“You found it?” Xu Qi An blurted out, unable to contain his excitement as he turned his head to stare at the orange cat.
The orange cat kept a wary eye on the Night Watchmen’s Office as it spoke, “Not long ago, I sensed the presence of Number Six’s earth book fragment… But on my way to find you, the connection between the fragments was severed.”
“Then Number Six…” Xu Qi An’s expression changed slightly.
The orange cat shook its head, “I don’t know the specifics, but our previous guess was correct. He was indeed sealed away. Just now, the seal must have been broken for some reason.”
At this point, the cat paused, not continuing further.
Why was the seal suddenly removed? There were only two possibilities: One, Number Six had been moved. Two, Number Six was gone.
“Quickly, go notify Wei Yuan,” the orange cat urged.
It was difficult to read the cat’s expressionless face, but Xu Qi An could hear the hidden anxiety in the Daoist Master’s tone.
Although the Daoist Master was an old fox, he still cared deeply for the members of the Tiandihu… For me, this is a good thing. I can seek his help if I encounter trouble in the future… Xu Qi An nodded and said, “I’ll go right away.”
He sprinted into the office.
After his silhouette disappeared, the orange cat snorted softly, pondering:
What exactly is Luo Yuheng thinking? She hasn’t intervened at all from beginning to end. With her cultivation level and age, her tribulation shouldn’t have come yet. There’s no reason for her not to take action.
She wants to be the Imperial Mentor but is unwilling to dual cultivate with the emperor. I don’t know what she’s plotting. Sigh, let’s save Number Six first if he’s still alive.
As he was thinking, Daoist Master Jinlian heard a cat’s meow. He tilted his head to look and saw a large gray cat approaching, circling him and sniffing incessantly.
Daoist Master Jinlian ignored it and continued to ponder. Suddenly, the gray cat moved behind him and pounced…
Huh? Daoist Master Jinlian was stunned for a moment before reacting with fury. He turned and gave the gray cat a series of punches.
…
Xu Qi An ran at full speed, sprinting into Haoqi Tower. Without wasting time waiting to be announced, he pulled out his gold token while running and barked at the guards, “Urgent matter, get out of the way.”
Arriving on the seventh floor, he saw Wei Yuan standing with his hands behind his back in the observation hall. Wei Yuan spoke first, “What’s the matter?”
“Lord Wei, we may have news about Henghu,” Xu Qi An said, getting straight to the point without unnecessary words.
“How did you find out?” Wei Yuan turned to face him.
“Daoist Master Jinlian of the Tiandihu finally locked onto Number Six’s location through the connection between earth book fragments not long ago,” Xu Qi An explained. “Number Six of the Tiandihu is Henghu’s senior disciple, a monk from Qinglong Temple named Hengyuan. He disappeared without a trace while investigating his junior disciple Henghu’s whereabouts. I suspect he was sealed away by either Henghu or the demon clan.”
In other words, wherever Number Six is, there might be either demons or Henghu. Whichever it is, it’s worth paying attention to.
Wei Yuan nodded and returned to the tea room. He quickly wrote on a document at the table and affixed his jade seal. “Take my order to Yang Yan and have him mobilize all the Gold-badge constables. They are to assemble in the front courtyard of the office within a quarter of an hour. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”
“Daoist Master Jinlian is just outside the office. We’ll need him to lead the way…” Xu Qi An said in a low voice.
“I know,” Wei Yuan nodded.
“There’s one more issue,” Xu Qi An hesitated before continuing, “Henghu is in the inner city. If a battle breaks out, ordinary citizens will inevitably be injured or killed.”
Large-scale evacuation of nearby civilians would certainly alert the other side. Although the Astronomical Bureau’s formations were profound, they couldn’t be set up in advance, rendering them useless.
“This is unavoidable,” Wei Yuan stared at him intently, offering guidance. “This is also something I’ve wanted to tell you. I, too, despise those who disregard human life, but sometimes we must know how to make trade-offs.
