It was a very strange question.
If Yun Heng lacked the memories of his past life and was truly just a 19-year-old youth, he might have felt panicked and uneasy.
After all, Xuan Sun was hunting him, and since Xuan Sun was one of the seventy-two seats, it was only logical that intelligence would be shared.
However, Yun Heng was certain that Xuan Sun had said nothing.
If the dragon race had not bypassed the high-ranking officials of the Demon Inspection Department to find Xuan Sun directly, then the person responsible for A Xiang would not be him.
It would have been the Earthly Branch judges, or even the Chief Constable of the Southern Prefecture.
Because the dragon race had sought out Xuan Sun privately, Yun Heng believed there was enough room to maneuver.
Otherwise, he would never have involved himself in this mess regardless of the circumstances.
“Zero,” Yun Heng replied softly.
The room fell into a brief silence.
“Hahaha, he said zero! Hahahahaha! This idiot — “
The other Earthly Branches remained silent. Only Youji, whose voice resembled an actual rooster, began to shout in a sharp and noisy manner.
“I think you’re the damn idiot. Why don’t you try saying that to Yun Wangji’s face?”
Chouniu appeared to be a woman, her arms crossed, her abdominal muscles as sharp as blades.
She turned her ox-head mask and let out a cold snort. Moisture dripped from her nostrils like an old cow chewing cud.
“Pfft, at most I’d just be slapped to death.”
Youji curled his lip, placing his hands behind his back as he leaned sloppily against the back of his chair.
“Weiyang, what do you think?”
Chenlong had looked bored out of his mind from the start, toyed with silent sparks of electricity at his fingertips. His speaking now was likely just to prove he was actually working.
“It seems to be the truth.”
Weiyang was the most normal-looking among the twelve.
Her sheep horns were styled into cloud patterns, and she exuded a strange, calming sense of auspiciousness that felt out of place in this oppressive room.
“Explain yourself, young man. The fellow before you answered fifteen.”
Sishe was also a woman. If one ignored the mask and looked only at her figure, she would rank in the top ten among the women Yun Heng knew.
However, that mask was quite a mood-killer, especially the scarlet snake tongue that emitted a red glow, sending chills down one’s spine.
“Because this is a ‘test scenario’ rather than a ‘real space.'”
Yun Heng smiled, pointing at the ceiling and then at the examiners. “This room, all of you, and perhaps even I, only ‘exist temporarily’ through illusions. Therefore, the answer is zero.”
The entire room fell deathly silent.
Even Youji, who looked down on Yun Heng, did not jump out to mock him.
“…Holy crap, that’s impressive, brother.”
Yinhu rubbed the tiger-skin patterns on his mask, sighing with genuine admiration. “If I remember correctly, this is the first time we’ve been called out as fakes, isn’t it?”
Just as Yun Heng said, everything here was fake. Everything arranged in this room was designed to put pressure on the interviewees, forcing them to reveal “little secrets” hidden in their hearts.
“It is merely a shallow understanding of formations, nothing worth mentioning.”
Yun Heng smiled.
“But do you know that answering this way increases the suspicion on you?” Sishe asked with a laugh.
“A clean person remains clean,” Yun Heng replied with a smile.
“Oh my, what a pity I’m not in Penglai. Otherwise, I’d really want to throw you into my room and examine how that brain of yours is wired,” Sishe giggled.
“Your room stinks as much as my dung. I really don’t know why the boss gave you a snake mask when you’re as flirtatious as a fox.”
Haizhu grunted lazily, then casually blocked a spear-like dharma treasure Sishe threw at him.
“Next question. I’ll ask.”
Shenhou wasn’t even sitting; he was crouching on his chair. His mask bared its teeth, and his eyes darted around restlessly.
He scratched behind his ear every 3 to 5 seconds, making one wonder if there were bugs there.
In the next second, Shenhou vanished from his seat and arrived directly in front of Yun Heng. But before he could speak, a powerful force pulled him back to his seat.
“What the hell! What are you doing?!” Shenhou roared in fury.
“Brainless fool.”
Weiyang sighed softly. “Since he already knows we’re fakes, what use is your intimidation? Save your strength for the girl coming in later. Brother Horse, just ask a normal question.”
Wuma seemed to have just woken up when his name was called. However, his eyes had been open the entire time, so it was impossible to tell what he had been doing before.
“Uh… what was I going to ask again?”
Well, it seemed he really had just woken up.
