Once the meeting was adjourned, Li Banfeng returned to his office and pondered Shen Jingye’s whereabouts.
Had Shen Jingye truly gone to Hulu Village?
Those who went to Hulu Village had all suffered unbearable hardships in life. What hardship had Shen Jingye suffered?
He was the top boss of the Dark Star Bureau; someone even held the elevator door for him whenever he stepped inside. If he dared complain about suffering, then ninety-nine point nine percent of the world wouldn't even be able to go on living.
Li Banfeng summoned Chen Changrui to his office. "What was the deal with those wounds on Shen Jingye’s face?"
"Bureau Chief Li, which wounds are you referring to?"
"Just a couple days ago, his face was wrapped in bandages. He told me his wife popped a pimple for him."
"About that... I'm not entirely sure either..."
Li Banfeng frowned. "Director Shen is missing, and you're still in the mood to speak in riddles with me?"
Chen Changrui weighed his words carefully. "When Director Shen was getting his dressing changed, I did happen to see it. It was quite a long gash. Based on my speculation, his wife probably injured him."
"Does that happen often?"
Chen Changrui nodded slightly. "We talked about this last time. His wife suffers from a mental illness. That wasn't the first time she had harmed Director Shen."
Li Banfeng got the general picture. "Rally all personnel and launch a citywide search. Run three rotating shifts a day. The operation must not stop for a single moment."
Chen Changrui froze for quite a while, then lowered his voice. "Bureau Chief Li, if Director Shen really entered Hulu Village, we won't be able to find him in the city."
Li Qi frowned. "Who said he went to Hulu Village? Did you hear a word I said in the meeting? Director Shen was trapped in a nameless place while pursuing the whereabouts of Hulu Village! You should at least know what a nameless place is, right? I don't know what you folks in the Outer States call it, but in short, once you find the nameless place, you'll find Director Shen. Move out immediately!"
Chen Changrui hurriedly left to organize the personnel.
How does one search for a nameless place? Chen Changrui didn't have the faintest idea either.
Stealth space, dark-dimension space, antimatter space, vector space, asymmetric space—any of these could be called a nameless place. In the Outer States, there was no single defined explanation for the term.
Fortunately, Chen Changrui understood Li Qi's intention. The core priority right now was simply to make a massive commotion.
Only by making a huge scene could they show higher-ups that the Dark Star Bureau was actively looking for Shen Jingye, not just passively waiting around. And Shen Jingye might not have entered Hulu Village at all.
As for whether he had truly gone there, the only way to find out was to take a trip to Hulu Village.
Li Banfeng left the Dark Star Bureau, found a secluded street, took off the jade pendant hanging from his neck, and gripped it in his hand.
A'yi had said that as long as he set aside immediate matters, he could find the entrance to Hulu Village.
Immediate matters were short-term concerns. As far as the present was concerned, Li Banfeng didn't feel there was anything worth worrying about.
Yet after trying twice, he still couldn't enter Hulu Village.
*What's going on? Who am I even fretting over?*
He worked hard to adjust his mindset, doing his best to forget everything at hand. After six full attempts, he finally spotted the road leading into the village.
A gust of chilly wind blew past, carrying lingering wafts of gunpowder smoke. It seemed something major had occurred in the village.
Li Banfeng quickened his pace into the settlement. Up ahead, he saw A'long catching fish in the river. Holding a fish spear, A'long looked entirely at ease, as if nothing serious was amiss. Further off, many farmers were tilling the fields as usual.
*Boom!* A tremendous roar echoed, and the earth trembled slightly.
Li Banfeng asked A'long, "What happened?"
"The village chief is fighting with his wife!" A'long replied.
Li Banfeng was startled. "It's gotten that bad?"
"They're always like this," A'long said calmly. "The village chief is driving a tank, trying to blow his wife to bits with a cannon. His wife dug into the tunnels, waiting for a chance to snipe him."
Li Banfeng sighed. "What couldn't a married couple talk through? Why did they have to bring out a tank?"
A'long also felt it was a bit absurd. "Tell me about it! Last time I fought with my wife, I tossed two hand grenades, and she emptied a submachine gun magazine at me. Once we finished shooting, we made up. Isn't that just how couples are?"
