I Have a Golden Crow

Jihua Village, atop a writing building.

Lin Shiwei stood on the rooftop, gazing up at the sky, quietly waiting for something.

Li Mengnan looked down at the chaotic streets below, feeling a bit of compassion in her heart.

Ordinary citizens shouldn’t have to go through this.

They should live their mundane lives, not wake up one morning to see wandering souls on the streets outside their windows.

”Sigh...” Li Mengnan sighed, watching a group of soldiers evacuate emotionally agitated citizens.

When war reaches one’s hometown, who wouldn’t feel despair?

”They are safe now,” Lin Shiwei continued to look up at the sky, comforting in a gentle voice.

Compared to the city below, Lin Shiwei was more concerned about Master Qing and Du Yu.

After all, the city’s crisis had been averted, and the soldiers continued to search and disperse the city’s residents to ensure nothing was left to chance.

”Yeah,” Li Mengnan nodded, taking a step forward, gently holding Lin Shiwei’s arm, and also looked up at the sky.

Beside her, the sound of Senior Brother Fu’s flute lingered.

The melody of West Xia’s Flute was melodious and far-reaching, seemingly enveloping the entire city, soothing all the beings within.

Such flute music suited a post-war battlefield, adding a touch of poignant beauty and sorrow to the city.

Suddenly, Li Mengnan felt a tightness in her arm.

She came to her senses, seeing a man and a woman standing proudly in the sky, as if immortals had descended to earth.

Master Qing was no surprise; at least in Li Mengnan’s eyes, Master Qing was meant to be so high above, overlooking all beings.

But her second brother...

Somehow, he had mingled with the divine team.

”Nai~” Lin Shiwei summoned the Dust Spirit Deer, about to fly up.

Yang Qingqing looked over at the sound and gestured with her hand, pressing her palm down.

Lin Shiwei immediately stopped, watching the two fly over slowly.

”Master Qing.”

”Master Qing,” the two women said properly, seeing the pair unscathed, they collectively sighed in relief.

Yang Qingqing reached out to Du Yu’s arm, withdrawing a beautiful Vajra Pestle from the tightly wound white robe: ”Shiwei, accompany Mengnan to the nearest Demon Spirit Realm for the Spirit Master’s job change.

Spirit-Slaying Pestle has a life of its own, do not neglect it.”

”Yes,” Lin Shiwei nodded, leaping onto the deer’s back.

Li Mengnan accepted the Vajra Pestle, concerned, ”Master Qing, you two...”

”It went smoothly, your Spirit-Slaying Pestle is quite capable,” Yang Qingqing lifted a fair hand, tucking a stray lock of hair behind Li Mengnan’s ear, ”Go on, quickly come back.”

Unworldly children were clearly able to receive more care.

Lin Shiwei was equally concerned about her master and Du Yu, but like a soldier, she obeyed commands without question, strictly following Master Qing’s orders.

So, it was rare for Yang Qingqing’s affectionate gesture to land on her head.

”Nai~~~” The Dust Spirit Deer leapt from the rooftop, heading south.

Du Yu watched the two fly away, asking, ”Master Qing, what now?”

”Coordinate with the Demon Spirit Squad for aftermath work,” Yang Qingqing said, pressing her hand to her ear.

She organized her words and spoke, ”Everyone, the Heaven-covering Robe has been destroyed, the crisis is over, we can start the next phase of work now.”

The woman’s cool voice entered the ears of the officers of each squad, like a rain after a long drought!

The soldiers’ greatest hope was the resolution of the city crisis.

Once in the ranks, Yang Qingqing was the savior.

And now, she seemed to have returned to the military with another savior demeanor.

The value of these words goes without saying!

Subsequently, Du Yu and Yang Qingqing joined the Demon Spirit Squad, assisting with the aftermath work accompanied by Fu Jianzhou’s West Xia’s Flute.

This task was not so easily accomplished.

Destruction was far easier than construction.

However, the main focus of Yang Qingqing’s team was not on these tasks, and soon, they received a summons from the headquarters.

