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Chapter 150: The Three Fires Old Mu Society (asking for monthly tickets!)

"This……"

Zhou Leizi's heart skipped a beat, and he denied it, "My farming method currently only cultivates soybeans, and I don't have any other seeds."

Xu Yuan looked at Di Youzhi: "Is that true?"

Di Youzhi didn't need to look at Zhou Leizi to know that this guy must be begging him with his eyes like a dog.

"That's true," Di Youzhi said. "I work with Zhou Leizi every day, and I've never seen him use broad beans."

Xu Yuan nodded, walked to the table, and picked up a pen: "Okay. I am writing a letter to the commander to report yesterday's events.

I've heard that the 'farming method' is also known as the 'male farming method', and it seems to have a special connection with Lin Zijin's 'female weaving method'. I'd like to suggest that the commander conduct a thorough investigation..."

Zhou Leizi rushed over and knelt down: "Don't—"

"Please spare my life, sir! I confess, I confess everything..."

Xu Yuan tapped the table with his fingers, and Zhou Leizi dejectedly placed a few broad beans where his fingers pointed.

Xu Yuan picked up one and looked at it.

It's exactly the same as what was burned out in the mouse's body.

"Haha," Xu Yuan sneered, "You're really brave, Zhou Leizi, to spy on the Shangguan. Among them, there's a noble lady with a great family name. This inspector can forgive you, but if Captain Song knows about this, I'm afraid he won't forgive you either."

Di Youzhi's whole body was cold. It turned out that it wasn't just about Zhou Leizi's bad mouth - it was much more serious than that!

Di Youzhi hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and rushed over, kicking Zhou Leizi to the ground. "You idiot, I'm going to skin you alive!"

"That's enough!" Xu Yuan frowned and shouted, "Stop acting!"

Di Youzhi stepped aside awkwardly.

Xu Yuan still held the pen: "Zhou Leizi, tell the truth."

"Yes, I was arrogant. I thought the adults were sent by the Southern Office to find fault with our Champa Office... So, so I wanted to spy on us secretly..."

His voice became lower and lower.

"Humph." Xu Yuan glanced at him and asked, "Don't you have any other intentions?"

"Absolutely not!" Zhou Leizi raised his hand and swore: "I may be foul-mouthed and petty, but I wouldn't dare do anything else."

Xu Yuan put down his pen, picked up the broad beans, looked at them, and asked, "Can this kind of bean control puppets?"

"I don't have that much power. These beans are only slightly more powerful than soybeans. Currently, they can only control mice and wild cats. They won't work on larger creatures."

Xu Yuan snorted coldly: "You said you were timid, but that's not right. Not only did you dare to spy on me secretly, you also dared to monitor the Mountain and River Division."

Zhou Leizi was stunned: "Sir, you, you even know this?"

Di Youzhi's nose was almost crooked with anger: "Zhou Leizi! I really underestimated you on a daily basis!"

Zhou Leizi said unhappily, "I just saw that the Shanhe Division was always looking for trouble with us, so I was wondering if I could find something to hold against them.

But it was just a mouse being released, and nothing useful was heard at all."

Xu Yuan suddenly had an idea. Someone from the Quhui Division wanted to find fault with the Shanhe Division. There might be someone from the Shanhe Division secretly monitoring the Quhui Division.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan asked again, "You used mice to spy on me secretly. Was there anyone behind the scenes encouraging you?"

"Instigated? No..." Zhou Leizi suddenly realized something and stopped talking mid-sentence.

Di Youzhi also realized that something was wrong: "Zhou Leizi, tell the truth!"

"That day..." Zhou Leizi gritted his teeth and said truthfully, "I said I couldn't trust outsiders. Lu Xiang used words to bully me many times."

Di Youzhi strode out, holding the knife in his hand: "I'll bring the person here right away..."

Xu Yuan said calmly: "If you do this, you will alert the enemy."

Di Youzhi was startled, turned around and knelt on one knee: "I have absolutely no such intention!"

Xu Yuan looked at the two people kneeling below, and tapped the table slowly with his fingers, tap, tap, tap...

again and again.

Each blow was like a heavy hammer hitting the hearts of the two men.

The two veterans of the Cleansing Bureau had cold sweat dripping down their foreheads uncontrollably.

