Chapter 125 Wang Xuan Enters the Main Courtyard at Night, the First Test of the Duan Yuan Style

The note was spread out on the desk, the lamplight illuminating the line of characters; in the Archives Room, only the soft rustle of pages stirred by the night breeze remained.

Zhou Tie thudded his iron spear onto the ground, his expression incredibly grim.

"Tomorrow night?"

"Damn it, the person who wrote this note is quite polite. Afraid we wouldn't sleep well tonight, they sent a definite word in advance."

Liu Buyu pressed down on the note and looked it over twice, his fingertip pausing on the words 'tomorrow night'.

"Inspector, this handwriting looks like it was changed at the last minute; the ink isn't even fully dry. The sender might not actually want us to wait until tomorrow night."

Shen Yue stood by the door, her hand already resting on her saber's hilt.

"It could also be that they wrote 'tomorrow night' on purpose to make us let our guard down tonight."

Zhou Tie turned to look at her.

"You mean they're coming tonight?"

Shen Yue looked out at the night beyond the courtyard walls.

"The Wang family just lost Face at the city gate, and the Provincial Administration Commission lost Face in front of the Governors Mansion; they won't let Zhou Huaiyi sleep through the night."

Lin Chen folded the note and placed it into the empty envelope in front of Liu Buyu.

"Record it."

Liu Buyu immediately picked up his brush.

"One anonymous note, stating that tomorrow night at the Main Courtyard, the witnesses will be killed first, followed by the Inspector. Suspected to be a lure or a distraction."

Zhou Tie looked at Lin Chen.

"Inspector, Zhou Huaiyi and the children are still in the side courtyard of the Governors Mansion. Only evidence is kept in the Main Courtyard. If they want to kill the witnesses, why would they come here?"

Lin Chen looked at the old duty logs and the Nanfeng paper fragments on the desk.

"They might not know that the people have been separated."

Shen Yue added.

"When we entered the city during the day, news that Zhou Huaiyi had entered the Main Courtyard was already spread. If the Grey Sparrow informants only caught half the story, they would think he is still here."

Liu Buyu's brush tip paused.

"Then this note might be an attempt to force us to move the people back to the Main Courtyard."

Zhou Tie's expression became even grimmer.

"If we were truly afraid that the Governors Mansion isn't safe and brought Zhou Huaiyi back, we'd be walking right into their blades."

Lin Chen stood up and took the black abyss in his hand.

"Therefore, the people stay put."

Zhou Tie immediately asked.

"What about the children?"

"The children stay put as well."

Lin Chen looked at Shen Yue.

"Go to the side courtyard of the Governors Mansion. Tell the Personal Guard to house Zhou Huaiyi and the fourteen survivors in separate rooms—two for the children and one for Zhou Huaiyi. Ensure the doors and windows can be opened from the inside, and add two layers of sentries outside."

Shen Yue nodded.

"I'll go personally."

Lin Chen looked at Zhou Tie again.

"Lead the Combat Group to guard the outer perimeter of the Main Courtyard. Move the evidence iron cabinets into the inner courtyard. Seal the copies of the Living accounts in two separate locations, and keep the old duty logs and Nanfeng paper fragments elsewhere."

Zhou Tie raised a hand and patted his chest.

"I'll guard the outer perimeter. Anyone who wants to get in will have to answer to my spear first."

Liu Buyu picked up the document box.

"Inspector, the originals are at the Governors Mansion and the Criminal Division. Most of what's here in the Main Courtyard are copies, but if the Wang family burns them, it will still cause trouble for us."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"That's why the copies must also 'live'."

Liu Buyu lowered his head.

"I understand. If the papers 'live', the case has an extra life."

Footsteps sounded outside as Zhao Gang strode in from the front courtyard, the hem of his robe still stained with mud from the outer residence.

"I just walked in and heard about guarding evidence. Inspector, are you planning to pin me down next to the boxes again?"

Zhou Tie glanced at him.

"You've come at the right time. A note says someone is coming to kill the witnesses."

Zhao Gang's Face darkened.

"Where is Zhou Huaiyi?"

Shen Yue answered quickly.

Governors Mansion.

Zhao Gang breathed a partial sigh of relief, then immediately cursed.

"Then this note is bait, trying to lure the person back from the Governors Mansion."

Lin Chen handed him the note for a glance.

"Go back to the iron cabinet room."

