The Chief Recorder

“Clop, clop, clop,” the sound of horse hooves echoed through the streets of Yinling City. Because of the rain, there were few people on the road, allowing the horse to gallop freely.

The rider lifted his bamboo hat, revealing Li Huowang’s steady gaze. Holding the reins with one hand, he pulled a strip of paper from his chest and checked it again.

It was a carrier pigeon message from Tuoba Danqing. The words on it were few: “Chief Recorder summons, come quickly. Yinling Grand Prison.”

Li Huowang felt he already understood Tuoba Danqing quite well. For a man of his character to send a message about a task without eating or drinking was proof enough that this matter was urgent.

He couldn’t tell yet whether this would be fortune or misfortune for him. All he could do was prepare for the worst.

At least now he was alone. If something went wrong, he had nothing to fear.

Stepping down from the saddle and flipping off the horse, Li Huowang looked up at the grim, black-bricked building before him. The aura of murder in the eyes of the guards at the gate confirmed this was where Yinling City held its heavy criminals.

Those guards had a trace of the military cultivator about them.

The moment Li Huowang dismounted, he felt a faint stabbing sensation at his vital points. Someone he couldn’t see was aiming a hidden weapon at him.

He pulled out his Supervisory Heavenly Office token and flashed it, then stepped through the prison gate, guarded by two fierce stone lions.

As soon as he entered, he saw Tuoba Danqing sitting on a long bench, waving him over. “Er, my good brother, over here! Quickly!”

Li Huowang walked over and glanced at the man beside him. A familiar face—Hong Da, the debt-credit seller he had met once before.

Before Li Huowang could even clasp his hands in greeting, Tuoba Danqing enthusiastically pulled him down to sit on the same bench. “Brother Er, you see just how much I think of you! The moment a good job comes up, I think of you first.”

“Oh? A good job this time?” Li Huowang sniffed the cold, rotting stench in the air and looked around at the prisoners in their cages—whether dead or alive, he couldn’t tell. It didn’t look like a good thing at all.

Tuoba Danqing slapped his thigh excitedly, his expression bright. “Of course it’s a good job! Because this time, it’s a job against the Zuowandao!”

“Don’t you have a grudge against those liars? I saved this one especially for you, let you get your revenge. How about that? Am I good to you, brother, or what?”

Hearing this, Li Huowang was startled. He quickly pressed, “Please, tell me the details. What exactly is this job about?”

“Don’t rush,” Hong Da said absently, sipping a cup of tea. “Wait until the Chief Recorder gets here. Let him tell you. We don’t know much either.”

“Senior Hong, long time no see. I still have to thank you for your recommendation back then. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to join the Supervisory Heavenly Office.”

As Li Huowang bowed to Hong Da, he thought to himself: The Chief Recorder is coming all the way from the capital. Is this job really that dangerous?

He knew nothing about this so-called Chief Recorder except that he was Tuoba Danqing’s superior. But since he held a high position in an organization like the Supervisory Heavenly Office, he was probably no slouch in strength.

“Nothing to thank me for,” Hong Da said. “You chose your own path. As long as you don’t come crying to me later that I dragged you into a den of thieves.”

“Hey, now, Hong Da, I don’t like hearing that,” Tuoba Danqing cut in. “How can you compare our office to a den of thieves? Every time we finish a job, do you not get your share of Lifespan Pills? Every year, does the office not provide your food and clothing?”

“This Mid-Autumn Festival, did the office not send you mooncakes? The office even covers your brothel visits! With the office being so good to you, how can you badmouth the Supervisory Heavenly Office in front of a newcomer?”

“Alright, you’re the loyal one, and I’m the traitor. Is that it?” Hong Da seemed annoyed by Tuoba Danqing’s chatter. He rolled his eyes, turned around, and faced him with the back of his head.

Seeing Tuoba Danqing’s finger go up for another long-winded speech, Li Huowang grabbed his arm. “Brother Tuoba, why are we discussing matters in this prison today?”

“Brother, do you see over there? Yes, the second-to-last cage in the far back. The prisoner locked up in there is also one of our people from the Office. He’s coming with us later.”

Li Huowang looked over in surprise. The cage was far away, and even with his excellent eyesight, he could only make out a blurry, tall figure lying in the straw.

Just as Li Huowang was about to stand up and get a closer look, a sharp, raspy voice sounded from behind him. “Ooh~ Danqing, are all your people here? Looks like this old servant is late.”

“Hm? A eunuch?” Confused, Li Huowang turned around and saw an old, fat, pale man wearing official robes and a feathered cap.

That face, powdered with white makeup, paired with the official robes and that oily smile, made Li Huowang almost think the thing in front of him was a zombie spirit from a zombie movie when it first walked in—if not for the fact it had walked in on its own two feet.

This was the kind of person who stood there, clutching a gold abacus to his chest, sizing them up with a smile. This was the Chief Recorder.

Li Huowang tensed up instantly, worried that the man would see through his disguise. Only when the man showed no reaction did he breathe a sigh of relief.

As soon as this person appeared, Tuoba Danqing acted as if he had found his long-lost father. He shrank his neck, made himself an inch shorter, and rushed over with a humble expression.

“Oh, oh, oh, Chief Recorder, sir, what are you saying? It’s not that you’re late; it’s clearly that we juniors arrived early.”

He gently cupped the fat eunuch’s hand, adorned with a jade thumb ring, and guided him to the table. A cloyingly sweet fragrance hit Li Huowang’s sensitive nose, making him frown slightly. The smell was strange, mixed with the stench of urine.

“Chief Recorder, sir, you already know Hong Da. Let me introduce this one to you. This is my younger brother, Er Jiu. His Ao-Jing Sect divine abilities are truly remarkable. The Xuan-word Renxiao are nothing but dog shit to him. He will definitely be a great help for this job!”

The Chief Recorder looked Li Huowang up and down again. The strange glint in his eyes made Li Huowang deeply uncomfortable. “Greetings, Chief Recorder, sir.”

“Mm, Er Jiu, is it? I remember you. Little Liu mentioned you. Said you were from the Ao-Jing Sect. But he also said you had a bit of a temper problem. The last time you got angry, you burned an entire nest of White Lotus followers being escorted to the capital. If Little Liu hadn’t let it go, and if you weren’t one of Danqing’s people, the Office was planning to have a word with you about that.”

Hearing this, Tuoba Danqing quickly smoothed things over. “Heh heh heh, my younger brother here hates evil like an enemy. A bit of a temper is only natural. Someone with both great skill and an easy-going manner… the entire Office has only you, Chief Recorder, sir~”

The Chief Recorder laughed until his eyes disappeared into the folds of his face. “Oh hoh hoh~ Danqing, I do love going out with you. The words that come out of your mouth are just so pleasant to hear~”

Just as the two of them were harmonizing, Hong Da suddenly interrupted from the sidelines, “Chief Recorder, can we get through the business first before this bootlicker starts licking again?”

Upon hearing this, both men’s faces fell at the same time. Just as Li Huowang thought the Chief Recorder was about to take it out on Hong Da, he pointed a finger, adorned with a gold ring, at the distant cage.

“Danqing~ Go and invite the esteemed Zen Master Xinchi over. Let’s sort out the outline of this operation.”

As the new guy, Li Huowang watched everything silently. It seemed the chain of command in this Supervisory Heavenly Office was not as strict as he had imagined.