Chapter 474

Tian Erjun knelt in agony on the ground, pounding the earth in utter self-reproach.

"It's my fault…"

"It's all my fault!!"

"So many loyal Qing Guards who entrusted their lives to me—because of my mistaken judgment, they've all died!!"

"They… they…"

Drip… drip…

Though he was clearly in his fifties, tears streamed down his face.

Seeing this, everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

Some truly blamed Tian Erjun in their hearts, putting all the blame on him.

But others felt Commander Jun had merely made a mistake—a grave one—but he had tried desperately to make amends, and could be forgiven.

"Enough. It's done. No one wanted this. What matters now is how to handle the aftermath, how to prepare against that group of Possession entities attacking again."

You Sisi spoke coldly then—she had always been an extreme exterminationist; if not for others stopping her, she would have gone alone to the detention site and killed every person possessed by Possession!

"Yes, yes, Commander Jun, please rise—we still need you to lead us!"

"Exactly! Commander Jun, as long as you recognize your mistake, just remember next time not to be so merciful—some things demand ruthlessness!"

Everyone urged and tried to ease the tension; though they were now battered and wounded, they were still alive, weren't they?

Qingsi County still relied on this Xiantian Realm Commander Jun for protection.

"No… this cannot be swept under the rug. So many lives, so many sacrifices… I no longer deserve to be Qingsi County's Chief Qingyi!"

Tian Erjun, eyes red, looked up at You Sisi: "As I said before, from today, the position of Chief Qingyi of Qingsi County is yours. I'll slowly handle the official Document procedures, but from this moment on, you may issue orders—I will no longer oppose your decisions, only carry them out faithfully!"

"You Sisi, you… are more suited to lead Qingsi County than I am!"

What?!

The white-robed senior officers were instantly stunned, all wanting to speak up to stop him—but seeing You Sisi's silence, none dared open their mouths.

The room's atmosphere turned eerie: Tian Erjun waited for You Sisi's reaction; the white-robed seniors waited for the outcome of this power struggle.

Yet at this moment, You Sisi stepped forward to stand before the kneeling Tian Erjun.

"Look up."

Tian Erjun, eyes red, slowly raised his head.

Amid the puzzled expressions of all present, You Sisi spoke slowly.

"By the authority of Chief Qingyi of Qingsi County, I command you: from this moment, assist me in maintaining Qingsi County's stability, protecting its safety—at any cost, even at the cost of your life!"

The words struck Tian Erjun's ears—he instantly froze, pupils contracting.

These words… were the very ones he had spoken to her when she first arrived in Qingsi County, after committing a grave error and wanting to be transferred away.

Now, at this moment, the same person, the same words—but their positions had reversed.

For some reason, Tian Erjun's eyes grew damp.

He looked up at You Sisi's still-cold face, voice trembling: "You… have grown."

"Everyone grows." You Sisi extended her hand: "Tian Erjun, there's no time for self-blame, self-pity, or self-torment. All the people of Qingsi County are waiting outside for us to step out and protect our county, to repel the next Possession attack."

Yes—this was no time for self-reproach; it wasn't even time for atonement yet!

First, fix your own mess!

He gripped You Sisi's outstretched hand and stood up.

That stand meant he had taken up responsibility again.

Not abandoned the position of Chief Qingyi, surrendered his mind, and dumped every problem of Qingsi County onto You Sisi just to ease his guilt.

…

After much discussion, under You Sisi's leadership with Tian Erjun as deputy, the Qing Office formulated a recovery plan addressing the Possession incidents and the damage to Dongjie.

While You Sisi and these high-ranking figures were busy focusing on Qingsi County's grand strategy,

Jing Yan held a stack of documents, frowning as he studied them.

It was an exact copy of the dossier previously delivered to Captain Wu by Yu Baiyi.

While everyone else pondered grand strategies and broad directions, he was obsessing over details.

Though it was likely an illusion, Jing Yan couldn't shake the feeling that this wave of Possession resurgence might be subtly tied to Fang Yue.

Because right after Fang Yue left the city, the Possession entities collectively revived.

And most crucially… every single revived Possession entity chased after the direction Fang Yue had taken—according to You Sisi's words, they chased with reckless, desperate fury!

It was as if Fang Yue were an irresistible bait, and the revived Possession entities were fish frenziedly swarming after it!

If his suspicions were true, Fang Yue was now in an extremely dangerous situation!

Ahead lay Ning Laotou—whose allegiance was unknown; behind, the pursuing Possession horde—and Fang Yue was still out in the wilds.

If everything spiraled toward the worst possible outcome… Ye Ge was in grave peril!

Therefore, Jing Yan needed to confirm one thing:

Ning Laotou's true stance.

Yet as he sifted through the documents in his hands, his heart sank.

Because he discovered that the people who purchased the base materials for the Fluorescent Bracelets were almost all the same individuals!

They merely rotated their purchasing duties annually.

Such regular, scheduled procurement was clearly for mass-producing Fluorescent Bracelets!

Remember, even Captain Wu—a Second-rate Realm cultivator—nearly fell victim to them; only after realizing the danger did he turn and kill them!

Who was Captain Wu? A madman who chased Possession entities into the wilds!

His strength could not be judged by ordinary Second-rate Realm standards!

So the upper limit of the Fluorescent Bracelet is truly terrifying.

And Jing Yan couldn't figure out what the person who made so many Fluorescent Bracelets was actually trying to do.

But just thinking that someone possessed so many Fluorescent Bracelets, had manufactured so many Fluorescent Bracelets, was chilling — they must be plotting something enormous!

"Ye Ge... great danger!!"

Even with however strong his confidence in Fang Yue, when facing an organization so organized, so disciplined, and one that had steadily procured and produced so many Fluorescent Bracelets, Jing Yan really found it hard to be optimistic about Fang Yue returning safely.

Gripping the dossier tightly in his hand, Jing Yan thought of another problem!

Without any hesitation, he went straight to find You Sisi.

"You want the material transport records for city gate entries and exits from the past few years?"

You Sisi, who was busy handling the aftermath of the Eerie Resurgence battle and the follow-up street repair plan, was stunned for a moment upon hearing Jing Yan's request.

Not for any other reason — simply because the workload was too enormous.

She had no manpower to spare for Jing Yan right now.

If it weren't for Jing Yan's performance in the earlier battle, which she had seen with her own eyes, You Sisi would probably have told him to get lost, thinking the guy had come to make trouble for her.

(End of chapter)