Zhao Gang's Face fell instantly.

"The iron cabinets again?"

Lin Chen looked at him.

"The thing the Wang family wants to destroy most today is still in those iron cabinets."

Zhao Gang slapped the note back onto the desk, his jaw clenched tight.

"Fine, I'll guard them."

He turned and took a few steps, then looked back at Lin Chen.

"But if a real expert comes tonight, don't try to Face them alone."

Zhou Tie also spoke up.

"Inspector, if Wang Xuan comes, we'll surround him together."

Lin Chen held the black abyss horizontally at his waist.

"Leave Wang Xuan to me."

Zhao Gang frowned.

"You've only just reached the Early Stage of the Core Formation, while he's a veteran of the Middle Stage. A blade raised by the Wang family won't follow the rules."

Lin Chen looked at the half-page of Nanfeng paper fragments on the desk.

"If he doesn't follow the rules, then I'll show him that rules have an edge too."

Liu Buyu whispered the words as he wrote them on a side page, then looked up at Lin Chen.

"Inspector, should this sentence also be entered into the case file?"

Zhou Tie glared at him.

"What time do you think it is? You're still recording this?"

Liu Buyu put the paper away.

"The more it's a time like this, the more it needs to be recorded. A person lives by the blade, but a case lives by the word."

Zhao Gang snorted.

"Old Liu's tongue seems to have found its edge tonight."

Shen Yue didn't respond, only placing a small porcelain bottle by He Jian's hand.

He Jian entered from outside, his left arm re-bandaged and his right hand already gripping a short blade.

"I've used Head Zhao's medicine."

Zhao Gang's brow furrowed when he saw him.

"You're still guarding the front gate?"

He Jian nodded.

"The front gate is narrow; I'm suited for it."

Zhao Gang stared at his left arm.

"If that arm of yours tears open again, don't you dare say my medicine was no good."

He Jian looked at Lin Chen.

"Inspector, leave the front gate to me."

Lin Chen nodded.

"Only block; do not pursue."

He Jian responded.

"Understood."

When the night had fully descended, dim lanterns were lit at all four corners of the Main Courtyard.

Outside the iron cabinet room, Zhao Gang personally brought over two long benches, blocking the doorway until it was only one person wide.

He sat on a bench clutching his saber, while beside him, Liu Buyu held the box of copies, his eyes fixed on the Seals.

Zhao Gang glanced at him.

"Aren't you going to hide in the inner room?"

Liu Buyu shook his head.

"If the evidence is here, I am here."

Zhao Gang clicked his tongue.

"Your arms are as thin as brush pens. If someone really charges in, who could you possibly block?"

Liu Buyu rested his brush on his knees.

"I can't block anyone, but I can remember who charges in."

Zhao Gang was silent for a moment.

"Fine. You record, I'll hack."

A faint sound of wood came from the front gate.

He Jian looked up, the short blade in his right hand sliding into his palm.

Someone outside spoke in a low voice.

"Patrol Division night curfew. By order of the Director, open the gate for a post inspection."

He Jian asked through the gate.

"Which Director?"

The person outside answered quickly.

"Director Wang."

He Jian glanced at the patrol guards in the shadows by the wall and raised his hand to signal them to stay still.

"Director Wang Gang's field orders have already been suspended. Where is your Clerk's authorization?"

There was a moment of silence outside.

In the next instant, a thin blade slid through the gap under the door, aiming directly for the latch.

He Jian pressed his right hand down, his short blade slicing along the door gap; a muffled groan immediately came from outside.

He took half a step back.

"They're here."

Three figures leaped over the wall from outside the courtyard, and half of the front gate was rammed open from the outside.

He Jian stepped close to the doorway, his short blade striking twice in quick succession, forcing the lead man in black back outside.

"If you want to enter the Main Courtyard, leave your life behind first."

The man in black spoke in a hushed voice.

"Step aside. We only want the witnesses and the accounts."

He Jian held his blade horizontally in his right hand, his left arm hanging motionless.

"The witnesses aren't here, and the accounts won't be given."

The man in black's gaze fell on the bandages on his left arm.

"You're injured."

He Jian looked at him.

"My blade is in my right hand."

As he spoke, the short blade shot out past the door, causing blood to spray from the black-clothed man's shoulder; the group outside the front gate immediately lost their rhythm.

