Sheng Yuanyao looked at him strangely: “You came here specifically just to tell me this?”

Lu Xingzhou said seriously: “This matter… if you need help, perhaps you can find me.”

“So good?” Sheng Yuanyao was suspicious: “You’re not trying to trick me again, are you?”

“An exchange, mutual help,” Lu Xingzhou said frankly: “There are external forces that want to launch a war of annihilation against Xia State sects. What does the City Lord think?”

Sheng Yuanyao narrowed her eyes.

She knew about the enmity between the Incense Burning Tower and the Heavenly Journey Sword Sect. She personally attended that grand ceremony and personally saw the Incense Burning Tower guards assassinate Shen Tang. She wrote the entire event into a report for the capital, which counted as her occupational disease from the Town Demon Office.

However, she didn’t know that the emperor received reports from other perspectives and read them alongside hers.

Regarding this event alone, her report and the reports from the emperor’s people had different perspectives, but their descriptions of the event were completely consistent. This matter also led to her father being praised by the emperor, who said he taught his daughter well and that she was serious and responsible…

But Sheng Yuanyao could never have imagined that the Incense Burning Tower would actually dare to go to war with the Heavenly Journey Sword Sect.

This might not be an ordinary war of annihilation. This was a sect that the emperor had clearly indicated his “support” for. How dare the Incense Burning Tower do this?

Where did they get the courage?

When Lu Xingzhou said this, Sheng Yuanyao’s first reaction was disbelief. But looking at Lu Xingzhou’s expression, which didn’t seem to be joking at all, her heart sank: “Do you have a basis for saying this?”

Lu Xingzhou sighed: “City Lord, although I have used you for many things, the events have always been true. When have I completely fabricated things to deceive you?”

Sheng Yuanyao let go of Anuo, stood up, and paced while thinking.

The court’s attitude towards sects was very special. Theoretically, they were prohibited, as killing people is a serious crime in any system.

But in the cultivation world, some things were very awkward. Just like when Shen Tang “cleaned her own house” and killed eight elders, Sheng Yuanyao just couldn’t intervene. When someone provoked them at the grand ceremony and was killed, she also couldn’t intervene.

Then, could she intervene in a sect war?

If it broke out within a Xia State city, she could intervene, as she was responsible for the people of the Xia State city. That time Liu Qingcang tried to attack the Shen family business, she was the one who stopped him.

However, if a battle broke out on the famous mountains and great rivers far away from towns, the Town Demon Office generally wouldn’t intervene. In a certain sense, this immortal gate operated outside the system.

Now the Heavenly Journey Sword Sect was located on Danxia Mountain, which was in the mountains on the outskirts, bordering the city. It would be normal to intervene, and no one could say anything about her if she didn’t.

So Lu Xingzhou wanted an “exchange,” exchanging for her to take action and help.

After a long while, Sheng Yuanyao sighed in a low voice: “Lu Xingzhou… Shen Tang is Princess Chaohuang, right…”

Chaohuang was the informal title given to Princess Guyitang when she was just born, highlighting the favor Gu Zhanting had for her during her time as a little dumpling. This favor might have faded later as imperial sons were born one by one, but the fatherly love at that time was truly not false.

It was a pity that human hearts changed easily.

Lu Xingzhou laughed: “You finally figured it out?”

“I’ve already gotten too many hints. Now to just figure it out is already considered stupid,” Sheng Yuanyao sighed: “Before I came here to be the commander of the Town Demon Office, my father only told me to secretly assist Shen Tang, without even revealing her identity to me. You know what this means, right…”

“Hmm, he wanted to make an investment, but he didn’t dare to be open and aboveboard. Otherwise, it would inevitably be interpreted as taking sides, and your father just didn’t want that.”

“Since that’s the case, how dare I publicly lead people to help the Heavenly Journey Sword Sect fight a sect war? Even with the title of City Lord, it’s very inappropriate. You’re putting me in a difficult position.”

“That’s why I said it was an exchange,” Lu Xingzhou said: “Besides, you don’t need the City Lord to lead the crowd into battle.”

“Oh?” Sheng Yuanyao’s expression softened a bit, and she finally sat back in her chair: “Then how do you want me to take action?”

“Those who come out to attack other people’s mountain gates are definitely not many alchemists. After all, battle is not alchemists’ strong point. Basically, it’s their protector experts who take action, right?”

“Right. If they really come to attack you all, at most a few alchemists will lead, but the main force will definitely be their protectors.”

“Sect mountain gates often have great protection arrays, which are very dangerous. The Heavenly Journey Sword Sect is an old third-grade sword sect, and the killing array passed down from their ancestors may be fiercer than the Incense Burning Tower’s. Everyone is after some elixirs and resources. Why stake their lives? I don’t believe every protector expert is willing to fight to the death.”

Sheng Yuanyao raised her willow eyebrows: “So?”

“Now they are entering Xia State secretly in batches, which is exactly an opportunity for me to sow discord. I only need the Town Demon Office’s intelligence on these people, their cultivation, background, and internal relations within their sects. This is the Town Demon Office’s expertise, right?”

“You all know they are entering secretly in batches, but I don’t even know who is coming. How can I give you this kind of intelligence?”

“City Lord, you are still investigating demon cases, searching for demon clues in the city, and investigating outsiders. Do I still need to teach you?”

Sheng Yuanyao: “…Then your so-called exchange, how will you help me?”

