[Vol. 1, Fragment VIII: Ministry of Revenue ? Top Secret Ledger]

  "The silver in the national treasury, much like His Majesty's lifespan, is an imaginary number. On paper, it boasts tens of millions of taels; open the vault, and it is full of rat feces and IOUs. Note: If you want to accomplish anything major, don't count on the Ministry of Revenue. Count on 'confiscating properties'."

  — Directorate of Astronomy ? Record of Rejected Funding Applications

  [Internal Note / Directorate of Astronomy] "Budget": A branch of metaphysics used to explain to the Client why we cannot achieve the goal, and why we still require additional funding.

  Shen Wu puked.

  The cold-faced Commander of the Mirror Demon Division, the sharpest blade in the Great Wei Dynasty, was currently leaning against an old willow tree by the Qinhuai River, vomiting violently into the turbid water. He wasn't throwing up breakfast (he hadn't eaten yet), but bile, along with the collapsing edifice of his faith.

  "Tsk. Young people," Xie Bi’an remarked, sitting on a nearby stone stool. He shook his empty wine gourd, wearing the calm expression of someone who had been there before. "Puke it all out. Once the smell of 'preservatives' gets drawn into your lungs, if you don't throw it up, corpse spots will grow in your stomach."

  Shen Wu straightened up, viciously wiping the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. His black cloud-pattern combat uniform remained crisp, but his face was whiter than rice paper, his eyes revealing a shattered bewilderment.

  "That is... the Son of Heaven we swear loyalty to?" Shen Wu's voice was hoarse, his fingers digging deeply into the tree bark. "The Mirror Demon Division has existed for twenty years. We've killed countless 'demons' who tried to pry into the inner palace. I always thought we were protecting a True Dragon... but in the end, we're just protecting a skin sack... stuffed with rotting cotton?"

  If so, what was the meaning of the blood on his hands? Didn't the souls that perished beneath his blade die as a joke?

  "Correction," Xie Bi’an raised a finger. "It is a high-grade skin sack stuffed with 'Fire-Washed Cloth.' As for that heart... heh, imported goods. Better not to mention it."

  "That's not the point!" Shen Wu growled, spinning around to glare dead at Xie Bi’an. "The point is, he is no longer human! Then what exactly is the Great Wei we are protecting? A massive lie?"

  "Commander Shen," Xie Bi’an dropped his smile. His eyes turned dark, like a dried-up well. "Nothing in this world remains unrotted forever. Meat rots, wood decays, even stone weathers away."

  He pointed at the Imperial Palace gleaming under the sun in the distance.

  "The so-called 'Ten Thousand Years' is nothing but spices scattered to cover up the rot. The fact that you can smell the stench now proves your nose isn't broken yet."

  Xie Bi’an stood up, walked over to Shen Wu, and patted his stiff shoulder.

  "We are not pledging loyalty to that skin sack. We are pledging loyalty to this world that hasn't completely rotted through yet."

  "The problem right now is..." Xie Bi’an pointed to the layer of gray mist shrouding the palace. "...that skin sack is leaking. Once the venom flows out, all of Jiankang City will turn into a second Hall of Eternal Life. When that happens, you won't need to vomit; you'll directly turn into a monster that only wants cotton and has no heart."

  Xie Bi’an's voice was light, but it drove into Shen Wu's brain like a heavy nail:

  "Shen Wu, what you need to do right now isn't loyalty. It's stopping the bleeding."

  Shen Wu fell silent.

  The wind blew across the riverbank, whipping the willow branches against his face with a stinging pain. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the agony of his shattered faith back into the depths of his heart. He reverted to the calm Commander of the Mirror Demon Division, though a new streak of ruthlessness, previously absent, now resided deep in his eyes.

  "What do you need?" Shen Wu asked. "Since we accepted the decree, what do you need to complete this 'Grand Ceremony of Liuli'?"

  Xie Bi’an smiled.

  This was what he appreciated about Shen Wu—he might have a breakdown, but he didn't slack on the job.

  "I need a kiln."

  Xie Bi’an turned, looking at the Qinhuai River flowing with rouge and filth, his tone as calm as if discussing baking a red brick.

  "To completely turn a person... oh no, an Emperor, into Liuli, this hand of mine isn't enough. I need a massive, high-temperature environment capable of enclosing the entire Hall of Eternal Life."

  He traced a giant circle in the empty air.

  "I am going to transform the Hall of Eternal Life into a 'Liuli Kiln'."