***
1 incense stick later, Yun Heng returned to where he had been standing.
“Was it hard?” Lin Xiaoyue asked softly.
“It was alright.”
Yun Heng smiled. “You don’t need to be too nervous. The examiners are actually quite nice.”
In his past life, Yun Heng had frequently dealt with these twelve people.
Shenhou, Weiyang, and Chenlong were among his few close friends. Youji and Yinhu would even become his subordinates in the future.
“Is that so? Then I can rest easy.”
Lin Xiaoyue nodded slightly, then suddenly spoke.
“Speaking of which, Young Master Yun, since you feel I have a connection with your old acquaintance, could you gift that painting to me? If I truly encounter a man as refined as ‘Yue Wuhen’ in the future, it might help alleviate the pain of your search.”
Yun Heng was stunned for a moment, then readily agreed.
‘My dear friend, you’d better thank me when we meet again. If you don’t treat me to a feast for this accidental match-making, I’m never letting you off the hook.’
If Jiang Keke were here, she would likely be startled by the joyful smile on Yun Heng’s face. After all, she rarely saw her master display such heartfelt happiness.
The last time was 6 years ago, when they first ran away from home and embraced nature.
When the soundproof barrier unfolded once more, Yun Heng had already returned to the side of the fifty-ninth seat.
As for Lu Renjia’s true body, he was already gone.
“Yo, that was fast.”
The fifty-ninth seat was leaning against the wall, focused on cracking peanuts.
She seemed to love eating peanuts.
“Let’s go. Time to collect your identity token.”
Chewing the last two peanut kernels, the fifty-ninth seat brushed the crumbs off her hands and led Yun Heng in the opposite direction from which they came.
In fact, it wasn’t just that room. Every corridor and room in the Demon Inspection Department was governed by a massive formation.
It was like a maze; if an enemy invaded without knowing the location of the formation’s eye, the only result would be walking into a dead end and being hunted down.
Yun Heng had realized this the moment he stepped into the front hall of the Demon Inspection Department.
They descended underground and arrived at the Service Hall.
“There are seven levels in the Demon Inspection Department: Servant, Guard, Commissioner, Captain, Commander, Chief, and Pacification Commissioner.'”
“‘The promotion path before becoming a Chief — one of the seventy-two seats — is a very simple ‘merit point system.'”
“Those points are our internal currency. You accumulate them by completing cases, slaying evil spirits, and providing intelligence.”
“They can be used to raise your rank, or exchanged for spirit stones, elixirs, cultivation techniques, and time spent training in specific grotto-heavens.”
“For those who break the iron laws, commit major errors, or have a poor reputation, their seat will be lowered, and their salary and permissions will be reduced accordingly.”
“Of course, if you want a fast promotion, you can directly challenge a high-ranking seat, provided the Pacification Commissioner is free to officiate. The winner takes the position.”
The fifty-ninth seat casually picked up an identity token. Using a brush reserved for high-ranking members of the Demon Inspection Department, she dipped it in gold liquid and wrote the name “Yun Heng” on it.
“But the Pacification Commissioner is likely never free,” Yun Heng mused, rubbing his chin.
The Demon Inspection Department had seventy-two Chiefs, but only one Pacification Commissioner.
And this Pacification Commissioner was the “Chief Constable of the Southern Prefecture” — the person whose name made children cry all night long.
“Yeah, so basically no one has ever used that authority. I’m just saying it as part of the procedure. Just treat it like a story.”
The fifty-ninth seat shrugged, tossed the identity token to Yun Heng, and continued her explanation.
“Additionally, when you reach the rank of Captain, you gain the authority to view all secret files and obtain a private guard unit.”
“That’s commonly known as ‘taking on rookies.’ You are currently in the foundation establishment stage, so you can only start as an intern Demon-Slaying Servant. However…”
After the fifty-ninth seat accurately fished a Monster Hunting Mirror and a Demon-binding Chain out of a pile of junk and handed them to Yun Heng, her tone suddenly shifted.
“In light of your outstanding performance in the assessment, we have decided to grant you a temporary special status — “
The fifty-ninth seat snapped her fingers, and a bundle of jade slips hovered steadily in front of Yun Heng.
**[Special Investigation Consultant]**
“The leader is me, and you only need to follow my orders.”
She extended her right hand and gave Yun Heng a faint smile. “Let me reintroduce myself. Rank fifty-nine, code name ‘Squirrel.’ Ding Huairou.”