The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The year 25 of Yonghe, the beginning of autumn.

In the study of the Grand Tutor's mansion, Kong Yan sat behind his desk, his hand holding a string of black jade prayer beads. He had been turning them for more than half an hour, and the sound of the beads clinking together was particularly clear in the quiet room.

In front of him lay an official document that had just been delivered from the Ministry of Rites; it was a brief report on unusual events written in the handwriting of Lu Zhi, the Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou.

Outside the window, bamboo shadows swayed and bamboo leaves rustled in the night wind, but he was oblivious, staring intently at the neat lines of small characters on the official document.

Abandoned ancestral hall, empty bowls, grayish-white powder.

The well water turned bitter, and the villagers said it was because the Dragon King of the Well was angry.

The river surface was ablaze with green light, and the boatmen dared not sail at night.

His finger lingered on the words "grayish-white powder" for a long time.

"Three hundred years." He finally spoke, his voice hoarse and low, as if speaking to his eldest son standing beside him, or as if talking to himself, "The last time this grayish-white powder appeared was when your grandfather was alive."

"At that time, I had just entered the Hanlin Academy and went to Yingchuan with your grandfather."

"Next to the ancestral graves of the Chen family in Yingchuan, there is an abandoned ancient tomb. The inscription on the tombstone has long been weathered and illegible."

"The villagers nearby say that every full moon night, they hear knocking sounds coming from the tomb, like someone inside trying to get out."

"Later, the Chen family invited your grandfather. Your grandfather stood in front of the tomb for three days and three nights, using his righteous spirit to forcefully suppress the yin energy in the tomb."

"The tomb was later filled in, and a peach grove was planted on top. Nothing bad has happened since."

"What your grandfather brought back was this grayish-white powder."

"He told me that this is 'Yin Jin,' the residue left after Yin energy was suppressed by righteous Qi."

"Ordinary people cannot see it; only cultivators of the fourth rank or above can sense its existence."

The eldest son, standing by his side, couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Father, what exactly is this Yin Ash?"

Kong Yan gently placed the official document on the table, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly said, "Between heaven and earth, where there is yang energy, there is yin energy."

"Yang energy rises and becomes clear, while yin energy sinks and becomes turbid."

"Emperor Taizu suppressed the dragon vein with his own body, gathering all the fortune of heaven and earth into the court. Yang energy was strong and Yin energy was weak, so for the past three hundred years, Yin energy has been suppressed deep underground. Ordinary people will never encounter Yin energy overflowing in their entire lives."

"But if the seal on the dragon vein loosens and the yang energy diminishes, the yin energy will overflow from the ground and attach itself to abandoned ancient tombs, dry wells, and old houses."

"At best, it will disturb livestock; at worst, it will infect both humans and animals. If left untreated, the accumulated yin energy will form 'yin evil,' which will become a real calamity."

He put down his teacup, gazed at the clumps of bamboo outside the window in silence for a long time, and then suddenly said something that made his eldest son's heart tremble: "Prepare the sedan chair, we're going to the Pei residence."

Meanwhile, the office of Pei Du of the Censorate was brightly lit.

Pei Du did not review the impeachment memorials tonight, but sat alone behind his desk with an official document from the Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commission spread out in front of him.

The report on the unusual events written by Xu Jie himself, and the letter in which Xu Jie suggested establishing a unified handling mechanism.

He looked at it for a long time, then took out the briefing sent by Lu Zhi from Yangzhou, placed the two documents side by side, and read them over and over again.

The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed, because he noticed the broken stele mentioned in Xu Jie's official document.

The inscription on the stele was blurry and unclear. The yamen runners dug it up and sent it to the government warehouse for safekeeping.

At the end of the official document, Xu Jie added a sentence: "I suspect that this stele was carved at the end of the Daqian Dynasty, and the content of the inscription seems to be related to sacrifices."

At the end of the Great Qian Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the people above the ninth rank were fighting each other.

The appearance of sacrificial inscriptions from that era at a critical juncture when the balance of the universe was shifting was no coincidence.

He raised his head and said to Chen Qi, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief who was standing beside him, "The inscription on the broken stele discovered in Jiangxi is blurred, but the shape and carving style are from the late Daqian period."

Do you know what those sacrificial steles from the late Daqian period were used for?

Chen Qi's heart skipped a beat, and he bowed, saying, "Please enlighten me, teacher."

Pei Du slowly stood up, walked to the window and looked at the night sky, his voice low and solemn: "Suppress."

"At the end of the Great Qian Dynasty, powerful individuals above the ninth rank fought a chaotic battle, shattering the mountains and rivers and causing yin energy to overflow."

"When local officials were unable to suppress it, they asked the great scholars of the time to carve steles and erect stones in various places to seal the places with the heaviest yin energy with righteous energy."

"These steles are called 'Suppressing Yin Steles,' and each one is believed to suppress the most dangerous Yin spirits of that time."

"After the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the founding emperor used himself to suppress the dragon vein. The yin energy was suppressed deep underground, and these yin-suppressing steles lost their function and were slowly forgotten by the world."

