From his spot in the county memorial service, Xu Qing turned and looked toward the distant Yao Yunhui and Zhang Siyun.

He thought about how the Smokewights in Daybreak Prefecture had mentioned Marquis Yao. He also considered Marquis Yao’s previous actions, and how he’d simply disappeared from the battlefield. On the surface, it really did make it seem like there was something suspicious going on with him. What was more, the palace lord had also suspected Marquis Yao.1

But there were some things that didn’t make sense to Xu Qing. Why would Marquis Yao take his entire people, with the exception of the women and children, to the battlefield, where they were all wiped out? And why would all the women and children just sit around waiting to be arrested? What was more, Marquis Yao had been the one to rally the nonhumans into an alliance and then lead them to the northern front. And everything had gone smoothly in that regard. When you considered all the elements as a whole, they didn’t add up.

Of course, Xu Qing was well aware that he couldn’t possibly be the only person to have come to this conclusion. But right now… no one dared to speak up.

For one thing, Marquis Yao was generally disliked. What was more, there was no evidence to prove that he wasn’t a traitor to humanity.

Xu Qing didn’t say anything. By now, he had come to the conclusion that the war in Sea-Sealing County was a lot more complicated than just two enemies fighting each other. The fact that Seventh Prince showed up at almost exactly the same moment that Palace Lord Kong died gave Xu Qing the sense that there was much more to the situation than what appeared on the surface.

Off to the side, the Captain narrowed his eyes and spoke to Xu Qing in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s. “This Seventh Prince is quite impressive. He’s tugging at everyone’s heart strings with complete ease! He hits things from every angle, has his pulse on the community, and really knows how to work the crowd!

“As of now, Sea-Sealing County might as well be his personal fiefdom. He’s got an incredibly high status, he can take credit for saving the entire county, and he’s got the support of the masses. In reality, if he’d shown up just a moment earlier, Palace Lord Kong wouldn’t have died in battle. And if the palace lord didn’t die, then the imperial prince’s arrival wouldn’t have been as dazzling. He would have had to share the spotlight with the palace lord.

“In contrast, by arriving just a bit too late, he took all the glory. He completely saved the day and became famous far and wide. All because of one battle.

“I know you’ve already come to realize this on your own, little Junior Brother. I know you’re close with Kong Xianglong, but you’ve got to remember not to be impulsive. This prince is not someone you can casually trifle with.

“Surely you can see how even the deputy palace lords and the lieutenant governor are biting their tongues. And Kong Xianglong is holding back too. A lot of people know what’s really going on here, not just us! We small fries should focus on keeping our friends and family safe. Trying to do more than that… isn’t going to do any good.”

The Captain patted Xu Qing’s shoulder.

Xu Qing looked up into the sky. Truth be told, he had come to a realization of what was going on a lot earlier, and had been keeping it inside for a long time.

“I know, Eldest Brother,” he replied quietly. “There’s no way he was going to show up before the taboo net fell and Palace Lord Kong died. That was why the palace lord issued all those orders to the army, and also the reason he chose to die as he did.”

Xu Qing closed his eyes and thought back to everything the palace lord had said before dying, and all the arrangements he’d made.

It rained all day. As for the memorial service, it didn’t last that long. It was over after about two hours. When Seventh Prince left, it marked the end of the service. The crowd dispersed in lonesome solitude.

The Captain seemed really worried about Xu Qing, and gave several more warnings in line with his previous exhortation. Then he said he was going to go buy Ancient Dao Righteous Bestowal Edict, then find a place to open another of his seals. Apparently, that was going to take some time.

“I’m going to be in seclusion for about half a month, little Junior Brother. Remember. Don’t do anything impulsive. After I’m out of seclusion, we can assess the situation. If things are really bad, then we can just resign as swordsages.”

Noting how sincere the Captain seemed, Xu Qing nodded.

The Captain, convinced of Xu Qing’s sincerity, hurried away.

Xu Qing really was being sincere. He knew that even if he said something to someone, his words wouldn’t carry any weight. Whether because of his general status or his cultivation base, he couldn’t do anything to affect the tangled web of intrigue that was this war.

And yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about Palace Lord Kong. Eventually, he sighed and went back to his sword pavilion beneath the glow of evening. Upon arriving, he looked around.

I miss Seven Blood Eyes.

Closing his eyes, he sat down and started meditating. Eventually, night fell and the moon rose. Around midnight… he heard a voice outside his sword pavilion, full of pain and bitterness.

“You there, Xu Qing?”

