Fury! Seizing the Ironclad Evidence!

"Imperial Old Infant Case, number fifteen?"

Gu Qinghe crouched before the cast-iron floor, sweeping away the mineral dust from the grooves.

Fifteen slots were arranged in sequence, each with a number carved beside it. The first fourteen showed signs of having been pried open, with blood-rust still clinging to the bottoms of the grooves.

The final one was sealed at the base of the furnace, its surface covered by three layers of iron sand.

Chen Jiumu pulled at his collar, revealing the red markings of a Fire Contract.

"Xu Zhenchuan brought an old register containing the records of fifteen infants. He ordered us to carve the numbers according to the register, and not a single one could be wrong."

"Where did the last one go wrong?"

"The blood groove."

Chen Jiumu pointed to his right arm.

"A blood groove had to be carved on the back of every blank. When we were halfway through carving the fifteenth piece, the furnace fire cut out. Fearing that reigniting the Earth-Fire would alert Hall Master Gu, Xu Zhenchuan left it at the bottom of the furnace and made the three of us guard it."

Yuan Fu spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva.

"Guard it, my foot! He branded us with Fire Contracts and locked us in this stone chamber; it was clear he intended to wear us down until we died."

Gu Qinghe took out the half-piece of the Blood Token and inserted it into the seventh empty slot.

The width and fit were seamless.

The black debris remaining on the broken edge of the token also matched the blood-rust at the bottom of the groove.

"The half-token from the stone chamber beneath the North Mountain Herb Garden came from the Ding-Character Furnace."

The two threads they had been investigating for so long had finally converged.

Twenty-one years ago, fifteen imperial infants went missing under mysterious circumstances.

Six years ago, Xu Zhenchuan stole Blood-Vein Black Iron and forged fifteen tokens according to the numbering of the Old Infant Case.

Fourteen pieces had already flowed out of the Tai Xuan Sect.

The remaining fifteenth piece was currently pressed beneath their feet.

Li Sanshun crouched down and took a breath.

[Blood-Vein Black Iron detected.]
[Number: Imperial Old Infant Case No. 15.]
[Fifteen types of blood-lure essence residue.]
[Belongs to the same batch of blanks as the half-token.]

Fifteen types of blood-lure?

Li Sanshun pressed his hand against the edge of the groove.

"Did Xu Zhenchuan use blood when he forged the tokens?"

The three miners looked at one another.

Chen Jiumu fished a crumpled, tattered furnace-material list from his ragged clothes.

"There were fifteen sealed jade bottles. Xu Zhenchuan wouldn't let us touch them; every time he started a furnace, he would pour one in himself."

"What was written on the bottles?"

"Names and dates of birth."

Gu Qinghe took the furnace-material list.

The paper recorded the times of fifteen furnace firings, each separated by only half an hour. The last line was unfinished, with a single drop of dried blood left beside it.

She copied the Old Infant Case numbers onto the paper and compared them one by one with the firing sequence.

They matched perfectly.

"He used the blood samples from the infant case to refine counterfeit tokens."

Imperial tokens recognized blood.

Ordinary black iron could mimic the appearance, but it could not pass the blood array. By adding the blood-lure of the missing infants, the fake tokens could impersonate the corresponding bloodlines.

Li Sanshun looked at the fourteen empty slots.

"Fourteen tokens, representing fourteen identities."

Bai Chongshan's forged Verification Disk could only deceive an inspection once.

However, the counterfeit tokens cast by Xu Zhenchuan could open imperial array gates, retrieve old files, and even usurp identities.

The fake blood-verification they had discovered was likely only one of its uses.

Gu Qinghe took out the Major Case Bag and sealed the furnace-material list inside.

"Retrieve the fifteenth piece first."

Chen Jiumu hurriedly stopped her.

"You can't pry it. The sealing layer is connected to our Fire Contracts. If the blank moves, all three of our bloods will be drained into the bottom of the furnace."

Luo Dashan was already unconscious, and the red markings on his arm were crawling toward his shoulder. If they dragged this out any longer, even if the mine roof didn't collapse, he wouldn't last much longer.

Li Sanshun walked a circle along the cast-iron floor.

Beneath the fifteen grooves, a ring of fire-locking iron sand was buried. Three Fire Contracts converged at the center, pinning down the final blank.

If they broke the array directly, the miners would die.

If they didn't break the array, the evidence could not be retrieved.

