110: Chapter 111 Duan Jun's Living Register

The newly repaired return axis beneath the Lock Bridge gave a slight tremble. The vibration was faint but possessed an eerie regularity, as if an invisible hand were reaching out from the other end of the Well Heart Line, carelessly tugging at the axis beneath the bridge through layers of rock walls and dead ash.

Qiao Ye instinctively pressed his heavy shield downward, the surface grinding against the bridge deck with a harsh, piercing screech. "Did the bridge loosen again?"

The grey copper fire within Nail Bone's broken axis surged upward, its flames curling as he scolded quickly and sharply, "Don't just press down! The bridge didn't loosen!"

He pointed his flame tip downward, the light tracing a flickering trajectory in the darkness. "It's the box underneath that has awakened."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin's gaze immediately fell beneath the Lock Bridge. The segment of the Old Copper Rail that folded into the dark line was now being pulled by the sound of chains, drawing out a faint circle of grey fire. The flames did not burn upward but instead clung eerily to the back of the rail, like a waking grey snake, crawling slowly inch by inch toward the back slot of the workshop.

The Fire Line Box in Wen Zhao's palm suddenly grew hot. He looked down to see the Duan Jun mark on the box's surface radiating a faint, elusive heat. "The Duan Jun mark is heating up."

The Old Fire in Lu Jin's sleeve also gave a slight jump, as if pulled by some common source of energy. He calmly pressed his fingers against his sleeve, suppressing the restless fire, and asked in a low voice, "An Old Registry Box?"

Nail Bone fell silent for a moment. The grey copper fire flickered uncertainly within his broken axis for half a breath before he spoke slowly, "It's the workshop's Living Registry Box."

Qiao Ye frowned, an expression of disbelief appearing on his face. "Living registries are still kept in the workshop?"

"Ledgers of the dead go to the Military Court; fires of the living go to the workshop." Nail Bone's voice was as cold as if it were squeezed from the crevices of the Old Copper Rails, carrying the astringency of aged rust. "Back in the day, whether it was repairing boots, mending axles, or verifying fire at the lower-level work stations, who entered from which line, how much fire they carried, who broke their tally on the road—it all had to pass through the workshop. The Military Court can alter paper, but the workshop's ledger boards cannot alter the ash on one's hands—everything burned into those grey fires is a mark of a living person who has walked this path."

Before the words had even faded, the projection of Instructor Han Tiecheng lit up outside the workshop door. The light and shadow were solid, his expression cold and stern, as he asked only two words: "Location."

Nail Bone's flame tip tilted slightly toward the back of the workshop, pointing to the darkness buried under three layers of dead ash. "Beneath the fold of the old rail, pressed under three layers of dead ash. Don't let the Nest Mother dig it up, don't let the priest burn it, and don't let that Line-Marking Nail be the first to nail it."

Wen Zhao looked up upon hearing this, his gaze meeting Nail Bone's in mid-air.

Nail Bone's voice lowered a few notches, as if afraid of waking something. "The Living Registry Box fears new spikes."

Wu Fu let out a cold laugh from the side, her tail tip swaying slowly behind her. "You certainly know how to arrange people."

"Your claws are dirty; is it hard to arrange you?"

Wu Fu's tail tip suddenly bristled, her dense scales shimmering with a deep blue rage under the firelight. Grey Pupil's staff intervened, the Sacrificial Fire on the staff head glowing slightly, barely holding back the tension that was about to snap between the two.

Lu Jin did not let them continue arguing. "Nail Bone, you open the box."

Nail Bone's grey copper fire visibly shrank, its glow dimming as if it might extinguish at any moment. "I only have a breath of remnant fire left; I can't suppress what's inside the box."

"That's why you will tell me how." Lu Jin raised his hand, the Half-Gate Anchor in his palm pressing down heavily by an inch, the ancient patterns on the anchor lighting up one by one. "I will open it."

Nail Bone fell quiet.

