"The education commissioner?"
In the warehouse, Chen Qing was slightly puzzled. "The education commissioner is a sorcerer?"
After all, the setting his partner had designed was the previous dynasty. In that setting, the human sorcerer legacy had already been broken, which seemed different from the current Great Jin Dynasty.
"You didn't know, sir?" Wei Gongcheng asked curiously.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Chen Qing's lips twitched. "I'm merely a scholar from a poor family. In five generations of my ancestors, only my father ever passed the licentiate examination. How would I know secrets on the education commissioner's level?"
"Uh..." Wei Gongcheng's expression immediately turned strange. A scholar from a poor family? Could an ordinary poor scholar know about a ghost as secretive as Painted Skin Mister?
He did not know whether that was true, but Wei Gongcheng still patiently explained the dynasty's education commissioner system and some secrets of sorcerers to Chen Qing.
Chen Qing listened attentively. After all, if he wanted to survive in this world, information and intelligence were paramount.
After hearing his detailed explanation, Chen Qing gradually understood some of the court's management of sorcerers.
The education commissioner was an official of the Subordinate Third Rank, the highest-ranking education official at the provincial level. He was not under the jurisdiction of the local administration, but directly under the central court, equivalent to an imperial envoy. His public duties were to oversee the imperial examinations and provincial education, but in reality, he also had the right to submit secret memorials and the responsibility of investigating local supernatural disturbances.
All education commissioners were sorcerers, and powerful ones at that. They needed sufficient strength and experience confronting evil entities, and were the principal administrative officials responsible for handling local supernatural incidents. When county magistrates encountered something uncanny, they generally had to report it to the prefecture, whose education officer would then report the incident to the education commissioner stationed in the provincial capital.
At this point, Chen Qing was somewhat puzzled. "Only the education commissioner is a sorcerer? Not even the prefectural education officers are? Can he handle all that work? Why doesn't the court train more sorcerers?"
Any ordinary person hearing this would surely be puzzled. Managing a province's examinations and education was already demanding, and he also had to manage supernatural abnormalities throughout a provincial capital. Unless he was a monster like Superman who could reach anywhere on the globe in seconds, how could he possibly handle it all?
"You're acquainted with Lord Wang. Don't you know that sorcery is a forbidden profession, not to be casually passed on to outsiders?" Wei Gongcheng looked at Chen Qing in puzzlement.
"There's no need to probe me, Lord Wei..." Chen Qing said with amusement. "I'm not well acquainted with Lord Wang. I've only known him for a few days and became involved in this incident by chance. Besides, you should be able to see that although I know some unusual lore, I'm only an ordinary person myself."
Wei Gongcheng frowned at this. That was precisely what puzzled him. This young official possessed neither a bloodline nor a sorcerer's spiritual power. Why would Lord Wang Ye entrust a matter of life and death to him?
Still, he nodded and explained, "Naturally, the education commissioner isn't the only sorcerer in an entire province. He has a duty to instruct sorcerers and generally keeps several sorcerer apprentices with him. Sorcerers are different from those of us with bloodlines. They're extremely unstable, and newcomers in particular face a very high risk of falling into demonic madness. So not only is the screening strict, but the education commissioner must supervise and assess them throughout their development. Of course, he also sends these students to handle some lower-risk supernatural incidents. Lord Wang Ye went through the same process back then."
"I see..." Chen Qing nodded. It seemed that although the path of sorcery had been uncovered and passed down, the court kept it under strict control. He did not know about their quality, but their numbers were probably pitifully small.
"Did you bring up the education commissioner because you want to seek his help, General?"
"Yes..." Wei Gongcheng nodded. "Education commissioners are generally high-level sorcerers. With his involvement, our chances of rescuing Lord Wang would be much higher."
"Then what are your reservations, General?"
"I don't know whether he's trustworthy..."
"Oh?" Chen Qing's expression grew somewhat meaningful. "Why would you say that, General? As you said, the education commissioner answers directly to the court. And I also know that education commissioners are rotated every three years. After serving three years in a province, they must return to the capital to report on their duties. On top of that, he's a high-level sorcerer himself, so he shouldn't have been replaced. Replacing him would be very risky, wouldn't it?"
