Quota, Blood Exchange

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, their pale radiance transforming into ten thousand slivers of thin silver foil.

One sliver drifted into the small courtyard beside the yamen's kitchen, while another plated the Huang residence in a silver rim.

Huang Yuan'er stepped through the moonlight, his expression gloomy as he walked into the study in the back residence.

"Second Uncle."

As soon as Huang Yuan'er entered, he saw a broad-shouldered, thick-backed middle-aged man standing before the desk, serving a cup of tea to another man of exceptionally obese proportions.

He greeted Huang Tiansheng with a flat tone, then turned to bow toward the obese man sitting steadily at the other end of the desk: "Father."

"You're here."

Huang Tianhe nodded, looking at Huang Yuan'er with a faint smile that narrowed his eyes into mere slits.

"Big Brother, although the vast majority of people were captured regarding today's events, there were too many eyes and ears at the time. I fear the business at that house cannot be kept hidden."

Huang Tiansheng frowned, his voice muffled and resonant, causing the dozen candles in the room to flicker.

"Is there still no lead as to who exactly did it?"

Huang Tianhe glanced at Huang Tiansheng with a chuckle.

His voice was not loud, and his gaze was not sharp, yet this single gesture made Huang Tiansheng's body tremble uncontrollably.

Huang Tiansheng replied with a grim expression: "We searched the entire ghost market, yet we didn't even catch a glimpse of that person's shadow."

"The only clue is the blade technique that person used; it resembles the yamen's Zhengyang Blade Technique."

As he spoke, Huang Tiansheng cast his gaze toward Huang Yuan'er at the side and asked:

"Good nephew, have you discovered anything on your end?"

Huang Yuan'er shook his head, his expression darkening further.

He carefully glanced at Huang Tianhe and gritted his teeth:

"I checked every yamen runner in the office. There were twenty-eight men on duty outside today. Three returned within an hour, seventeen returned at noon, and eight have yet to return."

"However, those eight all went to Dangyun Mountain. I asked the city garrison about this, and they said they saw those eight enter the mountain with their own eyes."

"Not a single runner went to the ghost market today."

Huang Tiansheng said expressionlessly: "You say so much, yet there is still no lead."

Hearing the sarcasm dripping from his second uncle's words, Huang Yuan'er felt quite displeased.

He had a mind to lash out on the spot, but he suddenly caught sight of his father watching him with a chuckle, and it felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, leaving him shivering.

"Could it be the Sun Family?"

Huang Tiansheng pondered for a moment and proposed a plausible hypothesis.

The room fell silent.

Huang Tianhe sank into thought, stretching out a hand to idly toy with the candle flame on the table.

The firelight cast the shadow of his large hand onto the wall, forming what looked like five massive mountain peaks ready to crush everything within the study.

Huang Tiansheng's breath hitched, his blood surged, and he felt as if he were carrying ten thousand catties on his shoulders, nearly unable to keep his back straight.

Just as he was about to reach his breaking point, Huang Tianhe finally spoke.

"The Autumn Hunt is imminent; the Sun Family would not do something so foolish."

As soon as these words were spoken, the pressure on Huang Tiansheng dissipated like a bursting dam.

The tension vanished instantly.

A bead of sweat slowly trickled down his cheek.

"There was a white-uniform runner who went to the ghost market today."

Huang Yuan'er felt exactly the same as Huang Tiansheng; after the immense pressure lifted, his calves couldn't stop trembling, and his voice turned somewhat hoarse.

"A white-uniform runner?"

Huang Tiansheng was startled.

"That's right."

Huang Yuan'er gritted his teeth: "I even exchanged a move with him today, but even I couldn't take him down, which is proof enough that there is something very wrong with him."

"Oh?"

Huang Tianhe asked with some surprise: "Although you haven't reached the second realm, you have already undergone blood-refining. You couldn't even take down a lowly white-uniform runner?"

Huang Yuan'er said bitterly: "If Sun Qifeng hadn't suddenly appeared, I would have certainly hacked him to pieces on the spot after a few more moves."

Huang Tianhe frowned slightly: "The Sun Family is backing him?"

