Command the Outer Southern Department to Arrest Impermanence!

"What happened?"

Xu Qing understood at once when he saw that expression.

The demon fiends had attacked the city last night. By all rights, there should have been no shortage of trouble.

But for Commander Han to look like this, something must have happened far beyond his expectations.

"He thinks there's a massive problem within the Southern City Defense Army."

Commander Han took a deep breath and said helplessly, "After daybreak, he left directly without making contact with the City Defense Army, avoiding any further conflict... That was indeed the right thing to do."

Then Commander Han fiercely flung the battle report to the floor and said furiously, "But that brat dumped every last bit of trouble that came afterward on us!"

Xu Qing bent down, picked up the battle report, and glanced at it. His expression immediately turned strange.

"Last night, he guarded the section of the Lin Jiang Department's city defenses all by himself and came through unscathed. Such ability probably isn't something an ordinary martial artist could possess."

Hearing Xu Qing's doubt, Commander Han sighed, apparently with no intention of hiding the truth.

"He has already advanced to Inner Strength Cultivation. I originally intended for him to conceal his edge and avoid being suppressed, but from the moment he decided to guard the city alone, that was no longer possible."

Commander Han said calmly, "Alone, he guarded three hundred and sixty paces of defenses without incident. The demon fiends couldn't cross the line by even half a step. Without Inner Strength Cultivation, that would have been utterly impossible! The others aren't fools..."

His tone was calm, but Xu Qing vaguely saw a trace of smugness on his face.

"Commander Han's regard and wholehearted nurturing weren't misplaced. This young man truly possesses extraordinary talent—your discerning eye is plain to see!"

As Xu Qing spoke, he suddenly remembered something. He froze for a moment and murmured, "But both sides of his defensive position were torn open."

Commander Han seemed to think of something as well. He suddenly stiffened, and the look in his eyes gradually turned blank.

"Under attack from three sides, he was practically surrounded. Even someone at the Inner Strength realm might not have been able to withstand it."

Xu Qing's expression was complicated as he said quietly, "Moreover, it seems that during the second half of the night, the positions on both sides that had originally fallen were blocked off..."

They had initially assumed that the Patrolling Squad had taken over those positions and filled the gaps.

But now, perhaps things hadn't been as they had previously guessed?

"If we consider it that way, didn't he spend the second half of the night guarding more than a thousand paces of defenses to his left and right?"

Xu Qing's mouth felt faintly dry, and disbelief showed in his eyes. "A thousand paces of city defenses—could even someone at the peak of Inner Strength really hold it?"

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

Commander Han immediately shook his head and said with certainty, "When he joined my command, he was only at the First Gate of Martial Arts and hadn't even refined his blood. To reach Inner Strength in such a short time already makes him a heaven-bestowed genius. How could he possibly have reached an even higher level?"

"Besides, I personally taught him his breath-concealing technique. How could he hide it from my eyes?"

"In two years, to start from the First Gate of Martial Arts, break through two realms in succession, shatter the shackles of the human body's limits, and reach the Essence Refining Realm?"

"Even Li Shenzong, hailed in Qifeng Prefecture as a once-in-five-hundred-years genius, didn't make such a heaven-shocking, earth-shaking advance."

"I began practicing martial arts in childhood and started refining my blood at sixteen. I didn't cultivate the Essence Refining Realm until I was forty-two. That took twenty-six years!"

"Do you think his two years of cultivation could surpass my twenty-six years of diligent practice?"

"If that were possible, wouldn't someone like me deserve to be thrown away?"

Commander Han shook his head repeatedly and waved his hands again and again, making it clear that it was absolutely impossible.

But Xu Qing's expression grew even stranger.

In Xu Qing's impression, Commander Han had always paid great attention to his bearing.

Yet just now, even the somewhat crude self-address "this old man" had slipped out of his mouth.

That alone showed how unsettled and agitated Commander Han was.

"Then it was Duke Lu who lent him a hand?"

Xu Qing asked hesitantly.

"Exactly!"

Commander Han suddenly understood and said, "Last night, Lin Jiang Ward was practically abandoned. Someone struck down the Bear Demon and resolved the crisis! Other than the 'Dao Protector' beside Duke Lu, who else in Lin Jiang Ward could have done that?"

Then he clasped his hands behind his back, walked to the window, and looked south as he slowly said, "The southern district of the Outer City is entirely within my grasp! The problem that appeared within the City Defense Army was the only unexpected thing, but it isn't a major issue..."

That wasn't your attitude just now... Xu Qing grumbled inwardly.

Just then, a voice came from outside.

"Someone from the Heavenly Supervision Department Headquarters in the Inner City is here!"

"Let him in!"

The visitor was a little over fifty, with an ordinary appearance and an indifferent expression.

"Director Gao, what brings you here?"

Commander Han chuckled and said, "By rights, you should be swamped today, checking the city defenses of every division and handling all the aftermath in the city. You couldn't get away... Sending a little banner officer would have been enough."

"I came under Deputy Commander Zhou's orders to put pressure on your Outer Southern Department. If they had sent a little banner officer, this would have become a minor matter."

Director Gao's face remained expressionless as he said blandly, "Last night, the southern city defenses of the Outer City were breached by demon fiends. Although the breach was sealed in time, there are still many suspicious points."

