Aftermath

The next morning.

There was a knock on the door of the Soul Guidance Department director's office.

The equipment warehouse administrator came in, pale-faced and barely able to speak. "D-Director, something happened."

Director Fang of the Soul Guidance Department was a middle-aged man in his fifties. His martial soul was a carving knife, and his mastery of Soul Tools ranked among the top three in all of Shrek.

He looked up, frowned at the administrator's expression, and asked, "What happened?"

"The equipment warehouse was robbed."

The administrator's voice trembled. "All the surveillance equipment was destroyed. A lot of things are missing, including that scrapped training mecha... its core was taken apart and removed."

Director Fang set down what he was working on and stood. "Let's go take a look."

Several people had already gathered outside the equipment warehouse.

Director Fang walked over and immediately spotted the kicked-open door. The door itself was undamaged, and so was the lock, but there was a clear footprint on the doorframe. It was small, obviously a child's.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he walked into the warehouse.

The place was a mess.

A large section of the shelves had been emptied, while several unwanted parts lay scattered across the floor.

The scrapped mecha at the very back had its chest torn open. Its cover plate had been ripped off and thrown onto the ground, and the core compartment was completely empty.

Director Fang walked over and examined the marks on the mecha's chest.

The cover plate had been forcibly torn open, and there were obvious sword marks along its edges.

There were also dense sword marks around the core compartment, as though someone had hacked at it with a sword over and over again.

He crouched down and carefully inspected those sword marks.

The cuts were neat, but the force behind them was limited. It did not seem like the work of an adult.

He stood up and fell silent for a while.

"What about the surveillance footage?"

The administrator hurriedly replied, "The Monitoring Room was also damaged. All the recordings are gone."

Director Fang went to the Monitoring Room.

One of the screens had been shattered, and the core behind it had been pierced through by a single sword strike.

The other screens were intact, but their cores had also been destroyed.

He examined the pierced core. The cut was thin and precise, a single strike hitting the exact center of the core.

He remained silent for a long time.

"Investigate."

He said, "Find out who came by last night."

By the time the report reached Cai Yue'er, it was already noon.

She was the dean of the Outer Court, so naturally, she had to be informed first when something like this happened.

When she arrived at the Soul Guidance Teaching Building, Director Fang was waiting outside the equipment warehouse.

Cai Yue'er walked in, looked at the footprint on the door, then at the mess inside the warehouse, before finally stopping in front of the scrapped mecha.

She stared at those sword marks for a long time.

She knew those marks far too well—left by Crescent Slash, left by Mark Pursuit.

That nine-year-old child had practiced swordsmanship for two years. She had seen it countless times, yet she still found it hard to believe.

She went to the Monitoring Room and looked at the shattered screen. Its core had been pierced through by a single sword strike, the cut clean and sharp.

The angle, force, and precision of that strike were all beyond what a nine-year-old child should have been capable of.

Cai Yue'er stood there in silence for a long time. Then she sighed.

"Director, step outside for a moment."

Director Fang froze briefly, but did not ask any questions. He turned and left.

Cai Yue'er stood alone in the Monitoring Room, looking at the shattered screen.

She remembered how Yun Jingheng's room had remained lit all night.

She remembered Ya Li's expression that morning—that strange look of wanting to laugh but holding it back.

She remembered how absentminded Yun Ming had been during the morning meeting.

She closed her eyes. "This child..."

When she went to find Yun Ming, he was reading documents in the Sea God Pavilion.

Cai Yue'er pushed the door open, sat across from him, and simply stared at him without saying a word.

Yun Ming looked up, growing a little uncomfortable under her gaze. "What is it?"

Cai Yue'er stared at him. "You don't know?"

Yun Ming fell silent for a moment. "Know what?"

Cai Yue'er took a deep breath. "The Soul Guidance Teaching Building was robbed last night. Half the equipment warehouse was emptied, all the surveillance equipment was destroyed, and the core of a scrapped mecha was removed."

She paused. "The door was kicked open. There was a small footprint on it."

Yun Ming said nothing.

Cai Yue'er continued, "The cover plate on the mecha's chest was violently torn open. There were sword marks around the edges, and more around the core compartment. The Monitoring Room cores were pierced through by a single sword strike, straight through the center. Very precise."

She looked at Yun Ming. "I still recognize those sword marks."

Yun Ming set down his documents and remained silent for a long time. Then he gave a bitter smile. "I understand."

Cai Yue'er looked at him. "You knew already?"

Yun Ming did not answer.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Cai Yue'er's heart. "You watched him go?"

Yun Ming still did not answer.

Cai Yue'er took a deep breath. "Brother Ming, you're the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion. Your son robbed the Soul Guidance Department's teaching building, and you just watched from the side?"

