I Slay Gods and Demons in the Deceit Night
Chapter 136 - 110: Return to the City! Meet Mr. Lu! Expand the City!

Chapter 136: Chapter 110: Return to the City! Meet Mr. Lu! Expand the City!

High Willow City, the southern city gate.

The sky was gradually darkening, and the number of merchants entering from outside the city was already decreasing.

Meanwhile, virtually no one from inside the city was leaving anymore.

This was because leaving the city at this moment meant they could not reach the next Pure Land in time.

"The hour is nearly upon us, prepare to close the gates,"

Deputy Commander Gu said this as he exhaled.

Since the death of the Great Commander Zhao Zhou, the burden on his shoulders had grown much heavier.

Deputy Commander Zhou Kui had colluded with Tribulation Ash and was already dead.

Another Deputy Commander was responsible for defending the city during the day.

And each night, he had to take up the responsibility of defending the city walls to the south.

Originally, Colonel Meng Lu was a capable officer, but he had been removed from his post and placed under investigation.

Currently unable to rely on anyone, the pressure from all sides had suddenly increased.

He rubbed his eyebrows, greatly troubled, and sighed, "How could someone like me, just a Deputy Commander, be expected to manage the entire city’s defenses, not to mention having to look after Linjiang Square, Qing Mountain Square, and Nourishing Origin Square?"

"Perhaps it’s because your surname is Gu?"

Just then, the voice of Chief Clerk Yang came from beside him, laced with a smile.

Deputy Commander Gu looked over, exasperatedly saying, "When is your Flag Commander returning? Now, the entire Linjiang Station has but three junior flags, and one of them is seriously ill..."

Linjiang Square is the farthest district of High Willow City, which was stable with Wu Chang in charge.

But Flag Commander Wu Chang had left the city the day before and had not yet returned.

The two junior flags were still shallow in their cultivation.

"You have my sympathies,"

said Chief Clerk Yang with a faint smile.

"If it were just the city defenses, that would be one thing,"

Deputy Commander Gu said helplessly, "The night patrol officer of Linjiang Square has been completely wiped out... With Colonel Wang Yuan dead and his replacement just arrived today, a new night patrol officer has yet to be established."

He pointed at Chief Clerk Yang, saying, "Your Linjiang Station is left with two junior flags, what can I do?"

Yang, smiling, replied, "The General Flag Envoy is already on his way back to the city. He will personally take charge of Linjiang Station tonight, so there’s no need to worry."

Deputy Commander Gu frowned, saying, "Didn’t Han Commander just lead troops out of the city to support Jinliu Manor?"

"I am talking about... General Flag Envoy Wu Chang!"

Chief Clerk Yang stood with his hands behind his back, looking outside the city, and said leisurely, "Today, I came up to the city walls to see where we should establish boundaries when we expand the city in the future..."

He patted Deputy Commander Gu on the shoulder and said, "The selection for the new City Defense Commander is still undecided, so starting tonight, the City Defense Army will follow the orders of General Flag Envoy Wu Chang, until a new Great Commander is chosen! You will probably receive the news by tomorrow morning!"

"What?"

Deputy Commander Gu was stunned for a moment, confusedly asking, "He was promoted to Flag Commander only a few days ago? Now he’s a General Flag Envoy? And he’s acting in my capacity as City Defense Commander? Are you pulling my leg?"

"It’s not exactly acting in the capacity of the City Defense Commander,"

said Chief Clerk Yang, waving his hand, "Just wait a few days until the new Great Commander arrives, and the General Flag Envoy will probably be too lazy to bother with you."

As he spoke, he pointed outside, saying, "The General Flag Envoy has returned."

Looking out, a man on horseback was approaching High Willow City, stirring up clouds of dust as he rode, like a long yellow dragon rolling along the ground.

"Open the gates! Welcome the General Flag Envoy!"

----

Upon entering High Willow City,

Lin Yan immediately saw Chief Clerk Yang and Deputy Commander Gu advancing together.

There were also many city defense soldiers on either side, all performing a greeting.

"Greetings to the General Flag Envoy!"

"Rise."

Lin Yan dismounted and climbed up to the city wall, looking into the distance as he exhaled.

His return today was to temporarily replace Han Commander, overseeing the Outer South Bureau and stabilizing the twelve districts in the outer southern area of the city.

But more importantly, he had to quickly determine the divisions for the new city and establish the foundation for future expansion.

The sooner it was completed, the sooner the residents of Jinliu Manor could be moved in.

He shifted his gaze, looked at Deputy Commander Gu beside him, and said, "Send someone to Jinliu Manor tomorrow to bring back the heavy crossbow, and install it right here, under my feet!"

"A heavy crossbow?"

Deputy Commander Gu asked in surprise, "The legendary one made in Qifeng Prefecture City, capable of killing creatures in the Refining Essence Realm?"

He nodded, then couldn’t help but ask, "If we send people out of the city tomorrow, it might take two or three days to return. By then, guarding the city at night..."

"I will personally stand guard!"

Lin Yan walked down the city wall, his voice carrying up, "Using this spot as the center, assign the soldiers responsible for the night watch, two thousand steps to the left and right, to Jinliu Manor. The gap they leave, I alone will guard!"

"What?"

Deputy Commander Gu thought he had heard wrong, his expression changing unpredictably.

After a moment, he finally processed the news, feeling a storm of astonishment rising in his heart.

"General Flag Envoy? Refining Essence Realm?"

"..."

Lin Yan mounted his horse and rode forward directly.

He no longer needed to overly conceal his cultivation.

In two more days, Mr. Lu could let him ascend "naturally" to become a genuine Refining Essence Realm cultivator.