"That's true..." Wei Gongcheng drew a breath. "But my intuition leaves me uneasy about that education commissioner."
"Intuition?" Something stirred in Chen Qing's mind. "Though it's somewhat presumptuous, given the danger we're in, I still have to ask: what bloodline do you possess, sir?"
Wei Gongcheng gave Chen Qing a long look, but answered honestly. "Our Wei Household possesses the Wind Serpent Bloodline. We've been hereditary vassals of the Yuchi Household's Heavenly Peng Bloodline for generations. Our Lineage's bloodline grants exceptionally keen intuitive forewarning of danger."
"Oh, I see..." Chen Qing nodded in understanding.
"It seems you know about it..." Wei Gongcheng smiled. "You certainly aren't an ordinary scholar, sir."
Few Lineages disclosed the secrets of their bloodlines. Even within their circles, very few people knew what special abilities the Wei Household's Wind Serpent Bloodline possessed. From his reaction, he clearly knew.
"Heh, I've heard a little..." Chen Qing laughed vaguely to gloss over it, then immediately changed the subject. "Are you telling me this because you want me to help judge whether the education commissioner truly poses a danger?"
"Yes..." Wei Gongcheng nodded. "Lord Chen, do you think the education commissioner... could be one of them?"
"Well..." Hearing this, Chen Qing began considering it carefully.
"This damned ghost is pretty good at hiding!"
Yuchi Peng flew through the air, his expression growing increasingly impatient.
As a great Lineage that had endured for a thousand years and remained standing through three dynasties, the Yuchi Household naturally possessed considerable reserves. His personal troops were no ordinary people either, but household soldiers carrying demon hound or night hawk bloodlines.
They could search for monsters with their keen senses of smell and sight. With them leading the search and coordinating with his aerial ambushes, few could escape. This was also why the Yuchi Household had been entrusted with important duties generation after generation.
Ghost Child had already fought him during the day and had even bled. With traces like that, he should not have been able to evade his household officers' search within a hundred li. Had he fled Liuzhou City?
At this thought, Yuchi Peng grew anxious, and his confidence began to waver. He had agreed to the education commissioner's three-day deadline precisely because he trusted his personal troops' searching abilities. But now, things did not seem to be going so smoothly...
Could he really not escape the fate of being mocked when he returned?
"Hm? What's that?" Yuchi Peng seemed to spot something. His expression immediately brightened with excitement, and he dove straight toward it.
But he did not see that after he flew away, a black curtain swiftly enveloped a certain part of Liuzhou City...
"Yuchi Peng has activated his Heavenly Peng Bloodline and is searching the entire city!"
Somewhere deep in the mountains, Master Huang, who had hauled Mister Miao out after his soak in the hot spring, panted as he spoke. "You old fellow, you're as skinny as firewood. I never thought you'd be so heavy!"
Mister Miao ignored his teasing and said gravely, "So from now on, we can't send messages to Liuzhou City?"
"Obviously... would you dare?" Master Huang rolled his eyes. "It's not as though you don't know how sharp a heavenly peng's eyesight is. Unless my wooden birds can turn invisible, how could they carry messages right under Yuchi Peng's nose?"
"Ahem... I told you back then to design something smaller and lighter, like wooden bees..."
"Easy for you to say..." Master Huang laughed in exasperation. "Are bees and birds the same? Birds can glide. Bees fly by vibrating their wings at high frequencies. Could their propulsion designs possibly be the same? Oh... you wouldn't understand even if I explained!"
"In any case, from now on, we're as good as blind..." Mister Miao frowned deeply. "All of Liuzhou City is slipping out of our control, possibly for three days!"
"Weren't you the one who said we needed to keep Yuchi Peng in Liuzhou?" Master Huang glared. "Now that he's activated his Heavenly Peng Bloodline and is circling aimlessly above Liuzhou City, he's less likely than ever to interfere with us..."
