Too Many Flaws

The hand was not moving quickly.

As Xu Bai gripped the Ghost-Head Saber at his waist and turned to draw it, he saw a familiar face.

"Iron Calculation Immortal?"

Iron Calculation Immortal, whom he had not seen for several days, stepped out of the darkness. His hand had not touched Xu Bai's shoulder before he hastily drew it back.

He felt that if he had touched him, his hand would have been chopped off by the saber.

"Little brother, you still didn't heed my advice." Iron Calculation Immortal sighed.

Xu Bai did not want to waste words. He had already been delayed for a while; who knew where Yun Xiang had run off to? He prepared to vault over the wall and leave.

"Wait, little brother. Don't startle the snake in the grass." Iron Calculation Immortal hurriedly stopped Xu Bai.

Whoosh!

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Bai's Ghost-Head Saber left its sheath and rested against Iron Calculation Immortal's neck.

"This is no longer about startling the snake in the grass. It's about letting the tiger return to the mountain. Wait any longer, and if I lose her trail, you can die in his place." Xu Bai's grip on the saber was steady, but his words were cold as ice.

With the Ghost-Head Saber at his throat, Iron Calculation Immortal did not dare move even an inch. He could only raise both hands to show his innocence.

"Cast a long line to catch a big fish. Little brother, put down the saber first and hear my explanation. I have a way to find her trail."

"I hope you really can find it." Xu Bai lowered the Ghost-Head Saber. "Go on, explain everything from beginning to end."

The street was dim, and at this moment, only the two of them were there.

"I belong to the Bureau of Surveillance. I am a clerk of the Bureau of Surveillance. An Extreme Life Sect suddenly appeared recently, and I was ordered to investigate it." Iron Calculation Immortal began explaining. He felt that as long as he made things clear, the other man would definitely let him go.

Sometimes, what one imagined was one thing, and reality was another.

"What is the Bureau of Surveillance?" Xu Bai asked.

There was not the slightest hint of contempt in his words. It was simply a straightforward question.

"Huh? Little brother, you don't know what the Bureau of Surveillance is? That shouldn't be possible. With your skills, you ought to know very well." Iron Calculation Immortal was astonished.

From the speed of that earlier draw and the sharp edge of the Ghost-Head Saber, Iron Calculation Immortal knew that Xu Bai was at least a Ninth Rank Martial Artist.

Yet it was exceedingly rare for a Ninth Rank Martial Artist not to know of the Bureau of Surveillance.

Xu Bai's expression now told him that Xu Bai truly knew nothing about the Bureau of Surveillance.

Of course, there was no need to dwell on that now. He had better explain first. Iron Calculation Immortal could already sense the saber in Xu Bai's hand about to rise again.

"The Bureau of Surveillance is under the Great Chu Kingdom. It is an official organization made up of a group of martial world folk, specifically responsible for eliminating demons, monsters, and martial world people who have entered the evil path." Iron Calculation Immortal kept his explanation as brief as possible, worried that the other man lacked patience.

Xu Bai rubbed his chin and stared at Iron Calculation Immortal with scrutiny.

Just as he had expected, there truly was an organization in this world dedicated to managing martial world folk.

And more importantly, its main members were martial world folk themselves.

Martial world folk governing martial world folk—the emperor of the Great Chu Kingdom had played this hand quite masterfully.

Grant them some official rank, and people would risk their lives for it. In turn, the emperor of the Great Chu Kingdom greatly reduced the manpower he needed.

"Little brother, now that I've said my piece, put the saber away first." Iron Calculation Immortal wiped the sweat from his forehead.

This man was far too unreasonable. That day, although his face had carried the omen of a bloody calamity, he had at least been amiable.

Why had he seemed like a different person tonight, transformed into a murderous fiend?

At the thought of faces, Iron Calculation Immortal found it strange.

Why had the bloody calamity vanished? That was not right. How could a bloody calamity be dispelled in merely a few days?

The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. If the occasion had not been inappropriate, he would even have wanted to calculate Xu Bai's fortune on the spot.

"You said you have a way to track Yun Xiang?" After pondering for a moment, Xu Bai asked.

Iron Calculation Immortal came back to his senses and nodded hurriedly. "I do. Didn't I pay back the money before? When I did, I left a mark on her. We only need to follow that mark."

As he spoke, Iron Calculation Immortal took out a worn copper compass.

"I truly had no choice but to come out and tell you. If you keep following her like this, she won't be able to do what she needs to do, and we won't be able to catch the big fish behind her."

His tone was aggrieved as he said this.

"You mean there are many people from the Extreme Life Sect in Sheng County." Xu Bai caught the meaning behind his words.

The big fish could only mean members of the Extreme Life Sect.

Xu Bai liked catching fish.

Iron Calculation Immortal nodded vigorously. "I arrived here half a month ago and discovered that this place is full of strange things. He definitely has accomplices behind him."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's chase them." Xu Bai said.

Iron Calculation Immortal hurriedly agreed. He then raised the compass and stared intently at its needle. A moment later, he led the way.

"Little brother, do not startle the snake in the grass."

As if recalling something, he added another reminder.

Xu Bai said nothing and followed silently behind him.

The two climbed over the wall, beyond which lay another alley.

Led by Iron Calculation Immortal, they passed through several twisting alleys before finally arriving at an empty plot of land.

This was also a remote part of Sheng County, mostly filled with abandoned houses. Few people came here in ordinary times, so it had become a place where beggars stayed the night.

Iron Calculation Immortal lightened his steps and hid with Xu Bai at the corner of a wall.

In the open space, Yun Xiang stood there.

Beside her were more than a dozen people dressed in black robes, while three beggars lay on the ground.

The three beggars were already dead, tortured beyond recognition.

Their limbs were covered in dense stitches. Judging by the wounds, they had been severed many times, then sewn back on again.

Their hands and feet had been repeatedly cut off, then repeatedly stitched back with thread. They resembled the Corpse Fiend Xu Bai had encountered before.

"It really is the Extreme Life Sect." Xu Bai thought for a moment, then raised the Ghost-Head Saber.

At that moment, Iron Calculation Immortal beside him grabbed him.

"Little brother, don't be impulsive. Wait a little longer and see what else they do. What if others are lying in ambush? If we go out now, we'll let those people escape."

He received no answer from Xu Bai.

What answered him was a fierce gust of wind.

The gust swept in as the Ghost-Head Saber, carrying an irresistible force, slashed toward Iron Calculation Immortal's neck.

Alarm flashed through Iron Calculation Immortal's heart. His footwork shifted, profound beyond measure, and he narrowly dodged the Ghost-Head Saber.

When he retreated a step, he found fine beads of sweat already covering his forehead.

One step closer, and his head would have been parted from his body.

"What do you mean by this?" Anger filled Iron Calculation Immortal's eyes.

"Exquisite footwork." Xu Bai gently stroked the Ghost-Head Saber and said with a smiling squint.

"I asked what you mean by this!" Iron Calculation Immortal demanded again, the anger in his eyes growing stronger.

"It means nothing. I simply think you have too many flaws." Xu Bai said unhurriedly.

Iron Calculation Immortal froze at those words, and his face instantly darkened. His earlier demeanor vanished without a trace.

From the dim street corner came Iron Calculation Immortal's voice.

"I disguised myself very well. When did you discover it?"