The Master Arrives

The main gates of the Shanyin County yamen stood wide open.

Shi Chibao, Thousand-Household Officer of the Imperial Demon Hunters' Penal Investigation Division, sat upright in the seat of honor within the main hall. He wore a brocade robe and jade belt, with a short blade at his waist. Steam rose from the white porcelain teacup beside him as his heavy fingers kept tapping against the tabletop.

Six Imperial Demon Hunter officers with longswords at their waists stood at the entrance to the hall. Their scabbards, adorned with crimson jade pendants, were roughly four feet long. The Imperial Demon Hunters remained silent, merely gripping their sword hilts.

The morning sun poured its radiance into the courtyard before the main hall. Within the shadows cast by the nearby buildings, the patrol officers and clerks whispered among themselves.

Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian wore their official robes, official seals hanging from their waists, and stood on either side, awaiting the Penal Investigation Thousand-Household Officer's instructions.

"Is Constable Su absent?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, after Constable Su quarreled with Magistrate Jiang, he stopped attending to official affairs."

Registrar Tian replied, "This humble official sent men to find him, but they could not locate him anywhere."

"Oh."

Shi Chibao acknowledged it, his face still stiff and expressionless, without any further reaction.

"The region is unsettled, and Your Excellency has been troubled to come all the way to Shanyin. It is all because us lesser officials failed in our duties."

Magistrate Jiang might still have been able to throw his weight around before Su Che, but before this Penal Investigation Thousand-Household Officer, he could only exercise the utmost caution.

That fellow Su was a fierce dragon crossing the river—he would wet his scales and leave.

Thousand-Household Officer Shi was a local tyrant who held life and death in his hands. He absolutely could not be offended.

"Mm."

The Penal Investigation Thousand-Household Officer merely gave another casual response.

"The county treasury was swept clean by those demon cultists. We lesser officials planned to dispatch troops to search the city and recover some of the scattered wealth, but Constable Su stopped us."

"Although demons and monsters had caused trouble in the county before, things had generally remained stable. There was no need to trouble Your Excellency to make this journey. But ever since Constable Su took office, there have indeed been quite a few disturbances."

"Still, if we are assigning blame, it cannot all fall upon Constable Su. He only just took office. Even if he mishandled some matters, the roots of them had existed for many years..."

Registrar Tian cautiously watched the Penal Investigation Thousand-Household Officer seated above.

Su Che's earlier actions had truly made Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian sick to their stomachs. The county's money was little different from their own money.

In word and implication alike, the two wanted to shove all responsibility onto Su Che.

"You two should be alert these next few days. Lord Censor-in-Chief is coming to Shanyin."

Registrar Tian and Magistrate Jiang exchanged a glance, each seeing utter shock in the other's eyes.

At the founding of Great Liang, taking heed of the previous dynasty's failures in local administration, the court established Circuit Censorates throughout the land. Led by the Vice Censor-in-Chief, deputy official of the Censorate, they supervised local affairs.

The Circuit Censorates were not originally permanent institutions. Later, they were established everywhere, gradually becoming full-time chief local authorities.

The Vice Censor-in-Chief overseeing the region around Ci Prefecture was surnamed Yu, born of the Yingchuan Yu Clan, one of Great Liang's foremost aristocratic houses.

Even this man was coming—just what had happened in Shanyin County?

"It is not only Lord Censor-in-Chief. The Imperial Stud Directorate and the Censorate will both be sending people. This is a major matter. You two must brace yourselves and prepare the reception properly."

"We understand."

Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian hurriedly agreed.

"Handle this well. These three lords will surely need to be housed separately. Where they will stay, how their attendants will be arranged, the daily supplies they will consume—you two must have everything ready."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Shi Chibao looked pityingly at the two below. By the time this affair was over, they would inevitably bleed heavily.

"We are all serving in the same region, so let me offer one more word. Feng Buxing, Eunuch Feng, whom the Imperial Stud Directorate is sending this time, is Lord Su's man. Whatever you just said here before me may be considered said and done. Once you step outside this door, do not speak of it again. Understood?"

Registrar Tian swallowed hard. He thought to himself that he had always treated that man surnamed Su with the utmost courtesy. This time, Old Jiang would be the one in trouble.

When he turned to look, Magistrate Jiang's face had already gone green through and through.

"These three will all be staying in Shanyin County for some time. You two must put more care into matters from now on."

"We understand, we understand."

The two hurriedly replied.

"Enough. You may both withdraw."

The Penal Investigation Thousand-Household Officer waved them away, dismissing the pair. Then he raised a hand and rubbed the center of his brow.

He had traveled through the night with his subordinates and reached Shanyin County early that morning precisely to deal with the coming upheaval.

The court had already reached a conclusion.

The appearance of a prophecy in Shanyin County was a matter of grave importance and had to be thoroughly investigated. The Imperial Demon Hunters were ordered to work together with the Censorate and assist the Vice Censor-in-Chief in handling the case.

Yu Ze, Vice Censor-in-Chief, would personally lead three thousand iron-armored troops to Shanyin County.

It was still unclear whom the Censorate would send, but Feng Buxing, Eunuch Feng from the Imperial Stud Directorate, was a fifth-rank expert.

Three thousand iron-armored troops. A fifth-rank expert.

With such a grand display, Shi Chibao believed it was absolutely not because of the four words "Heaven Will Destroy the Remnant Liang." There had to be another hidden pass within this matter.

He had just tested Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian. They truly knew nothing.

The key had to lie with Constable Su. He simply did not know where this Constable Su had gone.

Nothing else must happen to him.

Shi Chibao felt some regret.

He had been too overconfident before.

Opening the case files at hand, he reviewed the information once more.

Rumors from the martial world said that great changes had occurred in Shanyin County and Guobei County, and many experts were coming here to seek opportunities.

Several famed great ghosts in Guobei County had vanished without a trace. Yet no one could say what exactly had happened.

Last night, a male corpse had appeared on the streets of Shanyin County. Even its soul was already gone. Judging by the wounds, the man should have been beaten to death by immense force. From the body, he appeared to have been a disciple of the Confucian School, though no one could tell which academy he came from.

Troubled times.

Shi Chibao added that assessment in his heart.

He rose from his chair and respectfully clasped his hands toward the rear in salute.

"Mr. Wei, those two clearly bear considerable resentment toward Young Lord Su. Should this subordinate find a pretext to deal with them both?"

"Thank you first, Thousand-Household Officer Shi, but there is no need to be so overbearing. Once that Vice Censor-in-Chief Yu Ze arrives, they will naturally suffer what is coming to them."

From behind the Rising Sun Over the Sea painting beneath the plaque that read "Justice Shines Like a Mirror," a Daoist emerged. He wore a black cloak and a feathered crown. His age could not be discerned from his face; his hair had already turned gray-white, yet his features still faintly resembled those of a youth. He held a fly-whisk in his left hand, with a jade pendant hanging at his waist.

"The dead man was from White Deer Grotto. You need not investigate further. Speaking of it, this was all Wei's failing. I made a trip back to the sect, only for so many things to arise at home. I have wronged Lord Su."

Shi Chibao watched his nose, and his nose watched his heart.

Every party involved in this affair was beyond what Old Shi could afford to deal with.

It was best to hear it as though he had heard nothing.

"Do not send anyone else to Withered Forest Chan Temple. Black Mountain Freak is already stationed there. No matter how many people you send, they will merely be delivered up for nothing."

Mr. Wei looked at Shi Chibao. "My disciple is about to arrive. Allow me to go greet him."