Does an Imperial Grandson Deserve to be a Contact?

"Check the protection register first. The token itself is engraved with the number fifteen!"

Gu Qinghe led the group into the Law Enforcement Hall's archives room.

After Zhao Chong went missing, everyone who had come into contact with the Immortal-Asking Stairs case and the Scripture Library case was placed on the witness protection register. The register detailed their residences, sect registration, guarantors, and emergency contacts. Once a witness was attacked, the Law Enforcement Hall would notify the relevant parties according to the list.

Li Sanshun's name was on the fifth page.

The sect registration column listed Xuan Chu Academy, and the guarantor was currently vacant. The emergency contact field, originally empty, now bore a new line of fresh ink.

Fourth Imperial Grandson of the Shunchang Imperial Clan, Ji Jingyao.

Below it was stamped the mission's seal for seeking kin.

Li Sanshun finished reading, picked up the brush on the table, and struck through Ji Jingyao's name directly.

Gu Qinghe pressed her hand onto the page.

"The protection register is not an ordinary roster. If you strike out the default guardian, you must fill in a new guarantor. If the imperial status is verified, Ji Jingyao, as a senior of the same clan, is indeed qualified to take over."

"The blood test hasn't even begun yet; what kind of senior is he supposed to be?"

"The Law Enforcement Hall registers based on risk. The mission carries official documents for seeking kin, and their relationship priority is higher than that of ordinary fellow disciples."

Li Sanshun pointed to the guarantor column.

"Fill in Xiong Baichuan."

Footsteps echoed outside the archives room. The old retainer sent by Ji Jingyao walked in with two golden-armored guards, holding the mission's documents in his hand.

"His Highness just received the news. With Zhao Chong missing, Young Master Li's situation is even more dangerous. The contact on the protection register cannot be changed; you should move to Guest-Welcoming Peak tonight."

"News travels fast. The Law Enforcement Hall just opened the book, and Guest-Welcoming Peak already knows."

The old retainer's expression remained unchanged.

"The imperial mission naturally has its own channels of information."

"Then that is all the more reason not to list you. We haven't even figured out how Zhao Chong was lost, nor do we know who leaked the news. If someone really comes to kill me, and the protection register notifies you first, I'm afraid the body collectors will arrive before the assassin does."

The golden-armored guard took a step forward.

"Watch your language."

Li Sanshun dipped the brush in ink.

"I'll ask one thing. Who agreed to let Ji Jingyao be my emergency contact?"

The disciple in charge of the archives checked the seal.

"The mission applied using the kin-seeking document. According to the old covenant between the imperial court and the sect, before a lost imperial clansman completes verification, the nearest adult kinsman acts as temporary guardian."

"Does the old covenant say the party involved cannot refuse?"

The archive disciple flipped to the back pages, searching for a long time.

"No."

The old retainer pressed down on the protection register.

"You are concealing your imperial identity and refusing protection from your own kin. If you are killed because of this, who will bear the consequences?"

"I will."

"Can a mere Qi-refining disciple like you afford to bear it?"

"My life is my own. How I choose to live it should be up to me."

Li Sanshun pulled the page out, wrote his own name in the responsibility column, and pressed his thumbprint onto it.

"Until my identity is verified, I do not accept imperial guardianship. Any risks arising from concealing or refusing this identity shall be borne by Li Sanshun himself."

The old retainer snatched the brush away.

"This registration is invalid. Anyone who acts as a guarantor for an imperial kinsman must at least hold the status of a Peak Master. Xiong Baichuan has not yet accepted you into his peak, nor has he stamped the register."

The sound of an iron sword striking the wall echoed at the door of the archives room.

Xiong Baichuan squeezed through the door sideways and slammed the Zhen Yue Peak Master's seal onto the table.

"Who said I didn't?"

As the seal fell, the page glowed with an earthy-yellow spiritual light.

