Chapter 38: A Request From Pope to Administrator

Following Fang Che's departure, the nine Grandmasters heaved a collective sigh of relief.

The punishment was thankfully not very severe.

We've been let off the hook easy! Don't worry about the leaves, we'll polish even the tree bark until it gleams under the sun!

***

Fang Che was very pleased to have uncovered the location of a Divine Heavenly Church branch helm, and he had decided that he was going to eradicate it as Administrator Fang the very next day.

However, before that, there was something that he had to do.

After some thought, he sent a message to Yin Shengong.

"Master, our branch helm was discovered by the Divine Heavenly Church, and Helmsmaster Qiao Yishu of the Divine Heavenly Church came to cause trouble with a bunch of people from the main church. I was only just barely able to stave them off, and I thought I was going to die!"

"You haven't been exposed, have you?" Yin Shengong asked in an anxious manner.

"No, they only think of me as Starlight, but they kept on demanding that I tell them Night Demon's whereabouts. I was able to placate them, but from the looks of it, they're definitely going to come back again, and I don't know what to do."

"Everything's fine as long as you haven't been exposed. What do you think Kou Yifang's intentions are, sending those people to your branch helm?"

"I think they have a great deal of ambition, and it's justified, given that they have so much support from people from the main church. I can tell that they don't see us as a threat at all. Honestly, I can easily kill Qiao Yishu, but I'm a little apprehensive about going after those people from the main church, so I wanted to ask you how I should proceed, Master."

"Their objective is to strike at our One Heart Church! In the past, our One Heart Church reigned supreme in the White Cloud Prefecture, and if they wanted to get anything done here, they had to make a request to me or secure my approval! Their branch helms were essentially just there for show, but it's clear that they want to usurp our control over the White Cloud Prefecture. Hence, you must eradicate them all!"

"But those people from the main church..."

"Those people were sent here to kill you, so you should have no qualms killing them! What're you so afraid of? Now that your location has been exposed to them, you're in a lot of danger, so you have to kill them in order to protect yourself!"

"Alright, I'll do it, Master!"

Fang Che had already anticipated this response from Yin Shengong.

Yin Shengong cared only about the One Heart Church, and Fang Che knew that his report would elicit such a reaction from Yin Shengong.

Furthermore, all of the arrangements made to target Yin Shengong and the One Heart Church had already completely enraged him.

He was the pope of a newly promoted second-rank church, yet he was being forcibly confined in his own headquarters!

This was the worst-possible time to be getting on Yin Shengong's nerves, and it was no surprise that he was eager for retaliation.

"Do you know where this Qiao Yishu's branch helm is?"

"I followed them back to their branch helm after they left, and it's an armed escort agency."

"Well done. You know what to do, right?"

"Please enlighten me, Master."

"What are you, an idiot? Starlight and Night Demon may not be able to do anything, but don't forget that you're also Administrator Fang! You want more merit points, don't you? There's an entire branch helm for you to eradicate right now!"

"I did consider that, and I really do want to kill them. Those people from the main church all have something to do with Master Sun Yuan's death, so I really want to kill them for revenge, but I was worried that doing so will cause trouble for you if my identity is exposed in the future."

Yin Shengong's heart instantly melted at this message.

He felt like he had completely surpassed Sun Yuan's position in Night Demon's heart. Surely that had to be the case, given that Night Demon was willing to prioritize him over his desire to seek vengeance for Sun Yuan.

Gratified by this thought, he communicated: "I'm very pleased that you're thinking so much for my sake, but there's no need to worry about that. Your showing at the Parasite Ascension Project has already caused me more trouble than I've ever had to deal with, so a little more hardly matters. Go and take them out! You have my full support!"

"Thank you, Master."

"Make sure to notify me after you've taken them out. I've been getting really frustrated lately, stuck in the headquarters, so I could use some good news to cheer me up."

The fact that Administrator Fang was going to be the one to take them felt especially cathartic for Yin Shengong.

You little shits think you can take my place?! I bet you never expected me to have connections even in the Hall of Protectionists! So what if you're from the main church? My disciple has already killed over a thousand of you back in the Parasite Ascension Project! You want revenge? What a joke! The White Cloud Prefecture is

my

territory! This is what you get for trying to kill my disciple!

