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After September 29th, the weather grew colder day by day, and soon it was the beginning of winter. The brief autumn sunshine came and went quickly. Before people could even put on their autumn clothes for a few days, they were forced by the chill of early October to take out their thick clothes from their trunks.

The capital city is located in the north, and at this time of year, the wind blows so hard it feels like it's seeping into your bones. If it's a cloudy day, no one wants to leave their warm bed in the morning.

On this day in early October, the sky outside was overcast and the north wind was howling. Baozhu got up very early, dressed herself carefully, and asked Li Zhi to check if she was dressed properly.

"How do I look? Don't I look impressive?" Baozhu nervously turned around for Li Zhi to see, then lowered her head and tugged at the corner of her clothes, trying to make her uniform look neater.

“When has Your Majesty not been majestic?” Li Zhi looked at her with a smile. “You look very smart in this outfit.”

Baozhu breathed a slight sigh of relief after being praised, and reached out to hug Li Zhi's arm, saying reproachfully, "I'm never ugly in your eyes, so asking you is pointless."

Li Zhi laughed again: "I was just telling the truth."

Upon hearing this, Baozhu's mouth trembled in a flurry of words. With a great effort, she managed to suppress her urges and cleared her throat in a pretentious manner, saying, "You're right. It's getting late. Let's go out."

After saying that, Baozhu took a deep breath, pushed open the door and walked out.

Li Zhi followed behind, and seeing her nervously moving her hands and feet in unison, he couldn't help but grab Baozhu's hand from behind, pull her into his arms, and kiss her.

Baozhu gasped in surprise and was about to resist when she realized that despite the cold weather, Li Zhi's kiss was as hot as summer, calming her anxious heart.

Since that's the case, she simply wrapped her arms around Li Zhi's neck and savored the softness of the eighteen-year-old boy for a while.

After a while, Li Zhi finally let go of her, then pressed his face against Baozhu's cool cheek, stroking it contentedly.

"Are you feeling any better?" Li Zhi gently nibbled on Baozhu's ear.

"Much better."

Baozhu relaxed and leaned lazily against Li Zhi's chest, as if she had no bones.

Li Zhi led her through the courtyard and outwards, pushing open the gate of the official residence.

Baozhu looked up at the gray sky.

Although today isn't a good day, it's the first day that Celestial Master Baozhu has taken office.

"A new world begins today."

Baozhu murmured.

After the 29th, the capital was plunged into great turmoil.

On that day, the supreme Grand Preceptor of this dynasty, beloved by everyone from the imperial family to the common people, transformed into a monster in full view of everyone.

This is undoubtedly unacceptable to mortals—for nearly a hundred years, they have been protected by a monster.

The monster led countless celestial masters to slay demons and eliminate strange occurrences.

Is the monster evil or good?

For a time, the whole city's restaurants and teahouses, big and small, were talking about this all the time.

Some people think that if monsters become the leader of the Celestial Masters, wouldn't that turn the world upside down, and the world would probably be in chaos soon?

Some people, however, believe that there are traces of monsters in many places in the capital, and Rong Qi's matter is just bringing them into the open, so it's nothing serious.

There are also Rong Qi's most loyal followers, who claim that if Rong Qi is human, they will follow him as a human, and if Rong Qi is a demon, they will follow him as a demon!

None of the groups could convince the others, so they called their friends and gathered in restaurants and teahouses, arguing from morning till night. Every now and then they would roll up their sleeves, push and shove, and fight, smashing the tables and chairs of the shops. They could report to the authorities dozens of times a day, giving the Five Cities Military Command a real headache.

The people were talking about it, but the imperial court remained strangely silent, and the entire Yiren Temple was also silent, as if they were waiting for something.

On the fifth day of the tenth month, the imperial court issued a statement.

The emperor issued an imperial edict, acknowledging Rong Qi's contributions to the dynasty as the imperial advisor.

The imperial court recognized Rong Qi's merit in protecting the country, and this merit was not changed because he was a demon. On the contrary, mortals should see the good side of demons by observing Rong Qi's nearly 100-year-long act of hiding his identity and devoting himself to the country and the people.

—If Rong Qi hadn't worried that the exposure of his demonic identity would cause a stir in the court, he wouldn't have tried so hard to suppress his demonic power and fight against the evil demon. In the end, in order to protect the mortals in the festival procession, he died tragically at the hands of the evil demon.

