During the banquet, the Prefecture Lord offered posts to the top 20—captain of ten thousand in Dongyuan’s city guard, deputy general of a battalion in the demon-suppressing army, and the like.
Most jumped at the chance.
By the end, it was past 9 p.m.
Guests filed out, the envoy reminded Lin Yun to meet at the palace gates in three days, then left.
Only the Prefecture Lord and Lin Yun remained in the hall.
“Lin Yun, just us now—what’s on your mind, out with it,” the Prefecture Lord said, sipping wine from his perch up front.
“My lord, among Dongyuan’s generals, there’s a beast posing as human—I urge a thorough probe!” Lin Yun said gravely.
The time was right, so he laid it bare.
“What?”
The Prefecture Lord’s cup trembled slightly.
He set it down, eyeing Lin Yun.
This news hit him like a thunderclap.
“You’re saying a beast’s slipped into my generals?” he asked, stunned.
“Exactly,” Lin Yun nodded.
The Prefecture Lord said, “Every general joining Dongyuan gets a deep background check, plus, I’d spot any beastly aura—still, since you’ve said it, I’ll look into it, tell me who, what’s their name.”
“I don’t know their name or rank—I only saw them from afar once,” Lin Yun admitted.
The Prefecture Lord chuckled at that.
“You saw them from afar once—how’d you peg them as a beast?” he asked, smiling.
“No beastly aura at all—even an immortal might miss it, I judged by gut,” Lin Yun said straight.
“Gut? Ha!” The Prefecture Lord laughed outright.
“You’re calling someone a beast in human skin based on a hunch? Bit rash, no? By that logic, someone could gut-feel you’re a beast too,” he grinned.
Lin Yun could tell—the Prefecture Lord found it absurd.
Fair enough—most would laugh at such a claim.
But with beasts involved, Lin Yun had to speak, even if it got him mocked.
He wasn’t doing it for the Prefecture Lord, but for all humanity.
Lin Yun stood, facing him earnestly, “My lord! Beasts are serious—even a hunch warrants a check, better waste time on a mistake than slack off!”
He pressed, “Dongyuan borders beast lands, a key frontier, and it’s been quiet lately—I heard a town below lost tens of thousands overnight to beasts, could be a bad omen!”
The Prefecture Lord shook his head, smiling, “That town slaughter? Three months back, I sent a trusted aide to investigate—came back as a one-off.”
“My lord, what if your aide botched it?” Lin Yun shot back.
The Prefecture Lord’s smile froze, his face darkening.
“Lin Yun, you say a beast’s among my generals—implying Dongyuan can’t spot them? You say my aide slacked—hinting I’m blind to talent? You’re calling me, the Prefecture Lord, incompetent!” His voice chilled.
“You’re overthinking it, my lord—I just want them found and checked, if it’s nothing, great, but if it’s a beast…” Lin Yun trailed off.
The Prefecture Lord cut in, “You judge this from one distant glance, no name—do you know how many generals Dongyuan has?”
“If I hauled them all in for you to eyeball, you realize how big a deal that is? Dongyuan’s a border zone—generals guard the edges, only rotating back sometimes, call them all in, who defends? The whole system’d collapse!”
Clearly, he wasn’t keen to upheaval everything over Lin Yun’s hunch.
Or rather, he thought a gut call from one far-off look was laughable!
Plus, Dongyuan and the empire had tight vetting for generals.
He trusted that system—not Lin Yun’s instinct.
“My lord, I’ve said my piece—if you’ll let me ID them, I’m free these three days, if not, I’ve got nothing more,” Lin Yun said.
He’d pushed as far as he could—the Prefecture Lord wouldn’t budge just because he insisted.
He’d done what he could.
“I’ll have someone recheck all generals’ files—night’s late, off you go,” the Prefecture Lord waved him off.
“Farewell.”
Lin Yun saluted, turning to leave.
A guard escorted him out of the palace.
He’d told the Prefecture Lord—whether he checked, how he checked, that was his call.
Lin Yun couldn’t order him around—he was just a commoner, no rank, no clout.
Not far into the palace, he bumped into Yi Cheng, the Prefecture Lord’s son.
“Young Master,” the guard saluted Yi Cheng.
“So, it’s Champion Lin Yun,” Yi Cheng’s face soured seeing him.
That snub from Lin Yun still rankled.
And his pre-exam jab—saying Lin Yun wouldn’t win easy—stung now that he had, making this awkward.
“Young Master Yi Cheng, fancy meeting again,” Lin Yun smiled.
To Yi Cheng, that grin felt like a taunt—riling him more!
“Just a prefecture champ—Dongyuan gets one yearly, talk when you’ve nabbed the national crown,” Yi Cheng sneered.
“That’s my aim alright,” Lin Yun’s smile held.
“Hmph, big words—no blush, thick skin! Wait till you hit the Divine Capital and face those foes—see if you’re still smirking!” Yi Cheng sniped, stalking off.
Lin Yun shook his head, heading out.
Sparrows don’t get swans’ ambitions, eh?
