All for Naught

"..."

Finally, the corners of Wang Hao's mouth twitched upward slightly in what looked like a sigh of relief. His fingers gave a gentle quiver, and at last, they slowly dropped.

"Director Wang?"

Gu Chang'an called out softly, but there was no response.

He stood frozen in place, quietly watching the iron-willed director in his arms. The wrinkles on Wang Hao's face had not yet smoothed out, yet he had already fallen into an eternal sleep, never to open his eyes again.

He slowly closed Wang Hao's eyelids and let out a deep sigh.

Li Hongye stood quietly to the side, her lips moving as if she wanted to ask something, but in the end, she said nothing, merely turning her gaze away and lowering her head in silence.

A moment later, Gu Chang'an stood up, swept his gaze across the shattered main hall, and said in a deep voice,

"Let's go. First, let's search these people and see if there's anything useful."

"Mm." Li Hongye gave a soft acknowledgment.

The two moved swiftly, beginning to thread their way among the corpses.

The blood between the piles of corpses had not yet dried, and a faint, fishy stench mingled with a charred smell hit them full force.

Gu Chang'an's gaze was cold and stern as he flipped through the bodies one by one, his movements decisive and practiced, without the slightest hesitation.

Li Hongye moved nimbly on the other side, her expression grave yet devoid of fear.

They fished a damaged pouch from beneath Yin Jiu's corpse, inside of which were a few neatly folded banknotes with blood-stained corners.

Gu Chang'an pulled out several notes, brushed away the bloodstains, and counted them one by one:

"One thousand liang... fifteen hundred... nineteen hundred... nineteen hundred and fifty liang. And five gold leaves."

"There are also martial arts manuals, Golden Snake Swordplay and Golden Snake Steps."

From the broken inner pocket of Duan Lie's belt, Li Hongye found a delicate small jade bottle. She pulled out the stopper, took a sniff, and raised an eyebrow:

"They're Body Tempering Pills, and of no low quality. There are five in total."

Immediately afterward, she rummaged from the bosom of an incense master a red-and-black pill, narrowing her eyes as she inspected it closely:

"One Blood Burst Pill."

Following that, Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye continued their search, finding two martial arts manuals with aged covers.

One was Shattering Gold Palm, and the other was Bone Entangling Body Tempering Technique.

Naturally, there were also some medicinal pills and banknotes.

This really was a massive haul.

Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye exchanged a glance, both reading the joy in the other's eyes.

Instantly, the two of them neatly gathered up all the pills and manuals.

Gu Chang'an lowered his head to organize their spoils, letting out a soft sigh:

"It seems they didn't bring the most important things on their persons..."

"Perhaps those truly important items are all hidden in the secret treasury of their lair," Li Hongye said, gazing toward the dusk-shrouded mountain forest outside the hall with slightly furrowed brows. "Still... now is not the time to investigate."

Li Hongye looked out at the dusk-shrouded mountain forest beyond the hall and whispered softly:

"Let's hurry and go, or someone... will be coming."

Gu Chang'an's expression tightened. He quickly stowed the items into his pack and nodded, saying,

"Let's move."

The two rapidly retreated along the mountain's contours, their figures flashing like the wind through the trees and vanishing into the shadows dyed red by the setting sun.

Half an hour later.

In the depths of Black Wind Ridge, before the ruined pill hall.

Iron armor clanked and sabers and spears stood in a dense forest as a troop of over a hundred county soldiers arrived at a slow pace.

The mountain wind whispered, whipping up patches of bloodstains along both sides of the mountain path. The air was thick with the scent of dust, gunpowder, and foulness, resembling a silent yet still-warm slaughterhouse.

The leader was tall and thin with refined features. A scarlet official robe fluttered loudly in the wind, and an iron official seal hung heavily at his waist, upon which the three characters "Nanning County" were clearly visible.

It was none other than the Nanning County Assistant, Wu Heng.

He reined in his horse and paused, his gaze sweeping like a blade across the ruined temple relics ahead, not a trace of shock showing in his brows.

