Chuzheng returned to Wenxian Road, and the robot had already compiled the list.
Chuzheng went to Liu Zhong’s place and had a bowl of noodles.
"Girl, how’s the investigation going?" Liu Zhong held a bowl of noodles and sat opposite Chuzheng.
Chuzheng projected the holographic image into the air: "Every person on the list needs to be checked one by one. It’s just the right time for the three-year grand census, so we’ll directly send documents down and have people assist. All illegal residents will be dealt with according to the rules."
"Won’t this alert the snake?"
Chuzheng finished the last two bites of noodles and slapped the chopsticks onto the table: "Am I supposed to be afraid of a snake?"
Liu Zhong: "..."
Liu Zhong thought for a moment and still advised, "After all, we are out in the open, and the other party is in the dark. We haven’t even figured out their purpose, so the situation is unfavorable for us."
"Since it’s already unfavorable, can it get any worse?"
Chuzheng leaned back slightly, resting against the chair.
"Liu Zhong, the older you get, the more cautious you’ve become."
"..."
Liu Zhong had long passed the age of shouting and fighting.
The overall situation on Wenxian Road was under Chuzheng’s control, but he handled everything else.
Of course, he had more to consider.
It’s like a boss having a whimsical idea, just saying a word, but the hard part is on the first person under the boss, who has to consider whether the idea is feasible, how difficult implementation is, how much it will consume, and other factors.
Is that something that can be decided with one sentence?
Now Chuzheng was that whimsical boss.
"Liu Zhong, don’t forget what place this is." Chuzheng tapped her fingertips on the table rhythmically: "This is not a place for them to act arrogantly. Wan Fei’s life hasn’t been accounted for yet."
Liu Zhong: "..."
"I understand."
Chuzheng got up and left the shop. Instead of returning, she walked around Wenxian Road.
Halfway there, she encountered Xing Qiao and took him along.
"Master, what are you doing?"
Chuzheng walked and paused, occasionally bending down to fiddle with objects along the road, be it stone sculptures or lamp posts...
"Wenxian Road has defenses. Things have been unstable lately, so just in case, we’re activating the defenses."
Xing Qiao was puzzled: "Activate?"
"The defenses on Wenxian Road are unknown creatures. If they aren’t fed, how can they work?"
Xing Qiao: "..."
Thinking of that mirror that could transport, Xing Qiao felt reassured again.
Xing Qiao asked straightforwardly: "Can we kill these unknown creatures or control them?"
"You cannot, but I can." Chuzheng paused: "After you truly become the master of Wenxian Road, you will be able to as well."
Xing Qiao blinked, as if understanding what Chuzheng said.
"So what are you feeding them?"
"Souls." Chuzheng was not very eager to give a lesson, but with her own apprentice, she had to teach.
"Besides humans, souls are also something unknown creatures like."
Humans are delicacies; souls are power.
Unknown creatures like both.
Xing Qiao hesitated: "But aren’t souls their kind..." Souls?
"Yes, they are." Aren’t these written in the books? How is this kid reading the books!
Xing Qiao: "They eat souls of their kind?"
Chuzheng nodded as a matter of course: "It can increase power, why wouldn’t they eat? Do you think they’re what? They’re not humans, Xing Qiao, don’t judge them by human standards."
In the eyes of normal people, they’re all monsters.
Xing Qiao’s cool, handsome little face tensed: "I understand."
-
Chuzheng took care of the defense issues and told Xing Qiao to study on his own.
With concerns on his mind, Xing Qiao couldn’t focus on studying.
"Worrying about your uncle won’t help." Chuzheng said nonchalantly: "The professionals are out of options, worrying here is just a waste of time and won’t make a difference."
"But..."
He’s my uncle.
Isn’t it right for me to worry?
Xing Qiao’s tense little face showed some sadness.
Chuzheng had no intention of comforting him and coldly said: "If you can’t concentrate, go find Xie Shi, let him take you out to do some work."
"What work?"
Xing Qiao was a bit confused.
Chuzheng: "Xing Qiao, I hope you remember, from the moment you signed the contract, you should prioritize Wenxian Road. And as the chosen future master of Wenxian Road, you have more responsibilities to bear."
"The things Liu Zhong is doing now, you will have to do in the future. You need to proactively learn about the current situation of Wenxian Road, find out what problems need solving, and if you don’t understand, learn."
"Wenxian Road is not a cradle, you must learn to rely on yourself."
Chuzheng paused here, thinking of something.
Her tone remained cold, but softened slightly: "Go find Xie Shi, he will teach you."
Xing Qiao nodded and turned to head to Xie Shi’s place.
"Xing Qiao."
Chuzheng called him back.
Xing Qiao turned around.
Chuzheng walked over and handed him a talisman paper: "Light this talisman in danger, I’ll come to save you."
"Thank you, Master."
"Go."
-
Xing Qiao found Xie Shi, who was discussing something with Ye Yueli. Seeing him enter, both Xie Shi and Ye Yueli fell silent.
"Xing Qiao is here." Xie Shi broke the silence first: "Something up?"
"Master told me to follow you."
"... Is that so." Xie Shi habitually scratched his jester’s hat: "Brother Yue Li, I’ll be with Xing Qiao, can you find Sister Su Yao or Mei Ji?"
"Ay." Ye Yueli sighed: "Su Yao is a loner, Mei Ji has probably gone with Jiang Sanzhan, Uncle Liu is definitely out of the question, I guess I’m on my own."
Ye Yueli smiled at Xing Qiao before heading out.
Xing Qiao’s small eyebrows furrowed lightly: "Am I being a burden to you guys?"
"How could that be, you’re the future..." Xie Shi chuckled dryly: "Miss Chuzheng is conducting a census on the unknown creature residency archive, similar to a human population census, the important part is led by Uncle Liu. On our end, it’s not very dangerous, just a bit tiring."
Even with K1’s transport, traveling back and forth is exhausting.
"What’s the purpose of our census?"
"You don’t know yet?"
Xing Qiao shook his head.
"Originally, every three years there’s a census, just like a population census. Legal residency needs to be reconfirmed, and some illegal residents need to be dealt with.
"There were still two months to the census, but recently illegal residents have noticeably increased, and Miss Chuzheng discovered some malicious residency, so we’re conducting the census early now."
"Don’t worry, the main battleground is Jingnan City, currently checked by Uncle Liu’s team, our area isn’t highly dangerous, so it’s quite relaxing."
"Got it."
"Let’s begin then."
"Okay."
Xie Shi explained with much more patience than Chuzheng.
Xing Qiao had a strong comprehension ability and understood after a single explanation.
Xie Shi led him to several places, and Xing Qiao could independently investigate and verify, submitting results to the main database.
"This main database..."
"Oh, have you seen the robot beside Miss Chuzheng? That’s the main database."
"We don’t have access to much of the main database; only Miss Chuzheng has access."
"But your access rights should be higher than mine."
Xing Qiao wasn’t sure if his access rights were high; he had only discovered limited functions so far.