Zhou Yuan returned to the military fort for refuge, but the Painted Skins in Jing'an City suffered.
They received orders to patrol the streets under martial law for no reason and began to pay close attention to all suspicious objects around them.
But Jing'an City is the seat of the county government after all, and there is an endless stream of merchants, county officials, students, performers, etc. coming and going every day.
It is extremely difficult to find a suspicious target among these people, not to mention that the Painted Skins cannot completely block the four gates of the county city.
However, the high pressure from the Painted Skin Ghost Mother and the Painted Skin Scholars made it impossible for the Painted Skins to stay out of it.
Therefore, the atmosphere in Jing'an City gradually became strange.
Rogues patrolled, noble ladies paraded through the streets, dancers went on outings, and even the county officials changed their normal routine and went deep into the various markets to understand the people's sentiments.
As the saying goes, if you remain calm in times of crisis, great things will be accomplished. It is better to be still than to move.
As the Painted Skins acted uncharacteristically recklessly, the state government's spies followed several suspicious targets and locked onto several forces and some people in the city.
"Respectfully inform the general that there are abnormalities among the merchants, dancers, ruffians, and doctors in the city.
There are also some misconducts among the county officials and assistants. The names of the assistants are recorded here in detail. There are countless officials. I hope they will be dismissed and re-elected."
On July 12, the 13th year of Hongye, the Jing'an Commander received a secret letter from the provincial government's spies.
Looking at the long list of assistant officers, Captain Jing'an was very satisfied.
Regardless of whether there were any innocent people among them, the fact that the officers on the list could be controlled by the Painted Skin Ghost meant that their official careers were over.
For the Jing'an Commandant, this list is not only a merit that can be cashed in at any time, but also an opportunity for the court to show favor.
As long as these county officials are arrested and the grassroots servants are dismissed, the extra positions will naturally be able to absorb a group of new aspiring young people.
As for whether those implicated would feel dissatisfied, that was never a question the court would consider.
The Wei Dynasty was a country where military commanders led the army and subordinates supervised the government. The officials in the court were only slightly lenient on the issue of garrisoning troops in military forts, but they were not so easy to talk to ordinary officials.
"Well, as expected of a state spy, he's very efficient.
As long as these treacherous demons are driven out, Jing'an County might be able to hold a civil service examination to select assistant officials and benefit the people."
Captain Jing'an was just marveling at the excellence of the provincial government's spies when his personal guards brought him another secret report.
"Report to the Captain, the ghosts in the city are acting strangely, even daring to close off the streets and patrol the city.
After several days of careful investigation, we have identified suspects from all walks of life, most notably brothels and prostitutes, and county officials as a secondary concern.
The gangs and pharmacies in the city serve as a liaison between the two. The bandits are so powerful that they have become an organized group. Please let the captain make the decision."
This secret report was an encrypted document, prepared by the Jing'an Army's own military spies.
After reading the secret report from the army, Captain Jing'an was thinking about how to deal with it, but he didn't expect that the county office also sent a secret letter.
The situation described in it is completely different from that in the previous two secret letters.
The letter was written by the county governor, saying that the officials were acting on their own and the chief officer was difficult to control, and he was afraid that the officials would have different opinions when carrying out the orders, so he asked the Jing'an Captain to lead the troops into the city to impose martial law.
"Okay, I see you don't want to hide anymore, you think you have the ability to govern yourself and keep the peace."
"Propagate my command. Instruct the warriors from all the counties under my command to enter the camps. Order the soldiers of the Wuwei, Shesheng, and Xiaoqi battalions to prepare for battle.
He ordered the soldiers to advance but not leave, and sent fast cavalry into the provincial capital to ask the governor of Huaizhou to dispatch reinforcements.
"I urgently report to the court that the demonic plague is spreading, and that they are no longer trying to hide. Their ambitions are growing, and they are plotting against the county city. I, the Jing'an Commandant Jiang Ren, have carried out orders according to the laws of the capital and entered the city to eliminate the demonic plague and demonstrate the majesty of the court."
