——
On the way to the ancient tomb, Lu Ding glanced at the message Director Gao had sent on his phone.
He silently committed the name
Tang Hu from Wuzang Shengshe
to memory.
So you like running your mouth, huh?
We’ll meet soon enough.
The location was a small park, already cordoned off with security tape.
Lu Ding presented his credentials and was just about to step inside when Yan Feifan, a step behind him, caught sight of the same message on his phone.
“Lu-ge, Wuzang Shengshe is the weakest of the three factions, yet they’re the ones acting the cockiest. Should we teach them a lesson?”
Wuzang Shengshe—one of Bao Fan District’s Cultivator of Qi factions.
Its members were mostly
Spirit Practitioners
or rogue Maoshan Daoists who had come to Yunhai to make a living and ended up settling down together.
They usually dabbled in feng shui, exorcisms, ghost hunting, fortune-fixing—nothing too reputable.
They also sold minor artifacts, but none of it was anything impressive.
At the helm were three brothers—Tang Long, Tang Hu, and Tang Bao—nicknamed
Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard
.
All three were Spirit Practitioners.
The eldest,
Tang Long
, was possessed by the
Fallen Dragon Immortal
—an old mud eel spirit that had cultivated for who knows how many years, just shy of reaching true power.
The second brother,
Tang Hu
, had a fateful encounter with a
Mountain Tiger
. By sheer luck, he wasn’t eaten and instead managed to subdue the beast, making it his spirit guide.
The youngest,
Tang Bao
, had reportedly gotten lost in the mountains as a child and was raised for several years by a grieving mother leopard who had lost her cub. The leopard eventually attained sentience and enlightenment, and Tang Bao became its Vessel.
Ironically,
Tang Long and Tang Hu
had both become Spirit Practitioners while searching for
Tang Bao
.
That’s how the three brothers ended up together.
Later, they changed their names to
Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard
and moved to Yunhai.
“No rush,” Lu Ding replied. “Once we’re done here, I’ll personally pay him a visit and show him exactly who this ‘new boss’ is putting on a show for.”
He didn’t care how the other patrol officers handled things.
But since he was here, any so-called
dragon
had better coil up, and any
tiger
had better lay low.
He hadn’t provoked these people, yet they came looking for trouble first.
Fine.
They could all stay busy, then.
Crossing the security tape, they stepped inside.
The large park had been divided into two zones.
In the outer zone, a team of archaeologists carefully excavated the tomb using small brushes and trowels.
Further in, a different group stood guard.
Seeing unfamiliar faces approaching, one of them quickly stepped forward to block the way.
“Where’s your pass?!”
“No pass, no entry.”
Lu Ding pulled out his ID and held it up.
“This work?”
The man took it, flipped it open, and was immediately greeted by the bold, official seal of
National Security
.
His hands trembled slightly.
No matter how arrogant he might be,
National Security
was above his pay grade.
If he were a Cultivator of Qi, he’d be even more shaken—because seeing
749 Bureau
on an ID was as good as seeing the grim reaper.
In this era, the number
749
carried the same weight as the
Embroidered Uniform Guards
of old—execute first, report later, with imperial sanction.
Obstructing an official mission?
A bullet to the head would settle that.
The man hesitated. “Sir… this site is now under
Sihai Group’s
jurisdiction. Without a pass, it’s against regulations for me to let you in. If I let you through, I’ll be the one in trouble…”
Lu Ding reached behind his waist, pulled out his gun, and chambered a round.
“This—does
this
get me in?”
Staring down the black muzzle, the man didn’t dare resist any longer and nodded frantically.
“Yes, yes! You can go in—please, go right ahead!”
He was genuinely terrified that if he said another word, he’d end up with a bullet in his skull.
Obstructing a
National Security
officer wasn’t a joke.
Taking back his ID, Lu Ding tucked the gun back into his waistband and strode into the collapsed zone.
As soon as he was gone, the man whipped out his phone and sent a message.
