A story (1)-bonus update for alliance leader "NeilLY"

"Found it?" Xu Qi'an blurted out, unable to contain himself any longer, excitedly turning his head to stare at the orange cat.

The orange cat stared warily at the Nightwatchers's office and said, "Just a short while ago, I sensed the fragments of the Earth Book number six. But on my way here to find you, the connection between the fragments was lost."

Xu Qi'an's expression changed slightly when he heard "Number Six."

The orange cat shook its head. "I don't know the specifics, but my previous guess was correct; he was indeed sealed. Just now, for some reason, the seal must have been broken."

At this point, the orange cat paused and didn't continue.

Why was the seal suddenly broken? There are only two possibilities: one, Number Six was moved; two, Number Six is gone.

"Go and inform Wei Yuan quickly," the orange cat urged.

A cat's expressionless face is hard to read, but Xu Qi'an could hear the Daoist priest's hidden anxiety in his tone.

Although the Daoist priest is an old fox, he still cares a lot about the members of the Heaven and Earth Society. This is a good thing for me; I can ask him for help if I encounter trouble in the future. Xu Qi'an nodded and said, "I'll go right away."

He ran into the government office.

Once his figure disappeared from sight, the orange cat snorted softly, pondering to itself:

What was Luo Yuheng thinking? She didn't make a move from beginning to end. Given her cultivation level and age, her tribulation shouldn't have come yet, so there's no reason for her not to intervene.

She wants to be the imperial advisor, but she's unwilling to cultivate with the emperor. I don't know what she's up to. Sigh, let's save Number Six first, if he's still alive.

Just then, Master Jinlian heard a cat meowing. He tilted his head and saw a large gray cat walking over, circling around him and sniffing him incessantly.

Master Jinlian ignored it and continued to ponder his thoughts. Suddenly, the big gray cat circled around behind him and then lay down on him.

Huh? Master Jinlian was taken aback at first, then immediately realized what was happening, flew into a rage, and turned around to give the big gray cat a series of wild punches.

Xu Qi'an ran, sprinting into the Haoqi Tower. He didn't waste time waiting for permission to enter, and while running, he pulled out his gold token and shouted at the guards, "Urgent! Get out of the way!"

Upon reaching the seventh floor, he saw Wei Yuan standing with his hands behind his back in the observation hall and took the initiative to speak, "What is it?"

"Duke Wei, there might be news of Heng Hui." Xu Qi'an got straight to the point, without any unnecessary words.

"How did you find it?" Wei Yuan turned around.

"Through the connections between the fragments of the Earth Book, Daoist Jinlian of the Heaven and Earth Society finally located Number Six not long ago," Xu Qi'an said.

"Number Six of the Heaven and Earth Society is Heng Hui's senior brother, a monk from Qinglong Temple with the Dharma name Hengyuan. He disappeared without a trace while investigating his junior brother Heng Hui's whereabouts. I suspect he was sealed away by Heng Hui or Demon Race."

In other words, the place where Number Six is located either has Demon Race or Heng Hui. Either way, it deserves attention.

Wei Yuan nodded, returned to the tea room, picked up a brush and wrote quickly on the table, then stamped it with a jade seal. "Take my order to Yang Yan and have him gather all the officials and assemble them in the front courtyard of the yamen within a quarter of an hour. You don't need to worry about the rest."

"Master Jinlian is outside the yamen; we need him to lead the way," Xu Qi'an whispered.

"I know." Wei Yuan nodded.

"There's another problem," Xu Qi'an hesitated for a moment, "Heng Hui is in the inner city. If a battle breaks out, ordinary civilians will inevitably suffer casualties."

Dispersing a large number of people from the surrounding area would definitely alert the enemy. Although the Bureau of Astronomy's formations are profound, they cannot be set up in advance, rendering them useless.

"This is unavoidable." Wei Yuan stared at him and reminded him, "This is also what I've always wanted to tell you. I also abhor the existence of those who disregard human life, but sometimes we have to know how to make choices."

