As soon as Qin He returned to his residence, he laid down three layers of restrictions with a sweep of his hand. The gold-and-black strands of the source-birth law wound around him, completely sealing off all auras inside and out.
He flicked his fingertips, and the Black Demon Banner floated out. Long Qingyun's soul shadow landed on the stone table, still carrying a trace of lingering unease from the deliberations in the hall.
"Fang Qishan didn't let much slip. He only said the Internal Affairs Office was consolidating the files to hand them over to the Fire God Hall."
Qin He sat down, tapping his fingertips against the tabletop as he spoke urgently. "You spent a long time in the Realm Patrol Bureau. Tell me about things there, especially the people responsible for external liaison and delivering files."
Long Qingyun's soul shadow swayed. A thoughtful glint crossed his eyes, and uncertainty colored his voice. "The Internal Affairs Office is one of the Realm Patrol Bureau's core departments. Everyone usually handles their own patch, so outsiders have a hard time getting to the bottom of things."
"But there are only three to five people responsible for delivering files outside the bureau." He paused, then added, "They all serve in the same office and perform the same duty, so in theory, it could be any of them. But one man is the most likely."
Qin He looked up, the gold-and-black patterns deep in his eyes shifting slightly. "Who? Why him?"
"Liu Chengye." Long Qingyun uttered the name with a measure of disdain. "His cultivation is at the Mid Other Shore Realm—neither particularly high nor particularly low. By currying favor with several of the Realm Patrol Bureau's supervisors, he's gained quite a bit of clout there. Almost no one dares offend him."
Qin