It is said that this young inspector came from a humble background, but was valued by the commander and was selected to join the Department of Elimination of Filth because of his meritorious service.

It is not supposed that there should be such a sophisticated and strict method of controlling subordinates!
In just a short moment, Di Youzhi and Zhou Leizi clearly felt that their life, death, and future all depended on the thought of this young inspector!
Zhou Leizi dared to use secret means to spy on Shangguan, and Xu Yuan would report it to him and execute him immediately!

Di Youzhi failed to supervise Lu Xiang properly, which was a dereliction of duty; and he was about to arrest Lu Xiang just now, which seemed like he was leaking information!

Any one of them could have directly deprived him of the position of inspector that he had worked diligently for five years to obtain!
The two men no longer dared to have any disrespect towards the young inspector.

Especially Zhou Leizi.

I wanted to slap myself a few times. If I hadn't said that at the time, these things might not have happened later.

But in fact, Xu Yuan was just thinking about how to deal with Zhou Leizi.

After thinking for a while, he decided to follow his heart: Zhou Leizi is a bastard, but he has blood in him.

Xu Yuan appreciated this.

"Were you on night patrol the night before last?" Xu Yuan suddenly spoke.

Di Youzhi nodded quickly. "Yes, I came back from night patrol and had a conflict with two...inspectors from the Mountain and River Division. It was thanks to you, sir, who intervened."

"Don't flatter me." Xu Yuan was annoyed, and then pointed at the two of them: "You, Di Youzhi, can continue to stay in the Exorcism Division, and you, Zhou Leizi, can survive, all because of that night patrol!"

The two looked puzzled, but they knew they had passed the test and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "When we get back, tell them that it was because Zhou Leizi repeatedly framed me, so I'm looking for trouble with him.

Then secretly observe Lu Xiang, understand?"

"Understood!" They both answered in a deep voice.

Xu Yuan frowned again: "Don't treat Lu Xiang as a traitor! He is a suspect now, and he might be just like Zhou Leizi, just a bad mouth."

Zhou Leizi's face flushed, and he slapped himself hard.
Snapped!
It was so loud and crisp that half of his face was swollen.

Xu Yuan laughed heartily: "That's fine too, just say it was me who beat you."

Zhou Leizi smiled awkwardly twice.

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Okay, go ahead."

The two men came out, lowered their heads and quickly walked out of Xu Yuan's courtyard. Then they stood up and wiped the sweat off their foreheads.

Di Youzhi was furious and kicked Zhou Leizi hard again: "You bastard almost killed me!"

Zhou Leizi didn't hide and took it head-on: "Hehe, I knew I followed the right person. Boss Di, you are a man of honor!"

……

After the two left, Fu Jingyu walked in and said with a sullen face: "Everyone in the Champa Office is so bold!"

From Lin Zijin to Zhou Leizi, and Di Youzhi in between, all of them have seriously violated the rules!

What Fu Jingyu hates most is not following the rules.

Xu Yuan waved his hand and dismissed the matter, then asked, "Has the report to the commander been sent out?"

"Just sent." The document was written by Fu Jingyu.

It was not impossible for Xu Yuan to write, as he could read, but he could only write in plain language. He was afraid that after reading it, Mr. Ma would write back to teach him to read more, so Xu Yuan handed this matter over to Mr. Fu.

Yu Yunhang also came in from outside: "Zhu Sili is here, but he didn't stay in the yamen for long. He took Dan Xiu from the office to the master's grave to continue the aftermath.

After one night, I'm afraid some useless evil spirits will be born in that muddy river, so Zhu Sili must go and take charge."

Xu Yuan nodded. The situation in Champa Office was really awkward. Zhu Sili, the highest-ranking official, considered himself guilty and only wanted to finish his last shift.

If Xu Yuan gave orders... it would be neither right nor justifiable.

We can only wait for the commander's reply to see how to arrange it.

"So what are we going to do today?" Yu Yunhang asked.

Fu Jingyu suggested: "Go look for Zhang Laoya again."

In fact, it is to track down the four people who pretended to be from the Extermination of Filth Department.

Lang Xiaoba stuck his head out of the doorway: "Sir..."

The three of them looked at him together, and Xu Yuan frowned and shouted, "Come in."

Lang Xiaoba came in obediently and said, "There are a few people outside the door, claiming to be from the Pingtian Society."

