The next day, Li Banfeng boarded a special train and arrived at the Dark Star Bureau on the fifth day of the new year.
Stepping into his office, Li Banfeng called Director Shen. "Xiao Shen, come to my office for a moment."
This time, Shen Jingye did not grumble in the slightest. Li Banfeng's rank had changed, placing him a full grade above him.
Meeting face to face, Shen Jingye began with gratitude. "Director Li, I don't even know how to repay you for saving my life. If you ever have any need of me in the future, just say the word."
The life-saving favor he referred to was the arrangement Li the Seventh had made after his departure from Hulu Village. That sequence of arrangements had provided him with a plausible explanation, allowing him to keep his position without facing excessive investigation.
Li Banfeng chuckled. "Who saved you? It was you, Director Shen, fighting valiantly and escaping from the dark-dimension space all on your own."
Shen Jingye let out a sigh. "The matter was smoothed over, and I'm fine, but the Dark Star Bureau is practically finished."
"What happened to the Dark Star Bureau?" It had been handling cases with great efficiency lately and had even received commendations not long ago.
Shen Jingye explained, "The higher-ups have established the External Civilization Bureau, which will soon take over all of the Dark Star Bureau's responsibilities."
"What kind of outfit is this External Civilization Bureau?"
Shen Jingye recited the full name. "The Bureau of External Civilization Investigation and Research."
The moment he heard the title, it sounded all too familiar to Li Banfeng. "How is that any different from the Dark Matter Research Lab or the Dark Star Special Operations Team? Isn't this just needless meddling?"
Shen Jingye sighed heavily. "In essence, there is no difference. It simply represents the determination from above to replace the Dark Star Bureau with another organization."
"Why must they replace the Dark Star Bureau?"
"Primarily because of the passage of time. The Dark Star Bureau has existed for too long. It has developed far too many overlaps with Puluo Province and the Inner States, as well as with domestic and foreign dark-energy organizations. Many outside forces have already infiltrated the Dark Star Bureau."
Li Banfeng felt this was entirely normal. "What the Dark Star Bureau studies is dark energy and dark matter. How could things related to dark energy not permeate it? If there were no infiltration at all, wouldn't the Dark Star Bureau just become a bunch of laymen? How could laymen carry out the work?
"Besides, if we're talking about length of existence, the Garrison Office has been around even longer and is far more heavily infiltrated. Why haven't they established an organization to replace the Garrison Office?"
Shen Jingye replied, "One of the main reasons for replacing the Dark Star Bureau is precisely to keep it from becoming another Garrison Office. The Garrison Office really is infiltrated too deeply—so deeply that much of its work can only be carried out by them. Not only are they irreplaceable, but laymen cannot interfere at all.
"The higher-ups sent laymen several times hoping to replace Liao Zihui, and none of them met a good end. You know this well."
Li Banfeng certainly did. The biggest layman of them all, Xia Shumin, had made a series of improper moves and was ultimately sent away by Chu the Second.
Yet one thing puzzled Li Banfeng. "Why do laymen always have to stick their noses into the business of experts? Wouldn't it be better to let professionals handle professional matters?"
Shen Jingye twitched his eyebrows. Some things could not be spoken aloud. "In any case, the External Civilization Bureau has already been established. The public security duties that originally belonged to our team have been taken over by them, and a massive amount of work is slated for transfer next.
"Furthermore, the higher-ups have already designated a post for you in the External Civilization Bureau. They want you to serve as the Oversight Director, with a rank and benefits one tier above that of bureau director." Li the Seventh had been handed yet another title.
"How is that any different from what's happening now? Aren't they just giving me the runaround? They're worried that staying in the Dark Star Bureau too long will let me infiltrate it too, right? Moving me around without cause just so I won't have my own people under me, right?"
Shen Jingye nodded awkwardly. Li Banfeng had hit the mark on almost every point.
Li Banfeng leaned back in his chair and spun it around several times. "Once the External Civilization Bureau is set up, what happens to the personnel of the Dark Star Bureau?"
Shen Jingye replied, "That depends on where you go."
"What does my destination have to do with them?"
