Chapter 282: Intelligence

Chapter 282: Intelligence

“Is this man from the Heavenly Observing Bureau? Did Hong Da bring him here?”

Li Huowang scrutinized the figure before him with a grave expression. It was a child’s head doll—large-headed and round-eyed, with a bright red dot at its brow that glowed like a faint light in the dim stable.

If this person truly belonged to the Heavenly Observing Bureau, Li Huowang dared not take any chances. What came next might determine whether he would be accepted or not. But first, he had to rule out whether this individual was a member of the Forgetful Dao Sect.

Just as Li Huowang pondered how to discern the truth, the large-headed doll seemed to sense his thoughts.

“Don’t worry. The Great Three Elements of the Forgetful Dao have just suffered a major blow—they’ll be quiet for a while.”

Upon hearing these words, after careful consideration, Li Huowang slowly spoke.

“I helped quite a bit with Hong Da’s matter earlier. I thought I could handle such things without pay.”

The large-headed doll stood motionless for a moment, then swayed slightly toward Li Huowang. A deep voice emerged from within.

“To join the Heavenly Observing Bureau—it can be simple, or it can be difficult. Some things, if you think more about others, the path becomes easier. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Hmm?” Li Huowang blinked in confusion. At first, he didn’t grasp the meaning, but after a moment, he realized it was a request for a favor.

This was good news for Li Huowang—he was dealing with living beings who still had desires.

After so many trials, his expectations of the other party were already low.

A heavy golden box filled with precious gems was handed over. Inside were also several pieces of gold ingots.

“Gold?” The large-headed doll took it with a wrinkled hand, weighed it slightly, then let go—the box fell to the ground, scattering the gold across the floor.

As the doll stood motionless, Li Huowang reached for his gourd at his waist and poured out five pills wrapped in yellow talisman paper—life extension elixirs.

At the sight of the elixirs, the doll's tone softened significantly.

“Mm, proper stuff. Not bad, not bad.”

Five elixirs were passed over, and in return, Li Huowang received a half-palm-sized iron token.

On the back of the token were the three characters “Heavenly Observing Bureau,” while the front bore the inscription “Gui Zu Er Jiu.”

Surrounding these characters were constellations connected by lines, exquisitely carved.

“It seems this was all prepared in advance. But isn’t this too smooth?” Li Huowang observed, turning back to the large-headed doll.

“May I ask what ‘Gui Zu’ means...”

“Don’t even mention the ‘Zu.’ Do you not know what ‘Gui’ is? The ten heavenly stems—Jia Yi Bing Ding Wu Ji Geng Xin Ren Gui. The later ones are smaller. Enough, it doesn’t matter whether you know or not. You’ll find out eventually anyway. Time for work.”

“Go see for yourself. This time, it looks like another matter involving the Forgetful Dao. If true, deal with it like you did for Hong Da.”

The large-headed doll held a sealed envelope with a red note pasted on it and handed it to Li Huowang.

“The Forgetful Dao? Now?” Li Huowang couldn’t help but feel surprised. This was far too fast.

“What? You don’t want to do it? Fine, I’ll find another Gui Zu.”

The doll turned to reclaim the envelope, but Li Huowang caught it.

“Fine, I’ll take it. May I ask what the reward will be? And about promotions within the Bureau, and some... exchange of enemy intelligence?”

By the end, his heartbeat quickened noticeably. Joining the Heavenly Observing Bureau was for these very reasons.

Perhaps there were records within the Bureau concerning Xin Su.

“First, do the job. See if you do it well. Only those with ability get rewards. Enemy details are inside the envelope.”

With that, the large-headed doll turned and walked out of the stable. Though his body faced away, the doll’s head remained unchanged, its black-painted eyes fixed on Li Huowang.

When the doll disappeared into the backyard, Li Huowang stared at the envelope and the token in his hands, lost in thought.

He knew joining the Heavenly Observing Bureau wasn’t simple. This task was a test.

Only after passing it could he truly be considered part of the Bureau. Otherwise, this token in his hand would be nothing but scrap metal.

“Again the Forgetful Dao? Is this coincidence—or deliberate? Could they suspect I’m one of them and are testing me?”

“Does this mean that when I carry out missions, the Bureau will also send people to watch me?” Li Huowang pondered, then opened the envelope and read carefully.

The message itself was brief—it simply reported that a village had shown signs of Forgetful Dao activity, and requested an investigation by the Bureau.

It was standard, normal. Yet beneath it lay a sheet describing the Forgetful Dao.

Though the classical Chinese was hard to read, after effort, Li Huowang grasped its general meaning.

According to the description, the members of the Forgetful Dao had unknown origins—the Heavenly Observing Bureau didn’t even know where they came from.

What was known was that their sole purpose was self-pleasure. For the sake of amusement, they would risk everything, even life itself.

They possessed a special method to steal power from other “Sirmen.”

Li Huowang knew all this, but one term caught his attention.

“Sirmen? So that’s what the Heavenly Observing Bureau calls those things behind Baiyu Jing? Why do different sects use such different names?”

After mulling over the word, Li Huowang continued reading.

The entire Forgetful Dao was named after Mahjong tile suits. There were ranks among them—bamboo, dots, characters—all the lowest class.

They were led by the Four Winds: East Wind, West Wind, South Wind, North Wind.

Above the Four Winds were the Three Elements: Red Middle, White Tile, Wealth.

And above them, according to legend, was a Dice—controlling the whole sect.

But why only legend? Because no one in the Heavenly Observing Bureau had ever seen the Dice.

Not only were their names strange, their powers bizarre, but even their methods of joining were unusual.

Unlike other sects, the Forgetful Dao didn’t recruit through formal means—they joined through deception.

They deceived Sirmen, others, and even themselves.

Anyone who joined later was tricked in by someone ahead of them. Every member of the Forgetful Dao was both a deceiver and a victim.

“Heh, I should’ve guessed it. Nothing surprises me anymore about these lunatics.”

Li Huowang wanted to continue reading, but the text ended abruptly, leaving him unsettled by the sudden silence.

A loud cockcrow startled him, and he looked up to see the sky was already bright. He had unknowingly stood here all night.

(End of Chapter)