The candlelight cast a motionless, stone-statue-like shadow on the wall. Qin Yan didn't answer right away. His eyes flashed with sharp, wary vigilance. Xiao Sanzi—a Black-Clad Envoy assigned to odd jobs at the Dong Thanh branch office—was a slick, opportunistic sort who latched onto anyone with status. He had never shared any deep friendship with Qin Yan. Showing up here in the dead of night meant that if he wasn't carrying bad news, then it had to be a trap.
"The door isn't locked. If you've got something to say, come in and say it." Qin Yan's voice was low. His left hand remained lightly resting on the hilt of the [Soul-Severing Blade] hidden beneath the pillow as he silently circulated the bit of true energy he had just broken through with.
*Creaaak... creak...*
The rotten wooden door swung open, shrieking shrilly through the darkness. Xiao Sanzi slipped inside, wearing a conical hat pulled low over his face, his leather armor damp with the night's mist. The moment he entered, he hurriedly slid the door bolt into place, panting as though he had just run a long way to escape.
"Brother Qin, you've caused a huge disaster this time! A downright monstrous one!" Xiao Sanzi muttered as he pushed up the brim of his hat, revealing a deathly pale face drenched in sweat.
Qin Yan sat motionless on the bed, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold, emotionless smile. "What huge disaster? Let's hear it."
"Hong Tu Valley... Hong Tu Valley was leveled to the ground last night!" Xiao Sanzi lowered his voice, glancing around fearfully as though someone might be eavesdropping. "Every courtesan, madam, and Zhao, the Hundred-Household Commander... all of them were killed so brutally their bodies were left in pieces! Zhao's head was chopped off, and his blood flowed like a river. This morning, people from the Nightwalker Bureau's headquarters sealed off the entire southern district of the Imperial Capital!"
"Oh? Zhao, the Hundred-Household Commander, died that horribly? Evil brings its own punishment." Qin Yan put on an astonished expression, but his tone was strangely calm.
Qin Yan's terrifying composure startled Xiao Sanzi, and he swallowed hard. He approached the bed, lowering his voice even further as his eyes darted about. "Brother Qin, don't pretend anymore. My instincts are never wrong. Yesterday, before everything happened, Zhao was the one who summoned you to his room alone and told you to attend the banquet at Hong Tu Valley that night! And what's more... this morning, when the headquarters personnel were examining the scene, I secretly saw... I saw an incredibly sharp trace of blade energy left on the wall. The angle of the slash, the way it was executed... it was exactly like the cut you used the other day to finish off that Corpse-Eating Demon in the graveyard!"
When he finished, the room sank into a suffocating silence. Xiao Sanzi stared fixedly at Qin Yan, as though waiting for him to panic or draw his blade and silence him.
But Qin Yan wasn't frightened in the least. He slowly rose from the bed. His tall, lean frame carried an invisible pressure that made Xiao Sanzi instinctively retreat half a step, his legs trembling.
"Xiao Sanzi, you're very clever. Clever people usually live longer, but those who know too much tend to die very young." Qin Yan spoke coldly as he advanced one step at a time.
Xiao Sanzi dropped to his knees in terror and kowtowed frantically. "Master Qin! Please spare me! I absolutely had no intention of betraying you or reporting you to the authorities! I snuck here first to deliver the news, and second... second, I wanted to find a way to survive! The headquarters has sent someone to take over the Dong Thanh branch office. He's being led by the famously impartial Commander Lu Wuchang. He's renowned for seeing through evil energy, and no supernatural case can escape his notice. If he traces it back to you, you won't be able to escape no matter where you run!"
Lu Wuchang? A Commander from the Nightwalker Bureau's headquarters?
Qin Yan narrowed his eyes. In the original host's memories, Lu Wuchang was one of the Nightwalker Bureau's four Commanders. His strength was unfathomably deep, and he always carried a Demon-Suppressing Ancient Sword. He specialized in dealing with demons, ghosts, and monsters, as well as anyone in the organization who broke the rules.
"Has he arrived at the branch office yet?" Qin Yan asked.
"Not yet... but tomorrow morning, or noon at the latest, he'll have someone summon every Black-Clad Envoy from the Dong Thanh branch office and interrogate them one by one. People connected to Zhao, the Hundred-Household Commander, like you, will definitely be the prime suspects!" Xiao Sanzi raised his head, his eyes full of pleading. "Master Qin, I know you're powerful, but Lu Wuchang is nothing like Zhao. He's the real deal! I... I want to follow you. Take me and help me escape the Imperial Capital!"
Qin Yan stared at Xiao Sanzi for a long while. The man was cowardly and terrified of death, but that also made him easy to control. Escape? The Imperial Capital had already been quietly sealed off from all four directions. Where could he run with the Grand Priest and the Nightwalker Bureau's machinery casting a net everywhere? Besides, running away had never been the style of a Judge.
"Escape? Who told you I had to run?" Qin Yan let out a cold laugh.
He reached out and helped Xiao Sanzi to his feet. The sudden action left the young man stunned, trembling as he tried to understand Qin Yan's intentions.
"I was planning to find a way to turn in Zhao's head tomorrow in exchange for a higher position in the branch office. I didn't expect the headquarters to move so quickly." Qin Yan spoke casually, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. "Since Lu Wuchang wants to see me, then I'll go meet him openly and honorably."
"You... you're insane?! Meeting Lu Wuchang is no different from offering your head to the executioner's block!" Xiao Sanzi screamed in horror.
"It's not certain who's cutting off whose head." Qin Yan gave Xiao Sanzi's shoulder a light pat that hurt badly enough to make him fall silent. "You brought me the news, so I'll give you credit for that. From this moment on, forget everything you saw at Hong Tu Valley and obediently carry out your duties at the branch office. If anyone asks, just say I'm seriously injured and recovering. But if you dare breathe a word..."
Qin Yan released a thread of bone-chilling killing intent from the **[Netherworld Judge]**, making Xiao Sanzi feel as though a thousand-pound stone had been placed on his chest. Cold sweat poured down, soaking his collar.
"I... I understand! I swear I'll keep my mouth shut until the day I die!" Xiao Sanzi collapsed prostrate and kowtowed, shaking violently.
"Get out."
Having received an imperial pardon, Xiao Sanzi scrambled to his feet, hurriedly opened the door, and disappeared meekly into the pitch-black night.
Inside the little room, a gust of cold wind blew through the window and snuffed out the candlelight.
Qin Yan stood silently before the window, gazing toward the Nightwalker Bureau's headquarters, where blazing torches illuminated an entire corner of the Imperial Capital's sky.
Tomorrow morning, a new game of life and death would officially begin. Commander Lu Wuchang? Let's see just how sharp your Demon-Suppressing Ancient Sword really is—or whether it will become the next item to strengthen the score of my Yin-Yang Judge System.