"My apologies for the trouble. Yang Lingyou is indeed a friend of mine," Li Qingxian said.
"If he’s a friend of Lord Li, then please, come in." The guards at the gate let him pass.
Yang Lingyou came in, smiling as he rubbed his right earlobe.
A secret code from his memories flashed through his mind. Li Qingxian led Yang Lingyou to a deserted spot and activated a Sound Insulation Talisman.
"What’s going on?"
Yang Lingyou’s smile vanished. He said, "Uncle Chen came to my place this morning to pick up some medicine. He asked me to find you. He said he thinks he’s being followed and is worried something might happen at home."
Li Qingxian’s expression darkened, and his thoughts immediately turned to the Demon Sect’s enforcers.
"You should head back for now. Don’t draw any attention to this. I’ll handle it," Li Qingxian said.
Yang Lingyou hesitated for a moment. "Belly Button also came to see me," he said. "He told me that, uh, Young Master Lou wants to invite you to dinner, says it’s a reunion for old classmates. I figure he must have done something to tick you off and is too embarrassed to approach you directly."
Li Qingxian thought for a moment. "He didn’t show up for my birthday, so he’s feeling guilty. Word about me has probably started to spread around the Capital City, but because I work at the Night Guard Office, people are hesitant to approach me directly. Let’s do this..."
As he spoke, Li Qingxian took out two packets of pastries from Deyue Building and handed them to Yang Lingyou. "One is for you, the other is for Belly Button. Just tell him I’m busy with a major case and can’t make it to any dinners right now. Once I have some free time, I’ll definitely join our old classmates for a get-together."
"You’ve really learned a thing or two, kid," Yang Lingyou said. "With these pastries, he’ll know you aren’t rejecting him on purpose. You never would have thought to do something like this in the past."
The two chatted for a bit longer before Li Qingxian saw Yang Lingyou out. He then returned to find Palace Garrison Commander Jingg Guan.
"Eunuch Jingg, I’m being targeted! Someone is following my uncle," Li Qingxian said.
Jingg Guan was in the middle of calculating the profits from their recent home seizures. In just a few short days, he had pocketed several hundred taels of silver—far more than he used to skim back in the palace.
The moment he heard that Li Qingxian, his personal god of wealth, was in trouble, Jingg Guan shot to his feet. "Then what are we waiting for?" he roared. "Arrest them! Drag them to the Imperial Prison for interrogation!"
"Shouldn’t we report this to our superiors?"
"Those Little Demons are already at our gates! What is there to wait for?"
"I also suspect it’s the Demon Sect, but it’s possible my uncle just offended someone," Li Qingxian said.
"I don’t care who they are! Even if it’s the Celestial King himself, we drag them into the Imperial Prison first and ask questions later!" Jingg Guan declared. "We can’t let our own people be bullied! And if they turn out to be a real tough nut to crack, well, once they’re in the Imperial Prison, we hold all the cards."
Li Qingxian thought for a moment and realized the logic. His uncle was an ordinary man. Even if he had offended someone, their backer couldn’t be that powerful. A truly powerful force would have struck directly rather than just resorting to surveillance.
"Let’s find him first. Then, I’ll take a look at his fate," Li Qingxian said.
"Good. That’s a more prudent approach."
The two of them found Hex Lei, drew up the official paperwork, and dispatched covert agents to cast their net.
At dusk on Xuanqing Street, Chen Zhu limped home, carrying his carpenter’s tools on his back. A man trailing him took one last look, then turned to leave. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Jingg Guan and Hex Lei, both in plain clothes, struck from either side, hitting his pressure points. They then hauled the man into a carriage and sent him off to the Imperial Prison.
At the same time, a squad of Night Guards from the Patrol Bureau was dispatched to stand guard in shifts outside the Chen Family’s home.
Inside the Imperial Prison’s interrogation chamber, the others gradually filed out, leaving only Li Qingxian and Han Anbo behind.
The man was bound to a punishment rack. His hair was disheveled, his face was a little pale, and he remained utterly silent.
"I know you’re not just some common thug, but I want to know who ordered you to come after me."
A strange glint appeared in the man’s eyes. "I don’t even know you," he said. "What makes you think I was trying to harm you?"
"My name is Li Qingxian," he said. "The carpenter you were following is my uncle."