"Pingtian Society?" Xu Yuan's heart skipped a beat: "What are you doing here?"

"He said... he came to ask Lord Lin for the money for the four well-rails."

……

The Pingtian Society was indeed famous for its craftsmanship. For example, they often boasted to others that the Beidu Shenji Camp fought against the Xuesha Ghosts with cannons made by their bronze craftsmen.

Lin Zijin asked them to urgently order four foldable and hidden manhole covers.

This is true. Several of Lin Zijin's confidants have confirmed this.

People from the Pingtian Society came to collect debts - the leader had a mahogany brass tube hanging around his neck.

When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice was very loud.

There were already people from the Shanhe Division peeking at the intersection, so the captain at the yamen gate quickly led them in to avoid being laughed at by the Shanhe Division.

The artifact around his neck was specially prepared by the Pingtian Society for debt collection.

If you make a fuss, you will lose face, so you can usually get your money back smoothly.

With Zhu Sili away, the highest official in the yamen is Xu Yuan.

So the matter was reported to Xu Yuan, and Xu Yuan had no choice but to come out. When he saw the artifact on the neck for the first time, he thought it should be a set with his earlobe.

"What do you mean?" When the man saw that Xu Yuan was only wearing the uniform of a deputy inspector, he opened his voice again, his voice loud and clear, and could be heard from far away: "You only sent a deputy inspector to deal with us? Where is Lin Zijin? Let him come out!
We agreed at the beginning that the bill would be settled immediately after the evil spirits were destroyed!

"You guys in the Extermination Department are capable of doing something like refusing to pay your debts?"

Xu Yuan found that there was nothing unusual in the other person's eyes when he looked at him, so he felt relieved.

"How much money is still owed?"

"Four well rails, one thousand taels each, a total of four thousand taels. Lord Lin didn't pay a penny!" It's not expensive, after all, the requirements for this craftsmanship are not high.

The craftsmen of the Champa Office could also build it, but they couldn't keep up with the speed, so Lin Zijin went to find the Pingtian Society.

Xu Yuan pondered and said, "It's really not convenient at the office today. Please give me a day or two."

The man refused to give in and shouted at the top of his voice, "Master Lin! Master Lin! Come out! It was you who made the promise to our Pingtian Society..."

His shouts became louder and louder, and gradually the sound was about to spread beyond the scope of Champa Office.

Lang Xiaoba looked angry and held him down: "Shut up! How can we, the dignified Extermination Bureau, really owe you a mere four thousand taels?"

The man threw Lang Xiaoba away and said, "Let Lin Zijin come out. You can't make the decision. I can't talk to you!"

Lang Xiaoba pointed at Xu Yuan and said, "Master Lin will no longer be in charge of the Champa Office. The master in front of you can make the decision!"

"He's just a deputy inspector..."

Lang Xiaoba cursed: "You look down on people!"

The man looked at Xu Yuan doubtfully: "Can you really make the decision?"

Of course Xu Yuan was unwilling to take the blame. This idiot Lang Xiaoba had actually "sold himself" unintentionally, but he really couldn't let this guy continue to make trouble. Someone in the yamen had to come out and take charge of the matter.

"The office has been busy these past two days dealing with the master's grave. Come back in the evening or two. You won't be short of money."

The man suddenly took off the craftsman's item from his neck, bowed to Xu Yuan, and introduced himself: "I am Wu Jinghan, the elder of the Pingtian Society's Champa branch. May I ask your name, sir?"

"Xu Yuan."

"Inspector Xu, please forgive us. We will face the government office from the inside. We have been unable to collect many of our accounts before, so we have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Our Office of Eliminating Filth is different from other government offices."

Wu Jinghan asked, "Master Xu, can we go in and talk?"

Xu Yuan raised his hand and let the person into the room.

"In fact, let alone a day or two of grace, as long as the Champa Office agrees to one of our requests, we, the Pingtian Society, can give up these four thousand taels of silver."

"Oh?" Xu Yuan raised his eyebrows and asked calmly, "What are the conditions?"

"We at Pingtianhui want to build a new temple in the south city. We have already purchased the land. As long as the adults approve this matter in a written document, we at Pingtianhui will give you four thousand taels of silver to enjoy tea and music."

Xu Yuan looked at Fu Jingyu - Xu Yuan really didn't know how the Department of Elimination of Filth usually handled such matters.

