Xiao Feng loved killing demons not only because of his sense of justice, but also because he had a golden finger for it.
Killing demons allowed him to absorb some of their cultivation, which could be converted into his own.
“Thirty years of demon-slaying in Da Ning”?
The old monster was furious.
Since Xiao Feng was going to kill demons, and Wei Changtian knew the locations of these demons in advance, why not take the opportunity to get ahead?
Although he didn’t have the same golden finger, he could at least slow down Xiao Feng’s growth rate.
Of course, he couldn’t do it alone.
It would be foolish not to use the available helpers.
……
The Xuanjing Bureau, an institution that had existed since the founding of Da Ning.
Originally, it only monitored officials, but after hundreds of years of development, it gradually became the massive organization it was today.
Its subordinate departments had been established, abolished, and re-established, eventually stabilizing into the current three guards and three offices.
The three guards:
Inner Guard: Originally the Imperial Bodyguard, it merged with the Xuanjing Bureau hundreds of years ago and was responsible for protecting the palace and the royal family.
Plainclothes Guard: Formed from the Four Directions Assembly, it was later absorbed and handled affairs related to Jianghu factions and guilds.
Flower Guard: The Xuanjing Bureau’s original core function, although its monitoring duties were later divided by the Censorate, and it now mainly handled confiscation and execution.
The three offices:
Zongmi Office: Managed national religions, suppressed evil sects. Da Ning generally followed the principle of religious freedom, but the government leaned towards Daoism, so the Xuanjing Bureau had always been at odds with Buddhism.
Liu Ye Office: Established only a hundred years ago, it specialized in handling strange and demonic affairs, and its reputation was the best among the people due to its demon-slaying achievements.
Nian Gan Office: With the largest number of personnel, it was responsible for gathering intelligence and was the Xuanjing Bureau’s main source of income.
Wei Changtian was originally affiliated with the core of Hualingwei, but now that he was going to hunt demons, he had to transfer his “connection” to Liuyezhu.
“This matter is quite simple, but…”
In the hall, Wei Xianzhi nodded slightly after hearing Wei Changtian’s request, but also showed some concern.
Among the six departments, Liuyezhu was the most dangerous.
“Changtian, if you want to gain experience, it’s not necessary to go hunting demons.”
“You handled the Zhang family’s demon case well yesterday, I think it’s better to stay in Hualingwei. It will also help you take over the Xuanjing Bureau in the future.”
“Father, I have it under control.”
Wei Changtian thought to himself that it was unknown when he would take over the Xuanjing Bureau, but he insisted, “Don’t worry, I won’t joke with my own life.”
“Alright, I’ll send someone to take you to register later.”
Wei Xianzhi saw that his son was determined, so he didn’t persist, and changed the subject to the Zhang family’s case.
“I interrogated him all night, and Zhang Hongwen confessed to everything. He’s now being held in the Ministry of Justice’s prison, and it’s estimated that he’ll be publicly executed after the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
“As for how this case was solved, I’ve already taken care of it, so you don’t need to worry. But the Emperor has started to suspect something.”
“What did the Emperor say?” Wei Changtian asked curiously.
“Sigh…”
Wei Xianzhi sighed: “The Emperor said that the Xuanjing Bureau has achieved a great merit, but he’s worried about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“He’s worried that if the Wei family commits a crime, what should he do?”
“…”
Wei Changtian was silent for a moment: “Then what?”
“Then the Emperor laughed twice and said it was a joke, telling me not to worry about it.”
Wei Xianzhi shook his head, then suddenly realized that he might have said too much.
What use was it for his son to hear these things?
A bitter smile appeared on his face, but when he saw Wei Changtian’s furrowed brow, a strange thought suddenly arose in his mind.
Maybe it would be useful after all?
…
Half an hour later, accompanied by a messenger named Zhou Cheng from Liuyezhu, Wei Changtian returned his black command token from Hualingwei to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, exchanged it for a silver Liuyezhu-shaped waist token, and received a Liuyezhu knife.
The messengers in Liuyezhu were divided into three levels: Golden Leaf, Silver Leaf, and Copper Leaf.
Wei Changtian, because he had retained his position as the General Flag, was directly a Silver Leaf, just like Xu Qingwan.
However, for Wei Changtian, being a Silver Leaf was just the beginning, but for Xu Qingwan, it was the end.
According to the Great Nian Law, women in official positions could only reach the seventh rank, and the General Flag of the Xuanjing Bureau was already a seventh-rank position.
Thinking of Xu Qingwan, Wei Changtian suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Zhou Cheng beside him.
“Brother Zhou, what if I accidentally lose this Liuyezhu knife?”
“This is simple.”
Zhou Cheng, also a Silver Leaf, was very enthusiastic: “If you lose it during a mission, you just need to report it and you can get a new one.”
“But if you lose it privately, you’ll have to compensate with some silver.”
“How much silver?”
“Two taels.”
“…”
“Brother Wei, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”
As they chatted, the two of them quickly arrived at the headquarters of the Liu Ye Division.
Inside the Suspended Mirror Agency, there was a separate courtyard with three or four small buildings.
However, there weren’t many people around, making it seem sparse and deserted.
“Most people are out on missions right now,” Zhou Cheng explained.
From noble mtl dot come
“Our responsibility covers the capital city and five surrounding counties. If there’s a demonic incident, we need to respond, unless it’s a major demon, in which case it’s usually a team of two or three people.”
“Places further away are not under our jurisdiction, and the local Suspended Mirror Agency branches will handle them.”
“By the way, we don’t always have to stay here during our shifts, but we need to keep an eye on our waist tokens at all times. Our tokens are made from mother-child jade, and if the mother jade is heated, the child jade will also react.”
“If the waist token heats up, it means we have a mission, and we need to return to the agency within an hour…”
Zhou Cheng carefully explained some key points to Wei Changtian, then took him to meet the head of the Liu Ye Division, Kong Changgui.
Although his name was quite ordinary, this Lord Kong was a genuine, high-ranking expert of the fourth rank.
It was just that his hairstyle was a bit unusual – he was bald.
In a separate hall, Kong Changgui first expressed his willingness to treat all subordinates equally, then enthusiastically invited Wei Changtian to visit the Teaching Office with him after his shift.
Wei Changtian was actually quite interested, but thinking about the tasks he still had to do tonight, he reluctantly declined and promised to do so next time.
After leaving Kong Changgui, Wei Changtian took a stroll around the courtyard, then spent half a day reading the “Da Ning Monster Records” in the archives.
Until the bell signaling the end of his shift rang, his waist token still hadn’t heated up.
Looking out the window at his colleagues hurrying about in the courtyard, then at the cup of fragrant tea and the book in front of him…
Was this what it meant to be an official’s offspring in the workforce?