Chapter 21: Human-Machine Little White Hair

As he was just thinking about it, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind: "You've all made quite a scene!"Lu Xingzhou turned his head and saw Sheng Yuan Yao emerge from the street corner, his eyes bright and sparkling: "Today's incident with the Danxia Gang was all orchestrated by you, right? Are you even human?"Lu Xingzhou was a little speechless. Your expression and tone seem a bit mismatched, don't they?"Commander Sheng, you don't seem to be responsible for this kind of matter... Besides, my scheming doesn't constitute a crime, so how am I not human?""Where do you resemble a human? You're only capable of making me protect your paramour at midnight, and then when there's excitement, you cast me aside and don't let me watch?" Sheng Yuan Yao grabbed his collar: "Tell me the whole process of this event clearly and completely! Next time you try to keep something to yourself, I'll arrest you for inciting public disorder!"I'm really silly, truly, the initial helper...Shen Tang isn't his paramour...The white-haired girl opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again.It's also hard to say."Speaking of which, I actually have something I want to discuss with Commander Sheng." Lu Xingzhou looked at the side of the street and pointed to a tea house: "Shall we go in and sit?"Sheng Yuan Yao looked at him suspiciously, took a half-step back: "What do you want to use me for again?"The poor child is already traumatized...Lu Xingzhou sighed: "This time it's really... a bit of a demon matter."Sheng Yuan Yao's expression turned severe, and he snatched the wheelchair handle that Du Gu Qingli was holding, pushing her into the tea house as if flying.Du Gu Qingli: "..."She felt like she could leave... but a demon matter... Du Gu Qingli thought for a moment and still followed.Seeing Lu Xingzhou and Sheng Yuan Yao sitting opposite each other in a small private room, she then walked in and stood beside Lu Xingzhou.Both Sheng Yuan Yao and Lu Xingzhou looked at her inexplicably, Lu Xingzhou said strangely: "Why don't you sit?"Du Gu Qingli said seriously: "You didn't invite me for tea, I just followed in because I wanted to hear about the demon matter."Lu Xingzhou was momentarily stunned, his expression strange.So she's still acting like a machine."Then I invite you now, please sit."Du Gu Qingli sat down, her back straight like a sword.The atmosphere was unexpectedly silent for several breaths, until the waiter came in to serve tea and broke the silence."Cough." Lu Xingzhou coughed dryly and took the teapot from the waiter's hand: "We'll handle it ourselves, please close the door on your way out."Watching the waiter leave, Lu Xingzhou quickly threw out several spirit stones and set up an isolation array.Seeing his posture, Sheng Yuan Yao's expression became more serious, and he finally asked: "What's with the mystery? I haven't heard of any demons here in Xia State."Lu Xingzhou slowly and methodically poured tea for the two of them: "Demons aren't always here; this one must be new, or perhaps severely injured and hiding here to recuperate, and only recently appeared...""Then how do you know?"Lu Xingzhou didn't dare say that it was from searching remnant souls with the Wan Hun Banner... If he really dared to say it, the official and the righteous machine opposite would likely draw their swords and place them at his neck. The most fatal part is that his Wan Hun Banner is still weak, not strong enough to completely restrain souls. A Nuo specially went to search last night and almost couldn't find any memories, so the information obtained is very limited.He pondered for a moment and only said: "That day, the city lord sent dead warriors into the business firm, and they were killed by us. During the fight, we discovered some demon qi stains on them. I can confirm that the time they were stained did not exceed one day, and it definitely wasn't brought back from other places."Sheng Yuan Yao was shocked and disbelieving: "Related to the city lord? Do you know how serious this matter is? You can't talk nonsense!"Lu Xingzhou sipped his tea and said faintly: "Although I often deceive people... I wouldn't deceive people about this kind of matter.""Then... maybe the city lord sent them to slay demons and eliminate magic and they just returned...""The possibility is relatively small, because this group of people is very weak... Furthermore, you know official matters; if the city lord discovered a demon, he would definitely inform your Zhen Mo Si. How could it be that even you are unaware? If it was an accidental demon slaying, or even just repelling it, the city lord would certainly proclaim this everywhere as a great achievement, not be so quiet."Sheng Yuan Yao was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "That's true. The only possibility is that these people had contact with a demon... What other information do you have?""I spied a little memory... it seems they were delivering something for someone, very vague. The location wasn't in the mountains or wild, more like inside a room. Just these."Sheng Yuan Yao took a deep breath: "Delivering something... if the demon is injured and they're delivering medicine for the demon to treat, then it's a bit better. If they're delivering food..."As soon as these words were spoken, even Du Gu Qingli's perpetually unchanging eyes moved slightly.Demon food, in all likelihood, is blood food.If the city lord is helping a demon with blood food, this is a serious case.Lu Xingzhou said: "I suggest Commander Sheng proceed in two ways simultaneously. On one hand, secretly send people to watch the city lord's mansion to see where they send people and investigate where those people went in the past few days; on the other hand, investigate if there are any missing persons or livestock cases within the city.""Understood." Sheng Yuan Yao had no mind to drink his tea and suddenly stood up to leave."Wait." Du Gu Qingli said