The next morning, harsh sunlight pierced the dense fog, yet the atmosphere blanketing the entire Dong Thanh branch office of the Nightwalker Bureau was cold and gloomy, like the dead of winter.
From early morning, all the Black-Clad Envoys, General Banners, and Little Banners under the branch office had been urgently summoned to the martial training grounds. The air was thick with the clatter of iron armor and the hurried pounding of footsteps. Dozens of armored soldiers from headquarters stood in rigid formation around the stone walls, long spears in hand, creating an impenetrable ring with not a single gap.
Hong Tu Valley had been leveled, and Zhao, a sixth-rank court official, had been beheaded in his own lair. It was a direct slap in the face of the Nightwalker Bureau. Headquarters had no choice but to treat the matter as a major incident.
At the center of the training grounds, on a high platform covered with a deep crimson carpet, a man stood with his arms folded, his back turned toward the crowd.
He wore a blood-red brocade guard robe interwoven with black threads. His black hair was neatly tied beneath a jade crown, and at his waist hung an ancient sword with a plain wooden sheath that radiated sky-high killing intent. He was one of the four great Commanding Envoys of headquarters—Lu Wuchang.
Below him, the Black-Clad Envoys kept their heads bowed. No one dared even breathe too loudly. Qin Yan dragged his feet out from a shadowed corner and merged into the ranks of the Dong Thanh branch office. His gaze swept over Lu Wuchang as he silently activated his ocular power.
[Netherworld Eye—Karmic Gaze activated!]
Within Qin Yan's field of vision, Lu Wuchang emitted none of the blood-red resentment or vicious karmic sin that had surrounded Zhao, the Hundred-Household Commander. Instead, a layer of sharp golden radiance enveloped his body, mixed with a trace of the dignified battle aura of a veteran campaigner. This was a true powerhouse, a man who had beheaded tens of thousands of demons on the frontier battlefield, his mind steady as a rock.
He really wasn't some small fry. Qin Yan withdrew his ocular power, kept his expression calm, lowered his head, and put on the appearance of an ordinary Black-Clad Envoy who had only just recovered from his injuries.
At that moment, Lu Wuchang slowly turned around. His face was sharply defined, and his eyes were as deep as a winter abyss. A single sweep of his gaze was enough to make anyone feel their heartbeat slow by half a beat.
"Something major happened at the Dong Thanh branch office last night. Zhao, the Hundred-Household Commander, paid for his crimes, and Hong Tu Valley was reduced to a plain. This is the greatest humiliation our Nightwalker Bureau has suffered since its founding." Lu Wuchang's deep voice rang clearly into the ears of everyone present.
The training grounds fell utterly silent. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.
Lu Wuchang walked to the edge of the high platform, his cold eyes fixed on the crowd. "I've had people inspect the scene. Whoever struck was extremely decisive and utterly ruthless. They didn't use ordinary talismans, but razor-sharp blade aura to kill the target. Moreover... that person knew the layout of the Dong Thanh branch office extremely well."
As he spoke, Lu Wuchang strolled along, his gaze sharp as a dagger as it swept across each Black-Clad Envoy's face.
"Over the past seven days, who encountered a malignant spirit at the abandoned temple in the south, nearly died, and yet miraculously returned alive? Step forward!"
Boom!
The instant he finished speaking, dozens of eyes turned toward Qin Yan. Though no one dared say it aloud, everyone knew the truth: the only person who had reported going to patrol the abandoned temple the day before yesterday, suffered severe injuries, and returned alive was Qin Yan!
Qin Yan took a deep breath, completely unruffled. He slowly stepped out of formation, clasped his fists, bowed, and walked a few steps forward. "Reporting to Your Excellency, I am Qin Yan, a Black-Clad Envoy of the Dong Thanh branch office."
Lu Wuchang stopped, his cold eyes locked onto Qin Yan. He narrowed his eyes and examined him from head to toe, sensing the aura emanating from Qin Yan's body.
"Qin Yan? You're the one who survived the abandoned temple and came back to report?" Lu Wuchang asked in a low voice.
"Yes, Your Excellency. That was me." Qin Yan answered calmly, without the slightest tremor in his voice. "That night, while obeying orders to patrol the outskirts, I accidentally fell into the trap of the White-Bone Vengeful Spirit at the abandoned temple and suffered a severe injury to my left shoulder. Fortunately, I used a pouch of flare powder to distract the malignant spirit, which allowed me to keep my life and return."
"Flare powder to distract it?" Lu Wuchang curled his lip in a cold laugh, the mockery in his smile dangerously pronounced. "A lowly Black-Clad Envoy at the very bottom of the pecking order faced a high-level vengeful spirit and escaped with nothing more than a little flare powder? What's more... the wound on your shoulder was clearly torn open by sharp blade aura, not by the claws of a malignant spirit!"
The instant his words ended, the pressure of a powerhouse erupted from Lu Wuchang, bearing down on Qin Yan's shoulders like a small mountain. Qin Yan's entire body staggered slightly, but with the aid of his [Netherworld Golden Body] and his unwavering will, he clenched his teeth and stood straight, raising his head to meet the Commanding Envoy's gaze head-on.
"If Your Excellency has doubts, please inspect my corpse or my wounds. I have acted openly and honorably, with nothing to hide from my own conscience." Qin Yan spoke with ringing conviction.
Lu Wuchang narrowed his eyes and stared deeply into Qin Yan's. He found no trace of panic or guilt there—only a strange calmness for a lowly soldier standing before a high-ranking official.
Just as the atmosphere grew taut as a bowstring, with life and death hanging in the balance, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the branch office gates.
"Move aside! Let me in to see Your Excellency! I have a major case to report!"
A frantic, panicked voice rang out, shattering the stillness of the training grounds. Everyone turned to look and saw a detective in a gray robe from headquarters stumbling inside, a brocade-wrapped wooden box clutched in his hands, his entire body drenched in sweat and coated in road dust.
Lu Wuchang frowned and waved to the guards, signaling them to let the man through. "What is all this commotion about? Speak!"
The detective dropped to his knees before the high platform, panting hard as he shakily raised the wooden box. "Reporting to Your Excellency! The reconnaissance team just discovered a secret tunnel beneath the foot of the cliffs on the western outskirts! Inside... inside were countless secret documents detailing collusion between certain suspicious figures in the imperial court and a heretical organization called the Blood Pool Cult! And... and this box contains evidence found on the mastermind's desk!"
Lu Wuchang's expression changed. He flicked out a hand, and the wooden box flew straight into his palm.
When he opened the lid, there were no ordinary paper documents inside. Instead, there was a bloodstained sheep-fat jade command token, along with a letter bearing the personal seal of... Zhao, the Hundred-Household Commander!
The atmosphere on the training grounds froze in an instant. Every horrified gaze turned toward the box in Lu Wuchang's hand.
Standing below, Qin Yan's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile. That secret tunnel and that evidence... of course they hadn't appeared by chance. He had arranged them in advance the previous night after cleaning out Hong Tu Valley.
Lu Wuchang's expression grew grave. He seized the jade token and roared, "The Blood Pool Cult has dared to reach all the way into the Imperial Capital! Order every armored guard to seal off the entire western sector and capture everyone involved alive!"