Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

Zhang Lingyu's unease was not without reason.

He sat in that black leather chair, his back ramrod straight, his fingers resting motionless on his knees, like a carefully arranged porcelain statue.

But he knew in his heart that every word spoken by the youngest section chief of Nadutong from the moment he entered the door was like tying a knot in a rope, round and round, slowly and deliberately. By the time you realized it, the noose was already around your neck.

"Section Chief Zhuge," Zhang Lingyu began, his voice a little more steady than before, but even he could tell that the steadiness was forced, "I don't quite understand what you mean."

Zhuge Qi took his hands off the table, crossed them in front of his abdomen, and relaxed his posture as if he were chatting with guests about the weather in his own living room. "Then let me explain it more clearly."

He pushed the stack of documents on the table over.

The paper slid across the smooth tabletop, making a soft rustling sound, like a snake slithering through the grass.

The documents were placed in front of Zhang Lingyu. It was a thick stack of documents. The first page had the words "Nadutong Express Company, Department of Extraordinary Persons, Case File Compilation" printed at the top, and a line of small print below it read "Confidential, Unauthorized Viewing Prohibited".

Zhang Lingyu glanced down at it but didn't move.

"Master Lingyu, open it and take a look." Zhuge Qi's tone was still gentle, but there was an unyielding determination within it. "We'll talk after you've looked at it."

Zhang Lingyu's fingers curled on her knee for a moment, then she lifted them and turned to the first page.

The paper is standard A4 printing paper, with clear text and neat formatting.

The first page is a case summary—the time, place, people involved, and casualties are all listed in the cold, official style of writing.

It is devoid of embellishment, stance, or emotion.

Zhang Lingyu glanced at it and frowned.

"In March 2015, in a town in western Hunan, seven members of the Quanxing gang attacked a small family of extraordinary individuals, resulting in three deaths and two serious injuries. One of the deceased was only fourteen years old."

His gaze lingered on that line of text.

Fourteen years old.

What grudge could a fourteen-year-old have against the Quanxing?

Zhang Lingyu continued scrolling down.

"In September 2015, in a village in northern Henan, five members of the Quanxing gang broke into an ordinary family's home and used the pretext of 'seeking revenge' to commit violence against the homeowner. The homeowner was an ordinary person who had no idea what the world of supernatural beings was. Afterwards, he suffered a mental breakdown and has not recovered to this day."

"In January 2016, in a county town in western Sichuan, Shen Chong, one of the 'Four Madmen' of the Quanxing Sect, got into a conflict with three extraordinary individuals at a restaurant..."

"July 2016..."

Turn the pages one by one.

Every page tells a story of bloodshed.

Every page has a name, a date, and numbers, so precise it's almost suffocating.

Zhang Lingyu's fingers began to feel cold.

He grew up in the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Longhu Mountain is a place of quiet cultivation. People practice morning and evening classes, martial arts, and occasionally go down the mountain to exorcise demons and convert believers. They have seen quite a few evil things, but they always keep a distance from those evil things.

He is a member of the Celestial Master's Mansion, a disciple of the righteous path, standing on the side of "good," while "evil" is a distant silhouette, something that should be eliminated from the story.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

But what he was holding at that moment was a list of "distant places".

Every single one of these events truly happened. In each one, people cried, died, and their families were torn apart.

Then he found Xia He's name.

The crimes committed are documented in black and white, one by one, in black and white.

The face of that person in my memory is very blurry.

I only remember that when she smiled, her eyes would curve into two crescent moons, she had a small mole at the corner of her mouth, and her voice was soft, like the rain in Jiangnan in March.

But now my impression of her seems to be getting more and more blurred and hazy.

"What's wrong?" Zhuge Qi's voice came from across the table, as calm as a still river. "Can't stand it anymore?"

Zhang Lingyu closed the file.

He placed his hand on the cover, using great effort to prevent himself from crumpling the paper. He looked up at Zhuge Qi, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but then he swallowed his words.

The silence lasted for about five seconds.

"Section Chief Zhuge," Zhang Lingyu finally spoke, her voice lowered as if something was pressing down on it, "you showed me these things to tell me..."

"You should already know what I want to tell you." Zhuge Qi didn't wait for him to finish asking, and continued naturally and smoothly, "Master Lingyu, you are a high-ranking disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion, not an ordinary person. If I say some things too bluntly, it would seem disrespectful to you."

He paused, leaned forward slightly, and moved his hands from his abdomen to the table, interlacing his fingers.

"The threshold for joining the Quanxing organization is indeed very low, everyone knows that. Just shout 'I am from Quanxing' in public and you're in." Zhuge Qi's voice remained unhurried. "But those who can truly stay in this organization, stay there, and make a name for themselves have an invisible condition—they can stand by and watch those things, and turn a blind eye to them. Only those who can do this are true members of Quanxing."

His finger tapped the stack of documents.

"The company doesn't arrest Quanxing on sight. Treating Quanxing as a public enemy and everyone wants to kill them is the rule of the underworld. The company's principle is that if you don't cause trouble, I won't cause trouble."

The files you have only represent a portion of the heinous crimes committed by Quanxing over the past three years. There are many more that I haven't even printed. Did Xia He directly participate in any of these? Yes.

Many didn't directly participate, but simply sat by and watched others finish, then tacitly approved, observed, and acted as if nothing had happened, before returning to their brotherhood with those people in the Quanxing Sect. This was the daily routine of the Four Madmen of Quanxing.

Zhang Lingyu did not answer.

"I know what you want to say." Zhuge Qi leaned back in his chair, his gaze calmly fixed on the other person's face. "You want to say that she may have her reasons."

She wanted to leave but couldn't; she was trapped in that environment and had no choice in the situation. You don't mind saying these things for her because you feel she was forced into it.

Zhang Lingyu's fingers twitched slightly.

He really wanted to say those things.

He had prepared these words from the moment he walked in.

Xia He's situation, the rules of Quanxing, how a young woman like her should conduct herself in such a place...

He thought about it many times, over and over again, sitting alone by the window at night in Longhu Mountain, unable to sleep.

He had prepared all the reasons for her, just waiting for an opportunity to put them on the table.

But Zhuge Qi didn't give him that chance.

"Master Lingyu..." Zhuge Qi's voice suddenly dropped two octaves, no longer as relaxed as before, but carrying a heavy weight. "In the martial world, who doesn't say they are not in control of their own destiny? But what kind of person you become, what path you take, is entirely up to you. If you can't control your own heart, how can you control your own body?"

These words were like a key, turning into something with a click.

Zhang Lingyu's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"How long did she stay at Quanxing? Three years? Five years? During that time, did she ever have a chance to leave? Was there ever a door that opened for her? Did she even take a step towards that door?"

"To put it bluntly, Xia He is a born Quanxing, not someone who was swept up by the tide. Everything is her own doing."