He watched the wisp of Old Fire at Lu Jin's sleeve, the light flowing around Lu Jin's wrist, carrying an aura he was intimately familiar with but dared not confirm. Nail Bone's voice suddenly dropped, like dust stirred by the wind deep within the Old Copper Rails. "When opening the Living Registry Box, don't fill it with too much fire. The things inside will mistake it for an Old Decree, and then instead of speaking, it will burn you directly."

Lu Jin nodded, his gaze sweeping over the group. "Wen Zhao, step back three grid lines."

Wen Zhao obeyed, rotating the Fire Line Box in his palm and stepping back three paces. When the bottom of the box touched the ground, it made a very light clicking sound.

"Qiao Ye, guard the bridge; do not enter the slot."

"Understood." Qiao Ye slammed his heavy shield down, the shield base locking firmly into the seventh tooth of the bridge deck, standing like an iron-cast guardian spirit nailed to the center of the Lock Bridge.

"Grey Pupil, do not suppress the fire, only seal the outer edge."

Grey Pupil tapped his staff, and the Sacrificial Fire on the staff head responded by shrinking into a thin ring. The flowing flames wrapped around the edge of the workshop's back slot, isolating that area from the outside world.

Lu Jin finally looked at Ning Yanqiu.

Ning Yanqiu had already silently walked to his right side. The Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal slid out from her sleeve, revealing only half an inch of cold white light, yet it made the surrounding grey fire aura feel heavy and dense. The Cold Mirror Sovereign Crow behind her shoulders lowered its wings, and two auxiliary crows landed against the side of the workshop stele like two suspended, motionless shards of thin ice, firmly suppressing the shadow domain of the workshop's back slot.

"Stabilize the shadows?" Lu Jin asked.

Ning Yanqiu's gaze lingered on the dark line of the old rails for a moment, and she said softly, "I can stabilize it. But keep the questions short."

Nail Bone immediately chimed in, his grey copper fire shaking urgently. "She's right. The Living Registry's residual shadow lives on the sacrificial tally fire. You ask one question, it burns a layer of skin. If you ask nonsense, it will use nonsense to crumble with you—until in the end, not even ash remains."

Lu Jin looked at the segment of the Old Copper Rail, which was flickering in and out of sight within the dead ash. "How many questions can I ask?"

Nail Bone's fire swayed, as if calculating something, but ultimately only gave a vague answer: "Depends on fate."

Wu Fu said coldly from the side, "That's completely useless."

Nail Bone retorted even faster, his flame tip almost poking her in the face. "The Living Registry Box has awakened; do you still expect to hear pleasantries?"

Lu Jin did not listen to their bickering any further. He had already walked to the fold of the old rail.

Beneath the back of the rail lay a thick layer of grey-black dead ash. It looked loose on the surface, ready to scatter with a touch of a fingertip, but deeper down, it was packed extremely hard, as if someone had stuffed an entire section of burned workshop ledgers into the ribs of the copper rail, layer upon layer, repeatedly tamped down by time and the wind of the well.

Lu Jin did not try to dig forcefully. He drew out a wisp of Old Fire, the flame as thin as a strand of hair, and slowly probed downward along the back of the rail. Wherever the Old Fire passed, the dead ash seemed to encounter some invisible repulsive force, slowly scattering to both sides on its own to reveal a palm-sized grey copper box beneath.

The surface of the box was covered in dense, fine nail marks. Each mark looked as if a tally fire had once been pressed there—dense, packed, and shocking to behold.

The moment Nail Bone saw the box, his grey copper fire paused, and his voice carried an indescribable nuance. "It's still here..."

The Rat-folk craftsman kneeling in the back suddenly let out a very faint, choked sound in his throat. He recognized this object. Many years ago, the work logs their ancestors handed in were all eventually pressed into boxes like this and burned into living registries. From then on, their life and death were no longer their own, leaving only a piece of sacrificial tally bone to suffer in the grey fire.

Lu Jin reached out, his fingertips touching the lid. The grey copper box did not open immediately. In the center of the lid, a narrow, dark catch slowly emerged, engraved with three small characters: "Supervision Seal, Grade Seven."

