bookpub Chapter 67: Return and Shock
Chapter 67: Return and Shock
"Whoosh—!!!"
These words were like a red-hot iron thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a monstrous wave! The previously deathly quiet mission hall and entrance were now in complete chaos!
"What?! Late stage of the Profound Realm?!"
"A confession! And a bloody handprint on it! This is practically irrefutable evidence!"
"They not only completed their mission? They even captured the bandit leader alive? And obtained this kind of confession?!"
"This is outrageous! There's a traitor within the Demon Suppression Division?!"
"Whose testimony is this? Could it be...?"
Countless gazes focused on the three blood-stained pieces of paper on the counter, their eyes filled with utter shock, horror, disbelief, and profound fear. This news was too shocking; it directly tore away the veil of secrecy that might exist within the Demon Suppression Division's branch, pointing to a dark secret that could reach even the highest levels!
The mission hall deacon's face went from white to green, then back to white, finally settling into an ashen, unsightly hue. Beads of cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead. He was just a lowly deacon who made a living by currying favor with superiors and putting on airs in front of lower-level cultivators; he'd never seen anything like this before. How dare he touch this "ironclad evidence" that directly pointed to the powerful head of the branch? One wrong move, and he'd be the first to be crushed to pieces!
"This...this confession involves major facts of the case, it's extremely serious..." He stammered, his words incoherent, his eyes darting around in a panic. "This deacon's position is too lowly to handle such crucial evidence...it must be sealed immediately and reported to the chief steward for a decision! Yes, it must be reported to Chief Steward Zhou!"
He turned around in a panic, wanting to rush into the inner hall to report, but his steps were unsteady and weak. He almost tripped over the hem of his robe and had to hold onto the counter to keep his balance. He looked extremely disheveled.
Just then, Lin Yan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly let out a very slight cough, which was made all the more clear by the sudden silence around him.
That suppressed cough, like a signal, instantly drew everyone's attention back to him.
Lin Yan's lips moved, each word seemingly squeezed from the depths of his throat, carrying a sluggish, bloody quality, yet possessing an undeniable, resolute power:
"The evidence...is here..."
"Please... Your Excellency... record this... according to procedure..."
"And...seal it immediately..."
"Presented to... Lord Zhou, the Chief Clerk..."
"No...delays allowed..."
Each word exhausted his remaining strength. After uttering the last word, he seemed to have all his support drained away. He closed his eyes again, his chest heaving violently, his breathing heavy and intermittent.
But the words had already been spoken, under the watchful eyes of everyone. These few fragmented words, seemingly weak, were like the sharpest nails, firmly nailing responsibility, procedure, and the crucial instruction to "present to Zhou Yan" to the scene, to the deacon, and to the hearts of all the witnesses.
The deacon trembled violently, his face growing even more ashen. He knew he was now completely in a precarious position. To refuse, to not record, to not report would be blatant dereliction of duty and insubordination; with so many eyes watching, he would be the first to be implicated no matter who investigated afterward. To accept, record, and report would mean being directly drawn into this inevitable, bloody power struggle…
Cold sweat had soaked his back.
Inside and outside the hall, there was a deathly silence. The only sounds were heavy breathing, the occasional crackling of the torches, and the slight clattering of the deacon's teeth.
The air froze, as cold as a winter's day. Everyone understood the dramatic tilt that would occur to the seemingly stable scales of the Qingzhou Prefecture Demon Suppression Division when these blood-stained parchment documents were officially recorded, sealed, and sent deep into the branch headquarters—the courtyard symbolizing supreme power. A storm capable of engulfing everyone was already brewing.
Lu Ling carefully wrapped the confession and the scattered physical evidence in oilcloth again, and gently pushed them, along with the few demon cores, into the counter, facing the deacon. Then, she stepped back and, together with the other team members, silently and firmly stood guard beside the stretcher.
Their mission, the first step, is complete. Now, it remains to be seen how the "rules" of the Qingzhou Prefecture Demon Suppression Division will process this scalding and dangerous "evidence" forged in blood and fire from the margins.
