I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 194: Sensing the Strange Beast: Nine-Life Fox!
Xie An knew that the Demon Suppression Division was not like an ordinary government office and that it was not easy to earn credit.

Even a minor merit requires resolving a county's life-or-death crisis. For example, if a demon beast or a gang threatens a county, Xie An will take on the challenge. That's a minor merit.

The middle level of gong, however, was enough to resolve crises in several counties and was extremely difficult to obtain. Of course, the rewards were also incredibly generous: including top-tier health-preserving exercises like the Yi Jin Jing, as well as longevity-enhancing elixirs, techniques, and treasures like spiritual weapons.

It also includes a promotion to the fourth rank!
Previously, Xie An helped Su Yuqing smash the big bronze bell, which was almost a Zhong Gong. However, Xie An did not join the Demon Suppression Division at that time and missed it.

Fortunately, the eldest princess was a righteous person and made up for Xie An's mistake in other ways.

I never expected that Master Huang's paper draft would lead to a successful outcome!
Master Huang...

Xie An liked Master Huang more and more.

However, Xie An was not too happy. As he was in the officialdom, he still had to act decently.

"I am where I am today thanks to the eldest princess's cultivation. These are all my responsibilities, how can I be greedy for credit?"

Su Yuqing raised her hand, "This is as it should be. It's just that you are still young. If you were an official in the capital, or a provincial governor, it wouldn't be too much to give you a great achievement."

"It's all thanks to the eldest princess's guidance."

Su Yuqing seemed to see through Xie An's insincere politeness and smiled faintly, "There's no need for this between you and me. Although I represent the court in Xuannan Prefecture and have the power to make decisions in charge of Nanzhou, I am also half a Jianghu person. It's best for you and me to be honest with each other."

Xie An didn't dare to believe it, but said, "The princess is right. Then I will respectfully obey your command."

Ok.

Su Yuqing hummed, "I will write a letter to my father and master right now. It will arrive in the capital in about three days."

Arrive in the capital in three days?

It’s at least tens of thousands of miles from here to the capital.

Su Yuqing did not explain, but sat down next to the long desk, picked up a pen and began to write a letter.

The handwriting is elegant and powerful, and the force is so strong that it can be seen through the paper, showing the style of a great calligrapher.

She wrote two copies, rolled them up and stuffed them into two very small metal tubes similar to bamboo tubes. She whistled, and a red bird as big as a falcon flew in from outside the door.

Su Yuqing tied two mechanical cylinders to the claws of the red bird, then patted the red bird's head. The red bird chirped and nodded, then flapped its wings and flew out of the door. As fast as smoke, it disappeared under the twilight sky in the blink of an eye.

So fast!

Xie An had never seen such a fast bird.

Even if he used all his strength to exert Mingyu Gong, he still couldn't catch up.

Su Yuqing explained, "This is a blood eagle, a type of demon beast. It can travel thousands of miles a day, feeding itself along the way and possessing exceptional intelligence. Urgent letters from the Demon Suppression Division and government offices are delivered using blood eagles. However, the cost of training blood eagles is very high, and there are only a few of them in Daqian. Ordinary letters still need to be delivered via BMW."

Xie An understood.

Swifts and common falcons can reach a maximum speed of over 300 kilometers per hour. If they can fly continuously for more than 20 hours, that would be more than 10,000 miles. But it can't be sustained.

But this blood eagle is different. Its peak speed far exceeds that of a falcon or swift, which is why it can travel thousands of miles a day. This is quite exaggerated!
No wonder Daqian was able to rule such a large territory, because it relied on monsters like blood eagles to complete emergency communications.

"The court still needs to go through the procedures. It may take at least half a month or even several months for the imperial edict to come out. Please be patient."

"Thank you for your kindness, Princess."

……

Xie An returned to the master bedroom in the courtyard, lit the oil lamp, took out Master Huang's manuscript and read it twice again.

After making sure that there was nothing missing, Xie An put away the manuscript and stored it.

Then Xie An made some tea and took a nap leaning back on the Drunkard's Chair.

Master Huang earned himself a reward just by picking up the pen.

It’s very pleasant to think about it.

Comfortable!

"Next time, ask Master Huang if there's a Demon King in the Demon Court... But Master Huang might not know. According to Master Huang, the Five Elder Demons relied on the Demon King's blood and essence for many years before slowly growing stronger. In other words, when the Five Elder Demons grew stronger, the Demon King had already been dead for many years. Master Huang probably inferred this information from the Demon King's corpse and the items he left behind."

Thinking of this, Xie An suddenly had an idea: If only he could go to Wulao Peak to see the remains of the demon king. As a court master, he was good at identifying old objects. He might find details that Master Huang missed, and then get more information!

