Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"Bang!"

Li Yuan, his beard and hair bristling, slammed his fist on the table. "Bring Zhou Hai over here!"

Zhou Hai arrived quickly. Seeing Li Yuan's grim expression, he immediately lowered his head and dared not utter a sound.

"Whoosh!"

Li Yuan slammed the entire case file onto his head. "Look at this yourself! Such a serious matter, and you dared to conceal it. Can you bear the responsibility?"

"The inspector has wronged me. How could I not report it? This matter has already been reported according to regulations."

Zhou Hai was extremely cunning and refused to admit it to the death.

"It's been reported? You mean the Hexi Circuit suppressed the matter?"

Li Yuan simply did not believe that although Han Chong was two-faced and secretly colluded with Lü Ming, he would not dare to offend the Chief Commander openly.

He would never dare to conceal such a serious matter and take the blame upon himself.

"Since you say so, I will immediately send a letter to Steward Han. If even half of what you said is false, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Li Yuan's face was gloomy as he stared directly at Zhou Hai. The pressure from Li Yuan, a mid-stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, sent a chill down Zhou Hai's spine.

"Your Excellency misunderstands. I did report the matter to the imperial court, through the Ministry of War."

"Ministry of War?"

Li Yuan almost laughed out of anger. "You are a subordinate of my Demon Suppression Division, yet you reported this to the Ministry of War. It seems my Demon Suppression Division cannot keep you here."

"Guards! Zhou Hai has neglected his duties and disobeyed orders. Immediately strip him of his official rank and report him to the commander-in-chief for further action!"

"Lord Li! This has always been the practice here; it's not that I deliberately withheld information..."

Zhou Hai still wanted to put up a stubborn resistance, but Xu Sheng had already led his men to drag him away. Li Yuan was a fourth-rank inspector, even one rank higher than Han Chong, and had full authority to deal with the leaders of local branches.

"Let Vice Commandant Du Sheng temporarily take over his duties. Wu Yu, take two men and station them at the Suzhou Demon Suppression Division to reorganize military affairs."

"Yes."

Wu Yu had long disapproved of the way things were done in Suzhou. When they went to rescue people, it took them nearly half an hour just to gather everyone together. It was nothing like the behavior expected of the Demon Suppression Guard.

After everyone left, Li Yuan immediately wrote down the details of the situation and sent someone to report it to Ye Hongyu.

After sending the letter out, he beckoned Shi Yong over.

"Brother Shi, you've been to Suzhou before and you know the situation here. Try to find someone for me so I can get a good look into the inside story."

The Suzhou Demon Suppression Division was essentially defunct, not only concealing numerous major cases but also hastily and perfunctorily concluding each one.

This is not normal.

Even though the local demon-suppressing offices in other places colluded with the local government, they didn't dare to go too far. The waters of Suzhou were indeed murky.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan had a headache. He was good at fighting on the battlefield, but he was really not good at dealing with the intrigues and schemes in officialdom.

Shi Yong lowered his head and thought for a moment: "There really is such a person. He is a veteran demon-hunting guard. With his merits, he should have been promoted long ago, but because he is too straightforward, he has always been suppressed by Zhou Hai."

"Oh? Then please invite him here quickly. I'd like to ask him some questions."

Now I'm completely clueless, and if I don't figure out the ins and outs, I won't know where to begin.

That evening, Shi Yong brought an elderly man with half-white hair to the door. This man was named Yuan Yan, and his cultivation level was Breaking Illusion Realm. He was nearly fifty years old and was still just an ordinary demon-hunting guard at the lowest level.

"Brother Yuan, I want to ask you about something, but I don't know if you dare to speak."

Yuan Yan looked up and sized up Li Yuan, this world-renowned young genius. He did look very young, but because of his youth, he still retained a pure and innocent heart.

"Just ask, sir. I will tell you everything I know. I'm old, and at worst I'll die. What's there to be afraid of?"

"Alright, that's exactly what I was waiting to hear." Li Yuan gestured for him to sit down and pushed the case files in front of him. "Have you handled any of these cases?"

Shi Yong took the case, flipped through it, and nodded with certainty: "Lord Li, I have handled most of these cases. It's not that I don't want to investigate, but I'm forbidden from doing so by my superiors."

"In Suzhou, this kind of thing is no secret."

Yuan Yan shook his head and sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"These cases weren't even entirely the work of demons; someone deliberately leaked information and set up ambushes on the road."

Li Yuan's gaze turned cold.

"Who leaked the information?"

"I've investigated this matter secretly," Yuan Yan said with a mocking smile. "It wasn't done by one person at all. The Suzhou Prefectural Governor's Office and Zhou Hai were involved, as were the Anxi Army. They colluded and divided the spoils."

"Were the Anxi army also involved?"

Li Yuan was startled. Five thousand Anxi soldiers were stationed here, responsible for guarding the border, protecting local peace, and also for reinforcing Longyou Road at any time.

If even they collude with the demon race, then the future of the Tang Dynasty will be in grave danger.

"Yes, I personally witnessed several captains of the Anxi Army meeting with Zhou Hai in private."

No wonder Zhou Hai reported the case to the Ministry of War; it turns out he had been colluding with the Anxi Army all along.

"What a mess in Hexi Circuit! Their military and political forces are colluding with the Demon Suppression Bureau, completely disregarding the imperial court!"

Li Yuan laughed in anger, having roughly understood the entire chain of interests: the governor colluded with the demon race, selling information about the reinforcements to them, while the Demon Suppression Division and the garrison chose to turn a blind eye.

After the demon king's raid, everyone shared the spoils. During this process, the Demon Suppression Bureau and the local government acted as a protective umbrella, working together to suppress the case and prevent the higher-ups from finding out.

What a deeply entrenched network of vested interests!

Now that Li Yuan is an outsider, if he wants to disrupt this network, he will inevitably touch the interests of everyone.

"My lord," Yuan Yan said, bowing slightly when he saw him remain silent, "I know you want to find out the truth about this matter, but I must remind you that this is a very deep pool. Not to mention the military governor of Hexi, they also have powerful backers in the imperial court."

"You're alone, I'm afraid you won't be able to move..."

"I know," Li Yuan interrupted him, "but even the deepest waters need someone to wade through them."

He stood up: "Brother Yuan, you've already taken a risk by telling me all this. Here's what we'll do: you go back first, and don't mention this to anyone for now."

"My lord, I am by no means a coward who fears death; I am only afraid of implicating you."

Yuan Yan knelt down on one knee. "Why don't I collect the evidence? Then you can present these materials to the commander-in-chief and let them figure out a solution..."

"I'm not afraid of a small place like Hexi Road. I volunteered to come here to open up the supply route."

Li Yuan waved his hand, "Brother Yuan, I'll need your help later. I'll have Shi Yong contact you privately."

"Yes, as long as these cancerous growths can be eradicated, I, an old man, will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Yuan Yan bowed deeply. He had been waiting for this moment for many years. His only worry was that Li Yuan couldn't defeat these old guys.

Li Yuan nodded with relief. As long as there were people like Yuan Yan, the Suzhou Demon Suppression Division was not completely rotten. "Brother Yuan, please be careful. I don't have enough manpower to protect you."

Li Yuan felt heavy-hearted as he watched Yuan Yan leave.

The situation in Suzhou was more serious than he had imagined. He only had eight men under his command, including Shi Yong. They were no match for the Anxi army, and even the number of guards in the governor's mansion far exceeded his own.

Outnumbered and surrounded by eyes on all sides, he cannot act rashly if he wants to break the deadlock. He must find a way to break through the net and let them attack from within.