CHAPTER 7 : The First Clue Unveiled
They were all dismissed, just like that.
Yet no one was convinced. From the looks on their faces, it was clear what they were thinking — anger, dissatisfaction, unwillingness. The hall might have emptied, but the storm in their hearts had not.
"We were dismissed just like that…" Sect Leader Sakuya said, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Unbelievable. Truly ridiculous," Clan Leader Gong Lu said angrily, flicking his sleeve.
Sect Leader Sakuya sighed. "What Sect Leader Xu Min said was not without reason. The matter of the disappearances must be investigated even if—"
"And the Emperor just… let it go."
Clan Leader Gong Lu interrupted, his voice filled with dissatisfaction.
"Hmph. That Shadow Controller is truly favored by the Emperor."
"Of course."
A voice suddenly came from behind them.
Both Sect Leader Sakuya and Clan Leader Gong Lu turned around at the same time. Walking toward them was Sect Leader Xu Min, his hands behind his back, his expression calm, but his eyes deep and unreadable.
"The Emperor had no choice but to dismiss us," Xu Min said slowly. "He needs to keep that man under control."
Sect Leader Sakuya frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Xu Min stopped walking and looked at the two of them. Then he spoke in a low voice,
"Do you know why I brought that matter up today?"
Neither of them spoke.
"It was to clear a doubt in my heart," Xu Min continued. "And now, that doubt has finally been answered…"
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I was right all along."
A cold wind passed through the corridor, and for some reason, both Sakuya and Gong Lu felt a chill run down their spines.
"I truly don't understand this," Sect Leader Sakuya said, frowning deeply.
"You mean… they already found the cause behind those disappearances?"
Sect Leader Gong Lu asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Huh! So they did find it! Then why weren't we told?" Sect Leader Sakuya said loudly, his voice echoing down the corridor.
Sect Leader Xu Min and Sect Leader Gong Lu both immediately gestured for him to lower his voice.
"What are you doing?" Xu Min said in a low voice. "Do you want everyone to hear you? Speak quietly."
Sect Leader Sakuya cleared his throat awkwardly and lowered his voice.
"If they already know, why hide it? Why not tell us?"
Sect Leader Gong Lu spoke calmly, "If they know the cause, then they already know who did it."
"More or less," Xu Min repeated calmly.
Sect Leader Sakuya frowned. "What do you mean more or less?"
Xu Min looked at him, a faint, unreadable smile appearing on his face.
"You'll find out soon," he said.
"Very soon."
After saying that, he turned around and left, his hands behind his back, his steps calm and unhurried.
Sect Leader Sakuya looked at his back, confused. "So? Does he know, or is he bluffing?"
Sect Leader Gong Lu watched Xu Min leave and snorted lightly. "He's a cunning old fox. That's all I have to say."
"That means he knows, right?" Sect Leader Sakuya asked, even more confused than before.
Sect Leader Gong Lu did not answer. He simply flicked his sleeve and left as well.
Sect Leader Sakuya stood there alone in the corridor for a while, frowning as he tried to think.
After a long moment, he muttered to himself, "So… he doesn't know."
Then he also turned and left.
The Grand Hall was now empty.
The clan leaders had already left, their footsteps fading into distant corridors, leaving behind a vast silence that lingered like mist.
Only five people remained in the enormous hall.
Emperor Tian Jun sat upon the throne, his posture relaxed yet dignified. His eyes were open, but he was looking up at the ceiling, as if lost in thought. The golden patterns above reflected faint light into his calm, unreadable eyes.
Below the throne stood four figures — Arata, Luka, Loki, and Balder.
No one spoke. The atmosphere was heavy, yet strangely calm.
After a long silence, Tian Jun finally spoke.
"No one was convinced," he said slowly. "What do you think should be done?"
He did not call a name, nor did he look at anyone.
But everyone knew he was asking Arata.
Arata understood this as well. He stood casually, one hand resting near his sword, his expression indifferent as always.
"It doesn't matter what others say," Arata replied calmly. "As long as it benefits the commoners and the Empire, that is enough."
Tian Jun's gaze slowly lowered from the ceiling and landed on Arata.
"Say what you want to say," Tian Jun said flatly.
Arata nodded once.
"Your Majesty, a few days ago, when you dismissed me…" he paused slightly, "something happened at the inn."
Arata then explained what had happened at the inn.
"Hm… Shells?" Tian Jun murmured softly, his fingers tapping lightly against the armrest of the throne.
"That's going to be a bit of a problem then."
His voice was calm, but the weight behind his words made the air feel heavier.
"What do you know about the tattoo?" he asked.
