Chapter 483: Chapter 483: Is the Imperial City Department the Demon Sect’s Lair?

Celestial Wu City, the Imperial City Department’s government office.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

Xiao Shan knocked cautiously on the door. After a calm voice called from inside, he finally summoned his courage, pushed the door open, and strode into the room.

The first thing he saw was a quaint, elegant study. It looked simple at a glance, but from the exquisite writing tools on the desk to the desk and chair themselves, everything was made from the highest-grade Spiritual Materials. An ordinary Cultivator could accelerate their cultivation just by sitting there.

On the wall behind the desk hung a piece of calligraphy.

Clean Government, Harmonious People!

Looking at those four large words, Xiao Shan’s expression instantly tensed. Then, filled with immense reverence, he turned his solemn gaze to the figure seated behind the desk.

"Lord Du Huan... It’s all done."

Lü Yang snapped out of his daze to see Xiao Shan take out a Storage Bag and place it gently on his desk. Beside it, he set down a thick ledger.

Xiao Shan instinctively lowered his voice and said nervously, "Lord Du Huan, these are the proceeds from the investigation, along with the corresponding ledgers. I have gathered everything. Please inspect and tally the items. Once you’re done, we can send it to the palace..."

Lü Yang ignored him, however, and chuckled softly.

"Xiao Shan... I heard you clashed with Commander Ning at the All Heaven Department? And that you publicly extinguished one of his Innate Divine Techniques?"

At these words, Xiao Shan immediately bowed his head. "Forgive me, my lord," he said, trembling with apprehension. "That fellow Ning was obstructing the investigation. I had no choice..."

"That’s still not acceptable!"

Lü Yang shook his head. "Who will dare approach the Imperial City Department if you behave like that? Watch yourself! Do you think the Imperial City Department is the Jiangbei Demon Sect’s lair?"

"...I’m deeply sorry."

Seeing Xiao Shan’s deeply bowed head and his expression of accepting punishment, Lü Yang finally nodded. "Then again... I do understand."

"But you’re just a subordinate in the Imperial City Department with no official public rank. How can you publicly clash with the Third Grade Commander of the All Heaven Department?"

"Be more careful next time."

After he finished speaking, Lü Yang patted Xiao Shan’s shoulder, then pulled a bulging Storage Bag from his robes and casually thrust it into Xiao Shan’s hand.

"Hold onto this. You did good work on this investigation. Consider it a personal reward from me."

HISS... Xiao Shan sucked in a sharp breath.

’Another bonus? It’s only been a few days.’

’And by the looks of it, this bulging bag was thicker than his pillow.’

At that moment, Lü Yang didn’t even need to activate his Puppet skill. Having accepted the generous gift, Xiao Shan’s face was a mask of fervor. He stamped his foot, made a fist, and declared with a salute:

"Loyalty! Allegiance!"

Lü Yang nodded in satisfaction. He picked up the investigation ledgers from Xiao Shan and casually opened the Storage Bag, sweeping his Divine Sense over its contents.

Then he froze. ’Honestly, I thought that with the Immortal Dao Law as oversight, the so-called corruption and bribery couldn’t be all that severe.’

’But I was wrong.’

As the saying goes, for every policy from above, there’s a countermeasure from below.

As long as there are people, there will never be a perfect system.

While the Dao Court’s bureaucracy might seem perfect, with the court ostensibly full of righteous officials under the Immortal Dao Law’s supervision, the private games they played were far more elaborate.

For instance, take this embezzled money. The Dao Court only pays a salary once a century, but an initial payment is disbursed upon taking up a post. Some Flag Officers exploited this loophole by constantly rotating the Warriors under their command, preying on their subordinates for profit. Others would simply misreport their numbers, allowing one person to claim the salaries of a dozen or more.

The sheer variety of their schemes left even Lü Yang breathless.

’After all, the Stain Sect didn’t bother with such convoluted schemes. They tended to just take things by force. The Sword Pavilion was the same, though they might be a bit more polite about it.’

The Dao Court, by comparison, was far more "civilized."

’Spiritual Materials and Dharma Gates, I could understand... but they were even trafficking in access privileges for the Immortal Dao Law’s boons!’

Looking at the ledgers on the desk and the ill-gotten gains confiscated during the anti-corruption sweep of the All Heaven Department, Lü Yang couldn’t help but let out a long, theatrical sigh:

"*My heart bleeds for the nation’s woes~!*"

Xiao Shan, seeing this, was at a complete loss. "My lord... we’ve achieved a great victory. This should be a joyous occasion. Why are you weeping?"

"You fool!"

Lü Yang slammed his hand on the desk. "To think this pack of vermin in the All Heaven Department has plundered so much of the people’s hard-earned wealth! I weep for our country, for our people."

