Please, Young Master, Slay the Demon!
Chapter 123 - 21 Why are you so loud? [New book asking for monthly tickets!]_1

Chapter 123: Chapter 21 Why are you so loud? [New book asking for monthly tickets!]_1

Holding this treasure chest in his hand and examining it for a while, Chu Liang suddenly felt a bit awkward.

If it were that trifling thing from the three minuscule beings, he could touch it casually without feeling guilty, after all, they were no saints. But this treasure chest seemed to be worth a fortune, and it was impossible for the three minuscule beings to have anything worth placing inside it.

This was probably stolen goods.

If it belonged to someone else, Chu Liang could not, of course, claim it as his own. But those three minuscule beings had run away so fast, he had no way to ask them who the owner was.

After some thought, he decided to return to the First Class Scabbard first, and ask Xu Sui if there was any way to help find the owner.

When he returned to the Scabbard, Xu Sui was not there, probably he was in the thatched cottage of casting swords, providing Xu Kunwu with food and water. Chu Liang sat in the main hall waiting for him, playing with the treasure chest in the meantime.

Right then, Empress Feng barged in asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I found a treasure chest and I don’t know where to find the owner. I wanted to ask Brother Xu if he knows how to find them." Chu Liang replied.

"You should open it up and see what’s inside. You might be able to tell who the owner is." Empress Feng said.

"But this treasure chest is quite peculiar, one might need a specific spell..." Chu Liang started to say, holding it up.

"Let me handle it, I’m an expert at opening treasure chests." Empress Feng confidently grinned.

With that, she extended a finger, and with a hiss,

An incredibly precise purple-gold flame leaped from her hand, danced in the air, and disappeared in an instant.

Upon looking at Chu Liang’s palm, there was nothing but a thick book left, not a chest in sight.

"Where is the treasure chest?" He blinked, asked.

"It’s open." Empress Feng stated nondescriptly.

"No, I mean..." Chu Liang waved his hand in the empty space, "It’s open, but where’s the box?"

"Why do you need the box if it’s already open?" Empress Feng asked, looking puzzled.

Your words are quite reasonable... Chu Liang was left without a reply.

His attention then shifted to the book in his hand, which must be of substantial worth if it was stored in such a precious chest.

Upon opening the book, they found it was actually a huge ledger filled with transactions recorded over a number of years.

"All of this is..." Empress Feng squinted at the pages, her expression serious: "Numbers!"

Chu Liang nodded, "These are the secret transaction records between the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall and the Wolf Tooth Guild. The revenue is eventually converted into cultivation resources and returned to the Wolf Tooth Guild."

"I suspect these are private deals by higher-ups in the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall selling spirit beasts on the side. The Wolf Tooth Guild is just the channel, not the buyer. With the Whale Guild’s backing, the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall, whether in Taotie City or in the Nine States and Four Seas, would not need a channel that would rake in such a high cut."

"If someone from the top was eating into the pie while selling spirit beasts privately, this would make total sense. This accounts book was kept securely hidden not because of its worth but because if discovered, it would expose the shady transactions."

In this world, money laundering is too easy. One just has to go out on an adventure and declare they discovered some treasure. The origins of huge amounts of money are untraceable and easily hidden by converting them into some Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure. If someone wants to uncover such scams, the only discrepancy would be the number of demon beasts at the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall...

The arrival of Miss Whale Guild, Xu Hongqiu, the disturbance at the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall, the man’s desperate attempts at killing last night... All of this suddenly connected in Chu Liang’s mind because of this accounts book.

So that’s it.

He wore an enlightened expression.

Empress Feng, on the other hand, was confused as ever, "You could deduce all that from these numbers? Are there any secret codes?"

Sigh.

Chu Liang let out a quiet breath, it wasn’t her fault.

His master was already an excellent fighter, if she was educated as well, how would others compete?

At this time, Xu Sui returned from outside, upon seeing them both, he greeted, "Senior, Warrior Chu, you came looking for me?"

"Yes." Chu Liang looked up and asked, "Brother Xu, can I ask who is the shopkeeper of the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall?"

"Hm? Ten Thousand Beasts Hall..." Xu Sui faltered, thought for a moment and said, "That’s a significant property of the Whale Guild, the man in charge is surnamed Xu, I think his name is Xu Nanling."

Chu Liang smiled faintly, it was indeed him.

...

Later in the evening, the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall welcomed two unexpected guests.