After chatting for a bit, Li Banfeng ran into A'yun. "Has someone named Shen Jingye come to Hulu Village over the past few days?"
A'yun nodded. "Yes! That man puts on quite an air. Judging by his bearing, he seems to have been an official, though probably not as big an official as our village chief. On his first day here, he signed the covenant deed and went to live by the gourd's waist."
"He already signed the deed?"
Little Shen's situation was rather different from what Li Banfeng had imagined.
A'yun led Li Banfeng to Shen Jingye. He was currently hauling water by a well. He didn't notice Li Banfeng, but Li Banfeng could tell Shen Jingye had never done this kind of labor before. He was a cultivator—likely of considerable cultivation—yet he couldn't keep his center of gravity steady while carrying the buckets, spilling quite a bit of water along the way.
A'yun whispered, "Carrying water is already the easy part. You should see him farming. He's so clumsy it hurts to watch. That's why people like him could never be village chief."
This couldn't be blamed on Shen Jingye. How could the grand director of the Dark Star Bureau ever have farmed the land?
Seeing the bandages still wrapped around his face, Shen Jingye had probably been injured again by his wife right before leaving. It was likely precisely because of the torment he had suffered at the hands of his wife that he was chosen by Hulu Village.
A'yun asked Li Banfeng, "Do you want to speak with him?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "No. There's no point in talking. How many days has he been staying here?"
"Today is the fifth day."
There were still ten days left until the half-month mark. Whether to leave or stay had to be Shen Jingye's own choice; no one could force him.
"Where did Shen Jingye enter from?"
A'yun flipped through an account book. "He left a mark when he came in. Wherever you enter from, that's where you exit. I'll take you to see it later."
Shen Jingye had entered from the entrance of a restaurant along Yunsheng Road in Jiacheng District. Li Banfeng strolled down the street and caught sight of Lu's Bookhouse.
Was this Boss Lu's business?
Boss Lu was the one who had sent Chubby into the wormhole; Chubby had already told Li Banfeng about it.
To be fair, Boss Lu couldn't really be faulted. If Li Banfeng were tailed by a stranger who ended up witnessing things they shouldn't have seen, Li Banfeng wouldn't let them off lightly either.
However, Li Banfeng hadn't expected Yu Yaoming to be in Boss Lu's hands.
*Should I head inside and take a look?*
Just as Li Banfeng went to push open the door, the projector flickered with fiery light. "Director Qi, a phone call! Hehehe!"
"If there's a call, there's a call. What are you laughing at?" Every time they visited Hulu Village, the projector acted a bit peculiar.
Li Banfeng found a quiet corner to take the call.
Inside the bookhouse, Boss Lu tore off a manuscript page and tossed it into the wastebasket.
The sequel to *The Rust and Frost Collection* was clearly coming along terribly; even Boss Lu himself couldn't stomach reading it. He looked out the window and muttered to himself, "Should I show him the manuscript? Was Zhang Xiuling truly guided by him?"
Li Banfeng answered the phone. The caller was Deputy Director Wang.
"Director Guan asked me to notify you. The higher-ups have formed a task force to conduct a special investigation into Shen Jingye's issue. Director Guan is serving as team leader. You are to report your work to him regularly."
Deputy Director Wang had always been meek and servile before Shen Jingye, but today he spoke with brazen arrogance.
It seemed someone had made him promises. As long as Shen Jingye was brought down, a good post would likely be reserved for him.
Li Banfeng didn't get angry. He replied in a calm tone, "Understood. I will report our progress to Director Guan shortly."
"Well, just watch your own back." Deputy Director Wang hung up.
Li Banfeng placed the mobile phone into the projector's film compartment. "Let me outline the script for you first."
"No need to explain the script! I know the Dark Star Bureau's drama inside out, hehehe!"
"I'm leaving the reporting duties to you. Once every two hours, around the clock without interruption."
The projector thought it over. "Once every two hours makes it seem like our work ethic isn't diligent enough. Let's make it once every hour. I'd love to converse with Director Guan more often."
Li Banfeng calculated the time. "Fine. Try not to exceed twenty minutes per report. Let's leave Director Guan as much time to rest as possible."
