The Enforcement Hall's record room was smaller than Wang Ben had expected.
Rows of shelves lined the walls, each filled with jade slips and bamboo scrolls organized by date and category. A single desk sat near the window, where morning light fell in dusty beams across the worn wood. The room smelled of old paper and the faint mineral scent of jade.
Wang Ben had arrived at dawn, his token granting him access past the guards who watched the hall's entrance. They'd looked at him with curiosity but no hostility. The Grand Elder's authority was absolute here.
He started with the patrol reports from the past six months.
[ANALYSIS INITIATED]
[Processing patrol summaries...]
[Cross-referencing incident locations...]
The work was methodical. Each report detailed routes taken, beasts encountered, and any unusual activity observed. Most were routine. Rank 1 beasts killed, medicinal herbs noted, nothing remarkable.
But patterns emerged when you looked at the whole.
[OBSERVATION: Xue Clan patrol routes have shifted 12% eastward over past 4 months]
[OBSERVATION: Three Xue Clan "rest stops" established along former Wang Clan territory]
[OBSERVATION: Xue Clan material acquisitions up 340% despite no corresponding increase in sales]
Wang Ben made notes on a blank scroll, writing in his own shorthand. The information wasn't secret. Anyone with access to these records could see the same patterns. But apparently, no one had been looking.
The economic warfare was visible in the details. Small encroachments on resource-gathering areas. Subtle pressure on shared hunting grounds. A gradual squeezing of Wang Clan territory that had been happening for years, accelerating dramatically in the past six months.
Since the external funding started.
[QUERY: Origin of Xue Clan external investment?]
[INSUFFICIENT DATA]
[Recommendation: Cross-reference merchant guild records, banking transactions, visitor logs]
Wang Ben didn't have access to merchant guild records. But the Enforcement Hall had visitor logs for the city gates.
He pulled another set of scrolls.
The morning passed in quiet concentration. Sunlight crept across the floor as he worked, tracking the movements of Xue Clan members and their known associates. Three hours of reading revealed a pattern of visits from the south. Jade Spring City. Crimson Bastion representatives.
[NOTE: Crimson Bastion delegates visited Redstone City 7 times in past 6 months]
[NOTE: 5 visits coincide with major Xue Clan expenditure spikes]
[CORRELATION: 71.4%]
Interesting. But not conclusive. Crimson Bastion was the domain capital. Officials visited all four clans regularly. Correlation wasn't causation.
He needed more data. Financial records. Private communications. Things he couldn't access from this room.
Wang Ben was making notes on potential next steps when the alarm gongs sounded.
Three sharp strikes. The signal for cultivators to gather.
Wang Ben was out of the record room and moving before the echoes faded. Around him, Enforcement Hall disciples emerged from training rooms and offices, their expressions shifting from confusion to concern as the gongs continued.
Three strikes meant emergency. Not an attack on the city. Not a beast incursion. Something else.
He found Wang Hao in the main courtyard, the team leader's face grim as he spoke with a younger disciple whose robes were torn and bloodstained.
"What happened?" Wang Ben asked, joining them.
Wang Hao's jaw tightened. "Patrol Team Seven. They were ambushed in the eastern forest."
The younger disciple was shaking. Not from fear, Wang Ben realized. From rage.
"How bad?"
"Two seriously injured. One..." Wang Hao's voice dropped. "Wang Liang's meridians were destroyed. Deliberately. He'll never cultivate again."
[ALERT: Meridian destruction indicates targeted assault, not combat injury]
[Assessment: Hostile action designed to send message]
Wang Ben felt something cold settle in his chest. Meridian destruction wasn't an accident. It required precision. Intent. Someone had held down a Wang Clan disciple and systematically shattered his cultivation foundation.
"Where are they?"
"Medical pavilion. But Wang Ben..." Wang Hao caught his arm. "The Grand Elder is already there. You might want to wait."
"Why?"
The team leader's expression said everything. "Because whoever did this left a message. And the Grand Elder is not... calm."
The medical pavilion was chaos.
Physicians moved between beds where injured disciples lay, their faces pale and bruised. The smell of medicinal herbs hung thick in the air, mixed with the copper tang of blood.
Wang Ben found the three victims in a private room at the back. Two were unconscious, their bodies wrapped in bandages, soft light flickering around them as physicians channeled their techniques. The third was awake.
Wang Liang sat propped against the headboard, his eyes empty. He was young. Eighteen, maybe nineteen. Early-stage qi condensation. Had been early-stage qi condensation.
Now he was nothing.
"Wang Ben." The voice came from the corner of the room. Grand Elder Wang Feng stood with his arms crossed, his presence filling the space like contained thunder. The three claw scars on his face seemed deeper in the low light.
