Inquiry

When it was Li Xuan's turn, the sun was setting behind the main peak of Crimson Firmament Mountain.

Li Xuan got up from the rock face, his palm gripping the hilt of his sword for a moment before loosening.

He glanced back one last time at Ying—the figure was leaning against the other side of the cave entrance, half their face hidden in shadow. The old scar on their wrist was completely covered by their sleeve, and they showed no expression.

"Let's go." The disciple in charge of enforcement was a tall, thin man in his thirties, at the third level of the True Qi Realm. He looked at Li Xuan with a scrutinizing gaze.

Li Xuan followed him down the mountain path. Low-growing crimson pines lined the trail, their needles glowing a dark red in the setting sun, as if steeped in blood.

The Enforcement Hall wasn't located within the inner sect, but in a secluded stone hall halfway up Crimson Firmament Mountain.

As Li Xuan was brought into the side hall, he immediately saw Elder Heiyan seated in the main position.

The old man was still wearing his usual drab grey robe. Two enforcement disciples stood behind him, both in the True Qi Realm, each with a standard-issue Long Sword hanging at their waist and standing ramrod straight.

"Sit," Elder Heiyan said, nodding his chin and gesturing to a prayer mat opposite him.

Li Xuan sat down cross-legged, his sword resting on his lap, his back straight.

Elder Heiyan didn't rush to speak. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, frowning slightly before setting it down. The hall was so quiet that the faint crackling of the candle flames could be heard.

"The thing inside you," Elder Heiyan suddenly looked up, "when did it appear?"

Li Xuan's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged.

He met Elder Heiyan's eyes. They were cloudy yet sharp, as if they could pierce through flesh and bone.

"The Northern Territory," Li Xuan said. "The night Iron Wall City fell, it was planted by a Shaman as he was dying."

"What Shaman?"

"A Shaman under Wanyan Lie. I don't know his name. He bit me," Li Xuan pointed to his right shoulder. "The wound healed later, but this thing appeared."

Elder Heiyan said nothing. He stared at Li Xuan for a full three breaths before suddenly chuckling, "You're quite honest."

Li Xuan didn't reply.

"Do you know why I asked that first?" Elder Heiyan picked up his teacup and took a real sip this time.

"Please enlighten me, Elder."

"Because of that thing in the mine," Elder Heiyan put down his teacup and tapped his fingers on the table. "Thirty years ago, it was also created by a Shaman."

Li Xuan's pupils constricted.

"That thing inside you and the thing in the mine share the same origin," Elder Heiyan said this with a remarkably calm tone, as if commenting on the weather. "That's why it reacted as soon as you entered the cave, right?"

"...Right."

"How many times did it react?"

Li Xuan paused. "It reacted once when I entered the cave, and again when we retreated."

Elder Heiyan nodded, not pressing for the truth of his answer. His topic shifted abruptly. "What did you see in the cave?"

Li Xuan was prepared. He repeated the story they had all agreed upon: they went deep into the mine, encountered a demonic beast, fought it, and retreated. His tone was steady, his details clear, vague where necessary, and firm where it mattered.

Elder Heiyan listened without nodding or shaking his head. He simply asked, "What kind of demonic beast?"

"I couldn't see clearly. It was dark and fast."

"How many people fought?"

"Everyone."

"Who ran first?"

Li Xuan hesitated for a moment. "No one ran first; we retreated together."

Elder Heiyan stared at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"...Sure."

"Then who gave Zhou Wu that claw mark on his leg?"

Li Xuan's heart sank, but he feigned appropriate surprise. "Zhou Wu was injured? It was too chaotic during the retreat; I didn't notice."

Elder Heiyan looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Alright, that's all. You can go wait outside."

Li Xuan pushed open the door and found Xu He standing outside.

His face was pale, sweat beading on his forehead. When he saw Li Xuan emerge, his eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

The enforcement disciple beckoned to him. Xu He took a deep breath, lowered his head, and entered the side hall.

By the time Li Xuan returned to the cave entrance, it was completely dark.

Su Ying was leaning against the rock face. Seeing him return, she asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"

Li Xuan shook his head and sat down beside her. Zhou Wen and Zhou Wu were absent, as was Ying. Shi Yong hadn't returned either. Only Xu He had been taken away; Su Ying had already finished her questioning.

"Zhou Wu was carried to the medical hall," Su Ying said, keeping her voice very low. "He has a claw mark on his leg. It's very deep."

Li Xuan remained silent, his mind racing. Elder Heiyan knew about Zhou Wu's injury, which meant the Enforcement Hall had already gathered some information. When was that claw mark inflicted? It had been too chaotic during the retreat; he truly hadn't noticed Zhou Wu getting hurt.

"What about Zhou Wen?"

"He went with him," Su Ying paused. "Ying was taken away."

Li Xuan turned to look at her.

"Just before you came out," Su Ying said, "someone in black clothes arrived, spoke a few words to the enforcement disciples, and took Ying away. Ying glanced at me as they left, without saying anything."

A bad premonition welled up in Li Xuan's heart.