Wen Zhao's pupils constricted slightly, and he whispered, "It's the same catch as the Upper Collection Order sub-page."

Lu Jin pressed the Duan Jun mark onto it. The dark catch lit up for half a breath, the light flowing around the catch like a final flash of life before dimming again.

Nail Bone cursed under his breath, "Having the decree catch is useless. The Living Registry recognizes human fire. Whichever lineage of fire Duan Jun used to press it back then, that same lineage of fire must be used to open it."

The Old Fire in Lu Jin's sleeve was stirred by these words, its tip gently pushing out, tracing a thread-thin arc around his wrist.

Ning Yanqiu's Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal lit up simultaneously. She stepped forward half a pace, and the Cold Mirror light silently positioned itself in front of Lu Jin, blocking all of the escaping aura from the wisp of Old Fire.

"Don't let the Pei family see it."

Lu Jin gave a grunt of acknowledgment, pressed the Old Fire to his fingertips, and gently placed them on the box lid.

The grey copper box made a very low sound, like old boots stepping through three years of accumulated ash, or like some dormant mechanism being slowly turned by a key. The lid opened.

Inside, there was no paper, no silk, not even any of the carriers that ordinary books should have. There was only a piece of charred sacrificial tally bone.

Three old fire lines were tied to the bone. The first was already broken, with a jagged, uneven edge; the second was charred black like coal, having lost all vitality long ago; the third still had a grain of grey fire left, hidden deep within the crevices of the bone, so faint it seemed ready to extinguish at any moment, yet so stubborn it refused to dissipate, like some form of obsession.

The two characters "Duan Jun" slowly emerged from that grain of grey fire.

Immediately afterward, a blurred shadow stood up above the workshop's back slot. The shadow wore the old armor of the Battle Collection Division. The armor plates were incomplete, and there was a piercing burn mark on the left shoulder, the edges curled as if melted through by some extremely high-temperature flame. His face could not be seen clearly; there were only a pair of eyes, like cold iron smoked by grey fire for a hundred years, glowing faintly.

The Black-Armored Recorder immediately raised his pen, the tip hovering above the paper, ready to descend.

Instructor Han Tiecheng raised his hand. "Wait."

The Recorder's pen paused.

Instructor Han Tiecheng looked at the residual shadow, his expression as heavy as iron. "Don't write the public battle record yet. This thing... cannot enter the Military Court's official ledger for the time being."

Lu Jin did not look at Instructor Han Tiecheng. His gaze fell on the chest of Duan Jun's residual shadow, where an old badge of a Battle Collection Division captain hung. The edge of the badge had a crack, and within the crack, the traces of being burned by an Upper Collection Order were faintly visible, the charred lines looking like a centipede crawling on the badge's surface.

Ning Yanqiu's Cold Mirror light pressed down silently, covering the edges of the residual shadow.

As the residual shadow stabilized, the grain of grey fire on the sacrificial tally bone flared up suddenly, bursting with a final bit of heat like a last flash of life.

Duan Jun spoke. His voice was intermittent, as if torn apart by the wind from a great distance and pieced back together: "Battle Collection Division... Duan Jun. Upper Collection Order after the battle in the No. 7 Rift Zone... Order accepted."

As the first sentence was spoken, a thin white crack appeared on the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal at Ning Yanqiu's sleeve, the pattern spreading an inch across her wrist like ice cracking. She furrowed her brow slightly, and the Master Crow behind her shoulders let out a low, hoarse cry, its frost-white feather patterns flashing and vanishing in the darkness.

Lu Jin saw it. He suppressed the question he had originally intended to ask and replaced it with a more direct one: "After the West Lower-Level Marking Replenishment Team entered the Inner Ring, which order did they receive?"

The old badge on the chest of Duan Jun's residual shadow lit up. The light was turbid and dim, yet it carried a sense of an irresistible decree.

"Temporary order change." "Escort one Fire Seed." "Enter the Well Heart Line." "Send to the Ruptured Furnace Seat for sealing."