Dust suddenly fell from the furnace ceiling.

Following that, firelight seeped from beneath the floor.

Chen Jiumu lunged to Luo Dashan's side.

"Someone started the Earth-Fire!"

The Ding-Character Furnace had been sealed for years; the Earth-Fire vent should have been blocked long ago. Whoever could restart the furnace from across the mine tunnel must have had an Earth-Fire Control Token.

Bai Cheng hadn't gone far!

The temperature at the bottom of the furnace rose rapidly. The Fire Contracts on the three miners began to tighten; Yuan Fu knelt on the ground in pain, clawing at the red markings.

Gu Qinghe drew her sword and stabbed into the array patterns.

The moment the blade touched the iron sand, blood began to seep from the three men's Fire Contracts.

"Stop."

Li Sanshun stepped onto the furnace plate and took several deep breaths.

The spiritual energy of the mineral vein, mixed with the heat of the Earth-Fire, surged into his body.

[Absorbed low-grade mineral vein spiritual energy.]
[Life energy restored.]
[Immortal technique energy restored.]
[Earth-element energy reached current limit.]

Enough!

Li Sanshun pressed both hands onto the ground, his earth-element energy drilling into the bottom of the furnace to isolate the three Fire Contracts from the fire-locking iron sand.

"Gu Qinghe, slash the three array lines on the left!"

Gu Qinghe swung her sword into the floor.

The first one snapped, and the red markings on Yuan Fu's arm stopped moving.

The second one snapped, and Chen Jiumu regained his ability to move.

The third was hidden beneath the blank; her sword couldn't reach it.

The furnace fire had already reached the sealing layer. In a few more breaths, the evidence would melt into molten iron.

Li Sanshun gripped the crack in the cast-iron plate and heaved upward with all his might.

Clack!

Half of the floor detached from the furnace base.

Tongues of fire erupted from the gap, burning through his sleeves. Li Sanshun did not let go; he used his earth-element energy to brace the bottom of the furnace, pushing the sealing layer out along with the fifteenth blank.

Gu Qinghe thrust her sword into the base of the sealing layer.

The final array line snapped.

The Fire Contracts on the three miners' arms split open in response.

The fifteenth blank fell to the ground, its edges glowing red-hot. The front was carved with "Imperial Old Infant Case No. 15," while the blood groove on the back was only half-finished.

Beside the blood groove were two small characters.

Shuntian.

Li Sanshun took out his Broken Jade Bag.

The old pattern on the bag came from the same set of molds as the "Shuntian" characters on the blank.

His surname was Li, his given name Sanshun.

The stone lions were carved with "Obeying Heaven and Following Fate."

Now, the word "Shuntian" had appeared on the fifteenth counterfeit token.

Gu Qinghe placed the blank into the Spirit-Sealing Box.

"Number fifteen is very likely you."

Li Sanshun stared at the Spirit-Sealing Box, offering no response.

Rapid footsteps sounded overhead as Bai Cheng rushed through the narrow passage beside the furnace mouth. His left arm was bleeding, and he clutched an Earth-Fire Control Token in his hand.

Gu Qinghe raised her sword to block his path.

Bai Cheng turned to flee, but the stone layer beneath his feet suddenly bulged, flipping him onto the ground.

Li Sanshun stepped on his back and snatched the control token.

The private seal of the Law Enforcement Hall's Deputy Hall Master was carved into the bottom of the token.

Xu Zhenchuan.

Gu Qinghe took out the mine's outgoing shipment documents from six years ago and pressed the two seals together.

They were the same size, and the notches were in the same positions.

Bai Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood and began to laugh instead.

"So what if you found the fifteenth piece? Gu Changyue is still the primary culprit in the Old Infant Case."

"Your master stole his old seal, and you still want to pin the debt from six years ago back on the Gu family?"

"Old seal?"

Bai Cheng braced himself against the ground and turned his head to look at Gu Qinghe.

"You think Deputy Hall Master Xu only prepared a fake seal?"

Urgent calls from the North Mountain disciples came from outside the mine tunnel.

"Deacon Gu, urgent report from Law Enforcement Peak!"

Bai Cheng lay on the ground, laughing until he coughed.

"Go back. Deputy Hall Master Xu has already taken the confession signed by Gu Changyue's own hand to see Qi Shouxuan."

He licked the blood from his lips.

"That confession bears the real seal."