At the end of the imperial edict, the emperor said that he deeply missed Rong Qi. This demon Rong Qi had never done a bad thing, never harmed a mortal. He always thought of the court and the people. He was truly a model among demons.

Therefore, mortals should reciprocate kindness and treat their fellow countrymen with goodwill, so that more monsters can come out and serve the country and the people.

If Rong Qi were alive today, he would surely be pleased.

On the seventh day of the tenth month, the emperor held another funeral for Rong Qi at the Taoist temple where Rong Qi had lived. Sun San went out of the palace to personally offer incense for Rong Qi.

The city's powerful and wealthy flocked to the event, and the common people spontaneously came to the temple to offer flowers to the demon Rongqi.

Then, the day after the funeral, the Minister of the Temple of Strange People received an appointment letter from the emperor—the Fox Demon Pearl, who would join the Temple of Strange People as a Celestial Master to continue his unfinished responsibilities.

And so, we have the tense scene that Baozhu is in today.

Baozhu is about to become a Celestial Master openly and legitimately. She is no different from ordinary Celestial Masters in her daily life. However, after solving the case at the Strange People Temple, she participates in the trial of the monsters.

She barely slept last night and got up early this morning. Despite all this, Baozhu wasn't tired at all; on the contrary, she was extremely excited.

Baozhu and Li Zhi arrived at the yamen (government office) together.

With her sharp eyes, she spotted Pei Xuanji and Zhang He from afar, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

My friends have been very busy lately, so their appearance today clearly indicates that they came specifically to visit Baozhu.

Pei Xuanji walked towards Baozhu and said with a smile, "Don't be nervous."

Zhang He followed behind and said, "That's right, I'm telling you, most of these celestial masters are not as powerful as you, so don't take them seriously."

Baozhu clicked her tongue and said, "What Pei Qi said sounds nice, but Zhang Tianshi is probably just fooling me."

Zhang He made faces at Baozhu.

After exchanging a few words, Pei Xuanji, having other matters to attend to, offered a few words of encouragement to Baozhu before hastily departing.

Li Zhi escorted her to the entrance of the government office, gave her a few words of advice, and then hurriedly went inside.

Because of the imperial edict issued by the emperor a few days ago and the matter of Yun Rufeng, Li Zhi has been working himself to the bone by Pei Jiangping lately, having to run even to walk, and hasn't had a hot meal for several days.

Only Zhang He remained beside Baozhu.

The group had discussed it a few days ago. Newly initiated Celestial Masters always need to find a senior to mentor them. Since Zhang He had already mentored Pei Xuanji and Li Zhi, they might as well mentor Baozhu as well.

Zhang He accompanied Baozhu to find her colleagues in the Earth Division. After learning that she had been assigned to a group leader in the Heaven Division, he took her to find that group leader.

Baozhu's team leader treated her very politely, introducing himself and the other colleagues in the team. He didn't look down on the monsters at all, which relieved Baozhu, who had been preparing anti-discrimination measures all night.

“Since you’ve already found a mentor to guide you, you’ll be working with this person for the first three months—” the team leader said, looking at Zhang He.

"My name is Zhang He," Zhang He said.

“Let’s work together with this Master Zhang. Come find me again when you feel you can handle things on your own,” the team leader said kindly.

Baozhu naturally had no objection to this arrangement, so she smiled and agreed, then followed Zhang He to the warehouse to collect the equipment.

Once everything was ready, Zhang He smiled and said to Baozhu, "Alright, we still have some time today. Your Majesty, shall we go on a patrol of the mountains?"

"Lead the way." Baozhu patted Zhang He on the shoulder.

"Listen to my command!"

In the past few days, not only has the demon pearl taken office as the Celestial Master.

After Rong Qi's funeral, many monsters quietly revealed their identities among the people. The most sensational of them were Old Ma, the pork butcher from the South City Market Street, and Master Chef Wan Yu from the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion.

Especially Old Ma, the butcher, whose meat was of the highest quality and who was honest with everyone, was already the best-selling butcher shop on the whole street. After he revealed his monster identity, he became even more popular. The market street was crowded with people every day, all eager to come and see him.

Regardless of whether they were buying vegetables or not, the people in the south of the city flocked to the vegetable market.

Despite the crowds at the market, the butchers and vegetable vendors on both sides looked worried – everyone was there to watch the spectacle, jostling and pushing, forcing the people who actually wanted to buy vegetables to find another place.

Zhang He had witnessed this several times when he came to buy vegetables and vaguely sensed the hidden dangers. Therefore, he chose this place as the first stop for King Baozhu's mountain patrol.

