Beneath the black robe, those hands extended of their own accord. Energy spiraled in the palms, and with a whoosh—Monk Heng Yuan was lifted involuntarily into the air, thrown towards the deadly vortex.
He opened his eyes in agony as his skin rapidly withered, his vital essence draining away. His complexion visibly deteriorated before one’s eyes.
Watching this familiar face gradually decay towards death, Heng Hui’s cruel expression showed a hint of emotion, his dark pupils no longer cold and hard.
Bang! Heng Yuan was thrown away, crashing heavily against the well arm.
Heng Hui’s left hand pressed down hard on his right arm as he gritted his teeth: “You can’t kill him. You can’t kill my Senior Brother…”
His face suddenly turned cold as a voice tempted: “Heng Yuan is a warrior monk with abundant vital essence, perfect for healing your injuries… Don’t you want revenge? Have you given up on revenge?”
Then the cold expression vanished, replaced by anguish: “No, we can’t kill him. He’s my Senior Brother.”
“Anyone in the world can be killed. Why not him?”
“Anyone else can die, but not him. He’s my Senior Brother, the person I respect most.”
“What about Ping Yang then?”
“Ping Yang…”
His expression alternated between cruelty and pain, like two different personalities fighting within the same body. As the struggle continued, the blood vessels in his muscular right arm glowed red, pulsing like breaths.
Heng Hui’s main personality seemed to be suppressed as the cruel one gradually gained the upper hand.
“Heng Hui…” Heng Yuan’s voice was weary. “Do you remember the first mantra Senior Brother taught you?”
The Heart Purification Chant… Fighting against his uncontrollable right hand, Heng Hui leaned against the well wall and slowly sat down. He pressed his palms together and began chanting softly.
After a long while, his killing intent gradually subsided, and his right arm ceased its agitation.
Heng Hui opened his eyes, still completely black without whites. In the dim bottom of the well, he stared at Heng Yuan, his voice hoarse:
“Senior Brother, didn’t you want to know what happened to me a year ago? I’ll tell you now.”
…
“What was the maid’s name?”
In the interrogation room, Xu Qi An took a sip of tea while watching the uneasy courtesan sitting across from him.
“Her name was He’er…” Ming Yan answered obediently.
She kept stealing glances at Xu Qi An while eyeing the closed door. As the leading courtesan of the Imperial Brothel, she had dealt with many officials and nobles and knew what the Night Watchmen’s Office represented.
Any official imprisoned here would suffer greatly if not die, and for a weak woman like herself, she feared facing something worse than death.
“How long has she been by your side?” Xu Qi An asked seriously.
“Three… three to four years.” She looked fearfully at Xu Qi An. “About three and a half years. This humble one can’t remember the exact time.”
The man sat there expressionless, emanating an imposing gravity that left her barely able to breathe, feeling immense pressure.
How could someone change so drastically? Last night he still acted like a playboy noble.
Three and a half years… I’ll have someone investigate which other women entered the Imperial Brothel during that time, Xu Qi An nodded.
“Who did she associate closely with normally?”
Ming Yan thought for a long while, recalling and listing several names.
After a few more questions, Xu Qi An looked at the clerk taking notes, who nodded in confirmation.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Ming Yan. You may leave.”
“What?” The happiness came so suddenly, like a whirlwind, that she could hardly believe it.
“Let me escort you back to the Imperial Brothel.” Xu Qi An stood up and gestured invitingly.
Courtesan Ming Yan anxiously followed him out. Only when she saw the carriage waiting outside did she finally feel relieved, believing she would truly return to the Imperial Brothel rather than suffer… something in the office.
She immediately regained her usual grace and curtsied elegantly: “Thank you, Lord Xu.”
Xu Qi An reached out and pinched her full, rounded bottom: “No need for thanks. You should show gratitude through actions.”
This man changes faces faster than a woman… Courtesan Ming Yan felt both shy and fearful as she glanced at the carriage.
Xu Qi An raised an eyebrow, looking thoughtfully at the carriage.
…
The carriage stopped outside the Imperial Brothel’s alley. The courtesan alighted and said softly: “Lord Xu, please visit the Qing Chi House for tea when you have time.”
After delivering this pleasantry, she immediately turned and left, walking quickly with swishing skirts.
She was somewhat afraid of Xu Qi An, though not because of his 24-karat golden hardness—nothing had happened in the carriage.
She had always been wary of such mercurial people.
Xu Qi An took the carriage back to the office and gathered the core team members for a meeting.
Soon, three Silver Gong officers, Lu Qing, and Song Tingfeng, and Zhu Guangxiao—six people in total—were summoned to the side hall.
“You all know about last night’s situation at the Imperial Brothel?” Xu Qi An asked.
Li Yuchun and the others nodded, having heard from Song Tingfeng. They also knew that the Imperial Observatory’s people had ultimately resolved the crisis.
As for why Song Tingfeng hadn’t reported to the office, they tactfully didn’t ask, since coincidentally, Golden Gong Zhu had been on duty last night.
