The Great Purge

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

As dawn approached, the snow finally began to stop.

When Lu Mian returned to the Shed Quarantine Zone in Thousand Chimes Commandery City, his expression shifted slightly.

The Guard Hall's Patrol Horse Guard, White Bear Guard, and Rooster Guard were everywhere in the Shed Quarantine Zone.

These three guards were specifically responsible for maintaining order in the Shed Quarantine Zone. They normally took turns on duty, but today, all three had been mobilized.

Something major must have happened last night.

Lu Mian observed the situation in the Shed Quarantine Zone as he walked.

Besides the Guard Hall's three guards, large numbers of Corpse Collectors were also hard at work.

Bodies were piled on carts.

Some were still dripping blood, leaving it splattered across the streets.

The entire Shed Quarantine Zone was now steeped in the heavy stench of blood.

Was there an uprising?

Lu Mian was deeply puzzled.

"Brother, I just got back to the city. What happened here?"

Lu Mian asked a Patrol Horse Guard standing watch at an intersection.

He was wearing his Falcon Guard uniform, so the man showed little wariness. Shaking his head, the guard said, "I don't know either... A lot of people were killed last night for no apparent reason."

"We still haven't received any definite word."

Lu Mian nodded. "Then I won't keep you."

He believed the man was telling the truth.

That meant the operation had been ordered from above, while those below merely carried it out. It was perfectly normal for them not to know why.

Just as Lu Mian was about to return to the Guard Hall to ask around, another Corpse Collector happened to pass him, pushing a cart piled with bodies.

"Wait."

On a sudden impulse, Lu Mian reached out to stop him.

Hearing Lu Mian, the Corpse Collector immediately stopped.

"My lord, is there something you need?"

The Corpse Collector asked expressionlessly.

"Wait a moment," Lu Mian said calmly. "I need to search the bodies."

With that, he began feeling through the corpses.

After a while, Lu Mian found what he wanted on one of them.

A Red-Cord Snake Knot...

They really were members of the Void Cult...

I didn't expect the Inner City to make its move last night.

Lu Mian murmured inwardly.

He put the Red-Cord Snake Knot back and signaled for the Corpse Collector to leave.

The Refugee District, the Outer City...

Lu Mian found that the situation in both districts was much the same as in the Shed Quarantine Zone.

The atmosphere was oppressive and bloody.

Blood lay splashed across the streets everywhere.

Fires had even broken out in some places, charring several houses.

Looks like I really did miss out last night.

Lu Mian inwardly shook his head.

When he returned to the Guard Hall, he found it deserted.

Everyone must have been dispatched. Only Lu Mian, the lone wolf, had been left out because he had gone out of the city yesterday.

Under the circumstances, Lu Mian had assumed Shen Ruiwen would not be in the Falcon Guard's headquarters hall.

But since he was already there, he decided to go take a look anyway.

To his surprise, he ran into Shen Ruiwen right at the hall's entrance.

"Lu Mian."

"You're finally back, brat."

"You were the only one missing last night."

Shen Ruiwen's face was oily and his eyes dull. One look was enough to tell that he had stayed up all night.

"Commander Shen, I happened to leave the city yesterday to clear out Weird Beings and Evil Spirits in the countryside."

"I only learned something this big had happened last night when I got back."

Lu Mian explained.

"I only received word last night myself."

"Anyway, what did you come to see me about?"

Shen Ruiwen asked.

Lu Mian took out the Red-Cord Snake Knot. "Commander Shen, I encountered a very strange group of people at a mountain estate outside the city last night..."

"They called themselves the Void Cult and worshipped the Great Void Snake Mother. They even tried to entice me into joining."

"Once I realized something was wrong with them, I slaughtered the whole group and found this knot on them."

Shen Ruiwen's eyes filled with growing surprise.

He took the Red-Cord Snake Knot and checked how it had been tied. "To think you ran into the Void Cult too..." he said in astonishment.

"You really do seem destined to cross paths with them."

Lu Mian could not help asking, "Commander Shen, just what is this Void Cult?"

Shen Ruiwen took a deep breath. "The Void Cult is an evil cult that appeared after the heavenly calamity."

"It excels at manipulating people. It preaches about a so-called Land of All Beings and often lends aid to impoverished commoners to turn them into followers."

"The Ritual Banner you found on Han Can was also connected to the Void Cult."

"Your discovery was probably what made the higher-ups realize just how deeply the Void Cult had infiltrated us, prompting last night's great purge."

In truth, even Shen Ruiwen himself had yet to receive any definite information from above.

But he knew about the incident with Han Can. Taking that together with last night's targets, it was easy to guess.

Now that the bloody purge was essentially over, Shen Ruiwen was willing to tell Lu Mian.

That's about what I thought.

Lu Mian nodded inwardly, but feigned surprise. "So that's what happened. Thank you for telling me, Commander Shen."

"Don't mention it. Go back and get some rest."

"Work hard on improving your strength for now. There'll be a chance for you to put it to use."

Shen Ruiwen's words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

He thought highly of Lu Mian's talent and did not mind sharing a little information.

Lu Mian nodded. "Then I'll head back and rest."

After bidding Shen Ruiwen farewell, Lu Mian first visited the storeroom and exchanged the Evil-Sensing Talisman for concealment before returning home.

Shen Ruiwen told me to train hard. He was probably hinting that the Guard Hall might be making a move soon.

He may only have heard rumors himself and might not know what that move will be. I just need to wait quietly.

Last night's bloody purge was certainly unexpected.

The Void Cult must have suffered a devastating blow this time. It won't be stirring up trouble again anytime soon.

That thought put Lu Mian somewhat at ease.

From the looks of it, the people in the Inner City were highly capable. After discovering the threat posed by the Void Cult, they had not acted immediately. Instead, they had investigated patiently, mapped out its entire network, then struck with overwhelming force to purge it.

Yet Lu Mian felt that these Void Cult members could never be wiped out completely.

Their ability to infiltrate was simply terrifying.

For commoners struggling to survive in this world, the so-called Land of All Beings offered a temptation few could resist.

It might not be long before the cult rose from the ashes.

Lu Mian stopped dwelling on it.

The right course was to use this time to train his Iron Shirt to blood-qi perfection.

With two martial arts at blood-qi perfection, completing qi accumulation should be easy for him. He would not get stuck at a bottleneck like Han Can, unable to break through.

The Inner City, the Tian Family.

Tian Yuan sat alone in a pavilion, his expression shifting uncertainly.

That Void Cult Priest... really is dead.

What was he thinking...? He knew the Evil Surveillance Palace would come for him, yet he chose to stay where he was and wait for death.

Was he that eager to return to that so-called Land of All Beings...?

Tian Yuan truly could not understand what that Void Cult Priest had been thinking.

Were these followers of the Great Void Snake God all mad?

Although Tian Yuan could not make sense of it, the outcome was still fairly favorable for him.