By three in the afternoon, the projector reported back: "Director Qi, Director Guan blocked our number."
Li Banfeng frowned. "That's no proper work attitude. Switch numbers and keep calling."
"Director Qi, after communicating with Director Guan so many times, his phone and I have already become friends. Casual friends, of course. I can't make unreasonable demands of it, but getting it to release my number from the blocklist isn't difficult at all. Once it's unblocked, if we add a suitable disguise, I believe Director Guan won't refuse to pick up."
"Good. Do it!"
Across a phone line, the projector could actually make friends with the phone on the other side.
After two trips to Hulu Village, the projector seemed to have evolved quite a bit.
At three-thirty in the morning, Guan Zhengyang's phone rang.
A glance at the caller ID showed it was from a superior. Under normal circumstances, Director Guan would have had to sit up immediately in bed, compose his mental state and tone of voice, and then pick up the call.
Yet two hours earlier, his phone had shown a call from this very leader, only for it to be Li Qi on the other end when he answered. Guan Zhengyang didn't know whether his phone was malfunctioning or if it was a signal issue.
To answer or not? He couldn't take the risk.
If it truly was the higher-up calling, missing this single call could mean being blacklisted for the rest of his career!
Guan Zhengyang picked up after all.
"Little Guan, let me update you on our latest progress. In the process of searching for Director Shen, we made another major discovery."
It was Li Qi's voice again!
Guan Zhengyang reached his absolute limit! "Bureau Chief Li, do you know what time it is?! Do you really have to—"
"Little Guan, watch your attitude! You must remember the duties of the task force, and you must know the mission upon your shoulders. From the moment you took up the mantle of team leader, you should have abandoned all thoughts of resting in comfort..."
The next morning, Guan Zhengyang announced the suspension of the task force's related work. The search and rescue for Shen Jingye would be fully handled by the Dark Star Bureau, and the bureau's operations were placed in Li Qi's hands.
Guan Zhengyang's inability to endure the harassment was secondary; the primary reason was that the higher-ups wanted the issue solved.
Shen Jingye's disappearance carried too huge an impact. If they wanted him found, Li Qi was their best option.
Li Qi was indeed a responsible leader. He first had his secretary draft a recent work summary: the primary reason for the ineffective search was the overall lack of capability among the security team members. To further elevate the officers' operational foundation and competency, he signed a directive to issue three hundred units of harmonizing agent to every member.
Three hundred units was equivalent to one Golden Origin Pill, substituting for a hundred days of cultivation.
Yet when the document reached the Pharmacy Section, they issued only one hundred units.
Li Banfeng grew furious and summoned the section chief upstairs. "What is the meaning of this? The document was issued. Why hasn't it been executed? Do you treat my words as worthless?"
Section Chief Yan Zhipeng hurriedly explained, "Bureau Chief Li, that's not what we mean at all! Our regulations stipulate that the amount of medicine distributed to the same person within a single month cannot exceed one hundred units. To exceed that amount, we must have approval from the higher-ups."
*Waiting for higher approval? Who are you trying to fool?*
Li Banfeng had asked Tangyuan before. Ever since Shen Jingye revamped their working methods, the Dark Star Bureau's rewards for frontline personnel had increased significantly. Zhuizi of the security team had once received five hundred units of harmonizing agent in a single go after rendering great service; everyone in the bureau knew about it.
Because Zhuizi later turned traitor, that incident had even become a running joke at Shen Jingye's expense for a time.
"You didn't talk regulations with Director Shen, but you come running to talk regulations with me?"
"Bureau Chief Li, that was a special case..."
Yan Zhipeng was playing games with him. In reality, the matter was very simple: so long as he balanced the books by dividing the three hundred units across three months and applying three separate times, the issue would be resolved.
However, he knew Li Qi wouldn't remain bureau chief forever. Li Qi was from Puluo Province. Even if Shen Jingye never returned, another person would undoubtedly be appointed to the top post. Yan Zhipeng didn't want to shoulder this risk for Li Qi's sake.
Li Banfeng saw through his little scheme instantly. "Section Chief Yan, following regulations is the right thing to do. I wasn't familiar with the rules and caused a misunderstanding. Don't take it to heart."
