Silence fell within the carriage.
"What does Lord Pang want me to do at the Ministry of Revenue?"
Pang Mingjing tossed a light brown kraft paper bag to Li Qingxian.
"Inside are the documents from the Night Guard Household Department. Go to the Ministry of Revenue and collect the eight thousand taels of silver they owe. If you can’t get it within one hour, you’ll face military justice and be expelled from the Night Guard." After speaking, Pang Mingjing turned his head and looked out the window through the white gauze curtains.
"Oh."
Li Qingxian responded casually, his face impassive, but his mind was racing, furiously analyzing all available information to find a way to save his life.
’What exactly did Han Anbo mean when he said etiquette comes first?’
’Han Anbo would never say something without reason. If my memory were clear, I would definitely understand. But Han Anbo doesn’t know my memory is faulty.’
’I suspected before that there was something fishy about this world’s Li Qingxian’s death. Now, I’m sure of it.’
Li Qingxian’s heart sank.
After a long while, the carriage stopped.
"My lord, we’ve arrived at the Ministry of Revenue Street Corner."
It was silent inside the carriage.
"Go on."
Li Qingxian lifted the carriage’s door curtain and was about to get out when Pang Mingjing spoke again. "Take the documents."
A flicker appeared in Li Qingxian’s eyes. He turned back, pressed his right hand on the documents, and looked directly at Pang Mingjing.
Pang Mingjing’s eyes were like still water, his expression calm.
Li Qingxian picked up the documents, turned, and left.
The door curtain fell.
Pang Mingjing let out a soft sigh.
"Unruffled by crisis, and with extraordinary courage. In ten years, he could be another Li Gangfeng. A pity..."
Li Qingxian got out of the carriage, looked up, and froze on the spot.
What made Li Qingxian freeze was not the four grim-faced Night Guards flanking him.
Not the strange black walls of the Ministry of Revenue, striped with blood-gold.
Nor the empty street.
It was the five colossal, ten-story-high statues within the walls of the Ministry of Revenue, and the tangible pressure they emanated.
The nearest Divine Statue was humanoid in shape and pitch-black. Its entire body was covered in Scale Armor outlined in blood-red. It was faceless, with only a hazy, featureless black expanse where a face should be.
White bone spikes jutted from the statue’s head, fanning out in a circle like a crown. Behind this crown hung a bright yellow halo.
From the Divine Statue’s back, hundreds, even thousands, of enormous, blue-black arms traced with gold extended to the sides. The massive arms were arranged neatly from top to bottom and from longest to shortest, seemingly interwoven into a pair of black wings embroidered with gold.
In the palm of each arm was carved a crimson eye, glittering like a gemstone.
The moment he saw the Divine Statue, Li Qingxian was enveloped by a nameless fear. The giant eyes in the palms seemed to come alive, rolling about erratically.
Each giant eye seemed to contain a world of pure blackness.
A thousand arms, a thousand hands, a thousand eyes, a thousand pupils.
Standing guard over the Ministry of Revenue, looking down upon the Divine Capital.
This statue was the only humanoid one among the five.
Li Qingxian’s hair stood on end and his eyes stung, forcing him to instinctively lower his head.
At that moment, a strong gust of wind blew past, scattering most of the fog in his memory.
The statues were of Evil Gods.
Evil Gods controlled the Ministry of Revenue.
A roar filled his ears, and the world before his eyes swam.
Countless memories unfolded in Li Qingxian’s mind. He finally understood that the unsettling giant shadows that had haunted him were these Divine Statues.
It was currently the Taining Period. Before this, in the Late Tiankang era, four major events had occurred in succession, collectively known as the Four Calamities of Tiankang.
The All Kings’ battle for succession.
The Demon Race’s invasion.
The Underworld’s return to the mortal realm.
The Martial Arts World’s seizure of power.
Afterward, Emperor Tiankang passed away and Emperor Taining ascended the throne. The All Kings "cleansed the emperor’s court," and the Qii Country descended into chaos.
Whether to counterbalance other factions or out of desperation, Emperor Taining actually brought the Demon Sect, the Underworld, and the Evil Sects into his court. They joined forces to fight the Demon Race, and from then on, the new power structure of Daqi was formed.
And this Ministry of Revenue was jointly controlled by the Five Great Evil Sects.
The Evil Sects worshiped evil as gods.
Li Qingxian screamed internally.
’Am I the one who’s crazy, is Emperor Taining crazy, or has the whole world gone mad?’
’Evil Demons attending court, monstrous ghouls reporting to the throne?’
’Is this still the Human World?’
’This is too damn ghoulish!’
Li Qingxian felt his entire worldview being washed away without a trace.
’At this moment, I wish I could sprout ten thousand legs and ten thousand wings and run as far away as possible.’
’The Night Guard has to deal with these kinds of people?’
’This world is too dangerous, I want to go back to Blue Star!’
Li Qingxian was a total mess, completely lost and bewildered.
--
In this book, the word for "sect" is sometimes used interchangeably with "doctrine," while the word for "puppet" is used as a pun for "rule." Such literary devices will not be mentioned again.
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