"Why exactly are we listening to him again?" Cha Ming asked as they hurried down the marble hallway.

"It occurred to me that this is the best way to inspect the high-ranking civil officials in the kingdom," Prince Lei replied. "Anyone with any influence on the king, at least on civil matters, will be present. If we inspect everyone in the meeting, we can skip our inspection of the Scholar Palace."

Just what game is he playing? Cha Ming wondered. They soon reached the center of the palace, then headed north toward the assembly hall, where the royal court took place every day. The large doors to the hall were shut, and solemn-looking soldiers stood guard at the entrance. In a few breaths, the doors opened, and the many officials who had just been meeting poured out. They were all discussing the results of their meeting.

Prince Lei quickly grabbed Cha Ming and brought him to the large group of officials, making a careful arc to include as many of them as possible in the crystal's ten-foot range.

"Teacher! Teacher!" Prince Lei yelled as he brought him to one of the older men, interrupting their discussion.

"What can I do for you today, Prince Lei?" Hao Bodong asked. The two other men he had been speaking with stood off to the side, impatiently awaiting the end of this rude interruption.

"This is Cha Ming, the formation master I spoke of previously," Prince Lei said. "He's recently advanced to a late-stage master, making his formations a hot commodity in the capital."

"Yes, I seem to recall that," Hao Bodong said. "However, I was in the middle of an important discussion. If Your Highness could please excuse this old man.."

Prince Lei flushed with embarrassment. "How short-sighted of me. I will accept my punishment when you have more time."

"As long as you understand your mistake," Hao Bodong said with a gratified smile. He then turned to the two other ministers and completely ignored the two youngsters.

Did we find any suspects among the ministers we covered? Prince Lei asked.

We didn't, Cha Ming said. Is there any way to bring us closer to the remaining ones? He understood that Prince Lei had already lost quite a bit of face to cover so many people at once.

I have a way, Prince Lei said. He brought Cha Ming through the thick crowd of ministers as they made their way to the hall's entrance. The crown prince was just exiting the hall. He was engaged in an intense discussion with a cultivator who wore a silver badge on his chest.

"Second Brother, I've finally found you," Prince Lei said as they approached.

The crown prince frowned. "Whatever matter you have, could it not wait until we're finished here? The official meeting has ended, but many important discussions will take place immediately after."

"I just thought I'd introduce Master Du to you, a genius formation master from Quicksilver," Prince Lei said. "Perhaps he can lend you a hand in the future."

The crown prince's face twitched, but he nonetheless gestured for Cha Ming to come over.

A light tingling sensation appeared in Cha Ming's hand as he approached the duo. The sensation grew stronger and stronger as the crystal in his hand heated. He cursed Zhou Bei for his inaccurate description. The man had told him the crystal would heat up in proximity of the poison, but he hadn't mentioned that this heat could sear even his ridiculously strong skin.

"Master Du, I'd like to introduce Master Tu to you," Prince Tian said. "He's a famous geomancer from Quicksilver who will soon become a grandmaster. It wasn't cheap to bring him over. Now that he's here, I plan on comprehensively reinforcing the city's infrastructure."

Cha Ming's supressed the urge to scream and smiled as the stone continued to burn his rapidly regenerating flesh. "It's a pleasure to finally meet Master Tu in person. I've seen many examples of your work in the city these past two days. Geomancer structures are known to last for long periods of time without suffering so much as a crack. It's a pity that someone felt the need to sabotage your work."

Meanwhile, he sent a mental message to Prince Lei. Is there a way to pull your brother away for a few seconds?

Master Tu winced at the comment. "I've never had anything so shameful happen to my work in the past. These structures can even stand up to blows from early-core-formation cultivators. Judging by the marks, they were damaged by some sort of powerful demon beast of the rodent variety."

Meanwhile, Prince Lei pulled an unhappy Prince Tian back into the audience hall. Cha Ming heaved a sigh of relief as the burning sensation left his hand. Having obtained the necessary confirmation, he stowed the detection crystal into his Clear Sky Space.