Thinking of this, Xie An could no longer remain calm and stood up and paced around the room.

Once impulse arises, it is difficult to suppress it.

If you go to Wulao Peak, you may indeed discover more secrets of the Demon Court.

But Wulao Peak is dangerous. Even a powerful monster like Master Huang was beaten half to death.

It's dangerous, but the rewards are great. Should we ask Su Yuqing to go with us?
Even Su Yuqing might not be able to contain the Five Old Demons. Didn’t I say... Master Huang was at least a fourth-rank grandmaster in his prime, and his strength was almost the same as that of the eldest princess.

"It's not safe, it's not safe at all..."

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Xie An's mind: What if Su Yuqing's master comes?
With the arrival of the Martial Saint Canglong, there will definitely be no problem.

Snapped!
Xie An suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Xie An, Xie An, you are getting cocky. Can you summon the great Canglong Martial Saint just by saying so?"

At this point, Xie An had to reluctantly give up the idea of ​​temporarily going to Wulao Peak.

"In any case, confirming the existence of the Demon Court provides a glimmer of possibility for the immortal fate. Moreover, there is also the Canglong Martial Saint in the capital, who must know a lot of information. It would be great if I could sit down with the Canglong Martial Saint for a cup of tea and chat about this matter."

Imagination is beautiful, but reality is cruel.

Xie An knew that he was far from qualified to sit down and chat with a Canglong Martial Saint.

The fact that he could get along so well with Su Yuqing, the martial arts master, was due to good luck. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to get in touch with someone like Su Yuqing.

In troubled times, strength and status are what ultimately matter.

As long as you are strong enough, you may be able to discuss with the Canglong Martial Saint, and even going to the Five Elders Peak alone is not a big deal.

"No rush, take your time. Old man, all I have is time. I can handle it."

Xie An cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, then sat down cross-legged, calmed his mind, and began to practice Tiger Form Qigong.

……

The next day, Xie An got up early and went out after breakfast.

Since Li Hao came down, he has been strictly enforcing discipline. Any early departure or late arrival will be recorded, and the salary will be deducted and reported to the provincial government.

Xie An, with 120,000 taels of silver, wouldn't mind withholding some of his salary. However, reporting it to the provincial government would only cause unnecessary trouble. He needed to be more diligent.

As soon as I went out, I saw Master Huang standing at the door, holding a little white fox in his arms.

After Xie An exposed his identity, Master Huang stopped pretending and chose to bring the white fox with him. Because the white fox was too beautiful, with fur as white as snow, it attracted many onlookers.

"Lord Souji."

"Master Huang."

After the two men greeted each other, Xie An welcomed Master Huang to the east wing for tea.

After some pleasantries, Master Huang asked when the mirror would be returned. Xie An said that he had already sent a letter to the capital to verify the information and was just waiting for the reply. If there was no mistake, he would return the mirror.

Xie An had actually verified most of the information from Su Yuqing, but to be cautious, he still needed to wait for a reply from the capital. In addition, Xie An also wanted to spend more time with Master Huang.

If he could be naturalized and become a good friend, he could help him defeat the Four Old Demons in the future and achieve great merit. The second-rank official position and the title of Duke still depended on Master Huang.

Xie An hasn't obtained many treasures since he started out, but Master Huang is definitely a great treasure.

Master Huang did not object to Xie An's reasoning. He simply rubbed his hands and said, "Then could you please let me play with the magic mirror for a while?"

In order to reassure Master Huang, Xie An agreed, "Okay."

Xie An reluctantly took out the magic mirror and held it in his hand, reluctant to give it up. Finally, thinking of the second-rank official position and the title of Duke, plus the fairy fate and demon court... he reluctantly gave it to Master Huang, "Master Huang, take it."

Master Huang took the mirror, played with it in his hands, and was in a very good mood, as if all the depression of the past few days had been swept away, and he smiled brightly from time to time.

"After being polished, it's indeed much more refined. Back then, in order to take this treasure, I was almost killed by those four old guys, and they even sent monsters to chase me here for thousands of miles. Hey, for this precious mirror, I almost lost half my life."

As he spoke, Master Huang's eyes became moist.

"Master Huang, that's enough. I still have to go to the Demon Suppression Division." Xie An felt that if he didn't remind him, Master Huang might play for the whole day.

Master Huang was very reluctant to leave. "Can I stay here for a day? Don't worry, Master General, I'm not going anywhere today."

Xie An didn't expect that Master Huang was so obsessed with this mirror.

But it's understandable if you think about it. Master Huang was nearly beaten to death by the other four demons in order to take the demon king's mirror. Naturally, he values ​​the mirror more than his own life.

