Chapter 24: Inquiry

A person from the State of Yan?

And equipped just like her…

“Tell me about that man. As much as possible.”

Inadvertently, Shi Yue had stumbled upon a clue. The Northerner Bowl-cut mentioned seemed to share similar traits with her. Furthermore, he had lost contact with Bowl-cut a month ago. The only event Shi Yue could recall involving the State of Yan a month ago was the news about Yan spies being wiped out in the Lake Mochang area.

Could that be the reason?

Was the buyer mentioned by Bowl-cut killed by government forces at Lake Mochang? Did she then accidentally find his abandoned equipment in the lake, gaining her current abilities… was that the truth?

But something still felt off.

“What did that Northerner want with the kids? Did he tell you?”

“…How would he tell me? It was strictly money for goods. I didn’t have any other dealings with him!”

“What did he look like?”

“Like you. Wore a mask, very mysterious. That’s why I thought he sent you… You—your accent sounds local, right?”

Shi Yue waved the blade in her hand, staring him down. “…First, tell me: where did you meet each time? Who was with him? Did you know them? And… for the transport, did you use your own vehicles?”

“Ah… no, I…” Bowl-cut stammered incoherently. Then, as if realizing something, he hurriedly asked, “Wait… are you with the Imperial Army? Asking all these questions…”

“…Am I being targeted by the Imperial Court? Let me get this straight—I know nothing about that Yan person’s business! I haven’t committed treason—”

“Answer the question!”

Shi Yue raised her hand, the blade edge instantly pressing against Bowl-cut’s chin. He trembled all over. “Okay, okay… please put the knife down! I—I’ll tell you everything I know!”

Bowl-cut then spilled everything he knew. He truly didn’t know the Northerner’s background, who he was, why he was conducting this trade, why he came all the way to Chu to do it, or why he smuggled people back. He also didn’t know the meaning of the pattern on the gauntlets… Bowl-cut himself found the man unreasonable, but since he paid generously, he only vaguely felt the man’s goal wasn’t as simple as making money.

“The vans used for transport were rented from a local company… Cao Cao Car Rental. And there’s an orphanage… Every time we moved goods, we hired people from that company to drive under the guise of helping the orphanage transport people. I don’t know where they took them, but it wasn’t in Phoenix City… maybe to the border. How they crossed the border, I really don’t know.”

“Name of the orphanage.”

“It’s the one in Yongchang District… the Little Angel Children’s Welfare Institute. I remember the director’s surname is Huang. Oh, right, let me tell you… I—I want to report a crime!”

Bowl-cut seemed to genuinely believe Shi Yue was with the military. perhaps hoping to mitigate his punishment, he began to rattle off Director Huang’s crimes: “That guy isn’t just a trafficker; he’s corrupt! You know the Emperor cares about child welfare, and the government issues educational subsidies to orphanages every year. But him? He embezzled it all! And as if that wasn’t enough, he farms out the able-bodied kids to small factories for illegal labor! Calling it ‘vocational education.’ Boys can do manual labor, but girls can’t do heavy lifting, so to make money, he secretly contacts brothels and places like that to send the girls out for ‘service.’ He keeps all the money… He occasionally buys kids from me too… Like I said, the court gives subsidies for each child. He buys kids from traffickers, spends a little to launder their identities, and claims a subsidy for each one—”

“Enough. Get to the point,” Shi Yue interrupted him. “Tell me Director Huang’s movements, and the rental company owner’s movements. And does that Northerner have any other accomplices?”

“Okay, okay! As for Director Huang, I know he’s attending a charity gala next Wednesday. It’s in the main city, Phoenix District… at the Green Vine Club, I think. You should be able to find it. You can find his photo online too; he loves going to these events, so he’s not hard to track. And… oh, that Yan man! He does have an accomplice. Let me be clear, I don’t know them, I just know that the Yan man has an insider here in our State of Chu. Think about it—he’s a stranger here, renting cars, buying people… where does the money come from? I didn’t know about the insider at first, but one time I—”

Shi Yue was listening quietly when, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly glimpsed a figure on another rooftop far away from the factory. The figure was facing them, holding something that looked like…

“A bow!”

Shi Yue was jolted. She immediately activated “Time Slow.” Almost in the exact instant she reacted, the archer released their fingers. Two heavy arrows, nocked simultaneously on the bow, shot forth. The speed was so great that even with Time Slow activated, Shi Yue could only barely dodge.

Bowl-cut was still babbling away, completely unaware of the danger approaching from behind. In a split second, an arrow pierced the throat that had been speaking just a moment before. Blood splattered, thin, ruptured blood vessels were dragged out from the wound, and thick, dark blood burst forth.

Shi Yue barely managed to dodge one arrow. Turning her head, she saw Bowl-cut was already a corpse. Damn, didn’t warn him… No, warning him wouldn’t have helped. She had barely dodged the arrow herself; from the moment he was targeted, he was already dead.

“The person silencing you has actually arrived this time,” Shi Yue thought as she briefly locked eyes with Bowl-cut’s wide, dead stare.

Her gaze quickly snapped back to the archer on the distant roof. As expected, the shooter had already nocked a second arrow, aimed the tip at her, and fired again!

The arrow was incredibly fast, even in her slowed perception. Shi Yue had to move well in advance to dodge it. Fortunately, she executed a roll, once again narrowly evading the shot.

“Hah.”

Completing the roll, Shi Yue steadied herself, only to see the opponent had already nocked a third arrow. Without even aiming, they blind-fired straight at her!

Not good.

The opponent’s speed in nocking and firing was blistering. Shi Yue had just rolled to dodge the previous arrow, and the next one was already upon her. Her body was still in recovery frames; there was no time to dodge again.

What do I do?

Watching the arrow closing in, Shi Yue had to gamble. She raised her arm and swung the blade, using the heightened reaction speed provided by Time Slow to forcibly deflect the arrow!

Clang—a crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out, stretched long by the time dilation, like a nail dropped in an empty room echoing. The arrow carried immense force; blocking it with the blade took all her strength, but she managed to deflect it by a few inches.

Thwip. The moment Time Slow ended, Shi Yue felt the chill of the arrowhead slicing through the air past her. Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from her forehead.

“Phew, I actually deflected an arrow with a sword… If there were an audience, that scene would have been cool as hell.”

Shi Yue wiped the sweat from her brow and looked toward the distant rooftop again.