The matter of interrogating Fang Zhelan was quickly set aside to deal with the sudden emergency.  While the business of dealing with ghost practitioners was not without danger, in practice serious injury and death in the line of duty were exceedingly rare.  Due to the importance of a Mortal Agent's role, the Impermanents assigned to the division that worked with them were generally among the most skilled. This was to keep the agents as safe as possible.  For one of those Impermanents to be killed, the situation was dire indeed.

Upon receiving the message, Ma Qianle, Ruan Ye, and Wei Yaling took their leave of King Zhuanlun, who followed the first messenger back to the Department of Artifacts.  The three rushed across the palace from the Tenth Court to the Hall of Impermanents, where a group was preparing to set out to the mortal realm.

It was an eclectic group.  Compared to the rest of the officials of the hells, the Impermanents were like geese among hens.  Unlike the rest of the court, they were allowed some leeway in their dress even while on duty.  While the cut of their clothing was for the most part similar from one to another, the colors varied from the most austere black and white to Wei Yaling's bright colors.  The weaponry on display was even more eccentric. Some had fairly mundane swords or bows, but others had more exotic, bizarre weapons Ma Qianle had never even thought to imagine existed.  There was some chatter between the Impermanents, but most of their attention was focused on their preparations.

Ma Qianle followed Wei Yaling to the front of the room while Ruan Ye hung back near the doorway, staying out of everyone else's way.  The Impermanents all had dimensional pouches in which they kept standard supplies like soul jars and basic healing pills, but situations such as this one where one of their number had already died were anything but standard.  The quartermaster and his assistants were rushing right and left, fetching powerful warding and support artifacts and advanced pills and talismans and issuing them to the various Impermanents.

A tall but otherwise nondescript man entered the room not far behind the trio. Ma Qianle recognized him as the one who had arrived to reprimand Wei Yaling after his fight with the shuigui.  He had later learned that his name was Luo Lingxin, and he was in charge of the division of Impermanents that worked with the Mortal Agents.  Seeing Wei Yaling, he made his way through the bustle and approached them.

"Hey boss, what's the situation?" Wei Yaling asked when Luo Lingxin got close enough that she didn't have to shout across the room.

"It's not good," he said with a frown.  "We got a message from Deng Xiuwen a few hours ago stating she had come across evidence of a ghost practitioner in a village about 150 li from Dongqiu City.  We sent Impermanent Yu as backup, but didn't hear anything from them after that."  His frown deepened. "Until about an hour ago.  We received an emergency signal from Agent Deng's tablet and shortly after, Impermanent Yu's soul lantern went out.  When the scouting team we sent arrived, Agent Deng was being taken to a mundane hospital for treatment and there was no sign of Impermanent Yu."

Ma Qianle was confused.  He'd always been told that if he was needed then the Liaison Office would call him, and he didn't understand how a mortal could have come across evidence of a ghost practitioner that the hells didn't detect.  

"May I ask a question?" he asked and, after receiving Luo Lingxin's approval, continued.  "Pardon my ignorance, but why didn't the Hall of Impermanents detect whatever the ghost practitioner did before this Deng Xiuwen did? My training didn't indicate that was possible."  

"That's a valid question," Luo Lingxin said.  "You're correct that usually we're the first to know when something happens.  That said, if a ghost practitioner only makes use of very weak ghosts that were already present in the mortal realm, sometimes a Mortal Agent or even someone unaffiliated with the hells will come across it first.  We thought it was like this." 

Ma Qianle filed this away in the back of his mind for later.  It was useful to know that it was possible to come across such things without having been warned first.

Luo Lingxin looked around the room and raised his voice.  "Attention everyone!" When he saw that all eyes were on him, he continued.  "You may have noticed that the equipment you're getting is nonstandard even for incidents when one of our number is killed.  This is because it has been discovered that the Zudang Jades are missing.  Agent Ma and Impermanent Wei recovered one from a ghost practitioner in Dongqiu City this morning.  I believe the one who did this has another."

A mixture of swearing and exclamations rang out from the assembled Impermanents.  The Zudang Jades had been safely sealed away deep in the most secure part of the Department of Artifacts for centuries.  Nobody aside from a few trusted officials was able to get anywhere near where they were kept.  The implications behind the fact they had disappeared were not lost on anyone.

"This is a very dangerous situation," Luo Lingxin said.  "We do not know who has taken the jades or what their goal is.  You will all have to take the utmost care when out on duty.  For now, I am sending the first and second squads under the command of Wei Yaling to find this ghost practitioner."

Wei Yaling and the two dozen other Impermanents in the room saluted, fist in hand, and said, "Yes sir!"