The deacon stared at the small, yet now incredibly heavy, oilcloth bundle on the counter, his expression shifting constantly. Finally, under the silent pressure of countless gazes, and overwhelmed by the immense fear and pressure of his uncertain future, he gritted his teeth, a desperate look flashing across his face. With his still slightly trembling hand, he picked up the oilcloth bundle and clutched it tightly, as if it were his very life.
"Someone...someone!" His voice was hoarse and cracked. "Record this! Li Gui, the duty officer of Room 7, Class C, has received...a certificate of completion for the bandit suppression mission at Black Wind Gorge from the troops of Lin Yan, the acting commander of Black Stone Town!"
"Summary: Several demon cores, belongings of evil cultivators, fragments of magical artifacts, several ore samples... and..."
He paused, swallowed a non-existent saliva, and as if using all his strength, spat out each word slowly and deliberately:
"And, a crucial piece of evidence: a signed confession from the heretical sect leader 'Mo Sanhuai' and his accomplices!"
"Immediately...seal! Urgent! This steward...will personally deliver this to the chief official!"
He knew that from this moment on, he had no choice but to be swept along by this torrent and carried towards the unknown future.
……
The last rays of the setting sun cast a dim golden glow on the window frame of the mission hall. A young man dressed in a blue official's robe appeared silently in the doorway.
He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a dignified face and a rigid expression honed by years of handling paperwork. However, his eyes were exceptionally clear, his gaze neither obsequious nor arrogant, but possessing a dignified and unyielding air. His appearance was completely unexpected, his footsteps as light as a cat's.
"The Lord has given an order," the young man's voice was not loud, but his words were clear and distinct, like pearls falling on a jade plate, "to summon Lin Yan, the acting commander of Blackstone Town, to the study for questioning."
His gaze fell on Lin Yan, who was pale and weak on the stretcher. He paused and added, "The lord specifically instructed that if Inspector Lin is unable to move, a soft chair should be prepared for him to be carried there."
His tone was calm and even, revealing no emotion whatsoever, but the thoughtful gesture of "providing soft chairs" was like a gentle breeze, soothing the tense nerves of Lu Ling and the others.
Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze meeting that of the young clerk, and nodded slightly: "Thank you for your trouble."
Soon, a softly cushioned rattan sedan chair was carried in, and Lin Yan was carefully placed on it. Lu Ling and the others wanted to accompany him as guards, but were stopped by a calm look from the young clerk: "The lord has only summoned Inspector Lin. You have all worked hard, please wait here for a while."
Lin Yan gave Lu Ling and the others a reassuring look. He knew that the real test was yet to come.
The soft chair was lifted, and following the young clerk, they slowly passed through the deep, winding corridors and gates of the Demon Suppression Division's branch. As dusk fell, lanterns hanging under the eaves lit up one by one, casting swaying shadows on the cobblestone path in their dim yellow light. The guards, clerks, and servants encountered along the way all lowered their eyes, turned sideways, and stood silently, holding their breath. An invisible solemnity and oppression permeated the air.
Finally, they arrived at a secluded courtyard deep within the branch headquarters. The courtyard walls were high, draped with vines, and two ancient cypress trees stood guard before the gate, their gnarled branches forming silent lines in the twilight. The gate was ajar, and two guards in dark iron armor stood before it, their faces expressionless. Their auras were as solid as mountains, and faint fluctuations of true energy emanated from their bodies—they were clearly cultivators at the Transcendent Realm! Upon seeing the young clerk and the soft chair, their gazes swept over them like lightning. Only after confirming their identities did they slightly step aside, silently making way.
The courtyard was extremely quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the evening breeze. The study was located on the east side of the main house, its doors tightly closed, and a warm, steady candlelight filtering through the paper windows.
The young clerk stepped forward and gently knocked on the door three times: "Sir, Lin Yan has arrived."
"Come in." A voice came from inside the house. The voice was calm and steady, with a gentle warmth that had been tempered by the passage of time.