"Yes, Master. Make sure to look after yourself. There's no point in getting overly frustrated, we just have to weather the storm. Besides, now that you're confined in the headquarters, you won't be in any danger, and this will be a perfect opportunity for you to go into seclusion."

"How am I supposed to go into seclusion when I'm in a state of constant frustration?! Don't worry about me, just go and do what you need to do, but remember that your identity as Night Demon must not be exposed!"

As Yin Shengong set down his communication jade, he was feeling much less annoyed than before.

My disciple always knows how to cheer me up!

Feeling in a much better mood, Yin Shengong picked up his communication jade and sent Mu Linyuan a message: "Come over for a drink tonight. Make sure to bring some wine."

"Oh? You seem to be in a good mood all of a sudden. What's going on?"

"I'll tell you about it tonight."

***

The next morning, Fang Che gave Yin Shengong a heads-up before making his move.

"Master, Administrator Fang will be eradicating the Divine Heavenly Church's branch helm today."

"I wish Administrator Fang success and good fortune!"

"Thank you, Master! I'll treat you to some fine wine once I begin climbing up the ranks."

"It's a complex world out there, so make sure to be careful. Also, remember one thing."

"What is it, Master?"

"If you're going to do a job, make sure to get it done and leave no loose ends behind!"

"I understand!"

***

Thus, Fang Che arrived at the Hall of Protectionists very early in the morning, much earlier than everyone else.

His colleagues arrived one after another, and as usual, the northern patrol team set off first because their area of patrol was furthest away from the Hall of Protectionists.

The Hall of Protectionists was technically only situated slightly southeast of the prefecture's center, the White Cloud Prefecture was such a massive place that this equated to an extra few dozen kilometers of travel.

There was a branch in the northern area of the city, but its personnel were too weak to do anything.

The ten-man squad was just about to set off when they discovered Fang Che approaching them.

"How can we help you, Administrator Fang?"

"Don't mind me, I'm just going to the northern area of the city to buy something, and I thought I'd tag along with you all, seeing as there's strength in numbers."

The ten administrators were ecstatic.

Fang Che had established himself as the most capable warrior by far among their fellow administrators, so they would surely be much safer with him in accompaniment.

Thus, they gave Fang Che a warm welcome, and the eleven of them set off together, much to Tang Zheng's relief.

It seemed like he would get to live to see another day.

"Where are you going?" Zhao Ying'er asked.

"I'm going to buy something in the northern area of the city."

"I see. Don't go taking any risks with Administrator Zuo!" Zhao Ying'er cautioned. "Administrator Zuo's group is always extremely reckless in the pursuit of merit points, so make sure you don't get caught up in their shenanigans!"

"I won't," Fang Che agreed.

"Rest assured, Administrator Zhao, we'll be sure to return your little hubby to you completely unscathed," Zuo Guanglie jibed.

"Don't go spouting nonsense like that!" Zhao Ying'er snapped as her face became flushed with embarrassment, but her display of anger seemed a little half-hearted.

The group burst into laughter as they departed, and seeing as they had quite a long way to go, they sprang up into the air and began traveling by flight as opposed to traveling on foot.

Zuo Guanglie took a whiff of the freezing morning air, then declared, "My intuition tells me that we're in for a big haul today!"

"Ah, yes, that's why they call you Clairvoyant Zuo!" his companions chuckled, and Fang Che laughed along with them.

Whether it was truly his intuition telling him something or just a blind guess, Zuo Guanglie was right.

Finally, they arrived in the northern area of the city.

"We can part ways here, Administrator Zuo. I can go buy what I need on my own," Fang Che said.

"There's no hurry, we'll keep you company until you're done."

Zuo Guanglie had a strong feeling that Fang Che wasn't actually here to buy anything. He hadn't been lying when he said that his intuition told him that they were in for a big haul today, but only if they followed Fang Che.

What could he possibly have to come all the way to the northern area of the city to buy? The southern area of the city was far more prosperous and had everything the northern area did and more, so Zuo Guanglie was very suspicious of Fang Che.

He was just a few merit points away from a promotion to a first-rank administrator, at which point he would get to replace the silver emblem on his chest with a dazzling golden one, so he was certainly not going to pass up this potential opportunity.