Death… and me

"King of Hell Chu, hehe… Chu Yang, you are really skilful!" Wu Qing Qian covered her tiny mouth as she chuckled in front of Chu Yang, causing her whole body to tremble.

Wu Qian Qiang could not help but laugh each time she thought about Chu Yang's nickname. At the same time, she felt a sense of admiration, although it was mixed with a hint of frustration.

Even though Chu Yang was a year younger than her, he was capable of accomplishing things that she could never even dream of. With no prior background and using just his own strength, he had become the Minister of Bu Tian Pavilion!

This position was the dream of her father, Wu Yun Liang. However, he was unable to achieve this position despite all his efforts for the past few years. Chu Yang had accomplished everything in a mere two weeks!

Of course, her father's background was starkly different from that of Chu Yang, who was all alone. Tie Bu Tian did not want to take such a big risk by choosing Wu Yun Liang. However, wasn't Chu Yang also from Beyond the Heavens Sect? Wasn't the prince afraid that Chu Yang could have been a pawn of Beyond the Heavens Sect?

While the prince was cautious with her father, why was he not cautious with Chu Yang.

These questions kept ringing in Wu Qian Qian's head, troubling her. Nonetheless, she refused to ever mention it.

Ever since she knew Chu Yang, she would hear people talking about him endlessly. She had met him again on the occasion that she was sent by the prince to invite Chu Yang. Besides, it was an extremely ceremonious occasion… Up till now, Wu Qian Qian felt as she was living in a dream. She had an incredible admiration for this little martial brother.

Wu Qian Qian knew Chu Yang pretty well. When she thought about whether or not anyone in the world could do the job better, she realized that there was no one other than Chu Yang!

As Bu Tian Pavilion continued to grow, Wu Qian Qian became more bewildered by the situation.

As a newly instated Minister of Bu Tian Pavilion, Chu Yang had organized Bu Tian Pavilion within a night. Furthermore, he had made everyone, including Revered Martial Artists, have deep respect for him!

Beside Wu Qian Qian, everyone else did not know Chu Yang's cultivation level. Chu Yang… was only a Martial Warrior!

A Martial Warrior had become the leader of a group that comprised Martial Masters, Great Martial Masters, and even Revered Martial Artists… He had been successful in getting everyone to respect and even idolize him…

This caused Wu Qian Qian to feel like she was in a dream. Moreover, Chu Yang had intentionally created a mysterious air without displaying his true abilities. He had given everyone the impression that he was a scholar who did not know any martial arts!

However, what puzzled her more was the fact that these martial artists were typically not the type to be humble and compliant. Yet, they had allowed a weak scholar to rule above them. Furthermore, they even went to the extent of worshipping and obeying him unconditionally.

More recently, an even stranger occurrence was the creation of the figure 'King of Hell Chu'. The mere mention of this name was sufficient to scare young children to stop crying at night!

Wu Qian Qian felt like she was stranded in a fog.

"Uh! You should call me Minister Chu." Chu Yang said as he raised his brows.

That was about the only thing that he could do, since he constantly kept his menacing mask on his face, even in his own room.

He was not overdoing it for he had an ulterior motive.

Essentially, a mysterious aura was necessary since his current strength was not sufficient. A mysterious aura, coupled with a high authority, was capable of creating great power.

Humans constantly worshipped gods, but has anyone seen a god before? If there were a god that people could see every day, that would not be considered a god anymore…

Indeed, Chu Yang was creating a god-like status for himself!

Moreover, Chu Yang had intentionally spread the rumor that King of Hell Chu did not have any martial arts knowledge… Although he was unsure as to how effective that strategy would be, he knew that such a rumor had the power of fooling his enemies. Should he ever encounter any danger, he would have a higher chance of escaping…

"Minister Chu? Am I allowed to not call you King of Hell Chu?" Wu Qian Qian tilted her head as she smiled and sat opposite Chu Yang. She appeared to be very interested in what was hidden underneath that hideous mask.

Each time Wu Qian Qian saw Chu Yang, her emotions depended heavily on his mood. If he was in a good mood, she would feel slightly at ease, even if he had his hideous mask on. On the other hand, if he was in a bad mood, her breathing would become controlled, besides her lack of free laughter.

Wu Qian Qian had no clue as to why she felt that way.

"It's all up to you. How you wish to address me is your own choice." Chu Yang looked down and continued to look at the documents on his table.

