Chapter 1: Veil of Ashes, Seal of Fire [2/2]
“This is its true form?” someone murmured.
The woman ignored its shrieks, unfazed by its growing menace.
She reached her hand into the air—fingers taut, then curved—trying to compress the giant demon face into her palm. Her calm voice slipped from beneath her silk veil:
“Too late to resist now.”
Only now did the officer see the hand that had earlier rested on his shoulder—pale, slender, yet powerful.
As she grasped at the air, it was as though she had pressed a hidden mechanism within a locked box—seizing the demon’s very life force.
The demon howled and charged her, the shockwave instantly shattering the floor.
But with every move, its form shrank.
Soon, it was no bigger than a palm, trapped in her grip, squirming violently, trying to bite through her fingers, to devour her flesh and veins.
The female officer had already stepped back, her talisman complete.
Victory was clear.
The demon was making its final, futile struggle.
The woman dragged the shrunken face over to the Grand Duke’s heir and his muttering sorcerer, twisted the squirming mask in her hand to face the sorcerer directly.
Their noses nearly touched.
“Look closely. What is this thing?”
The sorcerer turned pale at the stench of the demon’s breath.
He trembled, mind blank for a moment—then realized the question was meant for him.
He glanced at the horrific face and stammered, cold sweat pouring down his forehead:
“A demon… number fifty-eight in the ranking… Ghost-Faced Skull.”
The woman seemed to glance at him.
“Is the domain still open?”
Being stared at by the Ghost-Faced Skull made the sorcerer feel like a puppet on strings.
He looked around, then down at his feet, and answered stiffly:
“No… it’s still active.”
That meant the demon still posed a threat.
Time seemed to freeze.
Even the sweltering air stopped moving.
The sorcerer realized the woman had fallen silent—no action, no words.
He licked his dry lips.
He knew he was in serious trouble.
Just as he was about to confess something to save himself, he saw it—one of the silk ribbons concealing the woman’s face stirred on its own, lifting ever so slightly.
A bright yellow light surged beneath the cloth, like a powerful seal being undone, channeling all its might into her palm.
In the next moment, the demon face in her hand screamed.
The pitch was so sharp it could pierce eardrums.
It twisted wildly, cursed her, and finally disintegrated with a shriek.
As the ribbon fell back down, the sorcerer caught a glimpse beneath it.
White.
Not the healthy, luminous white of a youthful face, but a stark, pale white—often seen in the sickly, the secluded, or the dead.
Yet her eyes were exceptionally clear.
The black and white in them merged perfectly, like a still image of yin and yang.
Her eyes were gently shaped, but the calm gaze carried a deep power—one that told you she could handle anything.
A mysterious and dangerous woman.
The dead demon turned to a lifeless mask, like a dried turtle shell, and rolled across the ground.
As it died, the invisible barrier over the building vanished.
The woman didn’t tend to the people immediately.
She retrieved the embedded saber, pried open the demon mask, found a black bead the size of a fingernail, and dropped it into a jade vial before slipping it into her sleeve.
A demon core?
The Demon Suppression Bureau had been collecting them lately—what for?
To let them rot in prison?
The sorcerer couldn’t make sense of it.
The female officer approached and said quietly:
“Our people are here. The wounded have been evacuated.”
“Good.”
The manor was a mess after the demon’s rampage.
A tipped copper basin still had some water in it.
The woman walked over, washed her hands, flicked them dry, and stepped out.
The Jinwu Guard officer and the drooping-faced sorcerer followed behind her.
Outside, they found the Demon Suppression Bureau had sealed the entire estate.
A team had arrived, not even entering the side buildings—just directly detaining everyone in the garden, including the Grand Duke’s heir, guards, servants, and maids.
They were ruthless and efficient.
They moved fast—by the time they saluted the woman, they had already awakened a fainted minor official’s son.
The boy, thinking he was dead, nearly passed out again upon realizing the Bureau was involved.
Someone had to shake a soul-ringing bell to bring him back.
In the chaos, the woman didn’t look at anyone.
She walked calmly along the garden path, her veil fluttering like rippling water, and stopped at a fork in the road. She glanced at the trembling sorcerer and asked:
“Flowing Cloud Sect?”
The sorcerer nodded hurriedly, reaching into his sleeve for some form of identification.
“Detain him. Take him to the Third Tribunal. Search him. Notify Flowing Cloud Sect to come collect their man.”
The sorcerer lifted his shoulder slightly, then touched the tip of his nose with a bitter smile.
He nodded, admitting defeat and expressing his willingness to cooperate with the Demon Suppression Bureau’s investigation.
“As for the other one—take him back to the Bureau.”
Only then did the heir of the Grand Duke, who had been pointing at the sorcerer and shouting “You tricked me,” realize that he was the “other one” being referred to.
Furious, he shouted:
“What are you doing?! What the hell are you doing?! He’s the one who caused all this! I was deceived by him—this whole disaster was his fault! And now you’re not punishing the guilty, but locking me up instead?!”
