"Tap, tap, tap."
The knocking at the door was soft: three light taps, evenly spaced.
Yi Yang opened his eyes on the prayer mat.
The wood-nurturing astral force was still circulating through his meridians. He had refined only thirty percent of the monster core's medicinal potency, and the fluctuations in his qi sea had yet to settle.
He rose and walked to the door.
His mental power had already told him who stood outside.
He pulled the door open.
Chief Inspector Lu Quanan stood in the corridor, his half-white hair tied behind his head, his dark martial attire spotless, and his hands clasped behind his back.
Moonlight fell across his shoulders, stretching his shadow long.
"Chief Inspector, sir."
Though Yi Yang had no idea why the man had come to see him in the middle of the night, he stepped aside and invited him in.
Lu Quanan entered. He paid no attention to the furnishings, his gaze resting on Yi Yang for two breaths.
"You were cultivating just now?"
"You're still some distance from true astral realm completion."
That was a statement, not a question.
The fluctuations from Yi Yang's cultivation had yet to subside, and he had made no attempt to conceal them. An expert of Lu Quanan's caliber could see through him at a glance.
"Yes." Yi Yang did not deny it. "I killed several true astral realm demon beasts in Donglai County earlier and was fortunate enough to obtain a few monster cores."
Lu Quanan nodded, accepting the answer. He did not find a stool to sit on, simply standing in the middle of the room.
Moonlight shone through the opening overhead, falling directly onto his half-white hair.
Yi Yang waited a few breaths.
When the other man remained silent, he asked:
"Have you come so late