Mm…
Naturally, he had no aversion to making contact with the Huiyuan Sword Formula, and now was indeed the moment when a special CG could be unlocked.
Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that unlocking a special CG here would be a little unfair to the Huiyuan Sword Formula.
In any case—first, give it a try.
Gu Chengming adjusted his expression, intending to cup that small face of the Huiyuan Sword Formula.
However——
"Whoosh."
His palm passed through the little girl's cheek without the slightest resistance, like scooping at an illusory moon reflected in water.
Gu Chengming froze.
Refusing to believe it, he tried again—to grab her hand, to encircle her waist, even to press his forehead against hers.
The result was, without exception, the same.
Pass through, pass through, and still pass through.
He shuttled back and forth through the little girl's body several times, and apart from making himself look like a madman flailing at empty air, achieved no substantial contact whatsoever.
"This isn't right, is it?"
A bit puzzled, and a bit dejected, Gu Chengming withdrew his hand.
Visible, yet untouchable—how was he supposed to do anything like this?
Was there a BUG in this illusory realm's mechanics?
Seeming to sense Gu Chengming's frustration, the little girl before him looked rather pained on his behalf.
She stood on her tiptoes, stretched out a small hand, and gently patted the top of his head——although there was no tactile sensation, that soothing intent was conveyed to him with perfect clarity.
"Um…"
The Huiyuan Sword Formula blinked, and offered a constructive suggestion:
"How about… trying a different cultivation method?"
Hearing this, Gu Chengming fell into thought.
Right—since this illusory realm targeted the spirit and the will, perhaps switching channels would do the trick?
A thought stirred in Gu Chengming's mind, and the circulation route of the spiritual energy within his body instantly changed.
First was the «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method».
As the cultivation method switched, the figure of the dainty, adorable Huiyuan Sword Formula before him gradually faded, dispersing into scattered points of starlight. Immediately after, a surge of Righteous Noble Breath condensed out of thin air.
Light and shadow reassembled, and the figure of a towering Confucian-scholar woman clad in a green robe appeared before Gu Chengming.
This was precisely the «Zhouli Heavenly Harmony Righteous Heart Method».
Before Gu Chengming could even greet it, this «Zhouli» stood with its hands clasped behind its back, first knitting its brows and surveying a full circle, then heaving a sigh:
"Though I harbor a heart of utmost devotion and an intent of complete sincerity, I cannot aid my lord in forcing his way out—this is my fault."
The instant it appeared, Gu Chengming instinctively glanced at the pristine white wall behind him.
The line of pink characters upon it—[The Room You Cannot Leave Without ■■ing]—suddenly twisted once, the text upon it beginning to rearrange, until at last it became several characters of iron-stroke, silver-hook calligraphy, exuding an aura of slaughter:
[The Room You Cannot Leave Without Beating Up a Female Cultivator]
Gazing at this line of text, Gu Chengming felt his vision go black, and could only press a hand helplessly to his forehead.
Now he truly understood.
So it turned out this illusory realm varied from person to person… or rather, from "method" to "method."
For each person who entered, this "condition for leaving" would change according to the obsession or characteristic deep within their heart.
The Huiyuan Sword Formula's was simple fondness and attachment, whereas the Zhouli's…
Gu Chengming recalled its "how virtuous" reaction back when he had savagely beaten Feng Ya, and felt a wave of speechlessness in his heart.
So in your eyes, apart from "reasoning things out," all that remains is "reasoning things out physically," is that it?
The problem was…
Gu Chengming looked at this space, which contained only himself and the Zhouli, two "people."
Where was he supposed to find a female cultivator to beat?
This path was a dead end.
Gu Chengming sighed, and could only switch cultivation methods once more.
This time, it was the «Qingxin Formula».
As a gust of clear breeze swept past, the Zhouli's solemn figure dispersed.
Taking its place was the figure of a woman who seemed to still be clutching a handful of melon seeds, her face blank with bewilderment.
She clearly hadn't yet grasped what had happened—one second ago she'd been watching this whole scene with relish from within his sea of consciousness, so how had the picture suddenly flipped and she herself gotten dragged up onto the stage?
"Huh?"
The Qingxin Formula looked at Gu Chengming, then looked around, clearly still in that dazed state of someone who'd been munching on gossip only to have the gossip land on herself.
Gu Chengming couldn't be bothered to explain, and simply looked up at the wall.