Xu Qing opened his eyes. It was Kong Xianglong. Xu Qing opened the door of his sword pavilion and saw Kong Xianglong standing there in the moonlight. He was obviously drunk. The smile he wore made him look more full of grief than if he’d been weeping.

“Duskspirit is dead. Wang Chen is dead. Sir Mountain-River is back in his sect recovering from his injuries. I… I don’t have anyone else to drink with. Xu Qing, do you mind drinking with me again today?”

Xu Qing didn’t say anything. He just took a few steps back.

Kong Xianglong grinned and walked inside, swaying back and forth a bit as he did. Sitting down, he tossed a jug of alcohol to Xu Qing, then pulled out one of his own and took a drink.

“Wanna guess who I saw this afternoon?” he said with another forced smile.

Xu Qing took a drink and shook his head.

“Seventh Prince, of course! The deputy palace lord took me to see him. Oh, that prince. As you might expect, he knew that the palace lord was my grandfather. So what do you think happened next? He commended me, and even gave me an assignment. I’m in charge of the Corrections Division now. I’m supposed to get the place back in order. I mentioned you, by the way. He agreed to let me handle things however I wanted.” He laughed. “I expressed my deep and heartfelt gratitude.”

Kong Xianglong laughed even more. However, his expression looked pained, and though his laughter was full of many emotions, joy was not one of them. In the end, he huffed and then spat off to the side.

“Screw that mother**er! You know who the first batch of new inmates are? Everyone from the Yao Clan. What does he think I’m going to do, execute them all? I’m not an idiot. Don’t tell me that the shadowy figure that appeared before the old man right before he died was Marquis Yao?” Kong Xianglong roared with laughter, but his eyes were cold. He took another drink. “I went over and took a look at the Yao Clan prisoners. They’re all women and children. Zhang Siyun was nowhere to be seen. Apparently Honor Guard Sima vouched for him. 2

“That said, maybe it would be good for me to be a bit of an idiot. If I execute them, I might be able to get closer to Seventh Prince. Then maybe I can figure out what’s really going on with this war.” As he spoke, his voice got colder and colder. His eyes glittered. “What do you think, Xu Qing?”

Xu Qing looked at Kong Xianglong, who had lost most of his friends during the war, then had to deal with Palace Lord Kong’s death. After all of that, Kong Xianglong’s personality had changed.

Based on his tone of voice, Xu Qing could tell that Kong Xianglong’s killing intent was truly growing strong. And it was very possible that Kong Xianglong would go so far as to violate his own sense of morality if it meant getting close to Seventh Prince and finding out the truth.

Xu Qing took a moment before answering. “If we get to make the decision, I suggest not executing them.”

Kong Xianglong looked up. “Why?”

Xu Qing didn’t give an answer. He just looked Kong Xianglong in the eye.

As he did, the coldness in Kong Xianglong’s gaze slowly disappeared. He seemed to shrink in on himself, and then he took another drink.

The two of them sat together drinking, just like they had the night before.

Eventually, Kong Xianglong put the jug down, lay back, and looked at the ceiling. “I miss the old days, Xu Qing. Remember last year when we all went on that mission…?”

Xu Qing nodded, and thought back to when the two of them had left on the mission with Duskspirit, Wang Chen, and Sir Mountain-River. Their task had been to extract an agent who was fleeing from Holytide territory. There was also an intelligence report in a wish box. Later, they slaughtered an entire group of Black Guard cultivators to get revenge for the young man they’d tortured to death. Then they fled like mad into the night. Eventually, they reached an open plain where they lay down in the grass to catch their breaths. After that event, all of them had grown closer to each other.

“What a pity…” Kong Xianglong said, shaking his head. He lifted the jug, only to find it was empty, just like the wish box they’d recovered on that mission. 3

Xu Qing slid another jug over to him. Kong Xianglong sat up and took it. “Oh, by the way, Seventh Prince’s people took away the wish box we got on that mission. They said it was evidence of Marquis Yao’s secret plan.”

Xu Qing thought back to the empty wish box. “There wasn’t anything inside, was there? Or did the palace recover something later on?”

“They did. But it’s top secret. I was in charge of the mission, so I qualified to know about it. But the intelligence report still hasn’t been declassified…. Ah, whatever. There’s no point in keeping you in the dark.” Kong Xianglong took a drink. “Based on the aura that remained inside, it was determined that the box previously contained an ancient medicinal pill. Something called a fatehavoc pill.”

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, and he reached out to grab Kong Xianglong’s arm.