At the outer courtyard wall, Zhou Tie had already raised his spear to meet the second wave.

Seven Wang family Death Warriors dropped from the wall, their steps synchronized and their blades held low at their waists.

Zhou Tie shook his iron spear, its tip pointing at the foremost man.

"Is this all the Wang family is worth? Can't win a fight during the day, so you steal at night?"

The Death Warriors didn't answer; three short blades pressed toward his chest simultaneously.

Zhou Tie held his spear horizontally to block, the shaft of the spear getting notched twice by the blade edges.

"Hacking at my spear again?"

He gritted his teeth and shoved forward, knocking all three back at once.

"Today, I'm going to see if you have more blades or if I have more spears."

One Death Warrior skirted around the side toward the inner courtyard; just as he passed a pillar, Shen Yue dropped from the roof ridge, the back of her blade striking his wrist bone.

The man's short blade flew from his hand. He tried to shout, but Shen Yue kicked the back of his knee, pinning him against the base of the wall.

"Where is the messenger?"

The Death Warrior gritted his teeth.

Shen Yue reached out and pulled a small signal tube from his sleeve, along with a piece of oil-stained cloth.

"Lamp oil from the Wang family's outer wall vents. It's the same as the one at the city gate."

Panic appeared in the Death Warrior's eyes.

Shen Yue handed him over to the nearby patrol guards.

"Tie him up. Don't let him bite his tongue."

In front of the inner courtyard gate, Lin Chen stood in the shadows of the lanterns, the black abyss already unsheathed.

On the wall, a figure stepped off the eaves and landed—clad in a gray robe with narrow sleeves, holding a sheathless long saber. The blade was narrower and colder than a typical one.

When Zhou Tie saw the person, his expression changed instantly.

"Inspector, it's Wang Xuan!"

Hearing the name at the door of the iron cabinet room, Zhao Gang stood up immediately.

"Wang Xuan?"

Liu Buyu clutched the document box tightly.

"Middle Stage of the Core Formation?"

Wang Xuan didn't look at Zhou Tie, nor did he look at Zhao Gang.

His gaze fell upon Lin Chen's waist, then toward the iron cabinets in the inner courtyard.

"Where is Zhou Huaiyi?"

Lin Chen looked at him.

"You're late."

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

Wang Xuan's Face showed no extra expression.

"Where are the Living accounts?"

Lin Chen raised black abyss.

"You've also arrived too late."

Wang Xuan let his long blade hang diagonally, the blue bricks beneath his feet cracking under the pressure of his True Qi.

"Lin Chen, you broke through your realm too quickly; your Foundation is unstable."

Lin Chen watched the fluctuations of Qi in his Dantian; his Middle Stage Core Condensation True Qi was as heavy and dense as an iron bell pressing down on the courtyard.

"You can try."

Wang Xuan stepped forward, the lights in the courtyard flickering under the pressure of his Saber Qi.

"Those children from Qingyun Ridge are useless alive, and Zhou Huaiyi is useless alive as well. You cannot protect everyone."

Lin Chen spoke.

"Even if I cannot protect them, I must try."

Wang Xuan stared at him.

"For the sake of a few vagrant orphans, you've pushed the Wang Family to this point. Do you truly think it's worth it?"

Lin Chen turned his wrist half an inch, the blade of black abyss reflecting the lamplight.

"Human lives are not weighed by one's background."

Zhou Tie heard this, and his chest heaved.

"Well said."

Zhao Gang cursed from the doorway of the iron cabinet room.

"Wang Xuan, your Wang Family has been calculating accounts for so long that you can no longer distinguish between people and goods."

Wang Xuan did not speak again.

He took a step forward, his long blade sweeping close to the ground, but his Saber Qi pressed toward Lin Chen's chest first.

Lin Chen's Dantian Golden Core spun, and golden True Qi flowed along his Meridians onto the blade, causing black abyss to emit a low hum.

Wang Xuan's long blade slashed down, his protective True Qi spreading out simultaneously like a heavy iron curtain pressing into the inner courtyard.

Zhou Tie's expression changed.

"Retreat!"

Lin Chen did not retreat.

He stepped forward half a step, and black abyss sliced horizontally.

Yuan-Severing Style.

The blade edge grazed past Wang Xuan's protective True Qi; there was no explosion, no shrill sound, just the sensation of a taut piece of cloth being sliced down the middle.