The workshop suddenly fell silent. The wind from the Grey Fire Well blew through the Lock Bridge, bringing a faint scent of rust, the smell mixed with the charred bitterness of some ancient fire having burned out.

The Old Fire in Lu Jin's sleeve burned hotter, like a red-hot needle piercing from his sleeve into his metacarpal bones, drilling along his meridians toward his heart. He did not look down, nor did he withdraw his hand, letting the pain spread within his palm.

Ning Yanqiu stepped aside half a pace, the Cold Mirror light separating his hand from others' gaze, her voice so soft that only the two of them could hear: "Two breaths left."

Nail Bone urged, "Ask for the order change source!"

Instructor Han Tiecheng also said in a low voice, "Ask who stamped it."

Lu Jin looked at the grey-fire-smoked eyes of Duan Jun's residual shadow, enunciating word by word: "Where did the order change come from?"

Duan Jun's residual shadow seemed stunned by this question. The three old fire lines on the sacrificial tally bone tightened simultaneously, emitting a faint, trembling sound like a string about to snap. The first fire line, which had already broken, suddenly curled upward on its own, and a wisp of dark golden light emerged from the broken end—the light was extremely thin, yet carried a heart-stopping sharpness.

Ning Yanqiu's eyes turned cold suddenly. "Sun Gold."

Duan Jun's residual shadow opened his mouth, and grey fire dispersed from his lips into a hazy mist of light.

"Battle Collection Division received the order." "Modified stamp... Sun Gold Ruling Internal Affairs Office." "Sealing tally... Grade Seven." "No re-verification allowed." "No writing back to the Military Court's official ledger allowed."

The expression on Instructor Han Tiecheng's face was terrifyingly heavy, like an undercurrent churning beneath the sea before a storm. After a long while, he spat out two words, the voice pressed extremely low, yet as heavy as two pieces of raw iron crashing to the ground: "Audacious."

Qiao Ye's temple vein throbbed as he heard this, his knuckles white as he gripped his shield. "The Pei family?"

No one answered him. But the answer was already clearly revealed in the residual shadow's fire, in that wisp of dark golden light.

Wu Fu stared at that dark golden light, whispering, "This fire knows how to hide."

The Sacrificial Fire on Grey Pupil's staff also turned colder, the flames stagnating as if tainted by that dark golden aura. "Hiding in a decree is cleaner than hiding in a corpse. Corpses will rot, but a decree... can be passed down for a hundred years."

Nail Bone's grey copper fire suddenly shook, the flames flickering violently between bright and dim. "I said back then that the sealing tally was wrong! The fire color was wrong, the seal pattern was wrong, and even the ash sealing it carried the stench of Sun Gold's copper!"

Lu Jin turned to him, his gaze like a torch.

But Nail Bone immediately shut his mouth, his grey copper fire shrinking back into the broken axis by half an inch, as if bitten by some very old fear, not daring to utter another word.

Lu Jin did not press Nail Bone for more.

The Living Registry's residual shadow had already begun to dissipate, a circle of fine grey mist rising around the edges of his silhouette, like a sand sculpture being blown away bit by bit by the well wind. The old badge on Duan Jun's chest cracked into two halves, and more dark golden light seeped out from the cracks on the badge's surface.

Ning Yanqiu's Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal pressed down lower, the cold white light like a thin blade, cutting into the grey fire trying to dissipate, forcibly pinning them within the outline of the residual shadow.

Her complexion turned much paler, the color drained from her lips.

"The last sentence."

Wen Zhao couldn't help but speak up. "Ask about Observer Lu Chenyuan."

Qiao Ye was also anxious. "Ask where he is!"

Nail Bone's flame tip pointed toward the dark line of the old rails, his voice cracking. "Ask for the path! Ask where that lamp fire is going!"

The three sentences collided, each one heavy, each one urgent, like three hammers striking Lu Jin's eardrums simultaneously.

Lu Jin looked at the eyes of Duan Jun's residual shadow, which were about to extinguish.

He finally spoke, asking a question that left everyone stunned: "Where is that Fire Seed heading now?"

