Interrogation

“Mm~”

Just as Su Xuan was feeling quite pleased with himself, Su Xuan’er’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

He focused his consciousness and saw Su Xuan’er sitting up, looking at him with a blank stare.

Su Xuan wondered, ‘Did she wake up confused?’

“Hey?”

“Moshi moshi?”

“Hello~?”

In a good mood, Su Xuan greeted her casually.

But Su Xuan’er just continued to stare at him in a daze, not responding at all.

Her strange behavior instantly made Su Xuan anxious.

He immediately moved closer to her.

‘Could something be wrong with that black energy stone?’

Su Xuan was uneasy.

After all, it was a product of the Black Fiend civilization.

He had never heard of anyone being able to consume a black energy stone before.

He was the first to take the risk.

If something went wrong, there was no precedent to help him figure it out.

“Pfft…”

Just as Su Xuan was about to examine Su Xuan’er more closely, she suddenly burst into a laugh, startling and delighting him.

“Hey, if you were awake, you should’ve just said so. Why scare me like that?”

Su Xuan clutched his chest.

Though he didn’t have a heartbeat in his mental state, he still acted out of instinct to show her how startled he’d been.

After all, she might be her own person, but she was also his Soul Aspect.

If something happened to her, how could he not be worried?

“Hahaha, I was just thinking about those things you said earlier.”

“Didn’t you say you were a man of iron will who’d never wear women’s clothing?”

“How come you suddenly agreed to crossdress forever?”

Su Xuan’er clutched her stomach as she laughed.

Listening to her ridicule, Su Xuan’s face darkened.

He had been so overwhelmed with excitement earlier that he’d said such embarrassing things.

He’d hoped she hadn’t heard it while she was unconscious.

But clearly, she had.

“Heh, it’s normal for someone who narrowly escaped death to say strange, incoherent things out of excitement.”

“As for whether I wear women’s clothes or not, that’s none of your business anymore.”

Su Xuan spoke coldly, as if he were facing his lifelong nemesis.

But then, the corners of his mouth curled up and he said cheerfully,

“Besides, I’ve already found a way not to turn into a woman.”

“So? Surprised? Excited?”

Su Xuan’er looked at him without much reaction.

Her calm demeanor made it seem like he’d just told her a joke.

“You’re… not nervous?”

Su Xuan frowned.

Shouldn’t she look shocked?

Wasn’t she the one who was hell-bent on turning him into a woman?

“Why would I be nervous?”

“You are me. I am you.”

Su Xuan’er replied calmly.

In truth, perhaps only Su Xuan could argue with his own Soul Aspect as if she were a separate being.

So much so that he often forgot they were part of one whole.

In reality, they shared the same fate.

As long as Su Xuan lived, Su Xuan’er would never disappear.

At most, things just wouldn’t go in the direction she wanted.

But it wouldn’t harm her.

“Boring.”

With that, Su Xuan withdrew from his mental realm.

He washed the bloodstained clothes from the fight, stowed the strange iron blade in a hidden cabinet, and mentally prepared a cover story in case of any follow-up investigation.

Meanwhile, several hundred meters away on the hill behind the residential complex, the site where the cultist had been split in half by a blade was now surrounded by black-uniformed agents.

The body had long been taken away by forensic personnel.

The blood had been cleaned, with markings made using colored paint.

The remaining agents were there to examine the scene and collect clues.

Leading them was a stern-looking middle-aged man, his face weathered by years of experience, his expression serious and commanding.

He meticulously examined every part of the small hill.

“Captain Chen, the autopsy report just came in.”

“That cultist likely died about two hours ago—around 5:10 AM.”

“His identity has also been confirmed. He was known in the Black Lotus Cult as the Southern Emissary, Zuo Tao.”

“As for cause of death, you were right. He was indeed slain by an Exotic Iron Blade.”

“There’s one oddity, though. The body had no belongings on it.”

Captain Chen silently nodded.

In truth, the cause of death wasn’t the most important part.

What mattered was why the cultist was here, where he came from, and who sent him.

Now that they knew his identity, they also had a clue about who sent him.

The Southern Emissary—one of the nine regional emissaries of the Black Lotus Cult, answering only to the cult leader.

If he was deployed personally, then the cult leader himself must’ve ordered this operation.

That meant the Black Lotus Cult was plotting something major again—this time, targeting White City.

But if the corpse carried no items, perhaps the killer took whatever he was carrying.

Or perhaps he was just sent to deliver a message.

“Captain, we found two throwing darts embedded in a tree forty meters southeast of the body!”

A young agent ran up and interrupted his thoughts.

“Take me there.”

Captain Chen immediately headed to the location.

Two bladed darts were deeply embedded in the tree trunk.

It was clear how much force had been behind the throw.

Wearing gloves, Captain Chen pulled one out.

“Made of Exotic Iron.”

“No markings. No poison coating.”

After inspecting it, he signaled to the nearby recorder to document it.

