I am a cemetery despised even by the moon.
"Inspector White Night, Shuangli Palace requests your presence."
White Night jumped down from the chair in the front hall, with a rosy face and a slight sweat on his forehead, seemingly provoked by something. He raised his head to look at the butler and asked in a crisp voice, "Can I take the team inside? The dastardly villain we're capturing might be nearby!"
The butler laughed and shook his head, "No, Shuangli Palace specifically requests only Inspector White Night to go inside."
"Oh..." White Night lowered his head in disappointment, then clenched his fist, "Don't worry, if I really encounter that villain, I'll definitely protect everyone!"
"Please follow me." The butler led the way, and White Night took off his boots revealing his small feet in white socks, while he walked inside with large strides, curiously looking around as he went. The passing maids and guards couldn't help but laugh.
Soon, the butler led him to the corridor outside the courtyard, where two maids were guarding the corridor entrance. The butler stopped outside, not daring to approach, signaling White Night to go forward.
White Night ran up to the bright corridor entrance, speaking in a deliberately mature voice, "Statistical Department Inspector White Night, requesting to see Sister Shuangli!"
"Come on in!"
The two maids amusingly opened the corridor entrance, one of them even reached out to rub his head. White Night angrily fixed his inspector's hat, stomping away, which only made the two maids more amused.
The path was paved with blue bricks, the sides filled with river pebbles, sunlight sprinkled on the shimmering pool, transforming into a stream of light flowing through the courtyard.
Several girls in swimsuits were playing inside, either swimming gracefully underwater, or lying in the pool, or sitting on floating air cushions, or sitting at the edge splashing water, with trays floating on the water holding icy drinks, presenting a refreshing summer scene.
White Night covered his eyes with small hands, but his eyes peeked through the fingers, rolling around, "Greetings to Sister Shuangli, Sister Shuiyun, Sister Chaoyan..."
"Raccoon Slave!" A beautiful, voluptuous long-haired elder sister emerged like a mermaid from the pool, the watery traces reflecting her long skirt, seemingly enough to rival the sunlight in the sky. She crouched at the poolside, beckoning to White Night, "Come here, come here!"
White Night twitched his lips slightly, then hesitantly walked over, "The Director taught me that when boys are outside, they must protect themselves and not approach too many sisters..."
Before he finished speaking, the long-haired elder sister reached out to pinch his face, her satisfied murmurs resonating as she pinched, "So tender, so smooth~ Raccoon Slave, you're still so cute!"
"I want to feel too!"
"Raccoon Slave, stop being an inspector, sister will take care of you!"
"Waaa, I want to lock Raccoon Slave in the basement!"
"Why are you all like this, let go of him and let me do it!"
"Raccoon Slave, how old are you really~ Never mind, I like you at any age~"
Like a doll ravaged by a storm, his hat flew, clothes, face, and hair covered in water, seeing himself about to lose control, White Night twisted away from their playful hands, then hurriedly hid behind the corridor door, only showing half of his body, eyes brimming with tears, voice trembling:
"I, I will never come back again! I'm already in my twenties, you can't treat me like this!"
The two maids in the corridor were already laughing so hard they held their stomachs.
"No, no, the sisters were too excited, Raccoon Slave, be good."
"Raccoon Slave, come here, we promise not to touch you anymore!"
"Really, if we touch you again, Sister Shuangli will be a dog! Never mind, Sister Shuangli can be a dog, it's not like I'm the one being a dog."
Naturally, White Night wouldn't go down again, and directly said, "Ladies, I was chasing a villain when I found him jumping into your courtyard. I want to search Sister Shuangli's yard to find that villain!"
"Oh~" The long-haired elder sister jumped back into the pool, swam back and forth, then emerged to blink and said, "But we haven't seen anyone enter."
White Night clenched his fist, "That villain is very crafty, he must have sneaked into the courtyard while you were not paying attention. Now he's hiding somewhere, maybe even lurking in the changing room, waiting to peep on you changing!"
The girl lying on an air cushion curiously asked, "So his crime is peeping into the women's changing room?"
"No, that villain is said to be an escaped convict from Dongyang, very fierce and sly. Our Statistical Department found his traces with great difficulty and cornered him into a dead end. Ladies, hurry out and help us find the villain hiding in this courtyard!"
"No way!" The long-haired elder sister laid at the edge of the pool, shaking her head, "I don't want a bunch of stinky men searching my room unless they're as cute as Raccoon Slave."
White Night was slightly stunned, "But that vicious villain..."