"We all have bad days, Master Tu," Cha Ming said. "Perhaps you could inspect the wreckage and gain some inspiration, propelling you to the grandmaster stage in one fell swoop."

"Many thanks for the best wishes," Master Tu said. "I've been stuck at this bottleneck for fifty years, but this is the first time one of my structures has been breached so casually. Perhaps some self-reflection is in order."

Paff!

The sound of Prince Lei getting backhanded by Prince Tian and crashing into a wall alerted all the nearby ministers.

"Go back to your discussions!" Prince Tian yelled. He then picked up Prince Lei, who was now unconscious, and walked over to Cha Ming and Master Tu.

"Master Du, would you please be some kind as to remove my unruly brother from this meeting area?" Prince Tian said, casually tossing Prince Lei's unconscious body. Cha Ming caught him single-handed.

"Not a problem, Your Highness," Cha Ming said. "I'll make sure he gets medical attention immediately."

A black eye was rapidly forming, and blood was flowing from Prince Lei's mouth. Cha Ming channeled healing runes into his body as he carried the prince back to his chambers.

"What did you tell him to upset him so much?" he asked Prince Lei when he'd regained consciousness.

"Several things that were a long time coming," Prince Lei said. "What about the test?"

Cha Ming lifted his right hand, whose palm was adorned with a crystal-shaped burn scar that was rapidly fading away. "It's as we suspected. Prince Tian is the one who poisoned your father."

***

Cha Ming sat meditating in the small guest room next to the king's chambers with only Prince Lei to keep him company. Meanwhile, Prince Lei was hard at work, reviewing and completing documents his aides brought to him. His black eye was mostly healed.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

They counted the seconds as the twenty-four-hour deadline approached. The door opened like clockwork, allowing them inside the king's chambers once more. Cha Ming could detect the aura of a cultivator from the king—his qi was now circulating normally through his qi pathways, nourishing his organs and meridians.

"It is done," Zhou Bei said weakly. "I have removed all the poison, but I still feel there is something amiss."

Cha Ming inspected the king's body with his Demon-Subduing Eyes. The purple traces within the king's body had disappeared and shifted over to Zhou Bei's. "I can't detect any traces, either. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Zhou Bei nodded. "I've done all I can for now. However, I've decided to stay within Songjing for a while. Make sure you prepare an isolated cultivation chamber for me."

The man then walked to a window and jumped through it. A sigh of relief echoed through the king's bedchamber as his protectors were finally able to relax.

Li Yin hurried over from the side of the room. His eyes were bloodshot from having not slept for an entire night. "What an interesting method," he said before sending his spiritual force into the king's body to examine it.

Dr. Dong and his two assistants soon appeared. They glanced about the room nervously before approaching the king.

"He's recovered his cultivation abilities!" one of the doctors exclaimed as the three of them began using spirit-doctor techniques to heal the king's failing body.

"His organs are rapidly healing," the other confirmed.

Only Dr. Dong frowned as the king healed at a rapid pace. "I feel there's still something amiss. Although he's recovering quickly, the speed is only a quarter of what it should be."

"Perhaps it's due to the extended qi deprivation?" Li Yin pitched in.

"Perhaps," Dr. Dong said. "We'll need to continue monitoring him closely during the next week. I hope you'll stick around to offer your guidance."

"After some sleep," Li Yin confirmed.

Cha Ming looked over to Princess Guo, who was softly crying by her father's side. He wondered how she would take it if she found out about her brother's treachery. Fortunately, that wasn't his decision to make.

Feeling out of place, he slipped out of the king's chambers and exited the palace grounds.

***

Central Square was far more lively than normal. And with good reason: The seemingly impregnable buildings built by Master Tu had been ravaged by mysterious creatures for the past few nights, causing many gawkers and rubberneckers to come personally inspect the damages. Many others came to enjoy the show. They stayed at various famous restaurants, bars, and teahouses in Central Square, using their enhanced senses to catch every embarrassing conversation that floated around.

