He Fenghua felt like his lungs were about to explode with rage. At this moment, he just wanted Gu Qingfeng to get lost - even looking at him for one more second might cause him to drop dead.
"Take your money and leave now!" He Fenghua pulled out ten silver notes worth a thousand taels each and handed them to Gu Qingfeng.
"Very well, Lord He, please continue enjoying yourself. This humble one shall take his leave."
With that, Gu Qingfeng strolled away leisurely.
He Fenghua watched Gu Qingfeng's departing figure with eyes that could shoot flames, his anger erupting like a volcano.
The position of Earth-rank Demon Eliminator had been right in front of him, yet Gu Qingfeng had snatched it away!
He wanted nothing more than to chase after and kill Gu Qingfeng, but he didn't dare.
There were too many witnesses around - killing Gu Qingfeng would be too risky.
In the end, he could only pound his chest in fury, his chest heaving and his face turning as red as a pig's liver.
He was about to smash the vases in the great hall and unleash a torrent of curses.
But suddenly he stopped. Before venting his rage, He Fenghua seemed to think of something. He hurriedly ran to the doorway to see if Gu Qingfeng was still around.
Finding no one at the door, he rushed to check the window - also empty.
Still not at ease, He Fenghua circled the entire hall. Finally, after confirming that Gu Qingfeng had truly left, he went alone behind the hall and began furiously venting his anger at a tree.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
He Fenghua roared madly, unleashing a flurry of wild punches at the tree, sending wood chips flying everywhere.
"Gu Qingfeng, you bastard! I will kill you! How dare you steal my position as Earth-rank Demon Eliminator! I will tear you to pieces..."
"Lord He, what are you doing now?"
That familiar voice rang out again.
He Fenghua froze instantly. He turned his head in disbelief to find Gu Qingfeng sitting on the roof, watching him with a smile.
"You... you, you, you! You damn... Puh!"
He Fenghua's rage attacked his heart, causing his blood to flow backward. His throat tightened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before his vision went black and he fainted.
Gu Qingfeng feigned shock and quickly jumped down from the roof.
"Lord He! Lord He, don't scare me like this! Someone come quickly! Lord He has fainted!"
While shouting, Gu Qingfeng reached into He Fenghua's robes and took the remaining silver notes.
Earlier when He Fenghua was paying him, Gu Qingfeng had noticed this old fox had quite a lot of silver notes. Now was the perfect opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
After counting, the amount totaled over twenty thousand taels! What a windfall!
......
The next day.
He Fenghua finally woke from his unconscious state, only to faint again when he discovered his entire fortune was missing.
Later, news spread throughout the Demon Suppression Bureau branch in Yin Mountain County.
Yellow-rank Demon Eliminator Gu Qingfeng had slain one of the Seven Demon Marshals, the Mirror Demon, and Lord He had fainted multiple times from excessive joy.
The news spread like wildfire, quickly covering all of Yin Mountain County and even reaching the Demon Suppression Bureau in Wutong Prefecture, eventually reaching Li Qianren's ears.
The Demon Suppression Bureau had eyes everywhere across the land. Besides the official Demon Eliminators, they had informants and secret agents in every city.
The Bureau was divided into the Overt Division and Covert Division. The Overt Division consisted of the public Demon Eliminators, mainly responsible for eliminating demons and evil spirits. The Covert Division was responsible for gathering intelligence, monitoring the realm, and supervising the Overt Division to prevent infiltration by spies or Demon Eliminators being corrupted by demons.
Such a major event naturally reached the Covert Division, who reported it to Li Qianren.
Upon learning of this, Li Qianren immediately sent Covert Division agents to escort Gu Qingfeng's group, requiring them to report in person.
So Gu Qingfeng took Wang Fatty and Xu Daizi and left directly with the Covert Division agents, not waiting for He Fenghua to wake up.
In truth, all these rumors had been spread by Gu Qingfeng while He Fenghua was unconscious, aiming to establish the facts and prevent He Fenghua from playing any tricks to steal the credit.
Poor He Fenghua - the first thing he asked upon regaining consciousness was: "Where is that bastard Gu Qingfeng?"
His subordinates replied: "Gu Qingfeng was taken by the Covert Division agents to see Lord Li."
He Fenghua's eyes bulged instantly, rage attacking his heart again: "What! That little bastard plans to claim all the credit! How dare he bypass me! Quick, help me up, I must see Lord Li... Puh!"
Just as He Fenghua tried to prop himself up, he felt dizzy and his throat tightened. After spitting out blood, his vision went black and he fainted again.
His subordinates were shocked: "Someone come quickly! Lord He has fainted again!"
......
At the Demon Suppression Bureau in Wutong Prefecture.
In a dim hall, Li Qianren solemnly examined the demon-eliminating token in his hand, carefully sensing its energy while falling into silent contemplation.
Several Earth-rank Demon Eliminators surrounded him.
These were all important figures in the Demon Suppression Bureau, usually as elusive as dragons showing their heads but hiding their tails. Yet now they had all gathered because of Gu Qingfeng.
Below them stood three people respectfully - Gu Qingfeng's group.
In this oppressive room, Wang Fatty and Xu Daizi didn't dare even breathe heavily, let alone raise their heads, keeping them lowered respectfully.
This was mainly because these important figures carried immense pressure, not just from their high positions and authority, but also their extreme strength. At minimum, they were all powerhouses of the Tough Qi Realm, with some even at the half-step Grandmaster level, not to mention the Bureau's leader, Heaven-rank Demon Eliminator and Grandmaster Li Qianren.
Keeping one's head down was the most basic show of respect to Lord Li.
However, this only applied to Wang Fatty and Xu Daizi. Gu Qingfeng showed little concern, instead raising his head to curiously observe these important figures.
After all, he had killed powerhouses of the Tough Qi Realm before, and even slain a Grandmaster-level Seven Demon Marshal, so he no longer found Grandmasters particularly terrifying.
Especially after returning from Black Water Village, having gained numerous abilities, he was more confident than ever!