"It has everything to do with them. If you assume your post at the External Civilization Bureau directly and relinquish your duties at the Dark Star Bureau, then the Dark Star Bureau will be disbanded within one to two years. I will be transferred somewhere else into retirement, and all the personnel will be dispersed to other agencies into sinecures."
"Sinecures?" Li Banfeng frowned. "Tangyuan, Lightbulb, Zhong'er, Mijian, Begonia—these young folks have only just started to see some progress, and they're going to be shoved into sinecures? What kind of future will they have left?"
Shen Jingye sighed. "After all, as dispersed personnel, having any place to go is already fortunate. They certainly can't expect to be placed in important roles."
"What about the External Civilization Bureau? Don't they need manpower?"
"The higher-ups have made it abundantly clear that the External Civilization Bureau has no need for compromised personnel. You know about Ming Xing. He was a young man and a textbook example of an infiltrator.
"Investigations revealed that his parents were dark-energy users, members of a dark-energy organization in the State of Ravsha. Before his employment, his parents pulled strings, which led to deficiencies in our background check.
"He infiltrated the Dark Star Bureau and carried out numerous harmful and destructive acts. That incident handed them an excuse on a silver platter. Nearly everyone in the Dark Star Bureau has been branded as compromised, including me. None of us will ever be placed in important roles in any agency, much less enter a core institution like the External Civilization Bureau."
Li Banfeng asked, "What if I don't give up my post as deputy director of the Dark Star Bureau?"
Shen Jingye saw a glimmer of hope. "If you retain your post in the Dark Star Bureau and concurrently serve as its deputy director while taking up the role of Oversight Director at the External Civilization Bureau, with your current influence, the Dark Star Bureau will be preserved as an institution.
"Even if it only performs auxiliary work for the External Civilization Bureau in the future, at least our people can stay. Within the scope of the Dark Star Bureau, they will still have hope and a path for advancement."
This was the favor Shen Jingye wanted to ask of Li Banfeng. Even if it existed in name only, he hoped to keep the Dark Star Bureau alive.
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "What if I only retain my post at the Dark Star Bureau and refuse the position at the External Civilization Bureau?"
Shen Jingye froze. "Then... then the situation becomes unusual, and your prospects..."
"My prospects?" Li Banfeng laughed. "Are my prospects here? Do you think I care?"
For a moment, Shen Jingye forgot where Li the Seventh truly stood. But on second thought, he still felt it wouldn't work. "Director Li, doing this will put the higher-ups in a difficult position..."
Li Banfeng smiled. "They're used to putting others in difficult positions; this time, we'll put them in one. Tell them that I will only hold office at the Dark Star Bureau, and all future balancing work regarding Puluo Province and the Inner States will remain with the Dark Star Bureau.
"If the External Civilization Bureau insists on meddling, let them handle anything involving the balancer on a case-by-case basis. First send an official letter, then send a representative, and only then discuss the matter."
That afternoon, Shen Jingye conveyed Li the Seventh's stance to the higher-ups.
The higher-ups immediately organized a meeting and specially invited Li the Seventh to attend. Li the Seventh did not go. He had an important public matter to attend to.
He summoned Tang Changfa, Yan Hong'er, and Yan Cui'er to his home to eat mutton hotpot.
Although it was still the New Year holiday, the black market had already opened for business. Tang Changfa had launched a new line of trade, earning quite a bit of money, but he wasn't particularly keen on continuing it.
"Boss, an awful lot of those Western gadgets have been selling lately. Before the new year, I brought in several sets of books about Western black magic. A set cost ten thousand to buy, and we turned around and sold it for three hundred thousand!"
Li Banfeng chuckled. "Look at you committing sins. Scamming people like that, aren't you afraid of ruining your own reputation?"
Tang Changfa poured a cup of liquor for Li Banfeng. "Boss, I didn't scam anyone. Those books are the real deal! Yan Hong'er knows them well—she managed to master quite a few spells using them!"
Li Banfeng paused in surprise. "Hong'er, what did you learn?"
Yan Hong'er had just mixed dipping sauce for Li Banfeng. The sauce dish vanished from her hand and reappeared right in front of Li Banfeng.
Teleporting objects through the air!
Yan Hong'er said, "Boss, this isn't a parlor trick or an illusion. It's genuine magic I learned from that black magic book."
