The Informant

Chang'an, Dali Temple Prison.

A chill, dank stench washed over him, mixed with the odors of mold and excrement.

"You know the rules, Young Master Li. You only have the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

The jailer stopped walking and gave the chains in his hand a sideways shake.

"Yes, thank you, Head Wang."

The young Li Yuan lowered his eyes and answered repeatedly, his posture timid and weak.

Watching the jailer walk away, he slowly straightened his hunched back, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.

A figure was curled up in a pile of dry straw in the corner. Hearing the movement, he abruptly raised his head.

Li Yuan looked at him quietly, his eyes filled with an almost cruel indifference.

After barely more than a month in prison, Li Chongwen, once the elegant Vice Minister of Revenue, had already wasted away beyond recognition. His hair hung in tangled clumps, and his prison clothes were blotched with grime.

Tut, tut. Sure enough, it felt good when retribution came knocking.

At the sight of Li Yuan, light burst forth from Li Chongwen's clouded eyes.

"Yuan'er."

He crawled over on hands and feet, reaching through the wooden bars to grab Li Yuan's arm. "Have you gathered the money? When can you get your father released?"

Li Yuan seemed to squat down casually, yet he neatly avoided his touch. Unhurriedly, he opened the layers of the food box one by one.

At the top were two flatbreads. In the middle was a small dish of neatly sliced braised lamb, and at the bottom, there was even a small flask of warmed cloudy wine.

"Don't worry, Father. Eat something first."

He passed the food inside, his tone calm. "Your son is trying to find a way, but the ransom has risen to thirty thousand taels. And greasing the wheels will cost extra."

"Your son... truly has no way to manage it..."

Li Chongwen's eyes flew wide open. "What? Thirty thousand taels?!"

His heart burned with anxiety. In the dim prison cell, he failed to notice the mockery at the corner of Li Yuan's mouth.

"These old thieves are robbing a burning house!"

Looking at Li Yuan as though he were his final hope, he said, "Yuan'er, no matter how difficult it is, you have to find a way! You're my son—you have to save your father!"

"But your son has already borrowed from everywhere..."

Li Yuan curled his lips in scorn. Now he remembered that he was his son?

Heh heh~

"Mother was already packing yesterday. She said... she wanted to separate from you, and she also said..."

Li Yuan trailed off, making Li Chongwen's expression change dramatically. His gaunt hand clamped fiercely around Li Yuan's arm.

"What else did she say?"

"Mother said you have already been sentenced to exile in Lingnan, where you'll do hard labor building city walls. You'll be setting out soon..."

Li Yuan admired the way his face went pale in an instant, pleasure surging through his heart.

"Exile to Lingnan?"

That was a land of miasma and pestilence. How could anyone return alive? Li Chongwen immediately collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.

"Father, I already begged Grandfather, but... your son is unfilial and cannot save you. I truly deserve to die, boohoohoo..."

Li Yuan let out two utterly fake wails and covered his face with his sleeve.

Yet Li Chongwen did not notice in the slightest. His face turned red, then white, and intense hatred burst from his eyes. "Pah! What grandfather? Since that old bastard doesn't care whether I live or die, he can't blame me for showing no mercy either."

He gave a sinister smile, gritted his teeth, and carefully looked to either side before leaning close to Li Yuan's ear.

"When you return, go to Changning Alley. Find the sixth courtyard from the left. The key is beneath the stone slab in the middle of the threshold. Under the third floor brick beneath the north wall of the east wing, there is a hidden compartment..."

The corner of Li Yuan's mouth rose slightly. Sure enough, unless he was driven to the edge of the cliff, the old thing would never part with his final trump card.

"There are some yellow and white things inside. Take them quietly, and whatever you do, don't let that wicked woman find out..."

"Father, where did you get so much silver?"

"Don't ask. Just do as I say."

Li Chongwen waved impatiently. "I've prepared several letters and a list in the hidden compartment. Go find Censor Chen. He and your father have... the bond of former classmates. He'll understand as soon as he sees them."

"Yes, your son will certainly do as you say."

After Li Chongwen finished speaking in one breath, his expression eased considerably. He no longer seemed anxious and even had the leisure to start eating the flatbread.

But the bread was too dry, and it choked him until he could only stretch his throat. He hurriedly snatched up the wine flask and gulped from it.

"Rest assured, Father. Even if it costs your son his life, I will save you. Take care of yourself here and wait for your son's good news."

Li Yuan spoke in a cool, gloomy voice. Get out?

Maybe in your next life.

"Good, good, good. Now that's my good son."

Li Chongwen nodded haphazardly and reminded him over and over, still uneasy. "You must be careful. Never let that wicked woman notice..."

"Your son understands."

