"Establishing merit and achieving success is indeed important, but life is even more crucial. Without life, everything is lost. As long as you stay alive, there will always be opportunities to build your career in the future when your cultivation is higher."
Gu Qingfeng tried his best to persuade, but in the end, he only managed to recruit two people.
One was a fat man who had joined the team first and had a thick skin, not afraid of being called a coward.
The other was a skinny man who looked like a bookworm with a dull appearance.
Upon seeing these two, Gu Qingfeng thought, "Well, a fat and a skinny monk!"
The fat man was named Wang Shan, and as his name suggested, he was like a mountain of flesh, weighing at least 300 pounds.
The skinny man was named Xu Fan, also as his name implied, he looked quite ordinary.
After all the teams had finished recruiting their subordinates, Officer Huang led everyone back to the Demon Suppression Bureau to find He Fenghua.
He Fenghua once again displayed his authority in front of everyone, delivering a long, meaningless speech, and then began to assign tasks.
The rules of the Demon Suppression Bureau state that each Yellow-ranked Demon Suppressor is responsible for a specific area, managing all demonic incidents in that region.
This system was very similar to the leadership responsibility system in Gu Qingfeng's previous life.
During the assignment, Gu Qingfeng heard Wang Shan, the fat man, muttering softly behind him.
"Heaven, please bless me, please don't let it be Blackwater Village, please don't let it be Blackwater Village..."
Gu Qingfeng was curious and asked, "What's wrong with Blackwater Village?"
Wang Shan was startled: "Lord Gu, you don't even know that?"
"I've just taken office, how would I know?"
"My Lord Gu, there are things you might not be clear about, but you definitely need to know this. The recently deceased Lord Yang, a Yellow-ranked Demon Suppressor, died in Blackwater Village!"
Gu Qingfeng was instantly shocked. He knew about Lord Yang's death; after all, if Lord Yang hadn't been wiped out, he wouldn't have been able to become a Yellow-ranked Demon Suppressor.
"Didn't Lord Yang die in the Bone Forest? How did it become Blackwater Village?"
"The Bone Forest is a forest behind Blackwater Village. It was originally a mass grave, and then it somehow grew into a forest. Because bones are often found in the forest, it's called the Bone Forest.
Blackwater Village is definitely a dangerous place! Lord Yang, a Yellow-ranked Demon Suppressor and a Qi-realm expert, led four Yellow-ranked Demon Suppressors and was wiped out there. The danger of that place is self-evident.
Lord He Fenghua took over Lord Yang's position and is in charge of Yin Mountain County, where Blackwater Village is located. So, we absolutely cannot be assigned to Blackwater Village!"
Gu Qingfeng became even more curious: "So many people have died; doesn't our Demon Suppression Bureau take any action? They must send stronger Demon Suppressors to eliminate the demons in Blackwater Village."
"How could they not send anyone? Of course, they did. After Lord Yang's death, our Heaven-ranked Demon Suppressor, Li Qianren, was furious and immediately sent a Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor and three Yellow-ranked Demon Suppressors to Blackwater Village."
"An Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor has taken action; why are you still afraid? Didn't they eliminate the demons?"
"The Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor did take action, but they wandered around Blackwater Village for several days and didn't find any trace of the demons!"
At this point, Wang Shan's face was filled with terror, his fat jiggling: "Such a powerful Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor can't be expected to keep an eye on a single village every day, so they retreated and concluded that the demonic culprit might be a wandering demon, not a local one, and might have left."
"If the demon has left, why are you still afraid?"
"My Lord Gu, do you really believe such comforting words?" Wang Shan forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
"Demons, like dogs, have territories. Few demons like to wander around, especially in places with heavy yin energy like the Bone Forest. They would love it and wouldn't want to leave.
In my opinion, that demon must be highly intelligent. Seeing the Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor arrive, it hid. Once they left, the demon will definitely continue its crimes!"
Gu Qingfeng was puzzled: "You, an apprentice Demon Suppressor, can see this, but the Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor doesn't know the demon will continue its crimes? Why not continue to monitor?"
"Because it's unnecessary."
"Unnecessary?"
"Yes, exactly. May I ask, Lord Gu, which is more important: the poor villagers of a village or the high officials and nobles of a city?"
Gu Qingfeng frowned, understanding the meaning behind Wang Shan's words.
"Earth-ranked Demon Suppressors are the guardians of a city, where there are many high officials and nobles. If there's a demonic disturbance in the city and the Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor is not there, those high officials and nobles will definitely report to the court. But the villagers won't, because they have no way to reach the court. Even if they are wiped out, it's easy to suppress the news."
This made Gu Qingfeng secretly shocked because it was too realistic, stating a harsh truth.
Even if there are no demonic disturbances in the city, even if there is a demon in Blackwater Village, the Earth-ranked Demon Suppressor still chooses to guard the city rather than monitor Blackwater Village. After all, even if the entire Blackwater Village is wiped out, it won't affect them.
But if a high official or noble is harmed, a charge of dereliction of duty is inevitable.
This was the first time Gu Qingfeng felt the darkness of this world. He couldn't help but wonder, what is the purpose of the Demon Suppression Bureau?
Is it to protect the common people and the masses? Or is it established by the rulers to maintain their own rule?
"Lord Gu, do you understand now? So, Blackwater Village is absolutely not a place to go. By the way, how is your relationship with Lord He? If possible, you should use your connections and ask Lord He not to assign Blackwater Village to us."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng smiled: "My relationship with Lord He is very good. He will definitely give me special 'care'."
Gu Qingfeng emphasized the word "care."
Wang Shan seemed not to catch on and immediately relaxed: "That's good, that's good. It seems I made a wise choice to become your subordinate."
Gu Qingfeng smiled but didn't speak.
However, his mind was active. A demon capable of killing a Yellow-ranked Demon Suppressor must be powerful, definitely stronger than the ones in the first layer of the Demon Suppression Prison.
And given his relationship with Lord He, such a good opportunity would definitely fall on him. It was perfect.
At this moment, the assignment finally reached Gu Qingfeng.
He Fenghua said indifferently, "Gu Qingfeng, from now on, Blackwater Village will be under your responsibility."
Gu Qingfeng looked at He Fenghua, who had a mocking expression, and then at his colleagues who were gloating, and silently smiled.
This was settled!
Wang Shan beside him, however, looked like he had lost his parents, his face pale.
"Lord... Lord Gu... you said... you have a good relationship with Lord He..."