“Henghu is involved in the Sangbo case, related to the sealed objects, and tied to the demon clan’s schemes. As long as there’s a chance, we must spare no effort to capture or kill him.
“Never let momentary moral considerations lead you to prioritize small matters over larger ones. That will only result in more severe consequences.
“I’ve read the files on the Ping Yuan Marquis family’s extermination case. Sealed objects prefer to devour blood essence to strengthen themselves. Although Henghu hasn’t caused any massacres yet, we can’t guarantee he’ll remain quietly dormant forever. Given the power of sealed objects, if he were to indiscriminately devour the blood essence of ordinary people, it would cause even more severe casualties.”
Wei Yuan is warning me not to repeat my previous mistake… He didn’t say anything outwardly about the incident with Constable Zhu, but he doesn’t approve of my actions… He’s a strategist, while I’m a policeman, although I’m keen on comforting the big sisters at the Court of Imperial Entertainers… Well, that’s not being a scoundrel, it’s wanting to give them a home.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, he cupped his fists and said, “Understood.”
Xu Qi An withdrew with the order in hand.
He immediately went to find Yang Yan, encountering the stone-faced Gold-badge constable in the Divine Spear Hall. Meeting the other’s questioning gaze, he handed over Wei Yuan’s written order.
After reading it, Yang Yan’s sculpted face showed a trace of solemnity. “What has happened for my adoptive father to summon all Gold-badge constables?”
“We’ve discovered what seems to be Monk Henghu’s hideout,” Xu Qi An said.
Yang Yan’s gaze instantly sharpened. He stood up, extending his hand, and the silver spear resting on the wooden rack flew into his grasp with a “whoosh.”
“Constable Yang…” Xu Qi An called out, asking curiously, “With no Gold badge constables stationed at the office, won’t Lord Wei’s safety be at risk?”
“I don’t know,” Yang Yan shook his head.
Don’t know? Xu Qi An looked at him in bewilderment as he explained, “No one knows how many or how strong the protective forces around my adoptive father are.”
Keeping the security forces confidential? Making it impossible to discern what’s real and what’s not… Wei Yuan is truly an old schemer who loves to play mind games.
Soon, the on-duty gold badge constables were summoned and assembled in the front courtyard of the office.
Thirty Silver-badge constables were also called up, but no Bronze-badge constables. In case of conflict, any number of Bronze-badge constables would just be cannon fodder.
Xu Qi An ran out to the entrance of the Night Watchmen’s Office, looking around. He spotted the orange cat near a wonton stall not far away.
“Daoist Master Jinlian, come here, come here…” Xu Qi An waved.
The orange cat completely ignored him, staring longingly at the big pot, sniffing the aroma wafting from it.
What’s wrong with the Daoist Master? Is he hungry? While Xu Qi An was puzzled, he heard a familiar voice from behind: “I’m here.”
Turning around, he saw a large gray cat standing behind him, quietly watching him.
“Why did you change into a different cat?” Xu Qi An asked in surprise.
“That’s a female cat…” the gray cat explained briefly, seemingly unwilling to say more. It changed the subject: “I’ll go with you. What’s Wei Yuan’s attitude?”
“Lord Wei is willing to cooperate with you,” Xu Qi An said.
The gray cat nodded, nimbly jumping onto Xu Qi An’s shoulder. It chuckled softly in his ear, “Lord Wei… Your respect for Wei Qingyi runs much deeper than for Emperor Yuanjing.”
“As far as I can see, I haven’t found any detestable flaws or character traits in him,” Xu Qi An said in a low voice as he walked. “Number Six was temporarily staying at the Yangsheng Hall in the eastern part of the outer city. It’s dilapidated there, with the government owing money. The elderly and children in the facility can barely make ends meet. I revealed Number Six’s information to Lord Wei, and he didn’t touch Number Six but instead paid the overdue charity funds. However, the Yangsheng Hall isn’t under the Night Watchmen’s jurisdiction.”
“Heh, so you have indeed been leaking internal information about the Tiandihu to him,” Daoist Master Jinlian said with a half-smile.