The script on that wall transformed once again, becoming a line of text positively dripping with the spirit of gossip-mongering:
[The Room You Cannot Leave Without Watching Gu Chengming and the Huiyuan Sword Formula ■]
Gu Chengming: "..."
With a subtle expression, he turned his head and stared at the Qingxin Formula.
"Your idea… why would it be this?"
So you don't actually want to get out—you just want to ship the CP live on the scene, is that it?
The Qingxin Formula's gaze drifted evasively, and she guiltily tucked the melon seeds in her hand behind her back, deflecting with vague chatter, wearing a picture-perfect innocent look of "I dunno anything."
But this condition was obviously a dead loop.
Helpless, Gu Chengming could only keep trying.
Spiritual energy circulated, switching to «Flowing Cloud Moon-Following».
This time, the script on the wall turned exceedingly sharp, even faintly bleeding with a bloody light, terse and to the point:
[The Room You Cannot Leave Without Killing a Sword Cultivator]
Gu Chengming took one glance and skipped it outright.
This «Flowing Cloud Moon-Following» truly lived up to its origin as the technique created by that extreme sword cultivator of old—apart from killing, it was still killing.
But the only sword cultivator in this room was himself.
Suicide?
What kind of joke was that—who knew whether dying inside this illusory realm would actually turn into brain death.
The risk was too great; pass, directly.
Last—at last.
Gu Chengming drew a deep breath, pinning his final hope on the Hundred Bones.
As the power of qi and blood surged within his body, «Hundred Bones Resonance» finally took the stage.
"Boom!"
Amid a thunderous roar of qi and blood shaking.
A tall, willowy beautiful maiden with a head of snow-white hair appeared before Gu Chengming.
Unlike the illusory quality of the other cultivation methods, Hundred Bones Resonance—because it chiefly cultivated the physical body's qi and blood—appeared at this moment exceptionally solid, her skin fairer than snow, radiating a healthy, rosy glow.
The moment she appeared, she first lowered her head to look at her own two hands, then touched her own face.
"Eh? I have a body?"
Excitedly, she spun around twice on the spot, silver hair flying, then suddenly threw herself at Gu Chengming, grabbing his shoulders in one motion—and the sensation was actually a genuine, warm, forceful one.
"Heavenly Emperor Gu! Look! I've finally descended into the mortal world!"
Gu Chengming looked at this white-haired beauty before him, feeling that real strength upon his shoulders. Though there was something a touch peculiar about it in his heart, more than anything he felt a wave of relief.
At last, one he could actually touch.
However.
When he turned his head with full anticipation, looking toward that wall to see what kind of simple clearing condition this Hundred Bones Resonance would offer.
Upon that wall, golden light blazed ten thousand zhang high, and several great characters carrying supreme majesty—as if to suppress all eternity—slowly surfaced:
[The Room You Cannot Leave Without Becoming Emperor]
Gu Chengming looked at that line of text, then looked at the white-haired maiden before him, who was waiting for him to give the order to conquer all the heavens.
——The least surprising of all, of course, is still you, huh, Heavenly Emperor Bai.
"Heavenly Emperor Gu, this is precisely a heaven-sent opportunity!"
Hundred Bones Resonance, however, paid none of that any heed. She pointed at that line of text:
"Since this illusory realm dares to pose such a question, it means it acknowledges your sovereign's caliber! So long as a single thought stirs in your mind, this whole heaven and earth will fall entirely within your grasp. If not now, then when shall you become Emperor?!"
Gu Chengming sighed, and was just about to try whether there was some other method.
Suddenly a thought stirred—an idea popped into his mind, and he began to laugh.
"You're quite right, Heavenly Emperor Bai."
The next instant, Gu Chengming no longer suppressed it, and directly activated the Primordial Imperial Merit.
——Sovereign state!
"Hummm——"
It was merely a sliver of aura leaking out.
"Crack!"
The originally indestructible pristine white space, at the instant this aura emerged, seemed unable to withstand the descent of some great existence, and let out an overburdened wail of grief.
The line of great characters on the wall—[The Room You Cannot Leave Without Becoming Emperor]—couldn't hold out for even a single breath before shattering outright into fine powder.
Immediately after, the entire space began to tremble violently, countless pitch-black fissures spreading through the void.
"Rumble——!"
The illusory realm shattered.
"..."
A crisp snap, like a zither string breaking, abruptly burst out within the silent wing chamber.
In the outside world, only a few breaths had passed.