[Brother Xuan, National Security is here. They even pulled a gun. We couldn’t stop them—they’re inside now. Should be at your location soon.]
——
Ye Xuan glanced at his phone.
Then at another incoming message—
the explosives and construction crew were about to move in
.
He clicked his tongue.
“What the hell is National Security doing here?”
——
Ye Xuan, male, nineteen. A Cultivator of Qi from
Daheshan
.
Back in its prime,
Daheshan
had been a notorious den of demons and bandits.
The empire had eventually crushed the bandits, restoring order, but supernatural creatures still lingered.
It was impossible to completely eradicate them.
The bandits, however, were gone.
Only the early defectors—former warlords who surrendered before the crackdown—remained.
They were Cultivators of Qi.
They didn’t oppose the state, but they also refused to be assimilated into it.
They simply lived in
Daheshan
, minding their own business, disconnected from the outside world.
Ye Xuan was one of their disciples.
But he was at the age where staying in
Daheshan
would lead nowhere.
So they sent him down the mountain to gain experience.
Coincidentally, the elders of
Daheshan
had old ties with
Sihai Group’s
four founders.
So they sent him to Yunhai to seek refuge.
He had barely settled in when he heard about a
land collapse
in the area.
Confident in his skills, Ye Xuan came to check it out.
And ran into a
White-Furred Hou
.
Though a monster, its teeth were rare and valuable materials.
So Ye Xuan dealt with it on the spot.
Then came the
ancient tomb dispute
.
Ming Jun and Bei Heguang had failed to take down the White-Furred Hou.
Ye Xuan succeeded.
By the unspoken rules, that meant the site was his.
Even in a two-on-one fight, Ming Jun and Bei Heguang couldn’t take him down.
They had no choice but to concede the territory.
Though they lost control of the site, they still had
access
—a sign of Ye Xuan’s goodwill toward
749 Bureau
.
After securing the excavation rights, Ye Xuan handed the site over to
Xie Shunan of Sihai Group
.
As for himself, he took up a post as the
security chief
.
At the same time, he kept searching for valuable relics.
Though he had found some, none were particularly impressive.
Until he discovered
the chamber Ming Jun had been investigating
.
Ye Xuan was convinced—
there was something valuable inside
.
Like Ming Jun, he had exhausted every method he could think of, but the chamber simply wouldn’t open.
With no other choice, he informed
Xie Shunan
.
After several days of unsuccessful attempts, they had finally decided—
today was the day to blast it open
.
Who could’ve guessed that just today,
749 Bureau
would suddenly switch patrol officers?
He had heard that the new patrol officer was some ruthless guy named Lu Ding.
Though just an Intern Investigator, he had managed to kill Yuan Baifeng, a Linghai Realm Cultivator of Qi, while only being at the Zhaoxuan Realm himself.
On top of that, he had recently gained the ominous title—Corpse-Shattering Taishui.
That was why Xie Shunan had invited Lu Ding to dinner.
Ye Xuan wasn’t happy about it.
As far as he was concerned, anything Lu Ding could do, he could do too.
They were about the same age.
The only difference was—Lu Ding came from the government, a 749 Bureau Intern Investigator.
While he, Ye Xuan, was a bandit.
A descendant of Daheshan’s outlaws.
If not for that background keeping him from joining 749, Ye Xuan was certain that they’d be fighting over him instead.
“Tch. Lu Ding just got lucky and got famous a little earlier. Let’s see if you still dare look down on me once my name spreads!”
Back when he was leaving the mountain, the elders in the village had already told him—
Get close to Xie Shunan.
If things worked out, it’d be best to turn it into a romance.
Sure, Sihai Group was powerful.
But Daheshan wasn’t to be underestimated either.
Worst case scenario, if things got tough, those old geezers who were half-buried in their graves would come out and back him up.
Besides, Ye Xuan genuinely liked Xie Shunan.
She was beautiful.
Had an amazing figure.
Capable.
Rich.
Smart.
Everything about her was top-tier.
What man wouldn’t be moved?
And Ye Xuan was no exception.