Chapter 488: The Young Hero with the Divine Whip

Chapter 488: The Young Hero with the Divine Whip

"You must be exhausted by now, right?"

"Not too bad, just a bit sore in the arm."

"How's that whip?"

"It's fine, still quite sturdy."

"We were lucky to have you this time. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to all these people."

"It was my duty."

"..."

As twilight fell, the once-bustling Imperial Supervisory Bureau grew quiet. Chu Liang sat on the steps in the courtyard, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

One after another, members of the Imperial Supervisory Bureau approached him with questions. Chu Liang had single-handedly saved the entire city from the Walking Jiangshi Poison—a truly heroic feat.

Had it not been for his timely warning, the spread of the Walking Jiangshi Poison could have been dozens, if not hundreds, of times worse. Moreover, without his tireless efforts to cleanse the poison from the victims, few would have survived.

Even so, dozens of people lost their lives in this incident.

Another hero of the day was Jiang Yuebai from Mount Shu. The Asura Leaf Powder she brought back played a crucial role in saving lives, including that of the Potion Jar boy from the Black Pine Ridge. Without this sole surviving Potion Jar Boy, they wouldn't have uncovered the mastermind behind the plot so quickly.

After capturing Master Song, the Imperial Supervisory Bureau swiftly extracted the antidote for the Walking Jiangshi Poison, which, as expected, contained Asura Leaf. Jiang Yuebai, along with the Potion Jar Boy and the Bureau's agents, went to Myriad Poison Mountain to gather additional herbs before returning.

Meanwhile, Di Nufeng went off to play with Xue Muyu again. It seemed the allure of a beautiful married woman was far stronger than that of her own disciple.

And there she went, deserting Chu Liang by himself.

Not long after, Ji Zidian approached to brief Chu Liang on the case.

"Aside from the poison specialist, the main culprits are a couple," Ji Zidian explained. "Yang Bujue and Xiao Wuyan."

"What a fitting pair of names," Chu Liang remarked upon hearing their names.

Ji Zidian then gave a brief introduction of their background.

Yang Bujue was once a disciple of Penglai, and even regarded by Daoist Cangsheng, the leader of the Penglai Supreme Sect, as his last disciple and successor.

Nearly a century ago, a particularly notorious incident shook the world of immortal cultivation. The leader of the Sea King Sect was ambushed by several powerful demons while exploring a hidden realm in the North Sea and barely escaped with his life.

After his narrow escape, he launched a thorough investigation into how news of his visit to the hidden realm had been leaked. He discovered that the Penglai Supreme Sect was the first to know of his whereabouts, and the information was later spread through the East Sea. The one responsible was none other than the Penglai disciple, Yang Bujue.

"But he wouldn't have been able to treat the Walking Jiangshi Poison. At the very least, those thousands of citizens would have surely died," Ji Zidian said with a smile. "Oh, by the way, many people have already written thank-you letters to you, and some have even sent banners."

Some of those saved early had recovered quickly after detoxification and had already prepared their thanks for Chu Liang, sending them to the Imperial Supervisory Bureau. However, Chu Liang had been busy, and the bureau hadn't yet passed them along.

At Ji Zidian's call, the staff of the Imperial Supervisory Bureau promptly brought over a stack of thank-you letters and several banners.

Chu Liang smiled as he unfurled them, revealing golden characters embroidered on the red banners.

"Skillful Hands and Benevolent Whip..."

"The Divine Whip that Clears All Meridians and the Sacred Hands Moving with the Spring Breeze..."

"Thanks to the Divine Whip of the Young Hero from Mount Shu, My Wife Has Found Her Smile Again..."

Chu Liang's smile gradually faded as he found the words somewhat odd.

Wouldn't it have been better if they had just given some money instead? Real silver or gold, regardless of the amount, would have made much more sense, he thought.

"You can hang these on your wall at home to let people know of the heroic deeds of the Young Hero With the Divine Whip," Ji Zidian said as he laughed heartily.

The smile didn't disappear; it simply shifted from Chu Liang's face to Ji Zidian's, who now beamed with amusement.

"Heh." Chu Liang forced a smile. No, thanks. I fear I'll never be able to hold my head up for the rest of my life...

As they packed away the banners and letters, Ji Zidian remarked, "It seems you and your teacher are the true nemesis of the Celestial Charm Sect. The imperial court has hunted them for years with little success; in the past sixty years, they've only managed to slay a few. Last time, your teacher struck one down, and now, thanks to you, we've captured another. You need to be cautious. There's no telling if they will come after you."

"I'll be careful," Chu Liang responded with a nod.

The imperial court's current failure to hunt down the members of the Celestial Charm Sect was largely due to the brutal chaos that occurred eighty years ago. Many members of the sect were killed during that turmoil, forcing the Celestial Charm Sect to maintain a low profile for decades, which made it difficult for the imperial court to capture them.

Recently, however, their activities had resurfaced with alarming frequency. Whether they had regained enough strength or were simply exploiting the turmoil across the land of the nine provinces remained unclear.

With Xiao Wuyan now imprisoned in the Celestial Northern Prison, there was hope that her interrogation might yield some valuable information.

In the capital of Yu, prisons lay in all four directions, but the most renowned was the Celestial Northern Prison, known for holding the Eminent Ones.

In a world where individuals held great power, the importance of secure prisons could not be overstated. Without proper fortifications, they could easily be breached, much like the jail in the City Supervisory Division where Chu Liang had once been held.

Compared to the prisons across the land of the nine provinces and four seas, the Celestial Northern Prison was the most fortified. It was guarded by the Guardian Ruler of the Celestial Northern Prison and a Master of the Heavenly Origin from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau.

Both were eighth-realm cultivators, capable of ensuring absolute security.

As the two were chatting, someone suddenly approached and called out, "Young Hero Chu, an imperial decree has arrived... you and your teacher are being summoned to the imperial palace."