Chapter 772: Surveillance Bureau

Chapter 772: The Bureau of Celestial Surveillance

"Try it! Of course we’ll try it! I never said no," Gao Zhijian said with a tense expression, stepping in front of Li Huowang. "I'll send someone right away to test it! We can get as many people as needed."

"Come on, are they qualified? They probably don’t even know which way the gate of Baiyu Jing opens. I’ve been there myself, and I’m one of Si Ming’s heart-treasures. This matter can only be handled by me."

"But if you want to try too, that's fine—we can both try together. Maybe our success rate will be higher."

Gao Zhijian reached out and clutched tightly at Li Huowang’s red Daoist robe. "Senior Brother Li! Getting involved in Si Ming’s confrontation is bound to be extraordinarily perilous! You’ll die!"

"Foolish man. Since leaving Qingfeng Monastery, you've spent enough time with me. When have you ever seen me afraid of death?" Li Huowang’s robe instantly transformed from solid to ethereal, slipping from Gao Zhijian’s grasp.

Seeing Li Huowang walk away like that, Gao Zhijian felt panic well up inside him. If he had known this would happen, he might have encouraged Senior Brother Li to go to Nanping for a head-hunting mission instead—though that was still dangerous, it was less so.

"White Sister, you should go persuade Senior Brother Li quickly. This is truly very dangerous," Gao Zhijian attempted to seek a solution through Bai Lingmiao.

Bai Lingmiao pursed her lips and shook her head sorrowfully. "You can't convince him either. How could I possibly succeed where you failed? Senior Brother Li is right—if we could solve everything by confronting them directly, then the collapse of the Law Sect wouldn’t lead to another sect rising again, and the world wouldn’t suffer such hardships."

"But this will really take Senior Brother Li’s life!"

Bai Lingmiao slowly clenched her fist, then spoke after a moment of thought. "I will make the White Lotus Sect spare no effort to help him, including myself."

While the two were talking, Li Huowang had already left the palace gates. Although he knew the direction, how to proceed remained uncertain.

Xuan Pin had guarded himself like a thief, revealing nothing about his methods. He wanted to know how Xuan Pin had helped other Si Mings resolve Yu’er Shen, but he had to find out himself.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Li Huowang walked toward the base of the Bureau of Celestial Surveillance, hoping to discover how Xuan Pin had done it.

He arrived before a mansion flanked by two stone lions. With the official badge of Daliang Bing Shuai, he entered smoothly.

Inside, there were many people, mostly exchanging items. The Bureau of Celestial Surveillance used its well-stocked treasury to command these individuals.

After all, relying solely on faith to get others to fight the Law Sect was unrealistic.

"Master," Li Huowang, walking in, thought he heard wrong. When he turned around, he saw Lü Xiuzhai, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

Compared to the young boy he’d first met, Lü Xiuzhai had changed completely. His scalp was gone, leaving empty eye sockets, and two bare legs, with a mouth sunken due to missing teeth.

Now he looked exactly like his father had described him—completely subdued by Li Huowang.

Draped in tattered clothes, Lü Xiuzhai supported himself with one hand on a halberd, standing on one leg like a rooster.

Seeing Li Huowang approaching, Lü Xiuzhai quickly hopped forward with effort.

"Why are you here?" Li Huowang frowned, looking at the crippled Lü Xiuzhai.

"No legs, can’t walk fast. Thought maybe I could think of something here," Lü Xiuzhai showed a hint of youthful shyness.

"When did you join the Bureau of Celestial Surveillance?"

"I didn’t join. The Bureau now opens its inner treasury to anyone fighting the Law Sect. You didn’t know?"

"What do I care about this nonsense." Li Huowang glanced at Lü Xiuzhai’s short legs and scolded with frustration. "Why cut off your legs! How does *The Great Thousand Records* work? Don’t you know to strip the skin first? At least cut off the feet!"

"Master, I stripped the skin, but sometimes dealing with tough cases, just stripping skin or cutting feet isn’t enough. I had to cut the legs."

Li Huowang sighed softly. He knew well that the pain of amputation was far greater than skinning. Clearly, Lü Xiuzhai had encountered some formidable enemies, forcing him to resort to such measures.

He had assumed Lü Xiuzhai was either dead or returned home, never expecting him to still be alive. "How did you end up like this? Fine, go home quickly."

Lü Xiuzhai shook his head with a smile. "No, Master. I won’t return until the Law Sect is destroyed."

Li Huowang glanced deeper into the Bureau of Celestial Surveillance. "I have urgent matters. Be careful."

"Master, please go slowly."

Li Huowang took a few steps, then sighed and turned back. He pulled out a dagger and slashed open Lü Xiuzhai’s abdomen.

Then he took a palm-sized humanoid piece of skin that oozed from his navel and stuffed it into Lü Xiuzhai’s wound.

As Li Huowang pressed both sides of the wound together, Lü Xiuzhai’s abdomen healed instantly.

"I give you a life. If you lose it, go back home. If you die, the Lü family will truly be extinct." With those words, Li Huowang patted his shoulder and left without looking back.

"Thank you, Master! Please go slowly!"

Once Li Huowang disappeared into the crowd, Lü Xiuzhai turned and walked toward the exchange area.

He first went to the wooden counter, trading his black cloth and left ear for longevity pills, then used those pills to buy things.

"Sir, what would you like?" A eunuch with copper coins pasted over his eyes approached with a respectful smile.

"I lost my legs. Do you have any techniques or talismans that can let me stand again? So I can chase people faster?"

"Ah, sir, please wait. Go behind that screen and rest for a moment while I check."

"Okay," Lü Xiuzhai nodded, using his remaining arm to leap toward the screen.

At first, it was awkward, but he had already become quite agile.

Behind the screen, Lü Xiuzhai sat waiting for the eunuch to return. During the wait, he touched the spot where his master had cut him open.

"What did my master give me? He said a life? Can one life really replace another?" As he pondered, several figures entered from behind the screen.

But it wasn’t the same eunuch. Instead, a group of strange men in long robes and tall hats entered. As soon as they came in, Lü Xiuzhai smelled a strong scent of blood.

"Any business?" Lü Xiuzhai wasn’t overly worried. This was the Bureau of Celestial Surveillance’s territory—no one dared cause trouble here.

"You and I are destined to meet," the leader said, pulling out a blood-soaked bamboo scroll from his robe, pointing at the half-exposed *The Great Thousand Records* in Lü Xiuzhai’s pack.

(End of Chapter)