"Clang clang clang" The sound of horse hooves echoed through the streets of Yinling City. Due to the rain, there were few people on the road, which allowed the horse to run freely.

The rider lifted his hat to reveal Li Huowang's determined gaze. He held the reins with one hand and took out a piece of paper from his pocket to read it again.

It was a message from Tuoba Danqing sent by carrier pigeon. There were not many words on it, "Remember to gather and come quickly to the Yinling Prison."

Li Huowang felt that he already knew Tuoba Danqing well. Based on his character, the fact that he entrusted something to himself without eating or drinking was enough to prove the urgency of the matter.

He didn't know if this matter would be a blessing or a curse, but all he could do was prepare for the worst.

Fortunately, he was alone now, so he had nothing to fear if something happened.

As he dismounted from his horse, Li Huowang looked up at the grim, brick-built building in front of him. The prison guards at the gate with their murderous eyes proved that this was where the most dangerous criminals were held in Yinling City.

These guards reminded him of the military.

As soon as Li Huowang dismounted, he felt a slight stinging sensation in his vital area. Someone was aiming a hidden weapon at him from an unseen location.

He took out his badge from the Monitoring Heaven Bureau and shook it. Then he walked through the prison gate guarded by two fierce stone lions.

As soon as he entered, Li Huowang saw Tuoba Danqing sitting on a long bench, waving at him to come over.

"Elder Brother Xian, come over here quickly!"

Li Huowang walked over and glanced at the person next to him. He recognized him as Hong Da, a person he had met once before.

Before Li Huowang could bow and pay his respects, Tuoba Danqing enthusiastically pulled him to sit on the bench with him. "Elder Brother Xian, look at this, how much I like you. I found a good job for you right away."

"Oh? Is this a good job?" The cold, foul smell in the air and the prisoners in the cages around him made Li Huowang feel like this was not a good thing.

Tuoba Danqing slapped his thigh excitedly and said with a smile, "Of course it's a good job because we're going after the deceiving Taoist sects!"

"Don't you have a grudge against those fraudsters? I left this task to you so you can get revenge. How about it? Am I good to you?"

Li Huowang was taken aback when he heard this. He quickly asked, "Please explain in detail. What is this task about?"

"Don't worry, wait for Jixiang to arrive and he will tell you. We don't know much about it either." Hong Da, who was holding a cup of tea, said absent-mindedly.

"Hong Senior, it's been a long time. I want to thank you for your recommendation back then. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to enter the Monitoring Heaven Bureau." Li Huowang bowed to Hong Da while thinking to himself, "Jixiang, who is far away in the capital, has also come. Is this task very dangerous?"

Li Huowang knew nothing about Jixiang except that he was Tuoba Danqing's superior. However, since he held an important position in the Monitoring Heaven Bureau, he was probably quite powerful.

"What's there to thank me for? You chose your own path. If anything happens in the future, don't blame me for leading you into a den of thieves."

"Hey, Hong Da, I don't like hearing that. How can you compare our bureau to a den of thieves? Haven't you benefited from the Yangshou Pill after every job? Haven't you received your annual expenses?""Did you get a lot of mooncakes from the department this Mid-Autumn Festival? The department even covered your expenses for going to the kiln. The department has been so good to you, how can you bear to slander it in front of this newcomer?"

"Alright, you're loyal and I'm treacherous. Let's drop it." Hong Da seemed annoyed by Tuoba Danqing's chatter, gave him a disdainful look, turned his back, and hit him on the back of his head.

Seeing Tuoba Danqing pointing and about to launch into another long speech, Li Huowang stopped him. "Brother Tuoba, why are we discussing matters in this prison today?"

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

"Brother, look over there. Yes, the second-to-last cage at the back. The prisoner inside is also a member of our department, and he will be leaving with us later."

Li Huowang looked over in surprise. The cage was far away, and even with his excellent eyesight, he could only see a blurry, tall figure lying in the straw.

Just as Li Huowang was about to stand up and get a closer look, a sharp, quacking voice sounded from behind him. "Hey, Danqing, everyone's here? Looks like we're the ones who are late."

"Hmm? Eunuch?" Li Huowang turned around in confusion and saw an obese elderly man in official attire with a white powdered face and an oily smile.

With his powdered face, official attire, and oily smile, if he hadn't walked in, Li Huowang would have thought he was a zombie from a zombie movie.

This was the person they were supposed to meet, holding a golden abacus and looking them up and down with a smile. This was Jixiang.

Li Huowang felt nervous and worried that the other person would see through his disguise. When he saw that the other person had no reaction, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon seeing this person, Tuoba Danqing seemed even more respectful than if he had seen his own father. He lowered his head and shrank an inch in height, humbly greeting him.

"Oh, Jixiang, you're saying the wrong thing. It's us who arrived early, not you." Tuoba Danqing led the obese eunuch to the table, holding his hand with the jade ring. A sweet and pungent smell wafted over, making Li Huowang frown slightly. The smell was strange, with a hint of urine.

"Jixiang, let me introduce you to this younger brother. He's a master of the Aojing religion and has extraordinary skills in the Xuan realm. He doesn't even consider the Xuan word shapeshifters. He'll definitely be a great help on this mission!"

Jixiang looked at Li Huowang up and down again, and something strange in his eyes made Li Huowang uneasy. "I've met you before, Ear Jiu. Xiao Liu mentioned you to me. You're from the Aojing religion, but your temper seems to be quite bad. Last time, you burned down a whole group of White Lotus religion followers who were being escorted to the capital in anger. If it weren't for Xiao Liu not pursuing the matter, and the fact that you're Danqing's person, the department would have wanted an explanation from you."

Upon hearing Jixiang's words, Tuoba Danqing quickly tried to smooth things over. "Haha, my brother is just someone who hates evil. It's normal for him to have a bad temper. As for someone who has great skills and is approachable, there's only you, Jixiang, in the department."

Jixiang laughed until his eyes disappeared. "Oh, Danqing, I just love coming out with you. When you speak, it's so comfortable to listen to."Just as the two of them were in harmony, Hong Da suddenly interrupted, "Can we finish discussing the matter first before listening to this flatterer's compliments?"

Both of their faces drooped upon hearing this. Just as Li Huowang thought that Jixiang was going to pick a fight with Hong Da, he instead pointed towards the distant cage with his hand adorned with a gold ring.

"Danqing, please invite Xin Chi Chanshi over. Let's go over the regulations for this mission."

As a newcomer, Li Huowang silently observed everything. It seemed that the hierarchy within the Bureau of Heaven's Supervision was not as strict as he had imagined.