Heaven’s Shadow

To be honest, Lu Chen did not expect to meet Su Mo so quickly and smoothly. He had thought that Su Mo, being the only suspect currently detained, would be kept in a secret place under strict surveillance.

To his surprise, He Yi had casually placed both of them together in the same confinement.

This move was unusual, or rather, it was completely abnormal. Given that Su Mo’s status as a potential Demon Cult spy was still unconfirmed, it was dangerous to place him with others.

Moreover, the recent incident where Su Qingjun caused a commotion at the Su family residence, and the injuries Lu Chen sustained from Su Mo and others, were not difficult to learn. Lu Chen did not believe that He Yi, who was so calculating, was unaware of these details.

At present, putting him and Su Mo together seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

Lu Chen quickly ran these thoughts through his mind, but his expression remained unchanged. He looked at the man huddled in the corner of the dark room, who was faintly recognizable as the once arrogant Su Mo.

Lu Chen greeted Su Mo, but Su Mo did not respond. He continued to mutter the same two words repeatedly, seemingly lost in his own world.

Lu Chen frowned and crouched in front of Su Mo. At this closer distance, he could see that Su Mo was curled up, burying his head in his knees and hugging his head with his hands, looking extremely frightened.

“Help me… help me… sister, help me…” Su Mo kept whispering intermittently, his voice trembling, showing no reaction to Lu Chen, who was so near.

Lu Chen reached out and gently patted Su Mo’s shoulder. Su Mo flinched slightly but made no other movement.

The situation appeared odd and eerie. Lu Chen stared at Su Mo, lost in thought. After a moment, he suddenly stood up and looked around.

This was a dark room. Most rooms in the Righteous Tomb were similar; their extreme darkness often made it difficult to gauge their actual size. In this room, one particular area near the wall was especially dark.

Lu Chen fixed his gaze on that particularly dense darkness, surveyed the surroundings, and after a while, a smirk appeared on his lips—a cold smile with a hint of mockery.

—

Su Qingjun returned alone to the Flying Goose Platform as night had fallen. Her mood was poor, haunted by the dark and eerie scenes from the Righteous Tomb. She was increasingly worried, even more so than before her visit.

She was concerned about her brother Su Mo and Lu Chen.

Walking along the mountain path, Su Qingjun resolved to visit the ominous Righteous Tomb again the next morning. No matter what, she was determined to do her best to rescue them. Although there might be mysterious undercurrents behind the scenes, it had nothing to do with Su Mo and Lu Chen!

As she reached the Flying Goose Platform, she suddenly paused. In the cold night, she saw a black dog sitting alone in front of the wooden house, staring intently at the mountain path.

After a moment, Ah Tu stood up and walked slowly over to Su Qingjun. When it reached her side, it first glanced behind her. Seeing that no one else was there, Ah Tu looked up at Su Qingjun and gave a soft bark.

Su Qingjun had not interacted much with this black dog usually. It was only because Lu Chen insisted on bringing Ah Tu along that she allowed it to stay on the Flying Goose Platform, leading to a few brief encounters.

However, tonight, she felt that Ah Tu seemed somewhat different from usual, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint how.

Perhaps it was due to her limited interactions with it.

Su Qingjun sighed and said to Ah Tu, “Are you waiting for Lu Chen, Ah Tu?”

Ah Tu looked at her and wagged its tail. Having been injured, it only had one eye and half a tail left. The tail-wagging seemed somewhat comical, while its one remaining eye and the scars on its face gave a tragic impression. These two contrasting feelings bizarrely combined in the black dog.

Su Qingjun felt a twinge of guilt and then found it a bit amusing. But looking at Ah Tu, she felt a vague discomfort. She softly said, “Lu Chen has been detained and won’t be back tonight. But I’ve decided to go back tomorrow. Regardless of what they uncover, as long as they cannot confirm he’s a traitor, I will bring him back. Is that alright?”

Ah Tu quietly watched Su Qingjun. Its only eye had a dark, flickering light, and its half tail had stopped wagging at some point.

Seeing that Ah Tu remained motionless for a long time, Su Qingjun was unsure if it understood her words. She sighed softly and then turned to walk toward the stone cave residence, opening the stone door and going inside.

The heavy stone door closed behind her, and the Flying Goose Platform fell into silence once more.

The night grew colder and more desolate.