The fingers Gu Chengming had pressed against the window's base trembled slightly, and his eyes instantly recovered their clarity.
[Hundred Bones Resonance was rather satisfied, as if she had already glimpsed the scene of Heavenly Emperor Gu sweeping across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths in the future. Pleased as could be, she hummed an unnamed little tune, looking somewhat reluctant for it to end.]
[The Huiyuan Sword Formula, on the other hand, felt boundless regret and pity in its heart.]
[Though it had just behaved so magnanimously, in its heart it was actually rather resentful—that evil entity had simply been too weak. If only that illusory realm had been a touch more capable, perhaps it could have…]
[Even if only within a false illusory realm, even just to lightly touch him once would have been enough.]
[Thinking of this, it let out a long sigh, drooping its head dejectedly, feeling as though it had missed an opportunity vast as the heavens.]
At that same moment, in the void before Gu Chengming, a scream of utmost shrillness—yet one that seemed forcibly lodged in the throat by something—came to an abrupt halt.
Immediately after, a figure clad in thin pink gauze, with a graceful, sinuous form, seemed to be "spat" out by space itself, crashing heavily onto the floorboards.
"Thud."
Everyone fixed their eyes upon it, and couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath of cold air.
Where was that any graceful woman?
That was unmistakably a stark-white skeleton draped in half a sheet of rotted human skin.
The skeleton's eye sockets were sunken deep, and the spot where ghostly green soul-fire should have burned was, at this moment, a chaotic ashen gray. The bones across its whole body twitched violently, its mouth opening and closing, yet what it emitted was not the howling of ghosts and wolves, but a series of meaningless "clack-clack" sounds, like a mechanism gone jammed.
This third-realm evil entity, the "Pink Skeleton," expert in illusory arts and the human heart, now seemed like a fool whose brain had been fried—utterly crashed.
The black-faced burly man, who had originally been aggressively set on seizing someone, was so frightened by this monster suddenly dropping down that he stumbled back three steps, the soul-locking chain in his hand nearly slipping from his grasp.
As a constable of the Demon-Catching Bureau, he naturally recognized this as a third-realm evil entity.
But what he could not comprehend was how this evil entity could suddenly tumble out on its own.
And it looked as though it had gone qi-deviated…
Song Qing's face was likewise full of astonishment, and he instinctively looked toward Gu Chengming at his side.
He saw Gu Chengming still maintaining his earlier stance, as if he had foreseen it all.
Why had this evil entity turned into such a state?
Everyone exchanged glances, all of them filled with shock and bewilderment.
Gu Chengming, however, paid no heed to everyone's reactions, nor did he look at the twitching Pink Skeleton at his feet.
Because at the instant the illusory realm shattered, he had clearly caught hold of that invisible thread deep within the evil entity's soul—a thread trembling violently from the backlash, connected to the other end.
At the far end of that thread was a place brimming with panic and excruciating pain.
—Found you.
Gu Chengming's gaze turned slightly cold, and while the black-faced burly man was still standing there dazed, he directly smashed through the window lattice and charged out into the night.
...
Deep within the dark alley across from Yayuan.
In the attic of a seemingly abandoned sundry shop.
"Pwah——!"
A figure clad in a gray robe, its features hidden beneath a hood, abruptly spewed out a great mouthful of fresh blood.
That blood took on an eerie black hue, corroding the floorboards the moment it landed.
"The illusory realm shattered?!"
The gray-robed figure clutched its chest, which throbbed as if splitting apart, its eyes full of disbelief.
That was the destiny-bound evil entity it had refined over several years of painstaking effort, using the spirit-souls of countless lovestruck men and resentful women. Even an ordinary cultivator at the perfected second realm, once trapped within, would be ground to death by those endless rules of lust and desire.
Just what had that brat from the Night-Watch Bureau done in there?!
The terrifying pressure that had erupted in that instant had surged backward along the soul-connection, instantly crumbling more than half of its dao-heart.
"Flee!"
The gray-robed figure had no time to mourn that already-ruined Pink Skeleton. Just as it was about to drive a secret technique to escape, it found that the spiritual energy within its body, due to the backlash, circulated sluggishly.
And that sword-qi had already closed to within a hundred zhang.
There was no escaping.
A trace of despair flashed through the gray-robed figure's eyes, then transformed into a streak of ferocity and resolve.
A failed mission was, to begin with, a path of certain death. To be captured alive by the Night-Watch Bureau and have its soul searched would not only be a fate worse than death—it would also implicate the master's grand scheme.
