinforcements, and even provisions depended on their self-sufficiency in Jiuhe Prefecture. Yet this person still tenaciously led his troops to consecutively capture twelve cities, fighting to the Great Xia’s true border.

However, with the main commander already on the road back to the capital, for him as a deputy general to be so bold would probably not earn him favor with Emperor Qian’an.

Ruyi clicked her tongue: “Emperor Qian’an is an enlightened ruler for chaotic times, but not a good monarch for maintaining an established realm.”

“So what? I can hardly replace him.” Shen Qiyuan lowered his eyes.

The terrace fell quiet for a moment. Zhou Tingchuan looked confused, Ruyi’s eyes moved slightly, and Shen Qiyuan seemed to know nothing at all, his expression perfectly calm.

Supreme Lord came up the stairs holding a freshly braised duck leg, gnawing on it as he walked. Just as he stepped onto the last step, he sniffed: “Why does it smell like conspiracy up here?”

Ruyi turned around and looked at him thoughtfully for a while, then suddenly said: “Has the Lord ever been to Liang Garden in our city?”

“Liang Garden? What place is that?” The Supreme Lord was very puzzled.

“It’s a beautifully constructed garden with palaces, temples, pools, and mountain forests. Noble people often hold banquets there, with all kinds of delicacies you can’t find elsewhere available for visitors to take at will.”

Hearing about delicious food, Supreme Lord’s eyes brightened, but he hesitated: “How can immortals indulge in gluttony…”

“We’re all going.” Ruyi gestured to indicate the entire tavern, “I’m treating.”

“Count me in.” He immediately nodded.

Whistling, Ruyi turned to ask Shen Qiyuan: “What about my lord?”

“I still have many unresolved cases, so I won’t go.” Shen Qiyuan lowered his eyes and said casually, “However, the Imperial Observatory says the day after tomorrow is an auspicious time, and the Eastern Palace will also tour Liang Garden, celebrating with the people on His Majesty’s behalf.”