Having gotten what he wanted, Li Yuan could not be bothered to keep up the pretense. He lazily packed up the food box and turned to leave the death row prison.

The jailer Wang Wu, waiting outside, piled on a forced smile. "Young Master Li, as for Lord Li's matter... it may not be entirely beyond saving. It's just that, regarding the money..."

Li Yuan blinked, then bowed deeply to Wang Wu with a look of delighted surprise.

"Really? So long as Father can be saved, even if it means losing the entire family fortune, it would be only right..."

He looked at Wang Wu with tears of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Head Wang. I'll go gather the silver at once. Even if I have to sell off the ancestral estate, I will definitely raise enough."

Wang Wu secretly rejoiced. This dandy was truly naive, and a few more traces of a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Young Master Li is so righteous. You will surely move the heavens and turn disaster into fortune." Wang Wu smiled as he patted his shoulder.

Li Yuan thanked him repeatedly before turning to leave. Once he turned into a secluded alley, the grief on his face vanished in an instant, leaving only cold indifference.

He straightened his back and lightly dusted off his sleeves, as though shaking away the bad luck that had clung to him.

"Li Chongwen, how did betrayal taste?"

Li Yuan curled his lips in a smile. That was right—the person who had anonymously reported Li Chongwen for corruption and perverting the law was none other than his own filial, dutiful son.

He had spent half a year gathering that evidence bit by bit, with painstaking care.

Only when Li Chongwen's high-ranking Grand Secretary father-in-law was locked in a fight to the death with his political enemy had he passed the accusation letter along through several hands to the other side.

All to strike with a single blow.

"Father? Heh heh..."

Li Yuan laughed at himself, without the slightest warmth in his voice.

He had originally been a middle-aged soldier. After carrying out a mission, he boarded a flight from Malaysia to return home.

When the plane was over the Indian Ocean, it was suddenly struck by some mysterious object, and the fuselage instantly broke apart.

At the critical moment between life and death, he leaped from the cabin and plunged into the boundless ocean.

As his consciousness blurred, it felt as though he had stepped into an ancient bronze hall that had lain silent for ten thousand years.

A beam of intense light suddenly shot into the center of his brow, searing like a brand.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already in an unfamiliar place. His body had become that of a youth, his breath shallow and his bones not yet fully formed. Only the iron-blooded years buried deep in his memories remained as clear as yesterday.

He had been transported here for half a year now, yet thinking back on it still left him somewhat dazed.

This was a Great Tang that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

It was entirely different from the history he knew. After the An Lushan Rebellion, it had veered down a bizarre and fantastical fork in the road.

Spiritual energy had revived throughout heaven and earth. Not only had humans awakened supernatural powers, but demons, monsters, ghosts, and strange beings had also run rampant in great numbers, bringing new power and order.

The imperial court had established the Demon Suppression Bureau, which operated alongside the existing government system and specialized in handling all manner of supernatural incidents.

And Great Tang, supported by supernatural power, had endured for another four hundred years. Its territory had changed time and again, but the name Tang had never fallen. Only the imperial court and the martial world had long since become something entirely different.

The original Li Yuan had been an insignificant nobody.

His biological father, Li Chongwen, had come from a poor family and earned the jinshi degree through bitter study. In order to climb the ladder of power, he had not hesitated to abandon his wife and child, marrying the widowed daughter of a high-ranking official.

Li Yuan's mother fell ill from years of overwork and died in despondency, while the original owner wandered about begging, suffering every hardship imaginable.

Only years later, when Li Chongwen and his new wife still had no children, did they bring Li Yuan back to Chang'an.

But what awaited him was the abuse of his stepmother, Madam Wang, and the cold indifference of his biological father.

Half a year ago, after Li Yuan received a beating under the family rules for no reason at all, he fell gravely ill and died without a sound.

After that, the present Li Yuan had arrived here through an accident, his soul returning to a borrowed corpse.

On the surface, it was a miracle: Li Yuan, who had already stopped breathing for half a day, had come back to life.

As a police officer, he swiftly recognized his circumstances. He acted even more patient and submissive than the original owner, learned to flatter and play the obedient child, while secretly beginning to plot his revenge.

After Li Chongwen was thrown into prison, his property was confiscated, while Madam Wang's family abandoned him to save themselves, rushing to cut all ties.

Li Yuan had calculated everything long ago. Li Chongwen knew too much. Since his father-in-law had treated him as an abandoned pawn, he would certainly find a way to silence him.

Today's prison visit served two purposes. First, it was an act for others to see, laying the groundwork for his future reputation. Second, it was to draw out Li Chongwen's final hidden stash.

His goal accomplished, he wasted no more time. After getting his bearings, he headed briskly toward Changning Alley.