The carriage arrived at the Qingcheng County Yamen just before noon.
The main gate was quite dilapidated. At a glance, it looked even worse off than the Death Prison.
The bailiffs on duty appeared listless, and some even had patches on their uniforms.
Others were openly yawning.
Seeing the carriage from the Death Prison, one of the bailiffs approached.
Huo Jiang hopped down before the carriage even came to a complete stop.
"Oh, Clerk Huo, you're here?"
The bailiff immediately bowed and scraped.
As Li Ban stepped out after him, he saw Huo Jiang point in his direction and heard him speak.
The bailiff offered another round of greetings.
"Alright, enough pleasantries. I'm here to deliver documents to Assistant Magistrate Zhou."
"Right, right, of course. Assistant Magistrate Zhou is in the office. I'll take you to him."
The bailiff led the way, with Li Ban walking in the back, observing his surroundings.
Although these bailiffs were all personnel of the County Office, they didn't seem to have an identity.
There were no visible traces of cultivation on their bodies, and the ambient spiritual rhinoceros around them remained completely still.
He had assumed that the county bailiffs would possess at least a Tier 1 Identity.
They crossed an equally dilapidated courtyard and entered a room in the back.
The leading bailiff rapped on the door and waited for a voice inside before pushing it open.
"Lord Zhou, Clerk Huo and prison guard Li from the Death Prison are here to deliver documents."
After speaking, he turned back to the two of them. "Lord Zhou invites you both inside."
As they entered the room, the bailiff closed the door from the outside and did not follow them in.
Huo Jiang led Li Ban in offering their greetings before respectfully presenting the documents.
Assistant Magistrate Zhou was quite polite to Huo Jiang, appearing completely free of arrogant airs.
After flipping through the documents, he chuckled and invited the two to sit down.
"It's all routine official business. No problems here."
He then offered to serve them tea, but Huo Jiang politely declined.
Afterward, Zhou stroked his beard and brought up another matter.
"The world has been growing chaotic again recently. A lot more wild beasts have appeared in the mountains, and roving bandits are on the prowl. Our County Office is short on manpower, and our strength can't compare to yours, Clerk Huo. I was wondering if the Death Prison might be able to lend us some hands to join the official forest patrol teams?"
"About that... the Death Prison cannot be left unmanned. I'm afraid we can't help you there." Although Huo Jiang looked like an honest man, he rejected the request without a second thought.
Assistant Magistrate Zhou smiled, not angered in the slightest, and raised a second matter.
"I know the Death Prison bears a heavy responsibility. However, the County Office has caught quite a few criminals recently. We're running out of space. Is it possible to transfer some of them to your prison?"
This time, Huo Jiang didn't give an immediate refusal. "This... I will need to go back and ask Lord Du for instructions."
"Good, good, no problem. I'll draft a letter right now and trouble you to pass it on to him, Clerk Huo."
After leaving the County Office, Li Ban was still mulling over the back-and-forth between Assistant Magistrate Zhou and Huo Jiang.
It was a clear tactic: using an impossible request to pave the way for a minor one.
Having already rejected the major favor, it was difficult for Huo Jiang to immediately refuse the minor one.
Of course, if Lord Du was tough enough, it was entirely possible he would reject the second matter as well.
But Li Ban felt that Du An would most likely agree to it.
Any prisoner sent to the Death Prison definitely lacked a powerful background and wouldn't be getting out anytime soon.
In front of these officials with an identity, such inmates were truly no different from slaves.
Sitting back in the carriage, Li Ban asked in a low voice, "Clerk Huo, is the Assistant Magistrate someone with an identity?"
Huo Jiang nodded. "He has a 3rd Tier identity. Still, his official rank is higher than mine, so I must normally show him respect."
And outside of normal interactions?
Li Ban nodded.
Looking through the carriage window, he realized they weren't heading back.
"I have some other business today. We'll be staying at an inn for the night," Huo Jiang said.
Huo Jiang hadn't mentioned this before they left. Li Ban had only told Tree-man Ding that he was going out for a bit.
Seeing Li Ban frown, Huo Jiang chuckled. "Don't worry, I already told Head Zhang about us spending the night out."
