Forty-five minutes before the special department split into teams...
Carrying a cup of coffee, Hang Zhongxuan walked from the lounge back to his desk in the office area. He had just sat down when his smart terminal let out a soft chime. Glancing down, he saw a message from Leander.
"Chief? What did Leander send you?" Deputy Chief Lan Qihan happened to pass by and noticed the faint frown on Hang Zhongxuan's face. She leaned in curiously.
Without answering, Hang Zhongxuan opened the message. It was a compressed file marked: Top Priority Data. Without hesitation, he stood up, connected the central lightbrain at the conference table beside Lan Qihan's desk, and projected the contents into midair for everyone to see.
It was surveillance footage.
"Call the others—Cen Wenyu, Jiang Mingyao, Gu Xingxi. Have them meet us here immediately," Hang Zhongxuan said in a low voice.
Sensing the case might finally have a breakthrough, Lan Qihan turned and rushed upstairs to the top floor of the special department.
It didn't take long for the four team members to gather around the round table.
"Leander specifically requested that we activate our Celestial Eyes before watching this footage. He said there's something hidden from normal sight," Hang Zhongxuan said, glancing around at everyone.
"Celestial Eye? Now this is getting mystical," Jiang Mingyao said with a smirk, blinking his eyes. "Haven't done that in a while."
"I'll use a talisman." Jiang Mingyao pulled out a silvery-white charm and pressed it to his forehead. As he closed his eyes, a faint spiritual aura surged. The rune briefly glowed before vanishing into his skin.
"I'll use Inner Vision," Lan Qihan replied calmly. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a second—when she opened them again, the atmosphere around her shifted sharply, as if a timeless mirror had awakened within her gaze.
"My divine sense is always active. I just need to focus," Cen Wenyu said softly, a translucent sheen forming over his eyes.
"Then I'll go with the quick method," Gu Xingxi said, snapping his fingers. He drew a sigil into the air, then pressed it to his forehead.
Hang Zhongxuan was the last. Forming a hand seal, a golden light flickered at the center of his brow, and the hidden spiritual eye deep within his consciousness opened slightly.
"Play it."
The footage showed an indoor surveillance view. A young man in white was lying unconscious on the floor—Ling Zhao.
Under the Celestial Eye's view, his soul was being slowly pulled from his body.
In the normal footage, the air appeared empty. But to those watching with enhanced vision, a blurry silhouette began to emerge—shrouded in dark mist, its hand slowly reaching for Ling Zhao.
"That's… an invisible person? The mastermind cultivator?" Jiang Mingyao drew in a sharp breath.
"Not fully invisible—just using concealment spells. Can't hide from the Celestial Eye," Lan Qihan muttered, eyes narrowed.
The shadowed figure seemed to be attempting to devour Ling Zhao's soul. But then—something unexpected happened. Though Ling Zhao's soul appeared dormant, it instinctively resisted, latching onto the shadow's spiritual energy.
"Is he... fighting back?" Gu Xingxi gasped. "Wait, isn't this kid supposed to be an ordinary person?"
"…His fate is marked with Celestial Virtue and Purple Star—no ordinary life," Cen Wenyu said gravely. "This isn't a normal backlash. It's a self-defense from his destined fate."
The shadow figure, sensing something wrong, hurriedly pulled away. Ling Zhao's soul transformed into a brilliant stream of light and scattered like fireworks, vanishing completely.
"He's not dead," Hang Zhongxuan said quietly. "His soul retreated into his fate, entering a protective state. We just need to figure out where his soul went."
Before anyone could respond, the next part of the footage played. It showed Chen Qiyue handing a ring to the shadowy figure. The latter performed a few lazy hand seals before tossing the ring back.
"That's the laziest spellcasting I've ever seen," Gu Xingxi scoffed.
"He didn't seal anything. He was just putting on a show for Chen Qiyue," Cen Wenyu frowned.
