The Wing family! They were the ones behind the kidnappings of people with colored eyes!

When Sa Min revealed this to the officers, it threw the whole building into chaos. Everyone was either shouting orders or rushing around. They quickly got on the line with headquarters in the city’s central zone. And it didn’t take long before orders came down: “Bring Sa Min here. Now.”

Sa Min was immediately whisked onto a flying Ka called Lotus Platform and sent soaring toward headquarters.

Sitting at the back of the Lotus Platform, Sa Min's hair fluttered in the night breeze as he looked down at the city below with an indifferent expression. However, inside, he couldn’t shake the small knot of worry in his chest.

I need to be prepared for the worst, he reminded himself.

He let out a quiet sigh as the Ka glided effortlessly through the cold night.

In no time, he was in the headquarters, located in an area filled with various administrative and governmental buildings.

The building didn’t look much different from the bureau’s branch in the cursed area—just much larger and more imposing.

….

In the brightly lit Director Office on the fourth floor, a white-haired old man in a white robe sat hunched over his desk, rereading Sa Min’s account for what must have been the tenth time.

He was scowling. He never looked happy, but at this moment he appeared grimmer than ever.

“This is bad timing,” he muttered, feeling a deep unease.

This man was Director Dong, one of the city’s six strongest cultivators, with his cultivation at the late-transformation True Master stage—just one step away from advancing to the Gold Ancestor stage.

For the forty-five years he had led the city’s Investigation and Justice Bureau (IJB), no case had troubled him as deeply as this one involving the colored-eyed people.

With the City Lord constantly on his head, pressing him for progress in finding the culprits, and lately even threatening to strip him of his title, he should have felt relieved—maybe even excited—to finally have a lead on who was behind the abductions.

But…he was feeling quite the opposite. Setting down the paper, he looked up at the two men standing in front of his desk.

His two Commanders, ranked just below him in the IJB, stood in silence, awaiting his orders.

Unlike him, they wore their dark blue uniforms—sharp, spotless, and crafted from fine fabric with unique details that set them apart from regular officers.

One of them, Lin Dai, looked almost ghost-like. He was tall and thin, with long, loose black hair tinged red that half-covered his pale, nearly bloodless face.

His own men called him Corpse Dai behind his back, and it wasn’t hard to see why.

Beside him stood Tian Kang, a somber-looking forty-year-old man.

Both commanders were at the 2nd-transformation True Master stage.

“Did you look into the brothel he mentioned?” Director Dong asked them.

“Yes, Director,” replied Commander Lin Dai, his voice low and slippery, like a snake’s hiss. “A brawl has indeed happened there, just like he said. We found a few bodies left behind. One looked like a Wing family subordinate; the others were Holy Rats Gang members.”

Director Dong’s face went dark. "The Holy Rats Gang?" he repeated, bombshell-shocked.

He knew this gang well; he had done a lot of covert dealings with their leader, the Ratking, letting him do as he pleased in that cursed area for a big amount of force apples.

"What’s the Holy Rats Gang got to do with the Wing family?"

"Sa Min should be here by now. Should I question him for more details?" Commander Tian Kang suggested, his nervousness clear on his face. But maybe it was just the weight of the situation.

Director Dong shook his head. “Not yet. We’ll deal with the Wing family first.”

"It might be wiser to do it now, before the Sa Clan shows up and complicates things," Commander Tian Kang argued. "My informant in the Wing family hasn’t raised any alarms, so... we still have time—"

“Exactly why we need to act now. The moment Wing Xieren finds out we're onto him, he'll disappear,” Director Dong snapped, his frustration boiling over. “And why in the heavens would the Sa Clan prevent this kid, Sa Min, from helping with the case? Wouldn’t that be betrayal?”

“I meant using... nontraditional methods, but you’re right, Director. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Director Dong knew he meant using Investigation-Yantra illegally on Sa Min to extract information. But why? The kid didn’t seem suspicious to him. And besides… he turned to Commander Lin Dai. “Isn’t he your nephew or something?”

“My sister’s son, yes,” answered Commander Lin Dai lifelessly. “But I… don’t… I don’t think we’ve ever met, Director.”

Director Dong let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples. After a moment of thought, he pushed himself up from the chair and walked over to the window.

"I thought we’d have more time..." he said quietly, staring out into the night.

Why wasn’t he happy about the sudden developments in the case, especially with the City Lord breathing down his neck?

Because they simply…had already known about the Wing family for a week now.

