Chapter Sixty: Reaping the Fruits

That night, after poring over all the case files with Shu Wu, Liuchou stayed at the Eastern Bridge Pavilion. Being in the city, the Eastern Bridge Pavilion was far better appointed than the Western Gate Pavilion. In addition to the usual guardhouse, main hall, armory, quarters, and holding cells, it also had guest rooms, a post office, and stables. Simply put, it was a comprehensive administrative institution—a combination of a police station, neighborhood office, post office, and guest house—handling security, reception, and watch duties.

Liuchou naturally stayed in the well-prepared guest room, which not only had a couch but, thanks to Shu Wu’s instructions, was spread with a blackened sheepskin for warmth—an arrangement more luxurious than what an ordinary official would receive.

Renfu had already been sent back, and Shu Wu had his own quarters in the pavilion, so Liuchou was left alone. Only when the night grew deep and all was silent, after listening carefully for any surrounding sounds, did Liuchou finally rise.

Although unsure why Tian Ku had left Xiao Si in the city, from the mere instruction not to leave the city, Liuchou deduced that there must be eyes watching him, or perhaps magic spying on his movements. So he acted with utmost caution, revealing only those monstrous traits that were already publicly known, and hiding everything else as much as possible to avoid suspicion.

For example, in this matter, Liuchou surmised that Tian Ku likely wouldn’t care about him pilfering from the armory once or twice, but if he were to steal too many weapons and armor, it would arouse suspicion and bring trouble. For now, he could only take a little—enough to upgrade his crossbow—without being greedy.

With no one around, Liuchou moved swiftly, soon crossing the courtyard and reaching the wall adjacent to the armory. With a slight motion, he vaulted the wall and landed softly outside the armory door.

The armory was a large courtyard, filled with dark, moss-covered objects—stone pellets, logs for defending the walls, water jars for firefighting—all crude implements resistant to the elements. Beside them stood six large houses arranged in a staggered pattern, all locked, containing the best weapons and armor.

The old locks were no match for Liuchou; he quickly picked them and slipped inside.

Sure enough, the room was filled with heaps of weapons—mostly spears and halberds, bundled in tens, tied with dry straw and stacked on simple wooden racks. Beside them leaned hundreds or thousands of prepared shafts, of various materials, with a faint scent in the air, as if coated with some rust-proofing oil.

Liuchou only glanced around before moving to the next room. This one was similar, except it contained bows and crossbows, which needed more careful storage. There were more racks, densely stacked, and several baskets woven from hemp, filled with crossbow bolts and arrows.

Continuing his search, Liuchou found rooms storing large shields, swords, chest plates, leather armor, and even fire oil. Yet all were crude, merely ordinary bronze—not what he wanted.

Only in the last room did Liuchou find what the pavilion staff called the elite weapons. As expected, these were fewer in number—swords, halberds, spears, longbows, and powerful crossbows—but all exquisitely crafted, no longer of common bronze but of black, gleaming iron, refined to a quality rare in this era.

As he rummaged through the room, Liuchou’s gaze fell on a coarse wooden chest, thick with dust and overgrown with moss, now wilted. The box had clearly been there for many years; its corners were rotted and split, revealing, through the cracks, a strangely shaped mechanical beast.

The creature’s appearance was bizarre, resembling a qilin at first glance, yet different: a dragon’s mouth, a lion’s head, fish scales, an ox’s tail, tiger claws, and deer antlers. Its entire body was made of a deep, reddish-black hardwood, covered with overlapping bronze armor plates. The joints were cleverly articulated, and the horns, fangs, and claws were pure bronze and iron—giving the beast a striking, almost modern metallic presence.

In all his memories, past and present, or in any legend, Liuchou had never seen such a beast.

It was strange, but to Liuchou, it was simply a source of metal. The amount of bronze and iron in the beast far exceeded any other weapon here. After some thought, he stored it in his magical gourd, tidied up the area, and erased any trace that it had ever been there.

At last, after taking a few more weapons and pieces of armor—just enough for two rounds of crossbow upgrades—Liuchou left the armory and returned to the guest room at the Eastern Bridge Pavilion.

He now had enough materials, but to use the divine forging cauldron, he still needed enough demon cores. So, he decided to visit the market the next day, hoping to buy a few demon cores used for mechanical beasts or cloud ships to experiment with. If they worked, he wouldn’t need to hunt monsters for their cores; instead, he could just earn money to upgrade himself, spending his way to the peak of the lesser demon rank!

At dawn, just as Liuchou was rising, Shu Wu arrived first, inviting him to breakfast in the pavilion. Perhaps because they needed his help, the meal was quite sumptuous—a clay pot filled with millet porridge, salted, and with bits of dried fish mixed in.

