I Grind to Martial Saint

When it came to ransacking estates, Han Yuan was quite the professional.

Back when he was at the Qingshui County Yamen, he had done his fair share of it.

However, when he led his men to the Bai Mansion, he found the entire estate already in utter chaos.

Many guards, servants, and maids were fleeing in a hurry, clutching their bags.

Screams of terror echoed from within the mansion from time to time.

"Surround it!"

"No one leaves!"

Han Yuan roared.

Hearing his command, the hundred-plus County Soldiers behind him quickly fanned out and surrounded the Bai Mansion.

They showed no mercy to anyone who dared to leave, skewering them with their spears until they looked like beehives.

After they killed several people, those fleeing the Bai Mansion were forced back inside.

This, of course, plunged the Bai Mansion into even greater chaos.

Han Yuan, leading Duan Xu and the others, charged straight in. Only after a bloody slaughter did they manage to bring the situation under control.

Finally, he gathered all the members of the Bai Family.

He discovered that aside from some servants, only the old, weak, sick, and disabled of the Bai Family remained.

The younger generation, including Bai Hao and Bai Yong, was nowhere to be found.

As for their core strength, Han Yuan had already wiped them out at the city gate.

At last, Duan Xu walked over, escorting a middle-aged man dressed as a servant.

"This guy’s name is Bai Yang. He’s Bai Muxin’s cousin, a well-known good-for-nothing in Cangshui County Town who only knows how to eat, drink, and be merry."

"And this time, he actually tried to disguise himself as a servant to escape."

Duan Xu said, shaking his head.

Han Yuan looked at the man and asked coolly, "Bai Hao, Bai Yong... where did they go?"

Bai Yang didn’t dare meet Han Yuan’s gaze. He dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly, crying, "Lord Han, I really don’t know!"

"Bai Hao and Bai Yong haven’t been seen for days."

Seeing his cowardly demeanor, Han Yuan knew the man wasn’t lying.

"It seems Bai Muxin was cautious after all, secretly sending away the younger generation of the Bai Family,"

Duan Xu said with a frown.

"Search the place again, thoroughly."

"Then escort all these people back to the Government Office for a proper interrogation."

Han Yuan said coldly.

"Understood."

Duan Xu nodded and quickly made the arrangements.

.....

The Government Office that night was naturally a hive of activity, brightly lit by lanterns.

Zhao Junshan was so busy he was tearing his hair out.

They had arrested so many people that the prison couldn’t hold them all.

In the end, they had to place them in rooms in the rear courtyard under heavy guard.

Inside the main hall.

Even though it was well past midnight, Prefect Wen Zhiyuan showed no signs of fatigue. On the contrary, he was in high spirits.

"Lord Han!"

"We have you to thank for all this!"

"If you hadn’t joined forces with General Li, I’m afraid the Wangling Sect’s plot would have succeeded."

"And Cangshui County would have followed Tongming County down the path to ruin."

Wen Zhiyuan laughed heartily.

He knew.

Without Han Yuan, he, the Prefect, would have been dead sooner or later.

In other words, Han Yuan was his savior.

"As a Demon Exterminator of the Observatory, vanquishing evil is my duty,"

Han Yuan replied with some polite pleasantries.

But Li Jin spoke gravely, "Prefect Wen, this is no time to celebrate."

"With the Bai, Cui, and Li Families brought to justice tonight, Cangshui County Town is bound to fall into turmoil."

"We need to start preparing now."

After all, these three great families had extensive connections throughout the city. Their sudden collapse would inevitably cause a major tremor.

"I will slowly purge the members of the three families from the Government Office."

"As for the Observatory... I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you, Lord Han."

Wen Zhiyuan said gravely.

By now, no one would treat Han Yuan as just an ordinary Demon Exterminator.

With Nie Jing dead and Du Qiuxu missing, in terms of both strength and prestige, only Han Yuan could take charge of the Observatory.

Han Yuan nodded. "I will naturally reorganize the Observatory once I return."

Li Jin also chimed in, "The County Soldiers suffered heavy losses in the defeat at Sheep Head Mountain. I too must recruit new soldiers and regroup."

Wen Zhiyuan clapped his hands and smiled. "If the three of us work together, Cangshui County will surely remain stable."

Just then, a Government Official hurried in. "Huang Huai and Lu Ganwen, the two Patriarchs, are waiting outside the Government Office. They wish to have an audience with you, my lords."

Hearing this, Li Jin snorted coldly. "Those two old foxes. They sure know how to pick their moment to show up."

Wen Zhiyuan reasoned, "The Huang and Lu Families were indeed not involved in the rebellion... We are in a period of rebuilding, and we need their assistance."

"Lord Han, what do you think?"

He knew that Li Jin might not defer to him.

But he would absolutely defer to Han Yuan.

Han Yuan said softly, "Prefect Wen is absolutely right."

Although the Huang Family didn’t take action this time, there was still some old friendship between them.

Besides, there was merit to what Wen Zhiyuan said.

"Then show them in,"

Prefect Wen said with a wave of his hand.

Soon, Huang Huai and another man with a handlebar mustache walked into the main hall.

It was the Patriarch of the Lu Family, Lu Ganwen.

And so, the most powerful people in Cangshui County Town were gathered together.

They remained in the main hall discussing matters until dawn before they finally departed.

Han Yuan led Duan Xu and the others back to the Observatory.

...

The Observatory was relatively calm at present.

Those affiliated with the Bai, Cui, and Li Families had naturally already slipped away.

Only those from the Huang and Lu Families remained, along with some remnants of the original loyalist faction.

Ever since Han Yuan’s "defection," the loyalist faction had suffered great suppression, with many of its members being removed from their posts.

Now, hearing that Han Yuan had executed Bai Muxin and the other villains, these suppressed loyalists were naturally waiting at the entrance of the Observatory.

"Old Dong... when do you think... Lord Han will be back?"

A man muttered.

He was the Deputy Supervisor of the Feiying Tribe, named Chen Hong.

The "Old Dong" he mentioned was Dong Chengxin, originally the Hall Master of the Black Death Hall.

However, after Bai Muxin and Cui Jiushan took control of the Observatory, both had been demoted to ordinary positions. Now they were just waiting for Han Yuan to return and reverse their fortunes.

Behind Chen Hong and Dong Chengxin stood several dozen more people.

These were the last remaining forces of the loyalist faction within the Observatory.

"Don’t worry... Lord Han will definitely be back."

Dong Chengxin signaled for Chen Hong to be patient.

Just then, a golden light rose from the dimness of the night.

Before they knew it, sunrise had arrived.

A figure leading a dozen or so people strode toward them, silhouetted against the morning glow.

Seeing this person, the expressions of Dong Chengxin and Chen Hong lit up with joy, and they hurried forward with their men to greet him.

"Greetings, Lord Han."

"Greetings, Lord Han."

Han Yuan was all business. "Time is short. Let’s go to the main hall to talk."

He too wanted to get the Observatory back in order as quickly as possible.

After all, he had no desire to waste his energy on trivial administrative tasks.

Chen Hong and Dong Chengxin nodded eagerly.

The group quickly went to the main hall to discuss matters.

Han Yuan first sent people to compile a list of personnel, then began to reorganize the Observatory’s three tribes and Eight Halls.

However, due to the severe internal conflict, the Observatory was now critically short-staffed and could barely maintain basic operations.

Han Yuan knew that recovery would take time; there was no use in rushing it.

In addition, Han Yuan had Chen Hong report the current situation to the Jianghe Celestial Observation Bureau.

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