They had been aware that they were kidnapping people with colored eyes.

The reason they hadn’t moved against them all this time was because there was likely more to this than it appeared.

Seventy years ago, there had been similar kidnappings of people with colored eyes. It seemed like a strange coincidence, but Director Dong couldn’t be sure if the two cases were connected.

That’s why, instead of storming the Wing family’s house right away, he’d decided to monitor them. He kept a close watch on Patriarch Wing Xieren and the family’s strongest members, trying to figure out where they were hiding the kidnapped people and what they were doing to them.

They had even managed to turn one of their own subordinates into an informant, feeding them information from the inside.

Whatever the Wing family’s motive, Director Dong was determined to uncover it. He had to—if only to prevent more incidents like this and finally close this damn case for good.

So far, though, they had learned nothing. And now, with this new twist, they couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

That was what really got under his skin.

Look on the bright side... at least I’ll have good news for the City Lord, he thought bitterly before turning to face his commanders.

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“Summon five teams immediately,” he finally ordered. “Get them ready for the raid. Let’s hope this overwhelming force will discourage them from escaping. Forcing them to surrender is our best chance at uncovering the truth behind all of this.”

Commander Tian Kang gave a sharp nod and rushed out of the hall.

Commander Lin Dai followed close behind, his eyes glinting eerily from beneath his hair.

…..

Night still hung heavy over Tetra Blessing City when three True Master cultivators appeared, gliding quietly through the sky on their flying swords, just above the rooftops. Behind them, five flying boats followed in a tight formation.

Each boat had a Senior Officer steering it, with a team of five officers on board.

Senior Officers held a high rank within the IJB, leading their own teams and typically having reached the 5th or 6th transformation of the Beyond Immortal stage.

Their faces were grim now as Commander Tian Kang’s voice echoed in their minds through a voice-transmitting Yantra, laying out the plan to surround the Wing family’s residence.

As they neared the residence, Director Dong activated his Eagle’s Eye Yantra, amplifying his vision threefold to scan the residence. The scene ahead came into focus, and as his gaze swept across it, his eyes went wide, and his face hardened.

“Damn it. Something’s wrong,” he shouted, shooting forward at once.

The two commanders exchanged a quick glance before following him, leaving the slower boats behind.

A little while later, the three of them landed in the Wing family's courtyard, looking grossed out and confused.

The courtyard was deathly still, and scattered across the ground were about twenty corpses. Their skin had turned black, with green mold growing up their limbs. A nasty green fog was coming off them, stinking like rotten decay. It was really a sickening and horrifying sight.

“What in heaven’s name happened here?” Commander Tian Kang muttered, pinching his nose. He cast a furtive glance at Director Dong, who was carefully stepping around the bodies.

Someone got here first, or maybe this is…. Wing Xieren's doing, Director Dong thought, grimly noting the Wing family's symbol on the rotting corpses' robes.

They would need to investigate further to know for sure.

This is a disaster…

After three years of grueling work, they had finally uncovered the identity of the culprits—and now…

Director Dong felt so beaten down, he didn’t even have the energy to be angry. He could already hear the fat City Lord’s furious ranting in his head.

He sighed hopelessly and walked into the main hall, hoping he might find some answers there.

….

Meanwhile, on a shadowy foothill miles from the city, a figure in a plain black mask stopped, catching his breath as he watched an old man running down through the trees ahead.

If you looked closely at the fleeing old man, you’d recognize him as Wing Xieren, the Patriarch of the Wing family. He appeared in a pitiful state, with patches of green mold covering his skin.

The masked man shook his head and pulled a cigarette from his robe.

“With the little pure force I have left, I don’t think I can catch up to him,” he muttered to himself, lighting the cigarette with a spark from his fingertips. “It’s alright. The poison will finish him.”

He leaned against a tree and smoked, watching as the old man vanished into the darkness.

Hopefully, he hasn’t left any clues about the Key back in his residence...

When he finished his cigarette, he tossed it to the ground, crushed it underfoot, and headed back toward the city.

…..

Back at IJB’s headquarters.

Inside the small medical room on the first floor, Sa Min suddenly woke up to the sounds of footsteps and laughter.

How did the raid go? was the first thing that crossed his mind as he sat up on the bed and peeked out the door, noticing a few officers passing by.

The room was empty and still dark. Outside the window, the sun was beginning to brighten.

