Being a talent in the Chusheng Demon Sect

Chapter 484 Is the Imperial City Guard the Demon Sect's lair?
Tianwu City, the Imperial City Administration Office.

"Tuk Tuk Tuk"

Xiao Shan knocked cautiously on the door, and only when a calm voice called out from inside did he muster his courage, push open the door, and stride into the room.

What came into view was a simple and elegant study. At first glance, it was very plain, but the writing implements on the table and the table and chairs themselves were all made of the highest grade spiritual materials. Even if an ordinary cultivator just sat there, he could increase his cultivation speed.

On the wall behind the table and chairs, there was a calligraphy and painting hanging.

[A clean government and harmonious society!]
Upon seeing these four large characters, Xiao Shan's expression immediately tightened. Then, with utmost respect, he looked solemnly at the figure sitting behind the table.

"Lord Du Huan, everything has been taken care of."

Lu Yang then came to his senses and saw Xiao Shan take out a storage bag and gently place it on his table, next to which was a thick account book.

Xiao Shan subconsciously lowered his voice and said nervously, "Lord Du Huan, these are all the results of this investigation, along with the corresponding accounts. I have collected them all. Please inspect and count them, and we will send them to the palace after you have finished counting them."

Seeing this, Lü Yang ignored it and instead chuckled lightly:
"Xiao Shan, I heard that you fought with Commander Ning at the Capital Celestial Bureau. And you even publicly extinguished one of his innate divine abilities?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shan immediately lowered his head, trembling with fear, and said, "My lord, please forgive me. That man surnamed Ning has obstructed the investigation. I had no choice."

"That's not OK."

Lu Yang shook his head: "Who will dare to approach the Imperial City Guard after this? Be careful! Is the Imperial City Guard the lair of the Jiangbei Demonic Sect?"

".terribly sorry."

Seeing Xiao Shan bow his head deeply, looking as if he had confessed his guilt and accepted punishment, Lü Yang nodded: "But then again, I can understand you."

"However, you are only an official under the Imperial City Guard, and you do not hold any official position on the surface. How can you fight with the third-rank Commander of the Capital City Guard in public?"

"Be careful next time."

After saying that, Lü Yang patted Xiao Shan on the shoulder again, then took out a bulging storage bag from his pocket and casually stuffed it into Xiao Shan's hand.

"Take this. You did a good job with the investigation this time. Consider it my personal reward."

"Hiss!" Xiao Shan gasped.

It hasn't even been a few days, and they're already issuing subsidies again?

And judging from its bulging appearance, it's even thicker than his pillow.

At this moment, without Lü Yang needing to activate the [puppet], Xiao Shan, having already received the red envelope, was filled with fervor. He immediately stomped his foot, clenched his fist, and bowed, saying:

"loyalty!"

Seeing this, Lü Yang nodded in satisfaction, then picked up the accounts that Xiao Shan had brought and casually opened the storage bag to scan them with his divine sense.

Then he was stunned: to be honest, he thought that with the "Immortal Kingdom's Laws" overseeing things, the so-called corruption and bribery shouldn't be too serious.

However, he was wrong.

As the saying goes: "For every policy from above, there's a countermeasure from below."

As long as there are people, there will never be a perfect system.

Despite the seemingly perfect official system of the Daoist court, and the righteous officials under the supervision of the "Daoist Laws of the Immortal Kingdom," in reality, everyone is having a lot of fun behind the scenes.

For example, these embezzled funds, although the Daoting only pays salaries once every hundred years, are paid out once upon each new appointment. As a result, some banner officers take advantage of this loophole to constantly replace the strongmen under their jurisdiction, profiting from the suffering of others, or simply use inferior personnel, with one person receiving the salary of more than a dozen people.

The sheer variety of tricks and gimmicks left even Lü Yang in awe.

'After all, the Holy Sect doesn't use these fancy tricks; they usually just take things by force. The Sword Pavilion is the same; at most, they'll be a little more polite when they're taking something.'

In comparison, the Taoist temple was much more "civilized".

'Spiritual materials and magical techniques are one thing, but they even have the blessing authority of the [Immortal Kingdom's Dao Laws]!'

Looking at the account books on the table, and the embezzled funds seized during this crackdown on corruption and bribery within the Capital Celestial Bureau, Lü Yang couldn't help but let out a long sigh:
"Sorrow for the country, hatred for its people, my heart is secretly wounded!"

Seeing this, Xiao Shan was at a loss: "My lord, now that the mission is accomplished, it should be a joyous occasion. Why are you crying?"

"Bastard!"