Facing that sword-light about to crash through the window, it did not hesitate in the slightest. With a backhand, it slammed its palm heavily down upon its own crown.
"Bang!"
This palm strike not only shattered its skull, but also detonated the deadly poison and restrictive seals long buried within its body.
At the same time, a ball of ghostly green specter-fire ignited above its face.
"Sizzle, sizzle——"
At the very instant Gu Chengming broke open the attic window.
What he saw was a corpse already crumpling limply to the ground.
That person's features had already been seared to a charred ruin by the specter-fire, utterly unrecognizable from their original appearance, and the meridians, dantian, and even the soul within its body had all been thoroughly destroyed beneath that single palm strike—not even a sliver of remnant soul had been left behind.
All the clues, all the traces, were severed clean in this single moment.
Gu Chengming sheathed his sword and stood, gazing at that corpse wisping with black smoke, his brows knitting slightly.
This death-soldier had clearly already had its heart-vessels shattered by that third-realm evil entity's backlash, spewing black blood the whole way—yet it could still erupt with such astonishing escape speed. Had its opponent not been at one part in ten of its full state, he likely wouldn't have so much as touched the back of its silhouette tonight.
As for himself now—he had sword intent for offense, Hundred Bones for defense; the sole shortcoming was his pace for traveling and pursuit, truly a weak link. It seemed that once he returned to the Night-Watch Bureau, he absolutely had to exchange for a superior escape technique.
Otherwise, should he later encounter a situation where he couldn't beat an enemy who wanted to flee, or wanted to pursue and slay but couldn't catch up, that would be truly stifling.
Thinking thus, he stepped forward and used his sword-scabbard to flip open the man's hood.
Apart from that utterly destroyed face, this person did not even have a storage pouch on him, and his clothes were the coarsest common hemp cloth found on the market, leaving behind no marking by which his identity could be traced.
The clue was severed—but not entirely severed.
This caliber of death-soldier's handiwork, combined with the earlier inexplicably swift intervention of the Demon-Catching Bureau, meant the waters behind it were clearly deep enough to drown a person.
"Forget it."
Gu Chengming shook his head and reached out, grabbing the back of the corpse's collar in one motion, as if hauling a piece of merchandise.
This sort of mess—which in all likelihood involved high officials of the court, perhaps even imperial-family secrets—was best left to his superiors to fret over.
He was only here to gain experience; there was no need to scoop everything into his own arms.
With the matter settled, he tested it by saying a couple of sentences and found everything normal, letting out a breath of relief.
It seemed the Primordial Imperial Merit he had activated within the illusory realm had not carried over into reality. Good, good.
Yayuan, inside the wing chamber.
With the suicide of that behind-the-scenes death-soldier, the Pink Skeleton—which had originally still been twitching on the ground, hair-raising to behold—seemed to have all its essence, qi, and spirit instantly drained away.
"Crack… crack…"
Accompanied by a teeth-grating series of cracking sounds, that half-human, half-bone body began to swiftly weather and shrivel.
The once-vivid human skin withered and sank in, the crystalline white bones turning ashen and brittle, until at last, beneath the shocked gazes of the crowd, it dissolved into a heap of black ash exuding an aura of decay, along with a few broken, withered bones.
Just as everyone had yet to recover their senses from this eerie turn of events.
"Thud."
The sound of a heavy object dropping to the ground rang out at the doorway of the wing chamber.
Gu Chengming clapped his hands and pointed at the unrecognizable charred corpse on the ground, his expression as calm as if he'd merely stepped out to take out the trash:
"The mastermind controlling it from behind was in the attic across the way. Seeing the matter exposed, he took his own life."
Inside the wing chamber, a deathly silence.
The fiery-red treasure-pearl that Song Qing had been twirling round and round who knew how many times slipped from his grasp with a "clatter" and dropped to the ground.
He looked at that evil entity reduced to flying ash, then looked at the corpse still steaming at Gu Chengming's feet, his mouth falling slightly open.
Wasn't this far too fast?
From Gu Chengming sinking into thought, to then breaking through the window and out, to returning with a corpse in hand—had even the time it takes to burn a stick of incense elapsed?
He hadn't even had time to figure out how he was supposed to smooth things over for Gu Chengming if a real fight broke out, and the case had already been solved?
As for that earlier aggressively domineering black-faced burly man—at this moment, his already-dark face was a spectacle of shifting colors.