On screen, Chen Qiyue clutched the ring tightly, eyes gleaming with madness. "Now we'll never be apart…"
"Just how obsessed is this guy…" Lan Qihan muttered coldly. "He kills him, and still wants to keep his soul? Is this obsession or pure control?"
"Ling Zhao wasn't sealed in the ring. The soul vanished because the invisible cultivator was backlashed," Hang Zhongxuan concluded. "From this footage, we know three things. First, someone tried to steal Ling Zhao's destiny. Second, Chen Qiyue is working with them. Third, Ling Zhao's soul is still intact—but his body is dead. We need to locate his soul, fast."
The video ended. A second clip followed—this one previously unreleased. It was from a hidden angle, clearly showing Ling Ning and Chen Qiyue attacking Ling Zhao together. Though grainy at first, the footage had been enhanced and was now crystal clear.
"Tch. So it was his own sister who helped kill him," Cen Wenyu sneered coldly.
"Now we have solid evidence." Hang Zhongxuan stood, voice resolute. "Let's assign tasks."
He scanned the team. "Cen Wenyu and I will go together. Lan Qihan, Gu Xingxi, Jiang Mingyao—you three will assist with arresting Ling Ning. Take action if necessary."
"Same as always—no need to report to the regular police?" Jiang Mingyao asked.
"This case involves metaphysics, fate, and soul energy. Sending it to the regular cops would just tip them off," Hang Zhongxuan said without hesitation. "We're the Special Division. This is our domain."
Then he turned to Cen Wenyu and held out a hand.
"Come on. It's our turn to step in."
Cen Wenyu said nothing, simply lifting his hand to intertwine his fingers with Hang Zhongxuan's, offering a gentle smile.
He had just taken advantage of the moment Hang Zhongxuan was speaking to confirm that Chen Qiyue was currently filming with a production crew at the film city on the outskirts of town. It was time for this absurd farce to come to an end.
Hang Zhongxuan stared through the holographic window at the distant setting sun. "This time, we won't let a single one of them go."
"We still haven't uncovered who's behind it all," Cen Wenyu thought, unease creeping in.
No clues, no names. That kind of ignorance was maddening.
Hang Zhongxuan silently wrapped his arm around Cen Wenyu's waist, saying nothing.
Before heading out, the two of them quickly geared up in the equipment room of the Special Department. Hang Zhongxuan rolled up the sleeves of his black uniform, retrieving several soul-suppressing talismans, a spirit-expelling command, and a vial of Soul-Gathering Jade Dew from the drawer. He also sealed a family-engraved Heavenly Eye Stone into a charm pouch.
Cen Wenyu packed an array key, a small spellbook on spirit-recording techniques, and a detection talisman. He ran a finger across the talisman to confirm it was still charged with spiritual energy before nodding that he was ready.
With all their gear in place, they boarded their exclusive hover vehicle and departed for the film city.
Outside the car window, the scenery flew by. Hang Zhongxuan looked down and opened a projection screen, double-checking the evidence Leander had provided. The footage clearly showed Chen Qiyue's expression, the anomaly in the Transparent Celestial Master's spiritual aura, and Ling Zhao's soul fighting back. Everything was crystal clear.
Hang Zhongxuan's brows were tightly furrowed, his voice cold and unwavering: "He thinks he can get away with this with a bit of borrowed spiritual power? He's dreaming."
"And yet, it took us a long time just to track down that tiny sliver of spiritual power," Cen Wenyu replied calmly.
"We're still too weak..." Hang Zhongxuan fell silent. That was the painful truth for most practitioners.
When their vehicle stopped at the entrance of the film city, Cen Wenyu had already put on a discreet earpiece to stay in contact with Gu Xingxi and the others via the internal Special Department channel. He scanned the surroundings. Many extras and crew members were gathered near the set building and the high wall behind the parking lot. Everything appeared normal, as if no murders or occult rituals had ever taken place here.
