“How much longer do I need to wait?”

An annoyed, commanding voice sounded through Xie Wanshou’s office.

“If not for a young master taking a fancy to you, you would have been dead already.”

The man warned.

Xie Wanshou didn’t argue-she knew she was powerless before him. She wanted to complain;

She was caught between a rock and a hard place. But seeing that the man before her was just another Spirit Severing cultivator, she knew it was wiser to comply with Bai Zihan.

After all, the person called Zou Shiji seemed to have the same strength as the two who had been sent as her watchdogs.

(It looked like they were still unaware that those two were already dead.)

“They should be arriving soon. I didn’t expect them to take so long to destroy a middle clan perhaps they’re dawdling?”

She lied.

Zou Shiji had come because the two bodyguards-more like watchdogs-sent to Xie Wanshou had stopped sending reports.

Delays happened, but two weeks without word was unacceptable; hence he was sent to check in person.

Xie Wanshou had told him that the two guards had gone to attack a clan that offended her and that they were carrying out her orders.

It wasn’t the first time that was done and Zou Shiji believed it.

TAC! TAC!

Zou Shiji stamped his foot in impatience.

“Tsk! Why doesn’t the young master just take her away?”

He muttered.

!!!

Soon enough, a message popped into Xie Wanshou’s mind.

(Young Master Bai has arrived!)

She stood up, relieved that Bai Zihan had come so quickly. She didn’t know how much longer she could have kept deceiving Zou Shiji. Now she didn’t need to.

It didn’t take long for Bai Zihan to enter Xie Wanshou’s office, Kong Zhanghong at his side.

Without so much as a knock, he walked in like he owned the place.

“Who are you?”

Zou Shiji asked, thinking Bai Zihan might be another guest.

“You can come back another time-I have business with Xic Wanshou right

now.”

Zou Shiji demanded.

“Don’t worry, I am not here for Xie Wanshou,”

Bai Zihan declared.

“I am here for you.”

***

One minutes later-

“H-How dare you do this to me? You’ll regret this!”

Zou Shiji shouted as his hand was chained and his meridians scaled. He could do nothing but shout.

For current Bai Zihan, Spirit Severing Realm didn’t pose any problem unless they have powerful trump cards like protagonists.

“Xie Wanshou, you dare betray us? Even if you’re favored by the young master, don’t think you can walk away easily”

Zou Shiji spat.

Xie Wanshou’s face flushed crimson, but her eyes burned with anger rather than fear.

“You think I’m some prized flower to be kept in a porcelain vase? That Young Master of yours should just rot in hell.”

She snapped.

She hated being treated like property-though Bai Zihan didn’t care much either way.

“Y-You! Once the young master knows about this, you will regret it.”

Zou Shiji stammered, rising from where he had been leaning against a pillar.

“Enough of your useless speeches. Tell me what I want to know or say goodbye to your life,” Bai Zihan said.

“Where is your headquarters?” He asked directly.

“You think I’ll answer just because you caught me off guard? Unhand me right

now or you’ll regret it,” Zou Shiji replied arrogantly.

Still thinking that he some kind of big shot.

“Is that so?”

Five minutes later-

“I’ll talk. I’ll talk! Please!”

Bai Zihan had mastered the art of torturing.

Kong Zhanghong and Xie Wanshou watched another performance as Bai Zihan

completely made a grown man cry like a baby.

Previously arrogant Zou Shiji had been reduced to someone who only wanted

to escape this hell. Not that Bai Zihan intended to let him.

“You’d better start with something useful,” Bai Zihan said.

Zou Shiji swallowed, fought for composure, then let the dam break.

“I-I don’t know where the headquarter is,” he confessed.

Bai Zihan narrowed his eyes, glaring.

“I’m telling the truth,” Zou Shiji insisted. “I was only sent to check on the two

who stopped reporting back to headquarters.”

Zou Shiji answered.

Zou Shiji’s lips trembled, his pride still fighting against the fear gnawing at his

bones.

“Then where do you work from?”

Bai Zihan asked, voice calm but carrying the weight of an executioner’s blade.

Zou Shiji clenched his jaw, trying to resist, but the chill of death hovering in the air left him with no choice. His voice came out hoarse, defeated.

“I… I’m not from the headquarters. I’m stationed in one of their branches.”

Bai Zihan’s gaze sharpened.