Half an hour later, Shi Yong returned.

His gait was normal, and his complexion was fine. He grinned when he saw Li Xuan, "It's fine, the questioning is over."

Li Xuan lowered his voice, "Everything went according to plan?"

"According to what you said," Shi Yong sat down beside him, his voice also lowered, "the demonic beast, we fought, and retreated. When asked why the soul lamp alarmed, I said the fight was too fierce and might have damaged its core."

Li Xuan nodded.

"Did they ask about Zhou Wu's injury?" Shi Yong asked.

"They did." Li Xuan recounted Elder Heiyan's words.

Shi Yong frowned after listening, "That claw mark… I didn't see it."

"I didn't see it either."

They exchanged a look and said nothing.

After another stick of incense burned, Xu He returned.

His face was even paler than when he went in, and his movements were stiff. He paused upon seeing Li Xuan and Shi Yong, then walked directly to a distant spot and sat down, not approaching them.

"He's not acting right," Shi Yong said in a low voice.

Li Xuan watched Xu He's retreating back, remaining silent.

Half an hour later, Zhou Wen returned. His eyes were red, and his steps were heavy as he walked over. He stopped in front of Shi Yong, his voice hoarse, "Zhou Wu's leg is crippled. The claw mark was poisonous, it spread to the bone. The infirmary says he'll need at least three months to recover, and whether he can fully heal depends on fate."

Shi Yong shot to his feet, his fists clenched, then loosened, and after a long pause, managed to say, "Who did it?"

Zhou Wen shook his head, "I don't know. It was too chaotic during the retreat, he himself doesn't know when he got caught."

Li Xuan recalled the speed of the dark figure in the cave and remained silent.

Another stick of incense passed, and Ying did not return.

An enforcement disciple came to deliver a message: Ying has been taken away by the Shadow Department, and the Enforcement Hall will no longer be involved. You are dismissed.

Shi Yong wanted to say something, but Li Xuan grabbed his wrist.

Seven people had left together. When they returned, Zhou Wu was carried away lying down, Ying was nowhere to be found, and the remaining five stood at the cave entrance, chilled by the night wind.

"Let's go back first," Li Xuan said, "We'll talk about anything tomorrow."

Xu He was the first to turn and leave, walking quickly, without looking back.

Su Ying looked at Li Xuan, then at Shi Yong, and said softly, "My uncle is in the logistics department. I'll go ask about Zhou Wu's condition tomorrow."

Zhou Wen nodded at her, his eyes still red, and walked towards the inner sect.

Shi Yong stood in place, gazing in the direction Ying had been taken, and suddenly asked Li Xuan, "Do you trust him?"

Li Xuan was silent for a long time before saying, "I don't know."

By the time they returned to Courtyard C7, the moon had already risen.

Li Xuan pushed open the door and sat in the darkness for a long time, replaying the day's events in his mind: the corpse in the cave opening its eyes, Ying collecting the rune fragments, the claw mark during the retreat, Xu He's complexion after being questioned, Elder Heiyan's words, "You can handle more than I thought," and the news of Ying being taken by the Shadow Department.

He raised his right hand, palm open. Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the golden patterns on his palm – the traces left by the refined Earth Vein Fiend Stone, which were now slightly warm.

Li Xuan closed his eyes and sensed the Wolf Soul imprint within him. It lay dormant deep in his right shoulder, not stirring, but he could feel something awakening.

It was a resonance.

A resonance with that thing in the mine.

He remembered the old scar on Ying's wrist, the speed of Ying's hands when collecting the rune fragments, and the words Ying had said when inviting him to join the Shadow Department: "The Shadow Department doesn't keep idlers, but I don't think you're one."

At the time, he thought it was an attempt to recruit him.

Now, he wondered if it had been a test.

Footsteps sounded outside the window, very light, and stopped at Li Xuan's door.

Li Xuan opened his eyes, his hand already on his sword hilt.

"It's me," Shi Yong's voice.

Li Xuan opened the door, and Shi Yong slipped inside, closing it behind him. He took out a piece of cloth from his bosom, spreading it on the table.

Wrapped in the cloth was a small piece of black material.

A rune fragment.

"Where did you get it?" Li Xuan whispered.

"Zhou Wen gave it to me," Shi Yong said, "Zhou Wu was clutching it when he was carried away. The infirmary staff found it while cleaning his wounds, and Zhou Wen hid it when they weren't paying attention."

Li Xuan stared at the fragment, and the Wolf Soul imprint within him suddenly began to throb violently.

On the fragment, the black runes seemed to come alive, beginning to writhe.

Li Xuan grabbed Shi Yong's shoulder and pulled him back, drawing his saber at the same time.

The shard on the table cracked, splitting in two, and a wisp of extremely fine black smoke crawled out of the crack, drifting in the air and coalescing into a blurry shape—

Like an eye.

The eye opened in the darkness, staring directly at Li Xuan.

Then, a voice sounded in Li Xuan's mind, hoarse, ancient, with the accent of the Northern Territory Barbarians:

"Found you."