In the afternoon, after Lin Shiwei and Li Mengnan returned to the team, Master Qing’s team withdrew entirely, flying straight to the Great Xia Capital City.

When everyone arrived at the headquarters of the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, their colleagues were already waiting for them.

Du Yu was completely unprepared for the warm applause the team received in such a serious department.

Du Yu had carried out numerous spiritual artifact missions.

These ancient spiritual artifacts each had unique effects, the incidents they caused varied in scale.

Among all the spiritual artifacts, the ability of the Heaven-covering Robe was not the most outstanding, but clearly, the disaster it caused to society was the greatest.

And the First Squad’s proper and swift resolution of the city crisis was indeed deserving of such recognition.

Shu Qinghe personally received the group and gave them a very high evaluation.

Truth be told, most of the team’s time was wasted on the journey.

During more than two hours of flying, the local Demon Spirit Military Police were at a loss and could only do their utmost to minimize losses, protecting ordinary citizens.

Addressing the symptoms but not the root cause.

From the moment Yang Qingqing’s team arrived in Jihua Village to the point of resolving the crisis, the time taken was no more than 8 minutes!

minutes, what kind of concept is this?

What efficiency is this?

This mission not only informed the people of Great Xia about the significance of the Twenty-Ninth Bureau’s existence but also greatly increased the influence of the Twenty-Ninth Bureau and the Great Xia Bookstore.

Of course, the most crucial point is that solving the crisis one minute earlier reduces the city’s damage and lessens the threat to the people.

Ultimately, the so-called 8 minutes is calculated from the time Du Yu activated the Mountain and Sea Bell and absorbed the white robe.

As for the subsequent battle between the master and disciple in the mountains, no matter how earth-shattering it was, it would not affect the city.

To put it bluntly, even if the master and disciple were to die in the Mountain Realm, the crisis in Jihua Village had already been resolved.

Hmm...

Returning to the headquarters this time, Du Yu had quite a bit of reporting work.

He and his team went to the ”office” and held an exceptionally long meeting.

He went to the ”Spiritual Artifact Management Room” and handed over the tattered Heaven-covering Robe; this fallen ancient spiritual artifact would be monitored by an in-house specialist.

He also went to the ”Archives Room” to assist colleagues in detailing the task process and supplementing various details.

During the reporting process, inevitably, Du Yu was asked about the matter of accommodating the Dust Spirit Deer.

Back at the Shatang Mansion, Du Yu had already discussed the Demon Fire matter with Master Qing.

Facing the inquiries from his colleagues, he held to Master Qing’s intention and did not give a response, only indicating that he would discuss it privately with Director Shu.

According to Master Qing, except for Director Shu Qinghe, Du Yu did not need to explain anything to anyone.

Reporting to Shu Qinghe was guaranteed by Master Qing. Du Yu had utmost trust in his own Immortal Master and followed his guidance willingly.

In the company of Master Qing, Du Yu approached Shu Qinghe and candidly explained his encounter with the Demon Fire by chance, albeit with some embellishments.

Du Yu stated that the Demon Fire was uncontrollable and had mood swings, having explicitly declared its unwillingness to reveal its existence. This report was made under duress, as he risked being burned to ashes by the Demon Fire...

That afternoon, the three of them talked for a long time.

Shu Qinghe’s orders were surprisingly consistent with Yang Qingqing’s: Du Yu needed not to explain to anyone, prioritizing the Demon Fire and his own safety.

It was essential to keep this matter hidden, ensuring the Demon Fire remained stable within him.

Shu Qinghe had full confidence in Du Yu’s potential.

She believed that in the near future, Du Yu would eventually become a great power, able to control the Demon Fire for the benefit of Great Xia.

In fact, compared to the world’s rare treasures, Shu Qinghe was more concerned about Du Yu himself.

Du Yu’s innate potential was truly astonishing, and his identity as a Paper Crane Disciple was exceptionally special, as if heaven had granted Great Xia an elite force.

Among this group, Du Yu was undoubtedly the elite among elites.

Ensuring the stable growth of this child and his continual service to Great Xia was the truly important matter.

With Shu Qinghe’s verbal order, Du Yu seemed to have obtained an ”Immunity Token.”