Lu Yang slammed his hand on the table: "I never imagined that these scoundrels from the Capital Celestial Bureau had plundered so much of the people's wealth. I am crying for the country and for the people."

At this point, Lü Yang wiped away his crocodile tears again, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist: "Damn it, how did the Dao Court become like this!"

"I will go to the palace immediately and report this to His Majesty!" After saying that, Lü Yang put away the account book and storage bag, and with a sweep of his divine sense, he secretly kept only three tokens that symbolized the authority granted by the [Immortal Kingdom's Dao Law].

Tianwu Palace.

Looking at the account books handed over by Lü Yang, and the storage bag that was stuffed full and exuded spiritual energy when opened, Emperor Jiayou's face was extremely gloomy.

This is outrageous!
Although as the Emperor of the Daoist Court and a Golden Core True Lord, he was not lacking in spiritual materials, the problem was that the ones who embezzled these spiritual materials were the former Dutian Division under his jurisdiction.

This is already right under the emperor's nose, and he's already embezzled so much. What about other places? What about the Six Ministries? The Capital Celestial Bureau is already rotten to the core, so other parts of the Daoist Court must be even worse! The amount of spiritual materials embezzled must be ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times! Not a single bit has reached his hands!
Thinking of this, Emperor Jiayou glanced at Lü Yang again.

In fact, he also had a copy of the account book, which was secretly obtained by the inner court and given to him. When he compared it with Lü Yang's, he found that there were no major errors or omissions.

Spiritual materials and Taoist techniques—not a single one was missing.

The only difference was the loss of three [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] enhancement permissions, but this was of no concern to Emperor Jiayou, who could invoke the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws] at any time.

Upon realizing this, Emperor Jiayou was immediately very satisfied.

'Although this little dragon is greedy, he ultimately knows the rules. He knows what he can and cannot take, which makes him more useful than some of the more clueless ones!'

However, the more he realized this, the angrier he became.

Damn it, even the demon cultivators from overseas know what's important, but these corrupt officials don't, and on the surface they always put on an act of unwavering loyalty.

Do they expect me to thank them for taking my money?

"Tell me, how do you think this should be handled?"

After a moment of silence, Emperor Jiayou spoke. Although his anger was burning, his tone remained calm, as if he didn't care at all.

However, Lü Yang cried:

"Your Majesty, these officials of the Capital Astronomical Bureau are all directly under Your Majesty's command and are paid by the imperial treasury, yet they are betraying Your Majesty and bullying you!"

"This is intolerable! A thorough investigation is imperative!"

At this point, Lü Yang gritted his teeth and hissed, "Your Majesty, please give the order! I guarantee that Your Majesty will be given an honest and incorruptible Chief Justice!"

Emperor Jiayou: "."

Undeniably, Emperor Jiayou was momentarily tempted, but he quickly regained his composure and realized that Lü Yang was being somewhat extreme.

If he were to truly purge the Capital Celestial Bureau, he would break the tacit understanding between himself and the Three Dukes.

He needed the cooperation of the three ministers to break through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm, and he couldn't afford to have a serious falling out with them. That's why he sent Lü Yang to investigate corruption.

If it's agreed upon by all three parties, that would be the best outcome.

If things didn't go as planned, and the three dukes and officials reacted fiercely, he wouldn't mind throwing Lü Yang and the Imperial City Guard out as expendable pawns to quell the officials' anger.

Although he did think highly of Du Huan and thought he was loyal, loyalty can't put food on the table. Besides, if you're loyal, it's only natural that you'd take the blame and shield him from criticism. After all, there are plenty of powerful people out there, and as long as someone wants to advance, he'll have no shortage of loyal subjects.

'However, this little dragon has a good heart.'

Emperor Jiayou didn't care how much of Lü Yang's performance was acting; the key was that he dared to express his willingness to thoroughly investigate the Capital Astronomical Bureau on his behalf.

Being willing to do things—that's true loyalty.

Otherwise, if you talk about loyalty all day long but don't take any real action when things get tough, what use are you to me? I might as well send you to raise pigs!
At least the pigs can be fattened up and eaten.

Meanwhile, Lü Yang kept a close eye on the changes in [Unyielding to Others], and saw that the enhancement of this golden talent had increased to 80%.

It's just a little short of reaching the maximum 100% boost.

at this time.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Lü Yang looked up and sensed a massive causal disturbance, while Emperor Jiayou on the other side raised his eyebrows and began to calculate with his fingers.

Soon, Lü Yang understood the source of this turmoil:

'Uncle-Master Chongguang has begun seeking gold!'

(End of this chapter)