Qiao Ye jerked his head up to look at him, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Instructor Han Tiecheng also looked up, his gaze lingering on Lu Jin's face for a moment before he slowly nodded.

Ning Yanqiu was not surprised. She merely pressed the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal forward by another half-inch, the Cold Mirror light almost touching the back of Lu Jin's hand, helping him stabilize the wisp of ancient fire resonating with the Living Record.

Asking about people might only yield a burnt name.

Asking about old cases might only yield a falsified confession.

Asking about the whereabouts of the Fire Seed, however, could allow them to continue moving forward and find the thread that connects everything.

Upon hearing this, the remnant shadow of Duan Jun suddenly swayed violently, as if being torn from the inside by some invisible force. The third ancient fire line on the Offering Sign Bone flared up; although the flame was faint, it possessed a resolute brightness.

The remnant shadow's voice became clearer for the first time, as if it had finally regained a shred of consciousness from the long, drawn-out chaos.

"The Fire Seed was split in two."

"The Main Lamp was escorted into the Ruptured Furnace Seat."

"The secondary fire... Observer Lu Chenyuan intercepted a wisp."

Lu Jin's fingertips tightened abruptly, his knuckles emitting a faint cracking sound.

The ancient fire in his sleeve seemed to have been struck at its vital point by these words, nearly breaking through the obstruction of the Cold Mirror to lunge directly at that piece of Offering Sign Bone. Ning Yanqiu let out a muffled groan, and the Cold Mirror Sovereign Crow behind her shoulders suddenly spread its wings. Frost-white feather patterns lit up in concentric circles, acting like icy shackles that forcefully pressed the rampaging ancient fire back into Lu Jin's sleeve.

The remnant shadow of Duan Jun continued to speak, its voice becoming increasingly urgent, as if afraid it wouldn't have time to finish.

"Observer Lu Chenyuan requested a review."

"Lu Zhaoheng led the escort team to defy the order."

"Three quarters of an hour before the Well Heart Line collapsed, the Fire Seed's escort route was changed."

"Below the Ruptured Furnace... the Blind Bridge has three turns."

"The second turn contains an old offering sign."

"Using Duan Jun's Living Record as a waypoint can bypass the seal of the external chapter."

At these words, a section of the remnant shadow's chest collapsed, as if shattered from the center by some immense force.

A bead of blood also seeped from Ning Yanqiu's fingertips; as soon as it emerged, it was frozen into tiny red frost by the coldness of the Cold Mirror, landing on her wrist like a layer of crushed agate.

Lu Jin saw the red frost and did not ask further.

"That's enough."

Nail Bone was so anxious that his fire tip was exploding outward, flames darting everywhere: "Enough what? He hasn't said what happened to Lu Zhaoheng afterward! Whether he's dead or alive, which line he's on, you—"

Lu Jin looked at him, his gaze calm yet unyielding: "Ask again, and he will shatter."

Nail Bone's curses stuck in his broken axle, like a glob of phlegm lodged in his throat—unable to be spat out, unable to be swallowed.

After half a breath, he said viciously: "Then pin him down! Pin him to the Living Record box, pin him into the old tracks, pin him until those Pei family curs can't find him!"

Lu Jin raised his hand.

A thin sheet of the Grey Fire Well flew out from the inner side of the Frontline Fire Platform, rotating slowly above his palm, the inner ring gate mark on the edge of the sheet flickering in the firelight. Duan Jun's secret mark lit up accordingly, and the secret buckle of Supervision Seal A-Seven also floated half an inch out of the Fire Platform; the three arranged themselves in a triangle formation above the grey copper Living Record box.

Lu Jin did not retract Duan Jun's remnant shadow back into the Fire Platform—the remnant shadow could no longer withstand any force of containment; even the slightest touch would cause it to completely disintegrate.

He lowered the Half-Gate Fire Line, letting the wisp of flame carrying the aura of the old order probe downward along the fold of the old copper tracks, as if seeking a path to survival amidst the dead ash.

Ning Yanqiu immediately understood his intention: "You want to use the Living Record as an anchor?"

Lu Jin said: "As a waypoint."