"Today, a personal guard under Zhao Zhou, the Grand Commander of the City Defense Army, was murdered while on the way to reinforce the area."

"The place where he was killed was adjacent to the city-defense position under the Lin Jiang sub-department of your Outer Southern Department."

"The newly appointed Banner Bearer Impermanence is under serious suspicion. Therefore, your Outer Southern Department is ordered to assist the Outer City Southern Prefecture Office in arresting the Lin Jiang Department's Banner Bearer Impermanence and bringing him to justice for a thorough investigation. You are not to show favoritism."

He took out a token, tossed it onto the table, and said, "The deceased was Grand Commander Zhao Zhou's adopted son. He was highly senior, and the Prefectural Governor's Mansion attaches extreme importance to this matter."

"Returned unopened!"

Commander Han picked up the token and tossed it back.

Director Gao's face turned livid in an instant.

Xu Qing, standing beside him, felt his heart tremble faintly and looked deeply at Commander Han.

Faced with orders from the Heavenly Supervision Department Headquarters, the various Outer City branches of the Heavenly Supervision Department could reject them on the spot if they believed there was a major error.

But in the past thirty years, not a single Banner Commander had ever rejected an order from above on the spot.

For one thing, orders from the Heavenly Supervision Department Headquarters basically never contained major errors.

For another, rejecting an order from Headquarters meant offending the high-ranking official who had issued it.

It might even mean offending the Director delivering the order right before them!

"Han Zheng, what do you think you're doing?"

Director Gao frowned slightly, his tone turning grave. "This is an order personally issued by the Deputy Commander!"

"Mm. His seal is on it. I saw it clearly."

"Commander Han, disobeying an order is a serious crime!"

"I'll remind you as well: according to the twelfth rule of the Heavenly Supervision Department, if an order contains a major error, it may be rejected!"

Commander Han said calmly, "Of course, there must also be sufficient grounds. Otherwise, it would still count as disobedience! As for that, I'll explain it personally to the Commander..."

"Even with airtight grounds, rejecting an order from above will have enormous consequences. You..."

Director Gao's tone softened slightly as he said, "With your background, ability, and Merit Points, you should be promoted to one of the eight Garrison Commanders within two years at most."

He took a deep breath and continued, "The Deputy Commander also knows that you place great importance on Impermanence. That's why he made an exception: your Outer Southern Department doesn't need to avoid suspicion. You may participate in the arrest and in the investigation afterward. That is already extraordinary leniency."

"If this Banner Bearer Impermanence is truly innocent, you can clear his name yourself!"

"Returning the token will have enormous consequences. You..."

When Director Gao reached this point, his expression gradually turned helpless. He sighed and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

"Mm."

Commander Han nodded slightly.

Director Gao put away the token. Without saying another word, he turned and left.

Only then did Xu Qing speak quietly. "We'll handle the matter ourselves. Banner Bearer Impermanence won't suffer, and you can clear his name afterward... No one has returned a token in thirty years. Why go this far?"

"If I personally take action to arrest Impermanence and interrogate him, do you know what that means?"

Commander Han stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression complicated and his voice low.

"To Impermanence, I already know the truth, yet I still arrest him. That means I don't trust him enough! A knot will inevitably form between us afterward."

"Everyone outside knows that I value Impermanence greatly. Yesterday, I appointed him Banner Bearer of the Lin Jiang Department."

"If I arrest him today, it will mean that, in my eyes, he isn't important."

"Consequently, every faction will conclude that he has no powerful backer behind him. They won't think highly of him anymore, and the troubles targeting the Lin Jiang Department will then come one after another."

When Han Zheng reached this point, he gave a self-mocking laugh and said, "Besides, becoming a Banner Bearer on the first day and being arrested and thrown into prison on the second will become a lifelong stain on him—and a laughingstock."

He looked at Xu Qing and smiled with even greater complexity. "And appointing a Banner Bearer on the first day, then arresting that very Banner Bearer on the second—I, Han, will likewise become a laughingstock."

Xu Qing fell silent. Yet for some reason, he vaguely felt that this was not the true reason he had returned the token.

"Secretly send word to the Lin Jiang Department and have him pay a visit to Duke Lu today."

Han Zheng sighed as he said, "Returning the token today is merely a delaying tactic. If that Deputy Commander insists on arresting Lin Yan, then perhaps tomorrow... the one taking over this matter will be Zhou Kui of the Outer Southwest Division!"

Xu Qing's expression turned solemn at once, and he immediately left.

The room fell silent.

Han Zheng gently stroked the sheath of his saber, took a deep breath, and sighed.

"Back then, I was framed in Phoenix Perch Prefecture City. My immediate superior, concerned about his own future, refused to protect me."

"How similar is today's matter to what happened back then?"

"Back then, I had no backer behind me. Today, I'll be the backer!"

Thinking this, he couldn't help murmuring, "Besides, not being able to become a Night Illuminator has been the regret of my life..."

He had been suspected of killing a comrade who had fought shoulder to shoulder with him, then personally arrested and imprisoned by his own immediate superior.

Even if the truth were cleared up afterward and he was released, how could the Night Illuminators, who knew nothing of the true circumstances, dare entrust their backs to him?

He understood that if he hadn't returned the token just now, Lin Yan's hope of becoming a Night Illuminator would have been cut off.