Not long after the door to Cheng Zhishan's private study had closed, it was pushed open again with a loud bang.
Zhao Qianjun burst in, looking excited.
"Commander, I heard Xing Yue is back! Is it true?"
He clearly failed to notice the way Cheng Zhishan's expression instantly darkened as he continued.
"The copper poison is spreading faster across Thousand Isles County, and requests for reinforcements are piling up on the desks. Even the city hasn't been peaceful at night lately; strange things keep happening, and the people are panicking. Add to that the Heart's Desire Hall in the outer city district—wherever they came from—stirring up trouble... Commander, our Blackwater Guard is severely understaffed. We especially need capable veteran brothers like Xing Yue."
As he spoke, he glanced around the room.
Aside from Cheng Zhishan, there was no one else in the study.
Zhao Qianjun couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Commander, where is Xing Yue? Out of all the squads sent on the last mission, did only he return? Did he bring any news? How many brothers came back with him?"
Cheng Zhishan's face was so grim it looked as if it might drip. He cut off Zhao Qianjun's rapid-fire questioning.
"Enough."
"Xing Yue... he has fallen in the line of duty."
The urgency on Zhao Qianjun's face froze, turning into utter shock.
"Fallen? That's impossible. My men clearly saw him enter the city and head straight for headquarters. How long has it even been?"
"I said he has fallen, so he has fallen!"
Cheng Zhishan raised his voice. "Deputy Commander Zhao, are you questioning my word?"
Zhao Qianjun stiffened his neck, clearly unable to accept this explanation.
"Commander, Xing Yue has been my brother for years. If he's back, I want to see him alive; if he's dead, I want to see the body! You have to give me, and the brothers below, an explanation! What news did he bring back? What is the situation in Qudao County?"
"An explanation? What explanation do you want?" Cheng Zhishan's voice dropped low. "The news Xing Yue brought back is trouble—massive trouble! He's become involved with entities that none of us can afford to offend. The City Lord's intent is clear: Lantao City needs peace and stability right now. It does not need Xing Yue's reckless pursuit of so-called 'truth' and passion."
"Stability? Does stability mean sacrificing our own brothers and turning a blind eye to the tragedies below?" Zhao Qianjun grew agitated, his voice rising.
"The intelligence Xing Yue risked his life to bring back... no matter how troublesome it is, we should at least know who the enemy is! Instead of acting like a turtle hiding in its shell..."
"Zhao Qianjun!" Cheng Zhishan shouted, cutting him off, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly.
"Watch your position!
"Do you think I wanted this? But this is reality. The reason Lantao City can exist while surrounded by demons and monsters isn't because of the few spears and blades of our Blackwater Guard. It is because we are subordinates of Bodhisattva Jieyin. We can only survive in the cracks. The City Lord and I are treading on thin ice. Any single misstep could bring total destruction to Lantao City. Xing Yue didn't understand that. He stumbled upon things he shouldn't have seen. Returning alive was his biggest mistake."
He took a deep breath, his tone carrying a faint, hidden exhaustion. "To provide an account to the Buddhist Sect and to avoid bringing even greater disaster to Lantao City, certain truths must be buried."
"Certain people must be sacrificed. That is the price."
"I didn't kill him. I simply sent him to the best possible place."
Zhao Qianjun stared fixedly at Cheng Zhishan, as if trying to find a shred of guilt on his face, but he saw nothing. Cheng Zhishan hid himself well.
He suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility. "You mean... the Blackwater Dungeon?"
Cheng Zhishan fell silent for a moment. He didn't deny it, which served as a tacit admission.
Zhao Qianjun took a sharp step back, his eyes full of disbelief. "The Blackwater Dungeon? Cheng Zhishan, how could you put him there! You know exactly what that place is for..."
"I know exactly what it's for," Cheng Zhishan interrupted.
"But this isn't just my decision; it's the City Lord's. Xing Yue is too impulsive. His very existence is an unstable factor. The City Lord will personally lead him toward Sukhavati. This is the best outcome for him—and for Lantao City."
Looking at the man before him—a superior he had once respected—Zhao Qianjun felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Since it was the City Lord's intent...
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing. He gave Cheng Zhishan one last look filled with profound disappointment, cupped his fist in a sharp salute, and strode away.
...
The lowest level of the Blackwater Dungeon.
This was where the Blackwater Guard imprisoned those guilty of unpardonable crimes.
It was cold and damp, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of blood.
The walls were covered in dark moss and unidentifiable stains, with old scabs of blood occasionally visible deep within the cracks of the stone. Only the sparse torches mounted on the walls provided a meager light for the subterranean tunnel.
In the past, Xing Yue had personally sent many people here.
There were human traffickers who had harmed dozens of young boys and girls while practicing evil arts. There were traitors who had betrayed humanity to collude with demons. There were also ordinary mortals who had relied on their families' influence to commit crimes.
But he had never imagined that one day, he would be walking this path in shackles.
The iron door clanged open, and he was roughly shoved into a private cell. His spiritual power was sealed, and specially crafted shackles bound his hands and feet.
Cheng Zhishan had been somewhat decent to him; he was given a single occupancy cell.
Xing Yue slid down the wall and sat on the floor, his face expressionless.
"Heh..." a raspy, self-deprecating laugh escaped his throat.
He thought back to that land of bones in the City of the Wrongfully Dead. Though he had been a prisoner there, with his life in another's hands, at least... there had been rules.
But here, in this Lantao City he had once sworn to defend, in this Blackwater Guard headquarters he viewed as his home and responsibility, everything had somehow become unrecognizable.
No, perhaps it had never changed. Perhaps he had simply failed to see it clearly.
'I just left the cage of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, only to enter the dungeon of Lantao City in the blink of an eye,' he murmured softly. 'I really... don't get a moment's rest.'
In the past, the Blackwater Dungeon—even at its lowest level—was always filled with noise. Groans of pain, curses of despair, delirious ravings, or the footsteps and shouts of patrolling guards.
But now, the surroundings were unnaturally quiet.
Xing Yue lifted his eyelids and looked out through the gaps in the iron bars.
In the cells on both sides of the tunnel, he could vaguely see huddled figures.
They all seemed to be asleep?
If it weren't for the torchlight showing the imperceptible rise and fall of their chests, Xing Yue might have thought they were all corpses.
It wasn't night yet. Even if day and night were indistinguishable in the dungeon, biological instinct made it difficult for every prisoner to fall into a deep sleep at the same time.
Xing Yue felt a flicker of doubt, but that doubt was quickly drowned out by a sudden, inexplicable wave of drowsiness.
His eyelids began to feel heavy.
Rate on N.U.