He returned to the scene.

It was clearly a weapon used during the fight.

No informational value.

“There are barely any signs of struggle on the ground.”

“That cultist was most likely killed instantly.”

“To instantly kill a veteran Awakened at Initial Form?”

“Even without reaching the Second Form, that kind of power is extraordinary.”

“Someone that powerful, operating quietly in White City, is a huge concern.”

Captain Chen examined the area again.

Nothing else stood out.

From the embedded throwing darts and the one-strike kill, he could already reconstruct the scene:

The cultist ambushed his target from the shadows, launched two throwing darts to kill them silently, failed, and had no choice but to engage directly—only to be cleaved in half with one strike.

Then the killer took everything from the corpse.

But where exactly did the ambush occur?

Not long after, a lead emerged.

“Captain, we found distinct trampling traces over there!”

A young investigator reported.

About ten meters from the body, inside a sparse shrub cluster—overlooked due to low visibility—clear signs of trampling and broken branches could be seen.

Fibers torn from clothing matched the cultist’s uniform.

From the direction, it was the northwest.

Captain Chen immediately thought of the large-scale raid two nights ago.

Could he have escaped?

But why hadn’t they received any reports afterward?

All thirty-two cultists had already been captured, killed, or interrogated by 9 AM yesterday.

None of them had mentioned anything about the Southern Emissary.

That meant the thirty-two had likely been a diversion—to draw attention away while he snuck in.

Town-to-town transport was heavily regulated.

Without causing a distraction, sneaking through the checkpoints would be impossible.

Thirty-two lives for one man?

And no belongings?

Maybe he was carrying verbal information.

Or maybe the killer took what he carried.

So, was this mysterious killer an ally or an enemy?

Killing a cultist made them seem like an ally, but maybe it was a ploy to lower their guard.

Still, that seemed unnecessary.

The cultist had clearly already infiltrated White City.

There was no need for theatrics.

Captain Chen called for his aides.

“Pull all nearby surveillance from property management.”

“Also get footage from the north station to here—from midnight to 5 AM.”

It was nearly noon.

Su Xuan paced anxiously in his room.

Despite his calm expression, his nerves were tight.

Knock knock!

“Coming!”

‘They’re here?’

Su Xuan’s heart tightened, but he kept his cool as he opened the door.

“Hello. I’m Chen Daocheng, Team 2 Captain from the Inspection Bureau’s Investigation Unit.”

“Are you Su Xuan?”

A dignified middle-aged man introduced himself.

Behind him stood several aides, silent.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“May I ask what this is about?”

Su Xuan stood in the doorway, not inviting them in.

“May we speak inside?”

“There’s a matter we need your assistance with.”

Captain Chen’s tone was unhurried, his gaze glancing inside.

“Oh, sure. Come in.”

Su Xuan stepped aside.

“Please, have a seat.”

He gestured to the couch.

“Thank you.”

But the aides remained standing.

Clearing his throat, Captain Chen looked Su Xuan in the eye and asked directly:

“Did you go jogging around 5 AM on the back hill today?”

“Yes, I have that habit.”

“I just went a bit earlier today.”

“Did you happen to see this man during your run?”

He held up an A4-sized photo.

It was the very cultist who had tried to kill him.

“…Maybe.”

Su Xuan remained calm, though his palms were damp with sweat.

His heartbeat was up, but his gaze didn’t flinch as he met Captain Chen’s eyes.

“I saw two people fighting during my run.”

“Not much of a fight, really—one drew a blade, and the other died.”

“But I was too scared to see clearly who was who.”

“I assume that’s why you came to question me.”

“Hm… Why did you go jogging half an hour early today?”

“I understand you usually leave around 5:30.”

“I had a nightmare.”

“Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I go early.”

“Today was one of those times.”

“Did you see the masked man pick something up?”

“A small black metal block, about the size of a mahjong tile.”

“Looked like black energy stone.”

“Black energy stone…”

The questioning went on for about half an hour.

Finally, Captain Chen closed his notebook and thanked Su Xuan.

Then he and his team left.

“Captain, did you notice anything suspicious about that guy?”

One of the aides asked.

“Hard to say.”

“He could be lying—or not.”

“But his energy signature is too weak. He definitely wasn’t the killer.”

Captain Chen watched the elevator’s display blink slowly.

“I think he was telling a half-truth.”

“But he’s definitely not one of the cultists.”

“His parents were national heroes.”

“So at most, he’s covering for someone he knows.”

“Most likely, someone sent by his brother.”

“His brother is a lieutenant general in the Lingnan Combat Zone—one of the top Second Form awakeners.”

“If nothing goes wrong, he may be the first to reach Third Form in the past four years.”

“So let’s not dig into that.”

“What matters is figuring out the cultist’s purpose.”

“And he mentioned something crucial—black energy stone…”

Just then, the assistant’s eyes widened.

“Wait, you mean that Su general’s younger brother?”

Captain Chen nodded silently.