Kong Xianglong’s eyes went wide. “What’s wrong?”

“A lightmost fatehavoc pill?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Kong Xianglong’s expression turned very serious. All of a sudden, he was much more sober than before. “What’s going on, Xu Qing?”

Xu Qing didn’t say anything. Thinking back to the jade slip the palace lord had given him, he thought for a moment then said, “Big Bro Kong, is there any chance the intelligence report you’re talking about is Classified Dossier 19?” 4

When Kong Xianglong heard Xu Qing mention that specific file, he became completely sober. Eyes shining, he looked at Xu Qing. “Okay, what’s happening here?”

Xu Qing took out the jade slip from the palace lord and handed it to Kong Xianglong.

After returning to the county capital from Mount Daybreak, the urgency of the war, and his mission to deal with supplies and troops, made him too busy to check into Classified Dossier 19. Besides, Palace Lord Kong was already familiar with the file’s contents, and Xu Qing’s mission had simply been to confirm some details regarding the daybreak light. When it came to the continuation of the investigation, he had been waiting for further instructions from the palace lord. But now, things had changed.

As Kong Xianglong studied the information on the jade slip, he started trembling. When he finished, he gripped the jade slip tight in his hand and looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing whispered, “I already investigated the daybreak light. And there was indeed some that didn’t make it into the records.”

Kong Xianglong’s eyes were bloodshot as he said, “That shadowy figure that appeared to the old man before he died! Did he kill the governor with that pill? No wonder there wasn’t a big fight on the day of the governor’s assassination. His death came out of nowhere!”

Xu Qing nodded. “But it still doesn’t make sense. If that pill is really so amazing, how did the killer manage to use it on the governor? I’m pretty good with poisons, so I know there are a lot of ways to poison someone. But given the high level of the governor’s cultivation base, it seems almost impossible for someone to secretly poison him!

“That’s even more true considering how many assassination attempts the governor experienced in his life. He was definitely a cautious person who wouldn’t let his guard down even around people he trusted. For him to die so unexpectedly seems to indicate that the killer poisoned him in a very ingenious way! It was the perfect murder.” 5

After speaking, Xu Qing closed his mouth to think.

Kong Xianglong also sat there, thinking. After some time passed, Kong Xianglong stood, clasped hands, and bowed deeply to Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing, don’t investigate this matter any further. It’s too dangerous. I’ll handle it!”

Xu Qing didn’t respond.

Seeing Xu Qing’s facial expression, Kong Xianglong seemed to want to say something further, but hesitated to do so. Finally, he sighed. Given how well he knew Xu Qing, he could tell that Xu Qing’s silence was an indication that he was refusing Kong Xianglong’s advice.

“Fine, we do it together!” Kong Xianglong said quietly.

Xu Qing nodded.

It was nearly dawn, and they were out of alcohol. Besides, after all of the recent revelations, Kong Xianglong wasn’t interested in drinking. He made to leave. However, then he looked at the spot where he had spat off to the side. Shaking his head, he cleaned the spot with his sleeve. Then he walked to the door. 𝓲𝓪𝙙.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Meanwhile, Xu Qing took out a bag of holding and tossed it to Kong Xianglong. “Big Bro Kong, this is for you. Sir Mountain-River’s portion is in there also. As for Duskspirit and Wang Chen… you decide what to do with their share.”

“What’s inside?” Kong Xianglong asked, looking surprised.

“Dao fruits,” Xu Qing replied softly.

1. Marquis Yao was mentioned by a Smokewight in chapter 482. ?

2. Starting in this chapter, the author changed Honor Guard Sima’s name, and instead started calling him Honor Guard Sinan. Because it happened out of nowhere, I initially thought it was a different character, which was very confusing to me later on when it became clear that Sinan was actually Sima. I double-checked by looking up every instance of every variation of the name, and can say conclusively that Sima=Sinan. I personally think this happened because, last time he was mentioned, the author called him Sima Nan. I think the author just got his wires crossed, and started calling him Sinan instead of Sima. Another possibility is that he intentionally changed the name for some reason. However, there is no explanation, and in the grand scheme of things, the name itself isn’t important to the plot. This sort of thing isn’t something worth bothering the author about, so going forward, I will standardize everything to Sima, since we’ve already come to know this character by that name. ?

3. The wish box was recovered in chapter 419. ?

4. Classified Dossier 19 was mentioned previously in chapter 478. ?

5. In chapter 391 we were told the governor had survived many assassination attempts through the years. ?

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