Please, Young Master, Slay the Demon!
Chapter 672 - 33 Let Me Do It [Two in One]_1

Chapter 672: Chapter 33 Let Me Do It [Two in One]_1

Nine Palaces City.

Even among the generally impoverished cities of the Southern Region, this city presents an image of poverty. The city walls were built from bricks and stones dating back to the founding of the country. The magic artifacts and soldiers meant for defending the city are all old and worn out, their effectiveness in a real siege is questionable.

Despite its poverty, Nine Palaces City holds a crucial geographical position in the Southern Region. It sits at the crossroads of important transportation routes, connecting three states and four prefectures, making it a strategically important site and a military hotspot.

So why is such a well-positioned city so impoverished? In the absence of regular natural disasters, the only explanation is man-made disasters.

With its mountains and hard-to-reach terrains, the Southern Region is not a desirable place for ambitious and capable officials. Any achievement here goes unnoticed; lack of success could mean dying here unnoticed. It’s considered a cold palace for the officials.

Those mediocre officials who end up here, once rid of the pursuit of power, resort to corruption to compensate their personal wealth. If they accumulate enough wealth and manage it properly, they might get a chance to return to the Yu Capital City. In the several hundred years since the founding of the Yu Dynasty, there have been wise monarchs determined to fight corruption in Nine Palaces City. Of the past ten governors, five have been charged for corruption, but the problem remains unsolved.

Power is granted by the emperor, these bureaucrats only need to ingratiate themselves with the emperor and take no responsibility for the populace. In such remote areas, where the emperor’s power barely reaches, they act without any sense of restraint. Even a purge won’t wipe out these parasites who live on the emperor’s power.

Even during times of peace and prosperity under a virtuous ruler, the Yu Dynasty cannot change this reality. If there were a tyrant or a state of upheavals, the people’s livelihood would be even worse off.

Chu Liang and his two companions are walking on the roads outside Nine Palaces City, and what they see and feel reflect this reality.

It’s close to dusk now, but there are still many passersby, carriages, and horses filled the road from the city gate to the far end. Though obviously a popular place, the city is in poor condition and the people are suffering. Wealthy merchants and emaciated local residents, when passing by each other, create a stark contrast.

"Yu Dynasty is said to have lost its national fortune. If there are more places like Nine Palaces City, the collapse of the nation is not too far." Ling Ao said with knitted brows.

"Not for now." Chu Liang replied: "The Southern Region is poor, but the larger cities in the Eastern Region and Central State are thriving with prosperity. Yu Dynasty’s talented individuals prefer those places, and they are often home to more ambitious and capable officials. Normally, Eastern Region would become richer and richer... Southern Region poorer and poorer. Then the talents in Southern Region would migrate to Eastern Region and Central State, intensifying the local poverty... If there are no natural disasters, this cycle might continue."

"Pity the common folks who bear the brunt of rulership under these vermin. What on earth have they done wrong to deserve this!" Lin Bei cursed.

"Sigh," Chu Liang sighed. "Politics is complicated. We consider ourselves the righteous ones, but if we were to take the helm, we might not handle it any better. For now, we can only do our best to take care of our demons."

"The place appears to be bustling, but where is any sign of the henchmen of Mang Mountain?" Ling Ao asked, "Do we need to wait until they show up here?"

"The followers of Mang Mountain possess a formidable force. Once they launch an attack, casualty is inevitable. Even if my master rushed here, he wouldn’t be able to stop it..." Chu Liang paused before continuing.

If Empress Feng starts a brutal crackdown inside the city, not only will this fail to prevent casualties, it could even make matters worse.

Upon a thorough investigation, we might find that innocent people could have suffered more at her hands.

He didn’t mention this, but both Lin Bei and Ling Ao understood what he meant.

Often accompanying on Silver Sword Peak, they inherently understood these kinds of silent agreements.

Then Chu Liang continued: "We should first try to find some clues in advance."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Lin Bei laughed, "Today is truly a bad day for the evil henchmen of Mang Mountain, they have encountered Shu Mountain’s pair of distinguished warriors!"

Ling Ao scratched his head and laughed: "With Senior Sister Jiang and Senior Brother Xu around, I cannot claim to be part of the distinguished pair with Chu Liang...."

Lin Bei looked at him puzzled. "I am referring to Chu Liang and myself. What are you thinking about?"

"What am I thinking? I feel like spitting in your face!" Ling Ao suddenly lost his temper.

"Alright." Chu Liang raised his hand to stop them. Looking at the city in front of him, he mused, "Even though the walls of Nine Palaces City look like they might collapse at any moment, it’s just the external material. The defense formations on the wall are redeployed every year. This is the duty of the Regent Residence, and it won’t exclude any city, big or small. This shouldn’t be overlooked. If there are no large demon beasts or magic artifacts, it would still be difficult for them to siege the city. If they delay even a bit, the imperial court’s reinforcements might arrive."

"But the followers of Mang Mountain are notorious for pillaging and fleeing. They don’t have to worry too much about time." Lin Bei retorted.

"Time is still important." Chu Liang said, "If I were the leader of Mang Mountain’s followers, and decided to attack a city like this, I would first let a portion of my people infiltrate the city. When the city is attacked, they can rise up from within. That would make it much easier to break through the city’s defense formation."

"That makes sense." Ling Ao agreed with a nod.

Only after having said all this did he realize that although six years already passed, and he has long been an independent officer of Shu Mountain, he would still unconsciously follow Chu Liang’s lead once Chu Liang returned.

He comforted himself, fortunately, Chu Liang’s cultivation had been hindered, and even though he was not as quick-thinking as him, his cultivation was higher and he could act as Chu Liang’s muscle man. So he was not entirely useless.

Thinking this way, Ling Ao felt more balanced in his heart.

...

After a short while, Chu Liang led the other two to approach the city gate. When the city guards saw them coming, they immediately raised their spears and halberds and questioned, "Who goes there!"