He was repeatedly instructed that, as a member of the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, he need not explain anything to outsiders. However, if necessary, he could say it was due to the special constitution of the Paper Crane Disciple...

After finishing all this, Du Yu, along with Li Mengnan, was once again invited by colleagues from the Second Division for tea.

The Twenty-Ninth Bureau’s Second Division was responsible for managing troop inspections and training, among other things, inherently possessing a supervisory role.

Du Yu, who owned two spiritual artifacts, and the newly-appointed spiritual artifact holder Li Mengnan, were rigorously ”supervised.”

Within the entire Twenty-Ninth Bureau, only the few old folks in the Second Division had perpetually gloomy faces, which was frightfully serious.

Every time he was called for tea, Du Yu couldn’t help but feel uneasy, as if he were a criminal...

Li Mengnan, who owned a spiritual artifact, was educated several times, clarifying her duties and responsibilities.

As a field team, the Master Qing Team executed tasks at the frontline.

While team members faced enormous life risks, there was also the likelihood of obtaining errant spiritual artifacts.

Being close to the action was an advantage, but it also required a readiness to assume responsibility.

The classic saying, ”With great power comes great responsibility,” was particularly applicable here.

Furthermore, regarding the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, there’s no chance of resigning in this lifetime.

Serving Great Xia for life is your duty and obligation; at any time, in any place, if Great Xia requires it, you must cooperate with organizational work.

Actually, there’s no need to feel particularly miserable about this.

Even if you don’t possess a spiritual artifact, merely as an ordinary employee, once you’re through the doors of the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, leaving is difficult.

This is the Great Xia Bookstore·Secret Department, not some ordinary company...

Additionally worth mentioning, Du Yu, Lin Shiwei, and Li Mengnan were promoted to full members.

As for Master Qing, Senior Brother Fu, and Senior Brother Li, they were already official employees with no probation period.

The three members of the Yan Organization entered as Demon Tamers... well, both Junior Sisters are now also Demon Tamers.

They had a six-month probation period, meant to be completed by November. However, the task at Jihua Village directly pushed the trio to full status this August.

For Du Yu, whether probationary or official, there was essentially no difference. The Bookstore’s recruitment rules were rather rigid and inflexible.

The real difference lay in salary and benefits!

Initially earning over 6,000 yuan a month, Du Yu’s salary was doubled twice, reaching almost 25,000...

Du Yu never expected Master Qing, Senior Brother Fu, and others to earn so much, maybe even more.

However, considering the Mountain and Sea Bell acquired during the mission... well, whether the salary was high or low didn’t really matter.

Ugh, but no one ever dislikes having more money~

Recently, Du Yu had purchased quite a few pieces of furniture for the Shatang Mansion.

Especially when setting up the main house for Master Qing, those antique-style furniture pieces were quite expensive, leaving Du Yu with little savings.

Even so, the Shatang Mansion wasn’t fully furnished, with Senior Brother Fu’s room still empty...

Oh well, let Senior Brother Fu buy his own stuff~

In any case, Du Yu eagerly awaited the arrival of September.

This king’s estate is worth a fortune, immeasurable in value!

Yet being penniless was rather awkward~

By August 20th, the Master Qing Team’s reporting finally concluded, allowing them to set off back to Ancient Pine Tower.

This time returning home, Du Yu unusually embraced the Golden Leaf full in his arms, muttering, ”It’s so tough going to work.”

The Golden Leaf continually gathered in stacks, serving as both pillow and help in taking away the Demon Soldier, changing shoes, and loosening clothes.

”Home is still the best.” Du Yu enjoyed Xiao Ye’s humble service, and as a Great Demon Tamer, he sharply sensed an observing gaze.

Turning around, Du Yu saw Master Qing standing at the elevator entrance, half her body visible, looking this way from afar.

He asked, ”Master Qing, aren’t you going to rest? Or are you hungry, should I cook?”

The woman softly replied, ”Come upstairs in half an hour.”

Du Yu felt a bit puzzled, watching the Immortal Master disappear into the elevator: ”Alright.”