As yet another defeated challenger emptied out their storage treasure at He Yu’s feet, he couldn’t help but think this was getting more than a bit ridiculous. At this point, he’d lost track of how many people had challenged him over the past weeks. He’d won them all.

He Yu scooped the pile of spirit stones and medicines into his new, larger storage treasure. He very pointedly ignored Chen Fei’s scowl.

“Couldn’t you leave him with at least a little?” she asked.

“I tried that at first,” he said. “It just made things worse. I’m hoping now that if I take everything, they’ll leave me alone.”

“A wiser course of action, in my view,” Tan Xiaoling said. She’d been lounging against a tree for the very short duel, observing with that half-smirk of hers. The fact that He Yu was constantly being subjected to duels was something she found endlessly amusing. Once she’d gotten wind of his troubles, she’d begun seeking him out when he was in the inner sect common areas.

The fact that usually meant Chen Fei came along wasn’t something he was going to complain about. At first, she’d been worried that he was turning into some sort of a bully, having heard that he’d been dueling multiple times every day. Once he explained what had been happening, she’d eased up on him.

He Yu glanced around, checking to make sure there weren’t any other challengers lining up to inconvenience him, and caught sight of one of Yan Shirong’s constructs. The puppet—a wooden figurine fashioned in the likeness of a bird, bound together and animated with shadows—flitted through the trees towards him. The construct alighted on his shoulder, and Yan Shirong’s voice whispered in his ear.

He relayed the message to the others. “Li Heng has received word from his family archivist.”

He’d since told everything he knew about the Sunset Empress and the Court to both Chen Fei and Tan Xiaoling. Of the two of them, Tan Xiaoling was by far the more interested. As the heir presumptive to the Jade Kingdom, any such threats were something she claimed she needed to stay informed of. He Yu thought there might be more to it than that.

She’d made good on her promise to repay the insult she’d suffered at Xiao Jun’s hands, true. The revelation that he’d had a backer caused the Jade Princess’s eyes to light up in anticipation when He Yu had told her about it. The promise of ever stronger foes, especially ones who could easily fund the advancement of three disciples, had whetted her appetite for battle.

“Shall we be on our way, then?” Tan Xiaoling asked.

He Yu was more than happy to have her along.

The three of them soon arrived at Li Heng’s home. Yan Shirong was already there, and the four of them settled in to the main room while Li Heng prepared tea. Soon enough, the social niceties had finished, and they got down to business.

“So, what news?” He Yu asked.

“Good and bad, both,” Li Heng said. “The response from my family archivist was not encouraging. He wrote that such records should not be sought, and refused to elaborate whether or not my family had any. In fact, he implored me to forget everything I knew about both the Sunset Empress and the Dawn Palace.”

He Yu frowned. That suggested that the Li family’s archivist had at least some knowledge of the matter. “Did he say anything about the court?” he asked.

“I didn’t ask,” Li Heng said. “I thought it best to leave out what we knew of them, given what Senior Sister Zhang has said.”

“Okay, so what’s the good news then?” He Yu asked. He wasn’t sure if he agreed with Li Heng’s omission of Court from his request, but there was little he could do about that now.

“My own investigation into the matter has yielded results,” Yan Shirong said.

He Yu leaned forward and indicated that Yan Shirong should share what he’d found. While he didn’t know how extensive a library Li Heng’s family kept, he had learned somewhat of the Ministry of Information during his time at the sect. The Ministry was both an organization for the public good, spreading knowledge to the citizens of the Dragon Empire, and what was basically the empire’s secret police.

The Ministry’s more public role was simply to provide information. If anyone needed clarification on the particulars of a law, bureaucratic procedure, or simply the name of a certain official, the Ministry of Information provided it. Anything that was a matter of public record, no matter how obscure or trivial, was tracked by the Ministry and could be requested by any citizen of the Dragon Empire.

Additionally, the Ministry of Information was the chief means by which new laws or imperial proclamations were disseminated throughout the sprawling territory of the empire. In times of war, the Ministry would call the levy, and rally the sects and noble clans to the empire’s defense. It served a critical function in making sure the lines of communication across the Dragon Empire remained open.

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Less public was the Ministry’s role as the Dragon Emperor’s eyes and ears across the land. The Ministry gathered information as well as spread it. They monitored any potential threats, both within and without, and ensured all the relevant loyal officials and noble clans stayed well informed. He Yu had hoped that this aspect of the Ministry would mean that Yan Shirong’s request would provide something useful for them.

He was not disappointed.

“I did have to engage in a bit of back-and-forth with my father about this,” Yan Shirong admitted. “He was chiefly concerned about how I came to know of the Sunset Court in the first place and refused to tell me anything until I had answered him to his satisfaction.”

Tan Xiaoling frowned when she heard that. “Not to impugn upon the honorable Count Yan’s service to the empire, but was that wise?”