  By the time they returned to the Miscellaneous Division, the sun was leaning west.

  The moment they stepped through the door, an intense heatwave smelling of sulfur and cat excrement hit their faces, followed by countless fragmented whispers drilling into their ears.

  A shrill cat yowl rang out.

  Xianchan the golden cat was sprawled in the exact center of the room, his body inflated to twice its size like a golden pufferfish. All the fur on his body stood on end, electric arcs sparking at every tip. He was currently spitting golden fire at a green ghost flame trying to squeeze out of a clay jar.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Go back! Get back in there! That's my lunch! You are not allowed to run!"

  The ghost fire squeaked wildly under the flames, finally shrinking back into the jar in grievance.

  But that wasn't the end of it.

  Shen Wu had barely taken half a step inside when he felt a tightness around his ankle. He looked down to see that a pickle jar from the corner had somehow rolled to his feet. Black smoke billowed from the mouth of the jar, morphing into a pale, ghastly hand that gripped his trouser leg tightly.

  "Shen Lang... is that you..."

  A mournful female voice drifted from the jar, sounding seventy percent similar to Shen Wu’s dead first love. "I'm so cold... hold me..."

  Shen Wu’s pupils violently contracted, his hand trembling on his saber hilt.

  "Don't listen," Xie Bi’an’s cold voice drifted over. "That's a 'Mind-Bewitching Gu'. It feeds specifically on human guilt. The guiltier you feel, the faster it grows."

  Xie Bi’an casually picked up a brick from near the door and hurled it without looking. The brick struck the mouth of the jar with a crisp shattering sound, precisely smashing the pale hand into a wisp of dissipating black smoke.

  "Dare to seduce a public servant again, and I'll dump you in the latrine," Xie Bi’an threatened coldly.

  The jar shivered and scrambled back into the corner, rolling over itself.

  Seeing Xie Bi’an return, Xianchan immediately dropped his divine powers, reverting to the lazy fat orange tabby. He rolled on the floor, hugged Xie Bi’an’s leg, and began to wail dryly:

  "Father! You're finally back! These bastards are too hard to babysit! The green one wants to break out, the red one wants to bite my tail, and that crying baby jar is giving me a migraine! I want extra meals! I want two... no, three meatballs!"

  Xie Bi’an kicked the dramatic cat aside and spoke to Shen Wu. "Sit wherever. We don't have many rules here. Just treat it like you've walked into a mass grave; as long as you don't touch things randomly, you can lie down anywhere."

  He walked to the desk missing a leg, rolled out a piece of yellowing rice paper, picked up a balding writing brush, dipped it in his own spit, and began to write.

  Shen Wu stood to the side, looking at the now-quiet clay jars around them, his nerves still rattled. He finally understood why Xie Bi’an said he "fed demons with his own body." A normal person living in this place would go mad within three days.

  "What is this?" Shen Wu watched Xie Bi’an’s brush fly across the paper.

  "A list," Xie Bi’an muttered without lifting his head as he wrote. "Prices are rising too fast these days. A tael of silver used to buy a catty of cinnabar; now it only buys two ounces. To fire 'Emperor-grade' Liuli, we can't use ordinary wood for fuel. We need Filth with heavy 'fire energy'."

  He wrote quickly, filling the page in no time.

  Shen Wu leaned over to look, his eyelids twitching violently.

  Heart of a millennial locust tree demon (Must be dry, moisture content below ten percent), or... the compressed resentment pack of three hundred red-clothed malicious ghosts. Dragon vein dregs (Check the Ministry of Revenue's underground vault, preferably from the previous dynasty; high fire energy). Mermaid tears (Must be fresh, dried ones won't work), or... (The next line, Three hundred virgin boys and girls, was heavily crossed out). Relics of an eminent monk (The bone ash of that Meat Buddha at White Horse Temple will barely do, but we need to find something purer).

  "Three hundred virgin boys and girls?" Shen Wu pointed at the crossed-out line, his voice icy.

  "If you dare to include that line..." Shen Wu's voice grew colder. He didn't draw the blade, but crossed his arms, glaring coldly at Xie Bi’an.

  "That's the recipe the Imperial Preceptor would use, so I crossed it out," Xie Bi’an shrugged, his eyes clear. "I may be a scavenger, but I have professional ethics. I don't do business with living humans. The Liuli fired from that has too many impurities; I disdain using it."

  He handed the list to Shen Wu.

  "Does the national treasury have the items on this list?"

