Afterward, he began casting one peculiar Fate Art after another throughout the house and courtyard.
Only after working for a full four hours did Li Qingxian drift off into an exhausted sleep.
Near noon, an ordinary constable dressed in black with red trim walked slowly along the street outside the county office. Once he reached a secluded spot, he turned his right hand over, and a yellow talisman burst into flame.
The yellow talisman transformed into an invisible black eagle and flew straight toward Li Qingxian's courtyard. Halfway there, an invisible arrow struck. The black eagle let out a shriek and vanished.
Slightly surprised, the constable circled the area several times, then frowned.
That direction was a jumble of shared courtyards, originally used as overflow workspaces when the county office ran out of room. With the black eagle gone, pinpointing the exact location was difficult.
The constable went to where the black eagle had vanished and climbed over the wall into the nearest courtyard.
The instant he crossed the top of the wall, invisible forces he could not see emerged one after another.
A black umbrella settled over his head, a white cord bound his ankles, a strip of green cloth covered his eyes, and a bloody handprint landed on his back.
He had taken only a few steps when he heard footsteps and hurried into a latrine nearby.
The pungent stench seemed to plaster his nostrils shut with rotten mud, while the buzzing flies sounded as though they might burrow into his ears at any moment.
An exceptionally tall, burly man was squatting to one side, holding toilet paper. A slanted scar cut across his face. The man glanced at him, then went back to staring ahead.
The constable's gaze tightened. Although he could not discern this man's rank,