Huang Yuan'er nodded: "There is also Yan Ming. To protect this person, Yan Ming used up a favor from the Sun Family. It is precisely because of this that the Sun Family turned against us during the last morning assembly."

Huang Tianhe thought it over, but he could not recall when Baiyun County had ever had such a character.

Regardless, he could hardly be expected to remember a mere white-uniform runner.

"In my opinion, this person is the prime suspect. Why don't we just drag him in for an interrogation?"

Huang Yuan'er made no effort to hide the murderous intent he felt toward Chen Zhuo.

Huang Tianhe did not agree, instead shifting his gaze toward Huang Tiansheng.

"Second brother, what do you think?"

Huang Tiansheng pondered for a moment before replying, "I believe that with the Autumn Hunt fast approaching, we shouldn't stir up trouble as long as the Sun Family is involved."

Having said that, he turned his head toward Huang Yuan'er.

"Since you, my nephew, believe this person is the prime suspect, I will accompany you to the yamen tomorrow. There are plenty of ways to make him spill the truth."

"I hope you don't disappoint your father."

Huang Yuan'er said coldly, "Just watch, Second Uncle. This man definitely has something to hide."

"I hope your methods prove effective when the time comes."

"Father, what is your take?"

"Very well."

Huang Tianhe let his gaze drift between the two, nodded slightly, and then slowly withdrew his attention.

"There is one more matter."

Huang Yuan'er continued, "Zhou Sheng is dead. With his position as a yamen runner now vacant, I wonder if Father has a suitable candidate in mind?"

"As this concerns the upcoming selection for the Northern Suppressing Faction this year, I dare not make the decision lightly and must ask for your final word."

"The Northern Suppressing Faction..."

Huang Tianhe chewed on the words, a flicker of imperceptible wariness flashing in his eyes, alongside a rage hidden in the deepest depths of his soul.

If not for a noble from the Northern Suppressing Faction currently visiting Yong Prefecture to inspect the entire region, he would never have had to play nice with the Sun Family.

In his mind, he would have slaughtered them all, rather than being tied down and restricted as he was now.

Huang Tianhe poked at the candle flame with his large hand a few times before saying indifferently, "Release this news quietly. Let all the prominent families and wealthy gentry in the county know that this position goes to the highest bidder, and they must sign a twenty-year life-bond with our Long River Gang."

"Understood."

"If anyone else dares to lay a finger on it, no matter who they are, chop them up and feed them to the fish."

Training until midnight, Chen Zhuo finally emerged from his deep focus.

He glanced at the sky outside the window; it was still bathed in moonlight, and the hour was still early.

The blood and qi within his body surged like a torrent, yet by his own estimation, his body had not undergone a fundamental transformation.

Half a bottle of True Blood really isn't enough.

With a thought, a row of tiny, gnat-like characters appeared before his eyes.

Cultivation Method: Iron Cloth Shirt: 198/200 (Minor Success)

Just a little more.

Chen Zhuo steadied his nerves, reached out to grab a porcelain bottle from beside the tub, and poured the False Blood inside directly into the water.

The Blood-Strengthening Soup began to boil once more.

Though it lacked the triple-gain of True Blood, it still provided him with immense assistance.

With his stamina restored, he could practice his martial arts with full force.

As the soup grew scalding hot, Chen Zhuo calmed his heart and stood in his stance, his hands striking out and causing the liquid in the tub to splash violently.

[Iron Cloth Shirt +1]

[Iron Cloth Shirt +1]

Soon, these two lines appeared before his eyes in succession.

With a "boom," it felt as if a thunderous roar echoed in his ears.

Immediately following was an intense, overwhelming pain that caused him to curl his body up involuntarily.

He felt his entire body burning, as if the blood within him had been evaporated in an instant.

But then, a surge of newborn blood gushed forth like a spring, filling every corner of his body in a heartbeat.

In a trance, Chen Zhuo seemed to "see" his own heart; with every steady, powerful beat, a loud "thump" resonated.

The new blood flowed slowly through his veins.

It was very slow, for it was incredibly viscous.

Blood like mercury.

These four words flashed through Chen Zhuo's mind.

He knew that the step of blood-refining had been achieved.