This… Xu Qi An’s expression froze, feeling the shame of being caught red-handed by the boss while being a double agent. But he quickly recovered, shrugging:
“I’m gaining Lord Wei’s trust to obtain more information and enrich our Tiandihu’s intelligence system. My intentions are good… Why isn’t the Daoist Master saying anything?”
“It’s too shameless to comment on,” the gray cat sneered. “You’re quite suited for a career in officialdom.”
“But Wei Yuan said I wouldn’t make it in officialdom.”
“Although shameless, you still have a bottom line, which makes you easy to take advantage of,” Daoist Master Jinlian commented.
“Suddenly remembered something. When the Imperial Mentor met me, she also sensed my uniqueness and asked for my birth date and time, but couldn’t figure it out,” Xu Qi An said helplessly.
The orange cat pondered for a moment before asking, “What do you think yourself?”
Xu Qi An considered for a moment: “My uniqueness… Look to the right.”
The orange cat: “…”
…
Xu Qi An mounted his little mare, clip-clopping along in the lead, followed by a group of Gold-badge and Silver-badge constables.
The gray cat crouched on his shoulder, giving directions.
After walking for about two incense sticks’ worth of time, it suddenly said, “Stop. The small courtyard in front… the aura of the earth book fragment is right there.”
Xu Qi An reined in his horse. Behind him, the Gold-badge and Silver-badge constables simultaneously pulled on their reins, and the entire group came to a halt.
He gestured to those behind him, pointing at the small courtyard ahead.
Ten Gold-badge constables exchanged silent glances, disappearing from their horses with practiced coordination. Their figures reappeared at different positions around the small courtyard, blocking off all possible escape routes.
The Silver-badge constables formed an outer ring of containment.
Xu Qi An waited quietly for a moment, noticing that the Gold badge constables hadn’t taken action, but instead were frowning as they looked at the courtyard.
What’s going on? Did they escape?
He jumped onto the roof of a neighboring house, from where he could see the scene inside the small courtyard.
It was a small yard with two willow trees. In the courtyard sat two monks. One had his hands clasped together, chanting softly.
The other wore a black robe and had his head bowed, silent and motionless.
It was none other than the master-disciple pair, Henghu and Hengyuan.
What happened? Xu Qi An glanced at the gray cat on his shoulder, finding the same confusion in its eyes.
“Let’s go take a look,” the gray cat, its small head filled with big questions, urged Xu Qi An.
At this moment, he saw Yang Yan approaching with his spear.
“You’ve arrived a step too late. He has already gone to the Pure Land,” Hengyuan’s voice was hollow, devoid of joy or sorrow. Yet it also carried immense grief.
Dead? This outcome caught Xu Qi An off guard. He instinctively felt it was a conspiracy, an illusion, a delay tactic.
Yang Yan used the tip of his spear to lift Henghu’s hood, revealing an ashen face with closed eyes, lifeless.
Yang Yan nodded slightly to the other Gold-badge constables, confirming Henghu’s death.
“Between me and death, he chose the latter, his life force seized by the demon hand,” Hengyuan chanted his dharma name in a low voice.
“Yang Yan, check his right arm,” Jiang Luzhong said solemnly.
Yang Yan flicked his spear, using his qi to tear apart the black robe. Henghu’s right arm was empty, the demon hand nowhere to be seen.
It’s gone… Xu Qi An’s pupils constricted as he vigilantly scanned the surroundings, feeling that the area was no longer safe, concealing layers of danger.
The Silver badge constables who witnessed this scene reacted similarly, instantly drawing their swords and watching the passersby warily.
“It has already left…” Monk Hengyuan said gravely. “I stayed here waiting for all of you.”
Number Six was so certain we would come? Right, Daoist Master Jinlian can sense the earth book fragment, so he was waiting… Xu Qi An suddenly realized.
“Monk, what do you want to say?” Nangong Qianrou kept her hand on her sword, still not relaxing her vigilance.
“He didn’t give up on revenge, he just passed the burden to me,” Hengyuan said softly.
“I want to tell you all a story, a story that happened a year ago.”