Chapter 31: The Whisper Behind the Seal
(Arc 2: Audit from Heaven – Continuation)
The tribunal chamber had long since emptied, its marble floors echoing with the ghosts of bureaucratic outrage. But deep beneath the Bureau's main hall, behind seven locked seals and a curtain of floating paper charms, Assistant Yue stood alone — waiting.
A faint ripple shimmered in the air. The paper charms parted like petals, and Princess Ling stepped through the veil, her golden hair faintly glowing in the lamplight. The air itself seemed to hold its breath.
"You came alone," Ling said softly. "Good. Even the walls have ears in this Bureau."
Yue bowed slightly. "If we're caught meeting here, I'll be demoted to Mortal Filing Level Two."
Ling smiled wryly. "Don't worry. I erased this room from the Bureau's schedule. As far as the records are concerned, it doesn't exist today."
Yue frowned. "You used royal override for this? Then it's worse than I thought."
Ling moved closer, her expression serious. "You saw what happened during the tribunal. Ne Job's chaos wasn't an accident — it's part of something older."
Yue blinked. "Older? You mean the cursed pen?"
"No," Ling said quietly. "The pen is just a fragment. I've traced the ink signatures — they match remnants from the Forbidden Manual. The same one sealed away after the Heavenly Rebellion."
Yue's grip on her binder tightened. "That manual again… the same one rumored to rewrite divine laws if fully awakened."
Ling nodded. "And the strange part? It only reacts to one kind of energy — defiance born from duty."
Yue's eyes widened. "That sounds exactly like…"
"Yes," Ling interrupted. "Ne Job."
For a moment, neither spoke. The lamps flickered. Somewhere above them, thunder rolled softly — the sound of the Bureau's divine weather system adjusting to stress.
Ling continued, her tone sharper now. "That's why I intervened at the tribunal. If Lord Xian had punished him, the artifact might have gone dormant again. I need him active — under watch, but active."
Yue stared at her. "You're using him as bait."
Ling's silence was her only answer.
"Princess," Yue said finally, lowering her voice, "if the Manual stirs again, Heaven itself could unravel. Are you certain you can control it?"
Ling looked away, her gaze distant. "Control? No. But maybe… redirect it. If the Manual seeks a will strong enough to challenge divine stagnation, then perhaps—"
The air shimmered again, and a faint glyph burned into the wall: the Royal Surveillance Seal, pulsing with red light. Someone was listening.
Ling snapped her fingers, tearing open a small rift in space. "We're out of time."
She stepped toward the portal but turned back to Yue one last time.
"Keep him close, Yue. He's not just an intern anymore — he's the spark the heavens tried to bury."
The rift closed with a flash, leaving Yue alone amid the dim glow of floating seals.
She exhaled slowly, pressing her hand over her chest.
"Ne Job… what are you really?"