Dawn has not yet settled and the lanterns of the night were still strong against the semi-darkness. Sect leader Mao Wu was waiting by a pavilion inside his main courtyard. Currently, he was not coping quite well after hearing news of the insider this afternoon.

In his hand, he had been clutching hard at one of the bamboo scrolls among those laid atop the porcelain table. The wind was cold against his skin but the warmth of his teacup kept him calm beneath the storm that was blowing his way.

Within a few teacups, the sound of crunching footsteps arrived at the pavilion. Leading all the red-attired investigators was the infamous General Gu. He did not greet nor speak. He simply came for what he was due.

This bastard seemed to have lost all respect for his elder.

"The names are written here. I will give you three days to catch the culprit. It has taken far too long! How many more should the innocent be lost before you do your job right!?" His spit was flying and his eyes weren't any merciful. The fact that he was not in any way looked intimidating to that youngster aggravated him to an even higher level of spite.

"Innocent lives," Gu Changmin angled his chin slightly towards him with a squinting look of menacing eyes. "Elder Mao, you can really easily spill out the word 'innocent'. Is it for me to assume that you and your sect play no roles in this series of grudge killings? After all, blood can't be boiled without fire. Let's say the Midnight Magnolia is a delusional and unreasonable killer. What are the odds that his victims all landed on the people of the Nightstone sect on the very same day of every month? Can you somehow explain this phenomenon of bad luck of yours?"

Mao Wu nearly crushed the scroll that he had yet to give them. The audacity of this brat. "If you are too smart then, why have you not found dirt on me? I've been in this position half my life and you have the audacity to disrespect me! If it weren't for your father, how can an airhead like you get into this position?"

The investigators were silent. Not one of them had dared to speak prior, however suddenly, someone stepped in with her haughty and aggressive voice. "General has never used his connection to climb to his position! It is the opposite. If he was not power-hungry like someone, he would have already been the Chief in Command. He had brought down dozens of corrupted nobles in only a very few years. Such an accomplishment! Not many can achieve, especially, the Nightstone Sect!"

"Y-you!" Sect Leader Mao was truly at loss for words. "You're just a measly investigator! How dare you raise your voice at me! I'll have you return your badge in an instant!"

Captain Shao could not control his anger either although he was more mindful of his superior. "Su Lan, step back immediately before you are punished! Show some respect to your superior!"

The woman clearly did not want to oblige, but regret started to fill her eyes when she glanced at the General. He was not condemning her and nor was he saying anything either.

Has she really overstepped her boundary?

Elder Mao had the liberty to snort and chuckled humorlessly watching the scene. His ears were red, "Now that you have gathered here to bully me, I will have no choice but to let the headmaster of this continent knows of such audacity! Truly, this continent has no law!"

A strain of hair whisked past his nose and Gu Changmin snorted back. "Let him know of your measly complain?" His face was dangerously inching towards the crumbly and wrinkly face of the old man. "Fine then. When he calls for me, I shall rip apart all your dirty secrets and dark lies you have kept within this vicinity. I would just ignore your case for a bit over several months until Midnight Magnolia comes for you and rip apart your bones. I shall then carry your head and leave it in front of my father's door."

The whole courtyard inevitably fell into a dead silence. Mao Wu has not yet found a satisfying retort when the scroll in his hand was snatched away. General Gu tossed it to Shao Weimin before the group tailed after him out of the courtyard.

"I will interrogate these five, Yang Yue and Ming Yue myself. You can go ahead and divide equally among yourselves."

Caption Shao looked at him strangely but he did not object.

In the distance, Gu Changming caught sight of a familiar figure. He was heading to the dormitory when he spoke again, "I want you to also bring me all background records of surname Wan. Every last one of them."

In the room that held a wind chime unnaturally in an isolated corner, Wan Mingyue was enjoying his tea. Even though Gu Changming has brought him here, he did not have anything to say. And instead, he waited for the other to speak.

It was not ambiguous to say that there was less awkwardness in the air between the two of them. General Gu associated this phenomenon with his assumption that his level of tolerance has increased tenfold instead of admitting that Wan Mingyue was not as bad of a person as he initially thought.

