85: Onboarding

The morning light filtered dimly through the window paper.

Jiang Xun opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw, blurring his vision, was a fluffy golden crown of hair.

And a pair of small, white jade horns.

Long Ninger was sprawled across his chest, curled into a tiny ball. Her breathing was steady and long, and her warm breath seeped through his thin undershirt.

Both of her hands were still clutching the fabric of his shirt at his chest.

He lay there for a while without moving.

Last night, he had set up a small bed for Long Ninger at the head of his own and told her to sleep there.

He had also warned her not to move around.

As it turned out, the moment he opened his eyes, she was back, like a little beast that only recognized its own nest, having moved back at some unknown point.

Although Long Ninger looked very small, her intellect was not that of an ordinary little girl.

It was precisely because Jiang Xun considered this that he wanted to keep his distance from her.

He always felt that the more dependent Long Ninger became on him, the more trouble it would cause later.

Jiang Xun reached out, his palm gently supporting Long Ninger's back.

Then he slowly sat up, lifting her whole body and moving her to the inner side of the bed.

Long Ninger whimpered in her sleep, her tail unconsciously wrapping around his wrist, but she quickly let go, rolled over to hug the pillow, and buried her face in it to continue sleeping.

"She grew a tail?"

Jiang Xun looked at Long Ninger's slender golden dragon tail, feeling amazed.

It wasn't there yesterday; did she grow a tail today?

Jiang Xun reached out to touch it.

It was very smooth and slightly warm, with dragon scales neatly arranged.

The texture was like gold and jade.

The overall length of the dragon tail wasn't very long, but when it hung down, it exceeded the lower half of Long Ninger's body; it had to be curled up slightly to avoid dragging on the ground.

Long Ninger seemed to be tickled; she pushed the pillow away, her dragon tail passed between her legs, and she proactively hugged her own tail.

Jiang Xun didn't disturb her further.

He guessed that perhaps because Long Ninger had broken out of her shell too hastily yesterday, her dragon tail hadn't fully formed yet.

So it must have grown out during the night.

Jiang Xun covered Long Ninger with the quilt.

He got out of bed and dressed.

Then he put on his mask. The bronze piece fitted against his left face, its smooth, mirror-like surface cutting a cold, sharp line.

Before leaving, he glanced back.

Long Ninger was still hugging her tail, with the dragon tail pressed against her face and a trace of glistening drool hanging from the corner of her mouth.

Her sleeping posture really couldn't be called pretty.

Jiang Xun gently closed the door... The morning market in Qinghe County had already opened.

Stalls on both sides of the street were set up with oilcloth awnings, and various types of breakfast were on display.

Jiang Xun walked through the crowd with a steady pace.

He arrived at the Demon Suppression Division.

The entrance was still deserted.

The two black-lacquered gates were slightly ajar, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the door rings.

Jiang Xun pushed the door open, the hinges making a dry, creaking sound.

"Ouch!"

A tall, thin figure bumped into him head-on.

Jiang Xun stepped aside half a pace, and the person couldn't stop in time, stumbling forward a few steps before steadying himself.

It was a man in his forties, his face so thin that his cheekbones protruded, wearing the standard black shirt of the Demon Suppression Division loosely.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!"

The thin-faced man turned around, glaring at Jiang Xun, "...You f—"

"May I ask who Your Excellency is?"

The thin-faced man suddenly switched to a smile.

He had intended to make a scene, but seeing that Jiang Xun did not look like a Mortal, he immediately suppressed his anger and became polite.

He was a proper Cultivator at the third stage of Qi Refining.

He could distinguish the difference between a Cultivator and a Mortal.

Cultivators carried a natural spiritual charm, unlike Mortals who were filled with the air of the Mortal World.

And Jiang Xun had a rich spiritual charm; he definitely had a cultivation base.

This was the reason he suddenly changed his attitude.

"Jiang Xun," Jiang Xun cupped his hands. "I've come to seek a livelihood."

"Oh~"

"So you're here to join our Demon Suppression Division!"

The man drew out the last word, his eyes lingering on Jiang Xun's mask for a moment, and suddenly he smiled brilliantly.

"Please come in, please come in! Our Demon Suppression Division is currently lacking ambitious talents like you!"

Hearing that he was here to join the Demon Suppression Division, he became even more enthusiastic.

Jiang Xun followed him inside.

As they crossed the front courtyard, his feet stepped over fallen leaves scattered all over the ground.

He had just seen an old man sweeping yesterday, yet it was full again after only one night.

Spiderwebs covered half the wall under the eaves, and in a corner, a water vat with a broken rim held murky rainwater.

"Don't mind the mess, don't mind the mess. We're short-handed and haven't gotten around to cleaning."

The thin-faced man smiled back while leading the way. "My name is Zhao Xu, and I've been working here for seven years. How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?"

"Jiang Xun."

"A good name!" Zhao Xu pushed open the door to a side hall. "Lord Wei, a newcomer is here!"

A middle-aged man was sitting in the room.