Along the way, Baozhu kept whispering with Zhang He about the details of how the Celestial Masters dealt with the people. So engrossed were they that they didn't notice the crowds growing and the road getting narrower.

It wasn't until they arrived at the archway of the market street that they were startled by the loud arguing and crying inside, and then they came to their senses.

"What's going on?" Baozhu looked at the chaos in front of her blankly, then belatedly realized that something was wrong. "Isn't this Caishi Street? Old Ma runs a butcher shop here. I've even bought braised pig's head here before."

Zhang He frowned, first taking out a paper crane to call for help, and then replied, "I'm afraid Old Ma has gotten into a conflict with the mortals."

As he spoke, Zhang He pushed his way into the crowd.

"The Celestial Master is here, please do not crowd!"

Zhang He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Seeing this, Baozhu also shouted, "The Celestial Master is here, don't crowd!"

The fox demon was indeed a demon; with a powerful shout from its dantian, it echoed from one end of the street to the other, making the ears of the nearby mortals ring. For a moment, the street fell silent.

Zhang He turned around and gave Baozhu a thumbs up.

His voice wasn't as loud as Baozhu's, so he simply stuck a talisman on his throat and shouted, "What's all this noise? Where is the aggrieved party?"

Another loud bang followed, making people dizzy from the two deafening noises. Those who could still hear pointed at Old Ma's butcher shop and said, "It's the surrounding shopkeepers fighting with that monster Old Ma."

Zhang He nodded, then shouted, "Those who are not involved, slowly leave Caishi Street!"

Zhang He was a wicked fellow. He deliberately shouted like thunder, making those who wanted to stay and watch feel nauseous and quickly retreated from the street.

Now Baozhu could see clearly what had happened.

Sai Xue stood high above Lao Ma, arguing incessantly with the shopkeepers who had formed a circle around her. One side was loud, while the other side was crowded and noisy, and the two sides were arguing fiercely. Even Zhang He's loud shouts could not stop them.

Baozhu glanced at Sai Xue, who was baring her teeth and brandishing her claws, and then at Lao Ma, who was pursing his lips and not saying a word. She quickly squeezed forward and asked, "What are you doing?"

When Sai Xue saw Bao Zhu, she jumped off Old Ma's head and grabbed Bao Zhu's arm, saying, "I came to buy meat from Old Ma and happened to run into him. Old Ma was doing well here, but these people said he was delaying the business of the surrounding area and wanted to drive him out of the market street. Old Ma is a taciturn person, so I said a few words for him."

As Sai Xue was speaking, a shopkeeper cried out, "Master, you saw it just now. So many people on this street have come to see him. Our business has been completely disrupted. I have elderly parents and young children to support, and this shop is the only place I can make a living!"

Just as Baozhu was about to speak, someone else stepped forward and said, "Master Celestial, this monster used to steal our business, and now it's making it impossible for anyone on the street to do business. You must stand up for the people!"

"You're talking nonsense. Old Ma used to only sell three pigs a day, and they'd be sold out shortly after he opened. How did he steal your business?"

Upon hearing this, Sai Xue jumped three feet high, rolled up her sleeves, and started arguing with the shopkeeper again.

Baozhu couldn't stop either side and was caught in the middle, getting poked several times by hands that seemed to come from nowhere. She suddenly got angry and just wanted to beat them all up and shut them up.

At this critical moment, Zhang He grabbed the man who had asked Baozhu to make the decision from behind and shouted, "You're a vegetable seller, aren't you?"

The man covered his ears, cried out in pain, and nodded, saying, "That's me."

"What business has the pork seller taken from you, the vegetable seller?" Zhang He shouted again.

The vegetable vendor stammered, unable to speak.

Zhang He grabbed another shopkeeper and yelled, "What business have I stolen from you, a rice wine seller, this time?"

The shopkeeper selling rice wine was speechless and awkwardly retreated to the side.

In this way, Zhang He grabbed more than a dozen shopkeepers selling grain, sugar, and flowers from the shops that were besieging Lao Ma, made them step aside, and questioned them one by one.

After asking around, Zhang He managed to extract confessions from the shop owners.

It turns out that the attack on Old Ma was organized by several other pork vendors. Although many ordinary people have come to watch Old Ma recently, he still follows the old rule of selling only three pigs before closing his shop. After he closes his shop, business on the street is not so difficult.

The other pork vendors, however, wanted to take this opportunity to cause trouble and try to drive Old Ma out of the market.