“Where?”

Zou Shiji hesitated, but under that suffocating aura, he broke.

“It’s… outside the Desolate Heaven Empire. In the Falling Star Empire, west of

here. A small, weak place compared to your empire, but-” He swallowed.

“They maintain a branch there. Since it was closest to the Black Lantern Society, I was dispatched to investigate.”

Bai Zihan tapped his finger against the table, a faint smile playing at his lips.

“Falling Star Empire, hmm?”

For a moment, he said nothing, only thinking.

Having a branch in another empire meant this organization wasn’t a petty

shadow sect-they had reach, and the confidence to extend their claws beyond

borders.

(An organization with branches in different empires, interfering in my Bai Clan’s matters… They might be stronger than any clan or sect here. That, or arrogant enough to act as if they were.)

It was speculation, but not unfounded. And if true, then he’d stumbled onto an opponent whose roots ran far deeper than he first thought.

“Tell me about this branch,” Bai Zihan said at last, his tone leaving no room for lies. “Its strength, its numbers, its leaders. Leave nothing out!”

All in all, the branch in the Falling Star Empire wasn’t anything to be feared, but within that empire it could still be considered quite powerful.

It was overseen by about three Void Refinement elders, with people like Zou

Shiji carrying out orders from headquarters, and the rest comprised mostly of

disposable pawns.

Wiping them out might be difficult for Bai Zihan with his current strength, but

it was far from impossible.

Zou Shiji didn’t know the true purpose of establishing branches, but he speculated it might be to control the Falling Star Empire.

After all, they supported one of the princes and carried out missions to

eliminate his rivals.

(So why is there no branch in the Desolate Heaven Empire…?) Perhaps it wasn’t that there wasn’t one, but that people like Zou Shiji were kept

in the dark.

He didn’t seem to be in direct contact with headquarters, merely a pawn who

had been told this branch was the closest.

That could well have been an excuse to conceal the existence of a branch

inside the Desolate Heaven Empire itself.

Or perhaps those within were simply too busy.

Judging by what they were doing in the Falling Star Empire, it was likely they

were attempting the same here-and even more likely now, with the Emperor expected to die soon.

As long as they could control one of the princes or princesses and place them

on the throne, they could effectively control the Desolate Heaven Empire-at

least half of it.

After all, the major clans and sects didn’t necessarily have to listen to the royal family. Only by forcing them to submit could true control be established. Otherwise, it would be no different from the current royal family: seemingly at the top, but far from absolute.

For instance, even the Emperor himself could not interfere with a clan like the

Bai.

Bai Zihan’s gaze sharpened, his fingers drumming idly against the arm of the

chair as if he had all the time in the world.

“Is that really all you know?”

He asked softly, the calmness in his voice carrying far more weight than any

shout.

Zou Shiji’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.

“I swear! I’ve told you everything-I truly don’t know where the headquarters is

or who is in the headquarter.”

The silence that followed stretched, heavy and suffocating. Then Bai Zihan

leaned forward, his smile devoid of warmth.

“Then aren’t you almost useless to me?”

Zou Shiji’s heart plummeted.

The chains around his wrists rattled as he struggled against them, his fear

finally outweighing his pride and loyalty.

“W-Wait! There is someone who might know!”

He blurted out in panic.

Bai Zihan’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, waiting.

“The branch leader,” Zou Shiji continued quickly, desperate to prove his worth.

“He frequently comes into contact with people from headquarters. If anyone

knows what you want, it’s him!”

“Mmmm.”

Bai Zihan’s hum was faint, noncommittal.

Zou Shiji pressed on, words tumbling out like water from a cracked jar.

“I-I can lead you there! Only I know how to reach the branch. Without me, you’ll never find it. Let me take you, and you’ll have your answers!”

Bai Zihan thought for a second. There wasn’t anything urgent that he needed to

deal with.

And who knows, with Zou Shiji missing, it might alert them.

“Sure. I hope,” Bai Zihan leaned in, his gaze boring into Zou Shiji’s trembling

eyes, “that you are not lying to me.”

Zou Shiji’s breath hitched, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.

“I-I wouldn’t dare! I’ll take you there, I swear!”

Bai Zihan chuckled softly, but the sound carried more menace than

reassurance.

“Good. Because if I find out otherwise, even death will be too merciful a release

for you.”