The carriage stopped on a street Li Ban had rarely visited before, and the two walked into a rather luxurious-looking inn.
"Waiter, we need a place to stay. Open two premium rooms for us." Huo Jiang looked back and patted Li Ban's arm. "I'm treating you to a premium room this time. Haha."
The innkeeper was enthusiastic and attentive. After inviting the two upstairs and handing over the room keys, he hurriedly went back down to fetch hot water.
Huo Jiang handed the key for Room One to Li Ban.
"You should be fifteen by now. Come nighttime, someone might knock on your door. Take a look—if you like what you see, feel free to keep them around and enjoy yourself. This inn has a decent reputation, so anyone they let in is clean. It's much better than looking for someone in the back alleys."
With that, Huo Jiang shot him a knowing smile and entered the room next door.
Li Ban was left standing alone in the corridor, holding his key.
"Is this the 'other official business' he had?"
He hastily entered his room.
The premium suite was divided into an outer parlor and an inner bedchamber, separated by a bead curtain and a folding screen.
Li Ban knocked on the walls on both sides to test their thickness, then approached the large, deep bed.
The bedding looked pristine, and two pillows were laid out neatly.
Just as Huo Jiang had said, this place was clean.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Li Ban suddenly felt a little nervous.
But as his nervousness grew, a sliver of unease crept in.
Could this be a honey trap Huo Jiang had set up for him?
Torn between wariness and a secret sense of anticipation, he felt as if time had crawled to a standstill.
"Forget it. I'll cultivate first and see how things go later," he muttered.
Li Ban closed his eyes, kicked off his shoes, and lay directly on the soft bed.
After advancing to the 2nd Tier, all his elements had also upgraded. His capacity for spiritual rhinoceros had expanded again, which meant it would take more time and require absorbing more spiritual rhinoceros to reach his limit.
To outsiders, Li Ban only had two spiritual rhinoceros to cultivate, but in reality, he had four.
There was also one more element, "Silver Kingfisher," that he had yet to assimilate.
Unless he found a stable method to increase his spiritual rhinoceros, he didn't plan on absorbing "Silver Kingfisher" anytime soon.
Among his current four elements, his "Right Eye" was a support type.
"Iron Fish Scale" balanced both offense and defense.
"Blazing Flame Art" served as his ultimate trump card—a surprise attack. Anyone who witnessed this ultimate move had to be silenced.
Only the abilities of "Flute Sound" remained somewhat vague.
Li Ban had yet to encounter anyone who used mental attacks, and using "Flute Sound" felt like nothing at all, as if it had no effect whatsoever.
The latter two elements hadn't been sublimated yet. Perhaps one day, once they were sublimated, they would become much stronger.
He wasn't sure if this was just because he didn't use them very often.
Time passed quickly in cultivation, and the sky gradually darkened.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking finally rang out.
Li Ban shot up into a sitting position.
He turned to look toward the door and swallowed hard.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door was knocked on again.
The sound wasn't loud, nor was it hurried.
"My lord—this humble girl wishes to come in and beg a cup of water."
The gentle, demure voice finally snapped Li Ban out of his daze.
He hastily slipped on his shoes and hurried over to the door.
Whatever happened, he'd scout out the enemy situation first!
With a creak, he opened the door.
Standing outside was a woman wearing a hood and a veil over her face.
She wasn't tall, and she wore a very ordinary, pale green dress.
However, she had a nice figure.
Li Ban silently stepped aside, his eyes scanning her up and down.
Her footsteps were light and drifting, and her waist was slender and soft. She didn't look like a martial artist.
After entering, the woman closed the door behind her back. She then leaned against the doorframe, lowering her chin slightly as she gazed at Li Ban.
Li Ban's gaze finally returned to her face.
Hidden behind the veil, her features were only faintly visible.
But...
As Li Ban kept staring, the unconscious smile on his face slowly vanished.
Why did she look so familiar?
Swish!
Li Ban reached out and yanked off the woman's hood.
A pair of fluffy ears popped into view.
The Cat Girl tilted her head, blinking furiously at Li Ban.
"My lord, am I—beautiful?"
"Fuck!" Li Ban cursed.