The black dog slowly stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing at the vast sea of clouds. It quietly observed.

A greenish glow lit up in its only eye, like a translucent gem or the deep sea. It slowly looked up, staring into the dark night sky.

—

That night, thick clouds obscured the moon and stars, leaving only a veil of darkness across the world.

The black dog stood there alone, the night wind growing tighter and colder. It lifted its head to the sky, its black fur rustling as its eerie green eyes flickered.

Suddenly, it raised its head, howling towards the sky, the dark clouds, or perhaps the unseen cold moon hidden high above.

“Awoo…”

The mournful howl echoed across the sea of clouds, lingering for a long time!

—

Su Qingjun indeed woke up early the next morning. After dressing, she left the cave residence, preparing to head to the Righteous Tomb. As she was leaving the Flying Goose Platform, she glanced at the wooden house but did not see Ah Tu, thinking the black dog might still be asleep.

Su Qingjun got up early, but on the same morning, there was someone else who woke up even earlier, walking along the quiet streets of Kunwu City before it became bustling.

Although the streets were not yet busy, there were some early risers. The plump Lao Ma yawned and saw a breakfast stall on the side of the road, so he walked over and sat down.

Such roadside stalls usually sold mundane food that ordinary people ate. They did not offer any spiritual materials or special food, so ordinary cultivators generally wouldn’t frequent them. However, Lao Ma seemed more like an ordinary person. He sat down casually, ordered some steaming breakfast and hot porridge, and ate heartily. After a while, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he seemed to finally relax, looking more comfortable.

“It was so cold last night,” he remarked, then turned his gaze towards the north, where the majestic Kunlun Mountain range could be seen, even though the tall city walls of Kunwu City couldn’t block it.

Lao Ma pursed his lips and muttered to himself, “I’ve done what I needed to do. It’s best if you don’t bother me now. Let’s see what you do next.”

He daydreamed for a while and then called the vendor to settle the bill.

The stall owner, an old man, came over to calculate the bill amicably. As he turned to leave, he suddenly noticed the blood on Lao Ma’s hand and reminded him, “Sir, your hand is bleeding.”

Lao Ma looked down and indeed saw some blood dripping from between his left hand’s fingers. He smiled and said to the vendor, “Oh, I didn’t realize I cut my hand. Thanks for pointing it out. I’ll take care of it later.”

The old man chuckled, cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, and left. Lao Ma then stood up, walking back onto the street. As he moved, he nonchalantly wiped the blood from his hand on his sleeve, making it disappear.

He walked forward contentedly, blending into the gradually busy street. No one noticed the plump man with bloodstains as he slowly merged with the crowd and vanished from sight.

—

He Yi did not sleep well that night.

The Righteous Tomb was heavy with yin energy, making it an unsuitable place for ordinary people. Even for him, a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator with considerable cultivation, staying here for too long was uncomfortable.

Living in such a gloomy place for extended periods might make one’s temperament strange, much like the corpse watcher. He Yi was curious about this corpse watcher, a withered old man who was mysterious and evidently powerful. There seemed to be some unclear enmity with the newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator Dongfang Tao, making things even more enigmatic.

However, these were not He Yi’s most pressing concerns at the moment. Recommended by Master Kong and appointed by the sect leader Xian Yue, he was focused on investigating the Demon Cult spy murder case. The ongoing delay was causing him significant pressure.

As a result, he had to escalate his methods. It was too late to use the previous gentle and tactful approaches. Both his master and the sect leader could no longer afford leniency.

He Yi felt some grievance; the methods of the Demon Cult spies were ruthless yet extraordinarily cautious. Despite his extensive experience with the Demon Cult, finding reliable clues remained elusive. However, he did not blame his two superiors. Without them, he would likely still be in secluded meditation, and he wouldn’t have been able to act so soon.

He Yi even felt a bit ashamed, thinking he had let down his master and the sect leader.

Thus, he resolved to meticulously question the two detained individuals today, hoping to extract some useful information. With this achievement, he might be able to have his brother He Gang reinstated in the Kunlun Sect.

As he thought of this, his heavy mood lightened considerably, and he smiled slightly as he stepped out of his room.

However, as he reached the courtyard, he suddenly paused. At the entrance to the Righteous Tomb, the heavy black door was ajar, and outside stood a black dog, staring intently at him.

—