The moon cast its liquid silver glow, the night breeze cool against our skin, as Li Jun and I stood once more before the abandoned granary of Moonlit Shadows.
On the surface, this place was a relic of failed commerce—a hollow shell of what once was. But I knew better. Beneath its quiet decay lay secrets that could unravel empires.
"The grain records don’t add up," Li Jun murmured, his brow furrowed.
Since combing through the ledgers, I’d noticed the discrepancies. The margins were too wide, the losses too precise. Numbers didn’t lie—but men did.
We slipped inside, navigating the labyrinth of empty shelves. What once held thousands of bushels now stood barren, a carcass picked clean. Then Li Jun froze, pointing.
"The ground here… it’s uneven."
I knelt. A patch of dust had been disturbed—recently. Brushing it aside revealed a hidden trapdoor.
"This—" Li Jun’s voice wavered.
I nodded silently, unease coiling in my gut. Lifting the door, we descended into darkness.
The air below was thick, stale with years of silence. The narrow passage opened into a cavernous space—and there, flickering in our lamplight, lay treasures that stole our breath.
Gold. Jewels. Parchments stamped with seals I recognized too well.
"What… is this?" Li Jun whispered.
But I was already stepping forward, my fingers tracing the damning evidence. Not just bribes—records. Names. Dates. A web of corruption stretching from Moonlit Shadows to the highest echelons of the court.
"More than greed," I said softly, my voice like ice. "This is treason."
Li Jun’s face paled. "Who would dare—?"
"Men who think shadows will hide them forever." I lifted a ledger, its pages heavy with guilt. "This could topple kingdoms."
He swallowed hard. "If we expose this, there’s no going back. They’ll come for us."
I met his gaze, unflinching. "Let them."
In that moment, I made my choice. No matter the cost—even if it meant standing against those I once called allies—I would drag this rot into the light.
**Some truths are too deadly to bury.
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