The rattan chair creaked in the afternoon sun, a spent mid-grade spirit-gathering stone resting between my fingertips.

The past half-month had felt like borrowed time — mornings spent setting up my grilled fish stall at the wet market, listening to Old Zhang and the others gossip about whose grandson had won another award at school; afternoons spent walking River home after class, leading him by the hand to the park to fly kites while he ran himself breathless; and come nightfall, retreating to the study to nurse the Sea-Sea-Sea-Suppressing Jade Pendant with ten-thousand-year warm jade marrow, slow and careful.

"Ding! Sea-Sea-Sea-Suppressing Jade Pendant energy restored to 80%. Estimated full repair in three days."

The little old man's voice surfaced in my mind, tinged with his usual laziness. "I have to say, rookie, you're living like a retired party cadre. I'm actually jealous."

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Ever since the lucky breakthrough at the Guixu Secret Realm, I'd been quietly riding the wave of the system's reward pills — Yuan-Boosting Pills and Body-Tempering Pills practically falling from the sky — and my cultivation had settled, without any deliberate pushing, into mid-stage Foundation Establishment. My physical body, fed steadily on those elixirs, had been stacked all the way to the peak of mid-stage Foundation Establishment. There was something deeply satisfying about reaching milestones without chasing them — like water finding its own level.

"Dad, are we going to sell fish today?" River shuffled out of the bedroom, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his Ultraman pillow clutched to his chest.

"Of course," I said with a grin, pinching his chubby cheeks. "Gotta earn my little River his toy money somehow."

Jade Lin came out of the kitchen carrying a mug of warm milk and shot me a look. "You just love spoiling him. Uncle Zhang came knocking this morning — said the Xuanmen Bureau has word for you and you should head over when you get a chance."

Something stirred in my chest. Ever since Arthur Wen's downfall and Director Honry Ho's return to power, the Bureau had been through a thorough internal purge. White Tiger Hall had taken heavy losses; Azure Dragon Hall and Vermilion Bird Hall had both reined themselves in considerably. Only Black Tortoise Hall, with its deep-rooted foundations, continued to play both sides — though even they no longer dared to openly rub shoulders with rogue cultivators. By my reckoning, it was about time they got around to dealing with the Demon Demon Suppression Bureau's old business.

"Understood," I nodded. "Probably something about reinstating the Division's official roster."

Sure enough, barely past noon, just after I'd packed up the stall, Old Zhang came tapping over with his dragon-head walking stick, the wrinkles on his face creased into a wide, chrysanthemum-like grin. "Young Ethan! Come on, quick! Director Honry Ho has summoned us — says he's going to personally preside over the unveiling ceremony for the Demon Demon Suppression Bureau!"

Downstairs outside the old residential block, a discreet black business car had appeared at some point. At the wheel was Zheng Chen of Azure Dragon Hall. Seeing me, he stepped out and respectfully held the door open. "Senior Ethan, please."

I wasn't quite used to being called "Senior," so I gave a vague murmur of acknowledgment and climbed in after Old Zhang. The interior was spacious, carrying a faint trace of sandalwood — worlds apart from the smoky, oil-heavy smell of the streets outside.

"Young Ethan," Old Zhang patted the back of my hand, excitement glinting in his aged eyes. "Thirty years. A full thirty years! The Demon Demon Suppression Bureau is finally seeing the light of day again!"

I understood how he felt. For the old-timers of the Division, it had never been merely a job — it was the faith they had carried their entire lives. All those years of false accusations and forced marginalization must have tasted more bitter than bile.

The main hall of the Xuanmen Bureau's headquarters was as imposing as ever, but the atmosphere was altogether different from my last visit. The old oppression and gloom were gone; in their place was a gravity that felt earned. The Director sat upon the central throne, his face carrying a weariness that wouldn't quite lift — yet his gaze was sharp as a hawk's, and that faint, ever-present pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator made something tighten instinctively in the chest.

"Ethan Lu." The Director's voice was steady and resonant, filling the vast hall. "The Demon Demon Suppression Bureau was driven into silence for years by the scheming of treacherous men. Now that its name has been cleared, it is time to rally once more and resume its charge: to purge the wicked and shelter the common people."

He raised a hand in signal. A waiting attendant stepped forward, bearing an ancient wooden tray. Resting quietly upon it were two items: a command token engraved with archaic talismanic script, and a scroll wrapped in brilliant yellow silk.

"This is the Demon Demon Suppression Bureau Special Envoy Token." Director Honry Ho lifted the lacquered black token and held it out to me. "With this token, you may command any subordinate division of the Xuanmen to cooperate with your operations. No reporting required. You act freely."

I received it with both hands. It was cool against my palms, the two characters for Demon Suppression carved with an ancient, vigorous hand, faint threads of golden light flowing quietly through them. A familiar aura radiated from the token — the same lineage as the authority talismans hanging at the waists of Old Zhang and the others, yet purer, and more commanding.

End of Chapter 69: The Demon Demon Suppression Bureau Rises Again