At this, Lü Yang wiped away a few crocodile tears, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist. "Damn it all! How did the Dao Court end up like this!"

"I will go to the palace at once and report this matter to His Majesty!"

With that, Lü Yang gathered the ledgers and the Storage Bag. With a quick sweep of his Divine Sense, he discreetly pocketed three Tokens that symbolized the authority to bestow the boons of the Immortal Dao Law.

...

「Celestial Wu Hall.」

As he looked over the ledgers Lü Yang had submitted, and the Storage Bag so stuffed that Spiritual Qi wafted out the moment it was opened, Emperor Jia You’s face grew incredibly grim.

’An affront to Heaven!’

’As the Emperor of the Dao Court and a Golden Core Perfected Lord, it wasn’t as if I was short on these Spiritual Materials. The problem was that the ones doing the embezzling were part of the All Heaven Department—an organization under my direct authority.’

’This was happening right under my very nose, and they were already embezzling this much. What about other places? What about the Six Ministries? If the All Heaven Department is already this rotten, other parts of the Dao Court can only be worse! The amount of Spiritual Materials being pocketed must be ten, a hundred, a thousand times more! And none of it ended up in my hands!’

At this thought, Emperor Jia You glanced at Lü Yang again.

’I actually have my own ledger, the result of a private investigation by the Inner Court. Comparing it to Lü Yang’s, I found no significant discrepancies.’

’The Spiritual Materials and Daoist Skills were all accounted for.’

’The only things missing were the access privileges for three boons from the Immortal Dao Law, which, as it happened, meant nothing to me, since I can invoke the Immortal Dao Law at will.’

This thought brought Emperor Jia You a great deal of satisfaction.

’This little dragon may be greedy, but at least he knows the score. He understands what to take and what to leave alone... which makes him far more useful than some of those clueless fools!’

Yet this realization only fueled his fury.

’Damn it all. A Demon Cultivator from Overseas understands propriety, but these corrupt officials don’t. And all day long, they put on a show of unshakeable loyalty.’

’They take Our money, and We are expected to thank them for it?’

"...Speak. How do you believe this matter should be handled?"

After a moment of silence, Emperor Jia You spoke. Though his heart blazed with fury, his voice was perfectly calm, as if the matter was of no concern to him.

Lü Yang, however, burst into tears.

"Your Majesty... the officials of the All Heaven Department are your direct subordinates! They are paid from the Imperial Treasury, yet they betray their benefactor! They are taking advantage of Your Majesty!"

"This is intolerable! We must launch a full investigation!"

Here, Lü Yang gritted his teeth and said in a strained voice, "Your Majesty, just give the order! I swear I will restore the All Heaven Department to an institution of integrity and honor for Your Majesty!"

Emperor Jia You: "..."

’It was undeniable. For a brief moment, he had been genuinely tempted. But he quickly composed himself. Lü Yang’s approach was a bit too extreme.’

’To truly clean out the All Heaven Department would break the tacit understanding between myself and the Three Ministers.’

’And if I want to break through to the Late Stage of Golden Core, I still need the cooperation of the Three Ministers. I can’t afford a real fallout... which was why I had sent Lü Yang to investigate the corruption in the first place.’

’If it succeeded and the Three Ministers tacitly approved, that would be for the best.’

’But if it failed, and the Three Ministers and the court officials reacted violently, I wouldn’t hesitate to cast Lü Yang and the Imperial City Department aside as sacrificial pawns to placate their anger.’

’I do have a high opinion of Du Huan and believe him to be loyal. But loyalty alone doesn’t fill the coffers. Besides, if you’re so loyal, then it’s only right that you take the fall and shield me from the blow. Four-legged True Dragons are a dime a dozen, after all. As long as people want to advance, I’ll never be short on ’loyal’ followers.’

’Still... this little dragon’s heart is in the right place.’

’Emperor Jia You didn’t care how much of Lü Yang’s performance was an act. The key was that he dared to state his position directly and was willing to conduct a thorough investigation of the All Heaven Department on his behalf.’

’Willingness to act—that is true loyalty.’

’Otherwise, what’s the use of someone who pays lip service to loyalty all day but does nothing when a problem arises? I’d be better off raising pigs!’

’At least a fattened pig can be eaten.’

Meanwhile, Lü Yang kept his focus on the changes to his Unyielding to Others skill, watching as the buff from the Golden Talent rose to eighty percent.

He was just a little shy of the full, one-hundred-percent boost at its maximum level.

Just then, Lü Yang’s head snapped up. "Hm?" He sensed an immense surge of karmic links. Across from him, Emperor Jia You’s eyebrows twitched as he began making calculations with his fingers.

Soon, Lü Yang understood the source of the disturbance:

’Master Chong Guang... he’s begun Seeking Gold!’