He stared at that corpse, his throat bobbing with difficulty, the hand gripping the soul-locking chain somewhat stiff.
As a veteran constable of the Demon-Catching Bureau, he was no fool.
The signs of this evil entity's backlash, combined with this corpse that was clearly a death-soldier's, had already slammed the truth ruthlessly into his face.
Gu Chengming stepped over the threshold, with no aggressive, overbearing manner at all, merely countering with a question:
"Now that the evil entity has been eliminated and the true culprit is dead, I wonder—do you still intend to insist on taking this Harmonious Joy Sect disciple back for interrogation?"
The black-faced burly man's face twitched. He glanced at the gazes cast over by those powerful and noble guests around them, then looked at Gu Chengming's half-smiling, half-not gaze.
The case had already been classified. If he were to forcibly seize the person now, that would be knowingly breaking the law, deliberately making things difficult.
This brat from the Night-Watch Bureau had a corpse in hand, had evidence; if it truly came to a fuss before the imperial presence, his Demon-Catching Bureau would be the side in the wrong.
"This matter was indeed my mistake. I beg the colleagues of the Night-Watch Bureau to forgive the offense."
The black-faced burly man forcibly found himself a way down:
"Since the Night-Watch Bureau has already ascertained the true culprit, then naturally that's for the best. This matter shall be handed over to the colleagues of the Night-Watch Bureau to handle. We'll take our leave first."
Having said this, without even explaining the misunderstanding, he gave a great flick of his sleeves and led his band of subordinates slinking out through the crowd, his retreating figure carrying more than a little the air of a flustered escape.
Once the Demon-Catching Bureau's people had gone far away.
Song Qing finally snapped back to his senses, looked toward Gu Chengming, his tone brimming with admiration: "Brother Gu! You're just too amazing, aren't you?!"
"I originally thought you were merely formidable with the sword—I never imagined your skill at solving cases was also first-rate!"
Gu Chengming helplessly brushed his hand aside.
At this moment, Yun Wan—who had been maintaining order and soothing the crowd off to the side—finally let out a breath of relief.
She looked at the disciple who had collapsed limply on the ground and had now been helped away to rest, then looked at the heap of evil-entity ashes on the floor, and felt a wave of lingering fear in her heart.
Had Gu Chengming not been present today, had he not acted righteously and with such meticulous thought, the basin of filthy water would have been splashed firmly upon Yayuan today.
By then, not only would this disciple's life have been hard to preserve, but Yayuan's reputation, too, would have been destroyed in a single stroke.
Yun Wan tidied her somewhat disheveled cloud-like coiffure, and with light, lotus-like steps, walked up before Gu Chengming.
This time, there was not the slightest trace of her earlier frivolity and probing in her eyes—replaced instead by a heart full of gratitude and gravity.
She did not perform the empty courtesies of the romantic quarters, but instead clasped her hands together and respectfully gave Gu Chengming a Daoist bow:
"For today's matter, I thank Young Master Gu for speaking up for justice and lending a hand in rescue."
"All of Yayuan, high and low, is engraved with gratitude to the depths of our hearts. The Young Master's great kindness, I, Yun Wan, have committed to memory."
Gu Chengming waved a hand: "Steward Yun is too courteous. It was merely my duty."
Yun Wan lifted her head, her tone resolute:
"To the Young Master it may be merely a duty, but to this humble self, and to the sisters of Yayuan, it is the kindness of saving our very lives."
Saying this, she glanced at the onlookers around them who had yet to disperse, and lowered her voice:
"There are too many eyes and ears here; this is no place to talk. I will have someone keep watch over the corpse and the scene, awaiting the Night-Watch Bureau's people to come and take them over."
"Young Master Gu, Young Master Song, if you don't find it beneath you… might you adjourn to the back hall? I'll have someone prepare some modest wine at once, to serve as a calming of nerves for you two."
...
Yayuan's back hall, cups and plates in disarray.
With the true culprit brought to justice and the evil entity dispersed, this heart-stopping upheaval finally came to a close.
Yun Wan personally filled a cup of spirit-wine for Gu Chengming, raised the cup with both hands, and said gravely:
"Had it not been for the Young Master turning the tide today, not only would my Yayuan have had to shut its doors for good, but even that wrongly-accused junior sister would likely have found it hard to escape death. Great kindness needs no words of thanks—in the future, whenever the Young Master has leisure, do come and sit at Yayuan often."
