Nightmare Apostle

"Is it Dean Sheng that’s in trouble?" Yang Xiao pressed on, truly concerned about this.

"Yes, Dean Sheng’s condition is very poor. He’s fallen into a deep coma, and when he’ll wake up, or if he’ll wake up at all, nobody knows."

Hong Anguo lowered his voice, consoling, "Little Yang, I know you have a good relationship with Dean Sheng, so... you have to be mentally prepared this time."

"What exactly happened? How could it be that suddenly... suddenly he’s not okay?" Yang Xiao knew there must be something fishy, someone’s underhanded move.

"The specifics are unclear, but it wasn’t an attack. The Esoteric Sect is directly communicating with the General Bureau now."

"My side has limited information channels, but according to current information, it’s highly likely that the elixir Dean Sheng consumed had an issue, causing a backlash from his own magic artifact." Hong Anguo explained as patiently as he could to Yang Xiao.

"The elixir provided to Dean Sheng by the Esoteric Sect wouldn’t have an issue. Someone must have tampered in some step in the middle. Yiling Academy doesn’t have such capability; the Dharma Sect is most likely!" Yang Xiao bluntly assessed.

"Little Yang, calm down. The exact cause is still under investigation, but... but there’s something..." Hong Anguo hesitated.

"Go ahead, I have no issue." Yang Xiao forced himself to calm down; anxiety and panic wouldn’t solve any issues.

"Little Yang, let me be frank with you. Dean Sheng is no longer reliable, this card is wasted. The General Bureau has also shifted its stance. Sheng Jingxuan from Yiling Academy has already sent high-ranking representatives to visit our General Bureau, promising to pledge their entire sect to our Patrol Defense Office." Hong Anguo said.

Hearing this, Yang Xiao abruptly stood up, angrily saying, "What does Sheng Jingxuan count for? For profit, he would even betray his own brother. Collaborating with such a scoundrel is like asking a tiger for its skin. Are those people in the General Bureau fools?"

"Yang Xiao!" Hong Anguo snapped, "You are part of the Patrol Defense Office, not Sheng Yanlin’s private army from Yiling Academy. The arrangements of the General Bureau have deeper intentions that people like you and me cannot recklessly comment on. If you dare to speak recklessly again, I will arrest you on the spot!"

"I understand now. The General Bureau has always wanted the Yiling Academy. As for who serves as the visible Dean, whether it’s Sheng Yanlin or Sheng Jingxuan, the General Bureau doesn’t care, right?" Yang Xiao felt his heart grow cold.

"Correct." Hong Anguo nodded, sternly saying, "This is politics, unrelated to personal feelings. If you can’t understand even this, I advise you to quit early."

Taking a deep breath, Yang Xiao suppressed the anger in his heart. Arguing with Hong Anguo here was meaningless. Hong Anguo was merely an executor and not qualified to participate in major decisions by the General Bureau. The real problem was with those above.

Hong Anguo’s words were not wrong, but they were also not entirely right. Politics is cold-blooded, but politics devoid of human sentiment is short-lived. Yang Xiao knew that if this matter was mishandled, it would chill the hearts of his comrades, and who would be willing to sacrifice for the Patrol Defense Office in the future?

He wanted to ask Chief Commissioner Gu in person, and if he also thought there was no problem, then perhaps he should re-evaluate his options.

The Patrol Defense Office’s leadership wasn’t just Chief Commissioner Gu alone; he believed there would always be someone with understanding.

Returning from Director Hong’s office to his own, everyone along the way saw Yang Xiao’s livid face, and nobody dared to approach or greet this usually amiable Specialist Yang.

Back in his office, it took Yang Xiao a full ten minutes to calm down. He picked up the phone to call Wu Qingcang’s office, but it was his aide who answered.

The aide informed Yang Xiao that Wu Qingcang wasn’t there; he’d left Qinglan City last night, heading to Stone City.

"What’s he going there for?" Yang Xiao asked, frowning.

He knew about Stone City; it was a remote small place, located at the border of Jiangbei Province and Huaisuo Province with inconvenient transport and many gravel roads. He had passed by there on his last mission to Huaisuo Province.

"The public office in Stone City reported a suspected unidentified high-level apostle in the area, so Chief Wu is leading people there to investigate." The remaining aide in the office reported.

This information was public within the Provincial Office’s high-level circle and was not considered a leak; Yang Xiao didn’t know because he hadn’t been around lately.

"Do you know when Chief Wu will return?" Yang Xiao wanted to discuss this matter with him.

"Not sure. Do you want me to contact Chief Wu for you?" the aide asked.

"No, thank you." Yang Xiao casually hung up the phone.

This matter was the decision of the General Bureau; even Director Hong Anguo had no say in it, let alone Wu Qingcang.

But Yang Xiao believed that in this matter, Wu Qingcang would definitely be on his side.

Yang Xiao spent the whole afternoon in frustration, didn’t even eat dinner, and didn’t want to go home. He just wanted to stay here and await news.

He hoped the bigwigs of the General Bureau would give him a satisfactory answer, and even more so hoped that representatives from Yiling Academy would clash with the General Bureau, wishing they’d fight it out.

But that was clearly impossible. Yang Xiao could already imagine the faces of those people from Yiling Academy. Not only would they not have conditions, but even if asked to recognize a new father on the spot, they would do it.

"Vicious, treacherous, and unscrupulous. Such scoundrels collaborating with our Patrol Defense Office is disgraceful! Absolutely disgraceful!" The more Yang Xiao thought about it, the angrier he got.

"What kind of Chief Commissioner Gu is that? I was wrong to think highly of you. Qu Muzhi was blind, claiming you’re practical and don’t like smooth-talking nonsense. I’ve come to realize all that skill is used on your own people!" Yang Xiao closed the door and ranted furiously in his office.

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