Li Banfeng asked her, "Which lineage does this magic belong to?"
Yan Hong'er was genuinely stumped by the question. "Boss, these Western things don't go by lineages. Aside from our own family's Fool cultivation, I've never practiced anything else."
Tang Changfa chimed in, "Boss, see that? This is authentic stuff, and anyone can practice it."
"It can't be that everyone can practice it, right?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "Without a shred of affinity, there's no way one could learn it."
"To learn just this one technique doesn't take much affinity!" Tang Changfa waved his hand. "There are plenty of medicine sellers on the black market. Spend a little money to buy some decent, high-grade medicine, gather affinity for a month, and it's enough to learn this technique."
Compared to the lineages of Puluo Province, the threshold for Western magic was vastly lower. But why would books containing such authentic material flood into the black market at such cheap prices?
"Ten thousand a volume—where did you get the stock?"
Yan Cui'er said, "From the Hundred Demons Workshop. You might not have heard of them, Boss. The people there study everything. Writing talismans today, drawing incantations tomorrow, poking voodoo dolls the day after... They know a bit of every method, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign.
"However, the entry requirements for the Hundred Demons Workshop are quite steep. They have strict rules stating that magic cannot be used carelessly. Before joining, one's character undergoes rigorous scrutiny. Some people say they were vetted for over a decade without ever becoming official members."
Li Banfeng glanced at the Western magic book Tang Changfa had brought along. "Why would an organization with such strict rules sell genuine magic teaching materials?"
Tang Changfa replied, "I heard that some bureau from outside is investigating the Hundred Demons Workshop and has already arrested many of their people.
"These books have now become incriminating evidence against them. Keeping them isn't safe, but they couldn't bear to destroy them, so they simply dumped them on the black market at low prices. Personally, I think we shouldn't sell these books anymore. Selling them might end up harming people."
Yan Hong'er shook her head. "I don't see it that way. A kitchen knife can be used to chop someone, but does that mean kitchen knives shouldn't be sold?"
Yan Cui'er nodded. "Exactly. Besides, if we don't sell them, won't others? Isn't that just how business works?"
Li Banfeng looked over the magic book. "There's no rush to sell these books. Study them slowly for now, and we'll decide once you've learned them.
"Whatever the Hundred Demons Workshop tries to sell you, take it. Put up more capital and don't let other shops snatch the business away. It doesn't matter if we take a loss. If you're short on money, just tell me."
Tang Changfa thought for a moment. "It doesn't seem like anyone is competing with us for business..."
"How can you say that!" Yan Hong'er retorted. "Lu's Bookhouse is buying these books too, and their offers have consistently been higher than ours."
Lu's Bookhouse.
Boss Lu was studying Western cultivation as well. What was he studying that for?
***
Boss Lu had spent the entire night writing. He stretched lazily and blew out the oil lamp.
He was no longer writing a sequel to *Collection of Embroidered Frost*. Unwilling to let past creative habits bind him, he had started a brand-new book titled *Night Talks in the Spring Garden*. The prose still required polishing, but he was immensely pleased with the story's structure.
He originally intended to catch some sleep, but a glance out the window showed the east turning pale; dawn was fast approaching. Boss Lu simply unlocked the front doors and opened for business.
In the early morning, few patrons visited a bookstore. The owner didn't expect much foot traffic anyway, so he picked up a copy of *Tale of Jade Fragrance* and began reading, jotting down commentaries as he went.
A woman in her early thirties, dressed in a blue down jacket, wearing sunglasses and a mask, with loose curly hair, stepped into the bookstore.
Boss Lu recognized her. She went by the surname Liu, named Liu Cuishan, a member of the Hundred Demons Workshop. She had come here to sell quite a few books, all of which were genuine, high-quality works.
Boss Lu poured her a cup of tea. "Are you here to buy books or sell books today?"
Liu Cuishan's cheeks flushed slightly, tinged with a hint of shame. "I'm here to sell something today, but it isn't a book. Would that be acceptable?"
Boss Lu considered this for a moment. "First tell me, what kind of item is it?"
The woman produced a magic box—a prop commonly used by magicians. Inside were various hidden compartments and numerous mirrors positioned at different angles, creating optical illusions.
