Password

After learning that this place was an underground bank, the two of them could have chosen not to continue venturing deeper. They could have simply returned the way they came, brought in a large force, and searched the place from top to bottom.

But this place was still some distance from the Ministry of Justice. If the people here discovered that their companions had gone missing during the trip there and back and became alert, then by the time the government forces arrived, they would very likely find nothing.

Moreover, they had opened such a large underground bank so close to Dragon Abyss City. Liang Yue absolutely did not believe they had no informants within the government offices.

Perhaps the moment the Ministry of Justice's men set out, these people would receive word and begin relocating.

So after some brief thought, they decided to press onward.

If the two of them could obtain key evidence such as the account books here, they could settle the matter with one hammer blow.

He and Ling Yuanbao changed directly into the black-clad men's clothes, put on brass masks, and emerged from the grass together. The two unconscious black-clad men were stuffed into the grass; there was no way they would wake up in less than half a day.

Fortunately, those black-clad men's robes were loose and thick enough. Otherwise, Ling Yuanbao's figure really would not have been easy to conceal.

A proper female constable's infiltration in black.

The two of them swaggered along the route that man had pointed out. Liang Yue also reminded her, "If you run into anyone, ignore them. Keep calm and walk normally. They probably won't notice anything."

Yet just as they passed through the first arched gate and crossed a broad, empty courtyard, two more black-clad men approached from the opposite direction.

They had intended to walk past as though nothing had happened, but one of the black-clad men suddenly called out, "Password!"

Eh?

That fellow earlier had not mentioned there was such a thing as a password.

Liang Yue's heart jolted, but his expression remained perfectly calm as he answered naturally, "Imperial Court Jade Liquor Wine."

He said it so smoothly, so fluently, and so confidently that the black-clad men opposite him nearly turned around and left. After a pause, one of them lifted his head in confusion. "What kind of password is that?"

Bang! Bang!

Before his words had even faded, a black shadow flashed behind them. Ling Yuanbao had decisively struck again, knocking both black-clad men unconscious.

What Liang Yue said had naturally only been meant to draw their attention. What he said did not matter; Constable Ling would provide the answer.

"Should we interrogate them about the password?" Ling Yuanbao asked.

"This place is too open, and too many people pass through. Let's hide them quickly," Liang Yue said.

They dragged the two unconscious black-clad men away and tossed them behind the grass in a corner once more. As long as they were not discovered for the moment, that would be enough for the two of them to infiltrate the place.

If knocking unconscious everyone who saw them could count as infiltration, that was...

The two continued forward at a quick pace, wanting to cross this open stretch as soon as possible. Once they reached terrain with cover, things would be much easier.

But as the saying went, whatever one feared came knocking. Just as the two were about to pass through the arched gate on the other side, two figures suddenly turned out from there.

Two more black-clad men!

This time, seeing the other side approach head-on, Liang Yue suddenly shouted first, "Password!"

He had thought that this way, he could at least trick them into revealing the first half of the password, so he would not be completely in the dark afterward.

But unexpectedly, upon hearing him, the black-clad men stopped at once. One of them calmly replied, "You say it first."

Huh?

Liang Yue had never imagined he would hear such an answer.

How were they playing dirty now?

Ling Yuanbao's temper would not stand for it. She immediately stepped forward and said, "Why should we? We asked, so you say it first!"

The black-clad man opposite shook his head, stubbornly insisting, "You should say it first."

"You say it first!"

"You say it first."

"The one who speaks later is a puppy!"

"Rebound."

Liang Yue: "?"

All of a sudden, the two sides had fallen into a dispute over who should say the password first, with neither willing to yield.

The scene became extremely awkward for a moment.

It was even a little absurd.

"No..." Ling Yuanbao was still arguing when Liang Yue secretly shoved her.

What was there to argue about? Other people would be arriving soon.

Just attack already!

As he pushed her, Liang Yue also nodded repeatedly. "Fine, fine, fine, I'll say it..."

While the other side's attention was on him, Ling Yuanbao understood as well. She casually turned halfway around, then suddenly darted out! Once again, she transformed into a mass of black shadow.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sounds of two gusts of wind rang out almost on top of each other as two black shadows instantly completed a fierce collision.

Boom!

It turned out that at that very moment, the black-clad man opposite had also leapt into the air and suddenly attacked Liang Yue, his path coinciding exactly with Ling Yuanbao's. Both sides struck at once and exchanged a blow.

An explosive roar rang out in midair!