Because salt was precious, the porridge was still rather bland, but the dried fish added its own savory flavor, chewy and fragrant without any fishy odor, making it tastier than the millet gruel served in restaurants. Liuchou, being a macaque by nature and omnivorous, found this simple fare especially delightful, thanks also to his memories of a previous life.

Compared to plain boiled or roasted meat, or sour fruits, this meat porridge seemed to suit his current tastes better.

Such a hearty breakfast, of course, was not a free gift. After eating, Shu Wu eagerly sought advice on catching thieves. Liuchou had already made his plan and immediately had Shu Wu summon the pavilion constables, instructing them to change into the plain brown clothes of commoners, wear trousers and straw sandals, and arm themselves with wooden sticks, splitting into pairs.

“Brother Shu Wu, do you have any valuables you could lend them?” he asked.

Liuchou then laid out his plan—a simple bait-and-catch operation. Such tactics were common in later eras, but in ancient times, it was a novel and clever idea. Shu Wu and the constables listened with delight, marveling at the ingenuity.

It was a good plan, but when it came to providing valuables, Shu Wu looked embarrassed.

Seeing this, Liuchou realized Shu Wu had no spare wealth, so he simply had someone fetch all his own savings from home. An hour later, with the market bustling, the constables went out in pairs, spaced a few paces apart, with just one instruction:

“If someone deliberately bumps or jostles you, the one carrying money must not react. Wait until the person has left, then the other should immediately seize him. At that moment, check your valuables; if anything is missing, search the suspect—they’ll definitely be carrying it.”

The constables went off, and seeing Shu Wu still uneasy, Liuchou said, “Let’s change our clothes as well and blend in with the crowd to help.”

“Agreed,” Shu Wu replied happily, quickly bringing two brown tunics for them to wear as they followed along.

In the market, the constables dispersed. Liuchou, intent on finding demon cores, parted ways with Shu Wu. Remembering what Renfu said the previous day, he soon arrived at the entrance of a demon-hunter guild.

There were four demon-hunter guilds in Liyang City: Giant Gate, Great Creek, Perching Hawk, and Five Colors. Each had its own specialty. For example, Giant Gate managed the city’s night watch, while Perching Hawk’s main business, besides their hunting teams, was supplying the whole Qin River region with artificial demon cores for mechanical beasts and cloud ships.

The Perching Hawk guild’s shop was on the left side—a row of several stores. The largest sold demon cores, while others bought demon pelts, bones, flesh, and cores, sold weapons and armor, or catered to wandering hunters. Liuchou identified the main sign and went inside.

The shop was not large, with several tables and cushions, and tea sets on display. Along the walls, on low tables, lay various demon cores—some under glass domes. Liuchou glanced around and was startled by the prices.

Even the cheapest core cost thirty thousand coins—far beyond what Liuchou could afford. Still, he wasn’t embarrassed; the shop staff, used to such visitors in plain clothes, ignored him and went about their business.

Liuchou, knowing little about the demon core market, did not linger. After a brief look around, he left and entered the adjacent buyers’ shop, where he was immediately greeted enthusiastically.

The pelts, bones, flesh, horns, hooves—every part of a demon beast had its price. Liuchou was surprised to learn how valuable they were: even the most ordinary beast could fetch fifty to a hundred thousand coins, and if it was a true demon, hundreds of thousands were common.

After he finished looking, the clerk told him that if he had any information on demons, he could report it for a reward—clearly aware of his reputation. As a thief, Liuchou was known for his information network, so they were eager to make connections.

Liuchou didn’t know if the old Do Pu had ever done such business, so he only responded vaguely before finding an excuse to leave.

Back in the market, he pondered how hard it was to make money among humans. It would be easier to go hunting demons himself, if only his current status allowed him to leave the city. If he could just roam the wilds, he could easily catch a demon or two.

But with these demon-hunter guilds in the city, any remaining monsters would be hard to find.

Wait—a thought struck Liuchou. Perhaps not all was as hopeless as it seemed…

He remembered something and, without delay, headed east across the city, soon arriving at the spot where the carving demon had landed days before. He searched for the faint traces that remained.

Several days had passed; both he and the carving demon had been cautious, so few traces remained. After searching half the day, Liuchou found only a few ambiguous clues—not enough for a clear lead—so he set aside his thoughts and turned back toward the Eastern Bridge Pavilion.

Halfway there, a man hurried up to him, saluted, and said, “Master Thief, the criminals have been caught!”

The man wore brown clothes and straw sandals, his face tanned—clearly one of the pavilion constables.

Liuchou raised an eyebrow, surprised. “So quickly?”

“All thanks to your clever plan, sir. The thieves were easily lured out and caught on the spot. We even seized one of the ringleaders in the street; he’s being interrogated now. By this time, they’ll have confessed everything,” the constable said cheerfully.

Though the matter was not very important, Liuchou was pleased his plan worked. He laughed heartily and said, “Very good, very good...” Then he strode back toward the pavilion, ready to claim his share of the recovered goods.