Chapter 102 – Too clean, not good

“King of Hell Chu, hehe… Chu Yang, you are really skilled!” Wu Qian Qian covered her tiny mouth, and laughed in front of Chu Yang until her whole body trembled.

Every time she thought about Chu Yang’s nickname, Wu Qian Qian could not help but laugh. At the same time, she also had a sense of admiration intermingled with a hint of frustration.

Even though Chu Yang was a year younger than her, he was able to do things she could not even dream of. With the strength of only one person, someone with no background at that, he became the minister of Bu Tian Pavilion!

This position was the dream of her father, Wu Yun Liang. But with all his efforts these past years, he was not able to succeed; Chu Yang accomplished everything in just two weeks!

Of course her father’s background was different from that of Chu Yang, who was all alone; Tie Bu Tian did not want to take such a big risk with Wu Yun Liang. But… Was Chu Yang not also from Beyond the Heavens Sect? Was the prince not afraid that Chu Yang was a pawn of Beyond the Heavens Sect?

The prince was cautious with her father; why was he not cautious with Chu Yang?

These questions were currently troubling Wu Qian Qian, but of course, she did not say them out loud.

Since she knew Chu Yang, she continually heard people talk about him. And then she met him again on the occasion that she had to come and invite him in the prince’s stead; it was an extremely ceremonious occasion… Even now, Wu Qian Qian felt as if her life was a dream. Towards this little martial brother she held an incredible admiration.

Wu Qian Qian knew Chu Yang pretty well; when she thought about it, no one in the world could do the job better than Chu Yang!

As things progressed, the situation became even more unexpected for Wu Qian Qian. Within a night, as a newly instated minister of Bu Tian Pavilion, Chu Yang reorganized Bu Tian Pavilion and made everyone, including Revered Martial Artists, respect him!

The others did not know Chu Yang’s cultivation level, but how could Wu Qian Qian not know? Chu Yang… was only a Martial Warrior!

A Martial Warrior who became the leader of a group comprising of Martial Masters, Martial Great Masters, and even Revered Martial Artists… He was able to get everyone to respect him, and even idolize him…

This made Wu Qian Qian feel as if she was dreaming. Moreover, Chu Yang intentionally created a mysterious air, and did not show his true abilities. He gave everyone the impression that he was a scholarly figure who did not know any martial arts!

However, even stranger to her was the fact that these martial artists were not the type to be humble and obedient. And yet, they allowed a weak scholar to be above them; in addition, they even worshipped him and obeyed him unconditionally.

And recently, there was even the stranger incident of King of Hell Chu. The mere mention of this name was enough to scare young children to stop crying at night!

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

“Uh! You should call me Minister Chu.” Chu Yang said, raising his brows.

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

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

Since his current strength was not enough, an air of mystery was required. An air of mystery, in combination with a high authority, was capable of creating great power. Humans always worshipped gods, but had anyone seen a god? If there was a god that people could see every day… that would not be a god anymore…

And Chu Yang was currently making a god. That god was him!

Moreover, Chu Yang intentionally released the rumor “King of Hell Chu did not know martial arts…” While she was not sure how effective that strategy was, such a rumor had the power to fool enemies. If he ever ran into danger, he would have a greater chance of escaping…

“Minister Chu? Can I not call you King of Hell Chu?” Wu Qian Qian tilted her head smiling as she sat opposite of Chu Yang. She seemed to be very interested in that hideous mask.

In fact, each time Wu Qian Qian saw Chu Yang, if he was in a good mood, she would feel more at ease. Even if he was wearing his grotesque mask, she still felt uplifted. But if Chu Yang was in a bad mood, forget about laughing freely, her breathing would become more tense.

Wu Qian Qian did not know why she felt that way.

“Up to you. How you call me is your choice.” Chu Yang looked down and continued to look at the documents in front of him.

Before him was a stunning beauty whose scent filled the air, but Chu Yang seemed to be completely without feeling and continued to analyze the data before him.

This made Wu Qian Qian have the feeling that this man would succeed at anything he desired no matter what environment he was in!

Chu Yang’s eyes quickly went over the documents, and then stopped, motionless.

This was a normal routine for Chu Yang. He would go over documents on an official, and then stop to find any flaws within them. Each time he did this, he usually took a long time to think everything over.

The spies normally never took that much effort to cover themselves. There were too many of them in Iron Cloud, and yet, no spies were found. From this he realized that they hid very carefully. So Chu Yang was trying find small flaws amongst millions of people; then he could start cutting them down.

This was easier said than done!

Wu Qian Qian was sitting quietly on the side watching Chu Yang think. She was a smart girl who knew when it was okay to tell jokes and help Chu Yang relax, and when it was time to be quiet and not bother him. Although she did not have much life experience, her female intuition was perfect for the job.

This was also the reason why Chu Yang allowed her to stay in the room with him.

He was in no mood for any sort of pleasure, but men and women working together was a natural part of life and was commonplace. Having a great beauty in front of him certainly was good motivation.

No one would ever want to lose face in front of a beauty; Chu Yang was also not an exception.

Tang Xin Sheng, thirty-seven years old, assistant minister of records, Iron Cloud Citadel’s, worked with impartiality and integrity. Good official, started at nineteen and underwent steady promotions. Positions held… During his tenure, he had excellent assessments…

Wu Luo Zhi, thirty-eight years old, assistant minister of rites… 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 looted Great Zhao a few times…

Zhou Zhi Jun, upstanding official, but…

After looking at all the documents, Chu Yang contemplated for a while. Then he took another stack of documents…

After a long time he put together more than a dozen documents, and felt as if they had no issues. He wanted to put them aside, but had a vague sense that he missed something. After looking over them once more, he still did not discover anything…

Chu Yang rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a long time. He was once again at a loss, and sighed.

“Chu Yang, if you investigate the officials one by one like that, how many could you check? Are none of the officials good in your eyes?” Wu Qian Qian had witnessed Chu Yang double-checking these documents and wanting to check them again so she asked.

After hearing these words, Chu Yang’s brows suddenly pinched together. He looked at Wu Qian Qian and his countenance suddenly seemed like he had just had an epiphany.

“Yes!” Chu Yang finally realized what the issue was. What Wu Qian Qian said helped him push away the fog in his mind.

“Are none of the officials good?” Chu Yang muttered 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 was clueless as to how she had helped him.

“How could there be good officials in this world?” Chu Yang said coldly. His eyes paused on Tang Xin Sheng’s document. The problem was, Tang Xin Sheng was too clean!

Too clean, not good!

This official was hardworking, and regardless of whether he was promoted or demoted he remained upright and uncorrupted. Even when he became assistant minister of records, he still grew his own vegetables and dressed simply. He ate like a commoner and saved all his money for the poor…

He was a big official of the fourth rank, and yet his wife still weaved and his son still worked on the farm! His son had the ability to qualify as an official, but he maintained: “The father is an official; if the son becomes an official too, then greed would develop and they would be tainted. For the good of the people, it is enough that one person in the family is an official.” And with that, he completely blocked any possibility of his son becoming an official!

His meaning was, since he was a big official, his son would surely be allowed to pass the qualifying tests even if he did not have the ability. They were better off without such an accomplishment. It was enough that the father was an official; the son should just avoid this path to prevent public suspicion.

This man was a saint! (walkthejianghu.com)

But… were there such things as saints in this world? Some people might believe that, but Chu Yang unequivocally did not!