An ordinary person wouldn't look twice at such an object; it was a professional prop and held little inherent value.
Boss Lu, however, was an expert. He knew this item was an exceedingly rare spiritual artifact.
"It is indeed a fine piece. If you aren't in a hurry to sell, you could leave it on consignment with me for a while."
The woman shook her head. "We can't wait. We need money right now."
Boss Lu frowned slightly. "If you're in a hurry to part with it, I won't be able to offer a very high price."
Liu Cuishan nodded. "I trust you. Whatever you offer, I'll take."
Boss Lu inspected the magic box once more. "My offer is..."
He drew out the word for a long time, making Liu Cuishan's heart leap into her throat.
Boss Lu's heart was fluttering as well. He had sensed a signal that he had almost forgotten.
"Five hundred thousand," Boss Lu stated his price.
Liu Cuishan nodded repeatedly. "Fine, I can accept that price. Shall we make the deal?"
Boss Lu nodded and instructed a clerk to pay Liu Cuishan.
This was what Liu Cuishan appreciated most: doing business with Boss Lu always meant cash in hand. With five hundred thousand in cash packed into a bag, Liu Cuishan offered repeated thanks, and Boss Lu saw her off with tea.
Though anxiety surged within him, he did not lapse in propriety in the least. Once he had seen Liu Cuishan off, Boss Lu walked up to the second floor and told Yu Yaoming, "Du Wenming is out."
Yu Yaoming gasped. "When did he come out?"
"Just now. I sensed it."
Yu Yaoming looked overjoyed. "See? I wasn't boasting! As long as he could find the exit, he would definitely get out. Let's go ask him right now how he managed to find it..."
Boss Lu's face was devoid of expression. Yu Yaoming suddenly felt a chill and swallowed the rest of his words.
"Your current situation is perilous. Du Wenming will very likely seek revenge on you. Under no circumstances should you leave the bookstore during this period." Boss Lu closed the second-floor door, went downstairs to the main hall, walked two circuits around the first and second rows of bookshelves, stamped a document with an imperial jade seal, and slipped it into the crack beneath the bookstore's door.
Stepping out of the bookstore, Boss Lu arrived at Passion Fruit Road in Qishuiyao.
Hurrying along, he traversed the town and walked all the way to Sugar Mandarin Village. Heading more than twenty li east from the village, Boss Lu reached Sugar Mandarin Mountain.
Crossing Sugar Mandarin Mountain led to the border between Qishuiyao and Black Rock Slope. Du Wenming had been thrust into the wormhole at Black Rock Slope; if he found an exit, he ought to have emerged on the Qishuiyao side.
And according to Boss Lu's senses, Du Wenming was still near the Boundary.
At the foot of Sugar Mandarin Mountain lay a dense forest, through which ran the Boundary, over half a meter wide. Wherever the Boundary passed, not a single blade of grass grew.
Boss Lu walked around the perimeter of the Boundary for a moment. A flurry of accumulated snow rustled down from the trees, and Boss Lu stopped in his tracks.
He pulled a volume of *Night Talks in the Spring Garden* from his robe and gently tore out a page.
The page drifted into the air on the frigid wind, slowly tearing to shreds as it scraped against the tree branches.
The torn scraps fluttered in the freezing wind for a brief moment, enfolding the snow from the ground and trees, transforming into one maiden after another clad in white gauze.
Over a hundred beauties held longswords, standing vigilantly in the heavy snow. One of the beauties suddenly thrust her sword. Boss Lu thought she was engaging an enemy, only to see her spin on the spot and begin to dance.
"His technique has improved!" Boss Lu praised.
These beauties were formed from book pages—or more accurately, not even a whole page, but mere scraps with exceedingly limited spiritual nature. Yet even this sliver of spiritual nature had succumbed to Du Wenming's dance technique, proving how drastically his art had evolved.
The beauty glided forward a step and happened to touch another beauty, who promptly began dancing as well. In less than a minute, gliding back and forth among themselves, the beauties surrounded Boss Lu, all dancing in unison.
A technique that could transmit itself?
Like an epidemic, capable of mutual infection? This could truly be counted as a Heavenly Unity technique.
Boss Lu shifted his toes. Even he felt the urge to dance.
The cluster of women raised their longswords and thrust them toward Boss Lu together.
