FI CH103: Extra

In the beginning, He Zhenling had never paid any attention to Lin Su.

The work of a divine official was the same, day after day, for a thousand years.

Most divine officials kept to their own domains and rarely interacted, and He Zhenling was no different.

From the moment he was born from the rules, he had been fulfilling the duty of supervision. With hundreds and thousands of divine officials and underworld messengers, he didn’t need to watch everyone at every moment. He only needed to periodically check on various duties and conduct random inspections for any dereliction of duty.

All duties were the same to him—

Just another part of his job.

And as the highest law enforcement officer of the Three Realms, he had always been impartial and incorruptible. For minor offenses, a jolt of high-voltage current served as a punishment; for major offenses, they were dismissed from their posts, and a new divine official would be born to take their place.

Over the long passage of time, the divine messengers had been replaced several times.

This was especially true for the divine messengers who walked the mortal realm and dealt with “humans”; almost none of them were free from mistakes.

The word “almost” was used because there was a single exception.

This was the first time He Zhenling had paid attention to a name: Fate Immortal, Lin Su.

The position of Fate Immortal was very special: all fates had their own trajectories, and he could easily detect the slightest deviation. Supervision was too easy, and he had never bothered to conduct a special inspection.

But now—

He Zhenling’s brow twitched slightly: Never made a mistake?

Was it a lapse in his supervision, or was this colleague of his really that…

With a flick of his fingertips, he pulled up past cases.

The scene appeared before him like a screen.

A face instantly crashed into his view. This was the first time He Zhenling had seen Lin Su. He couldn’t tell which dynasty he had pulled up, but the man had long, flowing hair, a face like warm jade, and a sliver of pale gold settled in the depths of his clear eyes.

Judging by the surrounding decor, it seemed to be a lavishly decorated mansion.

Across from him sat a middle-aged man in an official’s robe. A chest of gold was open at his feet, and he gave Lin Su a knowing salute. “National Preceptor, about my son’s matter…”

Lin Su skimmed the foam from his tea and nodded. “Rest assured, Your Excellency. I am aware of your son’s matter.”

He Zhenling, “…”

The prime minister’s face seemed to twist for a moment.

Lin Su raised his hand, and the chest of gold was taken away.

Watching the scene, He Zhenling tapped his fingers lightly: Bribery? Yet there was no violation?

He remained silent for the time being and continued to watch.

He saw the figure leave the prime minister’s residence, but after many twists and turns, he did not return home. Instead, he arrived at a secluded courtyard. Lin Su knocked on the door and spoke familiarly.

“It’s me. I’ve come to grace your humble abode again.”

The door creaked open, revealing a scholar’s face. Seeing Lin Su, he was instantly overjoyed. “Lord Lin, you’ve come.”

Lin Su stepped aside to let someone carry the chest in. “Take it.”

A chest of gleaming gold was placed on the ground with a thud.

The scholar was startled. “Th-This is?”

Lin Su tucked his hands into his sleeves. “The prime minister bribed the court, intending to swap your exam paper with his son’s. After I found out, he gave me a sum of hush money. This is what they owe you. Take it.”

The scholar was blank for a moment, then trembled slightly. “Then, my exam paper…”

Lin Su said with a straight face, “Since I did not receive the hush money, I will naturally report them.”

The scholar breathed a sigh of relief, then said worriedly, “But the prime minister is powerful and has many followers. Lord Lin, you—”

Lin Su said cheerfully, “I’ll get to infuriate a lot of people to death again.”

The scholar, “…”

Having made up his mind, Lin Su temporarily deposited the money in a bank for the man and returned to his residence, calm and composed.

After that, it was a matter of him laying out his plans in the court, secretly dismantling the corrupt faction, and stirring up the political scene with his status as the National Preceptor. After setting the fate back on its correct path, there were no “dislocations” in destiny or the overall situation, and he smoothly resolved the mess.

The corrupt faction fell, and the star of literature returned to its rightful place—

The poor scholar of yesterday became the top scholar of the dynasty, and the dynasty gradually moved towards an era of clarity and prosperity.

