Mutated Tao

As soon as Li Huowang heard Tuoba Danqing’s words, he perked up. The whole reason he had even joined the Surveillance Bureau was to earn their trust and to find out more about Bei Feng. Since he was this close to getting the information that he needed, he was more than happy to play the part of a good subordinate. “Oh? Senior Tuoba? What is the mission this time?”

Li Huowang was handed a piece of paper. It recorded an incident that happened within one of the counties of the Liang Kingdom. As he read through the details of the bizarre case, Li Huowang frowned.

Is this… Related to the Sitting Oblivion Dao?

Just as this thought occurred to him, Hong Zhong stood up and spat at him. “Oi oi oi, who said that it's the Sitting Oblivion Dao behind it? Since when did it say that the Sitting Oblivion Dao was responsible for this incident? At this point, you might as well say that every single incident out there was caused by the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Heck, you might as well just say that the Sitting Oblivion Dao is the one responsible for the Natural Disasters that happen every ten years or so.”

Li Huowang ignored him and quickly finished reading through the letter. After he kept it away, he affirmed Tuoba Danqing, “Don’t worry. You can leave this to me. I have been prepared to do my best for the Surveillance Bureau ever since I decided to join you!”

Tuoba Danqing's eyes revealed a bizarre emotion upon seeing how Li Huowang agreed to the task so easily. “Junior Er, why did you agree to it so fast? Aren’t you afraid that I will take some of your lifespan pills?”

“Of course not. I trust you. Plus, the reward is nothing compared to being able to serve the Surveillance Bureau,” said Li Huowang.

Hearing Li Huowang’s righteous words, Tuoba Danqing grabbed his cup and smiled eerily at him.

Bam!

He slammed the cup onto the table and said, “To be frank, we don’t care who the emperor is. We, who joined the Surveillance Bureau are all the same: we want to be able to feed ourselves and our families, as well as find allies. Junior Er, I really do look at you as a true brother, but I fear that the reason you joined the Surveillance Bureau is different from ours.”

The relaxed atmosphere turned cold in an instant.

“Stay calm. You agreed too fast, and so he’s suspecting you.” Hong Zhong tried to help by explaining the situation.

The sudden turn in the situation caused the drunk Li Huowang to snap out of his stupor and calm down. He needed to give the correct answer or he might lose his chance at gaining further access to the Surveillance Bureau!

Various thoughts flashed past his mind until he remembered something.

The Liar’s Scripture!

“Why did I join the Surveillance Bureau?” Li Huowang’s breathing became faster and his eyes were suddenly filled with hate. “That’s because I want to kill all the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao!”

“They tricked me and the rest of us at the Cross Temple! They even killed everyone except for me. I hate them! I’ve heard that the Surveillance Bureau actively hunts down the Sitting Oblivion Dao, and that’s why I’ve joined! As long as they exist, I will never rest!” said Li Huowang as he smashed the wine cup in his palm.

His reasoning was fake, but his hatred was real.

When Tuoba Danqing saw how agitated Li Huowang was, he sighed. “Is that so? I’ve heard about what happened back in the kingdom of Si Qi, but to think that you were involved in it. Sorry, I’ve made you remember such an unfortunate incident. This is my fault, and so I will punish myself by drinking three more cups.”

Tuoba Danqing emptied his cup of wine in one go.

After drinking all three cups, the drunken Tuoba Danqing consoled Li Huowang, “Don’t worry. I will be sure to help you in your journey of revenge. Since you want to fight against them so much, then I will send any missions related to them toward you first.”

Li Huowang’s reasoning hadn’t just been decided randomly. It also included his objective of finding out more information on Bei Feng.

After getting Tuoba Danqing’s acknowledgement, Li Huowang leaned forward and said agitatedly, “Senior Tuoba, I’ve heard that there is confidential information about the Sitting Oblivion Dao within the Surveillance Bureau? Could I obtain it since I’m already a member of the Surveillance Bureau?”

Li Huowang needed that information. If he could obtain it today, then it would be the best possible scenario.

However, Tuoba Danqing sighed when he heard Li Huowang’s request. “Aiya, Junior Er, even though I know that you have a grudge against the Sitting Oblivion Dao, I still can’t give it to you. You can’t just gain access to the Heavenly grade information while you are merely a Tenth Pawn. Even if I were to help you, you would at least have to climb and become the Seventh Banner.”

“Does that mean that I can read it once I reach the Seventh Banner rank?” asked Li Huowang.

“Of course. The reason why they safeguard the information about the Sitting Oblivion Dao so seriously is because we were afraid that a bunch of lunatics would infiltrate us and change the information or burn it all down,” explained Tuoba Danqing.

Hearing this, Li Huowang nodded. With this, he had found his next goal: to reach the Seventh Banner rank and obtain the information about Sitting Oblivion Dao.

Having identified his new goal, Li Huowang asked once again, “May I ask how you can rise up the ranks within the Surveillance Bureau?”

Tuoba Dangqing picked up a tender piece of chicken and smiled as he ate it. “I knew that you were going to ask this. I know that you want revenge, but you can’t rush it. All changes in the ranks are individually approved by Lord Jixiang’s master, Lord Qin Tianjian. Usually, they would record how many missions you’ve done and once they think that you’ve contributed enough they would promote you to the next rank. But this doesn’t mean those at the highest ranks are particularly strong. Sometimes those who are strong, but don’t contribute all that much to the Surveillance Bureau would be confined to the Tenth Pawn ranking. Initially, most people see their ranking increase in a short amount of time, but each promotion would be slower than the last. You did a good job the last time around and if you continue to do so, then you should be able to reach the rank of Ninth Troop in half a year. Even though it’s only one rank, your position would be vastly different, and the benefits you would get from the Surveillance Bureau would improve a lot, and so you shouldn’t underestimate it! Many people even join the Surveillance Bureau solely for the rewards.”

“Half a year?” Li Huowang couldn’t afford to wait for half a year. Who knew how long he had to wait until he obtained the rank of Seventh Banner? “Senior Tuoba, half a year is too long. Are there any methods to speed up the process? I don’t mind even if the reward is little. I can’t even sleep in peace knowing that the Sitting Oblivion Dao has not been eradicated!”

“Hmm…” Tuoba Danqing thought about it. “Alright. I will make an exception just this once. I do have a problematic case. I should be the one going there, but if you can deal with it, then I will recommend you to Lord Jixiang. Then, you should be able to quickly rise to the rank of Ninth Troop.”

After saying that, Tuoba Danqing revealed a peculiar smile. “Once you return, I will show you someplace that will allow you to realize just how important status is.”

Seeing that his goals had been achieved, Li Huowang revealed a smile and toasted Tuoba Danqing. “Thank you, Senior Tuoba, for your help! I dedicate this toast to you!”

After that, they kept drinking and eating. Half an hour later, Tuoba Danqing drunkenly walked out of the room.

“Alright~ Remember to go to the place I told you about soon. Don’t waste any time. Also, the blind man is waiting at the City God Temple[1] in Yinling City. Go find him to return the mirror.”

1. A tutelary deity that was believed to protect cities. Also called God of the Moat and the Walls or God of the Boundary ☜

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