"Grand Elder."
"You heard?"
"Patrol Team Seven was ambushed. Two injured, one..." Wang Ben looked at Wang Liang. The young man didn't react. "Crippled."
"They didn't just cripple him." Wang Feng's voice was barely controlled. "They broke his arms first. Then his legs. Then they held him down and destroyed his meridians one by one while he screamed."
The room was very quiet.
"The other two were forced to watch. They were told to deliver a message." Wang Feng moved to the window, his back to the room. "Do you want to know what it said?"
Wang Ben already knew. But he nodded anyway.
"Tell your Patriarch: this is just the beginning."
[ANALYSIS: Message designed to instill fear while maintaining plausible deniability]
[No direct Xue Clan identification mentioned]
[Attackers left no witnesses outside the victims]
[Assessment: Professional operation. Hired specialists or disguised clan members]
"Did they see anything?" Wang Ben asked. "The attackers' faces? Techniques? Anything identifiable?"
"Masks. Black robes. No insignia." Wang Feng turned back to face him. "They were good. Four of them, all qi condensation. Mid to late stage. They knew exactly where to hit, exactly when the patrol would be passing through that section of forest."
"Someone fed them information."
"Obviously." The Grand Elder's eyes burned. "I've already dispatched teams to search the area. I'm going myself within the hour. But we both know we won't find anything."
Wang Ben looked at Wang Liang again. The young man still hadn't moved. His eyes stared at nothing, seeing something far away.
"Why leave him alive?" Wang Ben asked quietly. The calculated cruelty of it sat wrong in his chest. "If they just wanted to send a message..."
"Does it?" Wang Feng's voice was bitter. "A dead disciple is mourned and buried. A crippled one lives on. He reminds everyone what happened. What could happen to them." He gestured at the three beds. "Every time the clan sees Wang Liang, they'll remember. They'll be afraid."
[PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE ASSESSMENT: Grand Elder's analysis accurate]
[Living victims serve as persistent reminder]
[Fear effect compounds over time]
[Recommendation: Counter-narrative required to prevent morale collapse]
Wang Ben approached Wang Liang's bed. The young man's eyes finally focused, tracking the movement.
"Wang Liang. I'm Wang Ben."
"I know who you are." The voice was flat. Dead. "The wolf killer. The one who sees things."
"Can you tell me what happened? Anything you remember?"
For a long moment, Wang Liang said nothing. Then, slowly, he began to speak.
"We were on standard patrol. Eastern route, sector seven. Chen Wei spotted something in the underbrush. He went to investigate." A pause. "They were waiting. They came out of the trees like shadows."
"How many?"
"Four. All masked. They took down Chen Wei first. A blow to the back of the head. Then Zhou Ming tried to run. They caught him in three steps." Wang Liang's hands curled into fists, the motion painful to watch with his broken arms. "I fought. I tried. But they..."
"You're alive. That matters."
"Does it?" The emptiness in his voice was worse than anger. "I'm nothing now. Less than nothing. I can't cultivate. Can't fight. Can't protect anyone." His eyes met Wang Ben's. "They laughed while they did it. Told me I should thank them for leaving me alive to deliver their message."
Wang Feng made a sound that might have been a growl. "The cowards."
"Did they say anything else?" Wang Ben pressed gently. "Anything about who sent them? Where they came from?"
"No. Nothing." Wang Liang's gaze drifted back to the ceiling. "Nothing else. Just... 'this is just the beginning.'"
Wang Ben stood. There was nothing more to learn here. Nothing except pain.
"Grand Elder," he said. "I'd like to help with the investigation."
Wang Feng studied him. "You have access to the records. Use them. Find me something I can act on."
"And if I find evidence pointing to the Xue Clan?"
"Then we'll have a conversation about appropriate responses." The Grand Elder's expression was granite. "But evidence. Real evidence. Not suspicion. Not pattern analysis. Something that can't be denied or explained away."
"Understood."
Wang Ben left the medical pavilion with the weight of Wang Liang's empty eyes pressing against his thoughts.
The search parties returned at dusk.
They found nothing. No tracks. No witnesses. No evidence of the attackers' passage beyond the blood-soaked clearing where the ambush had occurred. The masked assailants had vanished like smoke.
Wang Feng came back last, his expression thunderous. He said nothing to anyone, just stalked toward the Enforcement Hall with an aura that made disciples scatter from his path.
Wang Ben watched him go, then returned to his family's quarters.
Wang Tian was waiting in the courtyard, his face grave. "I heard about the attack."
"Three disciples. Two injured, one crippled." Wang Ben sat heavily on the stone bench. "They destroyed his meridians, Father. Deliberately."
"I know." Wang Tian joined him on the bench. "The physicians asked me to look at him. To see if anything could be done."