But that “mysterious” National Preceptor slowly faded from the court. Some said he had ascended to immortality, others said he had retired to the mountains to live a carefree life…

He Zhenling watched for a while longer before realizing that Lin Su had changed his identity again and taken on the next case.

He paused for a moment, then continued to watch.

He would just treat it as one more random inspection. This was also part of his supervision work.

…

By the time he came back to his senses, four cases had ended.

He Zhenling glanced at the time. A day had passed.

He hadn’t touched any of his daily work yet.

He frowned slightly, then took a shallow breath, closed the screen showing Lin Su, and began to deal with the accumulated work.

In his space, there was a celestial dome like a habitat for constellations.

All the divine officials were like stars dotting it. Over the long years, the falling or changing of stars was a common occurrence, but only the star named “Lin Su” remained high and never fell.

Gradually, He Zhenling grew accustomed to it.

In his spare time from his unchanging work, he would occasionally pull up Lin Su’s past cases to watch—

Aside from being a bit wild, he was indeed impeccably perfect.

Fair, clear-minded, towards humans and spirits alike.

His gaze fell, and the corners of his mouth curved into a rare smile: This point was quite good.

But he didn’t watch Lin Su frequently.

There was a lot of supervision work, and He Zhenling had always been selfless and strict, prioritizing official business. It was only when that expanse of stars showed a change that his gaze would linger for a moment longer on the star representing the “Fate Immortal.”

Then he would casually withdraw his gaze and continue to handle his work.

Lin Su’s star was eternally bright.

Only a few times had it fluctuated violently.

The first time He Zhenling saw it, his fingertips curled subconsciously. It wasn’t until the fluctuation ended and the star settled back into its orbit that he realized he had been holding his breath for several seconds.

But later, he grew accustomed to it as well:

This colleague of his was probably just stirring up trouble again.

He Zhenling had never thought the two of them would have any interaction.

Interacting with the Supervision Official was not a good thing: it meant that a divine official had violated the rules and would face punishment or destruction.

The years flowed by peacefully.

He witnessed Lin Su change with the dynasties, his long hair becoming short, his long robes replaced by Tang suits. What remained unchanged was that deep, well-rounded temperament, and his unpredictable way of doing things.

That “star” became the one that accompanied him the longest.

Therefore, when that star suddenly extinguished—

Without any warning, He Zhenling was, for a rare moment, stunned.

Was he seeing things, or was there a problem with the monitoring? Lin Su… how could he fall?

He stared at that spot in the stars for a long time, until he found a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer in the dark night sky. Only then did his thoughts slowly return: he hadn’t fallen, just dimmed to the point of being almost invisible.

He slowly exhaled.

He Zhenling tried his best to calmly pull up the scene.

—It turned out that a celestial master in the mortal realm had secretly used a “forbidden technique,” planning a large-scale “fate alteration.” The fates of tens of thousands of people were changed overnight, and Lin Su had single-handedly pushed all their fates back onto the right track.

Now his spiritual power was exhausted, and he had fallen into a deep sleep.

The celestial masters of the mortal realm were not under He Zhenling’s supervision, and Lin Su’s actions were in fulfillment of his duty.

No wonder he hadn’t detected any “abnormalities” on his end.

In the scene of flying sand and rolling stones, a streak of snow-white fell into the dust, almost buried in the vast expanse of sand.

He Zhenling recognized this place: the Qishan Dragon Vein.

He turned and walked out.

Just as he took a few steps, a great force enveloped him, restricting his movements. It was a warning from the rules: you must not abandon your post without authorization.

A spark of anger ignited in He Zhenling’s deep eyes. He suppressed his emotions and replied in his mind: “An enforcement officer has an obligation to assist an injured colleague.”

It was as if he had found a legitimate reason.

He was impartial and incorruptible: “If there are any further violations, I will accept the punishment myself.”

The power of the rules binding him receded.

Without hesitation, He Zhenling headed straight for Qishan.

…

Before the Qishan Dragon Vein, a figure lay collapsed in the dust and sand.

His dark hair was soft, his profile handsome. A snow-white thin robe covered his body, and a ball of faint white light lay in his arms, its presence also weak.

Lin Su’s eyes were quietly closed, as if he were asleep.

This was the first time He Zhenling had been face-to-face with him.

