The Blackguard

Situ He stood on the peak of the mountain gazing at the collapsed villa below.

"Situ, do you see anything?" Xia Ping of the Blackguard inquired.

Situ He shook his head. A tinge of melancholy flashed though his eyes that seemed as aggressive as those of a tiger.

"Something like this happening…," he said, "...the governor is really pissed off!"

Xia Ping immediately bowed to the ground. "I'm at fault."

The governor of the Blackguard held a lofty status among the Blackguards.

In a sense, he was their spiritual mentor and the symbol of strength for all of them.

"No need for you to apologize." Situ He raised his hand. "Zhang Yu had hidden himself so deeply. Neither you, nor even I, ever suspected anything."

The Tiger Demon had actually been a Blackguard.

Who from the top to the bottom of the Blackguards could possibly have predicted something like that?

It was important to know that to be selected to the Blackguards individuals had to pass a trial.

Their ancestors, up to three generations back, would be thoroughly researched by the investigative agency.

Their blood would also be drawn and kept as a sample to ensure that every newcomer entering Blackguard was safe from disease.

Thus, Zhang Yu becoming a Tiger Demon must have occurred after he joined the Blackguard.

For the Blackguard, this had become an unprecedented challenge.

Before this, there had never been a case of a human turning into a demon in the Blackguard.

"Be prepared…," Situ He said to Xia Ping, "...I'm going to go have a look myself.

"Especially in those places where Zhang Yu would conduct his daily activities.

"And the roads that he would pass by frequently."

"Do you mean...?" Xia Ping became nervous.

"It's better to be safe than sorry." Situ He's solemnness was unparalleled. Xia Ping had never seen him so serious before. "If we compare this with what's happening overseas."

"But if…

"It leads to a scourge…

"Then it is as it seems."

The Federal Empire had not endured any foreign attacks or assaults for at least 100 years.

With their imposing might, order and stability in the region had been defended.

However, trouble had never ceased abroad.

Countless tragedies had been caused by those people.

Beyond the Federal Empire, demons were rampant.

Lunatics, perverts, and butchers were constantly being bred among the hungry, poor, and desperate.

They made it into the news several times every year.

These were some of the reasons why Situ He actually supported what the Datong Party advocated.

Under current circumstances, it was impossible for the Federal Empire to gloriously isolate themselves and stand alone.

If the outside world wasn't cleaned up, the people of the Empire would never be safe.

This incident involving Zhang Yu had further confirmed Situ He's perspective on this matter.

The reason was simple: A dignified Blackguard had been distorted into a demon.

This was certainly not something that a fortuitous meeting or a single individual could accomplish.

Behind this...

Something evil must be there.

It must be uprooted and swept away!

"Got it." Xia Ping nodded, "I just asked someone to get you Zhang Yu's activity routes and schedules as soon as possible."

An hour later, Situ He got his hands on a report on Zhang Yu's daily activities.

Looking at the report, Situ He became silent.

Because purely studying the trajectory of Zhang Yu's daily activities, this Deputy Director of the Blackguard's Guangnan Branch seemed as if he was truly an exemplar for the Federal Empire.

He had no bad habits.

He never partook in messy dinner parties.

Nor was there any evidence hinting that he had more frequent interactions with so and so in private.

There was also no sign of bribery or corruption.

All the evidence seemed to show that this person would go to work on time, go off work at a fixed time, and would occasionally work overtime.

Outside working hours, he would read books, sleep, and exercise in his private apartment.

Everyone's testimony showed that this man was easygoing and generous in his attitude.

His trajectory as recorded by all the instruments proved that this person had never lingered too long outside his apartment or the Blackguard's offices.

He would rarely even use his salary or his bank card.

If it hadn't been that his corpse was right under the collapsed basement...

And the many shreds of evidence extracted from his body that had already changed into a Tiger Demon...

And, in particular, that his distorted tiger claws were a complete match with the claw prints left on the scenes of the other Tiger Demon cases...

If it weren't for all these things, based solely on the evidence in these papers, this Blackguard officer seemed to be more in line with the Federal Empire's definition of a gentleman than almost anyone else.

Ungreedy, not lustful, prompt in action, and prudent in speech.

Situ He got angrier as he went on.

He discarded the report and ordered Xia Ping to report to him. "Prepare a car. I'm going to walk through Zhang Yu's trajectories myself."

"I refuse to believe that there's no flaw at all."

...

In the afternoon, the temperature began to rise.

Outside the store, eggs could almost be cooked on the sidewalk.

But it was still cool inside the bookstore.

Ling PingAn was immersed in a battle in the rift.

Although it was still a stomp.

His opponents always got trolled.

And his teammates were always being carried by him.

He felt really great when he was playing. His gaming experience was particularly good.

Who doesn't like to win?

It was just that after putting down his phone, Ling PingAn always felt a little empty.

"Should I…write a chapter?"

At this moment, a small car drove by slowly outside the door.

Ling PingAn heard the sound and glanced outside. "An official state car?"

"Looks pretty posh! Has some VIP arrived?" Ling PingAn sighed as he watched the small, uniquely shaped car being driven outside the store.

...

Sitting in the back seat, Situ He looked at the shops and public facilities outside the car window.

"The facilities in the East City District needs refurbishment," he said.

"Yes, sir." Xia Ping, who was driving for him, smiled and said, "Plans have already been made. In the next three years, a -billion investment will be used to transform the area. Jianshe Road, where the Blackguard's office is located, will be among the first batch of streets to be renovated. This area will come next…"

"Okay." Situ He nodded without saying anything.

All of a sudden, his eyes lit on an old shop on the corner.

Its dilapidated sign distracted him.

When he'd regained his senses, the car had already been driven several hundred feet away.

"Stop!" Situ He ordered immediately.

Xia Ping stopped the car and asked, "What's the matter?"

Situ He turned his head and looked behind him.

He gently stroked the thumb ring he was wearing on his left hand. Click, click, the thumb ring which was made of jade shattered and fell into his palm.

Situ He became solemn.

"...…" Xia Ping also sensed something. "Is there something wrong?"

Situ He pondered for a long time. Finally, he said to Xia Ping, "Continue driving!"

His eyes, however, remained fixed on the shop behind him.

Although he couldn't feel anything abnormal, his thumb ring wouldn't lie.

Because it was a thumb ring that had been made by the governor, and it was only issued to Blackguards of the general rank.

The thumb ring had only one function: detecting abnormal psionic reactions.

And now it had fallen apart.

If it hadn't been for the ring shattering, Situ He knew that he might have remained completely oblivious to the fact that unusual psionic energy existed in the place which he had passed by just now.

Xia Ping didn't understand what was happening and continued to drive forward.

"Interesting," Situ He said.

"What did you discover?" Xia Ping asked.

"Just keep on driving!" Situ He said. "Don't ask too many questions."

Situ He was aware that there must be some powerful people or objects in this street.

The other party was deliberately concealing himself.

If it hadn't been that he was carrying the governor's special thumb ring, this would have slipped by him too.

"I'll come and get you tonight," Situ He said to himself.

Situ He was very confident that he could purge and eliminate all demons or foreign species that might threaten the Federal Empire.

Of course, if the other party bore no ill intentions toward the Federal Empire...

Then he wouldn't go the extreme of exterminating them.