"We've been playing in the courtyard all along and didn't see the red-haired person you mentioned." The petite girl who was playing with water with her feet suddenly said, "Maybe she's already run elsewhere, not in Sister Shuangli's residence at all."
White Night blinked, hesitating as he nodded, "That's possible... Well... I'll continue chasing the villain then, won't disturb you ladies."
"Not disturbing, Raccoon Slave, do you want to join us for a swim?"
"No, no, the Director said I'm not allowed to play in the water!" White Night waved his hands repeatedly, just as he was about to leave, a cute little maid blocked him, extending her hand with a packaged candy in her palm.
"Want some candy?" The little maid asked excitedly, looking at White Night with anticipation.
"Yes!" White Night nodded, happily took the candy, unwrapped it, and threw the milk candy into his mouth, "Thank you, sister!"
The little maid rubbed his small head, "If you come back again, sister will prepare more candies for you."
"Don't rub my head, rubbing more will make me not grow tall!" White Night unhappily slapped her hand away, adjusting his hat, but the little maid wasn't upset and instead giggled.
"Goodbye, butler, goodbye, sisters!" White Night said his farewells one by one, then walked out of the mansion with head held high. The Statistical Department staff outside saw White Night's smile, and dared not speak, following the Inspector Raccoon Slave silently.
When far enough from the mansion, White Night's childlike smile slowly vanished. As he turned a corner and completely left the noble and wealthy residential area Liuli Alley, his expression was dark enough to drip ink.
He gulped several times, then squatted on the canal, and started vomiting.
Milk candy, food remnants, even stomach acid were thrown up.
He vomited heart-wrenchingly, sweating profusely, tears streaming down.
The Statistical Department staff surrounded their inspector in silence, then turned their backs, none dared to watch this petite child's tantrum, unless they didn't want their eyes anymore.
Once the vomiting was almost over, White Night took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, threw it away, and reached out saying, "Cigarette."
A lit one was placed between his middle and index finger; he took two puffs and choked, coughing repeatedly, then directly discarded the good cigarette.
He couldn't smoke.
Not because he didn't want to learn, but because the Director told him, children with a smell of smoke aren't cute.
Being cute, a trait he thoroughly detests, is also his invincible weapon.
In the Statistical Department, the only person who could connect with various powerful figures in the Imperial Court was White Night.
Other inspectors couldn't do it, not even the director.
But the lovable child could.
White Night might resist, might refuse, but he would be eliminated.
Humans are willing to do things they don't want to do for only one reason—for the future.
White Night understood the reasoning, but he still felt unpleasant.
Being adorable and playful, he felt disgusted.
Thinking himself cute was extremely disgusting.
Actually deriving a shred of joy from that role-playing, he felt it was disgusting to the point of surpassing all bounds!
"I am... a grave... even the moon despises," he murmured, looking at the melted milk candy in the gutter.
White Night clapped his hands and stood up, saying calmly, "Pack it up, let's go back."
A Statistical Department agent cautiously asked, "That criminal..."
"Can't catch him. Trying to do so offends multiple palaces, no need." White Night said coldly.
When Shuiyun Palace mentioned 'the red-haired person,' White Night knew the palaces were deliberately shielding Qin Le Yin—he hadn't even described what Qin Le Yin looked like, yet Shuiyun Palace pointed out his most obvious trait, red hair.
Though unsure of what trickery Qin Le Yin used to gain the trust of the palaces in such a short time, White Night clearly had no choice but to retreat. And fortunately it was him; anyone else wouldn't even see the faces of the palaces, getting turned away directly.
The Statistical Department established a formidable reputation in Yanjing within just two years, not by doing philanthropic deeds but by killing and burning to make a name. Not only does the public disdain them, even the Imperial Family and Nobility don't show them a good face.
There are simply too many rats in Yanjing, and the Statistical Department was a department supported by the late Emperor, forbidding anyone to make a move. That's also why White Night in Yanjing continues to grow stronger—the cats must let the rats get plump and fat to keep the masters on edge.
But ultimately, relying on cultivating enemies is not a solution, which is also why White Night wants to frame Qin Le Yin.
Grudges from hair-pulling and face-pinching merely occupy a tiny part; White Night wouldn't go to battle with the Ritual Guard over something so trivial. His painstaking effort to lure Qin Le Yin to this courtyard was meant to let Qin Le Yin completely lose the qualification to become a sword sheath.
In this competitive sword-seeking contest, Brilliant Four Guards barely managed to become one of the sword seeker's sponsors—it really wasn't easy; the officials of the court are no less wary of Brilliant Four Guards than of White Night. When everyone hopes to maintain the tradition of 'the Emperor is wise' and 'justice fills the court,' Brilliant Four Guards, as a blade exclusive to the Imperial Family, are the proverbial thorn in their side.