Luo Lingxin turned his eyes to Ma Qianle.  "We of the hells are unable to affect anything under the power of the Zudang Jades.  Deng Xiuwen is too injured to assist us.  Will you act as her substitute?"

Ma Qianle frowned.  Much as he hated to admit it, the pill Ruan Ye left him was a great help, and he had gotten a few hours of sleep, but he was still exhausted.  Furthermore, the area surrounding Dongqiu City wasn't his responsibility.  He hadn't wanted to be saddled with this duty in the first place, and he certainly didn't want to do more than he was required to do.

On the other hand, Deng Xiuwen was, figuratively speaking, his neighbor.  If the net was left open on one side by her absence, anything on her territory could escape into his.  If he stepped in for her now, however, she would owe him a favor.  Depending on how bad the situation actually was, that could end up being a very big favor.  It definitely wouldn't hurt to have his neighbors in his debt if this whole thing with the missing jades blew up.

He thought for a few moments, weighing his options.  Finally, he made his decision.  "I'll do it, but can you issue me some gear too?" he said.  He'd been wanting to get his hands on one of those dimensional pouches since he first saw Wei Yaling pulling improbable things out of hers, but he hadn't found a reason that justified asking for one before now.  "I'm new to this position, and there's a limit to what I can do with my own strength."

Luo Lingxin let out a brief laugh that was more an abrupt exhalation than anything else.  He didn't quite smile, but he looked a bit less grave for a moment.  "Already taken care of," he said with a nod to the quartermaster.  The quartermaster tossed a pouch to Ma Qianle.  "There's a jade slip inside listing the contents and how to use the more esoteric items."

From the back of the room, Ruan Ye spoke up.  "I will come as well,"  he said.  "The ghost practitioner this morning was a demon.  What will you do if this one is as well?  Even if they are not, it will do no harm to have another who will not be affected by the Jades along."

Ma Qianle made a sour face, but he couldn't argue with Ruan Ye's logic so he held his tongue.  It had been a very long day and his seeming inability to get away from Ruan Ye was just another drop in the bucket of frustration.  He hoped this wasn't going to end up being a permanent arrangement.

Luo Lingxin let out a deep breath and was visibly relieved.  "Thank you both.  There is no time to waste.  It will be best if you all set out immediately. Dismissed!"

There was another chorus of "yes sir" and Luo Lingxin left the room.  Wei Yaling and Ma Qianle returned to the doorway.

Wei Yaling addressed Ruan Ye and Ma Qianle.  "You two should head back first while I take these guys on ahead.  The kid needs to retrieve his body."

Ruan Ye nodded.  "You can count on me."

Ma Qianle grumbled. "Just give me the location, I've got a scooter so I can get there myself."

"It will take at least two hours to get there if you take a scooter," Ruan Ye said patiently.  "That is time I fear we do not have.  The method that the Impermanents use to travel quickly across long distances is unsuitable for mortals, even ones with high yin resistance like you.  I can get you there much more quickly than you can yourself."

Ma Qianle's sour mood intensified, but once again he couldn't argue with the other man's logic.  Dissatisfied, he mumbled out a "Fine."

"We'll see you there then," Wei Yaling said.  "Squads one and two, with me!"  She began issuing orders to her subordinates, putting Ma Qianle and Ruan Ye out of her mind for the moment.

Ruan Ye looked at Ma Qianle.  "Let us be on our way."

Ma Qianle ignored him, but he closed his eyes and felt for the thread connecting his soul to his body.  He followed it and, after a disorienting moment, opened his eyes to the living room of his apartment.  Though several hours had passed in the hells, less time had passed here.  The flow of time was different between the two realms, and the hells had no day or night to count the days by.  He reached to a thermos sitting beside him on the floor that he had prepared ahead of time, and took a deep swallow.  It contained a tonic that would help bind his soul back to his body.  The tonic was bitter and unpleasant, but necessary.

Ruan Ye appeared in the exact same spot on the couch he had been in before their excursion.  He stood and reached out a hand to help Ma Qianle up.  Ma Qianle ignored him, and levered himself up from the ground with the assistance of his coffee table.  Without a word, he went to the bedroom to change back into the enchanted clothing he'd worn that morning, and then came back out.

"Ready," he grunted in an annoyed monotone.

Ruan Ye smiled kindly at Ma Qianle and reached out his hand again.  "Shall we go?" he asked.

Ma Qianle scowled. 'Who said this asshole is allowed to have a smile like that?  I need to get rid of this guy!'  he thought.  Reluctantly, he put his hand in Ruan Ye's, and hated that he had to do it.

flying_paper_crane

Apologies for the late post! There has been a lot of life happening over the past month, and it finally caught up with me enough that I had to delay a chapter.

Thanks to valiantxvillainous and ML Peregrine for editing and beta reading help.