Nail Bone's grey copper fire paused, then, as if suddenly realizing something, cursed under his breath: "You're quite the scavenger. This piece of Duan Jun's Living Record is already about to shatter; you can't get more out of it by asking questions. But if you press the Offering Sign Fire into the old tracks, the Grey Fire Well will recognize the escort line it traveled back then. Although the Blind Bridge of the Well Heart Line is sealed, Duan Jun's fire line passed through there; as long as the Grey Fire Well still recognizes this line, it can pin a coordinate onto the battle map."

He pointed his fire tip to the side of the Living Record box, speaking rapidly: "Don't press the box lid; press the third fire line. That line passed through the Well Heart Line; it was the one Duan Jun personally escorted in!"

Lu Jin did as instructed.

As the ancient fire touched the third fire line, the moment the flames merged, the grey copper box emitted a long, low hum.

Ning Yanqiu's Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal pressed on the outer edge, stabilizing the last vestiges of Duan Jun's remnant shadow that were on the verge of collapsing.

The Grey Pupil's Sacrificial Fire coiled downward, sealing the surging grey wind at the bottom of the box.

Wen Zhao retreated three squares away, the Line-Marking Nail suspended at his fingertips, cold light flickering on the tip, yet it did not descend.

Qiao Ye stood guard on the Lock Bridge, his shield foot firmly wedged into the newly repaired seventh tooth, his entire body poised like a fully drawn bow.

Wu Fu gritted her teeth, causing the Worker Nest Egg Tray to spit out a wisp of grey copper worker silk that was so thin it shone. The wisp of silk burrowed down along the secret line of the old tracks, like a tentacle probing into an abyss.

The remnant shadow of Duan Jun lowered its head.

It was as if he had finally seen Lu Jin. Those eyes, scorched by grey fire, looked through the residual light of the Living Record and landed on the wisp of ancient fire at Lu Jin's sleeve, a hint of indescribable meaning appearing in his gaze.

"That lamp of fire..."

Lu Jin did not interrupt him.

The Half-Gate Fire Line sank into the old tracks, and the thin sheet of the Grey Fire Well rotated slowly half a turn above. A second short mark suddenly appeared next to the inner ring gate mark on the edge of the sheet, parallel to the first, like two keyholes on a single door.

The first pointed in front of the Ancient Gate of the Royal Court.

The second pointed to the Blind Bridge below the Well Heart Line.

The battle map of the Multi-Nest Layer Divine Domain unfolded silently before everyone's eyes.

Frontline Fire Hall.

Grey Stele Post.

Outer Fire Well.

Rift Gate Fire Bridge.

West Outer Ring Blood Road.

Main Stele West Anchor.

Royal Court Half-Gate.

Behind these already established nodes, a tiny grey fire spike slowly lit up.

It landed at the second location on the inner ring map; though its light was weak, it carried an undeniable certainty.

Duan Jun Living Record Anchor.

Wen Zhao's breathing hitched for a moment, as if afraid of blowing out that newly born Fire Seed: "Second segment inner ring coordinate anchor..."

The Black-Armored Recorder did not wait for Instructor Han Tiecheng to urge him this time; his pen tip pressed down heavily, carving deep ink marks onto the paper: "Duan Jun Living Record remnant shadow, connected to the Half-Gate Fire Line. Grey Fire Well thin sheet generates second inner ring short mark. Half-Gate Fire Line obtains Well Heart Line forward coordinate. Tentative name: Duan Jun Living Record Anchor."

Hearing this, Nail Bone's firelight tilted slightly, and he hummed: "Ugly name."

The Recorder's hand paused, and the ink bled out into a moderately sized black dot on the paper.

Instructor Han Tiecheng said coldly: "If you have an opinion, wait until you can hold the pen yourself to change it."

Nail Bone hummed again, his fire tip shrinking back into the broken axle: "Then write it like that for now."

Wu Fu stared at the grey fire spike, her tail tip swaying unconsciously: "With this anchor, how much further can the nest line go down?"

Lu Jin closed his eyes and sensed for a moment.