These women were beings summoned by Boss Lu from the text of his book, yet now, under the control of a dance technique, they had turned to attack Boss Lu himself.
Boss Lu stood his ground and reopened *Night Talks in the Spring Garden*. As the women drew near, they all reverted to paper scraps, splicing together once more to form a single page within the book.
Deep in the woods, Du Wenming's brow furrowed slightly. His expression held a trace of resentment, yet he still offered a compliment: "Scholar of Eight Pecks, impressive methods!"
Boss Lu brushed snow from a tree and smiled faintly. "Mr. Lu, I truly admire you. After all this time, you actually managed to walk out of the Boundary. Let's not dwell on past misunderstandings. Come with me to the bookhouse for a chat, so we may discuss great matters together."
Du Wenming sneered. "You threw me into a wormhole merely to use me as a guinea pig, didn't you? And now you talk of discussing great matters. Aren't you being a bit too hypocritical?"
Boss Lu nodded with a smile. "You have a point. Then let's speak with sincerity: return with me to the bookhouse, and I'll spare your life. What do you say?"
Du Wenming frowned. "If I don't go to the bookhouse, you're going to kill me?"
Boss Lu did not deny it. "I have no desire to let the secrets of the Boundary leak out."
Du Wenming sighed. "What a ruthless man you are!"
Boss Lu shook his head. "You cannot blame me for being ruthless. You made a move against me first. The grudge was forged the day you trespassed into my bookhouse."
Du Wenming looked at Boss Lu, glided forward to his side, and drew Boss Lu into a dance.
Boss Lu put up almost no resistance, swaying his waist and kicking his legs alongside Du Wenming, dancing in fine form.
Du Wenming launched into his most familiar puppet dance. Boss Lu's body became as rigid as a marionette's, his joints stiff, his movements labored.
Du Wenming's body gave a shudder, as if every joint had dislocated.
Boss Lu shuddered in tandem—and his joints genuinely dislocated, leaving him limp on the ground.
With a laugh, Du Wenming lifted Boss Lu and brought him to the edge of the Boundary. "You used me as an experiment back then; today, I'll let you taste the Boundary for yourself."
Just as he was about to cast Boss Lu onto the Boundary, he suddenly felt Boss Lu grow light in his hands.
Glancing down, he saw Boss Lu dissolve into a shower of paper scraps, fluttering in every direction. This wasn't Boss Lu.
Where was the real Boss Lu?
Du Wenming was startled as Boss Lu's voice sounded: "Coming here is fine. You have nowhere left to run."
The airborne scraps coalesced into three walls, enclosing Du Wenming from three sides.
Upon each wall, dense characters were inscribed. Every single character brandished a weapon.
The character for "sentiment" turned its heart radical into a halberd; the character for "trust" turned its person radical into an iron dagger-axe. Innumerable characters stood poised to strike. Boss Lu gave his final warning: "Return with me to the bookhouse, and I will spare your life."
Du Wenming looked behind him.
Only the rear remained open, and that side was the Boundary.
Boss Lu chuckled. "If you truly possess such mettle, throw yourself against the Boundary and die. I would respect you as a brave man!"
Du Wenming gritted his teeth, leaped backward, and hurled himself directly onto the Boundary.
The paper scraps dispersed, and Boss Lu reappeared, only to see Du Wenming vanish completely, leaving behind nothing but a puff of dust.
Was he dead?
No. He was still alive.
Boss Lu carefully sensed the mark on Du Wenming. The signal had vanished initially, but before long, it surfaced once again. Boss Lu looked across to the opposite side of the Boundary: a figure, walking with stiff steps, quietly vanished into the dense forest.
Du Wenming had crossed the Boundary?
Boss Lu was utterly astonished. He had not anticipated that Du Wenming could enter the Boundary of his own accord and depart so swiftly. Without relying on equipment, he had actually mastered a method to traverse the Boundary.
Where was he going? What did he plan to do? Boss Lu felt a pang of regret.
*I shouldn't have held back just now. I wanted too badly to keep him alive.*
Yet on second thought, he wasn't wrong either. A man like Du Wenming was worth keeping alive.
***
On Chu Yaoxian's territory, He Jiaqing secretly observed the three-headed people clearing the wasteland.