Suddenly, Xie An had an idea.

Is this mirror Master Huang’s biggest weakness?

Xie An pretended to be displeased, "Master Huang, we agreed before. I will return your mirror after I verify it."

Master Huang knew he was in the wrong, so he lowered his stance. "I'll just take a look at Lord General's house. I'll just take a look. If Lord General is worried, you can ask Ling Zheng to supervise me. With Ling Zheng here, why would you worry about me playing tricks?"

Although he said this, Master Huang was secretly thinking: When it comes to tricks, can I beat you?

Xie An still looked embarrassed, indicating that he had suffered a loss.

Master Huang sensed Xie An's signs of relenting, and seeing hope, he feigned grievance and said, "You know, a reply from the capital takes at least half a month, or even more than a month. It's too long. I worked so hard writing the manuscript for you, you should at least let me take a look first."

Xie An pointed at the white fox on Master Huang's shoulder and said, "I won't feel at ease unless you hand the white fox over to me for care."

quack.

The white fox immediately stood up alertly, bared its teeth at Xie An, and then shook its head repeatedly at Master Huang, indicating that it did not want to follow Xie An and would suffer losses.

Master Huang also felt a pang of pain, but he couldn't let go of the magic mirror in his hand, so he said to the white fox: "Xiaobai, I'm sorry to have troubled you for a day. You go with him. Be obedient, otherwise you will suffer." Haha.

The white fox howled and shook its head wildly.

Master Huang turned around cruelly with the magic mirror in his hand, "This is all your fault. You have to put in some effort, otherwise you won't grow."

No matter how the white fox called out, there was no response. In the end, the white fox's eyes were filled with tears, looking very pitiful.

Xie An picked up the white fox in his hand and glared at Master Huang, "Master Huang, then I'll take Xiaobai away?"

"Let's go. Just don't bully Xiaobai."

As the miserable cries gradually faded away, Xie An left with the white fox.

Master Huang then turned around and looked in the direction where the white fox disappeared, tears streaming down his face. "Hey, Xiaobai, it's not that I'm cruel. It's just that my injuries haven't fully healed yet. This magic mirror can help me recover faster. Once I recover, I won't be afraid of a fourth-grade master at all. I also want to recover as quickly as possible so I can protect you. After all, protecting you is my greatest responsibility."

Master Huang gave a very bitter smile.

Although that drop of Martial Saint's blood had a good effect, it had been too long after all.

However, he was already very happy that Master Huang had made some initial recovery. He would be able to recover gradually on his own from now on.

Clearing away his distracting thoughts, Master Huang sat down cross-legged and placed the magic mirror on his chest.

I don’t know what Master Huang did, but the pattern of the red spider lily on the back of the magic mirror actually emitted a faint light and slowly flowed into Master Huang’s body.

"Well, it's so comfortable!"

"Before, I was too seriously injured to activate this precious mirror, but now I can barely activate it."

……

"quack!"

On the way to the Demon Suppression Division, the white fox expressed his dissatisfaction with Xie An.

Snapped.

I hit it hard on the forehead with one finger, making a loud "dang" sound.

The white fox's head was numb from the pain.

"Quack~"

Continue to resist.

Well!
The white fox felt numb all over again after its belly was flicked.

The white fox remained stubborn and was subsequently subjected to inhumane treatment, such as pulling its cheeks, prying its eyelids, plucking its whiskers, and pulling its ears.

This person is so annoying!!
I knew that following him would lead to great losses!
The white fox's mentality finally collapsed. He probably knew that this person was not easy to provoke, so he learned his lesson and chose to obey on the surface, but cursed and spit in his heart to vent his dissatisfaction.

Xie An was quite happy with it, treating the white fox like a spoiled little pet. "What's your relationship with Master Huang? Brother?"

The white fox hung its head and did not answer.

hiss!
Xie An suddenly pulled out its whiskers, and the white fox couldn't bear the pain.

Finally, the white fox glared at Xie An fiercely and shook his head to indicate that they were not brothers.

"Father and son?"

The white fox shook his head.

"Passers-by?"

The white fox continued to shake his head.

Xie An was curious.

This white fox doesn't look very old, but Master Huang is almost four hundred years old.

It certainly doesn't look like they are related by blood.

"Master and disciple?"

This time, the white fox fell into deep thought. He tilted his head and thought for a while, then nodded reluctantly.

Xie An probably had a conclusion: Master Huang must have encountered this white fox by chance, and then brought it up to raise it. As time passed, the relationship between the two deepened.

Although this white fox can understand human speech, it unfortunately cannot speak. Otherwise, it could extract some information from it.

Compared to Master Huang, this white fox is obviously not as intelligent and is easier to trick.