"Nothing," Arata replied plainly. "It's the first time we've seen it. But we made sketches — both the tattoo and the mask."
As he spoke, Arata stepped forward, climbed the steps of the throne, and handed the sketches to Tian Jun with both hands.
Tian Jun accepted them without a word.
The hall fell into silence.
Only the faint sound of paper shifting could be heard as Tian Jun examined the sketches. His eyes moved slowly across the page — first the strange tattoo, then the elegant yet unsettling mask.
Time passed quietly.
Then Tian Jun lifted his gaze and looked at the four of them.
His eyes lingered on them for a moment — Arata, Luka, Loki, and Balder — as if he had just noticed something strange. Something that didn't quite fit. Something out of place.
But the four of them did not notice that look.
They simply waited.
After a moment, Tian Jun lowered the sketches.
"That settles it then," he said, breaking the silence. "Since we finally have something valuable…" He paused slightly. "Who is he?"
"Aoba," Arata replied immediately.
He then pointed a thumb toward Balder. "Balder found the information. The man is currently in the Mortal World — I've already reported this to you before. His name is Aoba."
Arata's eyes moved to the sketch of the mask in Tian Jun's hand.
"This is the mask he wears," he continued. "And he has already been given a title — The Silent Killer. I believe Your Majesty is already aware of that."
Tian Jun did not respond immediately.
His eyes were still on the sketch, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.
After a brief silence, Arata spoke again:
"Your Majesty… do you recognize the pattern?"
This time, the hall became completely silent.
Tian Jun did not answer.
He slowly stood up from the throne.
Then he turned around and began walking forward, his long robes trailing behind him across the cold floor of the Grand Hall.
Tian Jun stopped walking.
He slowly turned around to face them again. His long robes settled as he came to a halt, his sharp eyes sweeping across the four of them.
"Did anything else happen," he asked, "after you made these sketches?"
Arata thought for a moment before answering.
"No… nothing—" he paused slightly, then corrected himself, "No. Something did happen. The body… in Shen Hua Lan's arena. Aside from that, nothing else."
Tian Jun narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…Weird," he said.
The moment he said that, Balder immediately spoke:
"Weird because there was a dead body? Or weird because it was in really bad condition? Or weird because it had all its blood sucked out? Or weird because the dead body suddenly appeared? Or weird because—"
"Shut up!" Luka snapped, turning and yelling at Balder. "Can you stop talking for one minute?"
Balder looked genuinely confused.
"What? I was just asking the Emperor what's weird. Why are you yelling?"
For a brief moment, Tian Jun's mouth twitched slightly, as if he was suppressing either a smile… or the urge to throw Balder out of the hall.
Then Tian Jun spoke calmly:
"It's weird that you were not attacked again after that."
His voice became more serious.
"These sketches are very important."
He lifted the paper slightly in his hand.
"Too important."
Balder crossed his arms and frowned.
"What if he didn't know we made the sketches?"
"No," Arata said immediately. "He knows."
Everyone looked at him.
Arata's expression was calm, but his eyes were cold and certain.
"He knows we have the sketches. Especially the symbol," Arata continued. "That man has never left behind witnesses. Never left clues. Not even footprints or spiritual traces."
Balder crossed his arms and spoke with a frown, "Then the only explanation left is… he purposely let us see him."
Loki lowered his eyes slightly. "It could be a trap."
"I don't think so," Arata said calmly.
Luka turned toward him. "Why?"
Arata opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything—
"Because he knows," Tian Jun's deep voice cut in, "that if he does not allow it, you would never be able to stop him. And he does not believe you are capable of truly uncovering him."
Tian Jun narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice turning cold and heavy.
"He's challenging us."
The words echoed in the Grand Hall.
Arata gave a small nod. "Yes. He is."
Luka's fan slowly stopped moving as he thought aloud, "If that's the case… then it means he is the one revealing himself to us. Which also means… his whereabouts may have been revealed by himself as well."
"He's mocking us," Balder said angrily. "Who does he think he is?"
Silence followed.
"The Silent Killer… Aoba…" Tian Jun murmured as he slowly began walking, his hands clasped behind his back.
"What is it that you want…?"
No one answered.
After a few steps, Tian Jun stopped again.
"Shadow Controller," he said.
Arata stepped forward slightly.
"Your Majesty."
"I am sending you to the Mortal World in the coming days," Tian Jun said without turning around. "I want everything about him — his identity, his purpose, his connections."
Tian Jun's voice turned cold.
"I want everything about him — his identity, his purpose, his connections."
He paused.
"And bring him here…"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"Alive."