Thirty minutes ago,
Somewhere in a silent and decrepit alley located inside the Northern town. An individual dressed in dark blue clothes and a featureless masked knocked on the door of a shop. The individual knocked in a certain pattern and on different places on the door.
A minute later the door silently opened, and the individual walked inside. The door immediately closed, revealing an old woman behind it. The old woman did not speak anything and just gestured for the masked individual to follow her. She brought him to another room inside the shop before closing down the door of that room as well.
The old woman then looked at the masked individual and spoke,
"Show me the crest."
The masked individual then pulled out a small metallic plate that was hexagonal in shape from their pocket. The masked individual handed the hexagonal metal plate to the old woman, who quickly snatched it from him. After taking it, the old woman glanced at it for a second before inserting it into a small opening that was hidden in the seam of the wall behind her.
As soon as she inserted the hexagonal plate, a clicking sound was heard and then the sound of gears moving could be heard. Soon a rectangular outline appeared on the wall. A wooden panel then shifted to reveal the passage behind it.
The old woman then looked at the masked individual and spoke again.
"They're waiting for you."
The masked individual silently nodded before walking through the new opening in the wall. After the masked individual was gone, the wooden panel automatically shifted and closed the entrance of the passage.
The masked individual walked for a few meters straight before reaching a staircase that descended deeper into the ground. The staircase was dark, unlike the dimly lit passage. Thus the masked individual picked up a lamp that was hanging on the wall and walked downstairs.
The masked individual must have walked for five minutes before reaching the end of the staircase. One could only imagine how deep the stairs went into the ground. At the end of the staircase, there was another door. The masked individual held the handle of the door and pushed it open, revealing the brightly lit room behind it. Quickly closing the door, the individual walked inside.
"You're late." A voice spoke inside the brightly lit room.
The masked individual turned towards the source of the voice and replied,
"I found a few more clues of those people."
The voice of the masked individual was feminine and cold, making one feel the chill on their skin. The masked individual then removed their mask, which revealed a beautiful face that was marred by a scar that extended from the left temple to the chin.
The masked individual was actually a woman.
"And what kind of clues did you notice?" The voice asked.
"Whoever they are, they have been going to the northern forest every day. I also found a few traces of blood on the route towards the northern forest." The unmasked woman replied.
"Hmm, we'll investigate it then." The voice spoke as it got closer.
Soon a man appeared in front of the woman. The man had short hair and was wearing dark blue clothes similar to that of the woman's. He had an average face that one did not find peculiar.
"Any new information?" The woman asked.
"Nothing in particular. Most of our companions are still out doing their task, while the rest returned an hour ago to report. You're the only one who was late." The man replied and took a pause.
"Well not just you, Hei Wen has not returned yet either." The man added.
"Why is he late? He's the most punctual of us all." The woman asked.
"Hei Wen was assigned a tailing mission recently. He's been on it for a few days now." The man answered.
"Tailing mission? Did they find a potential suspect?" The woman questioned.
"We do not know. He was directly informed by the leader." The man answered.
"We'll just have to wait for him then, I guess." The woman replied while walking towards a chair.
"Perhaps." The masked man spoke with an uneasy voice.
The woman noticed the man's unease but did not question it, rather choosing to rest on the chair for a bit. The man also sat down on a chair nearby and closed his eyes.
A few minutes passed until a very high-pitched sound could be heard in the room. The pair of man and woman abruptly stood up with their eyes wide open. Five more people came out from a door that was to the left of the room.
"Someone has triggered the emergency signal." They all spoke in unison.
"Follow me." The short-haired man ordered.
The man then lead the six people to a room that was situated across the hall. He pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the door. Inside this room multiple tables were placed and on these tables, tens of rectangular plates were kept.
Currently, one of these rectangular plates seemed to be making the high-pitched sound. A disk-shaped opening had appeared on the rectangular plate, and the circular plate that was cut out from it was spinning rapidly.
The circular plate spun for about two minutes before stopping. Tense expressions could be seen on the faces of each and every person in the room.
"Whose plate is it?" One of the persons asked.
The woman walked forward to check the name that was written below the rectangular plate.
"It's Hei Wen!" The woman exclaimed.
"His target! Hei Wen is on a tailing mission, he must've been compromised." The short-haired man spoke.
"Quick, we can still save him if we reach there now." The woman spoke.
"But we don't have everyone here. Hei Wen signaled the highest level of emergency. It rung for two whole minutes. He must've depleted all his spirit qi." One of the men spoke.
"No, if he's out of spirit qi, we need to be even more quick or he won't survive for long." The woman protested.
"That's it. We leave right this moment." The short-haired man declared.
None of the people dared to question the short-haired man's words as they all got ready. A minute later everyone was equipped with their featureless masks and had their swords at their backs. They started leaving the underground room one by one and reached the shop that was located at the top.
The wooden panel in the wall opened, and all of the masked individuals walked out. The old woman that was sitting in the shop noticed this and came out to see them.
"An emergency? Who?" The old woman asked with a grim voice.
"Hei Wen." The short-haired man replied.
"I'll inform the leader." The old woman said before walking aside and bringing out a cage that had a Grey pigeon perched within.
"We'll leave first." The short-haired man uttered before leaving the shop along with the others.
The old woman quickly wrote something on a small piece of paper before rolling it up and inserting it into a small tube that was tied to the pigeon's leg. She then picked up the pigeon and released it outside. The pigeon swiftly flew away to the south.
*****
The seven masked individuals were running across the roofs of the buildings silently. From their speed, one could tell that they were all qi cultivators. The seven masked individuals ran for about five minutes before they reached the residential district.
"His target was located in the residential district, so he should be nearby." The short-haired man spoke before taking out a small compass.
The compass did not have any markings and only had a pointer. The masked man looked at the compass for a second before turning towards the eastern direction.
"We are in the range, follow me." The short-haired man ordered.
They ran for two more minutes before an old warehouse appeared in front of them in the distance.
"There he is!" The masked woman exclaimed.
"But who's that person with him?" One of the masked men questioned.
"We'll know soon. Get your weapons ready." The short-haired man spoke.
*****
Lin Mu was looking at the masked individuals that were running on the roofs of the buildings and coming towards him. The masked man beside him noticed this as well and looked at them.
"They're finally here." The masked man spoke while sighing with relief.
Lin Mu watched as the seven masked individuals soon reached them with their weapons drawn. The masked individual that was standing at the front came forward and pointed at him with his sword.
"Get away from him." The short-haired man spoke.
The masked man that was standing beside Lin Mu suddenly felt alarmed upon hearing the man's words and walked forward to stand in front of Lin Mu.
"Lower your sword, captain. He means no harm." The masked man hurriedly informed.
The short-haired man stared at him for a few seconds before speaking,
"Fine. Now tell me why did you use the emergency signal when you are completely fine here."
"Come see." The masked man spoke shortly while gesturing to the other men.