Yan Zhipeng smiled. "Bureau Chief Li, if there's nothing else, I'll head back to the section."
"Go ahead and get busy."
Come afternoon, Li Banfeng summoned Yan Zhipeng upstairs again. "Colleagues have reported that taking the harmonizing agents provided by the bureau yielded no effect whatsoever."
Yan Zhipeng was shocked. "How could there be no effect..."
"I was about to ask you the same thing. Could it be due to improper storage on your end?"
Li Banfeng wasn't slapping on baseless accusations.
Harmonizing agents were sold across the various black markets of Yuezhou, and where those agents originated had never been established.
Li Banfeng had asked Tang Changfa to look into it. Tang Changfa could trace the sources of all kinds of goods on the black market—including magical treasures, spiritual objects, and medicinal pills. Yet the only goods Tang Changfa couldn't trace were harmonizing agents and guiding agents.
The vendors selling harmonizing and guiding agents on the black market were fixed, and their prices were practically identical. Could the agents in those merchants' hands truly have nothing to do with the Dark Star Bureau?
Li Banfeng was preparing to organize a special inspection campaign to thoroughly investigate the storage practices of harmonizing agents.
Yan Zhipeng pleaded his innocence. "Bureau Chief Li, the agents we issue are compounded on the spot! Every single batch is signed by the compounder. If there is a quality defect, it can only be a defect in the raw ingredients. That has nothing to do with our storage!"
"Wait!" Li Banfeng froze. "What do you mean by compounded?"
According to Shen Jingye, the agents were allocated directly from the parent company above. How did they suddenly become compounded here?
Yan Zhipeng hesitated, unsure whether he should reveal this to Li Banfeng.
Yet on second thought, he couldn't afford not to speak; he couldn't take the fall for this.
"Harmonizing agents are difficult to store and transport. At the start of each year, the bureau submits an annual plan based on the previous year's consumption and the upcoming year's operational needs. The higher-ups allocate a certain quantity of raw materials according to the plan, and we compound and use them based on practical circumstances."
*Little Shen, your working attitude has serious issues. You dared to lie to me?*
Li Banfeng said, "Then could there be an issue with how you store the raw ingredients?"
"We have specialized regulations and dedicated personnel assigned..."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Then I believe our work will surely withstand scrutiny."
The directive was issued, and the inspection began the very next day.
Yan Zhipeng dared not hide anything, laying out all the raw materials and formulas for Li Banfeng to see.
Li Banfeng had assumed the formula would clearly specify every single medicinal ingredient, but he had underestimated the strictness of their security protocol.
In reality, the formula only listed code names and quantities for each ingredient, with no names or properties. The Pharmacy Section simply followed the protocol strictly, converting solid powders into liquid agents. As for what pharmacological principles were involved, the section knew nothing.
It didn't matter that the Pharmacy Section didn't know; Li Banfeng had a way to find out.
Trying to analyze the components from a single finished vial of medicine was extraordinarily difficult. But analyzing the components from a dozen raw ingredients laid out before him was far simpler.
Li Banfeng took a pouch of each substance under the pretext of sample testing, intending to bring them back to his lady for analysis.
In terms of pure efficacy, a harmonizing agent couldn't compare to superior medicinal pills like the Golden Origin Pill. However, these things could be mass-produced, which gave them an immense advantage over pills. More crucially, besides harmonizing agents, there was another, even more important substance.
Li Qi issued an order: rectifications must draw lessons from one another; inspect the guiding agents alongside them!
A guiding agent was the foundational powder for dark-energy users. Tangyuan had taken a guiding agent to become a Polymath, and later in Puluo Province consumed the Scholar powder to advance into a Scholar Cultivator.
Although there had been twists along the way, Tangyuan's tier had been preserved, and her combat strength enhanced. This proved that guiding agents shared a certain connection with the peddler's powders.
There were numerous formulas for guiding agents, and their ingredients were exceptionally complex. Li Banfeng spared no effort, retaining samples of every substance and handing them over to his lady along with the formulas for testing.
Day and night, the inspection dragged on for three consecutive days. Unable to endure the ordeal any longer, Yan Zhipeng admitted his mistake to Li Banfeng and finally distributed the three hundred units of harmonizing agent.
