Chapter 283: Intelligence

"Is this person from the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau? Did Hong Da find them?"

Li Huowang's expression was solemn as he scrutinized the figure before him. It was a big-headed doll resembling a young girl, with a striking red dot on its forehead that glowed faintly in the dim stable.

Since this person was from the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau, Li Huowang didn't dare to be careless. The next steps could determine whether he could join, but first, he had to make sure this individual wasn't from the Forget-Me-Not Sect.

Just as Li Huowang was considering how to verify, the big-headed doll seemed to read his thoughts. "Don't worry," a voice said. "The Forget-Me-Not Sect's Big Three have just suffered a major blow; they'll lie low for a while."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang carefully considered his words before slowly speaking. "Regarding Hong Da's previous matter, I was quite helpful. I thought to myself, I can do this kind of work too, so why should the reward go to someone else?"

As Li Huowang spoke, the big-headed doll swayed slightly in place, leaning towards him. A muffled voice emanated from within.

"Joining the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau is both simple and difficult," the voice said. "For some things, if you just think more for others, the path becomes much smoother. You understand what I mean, right?"

"Hmm?" Li Huowang paused, initially not grasping the meaning. After a moment, he realized the doll was asking for a bribe. This was good news for Li Huowang; at least they were living beings with desires. Having experienced so much, Li Huowang's expectations for others were already very low.

A heavy golden box filled with gems, along with several large nuggets of gold, was presented to the doll.

"Gold?" The big-headed doll took the box with a wrinkled hand. After weighing it briefly, it moved its hand, and the golden box fell to the ground, scattering the gold within.

Seeing the big-headed doll standing motionless, Li Huowang picked up the gourd from his waist and poured out five Lifespan Pills, each wrapped in yellow talisman paper.

Upon seeing the Lifespan Pills, the doll's voice noticeably softened. "Ah, now you're on the right track. Very good."

After handing over the five Lifespan Pills, Li Huowang received an iron token about half the size of a palm. The back of the iron token bore the three large characters "Heavenly Stargazer Bureau," while the front was engraved with "Gui Zu Er Jiu." These characters were surrounded by interconnected celestial constellations, making the token appear very exquisite.

"It looks like this was prepared in advance? But isn't it a bit too smooth?" Li Huowang wondered after examining it, then looked back at the big-headed doll.

"May I ask what 'Gui Zu' means...?"

"We won't get into 'Zu'," the doll interrupted. "But don't you even know 'Gui'? The Ten Heavenly Stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui. The further back, the lower the rank. Anyway, it doesn't matter if you know these things or not; you'll find out later. A new assignment has arrived."

"Go take a look. It seems like another Forget-Me-Not Sect matter this time. If it's real, handle it the same way you helped Hong Da last time."

The big-headed doll handed Li Huowang an envelope with a red paper strip in the center.

"Forget-Me-Not Sect? Now?" Li Huowang was surprised, finding it a bit too quick.

"What? Not now? If you don't want to take it, fine. I'll find other Gui Zus."

The big-headed doll made to retrieve the envelope, but Li Huowang took it.

"Alright, I'll take it. May I ask what the remuneration is this time? Also, how does promotion within the Bureau work, and is there any... exchange of information about enemies?"

As he spoke the last part, Li Huowang's heart noticeably quickened. He joined the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau precisely for these reasons. Perhaps the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau held records of everything related to Xinsu.

"First, do the work and let's see how well you perform. Only capable people get rewards. Details about the enemies are in the envelope."

With that, the big-headed doll turned and left the stable. Although its body turned away, the large doll's head it wore remained fixed, its brush-painted black eyes still staring at Li Huowang.

After the big-headed doll disappeared into the backyard, Li Huowang pondered, looking at the envelope and the token in his hand. He knew joining the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau wasn't so simple; this task he held was a test. Only by passing the test would he truly be considered part of the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau; otherwise, the token in his hand was just a piece of scrap metal.

"It's the Forget-Me-Not Sect again. Is this a coincidence? Or is it deliberate? Do they suspect I'm also from the Forget-Me-Not Sect and are testing me with this?"

"Does this mean the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau will send people to monitor me when I handle the mission?" Li Huowang thought. He then opened the envelope and examined its contents carefully.

The content was brief, merely stating that according to an agent's report, there were suspected signs of Forget-Me-Not Sect activity in a village, prompting the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau to dispatch someone to investigate. This information was standard and normal. However, on a separate sheet of paper below, there was an introduction to the Forget-Me-Not Sect.

The classical Chinese script was difficult for Li Huowang to read, but after much effort, he grasped the general content. According to the introduction, even the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau didn't know how the Forget-Me-Not Sect came into being. What they did know was that the sect's sole purpose was self-amusement. They did everything to please themselves. As long as the amusement was great enough, they would unhesitatingly stake their own lives. Furthermore, the Forget-Me-Not Sect members, by some unknown means, possessed special methods to deceive and siphon power from other Fates.

"Fates? So that's what the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau calls those entities behind the White Jade City? Why does each group have a different name for them?" Li Huowang mused. He pondered the term for a moment, then continued reading.

The entire Forget-Me-Not Sect was named after mahjong suit tiles, and they had a strict hierarchy. The "Strips," "Dots," and "Characters" were the lowest-ranking members. Above them were the "Four Blessings": East Wind, South Wind, West Wind, and North Wind. Above the Four Blessings were the "Three Dragons": Red Dragon, White Dragon, and Green Dragon. Above the Three Dragons, rumor had it there was a single "Dice" that controlled the entire Forget-Me-Not Sect. It was merely a rumor because no one in the Heavenly Stargazer Bureau had ever seen the Dice.

The entire Forget-Me-Not Sect was peculiar not just in its names and supernatural abilities, but even in its method of recruitment. Unlike other sects, the Forget-Me-Not Sect recruited its members through deception. They not only deceived the Fates and other people, but they even deceived themselves. Any new member of the Forget-Me-Not Sect was deceived into joining by an existing member. Everyone within the sect was not only a deceiver but also someone who had been deceived.

"Heh, I should have guessed," Li Huowang thought. "Nothing those lunatics do would surprise me."

Li Huowang wanted to read further, but the text abruptly stopped, leaving him feeling particularly uneasy.

A loud rooster's crow made Li Huowang look up. He realized dawn had broken, and he had unknowingly been standing there all night.