Chapter 213 - The Pond (2)

Sageridge.

A cold-faced man stood inside the somewhat filthy, disordered county office, smiling at Deputy Li seated behind the desk.

After General Wang departed, Deputy Li had taken over his position. He looked hesitant. “Mister Yi, are you saying we shouldn’t build a living shrine for Young Master Zhou? That we should even erase all record of his ever coming here?”

Yi Tian cupped his hands. “I hope you can understand, Deputy Li. Those of us in the intelligence trade generally prefer not to become too famous.”

Deputy Li considered this for a moment. “But many commoners saw them.”

Yi Tian smiled, his eyes narrowing as he replied softly, “We will take care of those people. You need only remove Zhou Chen from your report to the commandery authorities. Can you do that?”

ᯓ➤

The council hall fell silent.

“The trail went cold?” The Sect Master frowned.

“Someone is interfering with our investigation.” Old Fifth’s voice was certain. He paused, then swept his gaze around the hall and continued in a slow, measured voice, “However, that does narrow down the possibilities.”

He raised three fingers, lowering one with each point. “They broke the formation. They surrounded and killed three Grandmasters. And they can contact powerful officials in the imperial court directly. I believe everyone here knows which forces in this province are capable of all three.”

The hall immediately erupted into discussion.

“Could it be the Temple of Heavenly Sound? Or the Windclear Sect?”

“Unlikely. Those two sects have always been on good terms with us, and our interests in the surrounding region are largely aligned.”

“Then who could it be?”

“Far too many people.”

...

Amid the noisy debate, the brocade-robed young man holding the folding fan suddenly spoke.

“I suspect the Qin Clan of the provincial capital, or the Nangong Family of Westward. Both clans have long clashed with us over market share in this region. We even lost quite a few disciples to them during journeys outside the sect. Had the provincial authorities not stepped in to mediate, we would already be mortal enemies.”

At this, the drunken old man across from him suddenly cut in. “Disputes over market share? Mortal enemies? He Jigu, don’t dress it up to make yourself sound better. They originally registered their businesses under our name to avoid paying taxes to the court, but you tried to swallow their holdings outright. If they truly did this, then the whole affair started because of you.”

Veins bulged on the robed man’s forehead. Source qi surged around him, and his folding fan creaked beneath his tightening grip.

He forced the words through clenched teeth. “Watch that filthy mouth of yours, old drunkard. That was the sect’s decision—”

“Enough!” The Sect Master barked, cutting them off. He was beginning to feel exhausted. Had he not intervened, the people below would have started arguing all over again.

After silencing everyone, he turned toward Old Fifth, who sat frowning in his chair. “Old Fifth, what is your view?”

Old Fifth raised his eyes, his tone complicated. “Sect Master, Elders, everything you’ve said makes sense. But if one of those forces truly did this, then there is still room for us to negotiate.”

The shrewd old foxes in the hall pondered the meaning behind his words. Those who reacted quickly soon showed the same look in their eyes, alarm mixed with uncertainty.

Old Fifth continued, “But among all the forces you just discussed, you overlooked two.”

At that, he pointed toward the vaulted ceiling and left it there. He did not say the names aloud, but everyone present understood.

The Chancellor’s Manor, and the Great Flame Empire’s imperial clan.

Amid the deathly silence, Old Fifth sighed. He rose, faced the Sect Master, and bowed solemnly. “Sect Master, I, Xia Wenlin, respectfully request that we immediately begin preparations for the worst-case scenario—”

BANG! Before he could finish, a muffled explosion shook the hall. Dust billowed into the air, and a wide crack split the specially reinforced floor.

The old man seated at the head of the left row rose to his feet. “Xia Wenlin, there is no point at which our secret could have leaked. They have no concrete evidence. Even the Emperor would not dare move against us.”

The sects might be loosely organized, but if the court tried to exterminate an entire sect on some trumped-up charge, every other sect would rise in resistance. Because if they did not resist, they might be next. No one understood that better than the sects themselves.