Having vetted the Pharmacy Section, it was time to check the Archives Section. The risks and hidden hazards in archival management were not to be underestimated either!
There were mountains of archival records, and Li Banfeng had no time to sift through them personally. He handed the task to Tangyuan. Tangyuan naturally understood Li Qi's intentions, making backups of every document that would interest him.
Among them was one dossier that Tangyuan took special note of, bringing it specifically to Li Qi.
"Seventh Master, this document is very unusual. Please take some time to read it."
Since Tangyuan had taken risks to retrieve it, Li Banfeng naturally had to treat it seriously. The file was titled *Investigation Report on the Periodic Fluctuations of Black Dwarfs*.
*A black dwarf?*
Li Banfeng had encountered the concept of black dwarfs back in university. They were the lowest energy-state remnants formed at the final stage of evolution for low- to medium-mass stars. In Li Banfeng's understanding, they were the product of a star's energy being completely exhausted.
For a star to become a black dwarf required an astronomical length of time—far exceeding the current age of the universe. In other words, a black dwarf was purely theoretical; none should exist in the current cosmos.
Even if one existed, humans would find it nearly impossible to observe, as its temperature would be unimaginably low, radiating almost no energy outward.
Why was the Dark Star Bureau researching this? Shouldn't that be the job of astronomical institutions?
Dark Star Bureau... Dark Star...
*Wait! That's it!*
This was the Dark Star Bureau—Li Banfeng had almost forgotten the meaning of the name!
Black dwarfs were difficult to observe; weren't they essentially "dark stars"?
Researching dark stars was the core mission of the Dark Star Bureau!
Li Banfeng opened the document and read it carefully. Because it was a specialized report lacking broader context, much of it was difficult for him to grasp fully. However, the conclusions were crystal clear. The report presented three vital research findings, two of which Li Banfeng could basically understand.
First finding: Black dwarfs did not, as initially hypothesized, radiate virtually no energy. Instead, they underwent periodic eruptions of energy and matter. A portion of this energy and matter fell upon the Earth, inducing biological mutations.
*Matter and energy?*
*Could it be highly active dark matter and dark energy?*
*Could the origin of dark energy actually be black dwarfs?*
Second finding: According to data collected from multiple nations, the eruption cycle of black dwarfs was between twenty and thirty years. After every eruption, traces were left behind in the Earth's rock strata, soil, and architectural structures.
Third finding: Within one to two years following a black dwarf eruption, the Inner States would launch a foreign war.
This was baffling. What connection did the Inner States' foreign wars have with the eruptions of a black dwarf?
Li Banfeng massaged his temples, lost in thought for a long while. Zhong'er entered to report: "Bureau Chief Li, Goncharova's lawyer has arrived and wishes to see her."
"Who?" Li Banfeng couldn't recall for a moment.
"Goncharova, a high-ranking member of the Birch Hermitage. Because of her meritorious service, her case hasn't been finalized yet, so she's still detained here with us."
"The Lavshan woman?" Li Banfeng nodded as he remembered her. "Let the lawyer see her. Follow the standard procedures."
Just as Zhong'er turned to leave, Li Banfeng suddenly called out, "Wait!"
He had remembered something important.
"Why did Goncharova join the Hermitage?"
Zhong'er remembered clearly. "Because of a war. A war that took place in the Land of Slumber."
According to Goncharova's confession, during her youth, a war had erupted in the Land of Slumber in the State of Ravsha—a war of aggression launched by the dark god, Chernobog.
That war had broken out twenty-two years ago.
Going back another twenty-odd years before that was the Second Puluo War.
When he met Ling Miaosheng a few days ago, Ling had mentioned that war was brewing in Inner Amikan.
The eruption cycle of black dwarfs was between twenty and thirty years.
Had the black dwarf erupted again recently?
Was that why the Inner States intended to attack Inner Amikan?
Was the news about Amikan accurate? Would the battlefield definitely be in Inner Amikan?
Lately, the Inner States' people had also been stirring up trouble in Puluo Province. Ge Junma had nearly burglarized the Ink Fragrance Shop, Luo Lijun was preparing to attack Qishuiyao, and the Fake Coachman had been a hair's breadth away from seizing Huangtu Bridge...