The door was pushed open, and a refreshing scent, a blend of aged books, delicate sandalwood, and fine pine soot ink, wafted out. A soft chair was carried in and gently placed down.
The study wasn't large, but it exuded the owner's taste and refinement. A large rosewood desk occupied the center, its surface meticulously arranged with the Four Treasures of the Study. Against the wall were several rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, densely packed with classics and documents. On the east wall hung a traditional Chinese ink landscape painting, its brushstrokes bold and unrestrained. In the west corner, on a low table, a bronze incense burner emitted wisps of pale blue smoke. The entire room was neat and orderly, with soft lighting.
Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man dressed in a plain brocade robe with dark patterns. He appeared to be around fifty years old, with a lean face, slightly prominent cheekbones, and a neatly trimmed three-strand beard. His hair was held in place by a simple ebony hairpin, not a single strand out of place. He was looking down at a document in his hands, his profile clearly defined in the candlelight, his expression focused. He sat there quietly, not deliberately exuding any imposing aura, yet he seemed to blend into the study, the courtyard, and even the deep night outside the window, his presence as profound as an ancient, cold well.
A Core Formation Realm cultivator! And definitely not a beginner at this realm!
Lin Yan felt a chill run down his spine. This was Zhou Yan, the head of the Demon Suppression Division branch in Qingzhou Prefecture. Completely different from Liu Xiong's arrogant and domineering style, Zhou Yan gave the first impression of a well-read, calm, and capable official. However, the faint, yet palpable, pressure emanating from him, befitting a high-level cultivator, caused Lin Yan's Devouring Spirit True Essence to instinctively slow its flow.
"My lord, Inspector Lin has arrived." The young clerk bowed.
Zhou Yan then looked up from his documents and turned his gaze to Lin Yan, who was sitting in the soft chair. His gaze was calm and clear, not sharp, yet it seemed to possess a certain penetrating power. He did not speak immediately, but simply watched quietly.
Lin Yan struggled to rise and bow, aggravating his wounds and turning even paler. Zhou Yan gently waved his hand, "No need. Your injury is more important; there's no need for formalities." His voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.
He pointed to a sandalwood round stool with a thick brocade cushion next to the desk and said to the two strong servants who carried the chair, "Inspector Fulin, please sit here. You may leave now." He then said to the young clerk, "Wen Yuan, you wait outside the Ye Gate. No one may disturb you without being summoned."
"Yes," the young clerk Sun Wenyuan and his strong servant replied in unison, and nimbly withdrew, gently closing the door behind them.
Inside the study, only Zhou Yan and Lin Yan remained. The candlelight burned quietly, and the fragrance of sandalwood completely blocked out the deepening night outside the window. Lin Yan leaned back on the round stool, his back straight. The dull pain from his wound did not distract him. All his senses and will were focused on the seemingly calm face of the Core Formation Realm leader behind the desk.
Zhou Yan didn't rush to inquire about the Black Wind Ravine incident. Instead, he picked up a cup of warm tea, took a sip, and then turned his gaze back to the three bloodstained parchment confessions that Sun Wenyuan had placed on the corner of the table. He didn't touch them immediately, but simply watched them, his fingertips rhythmically tapping the smooth rosewood table surface, producing a deep and clear "tap, tap" sound.
After a moment, he reached for the three sheets of paper, unfolded them, and began to read them word by word by the bright candlelight. He read slowly and carefully, his brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing, but his expression remained calm and composed. Only in his ever-peaceful eyes would a faint, elusive glimmer occasionally flash across his face.
After a long while, he gently placed the three pieces of parchment back on the table, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the dark red bloodstain. Then he raised his eyes, looking at Lin Yan with a gaze as deep and unfathomable as an ancient well.
"These few sheets of paper," his voice was not loud, but each word was clear, carrying a strange penetrating power, "carry significant weight. The difference between a monumental achievement and a groundbreaking feat is often just a hair's breadth. The fact that you could think of using them as a 'stepping stone' and a 'protective charm,' rather than a hastily thrown 'killer move,' shows a level of prudence and restraint that is rare at your age."