"Can it?"
A long silence. "No. The damage is too complete. Whoever did this knew exactly where to strike. Every major meridian junction, every cultivation node. Surgical precision." His voice hardened. "This wasn't random violence. This was a message."
"'This is just the beginning.'"
"So I heard." Wang Tian stared at the evening sky, where the first stars were emerging. "The Xue Clan denies involvement, of course. They've already issued a statement. 'Tragic incident.' 'Outlaw cultivators.' 'No connection to any respectable family.'"
"And no one believes them."
"Of course not. But believing and proving are different things." Wang Tian turned to look at his son. "The Grand Elder gave you an assignment. Intelligence work."
"He did."
"Then find something. Anything." His father's hand closed on Wang Ben's shoulder, the grip tight. "Because if this continues without response, it won't stop at three disciples. The Xue Clan is testing boundaries. Seeing how far they can push before we push back."
[ASSESSMENT: Wang Tian's analysis aligns with System evaluation]
[Escalation pattern detected]
[Additional incidents highly likely based on historical precedent]
[Recommendation: Accelerated evidence gathering]
"I'm working on it," Wang Ben said. "I found some patterns in the records today. Visitors from Crimson Bastion. Timing that matches their spending increases. But it's not proof."
"Keep looking." Wang Tian released his shoulder. "And be careful. If you're investigating them, they may start investigating you."
"I know."
Li Mei appeared in the doorway, Wang Chen in her arms. The baby was sleeping, oblivious to the tension that hung in the air.
"Dinner's ready," she said quietly. Her eyes moved between her husband and son, reading the weight of their conversation. "Both of you. Come eat."
They ate in near silence. The meal was simple but well-prepared. No one had much appetite.
Afterward, Wang Ben retreated to his room to continue his analysis. The jade token let him take copies of certain records home, and he spread them across his desk, searching for connections he might have missed.
[STATUS UPDATE]
[Body Tempering Pill absorption: 37.8%]
[Physical enhancement: +56% baseline]
[Projected advancement to Stage 8: 4-6 days]
[Note: Elevated stress may affect absorption rate. Monitor for variance.]
The numbers scrolled past his awareness as he worked. His body continued its gradual transformation, the pill's essence slowly integrating with his flesh and bone. But tonight, advancement felt less important than understanding.
Who was funding the Xue Clan? Why target the Wang Clan specifically? What did they gain from this slow strangulation?
The Crimson Bastion connection was suggestive but not conclusive. The domain capital had interests in all four of Redstone City's clans. Representatives visited regularly. Meetings were held. Business was conducted.
But five visits in six months, each coinciding with major Xue Clan expenditures?
[HYPOTHESIS 1: Crimson Bastion faction providing direct funding]
[Probability: 34%]
[HYPOTHESIS 2: Crimson Bastion serving as intermediary for unknown third party]
[Probability: 41%]
[HYPOTHESIS 3: Coincidence, alternate funding source]
[Probability: 25%]
Wang Ben needed more data. Merchant records. Banking transactions. Private communications. Things that would require either official authority or unofficial methods to access.
He thought about Shen Wuyan. The Phantom Gate broker surely had access to information networks far beyond anything the Enforcement Hall could provide. But involving him meant owing him. And Wang Ben wasn't sure he wanted to owe a nascent soul cultivator anything more than he already did.
There were other options. Zhao Daniu had contacts in Ironforge. Traders moved between cities, carrying information along with their goods. Maybe one of them had heard something useful.
He made a note to speak with Zhao Yu in the morning.
The candle burned low as Wang Ben worked into the night. Outside his window, the compound was quiet. Guards patrolled the walls. Disciples slept or cultivated in their quarters. The normal rhythms of clan life continued.
But something had changed.
Three disciples had been attacked. One would never cultivate again. A message had been delivered.
This is just the beginning.
Wang Ben believed it.
The next morning, the compound was different.
Disciples moved in groups now, never alone. Guards had been doubled at all entrances. The training grounds were crowded, cultivators working harder than before, pushing themselves with grim determination.
Wang Ben found Zhao Yu waiting for him outside the dining hall.
"You heard?" his friend asked.
"I was there. In the medical pavilion." Wang Ben's voice was flat. "I saw Wang Liang."
Zhao Yu's expression tightened. "I knew him. Trained with him a few times. He was good. Careful. Didn't take stupid risks." A pause. "And now he's nothing. Because someone wanted to send a message."
"Your father. Does he have contacts who might have heard anything? Traders, merchants, anyone who moves between cities?"
"Maybe. Why?"
"Because whoever did this was professional. Too professional for random outlaws. And professionals get paid. Money leaves trails."
