Volume 2, Chapter 105 – You Want to Run After I’ve Spotted You? Too Late

Qi Huang left Huatian Village without lingering—she feared that staying even a moment longer would weaken her resolve. As for the protective talismans, she had already explained their usage in the letter:

Kinship-grade for outdoor use

Master-grade for indoor protection

Since Golden Autumn Prefecture was quite distant, Qi Huang couldn’t rely solely on flight—if she exhausted her divine sense, she’d be in grave danger.

After roughly ten days, she finally arrived at Golden Autumn Prefecture.

Located near the provincial capital, this was a major prefecture with a population exceeding a million—far larger than the remote Huangtian Prefecture. It made sense that Qi-Leaking Powder would surface here.

With her veil in place, Qi Huang presented her token at the prefectural office, declaring she was here to investigate the Qi-Leaking Powder case.

The guards at the gate first stared at her with infatuation, but upon learning she came from the “rat’s nest” (Huangtian Prefecture), their eyes flashed with disdain. Still, they led her inside.

As a mere constable, Qi Huang wasn’t important enough for the prefect to receive personally. Instead, she was handed off to Chief Constable Fan, who oversaw fire prevention and bandit suppression for the entire prefecture.

In Chief Constable Fan’s eyes, dealing with a lowly constable like Qi Huang was beneath him. But the moment he saw her, he froze.

In all his years, he had never seen a female constable—let alone one with such a striking figure.

“When something’s unusual, there’s always a scheme behind it.”

Instantly, his condescension vanished.

“Greetings, Chief Constable Fan! I’m Constable Qi Huang from Huangtian Prefecture’s Office.”

Qi Huang saluted with a martial flourish. Normally, a low-ranking constable like her should have kowtowed, but her cultivator status exempted her from such formalities.

“Constable Qi, please, have a seat.”

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Chief Constable Fan, unsettled by her unwavering confidence, not only ignored her breach of etiquette but treated her with unexpected courtesy.

Qi Huang sat gracefully without hesitation.

“Forgive my bluntness, but in all my years, I’ve never seen a female constable. You must possess extraordinary skills to hold such a position.”

Chief Constable Fan probed for information.

“I manage.”

Qi Huang brushed off the question and cut straight to the chase:

“Chief Constable Fan, I’ve been dispatched by my prefect to gather details on the Qi-Leaking Powder case. As you know, the Severed Immortal Sect is a heretical cult, and its followers are cunning. Our Huangtian Prefecture is understaffed, so we must prepare thoroughly.”

“Naturally. Eradicating heresy is everyone’s duty.”

Chief Constable Fan gave a perfunctory nod before recounting the case:

“About a month ago, the Feisha Sect reported that one of their disciples had been poisoned with Qi-Leaking Powder. We followed the trail and quickly arrested the seller—a man named Xie Er. But he couldn’t explain the powder’s origin, so we detained him for further interrogation. Yet within days, he died in his cell.”

“How did he die?”

Qi Huang pressed, unsatisfied.

“Poisoned. He was a simple farmer from Xie Family Village in Wanchang County—no criminal record.”

“Poisoned in jail? That’s clearly a cover-up killing—and the culprit was likely inside this office. An outsider wouldn’t have had the opportunity.”

Qi Huang immediately deduced.

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“Exactly! But we still haven’t identified the mole.”

Chief Constable Fan sighed regretfully.

“Did the Feisha Sect—being an immortal sect—find anything?”

Qi Huang pressed further.

“No. Xie Er truly seemed like an unwitting middleman. He didn’t even know what Qi-Leaking Powder was. He claimed a stranger gave it to him, promising a hefty commission if he sold it to cultivators.”

“That’s plausible.”

Qi Huang nodded thoughtfully.

After gathering more details, she left the office.

Qi Huang headed straight for Xie Family Village in Wanchang County to verify Xie Er’s background.

The village was as remote as Huatian, and Xie Er’s family appeared to be ordinary farmers. After three days of surveillance, she confirmed from their conversations that Xie Er had indeed been a law-abiding peasant who rarely left the village.

‘If he was just a random pawn chosen by the Severed Immortal Sect, this case just got much harder.’

Qi Huang hit a dead end. She had two options:

Return to Chief Constable Fan and join the official investigation.

Pros: Strength in numbers.

Cons: Too conspicuous. With a mole in the office, the chances of uncovering leads were slim.

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Continue investigating alone.

Pros: Stealthier.

Cons: The trail had gone cold.

After a day of deliberation, Qi Huang concluded that conventional methods wouldn’t work.

To find the Severed Immortal Sect, she needed an extreme approach—infiltrating their operation directly.

Qi Huang traveled to a nearby town and disguised herself as a man:

Bound her chest

Dressed in male clothing

Donned a black mask

In a nearby town, Qi Huang disguised herself: binding her chest, donning male attire, and covering her face with a black mask. A glance in the bronze mirror confirmed it—flawless. Her past as a man made the act seamless. Only her voice might betray her, but since she’d already visited the office, gender didn’t matter—just anonymity.

Now disguised, she began posing as a Severed Immortal Sect member, seeking buyers to lure out the real cultists.

But as time passed, she found maintaining the disguise exhausting—her tightly bound chest made it hard to breathe, forcing her to loosen the bandages periodically.

‘Whoever’s coming to arrest or kill me, hurry up. I can’t keep this up much longer.’

She prayed silently.

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A few days later, Qi Huang sensed someone tailing her. Her divine sense revealed it wasn’t the cult—but constables and even Feisha Sect cultivators.

She wasn’t worried. If the authorities were here, the Severed Immortal Sect wouldn’t be far behind.

Sure enough, another suspicious figure soon appeared, observing from a distance but avoiding approach due to the pursuers.

‘That must be them.’

Her suspicion was soon confirmed.

The suspected cultist watched Qi Huang for a long time before pulling out a Thousand-Mile Communication Tube to report:

“Brother Fu, the person I saw isn’t one of ours.”

“Not ours? Then why impersonate us?”

“No idea. Maybe they’re after the profits and selling counterfeit powder?”

“No—this is a trap set by officials or cultivators. Leave now.”

“Y-yes…”

Realizing the danger, the cultist quietly retreated.

‘Think you can escape now? Too late.’

Qi Huang smirked coldly and followed undetected. With her divine sense spanning over a hundred zhang, she was confident this person wouldn’t slip away—unless they were also an Incarnation Realm expert.