The layers of dead ends were like tangled webs of silk, woven into a knot that trapped Xu Yi within.
Xu Yi paced in circles for about an hour. Suddenly, he stopped. "Cheng Yan, call Li Ping here."
Half a cup of tea later, Li Ping arrived. Xu Yi got straight to the point. "Aside from the Black Lotus Cult, are there any other heretical sects or illicit cults in Dongshan Prefecture?"
Li Ping pondered for a moment, then said, "As far as I know, there shouldn't be. The Black Lotus Cult is so powerful—who would dare compete with them for business?"
Xu Yi said, "So the Black Lotus Cult was the first illicit cult or heretical sect in Dongshan Prefecture?"
Li Ping shook his head. "Of course not. The Black Lotus Cult only spread to Dongshan Prefecture seven or eight years ago. Illicit cults are tied to people's interests; how could they ever be completely eradicated? In the past, the illicit cults and heretical sects across Dongshan Prefecture's three cities were a motley assortment. But after the Black Lotus Cult spread here, its power grew, and gradually the other illicit cults and heretical sects were either absorbed or crushed by it. That was how they were wiped out."
Xu Yi sneered. "So the Black Lotus Cult is even more effective than the government? Surely some fish slipped through the net?"
Li Ping was quick-witted and had grasped some of Xu Yi's line of thought. "Does Your Excellency want to find the leader of another heretical sect? If so, there's one in the prisons of Dongshan Prefecture right now."
"What's this man's story?"
Xu Yi's spirits lifted. He hadn't been looking for a heretical sect leader. His requirements were modest: even a minor leader would do, or at the very