An order from the general was quickly spread to the three camps of the army. The regular soldiers prepared their weapons and were ready for battle. The auxiliary soldiers were the first to gather and prepare to transport supplies with the army.
The entire military fortress started to operate rapidly in front of Zhou Yuan. This war machine was being warmed up and the time for it to be launched was not far away.
"Captain General, order the armory to be opened. Take spiritual objects to replenish Qi for the warriors of the various counties. Take treasures from the secret realm to equip the brave warriors in the army."
The captain's personal soldiers busy delivering messages, the military officers assembling their troops, and the special wooden boxes constantly entering and leaving the armory made Zhou Yuan realize the seriousness of the problem.
The Painted Skins were probably distracted and made a mistake. Their excessive behavior made Captain Jing'an think that they were serious.
The key point is that Captain Jing'an is more ruthless and powerful than them. Once he takes it seriously, things will escalate rapidly.
"Where is Zhou Yuan, the Divine Arm Dubo?"
"Zhou Yuan is here, do you have any orders?"
"The Captain has ordered Zhou Yuan to temporarily lead the Divine Arm Team, and to receive three Secret Realm Treasure Bows, sixty Evil-Suppressing Arrows, three hundred Blood-Slaying Arrows, and twenty Spirit-Manifesting Liquids.
There are twenty brave men in my squad, armed with arrows and poison, and guards who can shoot arrows."
"Zhou Yuan received the order and immediately supervised the soldiers to prepare for battle."
The Jing'an Army was not an independent warlord, but a garrison under the Wei court.
Although the spiritual creatures produced in their camp were not abundant, the imperial court did not ignore them. Instead, it equipped them with enough weapons for a war.
When Zhou Yuan was ordered to lead the troops, Cai Cheng in Jing'an City was still enjoying the warmth of his home.
At this moment, he, the military commander, suddenly became unimportant. Under the strict orders from the general, no one would leak any information to him.
But even so, the painted skins in the city still felt something unusual.
This anomaly was not due to their ability to screen the people traveling to and from the counties in the county, or to the fact that they had spies in the military camp.
Rather, it was because the street closures and city patrols went too smoothly, and the county officials tacitly approved of their actions after only a few remarks.
After patrolling the city for several days, the Painted Skin Scholars had gotten rid of their initial panic and regained their sanity.
"Mother, because the Fangshen Clothes were lost, we dispatched too many of our own kind to investigate. Some of them were good, some were bad, and it was inevitable that some problems would be exposed.
There should be quite a few spies in the city, and they will probably analyze the situation and report it to their superiors."
"Mother, our actions are not in line with what the city officials are doing. If we go too far, I'm afraid it will be seen as a provocation and a declaration of war."
The Painted Skin Scholars looked at the prosperous and bustling Jing'an City and felt that the human military might be unable to contain itself.
The only way they can enjoy themselves is to hide in the city like humans and imitate their behavior. Once they are exposed, the court will never allow them to stay in the city.
"Can you please go back to the secret realm to rest for a while, and then sneak into the city to make arrangements after some time."
"no."
"No."
There were two dissenting voices, one from Luo Ying, an assistant official in the county office, and the other from the Painted Skin Ghost Mother.
"There are countless spies in the city, and we don't know how many of them have been exposed.
If we return to our nest to avoid disaster, the location of the secret realm will most likely be discovered by spies. In this case, we will be wiped out and will never have the chance to return to the world again."
"Luo Ying is right. Avoiding today's disaster will surely cause future troubles.
"No matter how powerful the Jing'an Captain is, he can't massacre the civilians in the city. Let him kill some exposed monsters and report back. Once he retreats, this city will still be ours."
"Mother is wise. We request that the closure of the streets and patrols of the city be suspended, allowing our people to once again retreat into the civilian world."
The Painted Skin Ghost Mother shook her head, stroked the tall and thin young man in her arms, and sighed softly.
"In three days it will be the Ghost Festival, the day when the gates of hell open wide, and also the day when I will change my fate.
Let them attract the attention of Captain Jing'an. I brought them into the human world and enjoyed them for many years. I deserve some repayment."