The door was gently closed, and Qin Ye sat down behind his own desk. This was the temporary King Yanluo's office.

It was a spacious room with no windows, as if it had been constructed underground, and there were bright palatial lanterns hanging overhead. Qin Ye was seated on a timber nine dragon chair, and behind him was a screen in the typical Cathayan style, on either side of which was a pair of incense burners constructed in the shape of a crane, standing at around the height of an adult human. Directly ahead of him was a Yin energy clock that was around half a tall as an adult human with enamel patterns on its surface, and it would chime with the passing of each hour.

On either side of the Yin energy clock were four chairs and a table, and aside from those things, the only things in the room were bookshelves full of different books, covering all types of topics.

It was often the case that bookshelves like these were only for show, and the books on them were never actually read. However, that wasn't the case here. Every single one of these books had clearly been pulled out at some point, and many of them hadn't even been put back properly, still protruding around an inch past the edge of the bookshelf.

Qin Ye spread open his palm, upon which sat a messenger bird, then closed his hand again, and the messenger bird dissipated into a gust...