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In her sea of consciousness, Jiu Li’s gleeful, childlike voice rang out, laced with a snicker that reveled in the unfolding drama.
“Little Qinghan, you’ve really hooked a big one. Not only did she take the bait, but she looks ready to swallow the angler whole!”
“Let’s see how you’ll get out of this one!”
Faced with Lu Hongzhuang’s sharp, knife-like aura, Su Qinghan’s expression remained utterly serene.
She didn’t even lift an eyelid, merely offering a placid reply to Jiu Li in her mind.
‘What’s the rush?’
‘Everything is under control.’
These words, though spoken with casual understatement, brimmed with the absolute confidence of someone in complete command.
It was as if the formidable genius from the Department of Exorcism before her was nothing more than a chess piece, its position on the board already calculated.
Seeing her silence, Lu Hongzhuang took it as a sign of guilt.
She despised these charlatans who feigned profundity more than anything.
“Let’s go!”
With a sharp cry, Lu Hongzhuang wasted no more words, stepping forward to seize the handles of the wheelchair.
Her movements were crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation, as she began to push Su Qinghan out of the courtyard.
“Once we’re at the Department of Exorcism’s main hall, there will be specialists to interrogate you!”
“We’ll soon find out if you’re human or demon!”
The wooden wheels of the chair bumped over the threshold with a soft thud.
Yet, the moment they exited the small courtyard, figures surged from all directions in the alley, instantly blocking their path completely.
They were all neighbors and villagers from the area, their faces etched with anxiety and indignation.
They hadn’t come to spectate; they had come to “save” someone.
“Officer! Officer! You can’t do this!”
An old man leaning on a cane squeezed unsteadily to the front, blocking Lu Hongzhuang’s way.
“Doctor Su is a good person!”
“That’s right! Officer, you can’t arrest a good person!”
The crowd erupted in an instant.
Everyone’s anger was directed at Li Erniu, who was cowering behind Lu Hongzhuang.
A burly butcher pointed at Li Erniu’s nose, spittle flying from his mouth.
“Li Erniu! Are you even human, you bastard!”
“Just a few days ago, you were plagued by nightmares, unable to sleep a wink all night! Who was it that cured you?”
“It was Doctor Su! She drew a talisman for you, and you slept like a log that very night! And now you turn around and bite the hand that fed you?”
“Me too!” a woman holding a child stepped forward, her eyes red-rimmed. “My baby would cry incessantly through the night. We saw so many physicians, but nothing worked. They all said he was possessed! It was Doctor Su who gave me a Calming Talisman to dissolve in water for him to drink, and he stopped crying that very night!”
“Doctor Su treats us for free! She’s never taken a single coin from us!”
“And you, Li Erniu, for a measly two taels of silver, you’d sell your conscience to the dogs! Bah! People like you don’t deserve to live!”
Angry shouts rose and fell, each one louder than the last.
Li Erniu was showered with curses, his face turning the color of pig’s liver. He shrank back, not even daring to lift his head.
He never imagined that his simple “report” would stir up a hornet’s nest and incite public fury.
After they finished cursing Li Erniu, the villagers turned to Lu Hongzhuang, pleading with her all at once.
“Officer, please investigate clearly!”
“Doctor Su’s healing methods might be a bit strange, but they really work!”
“If she were a demon practitioner, would she help us poor folk so wholeheartedly?”
“Please be merciful, Officer! Don’t listen to that villain’s slander!”
For a moment, the alley entrance was a cacophony of voices.
Sincere protectiveness and desperate pleas were written across their simple, honest faces.
They spontaneously formed a circle, shielding Su Qinghan’s wheelchair in the center, creating a human wall to confront the red-clad Lu Hongzhuang.
Lu Hongzhuang’s elegant brows knitted together.
In her travels across the land, slaying demons and exorcising evil, she had seen countless unruly citizens and wicked villains, but never a scene like this.
A sorcerer accused of being a “demon practitioner” could actually inspire such devotion from an entire village?
It defied all logic.
She lowered her head, her gaze falling upon the silent woman in the wheelchair.
Su Qinghan still wore that same serene expression, as if the surrounding commotion had nothing to do with her.
On her exquisitely beautiful face, there was even a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
To Lu Hongzhuang, however, that smile was filled with mockery.
“Hmph.”
Lu Hongzhuang snorted coldly, leaned down, and whispered into Su Qinghan’s ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.
“Your methods of bewitching people are even more sophisticated than I imagined.”
In her eyes, this was all just a trap Su Qinghan had set in advance.
Using small favors to win over the people, then having these ignorant villagers act as human shields when she was about to be arrested.
She had seen such tricks from charlatans countless times!
Her master’s death had made her despise such things, and any attempt at an explanation would only backfire.
Su Qinghan finally reacted.
She turned her head slightly, her cool eyes meeting Lu Hongzhuang’s, which burned with fury.
She knew that no matter what she said now, this prejudiced girl in red would not listen.
Words were powerless in the face of deep-seated prejudice.
Only facts could shatter such obstinacy.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly, her voice calm and steady.
“Whether I’m bewitching people or not, you will understand once we arrive.”
“Let’s go. Don’t keep your colleagues waiting.”
This fearless demeanor only fanned the flames of Lu Hongzhuang’s anger.
‘What a demon practitioner! Still talking tough when death is at her door!’
She straightened up, scanned the indignant villagers, and raised her voice, infusing it with internal energy so that it carried clearly throughout the alley.
“Everyone, stand aside!”
“The Department of Exorcism is on official business! All unauthorized personnel will withdraw immediately!”
“Whether this person is a demon sorcerer will be decided by the law! If she is innocent, the Department will naturally clear her name! But if anyone dares to obstruct our duties, they will be treated as accomplices and killed without mercy!”
The words “killed without mercy,” carrying the potent aura of a martial arts expert, were like a bucket of ice water poured over the villagers’ heads.
They were just ordinary people; how could they dare oppose the authorities, especially the Department of Exorcism, which was infamous for its ruthlessness?
Su Qinghan spoke reassuringly, “My friends, it’s alright. I’m just going with them for an investigation. I’ll return once my name is cleared. Please, disperse.”
A stir went through the crowd. The villagers, who had just been filled with righteous indignation, now showed expressions of awe and fear. They unconsciously stepped back, clearing a path.
Lu Hongzhuang delayed no further. With a firm push, the wheelchair rolled forward again.
Su Qinghan sat calmly in her wheelchair, allowing herself to be pushed through the crowd toward the Department of Exorcism’s yamen in the center of town.
The wheels rumbled over the stone-paved road.
Passersby on both sides of the street cast curious glances, pointing and whispering about the red-clad female officer from the Department of Exorcism and the frail beauty in the wheelchair.
‘This Su Qinghan… she’s remarkably calm…’
In her sea of consciousness, Jiu Li’s muttering was heard again, only this time the glee was gone, replaced by a hint of astonishment.
‘Aren’t you afraid she’ll throw you in a dungeon and torture you? Those brutes from the Department of Exorcism don’t know the first thing about showing mercy to a fair maiden.’
‘Afraid?’
Su Qinghan chuckled inwardly.
‘This is what’s known as leading them into a trap.’
‘The more they think I’m a charlatan and a fraud, the greater the shock will be when I reveal my true abilities.’
‘I can solve problems that martial arts cannot. That… is my greatest value.’
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