My brother is so cunning

Chapter 981 is neither the first nor the last.

"I do have some important matters to inquire about, and I would be grateful if you could do me a favor."

Yun Zhongzi smiled warmly and spoke in a calm and authentic tone, but he secretly used a little mental energy.

The spiritual power of a Golden Immortal, even just a wisp, was like a resounding bell to a mortal, causing them to unconditionally believe Yun Zhongzi's words without any conscious effort.

This is not brainwashing or seduction, but simply an increase in the persuasiveness of words.

"What? Is there some rule that commoners cannot directly meet with high-ranking officials?"

The receptionist smiled wryly, "There's no such rule. If we mishandle something, County Chief Pu will deal with it personally, but she'll criticize us afterwards..."

"But if you insist on seeing County Magistrate Pu, I cannot stop you. Please go to the third floor. County Magistrate Pu's office is the third office from the left on the stairs."

As he spoke, he pointed to the staircase on one side of the hall.

After giving directions, a few more people walked in through the door. The greeter politely took his leave to greet them, implying that Yun Zhongzi should go and visit them himself.

Having witnessed the people-friendly attitude of this government, Yun Zhongzi never imagined it would be this approachable. Regardless of their status, people who insisted on seeing a prefectural official were allowed to go to him on their own.

They truly had no airs of officialdom whatsoever, approaching the public with the humility of a servant, living up to the declaration of "serving all beings" on the plaque at the entrance.

Yun Zhongzi was amazed and couldn't help but become curious about this local official surnamed Pu, wanting to see him for himself.

He had never seen such a virtuous and capable person, who loved the people like his own children and was diligent and pragmatic in his administration, even in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

On the contrary, I met one in the royal court of the Shang Dynasty.

He hurried up the stairs to the third floor and, following the greeter's directions, arrived at the office door. He knocked lightly and said loudly, "County Magistrate Pu, this humble Taoist, Yun Zhongzi, has come to pay my respects."

"Please come in."

A soft female voice came from inside the door.

Yun Zhongzi was stunned before he even entered the door. He never expected that an official in charge of a town of ten thousand people would be a woman.

Whether in the Shang Dynasty or the Zhou Dynasty, it was rare for women to hold official positions.

In fact, the Shang Dynasty had more female officials than the Zhou Dynasty.

After the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, women were prohibited from participating in politics. The official reason given was that the wicked concubine Daji had brought disaster to the country and the people, and that women's interference in politics would inevitably lead to calamities.

Yun Zhongzi was astonished that a female official could govern a town of ten thousand people so well, and his curiosity grew even stronger.

Pushing open the wooden door to the office, Yun Zhongzi gazed expectantly into the room and saw a large, dark-furred cat sitting behind a wooden table in the middle of the room. The cat did not look up and was diligently reviewing documents.

A thick stack of documents was piled on the desk, showing that this cat-like official was quite busy with official duties.

"A female demon... a fairy?"

Even Yun Zhongzi, with his golden immortal composure, was shaken by the scene and blurted out in surprise.

The last female demon to infiltrate the government was the fox demon Daji. Yun Zhongzi, having failed to exorcise the demon, concluded that the Shang Dynasty was beyond saving and resolved to support the Zhou Dynasty in destroying the Shang.

Daji infiltrated the Shang Dynasty court, at least using her transformation powers to bewitch the king. This giant cat demon, however, brazenly sat in an official position, performing official duties and even receiving the people—was she really that blatant?

Upon hearing the words "female demon," the large black cat frowned slightly, but didn't seem to care, as if it was used to such criticism from the people she received.

Without even raising his head, he calmly said, "You're from out of town, aren't you? The locals have known for a long time that their county magistrate is a cat. It's been a long time since I've heard the people I'm receiving call me a witch."

"I'm very busy, so just get to the point and don't worry about my appearance or species. Don't care if I'm a fairy or not; as long as I can solve your urgent problems and worries, isn't that enough for you?"

This reply was quite pragmatic, leaving Yun Zhongzi momentarily at a loss for words.

Should we immediately draw our swords to subdue the demon, or should we get down to business and not waste Magistrate Cat's precious time, thus hindering her efforts to bring benefits to tens of thousands of people in the county?
"How can a demon hold office so openly? Is this still the Great Zhou Dynasty? If you don't explain yourself clearly, this humble Taoist will not be so polite!"

Yun Zhongzi's tone turned colder, and he shouted in a chilling voice, his words emanating a faint wisp of immortal power.

The cat demon immediately bristled, as if someone had secretly placed a cucumber next to it while it was eating cat food. It jumped three feet high, lay down on the desk, stared at Yun Zhongzi with its cat eyes, and hissed.

The sudden sense of danger caused Puna to immediately assume a fighting stance, even forgetting to conceal her aura, and her demonic power at the level of a demon immortal erupted.

"Huh? It's actually an enlightened demon immortal!"

Yun Zhongzi was taken aback again, then formed a sword incantation with his hands, and the sword on his back was drawn with a clang, hovering in mid-air, pointing at the cat demon.

In Yun Zhongzi's eyes, a mere demon immortal was nothing. Back in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, he had killed countless demon immortals of the Jie Sect.

I never expected that after the destruction of the Jie Sect, I would encounter a demon immortal in the mortal world as soon as I descended the mountain to visit the human realm.

The demon immortal had reached the point where he could inflict even the slightest harm, which was why he drew his sword as a precaution. Otherwise, with his Golden Immortal realm, he could easily annihilate any un-immortal demon with a flick of his finger.

"Who are you, and why are you trying to assassinate me?"

Despite the burst of demonic energy, the difference in their cultivation levels was too obvious. The cat demon, at the Heavenly Immortal level, did not lose in terms of momentum when facing Yun Zhongzi, who was at the Golden Immortal level. Instead, it questioned him aggressively: "Don't you know that according to the laws of the Demon Alliance, cultivators who assassinate Demon Alliance officials will be listed on a red notice and will be brought to justice no matter where they are pursued!"

"I would like to ask you something else: what kind of monster are you, daring to occupy a city, falsely claiming to be an official and impersonating the city lord? Do you intend to treat all the people of this city as your food reserves?"

Yun Zhongzi asked sternly.

He had already sensed something was wrong; the conversation seemed to be on completely different wavelengths, like talking to a brick wall.

Logically speaking, if this were a vassal state of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a demon who had infiltrated the government would be caught in the act by an enlightened immortal, and his plot would be exposed. He should be panicked and flee immediately.

The cat demon acted as if it were a righteous person who had been ambushed by a villain.

"Oh... I understand."

The cat demon seemed to realize something and suddenly said, "You Taoist priest, you haven't been out of seclusion for long, have you? Was your seclusion for more than two hundred years?"

Yun Zhongzi's mind raced, and he discerned the deeper meaning in the cat demon's words.

It seems that the cat demon had been subdued by other Taoist priests in the past, and the last Taoist priest who came to subdue the demon must have been subdued by her and interrogated to find out the reason, which gave her the experience to immediately describe Yun Zhongzi's experience.

(End of this chapter)