Lin Yan bowed slightly, his voice hoarse from weakness but still clear: "Your Excellency is wise. Chief Liu has been operating in Qingzhou Prefecture for many years, deeply entrenched and with numerous followers. Relying solely on the evil cultivator's words, even if he signs and affixes his seal, will hardly shake his foundation. On the contrary, it will easily alert him and put himself in danger. Moreover..." He paused, raising his eyes to look directly at Zhou Yan, "According to the clues I have gathered through my investigation, this matter is likely to have far-reaching implications, not just limited to Qingzhou. Making it public rashly will not only fail to eliminate the traitors but may also bring even more unpredictable disasters."
"Oh?" Zhou Yan's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, and his usually calm eyes seemed to show a hint of interest. "Not just in Qingzhou? A deeper connection? You mean…"
Lin Yan did not answer immediately.
He was observing, judging, and weighing his options. Su Qingyao's words from that night echoed in his mind, each word clear: "Uncle Zhou is an upright man and a trustworthy elder..." The investigations he had conducted since entering the city these past few days, the vague rumors of factionalism within the branch, the strict rules he had observed along the way, the upright atmosphere in this study, and Zhou Yan's reaction upon seeing the confession—no haste to clear his name, no hypocritical praise, only a calm assessment and an implicit interest in the "connections behind the scenes"... All of this seemed completely different from Su Qingyao's description and the frivolous and sinister style of Liu Xiong's faction that he himself had perceived.
This leader was calm, composed, and far-sighted. More importantly, he seemed to be aware of certain deep-seated problems within the branch and even of Liu Xiong himself, and might even have long harbored the intention to rectify them.
Perhaps... we can take a gamble. We can gamble that this Chief Zhou is someone who truly cares about his duties and wants to eliminate long-standing problems; we can gamble that what we brought back is exactly the "weapon" he needs.
Lin Yan took a deep breath, which caused a suppressed cough. He forced it down, but his eyes became unusually sharp and determined at that moment, as if he had made some kind of life-or-death decision. He did not directly answer Zhou Yan's question about "deeper entanglements," but instead used his less injured left hand to slowly and very carefully reach into an inner pocket close to his body.
His movements were slow, tinged with the difficulty of an injured person, yet remarkably steady. His fingers rummaged in the inner pocket for a moment, then, with extreme care, he removed three items.
The first item was a **photograph stone** about the size of a pigeon's egg, crystal clear like icy jade, with a faint blue luster flowing within. Bathed in the soft candlelight of the study, it lay quietly in Lin Yan's slightly outstretched palm, radiating a warm and mysterious glow.
The second item was several small packets carefully wrapped and stacked in oiled paper. Lin Yan gently opened them, revealing several samples of **blood crystal stone**, dark red to almost black in color, with a crystalline texture, yet faintly exuding a chilling and eerie aura. Even though they were just fragments, that unique and unsettling energy fluctuation still emanated from them.
The third item was several brand-new pieces of parchment, folded exceptionally neatly, with edges even sealed with dark red sealing wax. Lin Yan unfolded them and laid them on the table. The handwriting on them was upright and forceful; it was Mo Laogui's core confession regarding Liu Xiong and his confidant "Mr. Xu's" exchange of contraband materials such as blood crystals. Compared to the previous three bloodstained originals, this one was clearer and more focused.
Lin Yan placed these three items in a row on the desk in front of Zhou Yan.
"My lord," Lin Yan's voice was tense and hoarse from trying to keep it steady, but every word was enunciated very clearly, "these three items are the most important and fatal evidence I obtained during my trip to Black Wind Ravine."