They wouldn't attack Puluo Province, would they? There ought to be omens before a major war.
***
At Desong Cliff, by the entrance of Deyuan Village, a septuagenarian leaned on his walking stick and proclaimed, "Virtuous thought is the root of virtue! If there is no virtue in one's thoughts, how can one perform virtuous deeds?"
Standing opposite him was an elderly woman who disagreed. "Virtuous conduct is the true root of virtue! If one performs no virtuous deeds, even if one harbors thousands of virtuous thoughts, how can one be considered a virtuous person?"
The two elders seemed to be debating, their words polite and refined. To an outsider, they might have looked like old friends on good terms.
After debating for half an hour, the old man failed to persuade the old woman. He sighed. "A lifetime lived in vain—you remain incorrigibly obstinate to the end!"
The old woman sneered. "Twisting black and white, yet you dare act so unreasonable here."
The old man's face darkened. "The peddler chose me to oversee Desong Cliff. Why do you refuse to submit?"
The old woman cast her eyes upward. "The peddler isn't even from Desong Cliff. By what right does he meddle in our internal affairs?"
"Enough has been said," the old man ordered coldly. "Heed my command—slay this rebel!"
Behind him, over a hundred Virtue Cultivators charged toward the woman.
Getting Virtue Cultivators to mount a charge was no easy feat, demonstrating the immense prestige the old man held at Desong Cliff.
The one leading the charge was a young man holding a short blade, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Slay the rebel! Show no mercy!"
The old woman smiled faintly, remaining completely still as she deployed the Virtue technique: *Substantial Virtue Carries All*.
Caught completely off guard, the young man felt as if half a mountain had crashed onto his body. He collapsed instantly, unable to rise.
The old woman barked, "Slay all the unvirtuous and restore the prestige of our pathway!"
Behind her, over a hundred people rushed forward as well, though not all of them were Virtue Cultivators.
A man grabbed a loose roof tile from the ground, severed the young man's head with it, and led the crowd into a clash against the old man's subordinates.
By the time the peddler arrived, the battle was already over. Nothing remained but a field of corpses, staining the snow crimson.
The peddler jammed his pellet drum into his cart and frowned. "If they keep fighting like this, the Virtue Cultivators will be wiped out entirely!"
A man standing beside the peddler remarked with feeling, "I think they need a leader."
The peddler scanned the bodies, then flipped an old man's corpse over. "This was the leader I found for them."
The old man had fallen in battle, and the majority of his Virtue Cultivators had been slaughtered.
The man picked up a roof tile from the ground. "I never expected anyone in Puluo Province would dare challenge you. Furthermore, this young man here died in a very strange way. His head was severed by this tile. That clearly isn't the style of a Virtue Cultivator."
It was the fighting method of a Martial Cultivator. Very few Martial Cultivators ever visited Desong Cliff.
The peddler knew the situation was grave. This conflict had expanded beyond the scope of Desong Cliff.
The man examined the other corpses. "Judging from the bodies, the participants were quite formidable, yet many of them weren't Virtue Cultivators. There's no reason for these people to fight for Desong Cliff; this place shouldn't hold such a strong appeal. I suspect someone else is attempting to use this war to instigate chaos. I even suspect this covert force comes from beyond Puluo Province."
The peddler nodded. "That's why I wanted to find someone to come and quash this turmoil, but Li Qi simply refused to come."
The man chuckled. "My friend has a deep aversion toward Virtue Cultivators. It was the same back at Haichiling."
The peddler turned to him. "I can't stay here forever either, so I'm entrusting this matter to you. What you need to do is end this war as quickly as possible and take control of the order at Desong Cliff. Do you understand what I mean?"
The man thought for a moment. "I don't quite understand controlling order. Could you be a bit more direct?"
The peddler explained, "To be direct: spare those who listen to reason, and kill those who don't."
The man shook his head. "'Listening to reason' is still a bit too vague. Can you make it more concrete?"
"How much more concrete can I get?"
"Just tell me directly: how many do you want left? Seventy percent, or half?"
Chapter 607