Outwitting the Air

As the dream ended, Qi Yuan sat up.

This answer wasn't unexpected, after all, with each step of Gao Changze's investigation, the opposition had cleared obstacles one step ahead. There must be someone within the Duty Bureau.

On the contrary, he would have been surprised if an ordinary person had stirred up such trouble.

Although different units varied, none were as independent as the Duty Bureau. Without real power, it was nearly impossible to convince others.

Qi Yuan knew he was far from being as cunning as those old hands, but he could still deceive others, ultimately due to the information gap resulting from the difference in strength.

To give the simplest example, if a cultivator at the Great Vehicle Stage told a small fry at the Qi Refinement Stage how to practice cultivation, who would doubt it? Unless another Great Vehicle Stage cultivator came out to argue, there would be no room for debate.

He stretched his body. Having split off too many avatars recently, his sense of time had been exponentially stretched by the avatars' memories, giving him a strong sense of "not knowing which year it is" typical of immortal cultivation.

For the sake of his mental and physical health during this rare opportunity for communication, he'd have to inconvenience this former ninth-ranked captain a bit.

...

At the Duty Bureau,

A muscular man in his fifties with graying hair sat casually in a chair, facing Yu Anhe, the director of the Duty Bureau.

Yu Anhe poured chrysanthemum tea from the pot into a cup and pushed it towards the man: "No wonder you haven't been in Jidu for the past few months. So you've been planning to leave. Are you sure you won't reconsider? Things are unsettled everywhere now."

Wei Zhiming picked up the teacup and took a small sip: "Time waits for no one. How much longer can I hold on at my age? Before, I couldn't find direction, but now I'm just one step away from the truth. If I can find that mysterious organization, I'll understand whether the gods can be revived, and fulfill my lifelong wish."

Wei Zhiming's expression remained unchanged. Compared to a mysterious organization, he was more inclined to believe in the masked figure, but there was no need to say more about that.

Yu Anhe smiled without further persuasion.

This former ninth-ranked captain's obsession with theology was not exactly common knowledge, but anyone who had interacted with him knew of his fixation on and yearning for the gods.

Changing Wei Zhiming's mind wouldn't be easy, and their ordinary friendship wasn't close enough for persuasion. Yu Anhe wouldn't make the mistake of speaking too freely in a shallow relationship.

Moreover, even parents shouldn't have the audacity to obstruct someone's dreams and pursuits. Wei Zhiming had left the Duty Bureau years ago, so there were no concerns about confidentiality.

If they could produce one Qi Yuan, they might well produce a second. To make use of civilian ability users, they naturally needed, and must have, some degree of tolerance.

However, as the director of the Duty Bureau, he had to maintain his stance, so he had to make an attempt.

His thoughts raced in an instant, and Yu Anhe joked: "If you really find it, that's not bad. Don't forget us when you make it big."

Wei Zhiming put the teacup back on the table: "You're still the same, always calculating..."

Inwardly, he was noncommittal. If Yu Anhe were the type to prioritize exchanging benefits above all else, he wouldn't have needed to leave Dragon Country. Because it would mean that as long as it wasn't out in the open, Yu Anhe would smooth things over, and Qi Yuan wasn't the kind of hot-blooded youth who would come brandishing a knife.

If those in power were purely driven by self-interest, death on the spot and death after trial would be two different concepts.

It was precisely because Yu Anhe wouldn't tolerate it, and now had the conditions to allow his intolerance, that Wei Zhiming had no choice but to leave.

Hmm...

Wei Zhiming suddenly sensed something amiss. Logically, after two hypocritical middle-aged men finished joking, they should burst into laughter.

Yu Anhe's silence was decidedly abnormal.

He looked up to see Yu Anhe with his mouth open, head tilted back in laughter, his body naturally leaning back. Everything seemed normal, except...

There was no sound.

No, that wasn't entirely true. There was a sound.

It was just that his ears were filled with a continuous ringing...

The laughter and the sound of Yu Anhe moving his body were completely absent. The scene before him appeared normal, yet there was an indescribable sense of strangeness.

It was like watching an eerie silent film.

The sudden change made Wei Zhiming's expression turn grim, though he hadn't even noticed it himself, until Yu Anhe waved his hand in front of him. Reading his lips, Wei Zhiming could tell Yu Anhe was saying, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Wei Zhiming composed himself, and everything seemed to return to normal, but he knew that what had just happened was neither an illusion nor a physiological response to stress.

Yet a fire of anger ignited in his chest, burning through his viscera.

He had been provoked.

Or rather, it wasn't even provocation. The other party simply didn't take him seriously enough to inform him in this manner.

As far as he knew, only one person in Jidu could do this: Qi Yuan!

Wei Zhiming wasn't an unreasonable person, but even a man of clay has his limits. His repeated concessions were only because reason had prevailed.

Yu Anhe's eyes swept over, observing the changes in Wei Zhiming's body. He wondered what could have caused such a sudden change in expression, whether he had remembered something or was feeling unwell.

"If you're not feeling well, go to the hospital. You're not a child anymore, acting like you're three years old."

Wei Zhiming's face stiffened. The anger at being provoked by a junior had just subsided, only to flare up again.

Since ancient times, those who sought the way of gods did so for a few reasons: one for longevity, two for power, three for knowledge, four for regrets...

His self-deprecation about his age was, in fact, a manifestation of his concern.

Self-mockery and sudden mention by others evoked vastly different feelings.

In the end, he wasn't truly blinded by the provocation. His face contorted for a moment before he abruptly stood up.

"I just remembered something. We'll chat another time."

Wei Zhiming left the office hurriedly, as if some urgent matter awaited his attention.

Yu Anhe watched his old friend's erratic behavior with a thoughtful expression. He picked up his cup and stood by the window, which offered an angled view of the Duty Bureau's main entrance.

Before long, he saw Wei Zhiming appear at the gate. He took a step in a certain direction, seemingly normal.

But Wei Zhiming's step lasted a bit too long, and in the next second, he changed direction.

That direction was...

Yu Anhe's gaze followed Wei Zhiming's advancing direction outward, his eyelid twitching. He immediately closed his eyes, returned to his seat, rested his hand on the chair back, and took a sip of his health tea.

Heh, he hadn't seen anything.

However, he hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back, then wanting to hold back but unable to resist. Finally, he couldn't help but mutter to himself in the air.

"Don't go around looking through illusions, you think I don't know? This is illegal, you know?"

A breeze blew through the window, and Yu Anhe continued talking to himself: "If you know you're wrong, then change. Don't let me catch you next time."

As Yu Anhe wrestled with the air, he didn't realize that Qi Yuan's illusion hadn't lingered here, but had left with Wei Zhiming.