"But the stele is still there, and so is the evil spirit beneath it. Now that the dragon vein is loosening, these evil spirits that have been suppressed for nearly three hundred years are probably about to be unable to be suppressed any longer."

He turned around, looked into Chen Qi's eyes, and said slowly and deliberately, "When I was young, I followed my mentor back to our hometown after he retired. Instead of going home to live out his retirement, my mentor returned to the desolate mountains and dilapidated temple in our hometown. He set up an altar in the dilapidated temple to teach. There were a few broken rooms, a few young children, and a platform for teaching."

"He stayed in this dilapidated temple for thirty years, without any contact with the imperial court or any noble families, all alone."

"It wasn't until after his death, when I was sorting through his belongings, that I discovered a crack behind the statue that had been sealed by righteous energy."

"He merged his life into that energy, and spent the rest of his life sealing that crack tightly, not leaving until he turned into bones."

"My mentor wasn't the only one like this. Every high-ranking official, whether first or second grade, who retired to his hometown didn't actually go home to enjoy his retirement."

"They returned to their hometown with their last bit of luck, and spent the rest of their lives suppressing what the imperial army could not suppress and what the young officials were powerless to suppress."

"It has been three hundred years, and countless generations of loyal ministers have sacrificed themselves to bring about this peaceful and prosperous era."

Meanwhile, the candles in the East Warm Pavilion of Qianyuan Hall were still lit.

Zhou Qian sat behind his desk, with a secret report from the Hidden Dragon Guard presented to him by Eunuch Cao.

The secret report detailed the unusual events reported by various state governments over the past three months.

The sound of knocking on the stone wall came from the abandoned ancient tomb, the water in the old well in the deserted village turned bitter overnight, and an empty bowl appeared out of nowhere on the offering table in the ancestral hall, with grayish-white powder remaining at the bottom of the bowl.

These incidents were all collected through undercover agents of the Hidden Dragon Guard in various regions, and were more detailed and shocking than those reported by local officials.

At the end of the secret report, Eunuch Cao wrote a line in tiny, neat characters.

"This old servant has dispatched hidden Dragon Guards to various prefectures and counties. Wherever they discover an outpouring of Yin energy, they will immediately request the presence of a retired scholar to suppress it."

"It is currently under control, but the seal on the dragon vein is still loosening."

"If the seal completely collapses, the number of retired Confucian scholars is limited, and it may be difficult to cover all areas."

"This old servant suggests that Your Majesty secretly order local officials to strengthen patrols and report any abnormalities immediately, so that the court can coordinate and suppress them."

"Furthermore, this old servant has ordered an investigation into the locations of the Yin-Suppressing Steles from the late Daqian period. It has been discovered that many of these steles have been lost or buried. I suggest that Your Majesty send people to re-examine the locations of the steles to prevent Yin energy from escaping from beneath them."

Zhou Qian gently placed the secret report on the table, leaned back on the dragon throne, and closed his eyes.

He suddenly remembered the edict left by the founding emperor before his death.

"Those descendants who are capable should safeguard the dragon vein and ensure that the seal is not lost."

"If the seal is loosened, evil spirits will rise up all over the world, beyond human control. Remember this, remember this."

When he read this passage, he felt that the founding emperor was overly worried.

The dragon vein seal has been stable for three hundred years, how could it possibly be loosened so easily?

In retrospect, Emperor Taizu's concerns were justified.

He picked up the secret report again and read it from beginning to end. His gaze lingered on the words "grayish-white powder" and "Suppressing Yin Stele" for a long time. Then he called out to the shadows behind the screen, "Eunuch Cao."

Eunuch Cao silently emerged, leaning on his ebony cane, and bowed, saying, "This old servant is here."

Zhou Qian's fingers tapped slowly on the armrest of the dragon throne. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke: "Draft a secret edict for me and send it to the Six Ministries and all the prefectures."

"All civil servants of the fourth rank or above, whether in office or retired, must pay attention to any unusual events within their jurisdiction."

"If any place is found to be overflowing with yin energy, suppress it on the spot if you can; if you cannot suppress it, report it immediately."

"Furthermore, the Chengdu Procuratorate, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Justice are instructed to work together with the Zhenwu Division to establish a unified procedure for reporting and handling abnormal events."

"If local prefectures and counties are unable to handle the situation, the imperial court will send officials to provide assistance. If the imperial court's officials are still unable to handle the situation, the Hidden Dragon Guard will request the assistance of a senior Confucian scholar."

He paused, then added, "Draft another imperial edict to posthumously confer the title of 'Grand Master of the State' upon all deceased retired officials, of the first rank, and have their names engraved on the stele in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Eunuch Cao, leaning on his ebony cane, bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty is wise. This old servant will go and do it immediately."

As he left the East Warm Pavilion, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Another night has passed.

Deeper within this palace city, in the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, lies an iron stele inscribed with the words, "Killing an official is like killing my son; injuring an official is like injuring my arm."

It stands silently in the darkness before dawn, as if guarding a secret that has lasted for nearly three hundred years.