As Cha Ming walked through the throngs of murmuring people, he spotted a crowd of jeering cultivators. They watched on in amusement as Master Tu carefully inspected a scar on his carefully constructed masterpiece, patching it along as he went.

On a hunch, he activated his Demon-Subduing Eyes and noticed that while Huxian and Lei Jiang had already disappeared, a new threat to the building's occupants had taken their place. The holes in the building were now chock full of demonic rats, who had already begun terrorizing the neighborhood.

Cha Ming's name came hand in hand with Master Tu's. The city's inhabitants were all excitedly discussing the two popular professionals and the advantages and disadvantages of each one. Suffice to say, Cha Ming was on the winning side of these discussions. None of his arrays had collapsed while his opponent's buildings were all in shambles.

***

A curtain of darkness hung over Songjing as two figures jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Their spryness exceeded their apparent cultivation realm: middle foundation establishment. While the qi they consumed for each movement and the pressure they emanated fit the bill, their movements bore a charm that could only be produced by unfathomable experts.

"You're awfully swift for a mere foundation-establishment cultivator," Li Ming commented as they landed on the wall surrounding the Sima family. He waited as Hei Ling pulled out a sharp black dagger.

"Right back at you," Hei Ling said as he twirled the black dagger in his hands. It cut into a translucent membrane a mere foot away from the wall. He moved it in a wide circle, leaving just enough room for a person to fit through. They both jumped through it consecutively, landing on the soft ground below.

"Do you normally do this sort of work?" Li Ming whispered.

"I wouldn't go around announcing it to the world if I did," Hei Ling said, chuckling. They passed three patrolling guards before jumping up to the third floor and carefully opening an unsecured window.

What did you do before working for the young master? Li Ming asked while they rummaged through the room's contents. He was the first to locate a pile of sensitive documents, which he carefully scanned with a recording globe before replacing it exactly as he'd found it—with a few added details.

I worked for the main branch in Gold Leaf, Hei Ling said. You can tell the young master that if he has any concerns, he can speak to the family head for clarification. Or he can speak to that man. He will tell him everything he needs to know.

Li Ming's face flushed. I don't know what you're talking about.

Look, Hei Ling said, walking up to Li Ming, you and I both know that the young master suspects me of foul play. We don't have to pretend. I'm comfortable with my background. But are you comfortable about yours?

Li Ming tried to retort, but the words stuck in the back of his throat.

Hei Ling chuckled. We both know what your background is. So I'll tell you what: Stop sabotaging my efforts, and I won't expose you to the young master. I think that's a more than fair offer given your line of work.

Li Ming gulped. Fine. You win this one. Now what about the Sin Crystals?

We'll walk through the front door, of course, Hei Ling said. A cloak of shadows covered him as his aura rapidly changed to that of a core-formation expert. Li Ming's cultivation also increased to match his.

Their combined auras caused everyone in the residence to fall unconscious. They entered Sima Liang's bedroom without a hitch and walked over to the safe hidden in his wall. Hei Ling withdrew a small black lockpick which immediately transformed into a suitable key for the safe. He opened it and placed a small black bundle into a corner of the vault. Then it disappeared as though it had never been there in the first place.

That should be damning enough evidence, right? Li Ming said.

It's enough to make the Church of Justice suspicious of the crown prince, but not enough to convince them, Hei Ling said. They're a big fan of the "innocent before proven guilty" rhetoric.

After securing the room and ensuring everything was undisturbed, they floated out to the window they entered and stepped back onto the wall. This time they didn't use the black knife to tear open the membrane; they used their qi to directly supress it.

A few roofs later, their cultivation returned to normal. How about you give that recording crystal to me? Hei Ling said.

Li Ming chuckled. Only if you give me yours. And your backup.

Hei Ling shrugged. Only if you give me your backup and your second backup. How about we sign a life-bound oath, and whoever spills the beans dies?

As if I'd be crazy like you, Li Ming said. They soon negotiated a deal and signed a black contract.