Chapter 270 - 173: Harvest

Chapter 270: Chapter 173: Harvest

"A ghost!"

Just as Su Mu was staring, speechless, at his own memorial hall, Cong Yuanlong, who was burning paper offerings out front, suddenly looked up. He saw Su Mu and let out a great cry.

"What are you screaming about?"

Liu Yang said irritably, "What ghost would dare come to our Taiping Bureau? Have you forgotten what the Taiping Bureau does?

If you want to call me a gambling fiend, just say so!"

"Junior Brother Cong, ’ghost’ is just a term commoners use. In reality, they’re just one form of demon," Ding Shiyun explained.

"No—"

Cong Yuanlong pointed behind them, nearly in tears. "There really is a ghost!"

The two followed his finger and turned to look. The sight made them jump to their feet.

"Junior Brother Su, you couldn’t rest in peace, so you’ve come back?"

Ding Shiyun’s eyes went wide, his words a jumbled mess.

"My mistake! Master Su, you are magnanimous! We promise to burn more offerings for you," Liu Yang said.

"What nonsense are you all spouting!"

Zhang Chenchen also stood up, staring at Su Mu with a look of disbelief. "He has a shadow in the sunlight—he’s human! There’s no Demonic Qi... Master Su, you’re not dead?"

Without a word, Luo Anning walked straight up to Su Mu, extended a slender finger, and poked him in the chest.

Su Mu was speechless.

Luo Anning poked him again.

"Stop poking. I’m alive," Su Mu said with a sigh of resignation.

"A Corpse Demon’s body is stiff. This is pliable, so he’s not a Corpse Demon. I can also feel the flow of his qi and blood. He’s alive," Luo Anning said, her expression taut, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Su Mu reached out, placed his hand on her head, and tousled her hair, messing it up.

"Of course I’m alive!" Su Mu said in exasperation. "Who told you I was dead?"

"It was Governor Zhao."

Luo Anning, paying no mind to her disheveled hair, fixed her eyes on Su Mu as she spoke.

Someone had just rushed over from the back courtyard. He had one foot across the threshold of the gate when he heard Luo Anning’s sentence and instinctively pulled it back.

’Damn it! This is a huge embarrassment!’

News that Wu Yiqi, the Fourth-Grade Inspection Envoy of the Wuling Inspection Bureau, had returned alive had reached the Taiping Bureau in no time.

After Zhao Poni received the news, his first instinct was to dismantle Su Mu’s memorial hall.

He had rushed over as fast as he could, but he was still a step too slow.

Su Mu had already returned to the Government Office and seen his own memorial hall.

’And that girl Luo Anning had sold him out without a second thought!’

’Don’t I, Zhao Poni, a dignified Governor, have any face to lose?’

"Oh, Lord Zhao, you’ve arrived."

Just then, Cong Yuanlong suddenly shouted, "I have good news for you! It turns out Captain Su isn’t dead!"

SWISH!

All eyes fell in unison on Zhao Poni, who was just about to turn and slip away.

Zhao Poni froze, unable to advance or retreat, a strained smile on his face.

"I already know. Captain Su’s safe return is truly a joyous occasion!"

Zhao Poni shot Cong Yuanlong a venomous glare. ’You and your big mouth!’

’I was going to hide out for a bit, wait for this business with the memorial hall to blow over before I made an appearance. Now that you’ve yelled, how am I supposed to explain this?’

’Do you expect me to apologize to Su Mu and say I made a mistake?’

"Thanks to your good fortune, Lord Zhao, I was lucky to escape. I had to take a detour, which is why I only returned today."

Su Mu cupped his fist, not mentioning the memorial hall. Instead, he said formally, "Taiping Captain Su Mu, reporting! On orders to provide reinforcements, I have slain two Tier Three Demons and several Tier Two Demons in the field. The mission is complete, and I have come to report back!"

Su Mu’s resonant voice echoed through the air.

The crowd of Taiping Captains who had rushed over at the commotion all gasped in shock.

’Not only did Su Mu come back alive, but he also killed two more Tier Three Demons?’

’We’re all Taiping Captains. Why were we hounded like dogs by Tier Three Demons, while Su Mu makes killing them look so easy?’

’Could it be we weren’t facing the same kind of Tier Three Demon?’

"Acknowledged!"

Zhao Poni said in a deep voice. "Captain Su, well done!

This time, nearly all the Captains and higher-ups of the Wuling Taiping Bureau were annihilated. You played an indispensable role in our safe return.

I will personally request a commendation for you. You’ll be able to add another cloud pattern to your collar."

Zhao Poni, Lin Qi Huan, and the other Taiping Captains all had looks of envy on their faces.

A single cloud pattern represented a special commendation, the highest honor in the Taiping Bureau.

Every one of them wanted to earn a cloud pattern, but to this day, none had succeeded.

Even Governor Zhao’s own collar was bare.

But Su Mu was now about to receive his second cloud pattern.

However, none of them felt the slightest bit of jealousy.

Su Mu had earned two cloud patterns through his own ability.

Slaying Tier Three Demons with a Rebirth Realm Cultivation was something none of them could do.

Given what Su Mu had accomplished this time, a special commendation was more than deserved.

They might have felt jealous if the gap in ability were small, but when the disparity was this great, they couldn’t even muster the thought.

Su Mu’s current Cultivation Realm might be lower than many of theirs, but his strength had earned the respect of every Taiping Captain present.

"Thank you, Governor."

A look of delight appeared on Su Mu’s face as well.

One more special commendation meant he was another step closer to a promotion.

’From a Sixth-Grade Captain, I’ll soon become a Fifth-Grade Captain.’

"By the way, Governor, there is one more thing for which I must ask your forgiveness," Su Mu said suddenly.

"Earlier, in order to reinforce you, Governor, our Taiping Bureau was short on manpower. I had no choice but to ask an outsider for help."

Su Mu said, looking a little embarrassed, "I promised him some silver for every person he rescued..."