"Heng Hui is connected to the Sangbo case, the sealed artifact, and the Demon Race's conspiracy. We will capture or kill him at any cost, given the opportunity."

"Never sacrifice the greater good for a momentary moral conviction. Doing so will only lead to more serious consequences."

"I've read the case files of the Pingyuan Earl's massacre. The sealed creature craves to devour Blood Qi and qi to strengthen itself. Heng Hui hasn't caused any killings yet, but we can't guarantee he'll remain dormant. Given the sealed creature's power, if it were to recklessly devour the Qi and Blood of ordinary people, it would cause even more serious casualties."

Wei Yuan was warning me not to repeat the mistake I made last time—the one where he killed Zhu Yinluo. He didn't say anything on the surface, but he didn't approve of my actions. He's a strategist, but I'm just a warrior, a warrior who's keen on appeasing the older women of the Jiaofangsi. Well, I'm not a scoundrel; I just want to give them a home.

In a flash of thought, he clasped his hands and said, "Yes."

Xu Qi'an took the order and left.

He immediately went to find Yang Yan, and met the expressionless Jin Gong in the Divine Spear Hall. Facing the other party's questioning gaze, he handed over Wei Yuan's handwritten letter.

After reading it, Yang Yan's sculpted, stiff face showed a hint of seriousness. "What happened? Why did Godfather summon all the Golden Gongs?"

"We've found a hiding place that may belong to the monk Heng Hui," Xu Qi'an said.

Yang Yan's gaze sharpened instantly. He stood up, reached out, and the silver spear on the wooden shelf flew into his hand with a "whoosh."

"Yang Jinluo!" Xu Qi'an called out, then asked curiously, "Without Jinluo guarding the yamen, will Duke Wei's safety be threatened?"

"I don't know." Yang Yan shook his head.

"Don't know?" Xu Qi'an looked at him blankly, listening to his explanation. "No one knows how many guards my godfather has, or how powerful they are."

The security forces are kept secret? Their actions are deceptive and elusive, making them difficult to fathom. Wei Yuan is truly a cunning and scheming old schemer.

Soon, the officials in charge of the court were summoned and gathered in the front courtyard of the yamen.

Thirty silver gongs were also summoned, but no bronze gongs. In the event of a conflict, no matter how many bronze gongs were sent, they would be no match for the enemy.

Xu Qi'an ran out of the Nightwatchers's office, looked around, and saw the orange cat near a wonton stall not far away.

"Daoist Jinlian, come here, come here." Xu Qi'an beckoned.

The orange cat ignored him completely, staring longingly at the big pot and smelling the aroma wafting from it.

"What's wrong, Daoist priest? Are you hungry?" Xu Qi'an asked, bewildered, when he heard a familiar voice behind him. "I'm here."

Looking back, he saw a large gray cat standing behind him, watching him quietly.

"Why did you change to a different cat?" Xu Qi'an asked in surprise.

"That's a female cat," the big gray cat explained, then, seemingly unwilling to elaborate, changed the subject. "What was Wei Yuan's attitude when I was with you?"

"Duke Wei is willing to cooperate with you," Xu Qi'an said.

The big gray cat nodded, lightly jumped onto Xu Qi'an's shoulder, and whispered in his ear with a smile, "Duke Wei, your respect for Wei Qingyi is far deeper than that for Emperor Yuanjing."

"So far, I haven't seen any repulsive flaws or character traits in him," Xu Qi'an said softly as he walked.

"Number Six is temporarily staying at the Nursing Home in the eastern part of the outer city. It's dilapidated, and the imperial court is in arrears with its payments. The elderly and children in the nursing home are almost starving. I revealed Number Six's information to Duke Wei, and he didn't touch Number Six but instead paid the outstanding donations. However, the Nursing Home is not under the jurisdiction of the Nightwatchers."

"Heh, so you really were leaking internal information about the Heaven and Earth Society to him." Master Jinlian said with a half-smile.