“After this matter is finished, I will accompany you to the prefecture. Believe me, the demon case must be investigated in the prefecture.”

Sheng Yuanyao was silent for a moment, then said quietly: “The Incense Burning Tower is in the mountains outside the prefecture. They dispatched a large number of protector experts to attack your mountain gate, so there won’t be many experts remaining at their own mountain gate, just a group of alchemists. You’re going to the prefecture, are you going to help me, or are you going to counterattack?”

Lu Xingzhou and Anuo blinked simultaneously.

This little girl had become much smarter…

“Cough.” Lu Xingzhou coughed dryly: “I will indeed consider counterattacking the Incense Burning Tower, but the situation may not be as I think, and it may not succeed. Even if I go to counterattack the Incense Burning Tower, we will also be on the way, and the power of the Heavenly Journey Sword Sect will be used by the City Lord to deal with the demon case together.”

Sheng Yuanyao stared at him for a while, then said slowly: “You have used me for some things before, for example, the last time you helped you all intercept Liu Qingcang. I have counted them in my heart, but I intended to secretly assist Shen Tang. This time is the same. Your so-called help investigate the demon is like drawing a pie at this moment. I won’t have any expectations. The reason I help you is still to secretly assist Shen Tang. You must explain these clearly to Princess Chaohuang. Don’t take all the credit for yourself and treat me as a fool, okay?”

Lu Xingzhou laughed: “Yes, City Lord.”

Sheng Yuanyao leaned back in her chair, a little tired: “Your previous style of doing things was quite vicious… Whether as City Lord or Commander of the Town Demon Office, I hope you can restrain yourself slightly and not cause a conflagration, killing all the attackers or something like that. When public opinion surges, it will make things very difficult for me.”

Lu Xingzhou laughed very frankly: “Listen to the City Lord. This time it will definitely be much more peaceful than before.”

“Don’t call me City Lord. When that word comes from your mouth, it always makes me feel a bit sarcastic and malicious.”

“No,” Lu Xingzhou put away his smile and answered very seriously: “When I call other people City Lord, I do feel a bit sarcastic and malicious in my heart. But I don’t feel that way towards you. Whether an official is fit to be a City Lord depends not only on whether they can govern affairs.”

Sheng Yuanyao laughed instead: “Then thank you.”

When the position of City Lord and Commander of the Town Demon Office were combined, it was a terrifying force for local rule.

Initially, Huo Yu asked people to search for Lu Xingzhou’s whereabouts. It seemed lively for a day, but in reality, there was a lot of pretense and disobedience. The Town Demon Office did not cooperate at all, and even the yamen runners were just going through the motions, not even finding a single person’s shadow.

However, this time, not long after Lu Xingzhou left Sheng Yuanyao’s office, spies from Xia State city went out in all directions, seriously investigating outsiders in the name of investigating the demon case.

This matter itself was the meaning that Sheng Yuanyao should have when she concurrently held the position of City Lord. It had been so long since it started making noise, which was already very slow. No one in the entire Xia State felt strange, and even the Incense Burning Tower people who were being checked didn’t feel there was anything wrong.

By midnight, a pile of materials was placed on Lu Xingzhou’s desk.

Looking at this large stack of materials, Shen Tang felt a burst of lingering fear. Putting everything else aside, this first proved the correctness of Lu Xingzhou’s judgment. The Incense Burning Tower was indeed secretly entering Xia State in batches, and no one knew when they would launch a thunderous attack.

If they were still slowly planning and engaging in regular warfare with the Incense Burning Tower, they might not even know how the Heavenly Journey Sword Sect mountain gate was overthrown tomorrow.

“Chang Qing, third-grade alchemist, leader. Great Elder of the Incense Burning Tower.”

“Zhu Lianfeng, third-grade Dao cultivator… joined the Incense Burning Tower when he was in the eighth grade and has cultivated until now. He is considered an expert of the Incense Burning Tower’s own family, the first protector.”

“Zhang Shaoyou, third-grade sword cultivator… originally a loose cultivator, hesitated for more than ten years on the path to breaking through the third grade. After joining the Incense Burning Tower, he obtained a large amount of elixirs to assist him and used this to break through the third grade. After that, he became the second protector, and the Incense Burning Tower’s resources were extremely tilted towards him. He is part of a community of interests…” Lu Xingzhou read in a low voice to here and smiled coldly: “Common interests? Not necessarily.”

“Qin Buwang, fourth-grade upper-level Dao cultivator, similar to Zhang Shaoyou, also hopes to break through by borrowing the Incense Burning Tower’s elixirs, but has been with the Incense Burning Tower for five years and still hasn’t broken through…”

“Zhao Guishan, fourth-grade upper-level martial cultivator, body forging. He was recruited as a protector martial master with spirit stones and elixirs and has been with the Incense Burning Tower for two years…”

“Cao Qiang, fourth-grade upper-level Dao cultivator, cultivated by the Incense Burning Tower’s own family. He originally joined the Incense Burning Tower at a young age to learn refining elixirs, but he didn’t learn it well, so he abandoned alchemy and turned to battle, becoming a quite strong fire system cultivator.”

“They are really very strong… having money means you can do whatever you want,” Lu Xingzhou flipped through another stack of materials and sighed: “If they were all cultivated by their own families from all over the world like this, then it would truly be difficult to handle.”