Lu Qing stared at Xu Qi An for a long while until he felt uncomfortable and frowned: “Captain Lu, is something wrong?”
Lu Qing pressed her red lips together, “How did my lord know there were demon folk hidden in the Imperial Brothel?”
The men exchanged knowing smiles, except for Li Yuchun who maintained a stern face, feeling out of place due to his lack of lecherous tendencies.
Xu Qi An said seriously: “During one-night patrol, I used my Qi-seeing technique to observe the Imperial Brothel and discovered demonic energy there.”
“I never heard you report this,” Li Yuchun started.
“At the time, I didn’t know what the green light meant, and then I was imprisoned for cutting that Zhu bastard, and after that…” Xu Qi An shrugged.
And after that, you became my subordinate, so although we maintain separate authorities, I don’t need to report to you anymore.
“Alright, I have tasks for you all.” Xu Qi An slapped the list from his pocket onto the table:
“Chief, take some men to investigate the people on this list—they had close contact with the demon woman. Also, look into women who joined the Imperial Brothel or rose to prominence four years ago.
“Captain Lu, take people to search house by house for Heng Hui, but be extremely careful.”
After giving instructions, Xu Qi An sat down for a cup of water, planning to report to Wei Yuan about the Imperial Brothel incident.
A sense of palpitation came over him. He immediately left the side hall and entered the latrine, taking out the Earth Book fragment. The long-silent Earth Book chat group finally had someone online.
[Five: I’m here to repay Three’s debt. Well, we’ve finished exploring the Extreme Abyss, and I discovered an enormous secret.]
Since the other party specifically mentioned him, Xu Qi An couldn’t stay silent and replied: [What secret?]
[Five: What about you all? Have you decided on what you owe me?]
[Two: Let’s hear it first.]
[Four: Hmph, no problem.]
[Five: Is Number One not here?]
[One: Agreed.]
After everyone had responded, Number Five transmitted: [After the seven branches of the Gu Clan worked together and survived countless dangers, we finally reached the Extreme Abyss…]
[Two: Skip the unnecessary details, get to the point.]
[Five: …We found a statue of the Confucian Sage in the Extreme Abyss, gazing into the depths.]
A Confucian Sage? The Heaven and Earth Society members were first surprised, then unanimously thought of Number Three. As an outstanding student of the Cloud Deer Academy, he might know something about this.
But he probably wouldn’t tell them… Besides, they still hadn’t repaid their debt to him… Somehow they’d accumulated so many debts…
[Five: Number Three, you’re a Cloud Deer Academy student, you must know something about this, right?]
The Heaven and Earth Society members were all delighted—Five had asked a good question.
How would I know? I’m just as surprised… Xu Qi An didn’t answer directly, instead typing: [Besides the Sage statue, what else was in the Extreme Abyss? Also, can you describe the statue in detail?]
These were just filler questions to extract more information.
[Five: Apart from the Gu God and various Gu worms, there was only the Sage statue. Ah, I remember, there was a crack in the Sage’s forehead, and the clan elders seemed very worried about it.]
A crack in the Sage statue’s forehead… the Gu Clan elders were worried… Number Two had a thought: [Could the Sage statue be suppressing the Gu God? Otherwise, why would there randomly be a Sage statue in the Extreme Abyss?]
[Four: That’s possible. Using statues, bronze sculptures, bronze vessels, and such media for sealing arrays is very common. In ancient times, the Human Emperor cast nine cauldrons to suppress the mountains and rivers of the nine provinces, condensing the human race’s fortune—that’s the best example.]
[One: Then does the crack in the Sage statue’s forehead mean the seal is unstable? Is that why the Gu God is partially awakening?]
[Four: That’s possible.]
The topic soon passed, as the Gu God’s level and the Southern Borders were too distant from everyone.
Xu Qi An typed: [Number One, you haven’t asked about the Sang Bo case recently. Did you find any clues in the ancient texts?]
[One: No clues.]
After saying this, Number One silently went offline.
Number One’s behavior is unusual. Previously they were so concerned about the Sang Bo case… but after so many days, they haven’t asked about the case’s progress… Xu Qi An typed: [Number Two, any leads on Zhou Chixiong’s whereabouts?]
[Two: No, but I’ll keep looking for you.]
In the vast sea of humanity, it wasn’t so easy to find someone. Xu Qi An felt both disappointed and resigned.
After discussing a bit more, Number Four and others expressed concern about Number Six’s whereabouts and called for Daoist Jin Lian, but the Daoist didn’t respond.
…On such a sunny day, Daoist Jin Lian is probably lazily sunbathing on some roof.
Xu Qi An was internally grumbling when suddenly Daoist Jin Lian appeared: [Nine: Number Three, come out and meet me.]
“Hm?” Xu Qi An was startled, then understood. He put away the jade mirror stone and quickly walked toward the office entrance.
He looked around at the entrance and saw an orange cat standing across the street, its tail held high, quietly watching the Night Watchmen’s Office entrance.
Xu Qi An naturally walked over, stopping beside the orange cat but not looking at it, instead gazing around.
The orange cat said in a deep voice: “I’ve found Number Six.”