The man looked up, studying Li Qingxian for a moment. "So, you’re the famous young Fate Master. Forgive my earlier rudeness."
"I know you’re from the Demon Sect," Li Qingxian stated.
The man remained silent.
"And I also know," Li Qingxian continued, "that you’re from the Celestial Demon Sect."
The man still said nothing.
"Talk," Li Qingxian said. "Why were you following my uncle?"
The man sighed. "I am a Ninth Grade official of the Ministry of Justice. I was investigating a case that involves Chen Zhu, which required surveillance. This matter does not concern you."
"Oh? And what case might that be?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Ministry of Justice cases are confidential and cannot be disclosed."
"Then tell me who your superior is on this case," Li Qingxian said. "I’ll go pay them a visit personally."
Again, the man said nothing.
"Don’t make us resort to torture."
The man said, "I am a covert agent for the Ministry of Justice. I carry a secret directive from the Ministry on my person. If you lay a hand on me, you make an enemy of the entire Ministry. I would hope that such a small matter isn’t worth damaging the harmony between the Ministry of Justice and the Factory Guard."
"My life and the lives of my family... you call that a ’small matter’?" Li Qingxian rose slowly to his feet.
The man sounded exasperated. "I really am just investigating a case. I have no intention of harming you or your family."
"And what happens if your ’investigation’ turns something up?" Li Qingxian shot back.
The man fell silent.
Li Qingxian asked, "Brother Han, do you know how to conduct an interrogation?"
"When I was with the Imperial Prison Department, I did this for half a year," Han Anbo replied. "Can’t say I enjoyed it, but I know all the techniques."
Li Qingxian glanced at the dense array of torture implements on the table. "Brother Han, please go ’persuade’ him."
"Got it."
Li Qingxian stepped out and stood outside the interrogation chamber, his mind slowly turning things over.
A continuous stream of blood-curdling screams and roars came from inside. The sounds grew louder and louder, then gradually faded.
After a long while, Han Anbo came out, wiping sweat from his brow and shaking his head.
Li Qingxian activated another Sound Insulation Talisman and asked, "Well?"
"He’s a tough one," Han Anbo said. "Seems he’s an elite covert agent for the Demon Sect. I’ve run into his type before. We’ve never managed to get anything out of them. They either die in the hands of the Night Guard or get traded back in a prisoner exchange with the Ministry of Justice."
Li Qingxian frowned. "This man’s Fate Grid is shielded by an immense power. With my current abilities, I can’t see through it at all. I even suspect that it couldn’t be broken even if the Guard Commander himself tried to suppress it."
"That’s strange. After the Celestial Demon Sect was crushed by the Holy Emperor, they were reduced to a third-rate faction within the Demon Sects. They shouldn’t have access to that kind of power."
"He may be from the Celestial Demon Sect, but the power shielding him might not be," Li Qingxian said. "It has to be at least a Senior Second Grade master, possibly even a First Grade."
Han Anbo shook his head. "That makes even less sense. A master of that caliber wouldn’t need to threaten your family to get to you. You’re not just a Night Guard and a Fate Master, you’re also the son of Mr. Gangfeng. The moment the scholar officials learn that someone from the Ministry of Justice dared to threaten your family, they’d launch a full-blown assault on the Ministry. Back during the wars with the Six Ministries, the Demon Sect and the Evil Sects frequently threatened the families of the Daoist Cultivators of Literature Cultivation. But those cultivators were exceptionally unyielding. They didn’t stoop to targeting the Demon-Evil Cultivators’ families. Instead, in addition to intensifying the Six Ministries’ military campaigns, they destroyed their businesses and industries, retaliating a hundred times over. In the end, the Demon and Evil Cultivators were forced into a corner and had to formally declare that all future conflicts would no longer involve family members."
"Could they be investigating my father’s old affairs?" Li Qingxian asked in a low voice.
Han Anbo stared at Li Qingxian for a long moment, then sighed. "That seems more likely."
"My father is already dead, yet they still won’t let it go. So, do you think they’ll let me, the one who’s still alive, off the hook?"
Han Anbo sighed. "That’s how it is. They’re the Demon Sect, after all."
"Brother Han, what’s your take on this? Killing this man won’t solve the underlying problem. But if we do nothing, this is only going to get worse."