Judge Cheng leafed through the Jade Slip in his hand, keeping things as concise as possible.
"Qi State in the southeast is one of the leading Daoist powers. It is also the country in the southeastern region most hostile to our Shanmen Quanzhen Sect, and maintains very close ties with the Wu Sect.
"In Jianye, the Qi Sect's capital, we have a very important contact stationed there. His public identity is a well-known local philanthropist surnamed Xu. He has lain concealed in Jianye for decades, and countless secrets of the Southeast Daoist Sect have come to us through him. He is one of the most important pieces our Minister of Justice Prefecture has planted in the southeast.
"Two months ago, through some chance occurrence, the Qi Sect discovered his true identity. They wanted to use him as a fulcrum to uncover more of the secret spies our Shanmen had sent to the southeast.
"Benefactor Xu proved himself a veteran of our Minister of Justice Prefecture. He quickly realized he had been exposed and warned us through a top-secret channel. We therefore sent two Accompanying Rong from the prefecture to bring him out, hoping to get him back safely. After all, after spending decades diligently serving the sect in a foreign land, he deserved a good ending."
He sighed. "But we underestimated how seriously the Qi Sect took this lead through Benefactor Xu. They dispatched the enforcement Daoists of the Six-Eared Hall, the people within their sect most skilled at handling such matters. As a result, one of our two Accompanying Rong died in battle, while the other was wounded and captured.
"Worse still, the surviving Accompanying Rong failed to withstand the Qi Sect's trial. He actually betrayed Shanmen and joined the Qi Sect. Yet we have no idea just how