The Qilin Pavilion has a total of five floors.
The ground floor is the area where officials operate, mainly responsible for identity verification, intelligence gathering, and external warehouse readiness.
The second floor houses the offices of the North and South Towns’ thousand households, while the third and fourth floors handle etings, decisions, and confidential matters; the higher-ups of the Sky Scale Guard also work here.
As for the top floor, it is the Commander’s Office, and no one is allowed to enter without permission.
Chen Mo arrived on the second floor, to the room at the end of the corridor, with a wooden plaque labeled "Fire" on the door.
Upon entering, he found the interior space to be vast, with just his study area alone being as large as the entire Fire Departnt Court.
In addition to the office area, there was an interior room for rest, equipped with cabinets, a bed, a mirror, and other daily necessities.
Since the forr Bai Lingchuan t a bad end, perhaps out of concern that Chen Mo would feel it was unlucky, all the furniture had been replaced with new ones, and the fragrance of the wood could still be slled.
However, he only occasionally ca over, spending most of his ti at the Fire Departnt office, so he didn’t really care much about this.
Sitting in the sandalwood Master Chair, on the desk in front of him were pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, along with the official docunts awaiting approval.
It was then that Chen Mo noticed a bronze bell in the corner.
"What’s this?"
Curiously, he reached out and shook it.
Ring—
A clear and lodious bell sound echoed.
Soon after, a man’s voice ca from the bookshelf at the back: "What are your orders, sir?"
Chen Mo was startled, turned around, and then realized there was a hidden compartnt on the bookshelf, engraved with several arrays, through which the voice was transmitted.
"Who are you?"
"I am an officer of the Fire Departnt, identification number Ding Yi, responsible for assisting you in handling public affairs, sir."
How considerate, did they even provide artificial intelligence?
Chen Mo slightly raised an eyebrow and asked, "How many officers like you are there in total?"
"Four," Ding Yi replied. "The other three are numbered: Ding Er, Bing Yi, and Bing Er, rotating shifts every twelve hours. If you have any needs, just shake the Summoning Bell, and soone will respond within three breaths."
"Any need at all?" Chen Mo pondered, pinching his chin. "Then help gather all the intelligence on the Gu God Sect, especially information on the Sect Hierarch Yin Tiankou."
"Yes."
Ding Yi responded.
A mont later, the hidden compartnt opened by itself, revealing a stack of thick docunts.
"Here is all the available intelligence. Please take a look, sir."
Chen Mo took out the docunts, glancing inside and noticing that it was an elevator platform, with sophisticated chanisms that were likely connected to the area where the officials operated.
He skimd through so of the docunts and found the content extrely detailed, including the life, cultivation, and personal relationships of Yin Tiankou.
In the past, he could have obtained this information, too, but it would have required submitting reports and going through procedures, which was far less convenient.
The Sky Scale Guard had special duties, with a network of intelligence spread across Jiu Zhou.
Apart from these martial arts grandmasters, the civil and military officials in the court were also under surveillance.
"Bring the information related to Lv Huaiyu next," Chen Mo said.
He always found that Master Lv sowhat odd, his attitude ambiguous, even uncertain whether he was friend or foe.
There was a brief silence on the other side before the response ca, "Apologies, sir, but your authorization is insufficient to access that information."
This was sothing Chen Mo had expected, after all, he was just a fifth-rank Thousand Households, and information about the Grandmaster of the current dynasty would likely require the high-level approval of the Qilin Pavilion.
"Nothing else, you can go about your duties."
"Yes."
The compartnt closed, and the room returned to silence.
Chen Mo put away the docunts and got up to leave.
He had just opened the door when he nearly collided with a figure hurrying towards him.
"Households Commander Ye?"
Chen Mo asked in confusion, "Is there sothing you need from ?"
Ye Zi’e looked a little distressed and nodded, "I went to the palace just now, reported the situation to the Empress, but received no reply. I’m feeling uneasy... Mr. Chen, you’re closer to the Empress, perhaps you could plead on my behalf?"
Chen Mo helplessly said, "This is the Commander’s arrangent; the Empress might have difficulty intervening."
Ye Zi’e naturally understood this, but still couldn’t let go, gritting her teeth, "If that doesn’t work, I’ll reverse my ridians and injure myself severely, claiming I went berserk while cultivating."
"That wouldn’t be necessary." Chen Mo shook his head. "Doing so would be too obvious. Even if you avoid this incident, it would displease the Commander, and you wouldn’t fare well in the future. You wouldn’t even have this Thousand Households position, right?"
"If you damage your foundation, it would be a major loss."
"So what should I do?"
Ye Zi’e deflated like a punctured balloon, sullenly asked.
"It’s getting late today. I’ll enter the palace tomorrow morning and see what the Empress’s stance is,"
Chen Mo paused and said, "Even if you have to go to the Southern Border, it’s no big deal. You only need to lead the way, and I’ll deal with Yin Tiankou. We’ll strike quickly and return in a few days without any incidents."
"Strike quickly?"
Ye Zi’e scoffed at him, saying, "As expected of a young grandmaster, you speak with such confidence."
Chen Mo detected a hint of sarcasm in her words, smiled, but said nothing.
It wasn’t that he was arrogant, but back when he was still a Fifth Grade Martial Artist, he had already crossed paths with the Gu God Sect elder Jiang Qiyuan and was familiar with those demons’ thods.
Now, having reached Third Grade and with half of the Gu Scripture in hand, he naturally felt more confident.
"You..."
Ye Zi’e gave him a complex look.
She had watched Chen Mo grow step by step.
Initially, she had thought to wait until he broke through to the Fourth Rank, and then through Dual Cultivation, transcend the grandmaster threshold and engage in a little romantic partnership.
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