Before him was a stunning beauty whose scent filled the air, yet Chu Yang seemed to be completely nonchalant and continued analyzing the documents in front of him.

This caused Wu Qian Qian to firmly believe that this man would succeed in anything that he desired to, no matter what environment he was subjected to!

Chu Yang's eyes went over the documents quickly. Soon, he paused at an anomaly.

This was a normal routine for Chu Yang. He would run through documents of an official and stop to find any flaw in these documents. Each time he did this, he would take a long time to ponder over the flaw.

Usually, the spies never spent too much effort to disguise themselves. Although there were too many of them in Iron Cloud, none were found. Based on this information, he realized that they were hidden very carefully. Hence, Chu Yang decided to try to find small flaws amongst the millions of people to allow him to eventually cut them down one by one.

Nonetheless, this was easier said than done!

Wu Qian Qian sat quietly on the side as he watched Chu Yang in his deep thought. She was a mindful girl who knew when was the right time to tell jokes to help Chu Yang relax, and when was the right time to be quiet and not bother him. Despite not having much life experience, her female intuition was perfect for the job that she was assigned to.

This was precisely why Chu Yang allowed her to stay in the room with him while he worked.

Although he was not in any mood for any sort of pleasure, he knew very well that men and women working together were part and parcel of life. Having a stunning beauty in front of him most certainly served as a good motivation.

No one would ever want to lose face to a beauty and Chu Yang was not an exception as well.

Tang Xin Sheng, thirty-seven years old, assistant minister of records, Iron Cloud Citadel. Worked impartially and with great integrity. A good official began working at nineteen and had been through steady promotions over the years. Positions held… During his tenure, he had excellent assessments…

Wu Luo Zhi, thirty-eight years old, assistant minister of rites… Involved in some embezzlements, diligent official…

Qian Qi Shu, thirty-seven years old, assistant minister of the military… Extraordinary perseverance. As a general, he and his soldiers had looted from Great Zhao a few times…

Zhou Zhi Jun, outstanding official, but…

After having looked through all the documents, Chu Yang pondered for a moment. Next, he took another stack of documents.

After a long period of time, he compiled more than a dozen documents. He felt as if there were no issues. He had wanted to put them aside but had a vague sense that something was amiss.

After looking at the documents once again, he still could not discover anything peculiar…

Chu Yang rested his chin on his hand and thought for a long time. Once again, he was at a loss and let out a sigh.

"Chu Yang, if you investigate all the officials one by one in this way, how many can you possibly check? In your eyes, are none of the officials good?" Wu Qian Qian asked as she witnessed Chu Yang double-checking these documents but still wanted to check them again.

Upon hearing these words, Chu Yang's brows came together. He looked at Wu Qian Qian and his face appeared to show that he just had an epiphany.

"Yes!" Chu Yang had finally realized what the issue was. Wu Qian Qian's words had helped him to clear the fog in his mind.

"Are none of the officials good?" Chu Yang murmured as a smile appeared on his face. "You're right, Elder Martial Sister Wu. Thank you for the reminder. You have done me a great favor!"

"Great favor?" Wu Qian Qian was at a loss. She had no clue as to how she had provided him any help.

"How could there be any good official in this world?" Chu Yang exclaimed sternly. His eyes paused as he went through Tang Xin Sheng's document. The issue was that Tang Xin Sheng was far too clean!

Too clean; not good!

This official was hardworking, remained upright and uncorrupted, regardless of his promotion or demotion. Even after assuming the role of assistant minister of records, he still continued to grow his own vegetables and dressed simply. He ate like a commoner and saved all his money for the poor…

Although he was a big official and ranked fourth, his wife still continued to weave while his son continued to work on the farm! His son had the ability to qualify as an official but instead, he stayed on as a farmer.

"The father is an official. If the son were to become an official as well, then greed would soon prevail and they would become corrupted. It is sufficient for just one member of the family to become an official for the good of the people." With that, Chu Yang completely ruled out any possibility of his son becoming an official!

What Chu Yang meant was that his son would most likely be allowed to pass the qualifying tests even if he did not possess the abilities to since he was a high ranking official. They were better off without such an achievement. It was enough that the father was an official, hence the son should avoid the same path as his father to prevent public suspicion from arousing.

This man was a saint!

However… Were there such things as saints in this world? While some people might believe in that, Chu Yang most definitely did not!