The first investigator arrived two days early.
No one expected it. Mo Tian's contacts had confirmed the five day timeline. The chancellor's office had issued a formal itinerary. Every protocol indicated a structured, scheduled arrival with advance notice and diplomatic formality.
Instead, a woman walked through the sect gates at dawn on the third day, alone, carrying nothing but a leather satchel and a wooden badge that bore the imperial judicial seal. She was middle aged, sharp eyed, and moved with the unhurried confidence of someone who had spent decades walking into places that did not want her there.
Her name was Inspector Luo Zhiyan, and within an hour of her arrival she had commandeered the sect's formal meeting hall, requested complete access to all administrative records from the past three years, and informed the sect council that the remaining two investigators would arrive on schedule but that she preferred to begin preliminary interviews immediately.
