The lights in Prince Qi's mansion had not dimmed last night.
Mu Qinglan, having just understood her situation, stayed awake the entire night.
After recalling the assassin's identity, to prevent being assassinated again, Mu Qinglan spent the whole night thinking about how to eliminate this lurking, watchful threat.
Hui Yue was a fifth-rank demon, skilled in stealth assassination.
And also adept at concealment.
If she were determined to escape, even with Shen Yao's formidable strength, it might not be possible to capture her.
Moreover, Shen Yao's loyalty was still insufficient.
She needed to use her own abilities to make Shen Yao obey her without reservation.
Therefore, defeating the assassin with swift and decisive action, and thereby demonstrating her capability to Shen Yao, was her most urgent task at present.
After careful consideration, Mu Qinglan prepared two items.
First, a black cat demon hair, the same color as Hui Yue's original form, used to break through Secretary Li's psychological defenses and force Hui Yue out; second, a small bottle of refined spirit medicine catnip, specifically to deal with Hui Yue in her Blood Ignition state.
In the game, Hui Yue had demonstrated an explosive trump card.
Called Blood Ignition.
The effect was to use special means to awaken the instincts deep in her bloodline, enhancing her combat power. To put it simply, it was a berserk state.
This was also a classic skill.
Under normal circumstances, ordinary people encountering a berserk state would certainly suffer a great loss.
But when prepared, berserk mode would not only fail to become an unstoppable aid to the enemy but would actually become a fatal flaw.
This was a strategy from the game.
And it was the method Mu Qinglan was using now.
But the demon's berserk state was after all a secret technique. In the entire Great Xia, apart from border army experts who had dealt with demons extensively, few knew how to counter it.
Even if they knew how to deal with it, they wouldn't know the instinctual bloodline weaknesses of the opponent.
After all, there were so many types of demons.
Only Mu Qinglan could seize the opportunity so precisely; anyone else would have been incapable.
And it was precisely knowing how astonishing Mu Qinglan's preparations and instructions were that made Shen Yao so admiring.
—How did she know?
Every time a command perfectly accomplished a task, Shen Yao couldn't help thinking this.
Did she have an intelligence network covering the imperial city, an incredibly keen observation, or was she simply a peerless genius?
Shen Yao silently speculated.
And with each guess, Mu Qinglan's position in her heart rose further.
When Shen Yao first heard this plan, she thought it was fantastical.
How could such a plan possibly succeed?
But as the plan gradually progressed, Shen Yao discovered that everything had developed exactly as Mu Qinglan had predicted, without the slightest deviation.
What extraordinary talent?
Shen Yao's heart trembled violently.
She hadn't forgotten that Mu Qinglan had told her this morning that the assassin now lying on the ground was indeed connected to the Southern Prince's fanatical war hawks. This was also a small token of her sincerity.
With such an assistant...
Didn't that mean her revenge was within reach?
Thinking of this, Shen Yao turned her head to look at the girl in the wheelchair, who was still in a daze for some reason, and silently made a resolution, determination rising in her eyes.
For revenge, she was willing to pledge her loyalty!
"Miss Shen."
Mu Qinglan looked up: "You know what to do, right?"
Shen Yao nodded, condensed an ice spike, and pressed her palm against the assassin's forehead:
"The demon assassin was extremely stubborn, preferring death to submission. Even when subdued, she wanted to die together with me. Having no alternative, I had to kill her on the spot."
"What about Secretary Li?"
Shen Yao lowered her head: "I'll defer to you."
"You can decide," Mu Qinglan said indifferently, "Colluding with a demon, with conclusive evidence, he's already as good as dead. The Six Bureaus won't let him go, and the people behind him will definitely not spare him. He's a secret agent of the war hawks. How to deal with him is up to you."
"Understood."
Now, when handling cases, Shen Yao, this constable of the Six Bureaus, considered Mu Qinglan's opinion first, rather than the laws of Great Xia.
This was also a token of her loyalty.
○
On the stone pavement, Secretary Li looked at the hazy mist in the distance, his expression dazed.
When the demon assassin truly couldn't restrain herself and appeared, he knew that his life was thoroughly over.
Colluding with a demon...
With this enormous crime established, even with powerful backing, he couldn't be saved.
At most, he might get a quick death.
Thinking this, sorrow welled up in Li Xin's heart, and he simply blacked out and fainted.
Outside the courtyard, seeing Secretary Li's resigned demeanor, the two advisors under the Seventh Prince exchanged glances, their expressions unpleasant.
"Did he really collude with a demon?"
One couldn't believe it, feeling as if he was living in a dream.
Just then, a constable ran out from the courtyard and whispered something to the two.
Their expressions changed slightly.
"Thank you for informing us. I must report this to His Highness immediately."
One of them came to his senses: "I'll return to the prince's mansion. You stay here and keep watch."
As he spoke, the man mounted a carriage. The wheels splashed through the puddles, carrying this news that would soon shake the capital further and further away.
○
The mist dispersed.
The constables of the Six Bureaus finally saw the result of the battle between Constable Shen and the demon.
Without any surprise, Constable Shen had achieved a great victory.
As the personal disciple of the Chief Constable, the top talent of the Six Bureaus, almost all constables in the capital had an almost blind confidence in Shen Yao.
It was because of such prestige.
That Shen Yao could easily mobilize constables, even act first and report later, surrounding Secretary Li's mansion.
After this incident, Shen Yao's reputation was not weakened due to procedural irregularities but instead rose further due to her extraordinary achievement.
She was even called the genius demon nemesis!
But what no one knew was.
That after this incident, this renowned Madam Shen might secretly change allegiance to a new master.
Hearing the excited praises around her, Mu Qinglan's lips curled slightly, and then she looked up at the black-haired girl at the center of the whirlwind.
The girl's expression was calm, as if she had done something trivial.
But her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her current state of mind.
What was she feeling now?
Excitement? Elation?
Mu Qinglan was curious.
For herself, she was quite pleased.
From Shen Yao's series of performances just now, she must have initially accepted her as a partner, albeit with a hint of coercion.
But to make her wholeheartedly loyal, to become her hound, it was still not enough at present.
However, Mu Qinglan wasn't worried.
Because she firmly held the other's weakness.
As long as she continuously demonstrated her ability to help her seek revenge, and occasionally gave her opportunities to take revenge personally, presumably it wouldn't be long before Shen Yao was completely conquered by her.
This was a technique for training dogs.
But applied to humans, it was just right.
She just wondered when this widely admired genius constable, this super boss from the late game, would willingly call her "master"?
She was looking forward to it.
○
After removing the criminal, it was time to dig three feet deep.
And with Shen Yao, this meritorious official, volunteering, others wouldn't be so foolish as to search the same place with her.
In the vast backyard, there were only two people.
"The study has been checked. Li Xin wasn't stupid; he didn't leave any evidence related to the demon. I've also disposed of the cat hair from earlier."
"Hmm?"
Mu Qinglan was noncommittal: "What about the things in the basement?"
As the words fell, a stack of dusty notes was placed in her hand.
"As expected."
There really was an assassin who kept a diary.
Mu Qinglan briefly flipped through a couple of pages, then revealed an unsurprised expression and coldly smiled.
—She had predicted it again!
Is this what a genius is?
Shen Yao looked at Mu Qinglan's back, increasingly admiring and speechless.