——

Outside Mr. Lu’s courtyard.

Lin Yan rode to the entrance of the courtyard. Before he could dismount, he heard the gate open.

"Has the General Flag Envoy arrived?"

Lv Tang, with his dark, big face, clucked his tongue and said, "Mr. Lu predicted seven days, and you came back in less than seven?"

Lin Yan didn’t wait for Lin Yan to reply, he just pointed inside and said, "Mr. Lu has been waiting for you for quite a while."

Lin Yan nodded slightly and walked into the courtyard.

He saw Mr. Lu sitting inside, beckoning with a smile, "Come have dinner. Tonight you are to oversee the Outer South Bureau, and you probably won’t have much free time."

"Mr. Lu..."

Lin Yan approached, his expression complex.

"I already know what happened at Jinliu Manor," Mr. Lu sighed.

"With the death of Liu Venerate God, it proves that the thoughts of Qifeng Prefecture City and High Willow City over these years have been mistaken."

Lin Yan was startled and then said, "Actually, if it weren’t for the Tribulation Ash, Jinliu Manor wouldn’t have been destroyed... Using Liu Venerate God to try and create a ’Pure Land’ might not have been truly wrong."

"No, when the people of the Tribulation Ash destroyed Jinliu Manor, it showed that this path was completely wrong."

Mr. Lu shook his head slightly and said, "Jinliu Manor is not even as big as half of Linjiang Square! But the manpower dispatched to defend Jinliu Manor was more than the entire Outer South Government Office!"

"And yet Jinliu Manor was still destroyed, indicating that this path is, at least, not stable enough."

"At least for the next hundred years, Qifeng Prefecture won’t attempt to create another ’Pure Land’ like Jinliu Manor."

He said this and pointed to the south, slowly saying, "Therefore, Liu Zun Temple has already decided to destroy all ’seeds’ to enhance the Liu Venerate itself and expand High Willow City!"

Ten years ago, Liu Venerate God managed to survive, and in the external world, it grew and showcased divine might in the darkness, startling the evil.

Both High Willow City and Qifeng Prefecture City believed this path was stable.

Thus, in the past ten years, Liu Zun Temple has planted many ’seeds’ from the Liu Venerate itself, hoping to create more ’Liu Venerate Gods’!

But now it seems, at least for now, this path is still difficult.

By reabsorbing all the power of the seeds back into Liu Venerate itself, then... Liu Venerate roots will continue to propagate and expand the protection range!

In this way, sixteen squares can be constructed outside High Willow City!

"Actually, the expansion was decided three years ago," Mr. Lu said. "Back then, it was only planned to expand to three squares... But after the ’Liu Venerate God’ failed, the temple decided to destroy all seeds, expecting to expand to sixteen squares."

"So, this is another reason why the position of Flag Commander at Linjiang Station is so important?" Lin Yan frowned slightly and slowly said, "General Flag Envoy Zhou Kui of the Outer Southwest Bureau and Liang Hu from Qingshan Square are both coveting this position..."

"To expand the city, countless materials will have to pass through Linjiang Station."

Mr. Lu smiled faintly and said, "The slightest bit of greed from you would bring enormous wealth! Especially for Liang Hu, whether he can advance to the Refining Essence Realm in this lifetime depends on the profits from this city expansion..."

Hearing this, Lin Yan finally understood why the position of Flag Commander at Linjiang Station had been so hotly contested.

"The expansion is still under discussion."

Mr. Lu drank a bowl of soup before continuing, "I hear you were chasing after the shipment from the Observatory and ended up in Jinliu Manor. You must have also seen the ninth volume of the extraordinary techniques that Wutong Temple sent over, right?"

"Yes!"

Lin Yan nodded slightly.

Mr. Lu chuckled and asked, "This item surely has its original owner. Have you thought about how to deal with it in the future?"

"I have thought about it."

"How will you deal with it?"

Mr. Lu spoke, "If you hadn’t drained the power hidden within it, you might only need to return it to resolve this grudge! But since you have drained its accumulated power, it will not be as easy to resolve as you imagine..."

"Indeed, it’s not easy to resolve."

Lin Yan frowned and said, "Such a character is at least of the Qi Refining Realm, maybe even higher. I fear I lack the ability to kill him!"

"..."

Mr. Lu was stunned for a moment before saying, "What did you say?"

Lin Yan said, "When he shows up, I have to cleave him dead!"

Mr. Lu fell silent.

In his mind, he wanted to help Lin Yan resolve the grudge and return the blank strange egg.

But now it seemed, the young man’s idea was a bit different from what the old man had anticipated?

"We don’t necessarily have to fight; this matter could likely be resolved through negotiation, and a bit of compensation might be enough to cool his temper," Mr. Lu couldn’t help but suggest.

"Without killing him, it’s really hard for me to calm down," Lin Yan said sternly. "He almost killed me and nearly killed my brother as well... Wait, Mr. Lu, did you say ’cool his temper’?"

"No, I meant for you to cool down," Mr. Lu clarified.

Mr. Lu rubbed his forehead and said, "Let’s eat first, or else the food will get cold."

After finishing his meal, Lin Yan took out a bag.

He pulled a wooden box from it, opened it, and there inside lay a Double-winged White Ape.

"Mr. Lu, take a look, what species is this?"

"Hmm?" Mr. Lu showed a surprised expression: "This monkey can even grow wings? That’s really rare!"

"What?" Lv Tang, upon hearing about the monkey with wings, couldn’t help but rush over, exclaiming, "Where did you find such a mixed breed?"

"Mixed your grandpa, huh?"

The Double-winged White Ape lifted its head and retorted, "Who are you cursing?"