"The ancestral rite is the end of this month." Wan Mingyue immediately got his attention. As frustrating as it was to not be shared his knowledge of Midnight Magnolia's identity, he had a feeling that he must truly wait.

"Is it what you spoke of earlier? That I must see for myself."

The other's face turned to him. His midnight blue eyes were clearer than usual. He was reminded of the time when Wan Mingyue stabbed his own arm. Dark like a black star, the same pair stared at him with such menaced and mystery that night. A chill was sent to his spine. "Not just see. You must experience."

"Tell me what to do."

Wan Mingyue shook his head, his face was calm water. "Not now at least. I'll see first whether you will have new information. If the Midnight Magnolia is really within our circle and disguised himself like what we are doing, it must come as a priority."

"You are saying that the ancestral rite is not directly leading us to him?"

"Gu Changming, Midnight Magnolia is not your sole enemy. In fact, he is just a part of the puzzle. You may find him through me, however, you will also get yourself into even bigger trouble."

"What kind of big trouble that you, who proclaimed yourself to be better than me, cannot get rid of?" He remembered their outburst at the restaurant just a month ago. He was so angry talking about justice and law. So when he spoke like this, Wan Mingyue only snorted.

"I never said I was better than you. But, you didn't deserve to call me names when you know less than me." He pushed away his tea, "You know not of the demons that run amok in your society. And, you know not of the root cause of what shaped our society today. You can't even find out what secrets lie in the Nightstone Sect."

"If you don't view me as a capable person, why is it that you are getting me into this trouble?"

A shuffling of feet passed by their door accompanied by several voices. The investigation team had been working all day. Thankfully, they had no suspicion about them at all.

When Gu Changming glanced back at him, Wan Mingyue was already looking at him or through him. "I do not know. Maybe because you are the only one I can find? Or maybe you are the only one that cares enough?... It matters not. My time is short."

Averting their glances away from each other, they fell into deeper silence. If it weren't for fulfilling his act of interrogation, General Gu would have left this awkward situation in an instant. However, in his heart laid a sense of satisfaction that he, himself, was not particularly fond to admit of.

"Who are you exactly, Wan Mingyue?"

The question sounded too late and ironic that the other person couldn't help but chuckled slightly. "Did you ever not think of asking me this question when we first met or is it that you have not found out yet from your secret background check?"

"Both."

"Liar."

"Why don't you answer me? Or is it that you can't?"

"...I will tell you this. I'm a nobody."

He gazed down at his long lashes and at his snow cheeks. Then he looked at the simple midnight blue rope that was attached to his lean body. Liar. "Are you ill?"

Wan Mingyue took a long time to answer him, "Everyone is ill in some way or another. We cannot escape."

"To the extent that they hurt themselves?"

"To the extent that they hurt themselves... how brilliant you are," he said sarcastically. "You must not have seen one like me, General Gu."

Gu Changming felt wrong to keep prying so he decided to shut up. Even if he tried, a person like Wan Mingyue would never expose himself so easily like this. There was indeed something wrong in that head of his but he would eventually find out somehow. Or so he believed.

"Is the interrogation over, General? May I leave?"

The door shut quietly but he knew the person who left must be quite livid.

-

Six days later, they finished extracting information from the 182 new disciples. To ensure that they weren't lying, every one of them was ordered to hold the legendary truth-enchanted crystal straight out of the continental storage room.

How General Gu was able to obtain this piece of rare item from the higher up was not much of a mystery.

"How is that possible?" Yang Zhou was slamming his table. The piece of red crystal was sitting next to the report General Gu has just handed it. "Is this shit broken?" He glared at the object before turning back to his cousin. "Are you sure you have interrogated everyone? Even the sect leader?"

"I have." Except for Wan Mingyue.

"Then what is this? Nobody has come near the victim?"

"This can also be done by an outsider. He must have been skillful enough to evade our scouting."

Yang Zhuo sighed miserably into the air. A headache was beginning to form in his head. "At this rate, your father will pull you away from this case. We need something before he can take action. He really worries that harm can come to you. What a joke." He clicked his tongue darting his eyes at the resolute face of Gu Changming. "I should be the one being pulled away. This goddamn case is pulling at my string."

"Do not worry. I will find him within the next five months."

"What?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Persuade my father to hand you over his badge."

"What??"

-