65: Chapter 65 The Ledger is Hidden in Fate

The damp breath of the dark cavern beneath the bridge, thick with the smell of rotting grass, rushed into Chen Fan's nostrils. As he shielded Su Shuang and ducked into the shadows, he could still feel the chill of the approaching Patrolling Enforcer on the back of his neck.

Amidst the dripping sound of water seeping through the stone walls, Broken Brush huddled in a pile of withered grass. The bandages on his broken leg were black and sticky, looking like rags that had been pickled in a mixture of blood and mud for half a month.

"Little brat, did you think you could catch your breath just by slaughtering a Black Banner Emissary?" Broken Brush split his mouth in a grin, his yellowed front teeth flashing in the gloom. "The Life Recording Division is divided into three layers—Law Enforcement Tier, Fate Recording Tier, and Calamity Setting.

That Seventh of Class C was nothing more than the lowest-tier lackey of the Law Enforcement Tier layer; you haven't even touched the threshold yet." His withered hand reached into his robe and pulled out half a charred piece of paper, its edges still curled with fine burn marks. "This is a fragment of a 'Fate Key.' It can shield your identity from the system's scan for a short time... but use it once, and you'll become a high-risk fugitive in their eyes."

Su Shuang took the fragment. The moment her fingertips touched the corner of the paper, a pale gold Fox Fire suddenly flared up.

Her pupils constricted slightly, the red mole at the corner of her eye trembling along with them. "Qingqiu runes... they placed anchors on the bloodline inheritors long ago." Her voice was steeped in ice shards. Chen Fan remembered her saying that her clansmen were located by such anchors and erased one by one.

Chen Fan stared at the string of copper bells at Broken Brush's waist—earlier on the bridge, he had seen Broken Brush use those bells to lure away the Black Banner Emissary's phantom.

Now, those copper bells were still stained with melted snow, dangling against his bony waist. "What do you want?" Chen Fan pulled out the Obliteration Order token he had swiped from Seventh of Class C. Twisted incantations were carved into its metal surface, so cold they made his palm go numb. "Use this in exchange for stalling the Patrolling Enforcer.

The token can disguise you as the one who completed the mission. It's enough to trade for three days of freedom."

Broken Brush's smile froze on his face, and his cloudy eyes suddenly brightened for an instant. "Aren't you afraid I'll take the token and turn around to inform on you?"

Chen Fan recalled the scene on the bridge—before Gray Tongue's lingering resentment dissipated, Broken Brush clearly had the chance to call the Patrolling Enforcer over, yet he had only huddled under the bridge and laughed.

He tugged at his frozen, stiff collar and bared his white teeth. "If you wanted to be a dog, you should have barked a few times just now."

Broken Brush suddenly began to cough violently, the tremors causing dark red blood to seep through the bandages on his broken leg.

As he snatched the token, his knuckles shook like withered branches in the wind. "Good lad... I guess you gambled right."

The sound of breaking wind came from beyond the snow curtain, like three sharp blades slicing through the night simultaneously.

Chen Fan's spine stiffened. He looked up just in time to see three silver lights piercing through the wind and snow—the Patrolling Enforcers had arrived.

The leading Patrolling Enforcer Jia stepped through the air, his silver robes untouched by even a flake of snow. The iron ruler he held gleamed with a cold light. As his gaze swept over the broken bridge, it was like needles dipped in poison.

The mangled remains of the Black Banner Emissary suddenly twitched, and the system prompt blared piercingly: '[Purification Program Initiated].' The Black Banner Emissary's body instantly disintegrated into a stream of pale blue data, which shot toward the sky accompanied by a muffled roar.

"Two units of the Law Enforcement Tier layer deactivated. Determined as internal rebellion," Patrolling Enforcer Jia's voice sounded like an iron ruler striking ice. "Initiate 'Source Clearing Protocol'."

Broken Brush stood up abruptly, his broken leg dragging a trail of blood on the ground.

He held up the token and shouted at Patrolling Enforcer Jia, "Mission complete!

Seventh of Class C lost control and has been purified by me on your behalf!"

Patrolling Enforcer Jia's iron ruler rose slightly, and the fingers beneath his silver robes quickly formed a seal.

Chen Fan saw pale green system data streams flash in his eyes—he was verifying the token.

Three seconds later, the iron ruler dropped half an inch. "Identity verification passed.

But why did you not report the death of the Black Banner Emissary?"