Yun Ming smiled bitterly. "I watched him leave his room, followed him there, watched him kick down the door, watched him move things, watched him cut apart that mecha, watched him dismantle the core, watched him smash the surveillance equipment, and then watched him carry the box back."

He paused. "I just watched."

Cai Yue'er fell silent.

She looked at Yun Ming and suddenly did not know what to say.

Yun Ming sighed. "That child wanted those things. I don't know what he wanted them for, but he isn't the type to act recklessly."

Cai Yue'er was silent for a moment. "Even so, he can't just..."

Long Yeyue appeared in the doorway at some point, leaning against the frame. "If he wanted them, why didn't he just ask?"

Yun Ming smiled bitterly. "I don't know either. Maybe he thought we wouldn't give them to him if he asked."

"Maybe he thought it was his own business and didn't want to trouble anyone. Or maybe he just wanted to secretly do something and thought it would be fun."

Long Yeyue glanced at him. "You certainly understand him well."

Yun Ming said nothing.

Cai Yue'er stood up. "Fine. I'll deal with it."

She walked to the door, and Long Yeyue stepped aside to let her pass.

Cai Yue'er took several steps, then turned back. "Brother Ming."

Yun Ming looked up.

Cai Yue'er looked at him. "Next time, tell him not to kick down the door. The Soul Guidance Department's budget isn't that generous."

Yun Ming froze for a moment, then smiled. "All right."

The Soul Guidance Teaching Building.

Director Fang stood outside the equipment warehouse, his expression rather unpleasant.

When Cai Yue'er approached, he went to meet her.

"Elder Cai, have you found out who did it?"

Cai Yue'er nodded. "I have."

Director Fang waited for her to continue.

Cai Yue'er was silent for a moment. "It was the Pavilion Master's son."

Director Fang froze. "Yun Jingheng?"

Cai Yue'er nodded.

Director Fang was silent for a long time, his expression changing several times.

From shock, to confusion, to realization, and finally to utter bitterness.

"Elder Cai," he asked cautiously, "is there something the Soul Guidance Department hasn't done well enough?"

Cai Yue'er was taken aback. "What?"

Director Fang's expression grew even more bitter.

"I know the Soul Guidance Department hasn't had any major achievements in recent years. Our funding has always been limited, and we can't retain talent."

"But we've always been working hard... If the Sea God Pavilion has any dissatisfaction with us, it can say so directly. There's no need to..."

Cai Yue'er's face darkened. "What are you thinking?"

Director Fang swallowed the rest of his words after her glare.

Cai Yue'er took a deep breath. "That child was just curious about these things. He came to find some materials to study."

Director Fang froze. "Study?"

Cai Yue'er nodded. "Study."

Director Fang was silent for a while before cautiously asking.

"Then... those things?"

"Let him keep them."

Cai Yue'er said, "Send up a list later, and we'll replenish them for you."

Director Fang sighed in relief, though the bitterness had not entirely faded from his face.

"Elder Cai, the Pavilion Master's son... is interested in Soul Tools?"

Cai Yue'er thought about it. "Probably..."

Director Fang's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Then would he be interested in taking classes with the Soul Guidance Department? We have the best teachers and the most complete equipment—"

Cai Yue'er interrupted him. "He's only nine."

Director Fang froze. "What's wrong with being nine? Nine is the perfect age to learn! And from those cuts when he dismantled the core last night, the force was limited, but the angles were very precise. That means he already has some foundation—"

Cai Yue'er looked at him and suddenly wanted to laugh. "His talent is very high. I'll mention it to him, but whether he comes or not will be up to him."

Director Fang nodded, and at last, a hint of a smile appeared on his face. "All right, all right. Then I'll have to trouble Elder Cai."

Cai Yue'er turned and left.

As she walked out of the Soul Guidance Teaching Building, she looked up.

The sunlight was lovely. She suddenly remembered that small figure from last night, carrying a large box beneath the moonlight.

She smiled and headed toward Sea God Island.

In Yun Jingheng's room, he sat at his desk, busy over a stack of blueprints all morning.

The structure of the lens tube had been drawn, the focal length had been calculated, and the core's drive circuit was half designed.

He stretched and glanced out the window.

Sunlight streamed in, falling across his desk and that pile of parts.

He suddenly remembered the camera from last night.

He thought about it and decided there probably was no problem, then lowered his head and continued drawing.

Inside his Sea of Spirit, Xiao Jiu turned over. "Were you seen last night?"

Yun Jingheng's hand paused. "Probably... not?"

Xiao Jiu clicked her tongue. "Your father is a Limit Douluo."

Yun Jingheng fell silent for a moment.

Then he continued drawing.

Whatever. If they knew, why haven't they come looking for me yet?

Since they haven't come looking for me, that means they haven't figured out who did it.

They haven't figured it out, so what am I afraid of?

Keep going, keep going.