His finger first pointed to the recording stone: "This stone contains, through secret methods, images and audio recordings of the evil cultivator bandit leader 'Mo Sanhuai' and two of his confidants confessing to me that their gang regularly exchanged contraband materials such as blood crystals and rare minerals with 'Mr. Xu,' a trusted subordinate of Captain Liu Xiong—who, upon investigation, turned out to be Xu Youcai, the branch's accounting clerk—at an abandoned land temple thirty miles west of the city. Mo Sanhuai explicitly mentioned that Captain Liu Xiong himself was aware of this and tacitly approved and condoned it; some of the highest quality blood crystals were regularly offered as tribute to 'nobles of the capital.'"
His finger moved to the dark red crystals: "These were found in a stone niche next to the core altar of the evil cultivator's lair in Black Wind Ravine. According to Mo Sanhuai, the method of its refinement is extremely insidious, requiring the gathering of the essence, blood, and soul of living beings through a specific array, and then tempering it with evil magic. He confessed that this method was personally taught to him more than ten years ago by a mysterious person dressed in black robes, with an indistinct face, a peculiar voice, and a black thumb ring on his right hand. I previously found blood crystals of the same type and with the same aura deep within the lair of the Demon Wolf King in Black Stone Town, and also in the hidden wall of the secret room of former town mayor Chen Fuhai."
Finally, his finger landed on the summary of the confession: "This is the core summary of Mo Sanhuai's details regarding his collusion with Liu Xiong's faction, which corroborates his statement on the photo stone. The specific transaction times, locations, contact person characteristics, and the quantity and type of items exchanged mentioned therein can all be verified one by one."
Zhou Yan's gaze followed Lin Yan's narration, moving from the recording stone to the blood crystal stone, and then landing on the neatly written summary of the confession. The calm and profound expression he had maintained was finally broken. In the depths of his once placid eyes, ripples suddenly spread like those of a deep pool tossed with a boulder—shock, gravity, a gradually igniting anger, and a deep sense of heartache.
He didn't speak, but slowly reached out and picked up the recording stone first. His fingers were long and steady, with a wisp of extremely pure, peaceful yet unfathomable true energy swirling around his fingertips, which he gently poured into the stone.
"Buzz..."
A very faint tremor. A pale blue, soft, and non-glaring halo rose from the recording stone, rapidly spreading and coalescing in the air about a foot above the desk, transforming into a hazy, slightly undulating light screen, roughly two square meters in size. Within the light screen, the image quickly went from blurry to clear—
Mo Laogui's face, twisted and distorted with extreme fear, weakness, and the devouring of his true essence, filled with despair, appeared vividly before him. He slumped in a corner of the Black Wind Cave, recounting, haltingly but clearly, the details of his meeting with "Mr. Xu," the classification and flow of the blood crystals, and his fear of Liu Xiong... The two captured evil cultivator leaders beside him cautiously added details. The image was stable, and the sound was clearly audible.
Zhou Yan watched quietly, his eyes fixed on the screen. His face was expressionless, except for his increasingly deep-set eyes and slightly pursed lips, which betrayed his inner turmoil. From beginning to end, he didn't interrupt or ask any questions, but simply watched this footage, which was enough to stir up a storm, in its entirety like a patient bystander.
The video finished playing, the light screen flickered a few times, and then quietly disappeared. Zhou Yan withdrew his true energy from his fingertips, and the light from the recording stone dimmed. He gently placed it back on the table, still without saying a word, and then reached out and picked up a fragment of blood crystal stone, placing it in his palm.
He closed his eyes, a gentle yet vast divine sense enveloping the crystal fragment as he carefully sensed it. After a moment, he opened his eyes, his gaunt face now solemn. The unique and sinister fluctuations of essence and soul contained within the crystal, its cold, violent, and twisted aura, made even this well-versed Core Formation cultivator feel a deep unease and disgust.
Finally, he unfolded the few pages of the confession summary and, by candlelight, read them slowly and carefully, word by word. His gaze lingered on every time, every place, every person, and every quantity of item, as if trying to etch this information deeply into his mind.
Inside the study, only the faint rustling of pages turning, the occasional crackling of candlelight, and the suppressed breathing of the two people remained. The air seemed compressed and solidified by an invisible force, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.