"As of today, Li Sanshun is transferred to the temporary roster of Zhen Yue Peak. After the identity verification ends in three days, we will decide whether he officially joins. If anyone is looking for him, come to Zhen Yue Peak and find me first."

The old retainer stared at the Peak Master's seal.

"Peak Master Xiong should think this through. If Li Sanshun is involved in the imperial treason case, Zhen Yue Peak will also be subject to investigation."

Xiong Baichuan took back his seal.

"I've lived for over a hundred years, and this is the first time I've heard that accepting a new disciple requires looking at the imperial family's face. Go back and tell Ji Jingyao: the boy isn't going to Guest-Welcoming Peak. If he wants to change the register, tell him to come himself."

Unable to take Li Sanshun away, the old retainer had no choice but to put away his documents.

Before leaving the archives room, he glanced at the temporary roster of Zhen Yue Peak.

"His Highness is willing to give you three days out of respect for blood ties. Exhausting this goodwill will do you no good."

Li Sanshun picked up the brush again and smeared Ji Jingyao's name until it was unrecognizable.

"The portrait hasn't been verified yet; don't be in such a hurry to talk to me about blood ties."

After the mission members left, Xiong Baichuan tossed a wooden plaque of Zhen Yue Peak to Li Sanshun.

"Temporary disciples live in the East Courtyard. There are only three rules: don't steal from fellow disciples, don't bring demonic creatures into the dormitory, and don't test explosive-type techniques in the middle of the night."

"Why specifically ban the third one?"

"A fool once blew up half the courtyard."

Gu Qinghe closed the protection register.

"Peak Master Xiong, once the guarantee takes effect, if Li Sanshun leaves the sect without permission, you will be punished. If the imperial family pursues accountability, they will come to Zhen Yue Peak first."

"I know. Just investigate your case and make sure you don't lose the person."

This was the first time Li Sanshun had chosen a backer for himself.

Qi Shouxuan's protection was tangled with the old case of the Third Prince. Ji Jingyao's interest was fixed on his imperial bloodline. Xiong Baichuan's reason, however, was simple. Li Sanshun had passed the Immortal-Asking Stairs and was suited for body refinement, so Zhen Yue Peak was willing to take him in.

This simplicity was, in fact, more reassuring.

A shout from a Law Enforcement disciple came from outside.

"The ventilation shaft is open!"

The group rushed to cell number fifteen. The iron grate in the corner had been removed, leaving a space only large enough for one person to crawl through. Drag marks remained on the stone wall, along with several dark red medicinal stains.

A disciple used a wooden splinter to lift some of the stain.

"This is Bone-Corroding Water. It can dissolve clothing and hair within two hours and is often used to dispose of unclaimed corpses."

Gu Qinghe examined the width of the ventilation shaft.

"Zhao Chong is on the heavier side; it would be difficult to drag him out of here after he was knocked unconscious. Unless someone stuffed him into a corpse bag first and then used a corpse cart to transport him."

Li Sanshun approached the iron grate and smelled another scent hidden beneath the medicinal stains.

It was sour, bitter, and laced with the stench of rotting old flesh.

From deep within the ventilation shaft came the echo of wheels rolling over stone gaps. The rear connected to the morgue, where the corpse cart was currently parked.

Gu Qinghe took out a luminous pearl.

"Let's go in and take a look."

The disciple in charge of the investigation blocked the entrance to the passage.

"Senior Sister Gu, the medicinal fumes inside haven't dissipated yet. Breathing too much will damage your energy channels."

Li Sanshun crouched beside the entrance and took a second sniff.

Beyond the Bone-Corroding Water, there was the scent of sweat left behind by a living person who had taken medicine.

"Zhao Chong may have been taken out through here."

Gu Qinghe put on a toxin-filtering mask.

"How did you determine that?"

Li Sanshun looked at the dark red marks on the inside of the passage.

"There is a lingering scent of corrosive medicine inside the cell's ventilation shaft."