The Brilliant Four Guards could produce only one sword sheath, and this task fell on Ritual Guard's shoulders, a decision made jointly by the four sovereigns—Wisdom Guard need not provide personnel; they are the sword seeker's visible sponsors and their merit points are maxed out. Loyalty Guard is usually as elusive as the shadows and doesn't participate in such competitions.
And Righteous Guard, because they previously monopolized the fruits of the Statistical Department, now reap the bitter outcome—they lost the chance to roll points, and the important task of the sword sheath directly fell to the laboring Ritual Guard.
But this way, Righteous Guard couldn't garner any 'follow the dragon' achievements, wandering the edges and achieving victory without contribution!
If the sword seeker supported by Brilliant Four Guards failed, there's nothing more to say; but if successful, she would only support Wisdom Guard, support Ritual Guard, and Righteous Guard would absolutely not advance!
White Night does not simply want to be a mediocre court agent! Even if there's just a sliver of hope, he wants to climb up, to reach the position just below one person and above millions—even within twenty years, he might become a Grand Scholar of the Cabinet, or even a Prime Minister, Chancellor, Regent!
And Qin Le Yin's combat strength, he had personally tested.
Integration and Mastery state small completion, in the same realm, few could match Qin Le Yin.
Moreover, he's an outsider from Dongyang, unnoticed by people in Yanjing—before the official start of the sword-seeking contest, he is safe—as White Night knows, the other few 'suspected sword sheaths' are all in hiding now, possibly in other districts to avoid assassination.
White Night dares to vouch for, Qin Le Yin is the sword sheath prepared by the Ritual Guard!
Though he wants Qin Le Yin to lose qualification, things mustn't be overdone; there must be a bottom line.
Like leaking Qin Le Yin's information directly; if he dared to do the first day of the month, Ritual Guard dared to do the fifteenth, causing both Righteous Guard and Ritual Guard to be ousted.
Brilliant Four Guards could fight internally, but only internally, absolutely cannot involve outsiders to hit one's own—otherwise the sovereign couldn't protect White Night.
Therefore, he meticulously arranged this trap, learning about the palaces' gathering today, forcing Qin Le Yin to jump into the Shuangli Palace residence—the best outcome would be Qin Le Yin injuring one of them, then 'oh, good,' they could rightfully catch Qin Le Yin into the Statistical Department and beat him up.
The second-best outcome would be him fighting Qin Le Yin and then Qin Le Yin escaping, letting the palaces see his unrivaled combat strength under Integration and Mastery state.
The worst outcome is merely Qin Le getting through the Statistical Department's blockade and fleeing, but the palaces would know there's a red-haired person causing trouble nearby.
White Night's meticulous planning aims to let the palaces recognize Qin Le Yin.
As long as they establish contact with Qin Le Yin and there's a Statistical Department agent to confirm it, officials of the court would naturally launch an investigation into the red-haired person.
Now is the scary period when 'sword sheaths are in danger,' regardless of whether Qin Le Yin leaves Yanjing, he cannot continue as a sword sheath candidate, and the sword sheath slot naturally transfers to Righteous Guard.
And White Night, at most, would just be punished by the sovereign for his 'naughtiness'—he merely wanted to beat Qin Le Yin, didn't leak information, as Qin Le Yin's red hair and appearance were too conspicuous!
Low risk, high reward, White Night's plan was evidently perfect.
But it still went wrong.
The palaces were actually willing to protect Qin Le Yin, an unexpected situation for him.
"Qin Le Yin, don't let me see you..."
Enduring made him more agitated, retreating made it feel more unjust, White Night cursed, "Where's the car!"
"Coming, coming," the Statistical Department agent hurriedly said.
A car drove up in front, and White Night got into the back seat, thinking for a moment, said, "You all go directly back to the Statistical Department, if the director asks, just tell the truth."
Finished speaking, he shut the door, "Go to the Haixinsha Bathing Ground."
The agent paused, "Inspector, it's only afternoon, wouldn't going to the bathing ground be too early..."
"If you don't want to drive, I can switch with someone else, and turn the rear-view mirror away."
The agent shivered, turned the rear-view mirror away, and drove obediently to the largest, most luxurious Hainxinsha Bathing Ground in Yanjing.
White Night watched the scenery outside the window, his expression becoming increasingly aggrieved, and he hugged his shoulders and murmured softly:
"I have been dirtied again..."