Saying this, Yun Wan covered her lips and laughed softly, her gaze making a circuit of Gu Chengming's handsome face, and half-teasing, half-earnest, she made a promise:
"So long as the Young Master is willing to come, all of Yayuan will treat him with the courtesy due an honored guest. Even if the Young Master comes merely to drink a cup of plain tea or listen to a little tune, I'll make the call: all of the Young Master's expenses shall be entirely waived. And if the Young Master should have a mind for dual cultivation… Yayuan is willing to offer seventy percent off…"
"Pfft—"
Song Qing, off to the side, nearly sprayed out the wine he'd just sipped into his mouth.
The hand with which Gu Chengming held his wine cup also trembled slightly, and he pretended not to grasp the deeper meaning within:
"Haha, Steward Yun is too courteous."
Three rounds of wine in, the atmosphere was at its height.
Seeing that the timing was about right, Gu Chengming, as if offhandedly, steered the topic toward the real business:
"To be frank, this one is rather curious about your sect's cultivation methods. Watching Steward Yun and those few junior sisters today, in the flow of your auras there seemed to be a wondrous complementarity of yin and yang. I wonder if there is some explanation behind it?"
Thereupon, he expressed his interest in the Harmonious Joy Sect's cultivation methods.
Hearing this, Yun Wan set down her wine cup, the smile on her face withdrawing somewhat, revealing a hint of difficulty.
"Young Master Gu wishes to peruse my sect's cultivation methods?"
She shook her head and sighed:
"It's not that this humble self is stingy. Were it gold, silver, and treasures, or spirit-pills and dharma-implements, the Young Master need only speak the word and this humble self would have not a word of objection. But these cultivation methods are the very foundation of establishing the sect."
"The sect has strict orders: the Harmonious Joy Sect's core methods may not be cultivated by any but our own disciples, and a restrictive seal is laid within every disciple's soul. Should an outsider forcibly probe into them, it would only lead to mutual destruction, jade and stone alike burned."
"This rule has been passed down for several thousand years, and there has never once been a precedent."
Though Gu Chengming had anticipated this in his heart, he could not help but feel a touch of disappointment.
It seemed this [Harmonious Joy] bond entry was indeed not so easy to obtain.
Seeing Gu Chengming fall silent, the exquisitely perceptive Yun Wan assumed he was anxious in his pursuit of the Dao.
Those wondrous eyes of hers lit up anew, and she leaned her body slightly forward, looking toward Gu Chengming with a measure of fervor and anticipation:
"However, rules are dead things, while people are alive."
"Young Master Gu is of outstanding natural talent, with pure-yang qi and blood, and a tenacious disposition—truly the fine jade and beautiful timber that my Harmonious Joy Sect dreams of. If the Young Master is interested…"
"This humble self is willing to personally write a letter recommending you to the sect's elders. With the Young Master's qualifications, even directly entering the inner sect as a true-inheritance disciple would be no difficult matter. By then, all the myriad methods within the sect—wouldn't they be the Young Master's to peruse at will?"
Gu Chengming looked at Yun Wan's appearance—as if she wished she could process his enrollment paperwork on the spot—and felt a wave of helplessness in his heart.
"Ahem, many thanks for Steward Yun's kind intentions."
He inconspicuously shifted backward a little:
"It's only that this one has already entered the Wenjian Sect; my master's grace runs deep, and I have no intention of changing allegiances."
With that, he stiffly tore the topic away.
Yun Wan could only regretfully let the matter drop.
The next morning at dawn, the Night-Watch Bureau.
Inside Vice-Commander Liu's official corridor, the atmosphere was rather peculiar.
"Slap."
That scroll recording the details of last night's Yayuan case was slammed heavily onto the desk by Vice-Commander Liu.
He glared with those tiger-eyes of his, staring fixedly at the calm-faced Gu Chengming before him, as if looking at a monster.
"…You killed another one?"
Vice-Commander Liu pointed at the line on the scroll reading "third-realm Pink Skeleton," his voice even taking on a touch of a falter:
"It hasn't even been half a month!"
Vice-Commander Liu felt his cognition take a slight impact.
He had originally thought that Director Zhou handing this case to Gu Chengming was merely to let him investigate some leads, gain a bit of experience.
When he ran into a tough nut, naturally he'd come back to call for reinforcements.
Who could have imagined that this brat would just flip the whole table over, and in the process force to death even the death-soldier dispatched by the mastermind behind the scenes?