"Let's go," Hang Zhongxuan said, stepping forward and pulling out a family-issued access pass, which he handed to the guard at the entrance.
Inside the soundstage, the director was chatting with a production assistant. Upon seeing Hang Zhongxuan approaching, he immediately recognized him and offered a respectful smile. "Mr. Hang, what brings you to the set today?"
"Official business," Hang Zhongxuan replied curtly. "I need a favor. Call Chen Qiyue here. We need to speak with him."
The director hesitated for a second but dared not ask questions. He simply replied, "Understood," and immediately picked up the radio to contact the crew.
Not far away, Chen Qiyue sat at the edge of the set in full costume, his long hair flowing, makeup still intact. He looked dazed, absentmindedly fingering a necklace from his pocket—a silver ring looped through the chain. He rubbed the smooth surface with his fingertip, occasionally smiling to himself and even bringing the ring to his lips for a kiss, mumbling, "Ling Zhao, we'll be together forever..."
"Disgusting," Cen Wenyu muttered under his breath from a distance.
The scene sent a chill down his spine. That ring was a critical piece of evidence. Yet Chen Qiyue still wore it, clinging to it with deranged obsession.
Hang Zhongxuan nodded toward him. The two moved forward, flanking Chen Qiyue.
A staff member called out, "Mr. Chen, the director wants to see you in the main hall. Someone's here to speak with you."
Chen Qiyue looked puzzled but stood up obediently. As he approached, he spotted Hang Zhongxuan waiting, his gaze cold as ice.
"Who are you?" Chen Qiyue frowned, a sense of dread creeping in.
Hang Zhongxuan didn't answer. He pulled out a black Special Department badge and flashed it before him. His voice was steady, unquestionable: "Special Department. By authority of the 'Spiritual Practitioner Safety Act,' Article 19, you are hereby taken into custody on suspicion of murdering Ling Zhao, colluding with rogue spiritual practitioners, and disrupting the balance of karma. You will cooperate with our investigation."
Chen Qiyue froze, panic washing over his face. He had thought the Celestial Master had erased all critical surveillance evidence. How had this happened?
"You're spouting nonsense!" he snapped back quickly, taking a step back, face pale. "I didn't kill anyone! This is slander!"
"...Wenyu, bad news," Gu Xingxi's voice came through the earpiece, filled with rare urgency. "Ling Ning has been taken."
Cen Wenyu's expression instantly turned cold. "Taken? By who?"
"We don't know," Gu Xingxi replied, taking a deep breath. "We had just subdued her, the array wasn't even up yet, and a force—I don't know from where—disrupted everything. It's like they knew we were coming."
The air around them seemed to grow heavier.
Hang Zhongxuan gritted his teeth. "Damn it... That person has finally made a move."
He looked up, voice low and chilling:
"That Celestial Master—they've been watching us all along."
His eyes turned icy cold. Chen Qiyue turned even paler, his lips parted to speak, but when he met Hang Zhongxuan's gaze, he instinctively took a step back.
"You'd better come with us quietly," Hang Zhongxuan said, voice low and threatening. "Otherwise, I can't guarantee how you'll be taken back."
Cen Wenyu swiftly pulled a soul-binding talisman from behind and activated it. "Chen Qiyue, comply."
A few crew members and extras watched from afar, whispering nervously among themselves, while others slipped away quietly. The director frowned, wanting to step in, but one glance at Hang Zhongxuan's steely gaze shut him up.
Chen Qiyue hesitated, then finally raised his hands, feigning calm. "Fine. I'll go with you. But I won't admit to something I didn't do."
Hang Zhongxuan let out a cold snort. "You'll talk. It's just a matter of time."
Cen Wenyu stepped forward and slapped the talisman onto Chen Qiyue's wrist. Spiritual light flickered, and a ghostly chain shimmered around his arms. Chen Qiyue flinched, but said nothing more.
At that moment, the scene wrapped up—but the real interrogation was only just beginning.