in a low voice: "There's one more place to look...""Where?""Condemned prisoners." Du Gu Qingli said seriously: "There have been similar cases before."Sheng Yuan Yao sized her up for a moment, nodded, and left with big strides.Lu Xingzhou also looked at Du Gu Qingli and continued to add tea for her: "This kind of case doesn't spread outside. For example, I claim to have relatively rich information, yet I haven't heard of these. Where are you from, Qingli girl?"Du Gu Qingli looked at him seriously: "I am not your subordinate, nor your friend."Lu Xingzhou laughed: "Then let's start making friends now. What are the prerequisites?""I don't need friends. This is a meaningless concept.""Shen Tang doesn't count?""She is just my protection target, only that.""I don't think so." Lu Xingzhou laughed leisurely: "You've already cooperated hand in hand; that's what you call comrades. Comrades are also a kind of friend, even more intimate than ordinary friends. For example, if you couldn't defeat those people that night, Shen Tang would certainly have helped you. Therefore, you are already friends."Du Gu Qingli thought for a moment and replied: "Although there are some differences from my understanding of friends, perhaps it can barely count. But even so, I still don't want to make friends with you.""Why?""Because you keep looking at me." Du Gu Qingli was expressionless: "No one likes to interact more with someone who considers them a monster."Lu Xingzhou was momentarily stunned, pointing at his own nose: "You think I keep looking at you because I consider you a monster?""Otherwise? I may not be self-conceited, you've said so yourself."Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh: "Although my looking at you has nothing to do with that kind of matter, it's absolutely not because you're a monster... Um, let me put it this way, if you were walking in the mountains and saw a particularly beautiful cluster of flowers, would you look at them twice?""I wouldn't, it's meaningless.""...""But I can understand others' behavior."Lu Xingzhou sighed: "That's it... In my eyes, you are that particularly beautiful cluster of flowers."Du Gu Qingli was expressionless: "But A Nuo said, if you look at something with those eyes, it's a dog."Xingzhou: AI input, you are my most beloved little mother!Lu Xingzhou sprayed out a mouthful of tea and for a long time didn't know how to answer.The first close exchange with the little white-haired girl ended in failure.Despite the failure, the little white-haired girl still quietly pushed the wheelchair and sent him back to the Shen Clan business firm. Just as they entered the gate, they saw A Nuo leading over twenty uneasy youths standing in the courtyard, with Shen Tang sitting in her wheelchair watching silently."These are all disciples my Master brought out, they are all my junior brothers!" A Nuo patted her small chest with a booming sound: "They are all very good at refining pills! Sister, didn't you want to find people to refine pills before? Just take them in, see if that's okay?"Actually, apprentices aren't considered formal disciples; most of the time they're no different from hired workers. Where would A Nuo, a direct lineage, rush to acknowledge junior brothers? She was obviously just trying to elevate their status, afraid Shen Tang wouldn't take them in.But she was acting too clumsily, Shen Tang found her appearance really funny: "You are young, shouldn't you call them senior brothers?""First to enter the door is the biggest!" A Nuo was anxious and fiercely grabbed one of the youths beside her: "Speak, are you a senior brother or a junior brother!"The youth smiled apologetically: "Of course, junior brother, Master Sister Nuo."A Nuo put her hands on her hips: "This title needs to be formal! You must call me Master Sister Lu, I'm called Lu A Nuo Mi Tuan Zi!"All the youths laughed and said together: "Master Sister Lu."A Nuo was extremely happy.However, although the youths were laughing, worry was evident in their eyebrows. It was easy to impulsively pit Liu Qingcang once, but the follow-up would obviously be extremely tragic retaliation.Everyone's apprentice contracts are in Liu Qingcang's hands, and they are extremely harsh slave contracts... Even if Shen Tang hid everyone and resisted the Danxia Gang hard, most of them have parents and families. What if they were retaliated against? Should they all be taken in? Shen Tang herself is renting a house; can she accommodate so many families? Or should they each live separately, and let Lu Xingzhou take them in himself?Lu Xingzhou, who had just arrived at the door, also quietly looked at Shen Tang's back, watching how she would decide.Yet he heard Shen Tang laugh: "I've said to your Master before, we lack refining talent and are biased. We originally needed to establish this system. Even if we don't do this business, cultivating our own family Dan Masters is a must. If your Master is also willing to join, that would be great... If he doesn't join, then forget it. With so many skilled hands ready, how could I not want them? Uncle Zhong!"Tang Yunzhong quickly came over: "Sect Master.""Bring some people and help bring all the families of these brothers over, so everyone has no more worries."Tang Yunzhong softly reminded: "Sect Master, this will make us irreconcilable with the Danxia Gang.""We are already enemies, can you still hope to shake hands and make peace?" Shen Tang said faintly: "Have you been destroyed once and lost all your sword bones?"Tang Yunzhong straightened his back: "Of course not, it's just that your subordinate needs to explain the pros and cons to the Sect Master and wait for the Sect Master to decide.""Remember, what we want is not stability, but revival. Even if they are only willing to follow Lu Xingzhou, I still want to dig them over, not to mention letting me choose for myself; that originally requires no choice." Shen Tang smiled slightly: "Go and bring the people over. I fear change if it's late."