“I can assure you that any communication between my father and myself will remain so,” Yan Shirong said with only a slightly offended sniff.

That seemed to satisfy Tan Xiaoling, who said nothing further on the matter.

When nobody else raised any concerns, Yan Shirong continued. “The Ministry of Information is indeed aware of the Court, but the Shrouded Peaks Sect is the primary organization tasked with monitoring the Court’s activities, not the Ministry.”

He would have thought that an organization such as the Ministry of Information would be far better suited to such a task, given its reach alone. Never mind the fact that all the highly placed cultivators within the Ministry would have arts suited to intelligence gathering, similar to those of the Yan family.

“Did he say why?” He Yu asked.

“He did not,” Yan Shirong admitted. “I asked, mind you. He told me that should I truly wish to know, I would be best served by increasing my rank and standing within the sect itself. Several other times during our correspondence he seemed to imply that core disciples of the sect know far more of these matters than anyone other than the sect elders. Even the most highly placed members of the Ministry.”

“That’s odd,” Li Heng said. “Maybe I’m mistaken here, but my family works closely with the Ministry. Most of our archives come from requests put in with them. While my father is the one responsible for holding the Western Passage, we rely on the Ministry’s support to send us scouts and dispatches. Given how closely we work with the Ministry, I can’t imagine why a task so firmly within their expertise would be left almost entirely to a single sect in one of the furthest corners of the empire.”

“Is it really so odd?” He Yu asked, looking to Yan Shirong for confirmation. He wasn’t nearly as informed on the inner workings of the empire as either of them, so he had no way of knowing for sure.

Yan Shirong nodded. “The sects are all given certain areas of responsibility beyond simply administering the lands they control. However, with the exception of the Shrouded Peaks Sect, they all work closely with the Ministry of Information. The Shrouded Peaks Sect is notoriously secretive and reclusive in that regard.”

“Well, that’s something, I suppose,” He Yu muttered, staring down into his now-empty teacup. It seemed for all the world that they’d reached another dead end.

“I did receive one more piece of advice,” Yan Shirong said. “The mountains to the west, contain a number of valleys my father suggested I visit and perform some form of divination in should I wish to learn more. The only problem is, they all lay beyond the areas normally permitted even to inner disciples.”

“So that’s not any help,” He Yu said.

“On the contrary,” Li Heng said. “Occasionally the sect does issue jobs for inner sect disciples that send them to the western edge of sect territory. The mountains are dangerous, however. Third and Fourth Realm spirits and awakened beasts are common. The further west one goes, the more powerful spirits and beasts become. It would be advisable that should we try to access these lands, we all go. The more of us are present, the lesser the risk.”

Chen Fei, who had been quiet up until that point, spoke up. “My village has stories of the mountains far to the southwest. They’re said to be haunted, populated by evil spirits that can possess travelers and rob them of their minds. People who get lost in the region become little more than puppets to some greater power.”

“That almost sounds like what happened to King Hao,” He Yu said.

An unsettled quiet fell over the group as they each lost themselves in thought.

Yan Shirong was the one to break the silence. “Well. We have a lead,” he said.

He Yu looked around the table. Everyone else looked back at him. His first instinct was to question it, but then again, who else would they look to?

The whole question had come from his art, the Cloud Emperor’s Heavenly Palace. It was his research into the art that had revealed the existence of the Dawn Palace in the first place. Sha Xiang, who had come to the sect along with him, had been the one to bring all of them to the attention of Xiao Jun, a supposed agent of the Sunset Court. It had been He Yu’s mentor who had sent him—along with Li Heng and Yan Shirong—into the wilds to hunt King Hao. He Yu was convinced at this point that King Hao had some connection to the Sunset Empress and the Court.

All things considered, if it weren’t for him, none of his friends would even know the first thing about—whatever this was.

“I’m going to go,” he announced. “I’ll find a job, and I’ll take it. I won’t ask anyone else to put themselves in danger for this, but you’re all welcome to come.”

Li Heng arched an eyebrow. “You’re an idiot if you think I’m letting you do this alone,” he said.

Before anyone else could speak, Chen Fei spoke up. “You’ll need someone skilled at formations.” There was a near-imperceptible quaver to her words, but her expression was firm.

He Yu felt the tension drain from his posture. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, but he’d been deathly afraid that if he’d gone alone, he would never come back.

“I’m never one to pass up the opportunity for a good fight,” Tan Xiaoling said, then she shot He Yu her half-smirk. “Besides, if I let you leave the sect without me again, you might be able to beat me next we exchange pointers. Can’t let that happen. I’m in.”

Yan Shirong sighed. “You’ll need someone who can perform the divination. I’ll expect at least an equal share of whatever we find while we’re out there.”

“Right,” he said. “Now the only thing we need to do is find an appropriate job.”