After only a moment’s pause, he bent down and scooped the man up.

The weight in his arms brought a tangible sense of presence. Lin Su’s head rested against his chest, his eyelashes hiding the sliver of pale gold he often saw in the video feeds.

He Zhenling’s gaze lingered for two seconds before he left with the man and the spirit.

He knew where Lin Su lived.

He carried Lin Su back to his residence and placed him on the bed.

The spirit had already returned to his consciousness due to a lack of spiritual power. He Zhenling looked at the speck of dust on Lin Su’s cheek and reached out to wipe it away.

A soft, cool touch brushed against his palm.

He Zhenling’s movement paused, and he withdrew his hand.

He thought for a moment, then got up and walked to the bathroom, wet a towel, wrung it dry, and returned to the bedroom.

Lin Su was still sleeping, oblivious.

He Zhenling pursed his lips, leaned over, and wiped his face.

His gaze moved down, landing on the tightly buttoned collar.

A section of a long, frost-white neck was exposed above the collar, stained with dust just like his clothes. It was impossible to just leave it like that.

After a long moment, He Zhenling took a deep breath, and his fingertips moved to undo the buttons one by one.

A large expanse of frost and snow was almost blindingly bright.

He kept his eyelashes lowered, meticulously wiping the man’s body.

Perhaps the room was stuffy; a bit of sweat seemed to have appeared on his back. He then averted his gaze, got up, opened the wardrobe, selected a set of clothes, and changed him.

It wasn’t until he had buttoned the collar back up to the top that he finally exhaled.

“Lin Su.”

He Zhenling looked at the person on the bed and called his name.

Lin Su slept very peacefully, without any response.

He Zhenling considered for a moment, then extended a long arm and pulled the man up. Lin Su leaned against his shoulder. If a relationship of trust was not established between divine officials, directly transferring one’s own spiritual power might be offensive, but now, circumstances demanded flexibility—

He whispered, “Pardon the intrusion,” then undid two more buttons and placed a hand over Lin Su’s heart.

The spiritual power he sent was quickly met with resistance.

Lin Su seemed to have a self-protective instinct and pushed him out.

He Zhenling frowned, about to force the energy in again. The next moment, a sharp pain shot through his collarbone! The unconscious man opened his mouth and bit down, right on his collarbone—

“Ngh…” He let out a muffled grunt and looked down. “Lin Su, let go.”

Lin Su was completely unaware and, instead, bit down harder.

It was warm and wet, with a stinging pain. This definitely drew blood.

He Zhenling took a deep breath, the veins on the back of his hand popping as he resisted the urge to pull the man away.

After enduring it for a long while, the person biting him finally let go.

His chest heaved as he looked down.

The culprit looked completely harmless, sleeping soundly. A trace of blood stained his slightly parted lips, adding a touch of vivid color to his pale face.

He Zhenling’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he wiped the blood from the man’s lips.

Despite being bitten, he wasn’t angry, but simply gave up on transferring his spiritual power for the time being.

…What was this, indulgence?

He Zhenling thought, then placed Lin Su back on the bed and got up to touch his own wound. The teeth marks were embedded deep, but it wasn’t something that couldn’t heal. He looked at the blood on his fingertips, then at the person lying on the bed.

He stood there for a very long time.

Unsure of his own state of mind, he finally lowered his hand.

Let it be.

Let it be the sole proof that the two of them had an interaction during this period of his unawareness.

The star representing the Fate Immortal maintained its faint glow.

Since the Fate Immortal had not fallen, a new divine official would not be born to replace him.

After returning, He Zhenling reviewed the incident.

He then made a decision: he requested to go to the mortal realm to resolve cases himself.

After a period of turmoil, the celestial master world was at a low point and needed a new order to maintain its development. The laws He Zhenling represented were just and strict, which aligned with Lin Su’s, and could perfectly fill this vacancy.

Without any hindrance, he took over the affairs of the mortal realm.

When divine officials went to the mortal realm, they needed to wear artifacts that restrained their power.

He Zhenling had originally planned to attach his spiritual consciousness to a silver hoop, but he suddenly paused. For some reason, he split his spiritual consciousness into two and made two artifacts.