"That evil entity was backlashed by the illusory realm; this subordinate merely picked up the leftovers."
Gu Chengming was still going with that same line.
"Picked up the leftovers…"
The corner of Vice-Commander Liu's mouth twitched—naturally he didn't believe it. He flipped through the latter part of the scroll concerning that death-soldier.
Face destroyed, suicide, no identity markers whatsoever, yet able to control a third-realm evil entity.
"This matter is a bit troublesome."
Vice-Commander Liu rubbed his throbbing temples.
To be able to raise this sort of death-soldier, and moreover to produce gold-flecked paper, an imperial-use article—the clues pointed straight to the imperial court, and might even implicate those few…
He didn't say it all the way through, but Gu Chengming understood his meaning.
This was no longer a simple matter of slaying demons and eliminating evil.
"You did right in this. Bringing the corpse back was correct."
Vice-Commander Liu drew a deep breath, stood up, and snatched up the scroll on the desk:
"But I have to go report to the Director first."
Deep within the Night-Watch Bureau, in a quiet chamber.
Zhou Qingmu, still in a purple-and-gold official robe, was seated before the desk reviewing official documents.
After hearing Vice-Commander Liu's report—especially upon hearing the account of how Gu Chengming had once again independently slain a third-realm evil entity and forced to death the mastermind's death-soldier.
This Director of the Great Qian's Night-Watch Bureau, who had always been one not to show pleasure or anger, slowly set down the vermilion brush in her hand.
She lifted her head, and within those cold, clear eyes there was none of the surprise Vice-Commander Liu had anticipated.
On the contrary, the corner of her mouth curved into a faint arc, and her face wore a "just as I expected" expression.
"Not bad."
Zhou Qingmu gave a light nod:
"This seat knew that since he could cultivate the «Zhouli» to mastery, his disposition and his methods would naturally be extraordinary. A mere third-realm evil entity reliant on illusory realms naturally could not stump him."
"..."
Standing in the lower position, Vice-Commander Liu listened to these words, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
What did she mean by "a mere"? That was a third-realm evil entity!
An ordinary second-realm cultivator, even at perfected second realm, would face a rather thorny situation upon encountering a third-realm evil entity skilled in soul attacks.
"Director…"
Vice-Commander Liu couldn't help muttering softly:
"That was, after all, slaying an enemy across realms… If it had been an ordinary second-realm sent instead, the corpse would likely already be stone cold."
He was genuinely worried that his own genius Director, being too strong herself, had developed some misconception about the people beneath her—that she would henceforth dole out high-difficulty missions like they were cabbages. Then would the brothers down below even be allowed to live?
"The standard for a genius naturally cannot be spoken of in the same breath as that for mediocre folk."
Zhou Qingmu seemed to see through his thoughts, and swept him a faint glance:
"If you find it difficult, that is because you aren't strong enough."
Vice-Commander Liu: "..."
That stings, my lord.
"However…"
Zhou Qingmu shifted her tone, her gaze landing on the record concerning the death-soldier in that scroll, her eyes instantly turning cold:
"Since they dare to stretch their hands this far, daring to lay hands even on court-appointed officials, and even seeking to frame a sect…"
"Then keep investigating. Investigate it to the very end."
"Tell Gu Chengming to act without restraint. Should the sky fall, this seat will hold it up."
Vice-Commander Liu sighed inwardly, thinking: Director, this matter is truly not something a second-realm Wenjian Sect disciple can investigate.
But on second thought, he couldn't help recalling Gu Chengming's track record once more.
One month, two third-realm evil entities, one second-realm evil entity.
He thought to himself that this little Gu also seemed to be someone who didn't play by the rules.
Could it truly be that he, a mere mortal, simply didn't understand the world of geniuses?
...
Unaware of what Vice-Commander Liu was thinking on his end, Gu Chengming had already returned home.
The night was deep, yet within the little courtyard several warm yellow lamps were lit.
Gu Chengming pushed open the courtyard gate. He had just shed the weariness of the day, and before he'd even had time to change out of those patrol guard's brocade clothes stained with a bit of the night's dew, he saw a purple figure come bounding eagerly to greet him.
Yu Wenqiu today was not lying on that soft couch she loved most. Instead, she wore an expression as if showing off a treasure. Before Gu Chengming could even speak, she grabbed his sleeve and, brooking no argument, dragged him toward a corner of the courtyard.