Zhao Yu nodded slowly. "I'll ask him. Tonight, at dinner. He's been meeting with his Ironforge contacts about the supply situation. Maybe they've heard something."
"Thank you."
They walked toward the training grounds together. The morning air was cold, carrying the first hints of approaching winter. In a few weeks, the passes would close and travel between cities would slow to a crawl.
"Wang Ben." Zhao Yu's voice was quieter now. "My father asked me something yesterday. About us. About you."
"What did he ask?"
"Whether he should tie our family's future more closely to yours." Zhao Yu's eyes met his. "I told him yes. That you see things others don't, and you care about the people around you. That you're the kind of person worth betting on."
Wang Ben wasn't sure how to respond. "Your family already serves the Wang Clan."
"Serving the clan and backing a specific person within it are different things." Zhao Yu clapped him on the shoulder. "Retainer families rise and fall with their patrons. My father thinks you're going somewhere. So do I."
They separated at the training grounds. Wang Ben began his morning forms, body moving through familiar patterns while his mind worked elsewhere. The Body Tempering Pill continued its slow integration, each movement accelerating the process slightly.
[NOTE: Physical exertion increases absorption rate by 3.2%]
[Recommendation: Maintain training schedule for optimal progression]
Halfway through his forms, Wang Hao appeared at the edge of the grounds. The team leader watched for a moment, then approached.
"The Grand Elder wants to see you. Now."
Wang Ben finished his current form before responding. "Did he say why?"
"No. But he's in a better mood than yesterday." Wang Hao's expression suggested this was a relative assessment. "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."
Wang Ben cleaned himself quickly and made his way to the Enforcement Hall. The guards waved him through without question. His jade token glowed briefly as he passed the security formations.
Grand Elder Wang Feng was in his study, standing at the window with his back to the door. He didn't turn when Wang Ben entered.
"You've been reviewing the records."
"Yes, Grand Elder."
"Found anything?"
"Patterns. Correlations. Nothing conclusive yet." Wang Ben kept his voice level. "Visitors from Crimson Bastion. Timing that matches Xue Clan spending. But I need more data to confirm."
Wang Feng was quiet for a long moment. Then he turned, and Wang Ben saw something unexpected in his eyes. Not anger. Something closer to exhaustion.
"I spent all night hunting. Every contact I have, every information source I've cultivated over centuries. Nothing. The attackers vanished without a trace." His voice was heavy. "I'm the strongest combat cultivator in this clan. I could kill everyone involved if I could find them. But I can't find them."
"Give me time. I'll find something."
"How much time?" Wang Feng moved to his desk, sitting heavily in his chair. "How many more disciples have to be crippled before we have proof? How many families have to watch their children broken?"
"I don't know." Wang Ben met his gaze directly. "But acting without evidence plays into their hands. They want us to strike first. To give them justification."
"I know that." The Grand Elder's fist struck the desk, cracking the wood. "I know. But knowing doesn't make it easier to watch my people suffer."
The room fell silent. Outside, the sounds of the Enforcement Hall continued. Disciples training. Officers reporting. The machinery of the clan's security apparatus grinding on.
"There's something else," Wang Ben said finally. "Something I've been thinking about."
"Speak."
"The attack yesterday was precise. Surgical. They knew exactly where the patrol would be, exactly when they'd be vulnerable. That means information. Someone in the clan is feeding them intelligence."
Wang Feng's eyes sharpened. "A spy."
"Possibly. Or someone who talks too freely. Or security protocols that have been compromised." Wang Ben spread his hands. "But until we know how they knew where to strike, we can't prevent the next attack."
"No." The Grand Elder's voice was hard. "We can't."
He stood again, moving to a cabinet along the wall. Inside were rows of jade slips, each carefully labeled. He selected one and brought it to his desk.
"Patrol schedules. Route assignments. Personnel rotations. This is everything for the past three months." He pushed the slip toward Wang Ben. "Find the leak. Find how they knew. And find me someone I can hurt."
Wang Ben took the jade slip. It was warm in his palm, humming faintly with stored information.
"I'll find them," he said.
"Good." Wang Feng's expression softened slightly. "Your father would be proud of you. The way you think. The way you approach problems."
"He told me to use every advantage I have."
"Wise man." The Grand Elder turned back to the window. "Now go. Use those advantages. And Wang Ben? Be careful. If there's a spy in our midst, they'll be watching you too."
Wang Ben bowed and left the study.
The jade slip felt heavy in his pocket. Another layer of responsibility. Another piece of the puzzle.
Somewhere in these records was the answer. Somewhere was the connection that would expose the traitor, reveal the funding source, and give the Wang Clan something to strike back with.
He just had to find it before the next attack.
END OF CHAPTER 30