Fu Jingyu's face was gloomy. He searched in his arms and found only three thousand taels of silver notes. He said to Song Lu, "Junior sister, lend me some."

Song Lu smiled and handed over his purse directly: "Brother, take it and use it."

Fu Jingyu opened his purse, took out a thousand taels from it, and gave the full amount to Yu Yunhang: "You should know what to do."

Yu Yunhang nodded and took the banknote. He walked in front of Wu Jinghan and suddenly smiled, revealing his white teeth.

He threw the banknote at Wu Jinghan's face, then slapped him. The slapping sound loosened Wu Jinghan's teeth and filled his mouth with blood!

"Take the money and get out!"

"Who the hell do you think you are, the Pingtian Society? How dare you negotiate with us, the Quhui Division?"

Wu Jinghan covered his face but didn't dare to fight back. He said aggrievedly, "You, you, you, why are you hitting me? We in the Pingtian Society also supply bronzesmiths to the Shenji Camp in Beidu to make cannons..."

Fu Jingyu said coldly, "Do you want us, the Extermination Division, to really investigate which leader or clerk in the Shenji Camp accepted the money you gave to add to the association and added your cannon to the list?"

Wu Jinghan picked up the banknotes on the ground and put them in his arms. He dared not say another word and ran away quickly with his head down.

Xu Yuan raised his eyebrows several times. Is the Extermination Bureau so overbearing? !
From supporting the evil spirit of Dong Tianwang to yesterday's master's grave, the Exorcism Department seemed to be not very effective.

Xu Yuan’s evaluation of the Department of Elimination of Filth...is really not very high.

But no one expected that in Qihetai Town, the arrogant Pingtian Society didn’t even dare to fart after being beaten in front of the Quhuisi!

Fu Jingyu said, "In the future, you don't need to be too polite to underworld secret societies like the Pingtian Society."

Xu Yuan was angry again: "What's that directory of the Shenji Camp? What's the secret?"

Fu Jingyu didn't want to talk about these bad things, so Song Lu smiled and explained for his senior brother: "Five years ago, during a drill at the Beidu Shenji Camp, a craftsman-made cannon exploded.

Three people died on the spot.

Unfortunately, His Majesty was in attendance for inspection at that time, and he was furious, so the matter became a big deal.

The weapons used by the Shenji Camp had always been supplied by the Ministry of Industry's workshops, but under this pretext, the Shenji Camp was going to purchase its own weapons.

But the Ministry of Works was not a pushover. After several rounds of tug-of-war, it was the commander of the Shenjiying Camp who was demoted first for the crime of disturbing the emperor.

But the Shenji Battalion couldn't just give in, so they eventually created the "Shenji Battalion Military Equipment External Procurement List." As long as it was listed, the Shenji Battalion could purchase anything, but the new commander was tactful and only listed it but never actually purchased anything from outside, so all the weapons used were still from the craftsman workshop.

Then, when Song Lu mentioned the Pingtian Society, his tone turned disdainful: "So, groups like the Pingtian Society spent money to bribe some minor officials in the Shenji Camp and secretly entered their names on the list."

Xu Yuan understood: "This way, when we sell it to others, we can brag that our Pingtian Society's cannons are used by the Shenjiying."

Song Lu nodded.

Xu Yuan drew inferences from one instance: "So it seems that the explosion during His Majesty's inspection wasn't necessarily due to a problem with the cannon, right?"

Since the matter involved the emperor, Fu Jingyu kept his mouth shut.

Song Lu, however, grinned: "Everyone guessed so, otherwise how could the commander back then be dismissed? But no one dared to say it, hehe."

Xu Yuan shook his head and asked, "Why did the Pingtian Society suddenly want to build a temple? Who is it dedicated to? Their Pingtian Great Sage?"

Fu Jingyu snorted coldly: "There must be an ulterior motive!"

From the time Xu Yuan was hunted by the Saint Lady in Guiwu Mountain to the time Pingtian Society wanted to build a temple and sought refuge under Xu Yuan, only a little over a month had passed.

But now the balance of power between the two sides has completely reversed.

Xu Yuan didn't think much of the Pingtian Society at this point, and instead asked Lang Xiaoba, "Someone in the city is impersonating the Exorcist Bureau and stealing. Tell us about this case in detail."