He was flipping through files at a desk and looked up at the sound.

He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and a ring of dark stubble on his chin.

He glanced at Jiang Xun, said nothing, and flicked his wrist.

A white afterimage shot straight toward Jiang Xun's face!

It was fast, fierce, and accompanied by the sound of breaking wind.

Jiang Xun didn't dodge.

He raised his right hand, opened his fingers, and caught the object firmly in his palm.

It was a crystal sphere the size of a fist, its surface carved with fine runes.

The moment it touched his hand, the sphere vibrated with a low hum.

Immediately after, dazzling multicolored light burst out from between his fingers!

The entire room was illuminated with various colors, and Zhao Xu cried out, covering his eyes.

Red, blue, yellow, and green lights were reflected on his face.

Jiang Xun, however, stared at the light in his hand; it looked very familiar.

Three breaths later.

The light suddenly went out.

Jiang Xun opened his hand.

The sphere had dimmed, and the runes on its surface had turned grayish-white.

He flipped his wrist and threw the sphere back.

The man behind the desk raised his hand and caught it.

The moment the sphere hit his palm, his entire right arm jolted violently!

The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he barely managed to steady it.

The man stared at Jiang Xun, a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

He spoke, his voice coarse and raspy, "Mixed Spiritual Root."

"Mixed Spiritual Root?"

Zhao Xu, who was nearby, rubbed his eyes and leaned in, his mouth twitching as he tried to force a smile:

"Haha! Mixed Spiritual Root is... uh, also quite good! Well, our Demon Suppression Division has always been unconventional..."

His words trailed off. He really couldn't keep making it up.

What kind of trash was a Mixed Spiritual Root?

It was the bottom-tier waste of the cultivation world.

He, Zhao Xu, was at least a Quad-Spiritual Root.

His prospects were much better than Jiang Xun's, and he suddenly regained a bit of his arrogance.

Although Jiang Xun looked decent, his upper limit was just that.

The man glanced at Zhao Xu: "The task I gave you, have you finished it?"

Zhao Xu froze, then slapped his forehead:

"My memory! I'm going now! Going now!" He cupped his hands toward Jiang Xun and ran off in a flash.

The door closed, and the room fell silent.

"A Mixed Spiritual Root, yet your Aura is even stronger than Zhao Xu's."

"I'm afraid you are hiding your true strength, Fellow Daoist."

The man stood up.

He was about the same height as Jiang Xun, but his shoulders were very broad, and his steps were heavy and solid as he walked, possessing a strong Aura.

He stopped a few paces in front of Jiang Xun and looked him up and down.

"Wei Tuo."

He gave his name and then laughed, revealing a row of white teeth. "Fellow Daoist, you've come to the right place."

Jiang Xun didn't respond.

He didn't seem nervous; on the contrary, he was quite at ease.

He could see that Wei Tuo's cultivation was only at the eighth stage of Qi Refining, and since Wei Tuo wasn't hiding his cultivation, Jiang Xun was naturally relaxed.

"Cultivating with a Mixed Spiritual Root is not easy."

"But your cultivation is passable; I can see that you are very talented."

Wei Tuo looked at Jiang Xun with admiration. "In the various immortal Sects, or those Sects out there, with your Aptitude, you'd be destined to sweep courtyards or watch over medicinal fields. But in the Demon Suppression Division..."

He reached out and patted Jiang Xun's shoulder heavily. "You are a man of the imperial court, eating from the government's bowl."

His palm was heavy, carrying a testing force.

Jiang Xun's shoulder blade dipped slightly, neutralizing the force, and his figure remained motionless.

The smile in Wei Tuo's eyes deepened: "You're a good lad."

Jiang Xun said, "So, does this mean I've caught your eye?"

"Of course!"

Wei Tuo turned and walked toward the door, signaling for Jiang Xun to follow. "Our Demon Suppression Division welcomes every like-minded friend."

The two walked into the courtyard.

The morning wind swirled the fallen leaves, piling them into the corners.

"What do you see?" Wei Tuo suddenly asked.

Jiang Xun looked at the bleak courtyard and said:

"A ground full of leaves."

"Wrong." Wei Tuo said with his hands behind his back, his tone serious. "It's our Demon Suppression Division's longing for talent."

Jiang Xun turned to look at him.

"Is it very hard for you to recruit people here?"

"It's hard."

Wei Tuo sighed.

"What does the Demon Suppression Division deal with? Monsters, demonic Cultivators, and evil spirits. If Mortals come, they're just sending themselves to their deaths; we can only take in Cultivators. But the Central Region is so vast, and no matter how many Cultivators there are, how many can be spread out to a small county like ours?"

Wei Tuo looked at Jiang Xun, his tone full of urgency for talent.

"In the Qinghe County Demon Suppression Division, including myself, there are usually only three people."

Wei Tuo held up three fingers. "You've met Zhao Xu. There's also Old Zhou, who broke his leg while chasing a Chang-ghost into the mountains last month and is now lying at home."

"We're short-handed... desperately short-handed."