Chapter 276 - 136: Aunt Shui: Xiaojiang, From Now On, You Belong to Me

Chapter 276: Chapter 136: Aunt Shui: Xiaojiang, From Now On, You Belong to Me

A damaged Dao Foundation would be a light consequence. He could very well lose his Cultivation Level entirely, have his Star Position collapse, or even perish completely.

"So, there’s no need to worry too much that he’ll be in league with the Demons.

"At least when it comes to resisting the external enemy and protecting Yan City, our goals are aligned. That much is beyond question."

Jiang Mu nodded slightly.

’That makes sense. If the skin is gone, what can the hair attach to?’

If Yuan Qianfan wanted to continue being the local emperor here, secretly practicing his dark arts, he had to protect Yan City and the people who provided him with their incense.

"Elder Tian,"

Jiang Mu suggested, "Since that’s the case, should we pay a visit to this Garrison Envoy and feel him out?"

’Although Black Mountain already knows my identity, with people like Tian Wenjing around, Yuan Qianfan probably wouldn’t dare make a move against me.’

’Besides, the mysterious person in the dream did say he ’wouldn’t kill me for now.’ If that really was Yuan Qianfan, then his words can be trusted.’

’After all, with the Demon Army about to attack, my value is plain for all to see.’

’No matter how much of a fool Yuan Qianfan is, he wouldn’t kill a general from his own camp at a critical time like this.’

’Besides, he wouldn’t be afraid of me revealing the truth.’

’Because I don’t have any concrete evidence.’

’A single, "demonically altered" Buddha Lamp proves nothing.’

’An exalted Eleventh Realm Garrison Envoy versus a mere Fourth Realm Hall Master.’

’The difference in our status is like the clouds and the mud.’

’Even if I were to jump out and accuse him, how many people would believe me?’

’On the contrary, my own hands aren’t exactly clean.’

’I’ve taken a ghost girl as a follower, I’m raising a Tree Demon as my muscle, I’m hiding a Zombie Queen, and I secretly stole case files for a fox spirit...’

’It’s a complete mess.’

’If all of that gets exposed, who knows who’d be the first to be executed as a Demon Fiend traitor.’

"I’ll go."

Tian Wenjing had obviously considered Jiang Mu’s situation and took the initiative.

"My younger brother is the Garrison Envoy of Yunzhou City, and he and Yuan Qianfan are old acquaintances. With that connection, if I, a Deputy Director, go to his door to ask about defense matters, he’ll show me some courtesy.

"Even if my questions are a bit blunt, he wouldn’t dare move against me so easily. You should lay low for a while."

Jiang Mu nodded gently. "Alright. Be careful, Elder Tian."

He hesitated for a moment, then asked the most practical question:

"Elder Tian, let’s say, worst-case scenario, Yuan Qianfan doesn’t make a move. With the thirty thousand-strong Demon Army, there’s no way we can hold them off with just the few of us, right? Will the Court send reinforcements?"

Hearing this question, Tian Wenjing’s previously straight back slumped slightly.

He walked to the window and gazed out at the pitch-black night, his voice laced with a deep sense of powerlessness.

"The Great Qing is beleaguered on all sides, with emergencies being reported everywhere. Even if the Court dispatches reinforcements, there won’t be many. It would be a drop in the bucket. In the end, we can only rely on ourselves."

He looked at Jiang Mu and suddenly changed the subject.

"You think a thirty thousand-strong Demon Army is a lot? But did you know that when the Mist Demon besieged Hu State, the number of Demons was also close to ten thousand? It happened suddenly, and reinforcements couldn’t arrive in time. The situation then was even more critical than Yan City’s is now.

"Besides the Mist Demon’s main body, there were as many as four Tier Seven and Tier Eight Demon leaders.

"But in the end, only Tiger Vanguard personally led a portion of his elite forces into the inner city. The other Great Demons just watched from outside the city walls and didn’t truly commit to a fight to the death. Do you know why?"

Jiang Mu thought for a moment. "Was it because General Shangguan intervened?"

Tian Wenjing shook his head again. "No. The duty of a Garrison Envoy is typically only to deal with Great Demons of Tier Nine and above. Anything below Tier Nine is the responsibility of us at the Demon-slaying Bureau."

Jiang Mu was confused. "Why? If the Garrison Envoys have the power to kill them in an instant, why don’t they act? Is it amusing to watch their subordinates be sent to their deaths?"

"Because of the cost."

Tian Wenjing sighed.

"At the level of a Garrison Envoy, every time they make a move, they aren’t just using their own Star Power. They are also consuming their accumulated Incense and Candle Power, and even overdrawing on the national destiny tied to the city.

"To them, Incense and Candle Power is more important than life itself. It is the resource they need to break through to higher realms.

"Accumulating it, bit by bit, is extremely difficult.

"If they were to squander it just to kill some lesser demons, the consumption of their Incense and Candle Power might completely sever their hope of ever breaking through.

"That’s why the Court has long had an unwritten rule: unless everyone in the Demon-slaying Bureau is completely wiped out and we are no longer able to deal with the Demons, the Garrison Envoys will not act easily, not even if there’s only one of us left alive.

"After all..."

He paused, then said meaningfully:

"The Court expends vast resources to cultivate Garrison Envoys to act as pillars of stability, to deal with threats that can truly shake the foundations of the nation.

"If they had to personally handle every lesser demon and monster, then what would be the point of supporting the tens of thousands of us in the Demon-slaying Bureau?"

Realization dawned on Jiang Mu.

’So that’s how it is. Save the best steel for the blade’s edge.’

’This is what they call ’prioritizing the bigger picture.’’

’In the eyes of the higher-ups, we Demon Slayer Envoys are nothing more than renewable consumables—meat shields used to conserve the Garrison Envoys’ ’mana.’’

’No wonder the Garrison Envoy turned a blind eye to the Tier Five and Tier Six Demons that appeared in the city before.’

’It also explains why in past Demon Army sieges, you rarely hear of Tier Nine or Tier Ten Demons appearing. It’s either an Eleventh Realm Great Demon leading Tier Seven and Tier Eight chieftains in an assault, or they just rely on swarms of low-tier demons.’

’It’s a kind of tacit ’rule’ between both sides.’

"Then..."

Jiang Mu asked tentatively, "If a city really can’t be defended and is lost... what happens to the Garrison Envoy?"

Tian Wenjing’s expression turned solemn as he said slowly,

"In the case of a defeat in an ordinary battle, there might still be some leeway. But if a city is breached by a Great Demon... the Garrison Envoy has no choice but to fight to the death, to live and die with the city!