Chapter 336: There Is No Peaceful Time

They passed through the Wu Gate.

Behind the Chengtian Gate lay a vast expanse of blue bricks, housing the offices of the Six Ministries and Five Temples.

Among the people, it was commonly called the Thousand-Step Corridor.

Civil officials on the east, military on the west.

The Anwei's office sat in an unremarkable corner on the western side of the Thousand-Step Corridor, directly adjacent to the Censorate, with no gate arches to mark it—leaving outsiders utterly lost.

"Lord Li, this is the Anwei."

Eunuch Zheng smiled as he stepped through the Anwei's gate, explaining: "Most know only the Embroidered Uniform Guard; few know of the Anwei. It was established directly by His Majesty, answerable only to him, with no more than thirty-six members."

"The Anwei is led by Yang Bing, under the oversight of Director Gu."

Li Rui nodded silently.

He silently declared the money well spent.

Along the way,

Eunuch Zheng told him much, giving him a clear grasp of the Anwei's structure.

At all times, intelligence is paramount.

With this understanding, Li Rui would no longer be blindfolded and manipulated.

As they spoke,

the two arrived before the main hall of the Anwei.

Ordinarily, Eunuch Zheng would have stopped here and left, but perhaps the bag of tokens had its effect—he led Li Rui straight into the main hall.

Inside the main hall,

a massive man with a full beard and broad shoulders sat sprawled, his voice booming:

"Eunuch Zheng, what brings you here?"

Without needing to guess, this man was Yang Bing, the Anwei's leader.

Eunuch Zheng smiled: "Commander Yang, I've come on His Majesty's orders to deliver this man—Li Rui."

Yang Bing raised an eyebrow, studying Li Rui more closely:

"You're Li Rui?"

Li Rui nodded, clasping his fists in salute: "I am Li Rui of Yunzhou."

Yang Bing grunted a faint "hmm."

Eunuch Zheng then took his leave, giving Li Rui a slight nod as he went.

Li Rui understood perfectly.

Eunuch Zheng's words—"on His Majesty's orders"—had done him immense favor.

With the Emperor's backing, his actions within the Anwei would be far easier.

Though the Emperor had indeed instructed it, had Eunuch Zheng, a senior eunuch close to the throne, personally intervened, the weight behind it would be worlds apart.

Eunuch Zheng stepped out of the Anwei's office.

Yang Bing lifted his lips slightly, gazing at Li Rui: "Alright, sit."

Eunuch Zheng's presence was already working.

According to Eunuch Zheng's earlier words, the Anwei had existed for only thirty years; before this, Yang Bing had been the sect master of a major sect, retiring only to become Anwei leader—his cultivation base at least third-rank.

And he was Li Rui's direct superior.

To invite him to sit on their first meeting was already a great honor.

Li Rui sat down slowly.

His demeanor was humble, reverent—showing no arrogance despite the Emperor's backing.

Seeing this, Yang Bing nodded in satisfaction.

He excelled at taming the defiant.

He had expected this old man, escorted by Eunuch Zheng, to at least show some defiance—but instead, he was so docile, offering not a single opening.

Yang Bing suddenly asked:

"Are you Jiang Linxian's man?"

Li Rui was startled, but answered without hesitation: "I am Anwei. Director Jiang recommended me."

But Yang Bing waved dismissively:

"Don't play party politics here—I don't play that game. Jiang Linxian is the Southern Town Mountain Envoy; your name was even written by his hand. Even I didn't know you existed. If not his man, whose man are you?"

"The south is his domain. I never interfere."

What a hands-off boss.

Li Rui's brow twitched slightly.

But Yang Bing's approach was wise—officials must learn to delegate.

He caught one word sharply.

Mountain.

Jiang Linxian's title—Town Mountain Envoy—was unheard of.

What did "mountain" mean?

Yang Bing seemed to sense Li Rui's confusion, his lips curling slightly: "It seems Jiang Linxian never told you what the Anwei does."

Li Rui's eyes flickered.

As he suspected, the Anwei was far from ordinary.

Otherwise, why no gate arch at the entrance?

Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a grand office.

Yang Bing: "The Anwei is just the Anwei—no other name. This was decreed by His Majesty. Anwei members need not register with the Ministry of Personnel."

"Twenty Seekers of the Mountain, ten Definers of the Mountain, four Towns of the Mountain, seven Guest Masters."

"You are one of the twenty Seekers of the Mountain."

Li Rui's heart stirred.

Eunuch Zheng had said the Anwei had thirty-six members total.

Clearly, the remaining two were the leader, Yang Bing, and the Commandant, Gu Changsheng.

Gu Changsheng held the post concurrently, so Yang Bing oversaw all Anwei affairs; the Guest Masters were not counted among the thirty-six.

The Anwei's essence lay in the word "secret."

Yet Li Rui never imagined it operated as a self-contained system, even exempt from Ministry of Personnel registration.

Even the mighty Embroidered Uniform Guard could not escape such oversight—yet the Anwei had.

Truly mysterious.