The old man fixed Xia Wenlin, still bent in his bow, with a hard stare. “Raise your head. Do you understand what the worst-case scenario means?”

Old Fifth slowly lifted his gaze, his expression unchanged. “Of course.”

The worst-case scenario meant rebellion. Yet everyone knew rebellion ended with a single word, death.

The example of the Mystic Purity Sect in the past was still there for all to see. No one believed they could do better. Their only choice would be to abandon everything they owned within the Great Flame Empire, sacrifice the lives of their outer disciples to buy time, and move as many core disciples as possible into the Myriad Ascents Mountain Range.

But preparations on that scale would create enormous disturbances. Stockpiling supplies, moving personnel, selling off properties and businesses, actions of that magnitude could never be hidden from anyone paying attention.

In other words, once they began, there would be no turning back.

After a pause, Old Fifth said calmly, “Besides, Grand Elder, there is a point where our secret may have leaked.”

“What?” The Grand Elder frowned.

“Ji Wencheng and the other two have yet to send back any word.”

“If the situation became hopeless, they would take their own lives.”

“And what if they were unable to?”

Source qi surged around the Grand Elder, distorting the air nearby beneath its pressure. “The three of them each possess the means to trigger the others’ fatal weakness. If the situation becomes impossible, the moment even one of them wills it, he can kill the other two. Even an Origin Awakener could not be certain of restraining all three at once. Are you suggesting that a Transcendent cultivator just happened to appear near Sageridge?”

Old Fifth remained unaffected and continued, “There are too many methods in this world. Mind bewitching spells, poison, illusions, or some unusual Dao Resonance... any of them might achieve the same result.”

The Grand Elder sighed, his tone softening somewhat. “Little Fifth, the chances of any of those things happening are so small they’re hardly worth counting. We cannot gamble everything on such a possibility.”

Old Fifth slowly clenched his fists. He looked at the Grand Elder, his eyes filled with indescribably complicated emotions. “Grand Elder, this isn’t a gamble. It’s too quiet.”

“What?” Confusion flickered in the Grand Elder’s eyes.

Old Fifth’s body trembled faintly from how tightly wound he was. “Grand Elder, have you ever fallen into the sea?”

The Grand Elder frowned.

Old Fifth smiled, then sighed. “When I was a child, I once fell overboard during a voyage. Everything around me was dark. I couldn’t breathe. All I could hear was the gurgle of water in my ears...”

He sighed again, his voice full of helplessness. “The sect’s intelligence network under my command is just like I was back then. It has fallen into the sea. I can’t hear a single useful sound. Nothing but meaningless gurgling. I truly hope this sea is a real sea, and not a pond someone built around us.”

He paused. “But it’s too quiet. No one has gone to investigate Sageridge. No one has come to investigate Myriad. No one has even... even come to pay a visit to the Myriad Manifestations Sect, despite us being the most obvious suspects...”

The hall fell silent.

Amid that silence, the Sect Master asked in a low voice, “Why did you not report this sooner?”

Old Fifth tilted his head slightly and stared at the dark ceiling, then slowly released a long breath. “Sect Master, intelligence takes time to travel. Our people need time to reach their destinations. Confirming and compiling all the reports takes even longer.”

As he spoke, Old Fifth raised one finger. “But after I realized something was wrong, I dispatched many more Eagle Riders to scout the area around Myriad. Do you know what results I received today? Some returned. Some did not. Sect Master... the lands east of Myriad have already become a forbidden zone.”

Old Fifth lowered his finger and let out a quiet laugh, his voice trembling. “It truly is... far too quiet...”

As his words faded, drifting clouds veiled the sun.

The council hall instantly sank into darkness and silence, like the bottom of the sea.

No one spoke in support of Xia Wenlin. But neither did anyone oppose his proposal again.

No one knew how long passed.

The darkness remained, but the silence was suddenly shattered by the cry of an eagle.

Then a tremendous voice rolled across the entire sect. “Sect Master, come out and speak with me.”