The Demon Extermination Hall's commander, Huang Tairen, looked at the letter in his hand and opened it slightly to read its contents.
His brows furrowed. "Is there something wrong with the Hundred Flowers Pavilion?"
He looked to the side. A figure stood in the darkness.
"Have you investigated the Hundred Flowers Pavilion?"
"We have."
"The Hundred Flowers Pavilion is backed by Fang Yuqing's own family. A steward of the Fang Clan opened it."
"The steward is a born-and-bred servant of the Fang Clan, and holds considerable influence within the family."
"He's proper and honest, and only interested in making money."
"However, the women in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion come from all sorts of backgrounds."
"If there's a problem, I suspect it lies with the women."
"Investigate thoroughly, and arrange for some people to keep watch there."
"Pay particular attention to anyone who's had contact with Wen Taiquan. Find out the identities of every one of them."
"Yes."
The figure vanished into the darkness. Huang Tairen's expression darkened slightly.
For the past few days, he and Prefect Fang Qingyu had secretly been deploying troops and increasing patrols throughout the city.
The government office's constables and officers worked in three shifts around the clock, patrolling the city's streets and alleys and searching countless inns and homes.
Officially, they were hunting a notorious bandit who had entered the city. In truth, they were secretly keeping a record of suspicious people.
He had also assigned ten cultivators from the Demon Extermination Hall's Dark Division to follow behind the constables and officers and watch them in secret.
They were looking for anyone among the constables and officers who might be suspicious.
At the same time, they were secretly searching for the bandits and unknown cultivators hiding in Jade City.
They had gathered quite a bit of information over the past few days, and some of it had alarmed him.
They had already discovered more than three hundred people suspected of being Northern Barbarian bandits, and more than eight cultivators who weren't on record.
They had hidden themselves well, but they had still left traces for the Dark Division's skilled trackers to find.
"Wang Jie, you're a disgrace to your office and blind to the emperor's grace."
"How dare you betray the court and collude with the Blood Demon Sect?"
"I'll make sure you die a miserable death."
Huang Tairen's gaze was icy. In the dim, yellow light, he looked especially savage.
It seemed that a patch of darkness was writhing behind him, as if it came from his own power.
That night, Elder Huang closed the last file and looked at Li Qing, who was reclining in a chair and reading.
He spoke calmly. "Li Qing, come here. I need to talk to you."
Li Qing furrowed his brow and got to his feet.
He walked over and sat on the stool beside Elder Huang, his face full of confusion.
"Elder Huang, what is it?"
Elder Huang looked at Li Qing and gave a faint, rueful sigh.
He pulled a box from his sleeve. It was pitch-black all over, and seemed strange somehow.
He opened it. Inside lay a black orb about the size of a thumb.
"I want to give you something. It's called a Thunderbolt Fire Bead."
"It was made by the Gongshu Clan, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought."
"This thing is devastatingly powerful. One bead can destroy everything within three zhang when it explodes."
"Its power can match a strike from a first-layer True Method Realm cultivator."
"This time, no one knows how many people will be caught up in what's happening, how many will survive, or what dangers we'll face."
"I originally promised to help you get four spirit herbs so you could cultivate your life-saving spell."
"But because the commander has reservations, I'm afraid we'll have to put that off."
"Take this Thunderbolt Fire Bead as compensation."
"Though we've known each other for only half a month..."
"But I've seen what kind of person you are, and you're definitely not with the Blood Demon Sect."
"You can keep this."
Li Qing looked at Elder Huang's sincere face and furrowed his brow.
"That won't do. What if you're in danger after giving it to me?"
Elder Huang chuckled. "I'm a Body Strengthening cultivator, after all, and much stronger than you."
"I also have five spells to protect myself. I'm not so easy to kill."
"I'm stronger than you, at least, so take it."
"My mistake is mine to make up for, and I have other things to protect my life."
"Don't worry about me. Just protect yourself."
Li Qing looked at Elder Huang's solemn expression. He opened his mouth, then finally nodded.
"Okay."
He accepted the jade box, a hint of a smile on his face.
"When this is all over, I'll treat you at the Yellow Flower Pavilion. There'll be plenty of Pear Blossom Brew."
"Hahaha, good!" Elder Huang smiled.
At Prefect Fang Qingyu's residence, a figure appeared without a sound.
"Why have you come sneaking in again?" Fang Qingyu asked helplessly.
Huang Tairen's voice rang out. "I can't help it. Too many people are watching."
"Last time, I deliberately stirred things up to flush them out. How much did you find?"
Fang Qingyu's expression turned cold. "We found three suspected spies."
"Fei Yangming was among them."
Huang Tairen furrowed his brow at that. "Are you sure?"
"He asked two of my guards about something, and they told him that a man in black had come to see me."
"He instructed my guards not to tell anyone about it."
"But you've seen the results of the investigation over the past few days."
"More than three hundred people and seven or eight cultivators."
"And that's only what we've found on the surface. Nearly half of them were discovered by Fei Yangming's teams."
"Isn't that strange? What a coincidence."
"I secretly asked an old constable from my clan, Fang Xibai, to investigate."
"He's a distant uncle of mine. He once served as a constable at the Capital City's government office and has a pair of Divine Eyes. No one has ever escaped his notice."
"The results of his secret investigation are even more shocking."
As he spoke, he produced a letter and handed it to Huang Tairen.
Huang Tairen looked over the letter's contents, and a grave look came into his eyes.
It contained even more complete information than what he had received.
There were at least a thousand extra people in the city. The amount of night soil sent out of the city, along with the city's consumption of grain, salt, and alcohol, had all risen by unexplained amounts.
The increase was enough to suggest there were about a thousand extra people.
Jade City had a population of only a few hundred thousand, and the daily inflow and outflow of grain and other necessities were all accounted for.
Furthermore, after comparing Cao Yun's records of grain and other goods entering and leaving the city with those from previous years, they had found clear discrepancies.
The tax collected from sales had dropped noticeably. This meant some of the goods brought into the city had vanished into thin air without being sold.
Judging by the volume and weight of those missing goods, they would have been enough for about a thousand people.
By comparing the various figures across different categories and time periods, Fang Xibai had reached a detailed conclusion.
All the data came from the government office, including every record of river transport and tax collection.
Huang Tairen's face showed his admiration. "That elder of yours is truly impressive."
"He actually managed to work out the precise number of people from such complicated information."
"I've never heard of anything like it."
"Well, that's why they call them Divine Eyes. My uncle's eyes are astonishingly sharp."