He rubbed his left eye and took a deep breath, trying to push away his worries. Honestly, he wasn’t that anxious—if he were, he wouldn’t had slept as peacefully as he had.

After they had brought him here and treated the light bruises on his back, he had been left alone in this room.

Never one to just sit around worrying, he had spent some time cultivating, working on opening his third meridian. After that, he used the rest of the time to get some sleep and give his mind a break after such a long, unexpected night.

If he didn’t have to pretend to be grieving for a friend, he would’ve used this time to grab the Black Force Olive, open his Essence Gate, and head straight to the academy to claim that Spherical Coin. It would be a huge help to his cultivation.

But he knew he had to wait until he got back to his dorm in the inner circle, until this Wing family situation was resolved.

As for people who might be suspicious about where he got the Force Olive, he wasn’t concerned in the least; he already had a story ready. He’d say he inherited it from his late friend, “gifted in his final moments.”

As shameless a lie as it sounded, what could they really do about it?

In fact, he was already planning to take the bike still locked to a tree in the cursed area on his way up the mountain. Without any movement-type Yantra, having that bike would make getting around the city a lot easier.

Let me see how it all went down first, he thought to himself.

Just as he was about to check out the noise, four figures suddenly walked in.

It was Sa Huiqing, his wife Lin Qiao, Sa Juan, and the odd-looking Commander, Lin Dai.

Sa Min's cold expression quickly shifted to deep sadness, a smooth transition for them to catch. Rising to his feet, he pressed his fists together in respect.

“Father, Mother, Uncle,” he murmured, his voice thick with desperation as a tear began to well up in his eye.

Sa Huiqing stepped up and draped a gentle arm around his shoulder. "Son…are you okay? We just heard what happened and..."

Sa Min blinked, forcing the tear to slide down his cheek.

“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Sa Huiqing said, gently pulling Sa Min into a comforting hug.

To an outsider, this might have looked like an emotional moment, but inside, Sa Min couldn’t help but sneer. It was clear why Sa Huiqing was being so nice; it definitely wasn’t out of sympathy.

It had been five days since he’d asked for Sa Min. Even though he tried to play it off like he just wanted to offer him the Force Apple to help with his cultivation, they both knew it was really about that Pointed Jade Box Ka. Since Sa Min hadn’t shown up, he’d decided to come himself instead.

Now that he saw me like this, he’s probably thinking he can take advantage of me, Sa Min thought coldly.

With his experience in acting and manipulating people, he had him figured out easily.

Oddly enough, besides his obsession with the Pointed Jade Box Ka, Sa Huiqing might actually be worried about Sa Min’s well-being…

Must be that Five Colored Leaf Yantra the immortal warned him about, Sa Min thought with a sneer. He’s scared that if I die, the Square Paper Ka will burn, and they’ll come after him.

It was good to see that Sa Huiqing’s fear was still alive, even after all this time.

At the very least, it’d keep him from trying anything foolish.

As Sa Min rested his head on Sa Huiqing’s shoulder, pretending to cry, he glanced at the other three in front of him.

Lin Qiao looked annoyed, as usual. She always made sure he knew how much she despised him with that scowl. When she caught him looking, she forced a clearly fake loving smile.

Sa Juan, on the other hand, appeared genuinely concerned for him. Her wide eyes filled with pity.

I wonder how far she’s come in opening her essence core, Sa Min thought as he quickly shifted his gaze to Commander Lin Dai. This extremely pale man was Lin Qiao’s older brother, and he was now staring at him, his eyes sharp like a snake lurking beneath his long, dark red hair.

Technically, he was Sa Min’s “uncle,” but they had never met before. All Sa Min knew about him came from the rumors floating around. His strange looks had definitely fueled plenty of those.

The most interesting rumor was that his Borned Ka belonged to the Blood Smallway—the most infamous and despised Smallway in the world due to its demonic effects and requirements.

It was actually forbidden to cultivate it anywhere except in the Sunless Plant, where that race lived.

Another rumor suggested he had become a demonic cultivator during his time away from the city.

Sa Min wasn’t sure what to make of these rumors, especially since he was a commander in the IJB. However, now that he was looking at him up close, Sa Min sensed something was off about him—something that didn’t feel quite human.

The way he stared at Sa Min…it was as if he knew something about him.

Feeling his worries creep back, Sa Min pulled away from Sa Huiqing’s embrace, wiping his tears and sniffles on his sleeve. “What…what happened to the Wing family villains?” he asked, sounding angry as he glanced around at them.