Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Eight: So You’re the Lonely Commander?
The Punishment Department of the branch office was precisely the former Qingning Hall of the Water Moon Sect.
Once, the Qingning Hall was quite grand. There were many disciples, and after morning lessons, the place would be crowded and bustling.
However, when Young Master Sang entered again, all that was left was a chilling emptiness.
Dust floated everywhere in the hall, clearly neglected for quite some time.
Honestly, while Sang Zhe knew the branch office was just renovated and short-staffed, isn’t it a bit derelict to even mess up basic hygiene?
No way.
As the soon-to-be head of the Punishment Department, he had to make a splash with his new position and summon the cleaners for a good scolding.
As he pushed open the doors to the inner hall, an old man was dozing in a chair. It wasn’t until Sang Zhe coughed a couple of times beside him that the man woke with a start.
“Is that you, Lord Sang Zhe from the main office?”
“Just call me Old Man Cheng,” the old man replied cheerfully, his white hair making him look quite amiable. “I’m here to assist with the handover of the Punishment Department head position.”
Sang Zhe nodded, pretending to be indifferent as he wiped the dust off the wall and said, “Our Punishment Department is supposed to be the core department of the company. Even if the new head hasn’t officially taken office yet, isn’t it a bit much to slack off like this?”
“Look at all this dust; it’s enough to write calligraphy on! How is the cleaning done around here?”
Old Man Cheng bowed repeatedly, his attitude most sincere.
Sang Zhe didn’t want to put him in a tight spot, snorting, “Consider this a warning. Go get the cleaning crew over here. I have work to address.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Old Man Cheng stood there respectfully saluting.
Seeing that he didn’t move, Sang Zhe thought he was waiting for more commands. He added, “Go fetch the jailers and accountants as well; I want to meet them.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Uh, seems like that’s all… so go.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Seeing him still standing there, Sang Zhe frowned with displeasure. “Why are you still here?”
“Reporting, my lord, the people you asked for have already arrived.” Old Man Cheng said, beaming.
Sang Zhe and Old Man Cheng exchanged looks for a moment.
“…You’re the cleaner?”
“Reporting, my lord, I’m also one of the jailers and accountants.”
Sang Zhe: “?”
“How is that possible? There can’t be just one person in the entire Punishment Department?”
“Oh, my lord, you truly are sharp!” Old Man Cheng continued to flatter him, “And you know what? That’s actually true!”
After a moment of shock, Sang Zhe’s brain seemed to short-circuit.
“…For the love of all that’s holy, tell me you’re joking?”
“How could I dare?” Old Man Cheng chuckled, “There are just over ten people in our branch office now. Most of them are from the Heavenly Punishment Department and logistics.”
“Our Punishment Department has only one person, which is a good thing. The department that handles buildings and personnel has noone at the moment.”
“I heard the new leader in charge is a vice sect leader who arrived without anyone to greet them, so they had to carry their own luggage to the office.”
So, in other words…
He was basically a leader of a ghost department?
Sang Zhe suddenly realized he had been tricked again.
What value is there in leading a Punishment Department with no one around?
This isn’t rewarding him; it’s just throwing him into a giant mess!
After a brief moment of confusion, Sang Zhe, somewhat mournfully, pointed towards the prison behind Old Man Cheng and asked, “You’re not telling me… it’s all empty, right?”
“Of course!” Old Man Cheng laughed. “Oh, you sure know how to joke, my lord. Our branch office hasn’t even opened yet, so where would we find any prisoners to hold?”
“Weren’t there some guilty disciples from the Water Moon Sect and the other three sects held here before?”
“They were all bought out, fifty coins each.”
Only fifty coins? Sang Zhe was crushed. “What happened to the money?”
“The money was used to renovate the branch office!”
In that moment, Sang Zhe felt like he might puke blood.
So not only was he facing a ghost department, but there was also no money?
Don’t even tell me you’ll get my dear Hua Jianglian here; she’d be a clever girl without any beans to cook with.
Looking at Sang Zhe’s face, which went from pure to dark, then purple, Old Man Cheng asked timidly, “My lord, do you have any more tasks?”
“Get this place cleaned up.”
Sang Zhe grit his teeth, “If I feel even a speck of dust upon entering, I’ll dock your salary for a month!”
With that, he ignored Old Man Cheng, who was about to cry, and headed straight for Tang Yubbing’s office.
——
——
“Hey! Vice Sect Leader, I have a protest!”
Storming into Tang Yubbing’s office, Sang Zhe was all set to demand answers.
But upon entering, he saw Yan Rouwan also in the office.
The two women looked glumly at each other, both wearing expressions of unspoken struggles.
“Are you here to collect people too?” Tang Yubbing glanced at Sang Zhe.
Well, that was indeed what he was thinking, but looking at their expressions made him realize things probably weren’t going well.
“…Is the situation at our branch really this dire?”
“What do you think?” Tang Yubbing sighed, “Our branch was established hastily. Even before leveling up to a sacred ground, the Demon Cult headquarters was short on personnel.”
“Now that we’ve established a branch, it’s not so much bustling as it is full of emptiness.”
“Most of the disciples from the Water Moon Sect have left, and very few are willing to join the Demon Cult,” Yan Rouwan added, rubbing her temples. “Besides me, the few borrowed sisters from Meng Qiyan, all we have are some random folks with varying abilities.”
“Forget about doing anything productive. Just keeping the spiritual veins under the branch secure is a problem.”
“Luckily, the Demon Cult is currently well-known, riding a wave of popularity; nobody dares mess with us. Otherwise, if nearby sects decided to act, we might not be able to protect our branch at all.”
After saying this, the three exchanged glances and sighed.
Ugh.
It’s tough.
“So, what we need to focus on now is hiring people,” Sang Zhe said.
“That sounds easy,” Tang Yubbing pouted her red lips, dissatisfied. “Our Demon Cult already has a bad reputation, so those willing to join are typically desperate cultivators or rogue practitioners.”
“Normal, upstanding cultivators often have sect or family backgrounds. Who would want to join a place like ours?”
“Well, we could increase incentives?” Sang Zhe frowned. “With enough rewards, there must be some brave souls willing to step up!”
“The issue right now is, even if we have incentives, we can’t promote them.”
Yan Rouwan shook her head. “The Demon Cult’s reputation is too poor; everyone avoids us like the plague. Where can we even post about incentives to attract people?”
Suddenly, Yan Rouwan’s words sparked an idea in Sang Zhe’s mind.
“Right!”
“If we want to hire people, the best method is… advertisements!”
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