Arriving at the seventh floor of the Demon Suppression Division, Zhao Qing'er and Wei Haoran were still not there, so Xie An had no choice but to sit down with Chen Tie to drink tea. Chen Tie was immediately attracted by the white fox, "Where did you buy the white fox, Brother Xie? It's so beautiful."

Xie An said casually: "It belongs to a friend. I borrowed it to play with for a few days."

The white fox immediately bared its teeth to express its dissatisfaction, thinking to itself that it was not a toy and could not be played with casually.

In response to the white fox's rebuttal, Xie An tapped it on the forehead again, causing the white fox's head to buzz.

Chen Tie saw it all, "This white fox can understand human language? It's so intelligent, it must be some kind of spiritual fox."

Chen Tie comes from a prominent family in the capital, so he is naturally knowledgeable. It is not uncommon for some martial artists to raise monsters and tame them for their own use.

Xie An said: "I can understand a little bit, but his temper is too arrogant and needs to be disciplined."

The white fox sighed inwardly at his own pity.

Not only are they played around with by others, but they are also labeled and labelled at will.

But the white fox was well-behaved and didn't say anything. It lay quietly in Xie An's arms, opened its mouth several times, wanting to bite Xie An somewhere, but finally held back.

Soon, Chen Tie asked, "Brother Xie, can you let me play with the fox for a while?"

"of course."

Just like that, the white fox fell into Chen Tie's hands in a very devastated mood, and was played with and kneaded again.

After this incident, the white fox became extremely disgusted with humans.

Each one is more hateful than the other!
Fortunately, Chen Tie lost interest in the fox after playing with it for a while. He placed it next to the long table and chatted with Xie An over tea. They chatted for most of the day. The fox yawned repeatedly, thinking to himself: Is this how humans live? How boring!

If the red fox hadn't been alive, it would have run out to play long ago.

"By the way, Cao Fu and his son have completed the survey and returned to Qingwu County. Li Hao visited them in person." Chen Tie talked about the canal.

Xie An had long known that the court had sent Cao Fu and Cao Bin to survey the construction of the canal.

I didn't expect it to end so soon.

"What are the results of the survey?"

"I heard Cao Fu is very optimistic about this and has already submitted a memorial to the court. The imperial decree for digging the canal will probably come down soon. Well, when the time comes, our Demon Suppression Division will have a lot of work to do."

Xie An also had a headache.

Once construction began simultaneously at multiple locations along the 400-li canal, the primary responsibility for guarding and patrolling would fall on the Demon Suppression Division. After all, it was close to the Dayin Mountains, so assisting in defending against demons was paramount.

By that time, I'm afraid Xie An will not have a peaceful time either.

After lunch, Xie An did not go to the seventh floor to drink tea, but took Baihu to his southeast villa.

After closing the door, Xie An sat down cross-legged, intending to practice Mingyu Gong.

White Fox followed Xie An and had a big meal of meat at noon. This was the most sumptuous meal White Fox had eaten since his escape. From this point of view, White Fox felt that Xie An was not without merit.

It looks much more pleasing to the eye.

The white fox lay on the long table, watching Xie An sitting cross-legged in seclusion, but he yawned repeatedly, then curled up and lay down, ready to take a nap.

At this moment, Xie An suddenly opened his eyes. The white fox trembled with fear, raised its head suddenly, opened its eyes and looked at Xie An.

Xie An's face was full of solemnity. "Come closer."

The white fox stood up, but instead of moving forward, it took a step back.

Ouch!

Soon, Xie An pulled it over with one hand. It struggled with all four claws, but its strength was useless in front of Xie An.

It felt extremely aggrieved. If the red fox had not told it to listen to this person carefully, it would have slipped away long ago.

It felt that it had been very obedient, but why did it still suffer a big loss?

"Don't scream, I just touched you twice." Xie An loosened his grip a little, and the white fox finally calmed down.

It wasn't that Xie An was teasing it, but the white talisman in his mind had just vibrated, and a faint white light flickered. This detail suddenly reminded Xie An of the first time he met the white fox, when the talisman also began to fluctuate.

Could this be some strange beast?
Sensed by the Taoist talisman?
After a long period of research on the second-level fate, Xie An discovered that strange beasts were different from great demons. When facing Master Huang, the Taoist talisman did not vibrate, but it did react to the white fox.

Only then did Xie An decide to give it a try.

Sure enough, as Xie An grabbed the white fox and gently stroked its soft fur, the white Taoist talisman in his mind vibrated more and more violently, and the white light emitted became brighter and brighter.

Finally, a line of words appeared:

[Sensing a strange beast: Nine-life fox! ]

Spirit fox?

spirit……

(End of this chapter)