Li Rui grew even more curious as Yang Bing said: "The Towns of the Mountain are stationed in the four directions; Jiang Linxian is the Southern Town Mountain Envoy."

"Do you know why His Majesty established the Anwei?"

Li Rui played along, shaking his head:

"I do not."

He truly did not. Yang Bing smiled more broadly: "Then do you know what a Fallen Immortal is?"

Fallen Immortal?!

At those three words, Li Rui's pupils contracted sharply.

Could immortals truly exist in this world?

Yang Bing regarded Li Rui with deep meaning: "In ancient times, the celestial court's immortals ascended to the higher realm, and spiritual energy vanished. But in the past five hundred years, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau has observed signs of spiritual energy's revival—and immortals from the higher realm now walk among mortals."

"These Fallen Immortals use the method of soul transference into dead bodies."

"The late Emperor died because of a Fallen Immortal; His Majesty was thus exiled among the common folk."

"After ascending the throne, His Majesty restored order and despised these Fallen Immortals meddling in affairs—so he established the Anwei: to use mountains to replace immortals, to subdue mountains is to subdue immortals."

Subdue Immortals!

Li Rui drew a sharp breath.

No mistake—every word, every detail, was real!

What immense audacity.

Under heaven, all land belongs to the Son of Heaven; at the edge of all lands, all subjects belong to him.

Even immortals are no exception.

If they refuse to obey—subdue them all!

Yang Bing: "Our duty as Anwei is to seek out Fallen Immortals across the land and restrain them."

'Restraining immortals.'

Li Rui stirred.

As his status rose, he was finally beginning to touch the world's hidden truths.

It was far from as simple as it seemed.

What the people saw was only what the court wished them to see; the hidden currents beneath were known to only a few.

In his past life, there was a saying:

There is no peaceful time—only others bearing burdens for you.

The Fallen Immortals' power must be immense; such beings, wielding supernatural force, could shatter any order with a single move.

The Yu Kingdom's court must have devoted tremendous effort to this.

According to Yang Bing, the Exiled Immortals had appeared in the world for five hundred years; the sudden death of the former emperor and the current sovereign's years wandering among the common folk were both deeply connected to the Exiled Immortals.

This water is not shallow at all.

Yang Bing seemed to have said everything he intended; he waved his hand casually: "That's all I needed to say. The Shadow Guards have no strict rules—just keep your eyes open for the Exiled Immortals. In a few days, you'll return to Yunzhou."

He added one more explanation:

"Every Shadow Guard has his own identity."

"Except me."

Li Rui understood.

No wonder the imperial Shadow Guards were spoken of in whispers, yet no one had ever seen one.

"So that's how it is."

But knowing the enemy were Exiled Immortals walking among mortals, no amount of caution was too much.

"By the way, as a veteran Shadow Guard, I have two friendly warnings."

"First, we only need to locate disobedient Exiled Immortals—do not provoke direct conflict."

"Second, should an Exiled Immortal break the rules, spit your tongue's blood onto this jade talisman, and a Guest Minister will handle it."

"Now go."

With that,

Yang Bing tossed a jade talisman aside and adopted the demeanor of a man dismissing a guest.

Li Rui stood up.

He bowed with clasped fists, then stepped out of the main hall.

Only after leaving the Thousand-Step Corridor did he rub his temples.

"Jiang brother, you've given me quite the task."

He had a hunch.

His becoming a Shadow Guard was tied to Jiang Linxiang; whether it was fortune or misfortune remained unclear, but at least the Shadow Guards seemed to have no constraints.

"Guest Minister."

Li Rui murmured the term softly.

He realized Yang Bing had said "we," not "you"—meaning Yang Bing himself was included.

Translated plainly:

Even the leader of the Shadow Guards ranked below those seven Guest Ministers.

What manner of beings were they?

In other words, the thirty-six Shadow Guards served as the eyes and ears of those seven—those seven were the true core.

He looked at the Shadow Guard jade talisman in his hand, a surge of relief warming his chest.

This was a lifesaving artifact.

He slipped the talisman into his robe and strode toward the Guest Reception Office.

Tan Hu and Ge Hong paced endlessly in the courtyard, their nerves twitching as if ten thousand ants crawled beneath their skin.

Seeing Li Rui appear,

they hurried forward, grabbing him and blurting out: "Big Brother, was the palace paved entirely in crimson gold?"

"They say the palace maidens are all as beautiful as celestial immortals?"

"Big Brother, did you get promoted?"

"No, it's a noble title."

They rattled off a flood of questions.

Li Rui rolled his eyes: "We just ate hot pot."

He kept the Shadow Guard matters secret—too sensitive to share with them.

"Pfft."

Tan Hu and Ge Hong instantly lost interest.

"What a stingy emperor."

"Exactly, exactly."

Only here, with Li Rui alone, did they escape the crime of speaking disrespectfully of the sovereign.

As they spoke,

a woman's voice sounded outside the Guest Reception Office:

"May I ask, is Senior Li present?"

(End of Chapter)