As the reported visitor was Empress Feng from Shu Mountain, Xu Hongqiu put aside her work and came out to welcome her personally, followed by Xu Nanling, Elder Cang Xing, and members from two of Whale Guild’s squads.

You could say that everyone who could fight in the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall was now present.

"Junior of Whale Guild, Xu Hongqiu, has long admired your fame, senior." She bowed and stated respectfully as soon as she saw Empress Feng.

Then she lifted her shining eyes to meet Empress Feng’s gaze, showing an unyielding spirit.

Empress Feng, however, didn’t put any pressure on her. Instead, she lazily glanced at her with one hand tucked into her sleeve, and immediately laughed saying, "Oh my, are you the daughter of Xu Baishan? Despite his ugliness, he was able to produce such a beautiful girl. This is really..."

"Master." Chu Liang gently tugged at her sleeve.

"What? Wasn’t I just having some polite conversation with her, courtesy before power?" whispered Empress Feng, turning her head.

Well, this is a whole new definition of "being polite".

"Seniors, after the previous incident in Southern Border City, it was due to you and your disciple’s help that my Whale Guild was able to clean house. I’ve been thinking of a proper way to express my gratitude, but I’ve been tied up lately with affairs and haven’t had the opportunity to make the trip. It seems rather shameful for this junior that we only meet now because you’ve taken the initiative to visit."

Xu Hongqiu maintained her composure, showering Empress Feng with flattery.

"Eh-" Empress Feng waved her hand nonchalantly, "No need to mention the matter of eliminating evil - it’s something I do a hundred or so times each year. What I came here today to ask about was the incident from last night."

"Last night?" Xu Hongqiu turned to look at Chu Liang.

"Sigh..." Chu Liang let out a sigh, then feigned being bashful, "I keep saying it was a misunderstanding, but my master insists on dragging me here to clear things up... cough, cough, cough!"

While he casually coughed a few times, he found that he couldn’t back down now since he had made such a righteous exit last night. So before their arrival, the master and disciple had discussed their strategy of playing good cop, bad cop.

"My disciple is honest and upright." Empress Feng acted distressed, "He gets bullied so easily outside. As his master, don’t I need to protect him? I’m just here to ask, who hit my disciple last night?"

"Senior, this matter is our fault..." Xu Hongqiu looked distressed as she was about to explain to Empress Feng.

However, Xu Nanling in the back, his expression stiffened. He was no fool. He could see that this pair of master and disciple were here to stir up trouble.

They probably even wanted to swindle something out of him.

But at this point, he was not afraid.

After last night’s disturbance at the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall, all the losses from the demon beasts were counted, and while it was suspicious, there was no definite evidence and his position was unshakeable.

Even Xu Hongqiu’s sudden authoritative appearance couldn’t do anything to him.

In fact, he had always looked down on Xu Hongqiu. She was just a girl he had watched grow up, not even twenty this year. What could she possibly do?

Upon hearing Xu Hongqiu confessing their fault in haste, he was slightly irritated.

By admitting that it was the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall’s fault, didn’t that mean admitting it was his fault alone? Not only would this girl be taken advantage of by outsiders, but she was also selling him out.

Her incompetence was clear. If someone with more experience in the martial arts world handled this matter, they would definitely deny all wrongdoing. At most, it would be a misunderstanding.

So, he took a step forward and loudly interrupted Xu Hongqiu’s words, "I was the one who fought him!"

He claimed dominance over the atmosphere first.

In a split second, he had thought up various strategies in his mind; confident that he could rebut whatever Empress Feng would accuse him of, and make her retreat with nothing.

Unfortunately, the anticipated verbal war did not take place.

Seeing him abruptly interrupt, the corners of Empress Feng’s laughing eyes slightly hardened. With the lift of her left foot and a swing of her right leg, she swiftly delivered a kick.

Boom -

Rumble!

This kick appeared neither fast nor heavy, but when it landed on Xu Nanling’s chest, he instantly disappeared from the hall. A loud bang echoed from the hall’s wall, followed by another bang from the outer wall, and then from a store across the street...

With each resounding bang, the faces of everyone in the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall trembled. Only after six or seven bangs did the noise finally stop.

This easygoing kick of Empress Feng’s had sent Xu Nanling flying three streets away!

After lowering her leg, Empress Feng dug into her ear with her left hand, with an annoyed look on her face. She glanced in the direction Xu Nanling had disappeared to, and wondered aloud, seemingly to no one in particular:

"Why are you shouting like that?"