The reason for asking Lang Xiaoba was because Xu Yuan discovered that this guy was a know-it-all in the Champa Bureau. If you asked him to analyze the case and search for clues, he might not be able to do it.

But he remembered the relevant case details and stories clearly.

Lang Xiaoba only gave a general idea last time, but this time he talked about it in detail. This gang committed five crimes in total. Lang Xiaoba remembered everything clearly, including who the victims were, when the crimes were committed, the victims' confessions, etc.!
Fu Jingyu was also surprised, and Yu Yunhang looked at him with admiration: "What kind of practice did you do? How can you remember everything so clearly?"

Lang Xiaoba glared at him and puffed out his chest: "I am a martial artist!"

For some reason, martial artists are always somewhat arrogant.

"Martial artist?" Yu Yunhang looked at him and couldn't tell that he was larger than a normal person.

Lang Xiaoba said awkwardly, "I'm a newbie, not even up to par yet."

"Hmph." Yu Yunhang said disdainfully.

"I have had a good memory since I was young. I can remember everything I have seen or heard once."

"You've entered the wrong sect. You should enter Wen Xiu's sect."

Lang Xiaoba didn't say anything.

How can children from ordinary families have any choice?
Xu Yuan asked, "Are there any other clues in this case?"

Lang Xiaoba, however, acted nonchalant. "These guys can't get away. We were previously preoccupied with that case and couldn't take care of them. We have special methods for dealing with these petty thieves."

Xu Yuan became interested and asked, "What method?"

"Looking for the descendants of the Three Fire Goddesses, they are the largest gang on the streets of Champa..."

"Who are you looking for?" Xu Yuan thought he had misheard.

"The Sanhuo Laomu Society, that's what they call themselves, but we all call them the Sanniang Society. We have them secretly watching: those who steal and steal jewelry, jade, and gold must always sell the stolen goods for silver. Using this method, we can solve the case and always catch the one who is wrong."

Xu Yuan touched his chin and said, "Aunt Wang only told me not to admit that I knew the Three Fire Goddess in public."

This "Three Fire Goddess" is obviously Aunt Wang.

The iron box of sword balls she had was proof that she had made many enemies in the past.

But you didn’t tell me that you left behind such a “Three Fires Old Mother Association”!

"This... Sanniang Society, what is its origin?"

Lang Xiaoba was a little surprised as to why Inspector Xu was so interested in a street gang, but he still explained everything in detail: "The Sanniang Society has a short history, appearing about thirty years ago. The founder was an alchemist who went by the name 'Sanhuo Niangniang'.

But whether the Three Fire Goddess actually existed is highly doubtful. All of her deeds were concentrated within a period of three to five years, after which she disappeared.

Many people suspect that she is a character created by Sanniang herself.

Because the various legends about the Three Fire Goddesses are so incredible.

It is said that she challenged almost all the famous Dan cultivators in Jiaozhi Province and was never defeated.

Moreover, she has an extreme and narrow-minded personality. If she wins over someone, she will take their sword ball away directly.

I don't know which craftsman was asked to make a box specifically for her, and named it "Ten Boxes".

This means that only the sword ball that can block her for ten rounds is qualified to be put into this box.

The sword balls that couldn't withstand Shihe were all destroyed by her comment of "useless things".

The Three Fire Goddesses left behind a legacy at the meeting. Unlike other alchemy practitioners, this legacy can cultivate three kinds of abdominal fire.

But there seems to be some problems with this inheritance. The Sanniang Society has never produced a cultivator above the sixth level.

Therefore, the Sanniang Society could only hang out on the streets, which seemed a bit low-class.

But they have a lot of followers in Jiaozhi Province, apparently because this cultivation method is easy to get started with, and Sanniang doesn’t discriminate against people’s backgrounds when recruiting them…”

Xu Yuan then understood why he couldn't admit that he knew the "Three Fire Goddesses".

"Ten boxes"...

Aunt Wang, you know how to give names.

Do you let those who were defeated by you be proud that their sword balls can be collected in "ten boxes"?

"When we get back, hide the box." Xu Yuan said secretly.

Then I suddenly thought: Could this box be made by my father for Aunt Wang?
Considering the popularity of the "Three Fire Goddesses" back then... I'm afraid it would be impossible to find another craftsman.

　Today's three updates are combined into one big chapter.

　　The word count remains unchanged.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)