Ling Yuanbao staggered back, her gaze turning stern. "He's an expert!"

The other black-clad man did not stand idly by either. He raised two fingers like a halberd and summoned a longsword flashing with silver light, its Sword Qi sharp enough to force one back! With a sudden turn, it shot toward Liang Yue's face like a meteor.

At that critical instant, Liang Yue shouted, "Miss Wen!"

Shhk.

The sword stopped an inch before his forehead.

Liang Yue removed his mask and revealed his face. The two opposite him froze slightly, then removed their masks as well.

Sure enough, the faces revealed were Wen Yifan's and Shang Yunhai's.

"So it was you." The one who had exchanged blows with Ling Yuanbao was precisely the refined, jade-like Shang Yunhai. Upon seeing Liang Yue's face, he smiled as well.

No wonder neither side knew the password.

It turned out that two groups who had infiltrated separately had run into each other.

Fortunately, Liang Yue recognized Wen Yifan's sword, or they might have slaughtered each other.

"These two are Traveling Officials from the Evil Extermination Division." Liang Yue hurriedly introduced both sides. "This is Constable Ling from the Ministry of Justice. We came to investigate a case."

"We also came to investigate something. Who would have thought we'd run into you?" Wen Yifan replied.

Looking at Wen Yifan's face, Ling Yuanbao could not help murmuring, "So beautiful."

This time, Wen Yifan wore a black robe, which concealed her figure and bearing, leaving only her flawless, snowy-white face in prominence. Her skin was lustrous and fair, as if she had been born beneath a layer of soft light.

Shang Yunhai's ears twitched, and he said, "This is not a place to talk. That commotion just now must have drawn people over."

The moment he finished speaking, a burst of shouts came from outside. "There's movement here! Go take a look!"

Judging by the footsteps, a large group of black-clad men was rushing over. Mixed among them was an extremely powerful aura, accompanied by a faint roar like that of a savage prehistoric beast!

"There are too many of them. Let's go first," Wen Yifan said as well.

"Ah, but we haven't gotten the evidence yet." Ling Yuanbao sounded unwilling.

Liang Yue suddenly said, "Miss Ling, you go first. We'll cover the rear."

"Hm?" Ling Yuanbao frowned. "How can that work?"

"It's fine, we won't be in danger! Go back to the Ministry of Justice and call for help first. Run as fast as you can!" Liang Yue pushed her and urged her on.

"Alright!" Ling Yuanbao nodded heavily.

She turned around, and as her movement technique unfolded, she leapt up as lightly as a flying swallow and raced back along the path they had come from.

"Put your masks back on." Liang Yue looked at Shang Yunhai and Wen Yifan as he fastened his own mask, speaking as he did so. The two were slightly startled, then immediately understood.

In the blink of an eye, a large group of black-clad men gathered from every direction. They saw that three people were already pursuing a swiftly moving figure ahead.

The black-clad man running at the very front even shouted, "There's an intruder! Don't let her get away!"

"Stop!"

"..."

The black-clad men immediately drew their weapons and surged forward like a great black cloud.

At first, Ling Yuanbao felt somewhat guilty. Liang Yue's cultivation was so much lower than hers, yet he was staying behind with the other two. She had promised to protect him, but when danger came, she had left him behind and fled first. It really did not sit right with her.

Then, worried, she turned her head to look.

With that glance, she saw Liang Yue had already put his mask back on, turned around, and was shouting as he chased after her. Even as he ran, he yelled, "Don't let her get away!"

He looked even more like one of the black-clad men than the black-clad men did.

He was so thoroughly devoted to his duty.

Ling Yuanbao instantly understood. So he meant to use this method to have her draw the black-clad men away for them. That way, instead of all four of them being exposed, only one person would be exposed, and they could continue lurking and searching.

Just like a lizard shedding its tail to survive.

Though she had to admit it was a brilliant idea, and his quick wit in the face of danger was admirable, when she herself was the tail, she truly could not be happy about it.

She was even a little angry.

Why me?

The two of us were clearly partners who came in together. Were we not even as close as those two people we happened to meet? What about the bond we forged while handling cases together?

Could it be that you and they were the real little group?

Or did you think I was less useful than they were?

Her brief surge of gratitude turned into a lingering sense of grievance...

But with Liang Yue leading the way, the large group of black-clad men had already chased after her. The situation left her no room to think further, and she could only turn around and keep fleeing.

At most, she could silently curse in her heart, Damn it!

Good morning.

I got up early to watch the game, and it happened to be halftime, so I posted early.