The sweat on Broken Brush's forehead mixed with blood as it dripped down. He strained his voice and shouted, "Signal interference!

I was just about to return and report!"

Chen Fan crouched behind a snow mound a hundred meters away, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.

He could hear Su Shuang's hurried breathing behind him—her fox tails had fully manifested, nine fluffy tails sweeping across the snow and kicking up tiny ice crystals. "When my shockwave conducts to the iron chains of the broken bridge, you activate the Reversal of Fate Utterance," he whispered. The critical hit energy within him was swirling in his dantian according to the 'Breath Suppression Method,' like a ball of flame being compressed again and again. "Their system prompts will be delayed by half a second. That's enough for you to tamper with things."

Su Shuang's fox ears twitched, and her fingertips pressed against the back of his neck. "Be careful."

Chen Fan closed his eyes and forced the critical hit energy down his arm and into his right fist.

The heat of [Hidden Critical Hit x2] surged through his blood vessels. This time there was no red light, no prompt—only a burning sensation beneath his skin.

He slammed his fist into the ground with immense force—

Boom!

The moment the snow layer exploded, Chen Fan saw Patrolling Enforcer Jia's silver robes sway.

The iron chains of the broken bridge were jolted into a humming vibration by the shockwave. The chain resonance transmitted across the ice, causing the ice beneath the Enforcer's feet to crack into spiderweb-like fissures.

As expected, the system prompt was half a beat slow: "[Abnormal vibration detected. Source...]"

"Heavenly fate is flawed; I shall mend the decree." Su Shuang's whisper, wrapped in the warmth of Fox Fire, exploded in Chen Fan's ear.

The instant the Reversal of Fate Utterance was activated, he saw Patrolling Enforcer Jia's pupils contract—

"[Warning: Law Enforcement Tier layer identity forgery detected. Initiating Level 2 Audit]"

Patrolling Enforcer Jia's iron ruler pointed toward Broken Brush with a 'swish,' silver light condensing on the body of the ruler. "You have been marked by the system."

Broken Brush suddenly laughed, laughing until his whole body shook.

He slammed the Obliteration Order token into the snow. The bandages on his broken leg completely burst open, revealing the stark white fragments of bone. "Then I'll just be—a real fugitive!"

The moment he lunged at Patrolling Enforcer Jia, Chen Fan saw the string of copper bells at his waist clearly—each bell was engraved with a tiny character for 'Rebel,' a brand seared by the system.

When Patrolling Enforcer Jia's iron ruler pierced through Broken Brush's chest, Chen Fan heard a 'crack,' as if some kind of shackle had shattered.

"Qingqiu is not dead!" Broken Brush's blood splashed onto the silver robes and was quickly purified into white mist by the system. "It is deep within the fate..."

Before his voice could fade, his body turned to ash.

The wind swirled the pile of ash past Chen Fan's feet. He crouched down and saw half a fragment land on the snow at some point, the blood-red words on it seeping out: "Fate Key, requires dual blood to unseal."

Su Shuang's fox tail wrapped around his wrist, pulling him to run deep into the snow curtain.

Chen Fan could hear Patrolling Enforcer Jia's angry roar explode behind them: "Pursue!

I want them alive or their souls dead!"

They sprinted through the snow for half an hour until the sounds of pursuit in the wind gradually faded.

At the edge of the wilderness, ancient trees towered into the sky, and the accumulated snow deep in the withered forest glowed with a ghostly blue.

Chen Fan leaned against an old pagoda tree, panting. Su Shuang's fox tail was still tightly wrapped around him like a warm blanket.

He pulled out the half fragment. The blood-red words shimmered under the moonlight. The words 'dual blood' made his eyelids twitch—Su Shuang had the Fox Demon bloodline, so his blood...

"Go." Su Shuang suddenly looked up, her fox ears twitching. "They haven't caught up yet, but..."

Chen Fan followed her gaze toward the end of the withered forest. The sky there glowed with an eerie purple, as if something was churning behind the clouds.

He tucked the fragment into his robe and pressed his hand against his chest—there, he could feel the heat of the critical hit system, pulsing along with his heartbeat.

"No matter how many layers the Life Recording Division has." He looked down at Su Shuang, the red mole at the corner of her eye exceptionally vivid in the night. "I'll accompany you to smash every single one of their thresholds."

The wind swirled snow grains through the withered forest. From afar came the shouts of the Patrolling Enforcers, but they were already very, very faint.