I Can Merge Techniques

Chapter 479: Chapter 155: The Contaminated and Mad Xiao Ziye; Ambushing and Framing the Moon Worship Sect

The Qing Province Demon Suppression Bureau.

Two Demon Suppression Stone Beasts stood on either side of the entrance, their eyes wide with fury and their fangs bared. An aura of grim austerity washed over him.

Chu Fan stepped over the high threshold.

The vast, flat courtyard was paved with bluestone. A row of Demon Suppression Guards in jet-black uniforms stood at attention, their backs ramrod straight and their auras composed.

At the head of the formation stood a woman Chu Fan had never seen before, her hands clasped behind her back.

She wore the fitted uniform of a Demon Suppression Captain, which clung to her body and perfectly accentuated her tall, elegant figure.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, with skin as smooth as fine jade and brows like distant mountains. Yet, her expression was shrouded in an icy frost, projecting a coldness that kept everyone at a distance.

The woman held a short, jet-black baton. A faint light seemed to flow along its surface as she addressed the Demon Suppression Guards in a stern voice.

Her voice was as crisp and cold as jade striking jade, yet it carried an authority that permitted no argument.

Chu Fan gave the scene a quick glance. Not wanting to delay, he decided to walk around the group and head straight for the main hall to find Demon Suppression Captain Li Mubai.

He had just started to move when he heard footsteps approaching. Li Qingxue was walking out of the main hall.

"Senior Sister? What are you doing here?" Chu Fan asked, slightly surprised.

"I came to ask Lord Leng about a few matters," Li Qingxue replied softly.

"You two, halt!"

A sharp rebuke, clear as a silver bell yet laced with severity, suddenly rang out from behind them.

Chu Fan’s steps faltered, and he slowly turned his head to look.

The female Demon Suppression Captain was pointing her short baton directly at them. Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with scrutiny, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible displeasure.

"The Demon Suppression Bureau is a crucial bastion against fiends and is heavily guarded. How dare petty intruders like you trespass so freely? State your names and origins at once!"

Chu Fan was taken aback and hadn’t yet had a chance to reply.

One of the Demon Suppression Guards in the formation, his expression changing slightly, quickly stepped forward. He bowed to the female Captain and said respectfully, "Lord Xiao, there’s been a misunderstanding. This is Chu Fan. He’s a colleague of ours, one of the Demon Suppression Guards, not an outsider."

Hearing this, the female Captain known as "Lord Xiao" did not relax her brow. Instead, it furrowed even deeper.

Her gaze, sharp as a drawn sword, swept up and down Chu Fan’s body several times. She said coldly, "If he is a Demon Suppression Guard of our Demon Suppression Bureau, why isn’t he wearing the standard uniform? And why isn’t a Demon Suppression Saber at his waist? What is the meaning of this unseemly appearance! It’s disgraceful!"

A sense of helplessness washed over Chu Fan. He could only cup his hands in a salute and explain in a low voice, "Reporting to you, My Lord. My situation is rather special. This attire was personally and specially permitted by Demon Suppression Envoy Lord Leng Qingqiu. I ask for your understanding."

He had assumed that by invoking the name of Demon Suppression Envoy Leng Qingqiu, the matter would be dropped without further trouble.

But to his surprise, when the female Demon Suppression Captain heard the name "Leng Qingqiu," her pupils contracted slightly. A flicker of confusion crossed her face, followed by a hint of vigilance. She frowned and asked, "Who is Leng Qingqiu?"

"..."

Chu Fan’s heart skipped a beat. A profound sense of absurdity washed over him.

’Something’s wrong!’

’Something is very wrong!’

A Demon Suppression Captain of the Qing Province Demon Suppression Bureau didn’t know her own direct superior, Demon Suppression Envoy Lord Leng Qingqiu?

An incident this bizarre was ten times more outrageous than a Demon Fiend infiltrating the Demon Suppression Bureau to cause trouble!

He subconsciously looked toward the row of silent Demon Suppression Guards, hoping to find an answer on their faces.

But the guards all stared straight ahead, their posture as rigid as pine trees and their faces blank, as if they hadn’t heard a thing. Only the corners of their mouths twitched slightly, betraying their desperate attempts to suppress their reactions.

Chu Fan then turned his gaze to Li Qingxue beside him, only to see her eyes were also filled with utter disbelief.

"Since you can’t explain your presence, fall in with the squad for instruction first. I’ll deal with you after!"

The female Demon Suppression Captain flicked her wrist, pointing her short baton toward the end of the line. She commanded in a deep voice, "Both of you, get over there and stand at the end!"

Li Qingxue wanted to explain that she wasn’t part of the Demon Suppression Bureau and shouldn’t be subjected to this lecture.

But seeing that Chu Fan had already started walking, she said no more and silently followed him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chu Fan caught a few familiar Demon Suppression Guards frantically trying to signal him. Their eyes were full of sympathy, mixed with an undisguised hint of schadenfreude.

Although a thousand questions swirled in his mind, he knew it was useless to argue at this moment.

He could only let out a soft sigh and obediently take his place in the line.

The female Demon Suppression Captain’s cold gaze swept slowly across the entire group. She began her lecture again, her voice exceptionally piercing. "Becoming a qualified Demon Suppression Guard is no easy task. You must all possess the following qualities..."

"First, you must have the absolute strength to stand against ten thousand foes! Otherwise, you won’t be suppressing Demon Fiends; you’ll be serving yourselves up as snacks for them to chew on!"

"Second, your bearing must be proper and upright! When you go out, you represent the dignity and face of our Demon Suppression Bureau! If you’re a bunch of misshapen freaks, a disorderly mess, wouldn’t you be a complete laughingstock?"

"Third, your minds must be sharp and clear! You must understand that you are facing cunning and treacherous Demon Fiends and monsters. If you don’t have a brain in your head, you won’t even know how you died in the end!"

"Fifth, your bearing must be proper and upright! When you go out, you represent the dignity and face of our Demon Suppression Bureau! If you’re a bunch of misshapen freaks, a disorderly mess, wouldn’t you be a complete laughingstock?"

Chu Fan froze. He suspected he had been distracted and missed something. He muttered to himself internally, ’What about the fourth point?’

Besides, the fifth point was a word-for-word copy of the second.