"Little Gu! Come quick, come quick! Look at what wonderful treasure I scrounged up today!"
Gu Chengming was tugged into a stagger, and laughed helplessly:
"Elder, have you discovered another shop selling delicious pastries?"
"Vulgar! Far too vulgar!"
Yu Wenqiu turned her head and glared at him, then mysteriously pointed at that originally empty corner by the courtyard wall:
"Eating, drinking, and merrymaking—those are low-grade tastes. Today this Elder, for the sake of this home of ours… ahem, for the sake of this temporary base of ours, has greatly elevated our level of refinement!"
Following the direction of her finger, Gu Chengming was momentarily stunned.
He saw that the originally bare wall-corner now, at this moment, held an exceedingly exquisite rattan-woven swing frame.
It was no ordinary object. The rattan vines took on a warm, gentle jade hue, and several strings of glowing spirit-fruits hung from it, emitting a soft fluorescence.
The swing's seat was broad and comfortable, spread with a thick cloud-brocade cushion, ample enough to seat two people side by side.
And beside the swing frame, several spirit-plants named Drunken Evening Breeze had been specially transplanted. With one blow of the night wind, fine petals drifted down like snow—truly a lovely sight.
"What do you think?"
Yu Wenqiu stood beside the swing, hands on her hips, chin tilted slightly up:
"This is a Flowing Light Cloud-Piercing Swing I scrounged from a down-and-out mechanism-master, after scouring all the ghost-markets of the Capital! Sitting on it, not only does it come with a breeze caressing your face, it can also gather spiritual energy and concentrate the mind—most suited for reading storybooks at night!"
"I've already tested it—the firmness of this cushion is just right, and the amplitude of its swaying is also quite conducive to sleep."
A peculiar sense of déjà vu suddenly welled up in Gu Chengming's heart.
This was far too much like the scene of a newlywed young couple not long after their marriage—the wife, while the husband is out at work, budgeting carefully at home, adding to their new home some little trinkets that, though of no great use, can add some flavor of life.
But chatting with Elder Yu normally there was no dialogue box and no options, was there?
No—it seemed there were.
Into Gu Chengming's mind surfaced the matter from back when he'd first obtained Piercing Insight at the Wenjian Sect.
"Ahem…"
He forcibly suppressed this treasonous and somewhat dangerous notion, and extremely cooperatively put up his thumb:
"The Elder's insight is piercing—this object is most wondrous. With it, this little courtyard truly has gained a few more airs of an immortal household; it's genuinely elegant."
"Naturally!"
Yu Wenqiu, thoroughly satisfied, sat down on it first and patted the spot beside her:
"Come, give it a try?"
Gu Chengming sat down as bidden.
The two of them chatted idly for a bit about the day's happenings, and Yu Wenqiu told a few more amusing tales she'd heard from around town, as the night deepened.
Gu Chengming leaned back against the cushion, his thoughts drifting somewhat.
A notion suddenly flashed through his mind.
Since the «Zhouli» could thrive like a fish in water in this Great Qian officialdom, then what about another cultivation method?
As Director of the Night-Watch Bureau, what did that Director Zhou lack most?
It was intelligence, it was control, it was a channel able to bypass layer upon layer of the bureaucratic system and directly reach the lowest levels.
And in his own hands, he happened to have precisely such a thing.
If…
Could he hand the «Myriad Mysteries Convergence Method» over to that Director Zhou?
The Wenjian Sect's Myriad Wonders Assembly was good, but in the end it was confined to the sect.
If, by Director Zhou's hand, in this Great Qian capital, or even across the entire territory of Great Qian, he could construct a "Great Qian edition of the Myriad Wonders Assembly" covering all cultivators…
By then, intelligence would no longer be blocked off; all the cultivators of the entire Great Qian would become nodes in this network.
Wouldn't this send the favorability of the Myriad Mysteries Convergence Merit soaring wildly?
Gu Chengming transmitted this notion to himself via spirit-sense.
[The «Myriad Mysteries Convergence Method» abruptly froze, then suddenly came to a great realization, exhilarated beyond measure.]
[Constructing a Myriad Wonders Assembly in the Capital as well—this fit far too perfectly with its imaginings about the mastermind behind the scenes!]
[Hundred Bones Resonance was likewise exhilarated beyond measure.]
[Is Heavenly Emperor Gu finally about to rebel?]
Gu Chengming instantly calmed back down.
...
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