  Shen Wu took the list, scanned it carefully, and his face grew even uglier.

  "No."

  His answer was crisp and decisive. "The current national treasury... is as clean as a mourning hall that just finished its exorcism rites. Over the past few years, to refine elixirs for His Majesty, the Imperial Preceptor has nearly emptied all valuable spiritual materials. Now, the Ministry of Revenue's ledgers are so bare that even a mouse would walk in and leave with tears in its eyes."

  "Tsk." Xie Bi’an tossed the brush aside and scratched his head in frustration. "No money? How do we do this job without money? This is the Emperor's all-inclusive funeral service. He expects it for free? Even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice. I'm a Gleaner, not a god."

  "His Majesty promised you half the empire," Shen Wu reminded him.

  "That's just painting a pie to satisfy hunger," Xie Bi’an rolled his eyes, his tone disdainful. "I want hard silver. I want materials. Can half the empire be used for kindling? If that old thing really gave me the empire, I'd have to pay to repair it. A losing transaction."

  The room fell into silence.

  Outside the window, the wind howled, mixed with the caws of a few crows, sounding exceptionally desolate. A single copper coin could stump a hero, let alone funding a nation-shocking "Apotheosis Project."

  Suddenly, a cold cat meow sounded from the roof beam.

  Anu was hanging upside down, pointing her silver tail toward the window.

  Following her direction, Xie Bi’an and Shen Wu looked outside.

  On the wall opposite the Miscellaneous Division, a brand-new, ink-scented bounty poster had been pasted at some unknown time. The poster flapped loudly in the wind, stamped with a bright red official seal.

  [BOUNTY] Strange events have recently occurred on "Porcelain Street" in the western part of the city. Multiple potters have disappeared without reason. After nightfall, screams echo from the kilns, and the fired porcelain... grows human faces. Anyone who can investigate the truth and quell the disturbance will be rewarded with 5,000 taels of silver, plus... three days of usage rights to the "Dragon Kiln". — Jointly issued by the Jiankang Prefectural Office & the Porcelain Guild

  Xie Bi’an’s eyes lit up.

  "Five thousand taels..." He licked his lips. The exhaustion in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by the shrewd gleam unique to unscrupulous merchants.

  But what truly attracted him wasn't the money.

  It was the "Dragon Kiln".

  "Commander Shen," Xie Bi’an pointed at the bounty poster, a playful smile hooking the corner of his mouth. "Looks like our luck is good. Just when we wanted to sleep, someone brings us a pillow."

  "Porcelain Street?" Shen Wu frowned, recalling the Mirror Demon Division's intelligence. "The location of Jiankang City's largest official kilns. It's said the 'Dragon Kiln' there is built from dragon vein fragments of the previous dynasty. The fire energy is extremely vigorous; it's used exclusively to fire tribute goods."

  "Isn't that ready-made 'fuel' and 'venue'?"

  Xie Bi’an snatched the list and stuffed it into his robes.

  "Let's go, Commander Shen. Since the national treasury is broke, we'll go earn it ourselves. And while we're at it, let's see if this Porcelain Street has also leaked some 'dirty things'."

  He scooped up Xianchan from the floor, then shoved Anu into his sleeve despite her protests, his entire being radiating the hyperactive energy of someone going to "stock up on goods."

  "The weird events at Porcelain Street... hmph. It's mostly likely 'kitchen waste' leaking from His Majesty's side, contaminating the kilns below. What do you call this? 'The wool comes from the sheep's back'."

  Xie Bi’an pushed the door open. The setting sun stretched his shadow long, resembling a blade about to cleave through this turbid world.

  Shen Wu looked at Xie Bi’an’s back, then at the cold blade in his own hand.

  He suddenly felt that following this madman might actually manage to forcibly prop up this collapsing edifice for a little while longer, even if the process was full of the stench of copper coins and scheming.

  Even if the methods were... a bit dirty.

  "Gleaner Xie," Shen Wu followed him, his tone returning to calm. "I want a thirty percent cut of that five thousand taels. The brothers in the Mirror Demon Division need to eat too."

  Xie Bi’an stumbled mid-step. He turned back, staring at Shen Wu in shock, as if looking at a fallen saint:

  "Commander Shen, you've learned to be bad."

  Shen Wu pressed his saber hilt expressionlessly, the corner of his mouth hooking up imperceptibly:

  "He who nears ink gets stained black. From today onward, the blade of the Mirror Demon Division must also learn how to balance the books."