Zhang He clicked his tongue and put his hands on his hips, saying, "You guys got along pretty well before we knew Old Ma was a monster. How come things have changed now?"

The rice wine vendor stammered for a while, then whispered, "Old Ma is actually quite honest. I was misled. They said that monsters are monsters after all, and they're bound to bully mortals, so I..."

Baozhu, with her sharp ears, heard Zhang He interrogating the peddler and quickly turned to look at Old Ma.

The taciturn monster had its eyes downcast and was fidgeting with its hands, seemingly lost in thought.

"Old Ma, although some people came to bother you today, many others didn't come. There are good and bad among mortals and demons, so don't be discouraged."

Baozhu was afraid that he would be heartbroken, so she winked at Saixue, and the two monsters coaxed and comforted him with words of encouragement.

Old Ma listened for a long time before raising his head. He looked at Baozhu and chuckled softly, "Don't worry about me. I already told Granny Rat that no matter what, some of our compatriots have to stand up. I'm willing to stand up. I've thought all these things through."

That's what he said, but Old Ma's eyes were still a little red.

Baozhu felt a pang of sadness. Old Ma was a good demon, honest and upright, and never liked to talk. The mortals dared to attack him like this because they were familiar with his nature.

Old Ma suffered injustice because he was fighting on the front lines for his compatriots.

Baozhu and Saixue exchanged a glance, and just as they were about to say something more, Old Ma said again, "Baozhu, tell them that I will not leave Caishi Street, but I will only sell one pig a day from now on. Just say that you persuaded me."

There's a world of secrets hidden inside a seemingly unassuming gourd.

Baozhu sighed, nodded in agreement, and turned to walk towards the group of dejected shopkeepers.

“I told Old Ma, he’s only selling one pig a day lately,” Baozhu said sternly to the shopkeepers. “He’ll sell out in half an hour at most. He can’t steal your business, so don’t cause any more trouble. If there’s a next time…”

A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she swept her gaze over the group of shopkeepers, causing them all to lower their heads.

“And another thing,” Baozhu added, “I am also a demon. Old Ma is my compatriot, but I did not side with him and even made him give way. This shows that we demons all follow the rules when we come out, so you don’t need to worry about us.”

After Baozhu finished speaking, she revealed her hairy ears and sharp claws to the crowd, causing them to gasp in fright.

Just then, Zhang He appeared out from behind Baozhu, patted her shoulder authoritatively, and said, "Don't reveal your demonic form outside."

Baozhu immediately obeyed and transformed back into human form, respectfully saying to Zhang He, "Yes, senior."

After this performance, Baozhu immediately heard hushed conversations coming from the crowd.

"This demonic exorcist actually listens to the words of mortals."

"I think they're quite reasonable, not like we thought they were."

"I told you not to come. Old Ma has always been a very honest man. Why make such a fuss..."

Baozhu and Zhang He exchanged a subtle glance, and then acted out many scenes of how monsters obeyed their mortal superiors, until the officers of the South City Garrison rushed over to take over the scene, and only then did they leave Caishi Street together with Saixue.

After leaving the market street, Zhang He took Baozhu to other places where monsters made a living. Those monsters were not as famous as Lao Ma, so they did not encounter such trouble.

The two inspected the area all day, and it wasn't until evening that Zhang He finally praised Baozhu with satisfaction, thus concluding Baozhu's first day as a Celestial Master.

Meanwhile, it was quite dark when Li Zhi finally emerged from the government office, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

Lanterns had already been lit along both sides of the road. He hurried home, his heart filled with guilt towards Baozhu.

Today is Baozhu's first day on duty, but Li Zhi did not rush home to celebrate with her.

Until Li Zhi stood at the door, he was worried that Baozhu would be angry, but when he pushed the door open, he found that the house was pitch black.

Li Zhi's heart pounded. He put his things down and went into the inner room.

Baozhu was already asleep on the bed.

Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and lit the oil lamp. He guessed that Baozhu had not eaten dinner yet, so he planned to make some simple food.

But when he picked up the lamp, his attention was drawn to the booklet lying under it.

"My first day as a Taoist priest was very busy and tiring. It was hard to balance many things. But I will definitely do my best."

Baozhu never studied writing properly, and these two lines of writing were crooked and very ugly.

Li Zhi looked at it over and over for a long time.

Then, he returned to the bedside, leaned down, and gently kissed Baozhu's face.

"You will definitely do well..."

Li Zhi murmured.