Xu Qi'an's expression froze for a moment, feeling a sense of shame at being caught red-handed as a traitor by his boss, but he quickly recovered and shrugged.

"I gained Duke Wei's trust in order to obtain more information and enrich our Heaven and Earth Society's intelligence system. My starting point was good. Why isn't the Daoist priest saying anything?"

"Too shameless, I don't want to talk." The big gray cat sneered, "You'd be well-suited for a career in politics."

"But Wei Yuan said I'm not cut out for officialdom."

"Although shameless, they still have a bottom line, making them vulnerable to being taken advantage of," commented Master Jinlian.

"I suddenly remembered something. When the Imperial Advisor saw me, he also noticed my special nature and asked for my birth date and time, but he couldn't calculate it," Xu Qi'an said helplessly.

The orange cat considered for a moment, then asked, "What do you think?"

Xu Qi'an considered for a moment. "My situation is special. Look to the right (see the chapter description here)."

Orange cat. "."

Xu Qi'an rode on the little mare, clattering ahead, followed by a group of people with golden and silver gongs.

The big gray cat perched on his shoulder, pointing the way.

After walking for the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, it suddenly said, "Stop. Isn't that the small courtyard right in front of us? The aura of the fragments of the Earth Book is there."

Xu Qi'an reined in his horse, and the golden gong and silver gong behind him simultaneously made the same motion, bringing the main force to a stop.

He gestured behind him, pointing to the small courtyard in front of him.

The ten golden gongs exchanged a silent glance, then disappeared on horseback in perfect unison, their figures appearing in different locations within the courtyard, blocking any possible escape routes.

The silver gong players surrounded the outer circle.

Xu Qi'an waited quietly for a moment and found that the men did not make a move, but instead frowned and looked at the courtyard.

What happened? Did they escape?

He jumped onto the roof of the neighboring house, from which he could see the view inside the courtyard.

There was a small courtyard with two willow trees. Inside the courtyard, two monks sat cross-legged, one with his hands clasped together, chanting softly.

A person dressed in a black robe stood silently with their head bowed.

It was Heng Hui and Heng Yuan, the two brothers.

What happened? Xu Qi'an glanced at the big gray cat on his shoulder and noticed the same confusion in its eyes.

"Let's go take a look." The big gray cat, with its small head and big question mark, urged Xu Qi'an.

At that moment, he saw Yang Yan approaching with a gun in his hand.

"You're too late. He's already gone to paradise." Hengyuan's voice was hollow, devoid of joy or sorrow, yet filled with profound grief.

Dead? This result caught Xu Qi'an off guard. His first instinct was that it was a conspiracy, an illusion, a delaying tactic.

Yang Yan used the tip of his spear to pry open Heng Hui's hood, revealing a ashen face, eyes closed, lifeless.

Yang Yan nodded slightly to the group of gongs, confirming that Heng Hui was dead.

"Between me and death, he chose the latter, his life snatched away by the demonic hand." Hengyuan murmured a Buddhist chant.

"Yang Yan, take a look at his right arm," Jiang Luzhong said in a deep voice.

Yang Yan flicked the tip of his spear, his energy shredding the black robe. Heng Hui's right arm was empty; the demonic hand had vanished without a trace.

Without Xu Qi'an, his pupils contracted, and he looked around warily, sensing that his surroundings were no longer safe and fraught with danger.

Yinluo, who witnessed this scene, also drew his knife instantly, wary of the surrounding pedestrians.

"It's gone," Monk Hengyuan said in a deep voice. "I will stay here and wait for you all."

Number Six was certain we would come? Yes, Master Jinlian could sense the fragments of the Earth Book, so he was waiting for Xu Qi'an.

"Monk, what do you want to say?" Nangong Qianrou pressed her hand against the knife, still not letting her guard down.

"He hasn't given up on revenge; he's just passed the burden to me," Hengyuan said in a low voice.

"I'd like to tell you a story that happened a year ago."

P. S.: Please vote for me! It's been so long since I asked for votes, guys.