Early spring in Anping County still held winter's chill, but a faint restlessness had crept into the air.
Inside the County Yamen's main hall, a roaring fire lent a trace of warmth to the normally austere courtroom.
Chu Bai sat beneath the plaque proclaiming "A bright mirror hangs on high," holding a volume of the Great Zhou Gazetteer. He appeared to be reading at leisure, but the spell power within him was slowly circulating along the course of the [Cosmic Cycle Wheel].
Ever since he had reclaimed control of the finances with thunderous decisiveness and subdued Deputy Magistrate Wang Tianyang's faction, the entire County Yamen had straightened up.
The clerks of the six offices, once masters of delay and evasion, now worked as briskly as though their backsides were on fire.
"Your Majesty, Water Office Director Shi Guanchao seeks an audience outside. He says... it is a matter of utmost urgency."
Su Mu entered with light steps, a peculiar expression on his face. As Chu Bai's chief steward, he rarely wore such a look.
"Utmost urgency?"
Chu Bai set down his book and tapped the desk lightly. "Shi Guanchao has always lived by the career slacker's philosophy: do nothing, make no mistakes. Anything that has him hopping with anxiety must be serious. Admit him."
A moment later, hurried footsteps sounded.
A middle-aged man in blue-green official robes stumbled into the hall.
It was Water Office Director Shi Guanchao. Though he possessed Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation, he showed none of a cultivator's composure. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and even his official hat sat crooked.
"Lord Magistrate! Something terrible has happened! Truly terrible!"
Shi Guanchao dropped to his knees with a thud, holding an urgent dispatch high in both hands. His voice trembled. "An anomaly occurred last night