"Li the Seventh only gave you a thousand people?"
Chu Yaoxian nodded. "He gave Dou Jiyan two thousand, but only gave me one thousand. He probably still holds a grudge over what happened with He Yuxiu."
He Jiaqing strongly agreed. "He is indeed someone who holds grudges. You might not know this, but these three-headed people are not just skilled at land reclamation—they are also exceptional warriors."
Chu Yaoxian said, "I've heard about that. When Qiqiu City was first founded, the three-headed people helped Li the Seventh defeat Chu Shaoqiang. Their physiques are formidable, but they have no cultivation whatsoever. Even if they're merely raw beginners, they can still fight very well."
He Jiaqing shook his head. "Far more than that. While in the Outer States, I obtained a top-secret document. An introductory powder from the Outer States, known as a guiding agent, can allow the three-headed people to acquire lineages and cultivation.
"Once you master this guiding agent, you can train them into formidable warriors. These thousand three-headed people could defeat dozens of cultivators above the clouds, or perhaps even more."
"Dozens?" Chu Yaoxian was astonished.
He Jiaqing elaborated further, "Provided they undergo rigorous training and appropriate tactics are formulated. It is a highly intricate process."
Chu Yaoxian didn't understand much of that process, but she knew where the loyalty of these three-headed people lay. "I signed a covenant deed with Li the Seventh. These three-headed people still belong to him; they're only on loan to me."
He Jiaqing smiled. "The devotion of hearts cannot be decided by a mere sheet of paper. These three-headed people have suffered greatly. As long as we treat them with sincerity, they will never let us down."
A group of three-headed people prepared to clear the wasteland. The trial was about to begin.
He Jiaqing reminded Chu Yaoxian, "Control the pace of the reclamation appropriately. Try not to provoke the Inner States."
Chu Yaoxian was worried about this as well. "Half of my covenant deed remains with the Inner States. Sooner or later, they will come looking for me over this."
"I foresaw that long ago. The Inner States are currently dealing with a plague, making certain matters inconvenient to handle. In a while, I will find a way to retrieve your deed from the Inner States."
A tiger with deer antlers walked to the edge of the plot, preparing to begin the trial.
Its gait was bizarre—halting with every step, as though something was wrong with its joints, its body contracting and relaxing as if matching a peculiar rhythm.
Seeing this, Chu Yaoxian remarked, "What strange trick is that tiger trying to pull? It's an expert at administering trials; it probably wants to use an illusion to deceive people."
He Jiaqing observed it for a moment and said, "Make the tiger leave here."
Chu Yaoxian replied, "This is a trial, and it's an anomaly. If I stop it, it violates the rules."
"It has been struck by a technique!"
Even as they spoke, the tiger walked over to a rabbit.
The rabbit did not flee. Instead, like the tiger, it stepped in bizarre rhythm toward the plot of land.
"That's a Dance Cultivator technique!" Chu Yaoxian was shocked. Being a Dance Cultivator herself, she could spot faint traces of the art on the tiger and rabbit, yet she had never witnessed dance steps like these.
She could also use Singing and Dancing in Celebration of Peace, and she could compel those around her to dance.
However, a tiger affected by Singing and Dancing in Celebration of Peace that could then drive a rabbit to dance alongside it—such a technique was something she had never encountered before.
"Let me try to dispel it..." Before Chu Yaoxian could finish, He Jiaqing suddenly appeared behind the tiger. From over ten meters away, he flicked two nails forward.
One struck the tiger's body; the other struck the rabbit's.
Both the tiger and the rabbit were anomalies of the newland, possessing extraordinarily robust physiques; two nails were not enough to kill them. He Jiaqing's index and middle fingers twitched, forming a pincer-like gesture.
The two nails transformed into thick branches over a meter long. The branches impaled the tiger and rabbit, killing both instantly.
The three-headed people were stunned by the sight. They did not know He Jiaqing, nor did they understand what kind of method had struck the tiger and rabbit.
He Jiaqing walked deep into the forest. Beneath a willow tree, he encountered Du Wenming.
Du Wenming leaned against the willow, hands shoved into his trouser pockets. "Interested in doing business? I have a fine deal for you."
Chapter 628