The female official calmly replied:
“Young Lord, these are unusual times. Demonic forces are wreaking havoc. The Demon Suppression Bureau is acting according to the law. We ask that you cooperate and come with us. The truth will be revealed in time.”
The Grand Duke’s heir had never been treated like this before. He struggled violently:
“Let’s see who dares! My father is the current General of Cavalry, fighting and bleeding for the country on the battlefield. My grandfather served three reigns and was the entrusted regent of the late emperor.
What is the Demon Suppression Bureau compared to the Grand Duke’s household? What are you compared to me? How dare you lay a hand on me?”
“The Demon Suppression Bureau was established by His Majesty himself and is overseen by the Imperial Preceptor. If you are dissatisfied, you may file a memorial to the court.”
“Once inside the Bureau, if you are truly innocent, you may appeal to the Imperial Preceptor—and you’ll still have a chance to see the Grand Duke again.”
Seeing that they really meant to take him in, panic crept into the heir’s heart.
If he was taken in today, when would he get out? And in what state?
Everything would depend on the will of that person from the Bureau.
Other places might show some courtesy to the Grand Duke’s household.
Only the Demon Suppression Bureau, backed by that powerful figure, dared to do whatever it pleased—ruling with unchecked authority and even settling personal scores.
“The Imperial Preceptor—” the Grand Duke’s heir clenched his teeth and spat out the name:
“Su Lingxi. Was this her idea? Arrogant, disloyal, utterly detestable—how is someone like her worthy of the title of Imperial Preceptor?!”
The female official’s expression chilled.
She barked:
“Watch your tongue!”
But the mysterious woman showed no reaction.
She simply raised a hand, her voice calm and indifferent, as if she hadn’t heard his words at all.
“Take him away.”
After those involved were taken away, the once chaotic Chongque Pavilion returned to silence.
Only a few members of the Demon Suppression Bureau remained behind with the Jinwu Guards, conducting final searches and clean-up.
By the copper gates, in the narrow alley still stifling with heat, the female official hesitated, then said:
“My lady…”
“Mm.”
Su Lingxi responded casually.
She reached up and removed the sheer veil from her head.
The special fabric ribbon was soft and smooth, and she casually twirled it through her fingers, tying a few strands into a knot.
If the Grand Duke’s heir had been there, he would have recognized her at a glance.
For some of the older officials in the court, her face was so deeply etched in memory, they’d recognize her even if she turned to ashes.
“The Grand Duke and his faction of elder ministers have long been at odds with us. Recently the friction’s only intensified. Now that we’ve imprisoned his son, they surely won’t sit still. They’ll bring this up to His Majesty and go after us with everything they’ve got.”
“It’s not the first time we’ve clashed with those stubborn old fools,” Su Lingxi replied coolly. “Let them come.”
She lifted her gaze toward the night sky, quiet and vast, filled with unseen watchers.
“What you should be worried about is this: despite the heavy security around the capital, with dozens of formation arrays active… how did the Ghost-Faced Skull get in?”
“It ranks fifty-eighth in the demon cabinet. If it got in, what about the ones ranked higher?”
The female official’s expression instantly changed.
Three months ago, the human world had no demons—or rather, the thousands of demon species had all been sealed within the Demon Cabinet, locked away for a thousand years, with the Heavenly Pillar as its seal.
No matter what creatures were inside, there was no escaping.
No one had ever imagined that the Heavenly Pillar would collapse, that the Demon Cabinet would shatter, and the monsters within would once again walk the earth.
Other regions were already in chaos.
If the capital fell next, it would truly shake the people’s confidence.
“Should we report this case to His Majesty immediately?”
“The weakening of the formations was inevitable—just a matter of time.”
Su Lingxi lightly pressed her fingers down to signal her to stop.
Then, as if remembering something, she asked:
“What’s the current state of the Bureau?”
“Everything’s stable for now. All serious demon incidents reported from the provinces have been analyzed, and proper teams have been dispatched. So far, there’ve been no casualties.”
Su Lingxi remained silent for a moment, then asked:
“What about the people from Fuyu?”
“Still the same—they have their own methods, but they’re cooperating. They have special techniques for dealing with demons. Since they joined us, the Bureau’s efficiency has improved significantly.”
Su Lingxi gave a faint nod.
“What about Fuyu’s elite unit?”
If a greater demon appeared, the Bureau needed enough strength to eliminate it.
At that point, the younger generation from the three major sects wouldn’t be enough.
Nor would the regular Fuyu teams.
The female official grew more serious.
She shook her head:
“They still keep to themselves. Busy with their own things. Refuse to help. If asked, they just say to wait for their commander.”
“Commander…”
Su Lingxi repeated the word, finally frowning.
“How long have they been in the capital?”
“Seventeen days, my lady.”
Su Lingxi handed the veil to the female official and turned to walk out.
“Let’s go. Back to the Bureau.”