The Duan Jun Living Record Anchor was very small—so small that it could only hold a single wisp of fire; any slightly larger fire line passing by would be repelled by it. But its position was too critical—it had bypassed the surging black fog outside the Half-Gate, firmly pinned to the side of the Blind Bridge before the Well Heart Line.

The next time they entered the inner ring, the fire line could jump directly from the Royal Court Half-Gate to the Duan Jun Living Record Anchor, without having to test inch by inch along the outer edge of the Lock Bridge, and without having to use human lives to fill those unknown dead zones.

"Three breaths." Lu Jin opened his eyes.

"Three breaths at most."

Wu Fu frowned: "What can you do in three breaths?"

Grey Pupil looked at the anchor, tapping his staff lightly on the ground: "Enough to not die in the first gust of well wind."

Nail Bone also said: "Enough to see clearly what is waiting on the first turn of the Blind Bridge."

Wen Zhao added: "And enough for me to place the first Line-Marking Nail."

Qiao Ye patted the shield face, emitting a dull metallic echo: "Then I have enough time to take half a step forward."

Wu Fu looked around at them, her gaze sweeping over each person's face, her tail tip moving, and finally, she only spat out two words: "Fine. We'll take those three breaths."

Lu Jin did not respond.

He was still looking at the remnant shadow of Duan Jun.

The remnant shadow had faded until only half an old badge remained on its chest; within the cracks on the surface of the badge, the dark golden light was also extinguishing bit by bit.

When Ning Yanqiu retracted the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal, the red frost on her fingertips shattered to the ground, like a plate of cinnabar overturned.

Lu Jin raised his hand, black fire surging from his palm to block a layer of the surrounding cold for her, his voice low: "Your hand."

Ning Yanqiu tucked her hand into her sleeve, her tone indifferent: "It's still needed."

Lu Jin looked at her.

Ning Yanqiu said: "Don't get distracted at this time."

Her words were spoken very softly, yet they were more effective than any consolation, like a thin thread pulling Lu Jin back from a certain abyss of emotion that was about to surge up.

Lu Jin withdrew his gaze.

The last bit of grey fire in Duan Jun's remnant shadow suddenly flared again, as if in a final flash of life.

Inside the Living Record box, the Offering Sign Bone emitted a crisp sound and cracked open a narrow fissure. A very thin dark golden line crawled out from the crack in the bone, like a startled snake, suddenly darting outward.

The Grey Pupil's Sacrificial Fire immediately pressed down, the flame at the head of the staff acting like a cover, sealing off the path of that dark golden line.

Nail Bone also cursed: "There's a dirty tail!"

The moment that dark golden line touched the Sacrificial Fire, it immediately emitted a shrill, fragmented sound, as if some sort of communication mechanism had been triggered. Deep within the Offering Sign Bone, a transmission clasp was hidden; it wanted to send the news that Duan Jun's Living Record had been opened, sending it to some desk far away in the depths of the Military Court, at the Sun Gold Adjudication Internal Affairs Office.

Lu Jin closed his five fingers, and the Half-Gate Fire Line tightened abruptly, binding that transmission clasp tightly.

Wu Fu's Worker Nest Egg Tray spat out more grey copper silk, winding along the outer edge of the transmission clasp, wrapping it into a dusty cocoon.

Ning Yanqiu's Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal brightened another line, illuminating the tail end of the dark golden line; wherever the Cold Mirror light passed, that dark golden ray seemed to be frozen, stiffening in mid-air.

Wen Zhao's Line-Marking Nail finally descended.

The spike tip pressed onto the transmission clasp, emitting a very faint "ding" sound.

The dark golden line was pinned, like a snake nailed to a wooden board, still writhing slightly, but unable to escape.

Qiao Ye watched, his teeth itching, and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "This bunch of people from the Pei family, they leave backdoors even in the cracks of their bones."

Instructor Han Tiecheng sneered, his gaze falling on the pinned transmission clasp, anger suppressed for many years surging in the depths of his eyes: "That's why they are called the Sun Gold Adjudication. What they adjudicate is not justice, but their own accounts."

