[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dark-and-dawn-light-years":3,"chapter-dark-and-dawn-light-years-dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-123":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Dark and Dawn Light-Years",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2264723,4420,"Chapter 123: Bronze Token","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-123",123,"\u003Cp>When Huang Yan heard that the Assistant County Magistrate had committed suicide, he was furious, nearly smashing the gavel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the hoodlums were sentenced to death, for they had all abused or killed those Kelian  women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Tong, however, received only three years in prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he himself claimed, he had never harmed anyone—not a single person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had merely been responsible for delivering messages to the Assistant County Magistrate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The coroner’s autopsy report came out quickly: the Assistant County Magistrate had not hanged himself; he had first been strangled, then hung up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The injuries on the neck differed between hanging and strangulation due to different directions of force, something easily discernible to a coroner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon learning this, Huang Yan immediately summoned Li Lin, Bai Zhiwei, and Bai Bufen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Assistant County Magistrate was strangled. Both of you, Bai Patrol Captains, were guarding outside his home—did you see anyone suspicious entering or leaving?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Zhiwei and Bai Bufen both shook their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then who could have killed the Assistant County Magistrate and carried him up high to hang him? How did he escape so swiftly after the murder?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking for a moment, Li Lin said: “The Assistant County Magistrate dug a secret tunnel from Xingzhuang to the outside—why couldn’t he have dug another one inside his own home? I suspect the killer escaped through such a tunnel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That makes sense. Go investigate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin immediately led the government office runners to seal off the Assistant County Magistrate’s residence and dismissed the remaining servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the group began searching for the secret tunnel’s mechanism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the search, Li Lin specifically wore the mask the Lady had given him—but found nothing unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mask could only detect places where yin energy had gathered; it was useless for ordinary secret tunnels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Budebushuo , many hands make light work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of government office runners searched for barely two hours before they found the tunnel’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The runners entered, then quickly ran back from outside the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Captain Yan arrived, drenched in sweat, and said to Li Lin: “The tunnel indeed leads outside the city.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin looked at the city wall—the Assistant County Magistrate’s home was near it; digging a tunnel to the outside wouldn’t have been too difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But… the identity of the killer remained without a clue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, another government office runner ran over and presented a bronze token, saying: “Sir, we found this inside the tunnel—it must have been dropped by the fugitive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin took the bronze token and examined it closely, frowning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front bore a line-engraved sea with a crescent moon above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the back was written a single character: “Hui.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were merely the sea and moon, Li Lin wouldn’t have thought twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such imagery was common in this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with the character “Hui” added, its meaning changed entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This token was definitely connected to the cultivation world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin took the token back and submitted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Yan turned the token over and over, shaking his head: “I’ve never seen this design. Have you, Li Patrol Captain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin also shook his head: “No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then take it. Investigate when you have time,” Huang Yan returned the token to Li Lin. “But you might ask Ding Xun—I’ve vaguely heard the character ‘Hui’ is linked to martial artists and Spirit Hunters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin nodded in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Yan paused, then added: “About the Assistant County Magistrate’s case… what should be done with his fleeing family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin said: “We should pursue them. Almost all valuables from his home were taken—those funds were all… the blood money from those women. We should recover them and distribute them among the victims, so they have something to live on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I agree. But the current situation makes it difficult,” Huang Yan sighed. “Qin Tuo has treacherous ambitions—we must guard Jincheng. Most of our troops have been deployed to the front. We have too few left to pursue the Assistant County Magistrate’s family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin nodded, understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Huang Yan suddenly said: “Yesterday’s battle report arrived from the front—the Changmei Garrison has fallen to Tang Qibian’s forces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin smiled: “That’s excellent news.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thanks to you,” Huang Yan explained with a smile. “That night, the grain you burned was precisely the batch Changmei Garrison needed most—they were nearly out of supplies. When news of the rear attack reached them, the enemy soldiers lost morale. Tang Qibian’s forces took the garrison in just a few days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All thanks to your brilliant strategy, my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t flatter me,” Huang Yan waved his hand. “It was your daring raid that did it. I’ve already submitted a memorial to the imperial court—you’ll likely receive new rewards soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you already give us gold and blood rice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The county’s rewards are the county’s. The court’s rewards are the court’s—no contradiction.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rewards were always welcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell the others. Let them prepare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, sir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin left the government office and went to find Ding Yingqiu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A medium-sized two-courtyard house opened to him, greeted by a middle-aged man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Lin, I’ve come on urgent business to speak with your master, Ding Xun. Please announce me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please wait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man returned swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go to the back courtyard—Madam is waiting for you there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin entered, passing several female servants along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They looked at him with ambiguous glances—as if they assumed he was Ding Yingqiu’s lover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the back courtyard, bamboo surrounded the entire area, enclosing it save for a single entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Budebushuo , the scent of bamboo filled the air, and the rustling of leaves created a serene, tranquil atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Patrol Captain, you’ve become quite the celebrity lately,” Ding Yingqiu teased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin waved his hand: “Nothing of the sort.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forcing the Assistant County Magistrate to suicide—isn’t that impressive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Li Lin’s name had already spread throughout Yulin County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin smiled bitterly: “I didn’t force him. It was some organization’s doing. Have you ever seen this before?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed the token on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Yingqiu picked it up, studied it, then frowned: “Doesn’t the sea and crescent moon on the front resemble the painting in the Immortal’s Cave? And this character ‘Hui’… Hui Script?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hui Script?” Li Lin instinctively paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t know?” Ding Yingqiu blinked, then said: “Of course not—you’ve only recently entered the world, and the Hui Script incident happened over thirty years ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is the Hui Script?” Li Lin feigned ignorance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s said to be a peculiar inner cultivation method—if mastered, one could learn any martial art, whether yang or yin,” Ding Yingqiu said with disdain. “But it’s useless—when I tried learning it as a child, I couldn’t even read the manual for a full incense stick before vomiting, nearly emptying my stomach.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has anyone ever succeeded?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No!” Ding Yingqiu laughed. “Even stranger—it originated in the imperial palace. It seems some figure there wanted every Spirit Hunter and martial artist in the realm to learn it. The manual was printed in vast quantities and distributed everywhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1179,"2026-06-19T19:39:18.782Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5e6dccf0a69a9dd283b5d5ea112f9dd07d2995a1d5e581e842c49a764e7f54b0","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-124","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-122",221,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdark-and-dawn-light-years-cover.jpg"]