"That's true... but I keep feeling..." Mister Miao frowned. "We've been played!"
"Huh?"
"Tell me... is it possible that the other side never intended to have Ghost Child kill us in the first place, and their goal was simply to force us out of the city so we'd lose control of Liuzhou?"
"Aren't you overthinking it?" Master Huang frowned. "What would be the purpose? What's the motive?"
"If I could figure that out... I wouldn't be sitting here asking blind questions..." Mister Miao narrowed his eyes. "Old fellow, I have a feeling that this time... we may really have run into someone troublesome!"
"Brother Wei, the men have searched the entire southern district without finding anything. The men in the north have sent word back too. They haven't found any traces either. That ghost probably isn't in the city anymore!"
"Is that so?" Wei Gongcheng looked at him and nodded, a trace of warmth flashing through his eyes. The man reporting moved naturally. He was one of the few who had not been replaced. To keep his brothers from suffering further harm, Wei Gongcheng had deliberately divided them into two groups when choosing the men.
As much as possible, he had assigned the brothers who moved naturally to search the inner city, keeping them closer to him, while assigning the monsters wearing his brothers' skins to the outskirts.
"Don't rush. We still have time. If even we get anxious, what's the boss supposed to do?" Wei Gongcheng pointed at the sky with a smile.
"That's true... the boss already has a short fuse..." The personal guard rubbed his head and chuckled, looking up at the sky. But a moment later, he froze.
"Where's the boss?"
"Huh?" Startled by this, Wei Gongcheng abruptly looked up. He possessed the Wind Serpent Bloodline, and his eyesight was no weaker than that of the personal guards with night hawk bloodlines. Yet even with his astonishing vision, he could not see Yuchi Peng anywhere in the sky!
When... did the general fly away?
"Quick, notify..." The moment he spoke, Wei Gongcheng froze, because he could clearly sense that his words made no sound...
It was not just the absence of sound. It seemed everything around him was gone.
Pitch-black darkness. The lights, figures, and buildings had all vanished without a trace, leaving only endless blackness. He could see nothing and hear nothing...
Without hesitation, Wei Gongcheng drew the short saber at his waist and watched his surroundings with utmost vigilance.
One second... two seconds... he had no idea how much time passed. In this environment without sight or hearing, time seemed to pass extraordinarily slowly...
Watching Wei Gongcheng remain motionless and constantly alert, his breathing still steady, someone voiced admiration from the darkness.
"It's been ten years since I last met someone who could spend a quarter of an hour inside my spell without losing his composure. General Wei, you truly deserve your reputation as a man who has assisted two generations of Yuchi Household heads!"
Wei Gongcheng tightened his grip on his saber, his gaze icy. Few people knew he had assisted two generations of household heads. His opponent's intelligence was more formidable than he had imagined.
"Education Commissioner!"
Looking at the newcomer, Wei Gongcheng drew a deep breath. His face showed no shock. Instead, he looked as though things had turned out exactly as expected.
He recalled his conversation with Chen Qing that afternoon.
"He could?"
Chen Qing's answer at the time had made Wei Gongcheng's heart lurch. "But how is that possible? I observed him carefully just now. The education commissioner moved naturally, without any stiffness, so he shouldn't be a puppet. And the court's screening of education commissioners is extremely strict. There shouldn't be any traitors among them!"
"But aren't you the one who thinks something is wrong with the education commissioner, General?" Chen Qing asked with amusement.
Wei Gongcheng fell silent, his expression conflicted. That was precisely why he had come seeking advice: his intuition and logic were at odds...
"Is it possible that this education commissioner was a fake from the very beginning?"
"Why do you say that, sir?"
"Look... that Thousand-Faced Fox could enter the capital as Cui Yan's wife, which means she can alter General Yuchi's memories. Since she can alter them, if the other side laid their plans a little deeper back then, they could have changed your memories of important people. That means some of the important figures you met when you first came to Liuzhou might have been impostors."
"The education commissioner would be an excellent target to start with. He's important, but you don't see him often in your daily lives. What do you think, General Wei?"