I Am Your Natural Enemy

But if something goes wrong, the consequences could be even worse.

Even just recruiting ordinary people brings all sorts of problems.

It's better to do it with a temp-hire setup. When you need someone, get a pro in that field to help out.

One job, one paycheck. It's just more efficient and straightforward."

"Don't ask me, everything has two sides. I'm not a leader, I'm just someone who gets paid to get the job done. Let's just talk about what's happening now."

Wen Yan turned to glance at Zhang Laoxi.

"Old buddy, got any opinions? We're all on the same side here, just speak freely."

"Not really. I just feel like… someone saw this coming a long time ago, got all set up ahead of time, and let Jiang Yanyan take the hit. Anything deeper, I don't know about."

"Why make him take the hit?" Wen Yan probed.

"They obviously knew in advance they were about to get shot."

"What kind of person would just know they're going to get shot out of nowhere?"

"Must've done something, right?"

"So how do we catch them?"

"If they can use Jiang Yanyan as the scapegoat, they're definitely the same kind of people."

Wen Yan and Zhang Laoxi volleyed questions and answers back and forth, talking faster and faster, while Feng Yao started to lose track.

"Hey, guys, hold on. Did you two already come up with a way out of this?"

"You go," Zhang Laoxi grinned, pointing at Wen Yan.

"Alright, I'll share my take first."

Wen Yan pointed over at Jiang Yanyan.

"The water god next door—nope, wait, not officially recognized, no summoning talisman either—can't call him a water god. At best, he's just a village wild sacrifice.

This wild sacrifice wants to use Jiang Yanyan as the fall guy, and I already promised Granny Fox I'd handle it.

If we don't haul out this wild sacrifice, then it's not settled.

So, here's how I see it.

This section—plus the Water Ghost Domain—is all Jiang Yanyan's turf, the record's accurate.

The Scorching Sun Department didn't mess up either, but there's a wild sacrifice who quietly took over that patch of water, causing trouble there.

In the West River Water System, territory changes like this are pretty normal, right?"

"Yeah, totally normal." Feng Yao nodded.

"So I'm saying, this wild sacrifice is just a heretic rite. The territory belongs to Jiang Yanyan, no question, right?"

"Yeah, no question."

"Right, so let's call the Minister and get some paperwork done. All Jiang Yanyan's years of service here—an official recognition isn't asking too much, is it?"

"Brother Wen…" Jiang Yanyan didn't get most of it, but that much he understood. He didn't even know what to say for a moment. For a wild demon like him, getting his own temple and worship was already like winning the lottery; if they officially recognized him, wouldn't that mean a golden body?

"Don't say anything. Granny Fox told you to listen to me—remember?"

"Oh…" Jiang Yanyan blinked his little eyes and nodded obediently. He could tell Wen Yan was angling for compensation on his behalf, but it was so much, he barely dared imagine it.

"I'll call the Minister…" Feng Yao didn't dare to just agree straight out.

After dialing, she quickly summed up what they'd learned so far, then handed the phone to Wen Yan.

Wen Yan took the phone and walked a bit farther away, lowering his voice.

"Minister, I'm doing this for our Nanwu County Scorching Sun Department.

I couldn't very well admit it was you, Minister, who led the charge and yet made a rookie mistake that almost got a law-abiding National First-Class little demon wrongly killed, could I?

This demon even knows Granny Fox, has her number, not some nobody wild demon.

On top of that, he's been getting public worship; he's the water god for this section.

In his patch, five whole years, zero summer drownings, Minister. Don't tell me you don't know how rare that is in our Nanwu County with the West River Water System everywhere.

Even if this thing never happened, he'd deserve a formal commendation for that achievement.

If you approve an official commendation and hand him his own turf, then this time, it won't look like our Scorching Sun Department blundered hard.

And, look—if Jiang Yanyan gets formal recognition and becomes water god here, then the Water Ghost Domain is his ground.

We can get everything done smooth as silk, and instead of a screw-up, it's a case of heretic rites stirring up trouble in secret.

Plus, it sets a good precedent for other demons. Granny Fox will be satisfied too, and probably even put in a good word for us.

Even better, Jiang Yanyan will help us dig out that heretic rite holding Wang Xueqi's bones hostage.

And on top of all that, we can keep digging to figure out who's pulling the strings behind all this..."

Wen Yan sounded super pumped, like he was the most loyal servant of the Scorching Sun Department, looking out for Nanwu County's interests above all.

On the other side, Cai Qidong couldn't help rubbing his temples and cut Wen Yan off.

"Alright, alright, say no more. If I say no to this, I'll probably get struck by heavenly retribution."

"Minister, so what do you say?"

"An official document, formal recognition, and a commendation aren't hard. But the summoning talisman, that's going to be tricky.

The whole Nanwu County Scorching Sun Department hasn't issued a single summoning talisman to any water god in decades.

Even if we wanted to apply, we'd need one of the Taoist Ancestral Court themselves to hold a ritual and establish the talisman in person.

Then Religious Affairs Department has to review it and send it up for final approval, before we can actually issue the talisman.

We're super cautious about handing out summoning talismans, and the Ancestral Court is even more careful—they don't want the blame if things go south."

"Then let's give him formal recognition and a commendation for now. This is literally the only solution we could think of, Minister. You know me—I'm doing my best to keep things under control here…"