Chapter 378: Recording

Hearing Li Huowang's question, the eunuch respectfully explained, "To answer, sir, general assignments for those below the Geng Banner are handled this way. If you move up further, it will be quite different..."

As the eunuch elaborated, Li Huowang realized this was consistent with what Tuoba Danqing had told him earlier. The Si Tian Jian operates with a loose outer circle and a tight inner circle; the higher one climbs, the stricter the regulations become. By the time one reaches the rank of Ji Xiang, it's essentially like becoming an official in the imperial court, complete with official robes and superiors to report to.

However, in return, access to certain exclusive benefits within the Si Tian Jian becomes available, such as methods to dispel inner obsessions for prolonging life, and various secret cultivation techniques and treasures. The higher the rank, the better the items one can exchange for with their salary.

Of course, loose practitioners like Li Huowang would not have such privileges; at most, they could exchange life-prolonging pills for ordinary items.

As for when one could transition from the outer circle to the inner circle of the Si Tian Jian, it depended entirely on their individual performance. Only when the leadership deemed someone diligent enough, intelligent, and trustworthy in their background, would they dispatch someone for a detailed discussion.

Li Huowang, however, was not concerned with any of this; he had his own agenda. "What assignments related to the Zuo Wang Dao are available within the office?" he asked. "Please wait, sir. Your servant will fetch them for you," the eunuch said, bowing his head as he slowly withdrew behind the screen.

Seeing Li Huowang's action, Sima Lan slightly furrowed his brow. The blind bird nearby asked, "Why are you only looking for assignments related to the Zuo Wang Dao?" "I have a grudge against them," Li Huowang replied with a perfectly normal answer. Sima Lan didn't seem to believe or disbelieve him, but he didn't press the matter further.

A short while later, the eunuch returned, holding a stack of papers filled with writing. "Sir, these are..." Before he could finish, Li Huowang snatched them, flipping through page after page. However, he found no trace of Beifeng from beginning to end.

When Li Huowang looked up again, he realized Sima Lan had left at some point. He didn't bother with it, instead directly asking the eunuch, "Why are all these assignments about minor figures? And they're only 'suspected,' not even confirmed. Are there no assignments dealing with targets like the Four Joys or Three Origins?"

Hearing Li Huowang's words, the eunuch was immediately terrified. "Oh, sir, if there were assignments for the Four Joys or Three Origins, those would be incredibly significant matters! The office would have dispatched people to resolve them swiftly; there wouldn't be time to pick and choose leisurely here!" he exclaimed. "Your servant must tell you, these assignments are naturally categorized. Those concerning the Zuo Wang Dao's Four Joys or Three Origins are classified as Class C—extremely urgent. Speed is of the essence; they can't be left here for slow consideration."

Li Huowang nodded in understanding. This made sense; if the Si Tian Jian didn't react quickly to high-ranking Zuo Wang Dao members, the people of Daliang would likely be thrown into utter chaos by them.

However, Li Huowang now found himself in a predicament. He had come all this way, yet he had no clue how to find Beifeng. After a moment of thought, Li Huowang asked the eunuch again, "Are there any records here concerning the Four Joys and Three Origins? Anything at all would be fine." "Hmm... Please wait, sir. Your servant will help you look," the eunuch replied.

Li Huowang had only asked on a whim, but to his surprise, the eunuch indeed brought a large stack of documents. "As a Geng Banner, sir, you are naturally permitted to view these," he stated. Li Huowang took the documents and began to quickly search, his target still Beifeng.

After all this effort, he finally had a breakthrough: three years ago, in Tanyang County, Wuzhou, Beifeng had last appeared. According to the Si Tian Jian's records, he had emerged then with Dongfeng to control a Xinsu. He had also claimed that if the Xinsu did not follow their instructions, Beifeng would kill the Xinsu's family within their illusion.

Seeing this, Li Huowang furrowed his brow, then patiently continued reading. As one of the Four Joys, Beifeng was naturally very powerful. He could instantly plunge people into confusion and, in conjunction with Dongfeng, could swap bodies with others. All they needed was a glance at someone to exchange bodies with them, and astonishingly, this ability persisted even after a body swap.

At the time, Tanyang County had fallen into complete chaos because of them: wives' bodies housed grandmothers, and husbands' bodies contained grandsons. Human ethics and familial bonds were thoroughly twisted by their antics.

More importantly, as one of the Four Joys, Beifeng was extremely adept at exploiting human darkness. Under their deception, some people quickly became accomplices. Furthermore, when facing defeat, Beifeng managed to deceive a seventeen-year-old woman and transform her into Wutiao, one of the Zuo Wang Dao's members, all within an hour.

The outcome was that a Ji Xiang and a Jiancheng sacrificed their lives to rescue the Xinsu and also take Dongfeng's life.

Li Huowang repeatedly flipped through the pages in his hands, committing everything about Beifeng to memory. He already knew about the Ji Xiang rank, and the so-called Jiancheng was likely an equally high or even higher position. The fact that it took more than a dozen people to achieve this outcome was sufficient proof of Beifeng's formidable power.

More crucially, Beifeng's abilities were extraordinarily bizarre: he could actually swap people's bodies. He could also directly convert a normal person into one of their own through deception.

At this moment, Li Huowang felt immense pressure. He finally understood the true strength of the Zuo Wang Dao's Four Joys. For him, dealing with such beings now would be incredibly difficult.

If there was any good news, it was that Li Huowang was finally no longer completely in the dark about his enemies.

"But... could Beifeng really threaten people within a Xinsu's illusion?" a hint of hesitation arose in Li Huowang's mind. The thought of his mother and Yang Na being threatened by the Zuo Wang Dao, or even potentially completely deceived by them, made Li Huowang's expression turn grim.

"Sir... do you have any other instructions?" the eunuch asked cautiously. Li Huowang handed him the pages. "Take them back." "Yes, sir." Just as the eunuch was about to withdraw behind the screen, Li Huowang suddenly called out to him.

"Wait. With this token, can I access most of the books within the office?" "Yes, sir. You can access archives one through four." Hearing this, Li Huowang clenched his fist. "I want all the books and records about Xinsu. The more, and the more detailed, the better." Li Huowang knew he was a Xinsu, but a question had always weighed on his mind: what exactly *was* a Xinsu? Now that he was here, he naturally wanted to see how the Si Tian Jian explained them.