He calmly pocketed one: he would just keep it as a spare.

As for the remaining one—

He Zhenling looked in the mirror. His features were cold and handsome, sharply defined. He held a silver hoop to the side of his ear and frowned.

It didn’t suit him. It was too strange.

Besides, if they both wore it on one ear, it would look like he was deliberately copying the other person.

He thought for a moment and finally wore it in a place unseen by light. He coolly and properly put on his clothes.

It didn’t matter. No one would know anyway.

…

He took charge for seventeen years.

In those seventeen years, He Zhenling built a company while solving cases. He also incidentally obtained two S-rank titles after the “new rules” were established. He was objective and rational, very clear about what he wanted.

It wasn’t to shine brightly in the celestial master world, but to pave the way, step by step, for a certain idea—

During this period, he also regularly visited Lin Su.

When he was busy, he would just take a look at the bedside. When he wasn’t busy, he would sit beside him for a little while. Feeling the person’s spiritual power recovering bit by bit, his own mood also stabilized.

As the longest-shining “star,” Lin Su’s spiritual power and life force far exceeded those of other divine officials.

When his star had almost recovered its brilliance,

He Zhenling finally stopped visiting Lin Su. Instead, he took the results he had accumulated over seventeen years, took over the Tianshi Surveillance, and became the Supervision Official “sent down” by the rules.

The undergarment buttoned up to his neck covered his collarbone.

Dressed in the crisp uniform of the Surveillance, He Zhenling attached his Tang sword, appearing impartial and unswayed by personal feelings.

This was just to avoid a repeat of the disaster from 17 years ago.

…

The various duties of his inauguration took up a lot of his time.

During this period, he heard that Lin Su had woken up and was taking on his first case at Xuncheng No. 1 High School.

It seemed he planned to use this alias for a while.

He Zhenling also took the opportunity to get a position there.

They were colleagues, after all. It would be convenient if they had to interact in the future.

But for now, the two had no interaction.

He Zhenling had no plans to seek out Lin Su: there was no reason, and no need. They each had their own duties. As long as Lin Su didn’t break any rules, they would probably have a hard time meeting—

That was what he had originally thought.

But he hadn’t expected their interaction to come so quickly.

He Zhenling looked at the two large words “Lin Su” in the case report and fell into a long silence: “…”

A moment later, he threw on his outer coat and picked up his Tang sword.

The location of the report was in a remote alley.

He Zhenling personally led a team over.

The night was dark, with countless stars adorning the sky above.

This demolition area was silent, with only a few scattered streetlights illuminating the deep mouth of the alley.

He led his subordinates towards the destination.

Beside him, Yin Lin spoke up. “President, is this case very difficult? Does it require you to come in person?”

He Zhenling’s profile was calm. “Not really.”

For some reason, the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch. “But it might be… magnificent and turbulent.”

His subordinates all looked over. “…Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion broke through the night, coming from the alley ahead. He Zhenling paused for a moment, then sped up and dashed out—

“President!?”

The scene deep within the alley came into view.

A familiar figure stood with his back to him, his black outer coat fluttering, its dark patterns shimmering. A pair of ears were visible between his dark hair, with crimson tassels hanging down, swaying in the wind.

Lin Su opened his arms, and several talismans instantly appeared before him.

He Zhenling’s gaze tightened. Even though he knew there was no danger, the Tang sword in his hand had already cut through the air.

Bang!!!

The person in front turned his head amidst the flying dust.

A pair of clear eyes met his, then looked him over with a sense of novelty.

He Zhenling stood in place for two seconds.

His heart rate seemed a bit faster than usual. He composed himself for a moment, then walked over in a few steps and stood before the man.

As if it were their first meeting, he spoke faintly, “He Zhenling.”

An appraising gaze landed on his neck.

A subtle heat spread from the bite mark on his collarbone, and his body temperature seemed to rise.

But soon, the gaze before him was withdrawn.

Lin Su extended a hand towards him. “Lin Su.”

He Zhenling looked down. The hand extended to him had well-proportioned knuckles, reflecting the slanted light, right within his reach.

This time, he grasped that hand:

“I know.”

—End of Full Text—

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