Lu Jin looked at the dark golden transmission clasp and did not rush to burn it.

"Keep it."

Wen Zhao looked up, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

Lu Jin said: "The next time they want to trace this line, let them touch their own clasp first."

Wen Zhao's eyes brightened slightly: "Counter-tracing line?"

"Can you do it?"

"I can." Wen Zhao pressed down on his trembling fingers, his knuckles turning white from the effort, "Give me some time."

Lu Jin nodded: "Keep a secret account."

The Black-Armored Recorder looked at Instructor Han Tiecheng.

Instructor Han Tiecheng waved his hand, his voice as steady as iron: "I'll take responsibility for this one. A tail from the Sun Gold Internal Affairs Office has mixed into the old Military Court case; keep the evidence for future reckoning."

Duan Jun's remnant shadow shattered at this very moment.

There was no explosion, nor any excess light or fire.

It was like a small handful of aged dust, gently blown apart from the center by the well wind, scattering silently, as if it had never stood in that darkness.

Before scattering, the remnant shadow suddenly tilted its head toward Lu Jin.

From that half an old badge, the last sentence was transmitted, the voice as light as a sigh: "Don't let the Pei family..."

The voice cut off for a moment, as if forcibly gripped by some force.

Ning Yanqiu abruptly raised her sleeve, the Cold Mirror light pressing down on the last bit of ash about to be extinguished, the Cold Mirror light carving a frost-white arc in the darkness.

Duan Jun's remnant shadow used the last bit of Offering Sign Fire to squeeze out the second half of the sentence, the voice carrying a weariness and obsession that spanned many years: "Trace that lamp of fire again."

The Offering Sign Bone cracked into two pieces with a snap, the debris falling to the bottom of the grey copper box, emitting a few faint, fragmented sounds.

The grey fire in the Living Record box was completely extinguished.

In the back of the workshop, only the Half-Gate Fire Line and the newly placed Duan Jun Living Record Anchor remained, glowing brightly and dimly beneath the old copper tracks, like two eyes staring at each other in the abyss.

Lu Jin stood in place, not moving for a long time.

The ancient fire in his sleeve was unnaturally quiet, as if, after hearing that sentence, even the flame had suppressed its breathing, not daring to flicker easily.

Instructor Han Tiecheng did not urge him.

Nail Bone did not curse either.

Ning Yanqiu stood by Lu Jin's side, her fingertips still hidden in her sleeves, the red frost on her wrist glowing with a faint coldness under the Cold Mirror light.

After a few breaths, Lu Jin raised his hand and retracted the Grey Fire Well thin sheet back into the Frontline Fire Platform. The moment the sheet entered the platform, the patterns on the inner side of the platform lit up one by one, as if digesting the information brought by this new anchor.

"Wen Zhao, counter-tracing line."

"Qiao Ye, guard the bridge."

"Grey Pupil, seal the box ash."

"Wu Fu, prepare cold ash and nest silk for the Cold Mirror Auxiliary Seal; don't let the wound take in the well wind."

Wu Fu had been staring at the Living Record Anchor, but upon hearing the last sentence, she rarely retorted, only responding in a low voice: "Understood."

Ning Yanqiu looked at Lu Jin, her gaze lingering on his profile for a moment, but she did not speak.

Lu Jin did not explain.

He merely pressed the Duan Jun Living Record Anchor into the second layer of the battle map. After that small grey fire spike was firmly set, the inner ring map behind the Royal Court Half-Gate finally had an extra segment of line that could be traversed.

The line was very short, short enough for only three breaths.

Yet it had pierced through the layer of ash sealed by the imperial order from back then, and had also pierced through the secret clasp left behind by the Sun Gold Internal Affairs Office of the Pei family, forcefully pinning out an inch of truth within the cracks of dead ash and lies.

Lu Jin looked at that line, his voice very steady, steady as if stating something that had long been destined.

"Next time we enter the Well Heart Line."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on the faint grey fire spike on the battle map.

"We will look for that lamp of fire first."