Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 610 - 610 609 The Temple is Small but the Wind is Strong

610: Chapter 609: The Temple is Small, but the Wind is Strong 610: Chapter 609: The Temple is Small, but the Wind is Strong He didn’t blame Auntie Sujun too much, knowing that it was a deliberate move by both mansions to make things difficult for merchants like them who were not firm in their standing.

It wasn’t that he genuinely sided with Shan Country; it was simply that his customer base was among the mortals, and only the mortals from Shan Country and Anhe Country would come to him to stock up and trade.

Those from distant nations could not come over.

Jinxiu was vast, and occasionally demons caused trouble, making long-distance travel still a difficult task for mortals; since his main customer base was in Shan Country, how could he possibly cut off his own source of wealth?

This was the reason the two mansions frowned upon him, just picking faults with him—for merchants like him in Zhongqing City, there were many more.

All along, the two mansions had been relatively enlightened in terms of commerce, not preventing city merchants from choosing their trading partners, maintaining a free trade atmosphere; but for the past decade or so, the oversight of Zhongqing Mansion had gradually become stricter, showing leniency toward businesses trading toward Anhe’s direction, but constantly finding fault with those whose trade mostly lay in Shan Country’s direction…

What did this imply?

Such small merchants as they dared not contemplate, only hoping that as things progressed it would not lead to uncontrollable situations, for a stable environment was far too important for merchants.

“No matter, I will go to Mu Shuai Mansion first thing tomorrow morning to pay the fine; hopefully, they won’t be too greedy this time…”

That was all he could say.

Lacking the enthusiasm to tidy up the goods, both sighed in the shop, and before long, another customer walked in; this time, Auntie Sujun showed she had learned her lesson,

stepping forward, “Please show your inspection pass… Welcome…”

The customer glanced at her and turned to leave, “You’re too late…”

Auntie Sujun was once again confused, “What do you mean too late?”

The customer did not mince words, “Welcoming me came too late.

I’m here to shop, not to register.”

The master and servant looked at each other, clearly dealing with a genuine customer now, as opposed to the covert inspectors earlier; their demands were obviously on different levels.

“This business can’t be done anymore,” muttered Old Zhou, feeling depressed.

… Hou Niao left Yi Qu Pavilion, the third shop to turn him away; no need to probe further, this was clearly targeted at him, they simply didn’t want him learning about the real business environment here, the level of profits.

Was it for fear that the Shan Sect might increase taxes?

That might be one reason, but definitely not the whole story.

Conducting covert inspections was a top priority for a newly appointed official, unless you wanted to merely scrape by; otherwise, you needed at least a clear understanding of the basic situation of your jurisdiction.

Since he could not yet reach out to the local cultivator forces, he could only start with the trading circles—after all, those Zhongjun Mansion cultivator masters were in charge here.

Now, it seemed they had already gotten wind of him and were on guard.

Was there any point?

He could continue the undercover visits, but he felt it unnecessary.

When your status and power aren’t enough, you have to stay low-key, but times have changed.

Having risen to the rank of Capital Commandant, it was time to let his tail show and give it a wag.

The three mansions of Zhongqing City each had their unique characteristics—the Mu Shuai Mansion was grand, the Zhongjun Mansion was luxurious, and the Capital Commandant Mansion was dignified.

At least in terms of architectural style, the Capital Commandant Mansion was no lesser than the other two; this was the face of the Shan Sect Quanzhen in Pingliang State, and it certainly could not be outdone.

Hou Niao arrived in front of the gates of the Capital Commandant Mansion; the main gate was tightly closed, leaving only a side door slightly ajar, guarded by a few cultivators idling in conversation—all lesser cultivators who had not reached Tongxuan, but from their demeanor, he didn’t think they had the foundation of sword cultivators; they seemed more like local Daoists.

He sighed internally.

Although the Shan Sect Quanzhen had nominally occupied this land for two hundred years, they had done far from enough in terms of actual governance; they had not integrated but had instead slowly become estranged.

Now, as the Mansion Master of a Capital Commandant Mansion, he was entitled to some of the sect’s hidden knowledge and was aware that this was a remnant issue from the annexation of Langzhong Country.

Back then, the high-ranking members of the Quanzhen Sect and the only Nascent Transformation ancestor from Langzhong had reached an agreement.

Among the most important terms were maintaining local cultural traditions and the freedom of cultivation.

Now, it seemed such terms were overly permissive, giving rise to thoughts that some powers should not have.

Gathering his feelings, he summoned his Flying Sword out of thin air, emitting a piercing sword whistle as it circled thrice above the Capital Commandant Mansion.

Instantly, the entire mansion was in an uproar.

The main gate flung open with a group of cultivators standing in attendance at the entrance.

Among these, there were a dozen cultivators of the Tongtian Realm—and the rest were lesser cultivators, just like the structure of the Capital Commandant Mansion in Jin City during Hou Niao’s time.

There were no fixed procedures for a Capital Commandant’s entrance into the mansion; one could skirt in through the back door discreetly or march through the front door with great fanfare, depending entirely on the disposition and temper of the Capital Commandant.

With his sudden rise, Hou Niao was flaunting his status by orchestrating this scene, and no one dared question him.

But in some people’s hearts, this new Commandant made the first impression of a young man full of himself, acting rashly—a deliberate project by Hou Niao himself.

To feign simplicity, and to mislead hidden adversaries with false judgement—why wouldn’t he do it?

Leading them was a person, Su Lingyun, a Natural Realm cultivator from the Shan Sect, who had been acting as the head of the Zhongqing Capital Commandant Mansion during the months when the position had been vacant; half of the Tongtian cultivators behind him were from the Shan Sect Quanzhen and stood as the mainstay of the Capital Commandant Mansion during these months.

Watching this brash young man, markedly unlike the low-profile conduct expected of the Sikong Mansion, but more akin to the flamboyance of the Zhongjun Mansion; to him, who had been maneuvering for a position of power in Yujing for a long time, there was a sense of inevitable disappointment.

He certainly knew of this man—who in the Sikong Mansion did not?

Not to mention his feat of single-handedly challenging all Tongtian cultivators in the Situ Mansion—no one dared claim they could do the same.

But combat prowess was one thing, managing an entire region was another; there was a huge difference between them.

Nevertheless, since Sikong Mansion had decided, he had no choice but to comply unconditionally.

In this regard, Sikong Mansion’s family rules were strict—if any insubordination or sabotage was discovered, the strictest punishment awaited.

“Please present your Sword Talisman for inspection,” Su Lingyun stated.

Having been appointed in various states and not having served in the Sikong Mansion of Yujing, Su Lingyun had only heard of this man but had never met him face-to-face.

After Hou Niao presented his Sword Talisman for inspection and verification, Su Lingyun spoke out, “Capital Commandant Mansion has fifty-seven cultivators, fifty-three are in attendance, we welcome Commandant Hou to take charge of the office.”

With a smile on his face, Hou Niao strode with pride and arrogance, surrounded by the Capital Commandant Mansion’s cultivators as he proceeded inside; he relished this process, although he felt the ceremony was lacking a bit and missing appropriate slogans.

If he were to compose them, they might go: Hou the Immortal, with boundless mana…

This might be the Quanzhen Sect’s surveillance troop, but it was now his Capital Commandant Mansion.

Here, his word was everything, the final verdict.

To turn the tide, to grant life or death, it wasn’t just about these few dozen people—it included the millions inhabiting Pingliang State.

“I am Hou Niao, serving with integrity!”

This was the first statement he made after assuming office.