A gap opened in Wang Xuan's protective Qi beneath the blade of black abyss.

Finally, a change appeared in the depths of Wang Xuan's eyes.

"What kind of blade technique is this?"

Lin Chen's second strike had already arrived.

"A blade technique to sever your Origin Qi."

Wang Xuan raised his blade to meet it head-on. As the two blades collided, True Qi pushed out from beneath their feet, causing several fine cracks to spiderweb across the blue bricks in the courtyard.

Zhou Tie clutched the broken half of his spear shaft, staring in disbelief.

"Wang Xuan retreated?"

Hearing this at the front gate, He Jian pressed his short blade against the neck of a Death Warrior.

"He retreated half a step."

Zhao Gang stood before the iron cabinet room door, his Face first stunned, then breaking into a grin.

"Middle Stage Core Condensation, yet only half a step."

Liu Buyu's pen was already moving rapidly.

"Patrol Lin Chen used the Yuan-Severing Style to break Wang Xuan's protective Qi; Wang Xuan retreated half a step, as witnessed by everyone in the courtyard."

Wang Xuan looked down at his sleeve, which had been sliced open by the Saber Qi of black abyss, blood slowly seeping out from beneath his skin.

He looked up at Lin Chen, his tone much heavier than before.

"You have deduced the Blade Intent."

Lin Chen did not answer, his Golden Core True Qi still circulating along the edge of the blade.

In his mind, the System notification sounded.

[Detected that the host has repelled the Middle Stage Core Condensation Martial Artist Wang Xuan head-on. Yuan-Severing Style combat effect active. Combat merit recorded.]

[Instant reward: 800 points. Yuan-Severing Style proficiency increased.]

[Current Blade Intent capacity enhanced. Subsequent deduction consumption for Shadowless Thunder Blade reduced.]

Lin Chen's grip on the blade became steadier.

Wang Xuan struck again, this time with a lower blade trajectory, aiming specifically for Lin Chen's waist and abdomen, clearly no longer holding back for any probing.

Lin Chen pressed his blade back, sliding the Yuan-Severing Style along the back of his opponent's blade. He sent his Golden Core True Qi forward along black abyss, forcing Wang Xuan to retract his blade to defend himself.

Wang Xuan retreated a step, his heel crushing a blue brick.

Zhou Tie held his broken spear and laughed out loud.

"Wang Xuan, you can retreat too?"

Wang Xuan turned his head to look at him.

Zhou Tie stabbed his broken spear into the ground.

"Why look at me? Everyone in the courtyard saw that half step just now."

Zhao Gang added.

"I saw it too, and Old Liu wrote it down."

Liu Buyu didn't even lift his head.

"It has been entered into the record."

Wang Xuan's expression finally darkened.

Suddenly, a short bird call came from outside the courtyard. Shen Yue vaulted over the outer wall, dragging a messenger in grey clothes.

She threw the person down behind and to the side of Lin Chen.

"Inspector, caught at the outer wall. There is lamp oil on his body, and his soles are covered in black mud from the back alley of the pharmacy in the West Market."

The grey-clothed man coughed a few times after being thrown, still trying to reach into his sleeve.

Shen Yue pressed her foot down on his wrist.

"He was just sending a message to the north wall; the route leads to the Wang Family's second secret exit."

Lin Chen's gaze remained locked on Wang Xuan.

"Where is the second secret exit?"

Shen Yue replied.

"The well behind the pharmacy in the west of the city. There is an old channel at the bottom of the well that leads to the Wang Family's side alley."

Wang Xuan looked at Shen Yue.

"You investigate quite quickly."

Shen Yue looked at him coldly.

"You ran too hastily."

Wang Xuan suddenly laughed, but there was not a hint of ease in that laugh.

"Lin Chen, do you think that by guarding Zhou Huaiyi and securing a few Living accounts, you can nail the Wang Family to the wall?"

Lin Chen raised his blade.

"At least tonight, you won't be nailing anyone else."

Wang Xuan looked toward the direction of the iron cabinet room.

"The Qingyun Ridge roster, you haven't collected it all yet."

Lin Chen's gaze darkened.

Zhou Tie also sensed something was wrong.

"What do you mean?"

Wang Xuan retreated to the edge of the courtyard wall's shadow, blood from his sleeve dripping onto the blue bricks.

"Where the seventeen impeachers came from, Zhou Huaiyi only knows half."