He merely let out a faint sigh, swung down from his saddle, and landed with a dull thud as his boots struck the ground.

"...We've arrived a step too late."

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This sigh sounded full of regret, yet it was so calm it was practically indifferent.

The smell of blood was thick and choking, and the front of the pill hall was littered with corpses lying haphazardly—members of the Firewood Gang, constables of the Martial Guard Division... not a single one had been spared.

A light-armored soldier behind him stepped forward quickly and reported in a low voice:

"Lord County Assistant, the preliminary count of the corpses is complete. Left Protector Yin Jiu has been confirmed dead, and incense masters Duan Lie, Leng Zhang, Wei Biao, and others have also perished."

He paused for a fraction before adding in a lower voice, "But quite a few constables and runners from the Martial Guard Division died here as well."

Hearing this, Wu Heng remained unmoved. "And Director Wang and Zhou Bo?"

The soldier gritted his teeth.

"...Their bodies... were found inside the pill hall. By the looks of it, they died miserably."

Wu Heng nodded slightly upon hearing this, though his eyes remained entirely unruffled.

He strode slowly toward the interior of the main hall, passing through the shattered stone steps and the charred medicinal cauldrons.

Inside the pill hall, walls were broken and pillars snapped, with the black scorch marks left by raging fires visible everywhere.

In the corner, Wang Hao lay flat amidst a pool of blood, the blood beneath him already dried;

Not far away, Zhou Bo's body was shattered beyond recognition, his severed limbs scattered all over the ground.

Wu Heng stopped in his tracks, looking down for a moment. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly in an expression that seemed like emotion, yet also like mockery.

"Truly good dogs that died in the line of duty... What a pity."

No one heard this whispered remark.

He withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked back out of the hall, his expression having already returned to its habitual sternness.

His gaze swept over the gathered soldiers, and he asked in a resonant voice:

"Where is Daoist Chai's body?"

The soldier frowned, a trace of tension in his expression:

"...Not found. The bodies at the site have all been checked, and he is not among them."

Hearing this, Wu Heng's gaze narrowed slightly before he spoke in a cold voice:

"Then he escaped."

With his hands clasped behind his back, he stood in the wind, his countenance heavy.

Yet for that single instant, a trace of vexation and... a faint unease flashed rapidly through his eyes.

This madman actually managed to deal with both Wang Hao and Zhou Bo and still escape scot-free?

Could this Blood Spirit Pill genuinely be... this powerful?

The next instant, his expression returned to normal as he commanded coldly:

"Seal off Black Wind Ridge and hunt down the remnants of the Firewood Gang. Make sure to track down Daoist Chai's whereabouts."

"All corpses of the Firewood Gang are to be handled by the office. If there is any important physical evidence, no one is permitted to hide it privately."

"Those of the Martial Guard Division who fell in battle are to be given thick burials according to regulations."

"In addition—" His tone paused slightly as he continued slowly, "Send men down the mountain to notify the County Office and the Martial Guard Division. Write a battle report following my narrative."

"In this engagement, though the rebels were slain, Daoist Chai was cunning and broke away, causing Director Wang to die in battle..."

"Alas, it was all for naught in the end."

As the orders were passed down, the county soldiers scattered to restore order to the battlefield.

Bodies were lifted one by one, and bloodstains were hastily buried under soil.

On the battlefield, everything was returning to a silent order.

Meanwhile, Wu Heng stood before the broken gates of the hall, gazing up at the gloomy sky with furrowed brows and prolonged silence.

He knew clearly in his heart that if that mad dog Daoist Chai completely broke free of his leash, it would become a colossal disaster.

--The matter of the Blood Pills must not be leaked.

Should his superiors discover that he had secretly harbored Daoist Chai and financed the pill refining,

his entire official career would collapse right along with it.

More seriously, the Wu Family would also be implicated...

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze as cold and sharp as a blade:

"...Daoist Chai, just where on earth have you run off to..."