Liu Buyu's pen stopped on the paper.

"Seventeen impeachers?"

Zhao Gang's expression changed.

"He is talking about those seventeen people who impeached Patrol Lin Chen."

Wang Xuan turned his long blade, blocking the incoming Saber Qi from Lin Chen, and used the momentum to vault onto the wall.

Lin Chen did not immediately pursue, only looking at the trail of blood beneath the wall.

"Leave the blood."

Liu Buyu immediately rushed over clutching a small porcelain bottle, crouching down to take a sample.

"Wang Xuan's bloodstain, collected from the blue bricks in the Main Courtyard; it can be sealed together with the clothing, blade marks, and evidence."

Zhao Gang was anxious.

"Inspector, not pursuing?"

Lin Chen looked toward the iron cabinet room.

"Guard the evidence."

Zhao Gang gritted his teeth.

"Guard again?"

Lin Chen looked at him.

"He is deliberately trying to lure us out of the courtyard."

Zhao Gang's chest heaved, and finally, he forced his blade back into its scabbard.

"Fine, I'll guard. That old dog Wang Xuan will come back sooner or later."

Three of the Death Warriors in the outer courtyard had already been subdued by Zhou Tie and He Jian; three corpses lay on the ground, and the remaining two were tied up by the patrol guards, their mouths stuffed with cloth.

He Jian leaned against the doorframe, the medicinal bandage on his left arm soaked through with blood again, yet he still stood straight.

Zhou Tie walked over to check on him.

"Can you still hold on?"

He Jian glanced at him.

"The blade is in my right hand."

Zhou Tie was amused by his response.

"Fine, you can live on that line today."

Shen Yue returned from the outer wall and spoke in a low voice.

"News came back from the Governors Mansion's side courtyard; Zhou Huaiyi is still awake. The children heard the martial law outside and asked if we would leave."

Lin Chen sheathed his blade.

"Tell them, we are not leaving."

Zhou Tie shouldered his broken spear and grinned at Shen Yue.

"Also tell A-Shi, whoever leaves is a coward."

Liu Buyu looked up from the blue bricks.

"I am not entering that line into the record."

Zhao Gang snorted coldly.

"What kind of record? It's enough for the children to hear."

Lin Chen looked at Shen Yue.

"After tonight, add another layer of sentries to the side courtyard."

Shen Yue nodded.

"I will go convey it personally."

The voice of Sun Qi came from outside the courtyard wall.

"Inspector!"

Sun Qi vaulted in from the shadows of the north wall, the medicinal bandage on his Face stuck to his skin with sweat, holding a half-burnt wooden plaque in his hand.

Zhou Tie immediately went to meet him.

"Where did you fish that out from?"

Sun Qi caught his breath.

"The secret exit where Wang Xuan retreated had an old channel underneath. I followed the blood droplets and only found this."

Liu Buyu immediately stepped forward.

"Don't touch it with your hands; put it on the oil paper."

Sun Qi placed the wooden plaque in the center of the oil paper.

The edges of the wooden plaque were charred black, with only two characters remaining in the center.

Seventeen.

Zhao Gang's expression sank to the extreme.

"Seventeen again."

Zhou Tie looked at Lin Chen.

"Inspector, is this plaque related to those seventeen people who impeached you?"

Liu Buyu stared at the wooden plaque, his throat moving.

"It could also be a mark for another roster from Qingyun Ridge."

Shen Yue looked up at Lin Chen.

"Wang Xuan's remark just now was likely referring to this."

Lin Chen looked at the half-burnt wooden plaque, his fingers pressing against the scabbard of black abyss.

"Seal it up."

Liu Buyu nodded.

"What name should I write for the record?"

Lin Chen looked at the two remaining characters.

"Obtained from the secret exit where Wang Xuan retreated; suspected to be related to the source of the seventeen impeachers."

Sun Qi suddenly looked up, his expression tightening.

"Inspector, there was also burnt paper ash in the secret exit, and there was half an imprint in the ash."

Lin Chen turned to look at him.

"What kind of imprint?"

Sun Qi opened another piece of oil paper, inside of which lay a small piece of charred paper.

Only half a character remained on the charred paper.

The wind blew through the courtyard lights. Liu Buyu lowered his head, saw the half-character clearly, and his expression changed on the spot.

"This looks like the Seal of the Governors Mansion Archives Room."