Time ticked by. As the sun climbed higher, the shadows of the crowd grew shorter.
Suddenly, a faint tremor ran through the ground, the sound growing steadily louder and clearer.
The crowd frowned, turning toward the source of the sound.
’This is the Divine Capital. In the past, only the Ti Qi mobilized with such a commotion...’
Pang Mingjing shook his head. ’The Night Guard was crippled long ago.’
The sound of hooves slowed, and one by one, riders turned from another street onto Ministry of Revenue Street, appearing before the crowd.
The leader wore a red-tasseled helmet, an Elephant Head Shining Copper Armor, and a red sash around his waist. The black horse he rode had red silk wrapped around its neck.
Behind him, dozens of men were dressed in fine brocades and adorned with red, their armor gleaming.
One of them, a burly, dark-skinned man in tattered clothes, pointed his riding crop at Li Qingxian. "Li Qingxian is right there!"
"Hah!" The lead rider spurred his horse onward.
"Hah!" The Ti Qi followed suit.
Fifty riders galloped toward them, like a raging flood bursting through a dam.
When Pang Mingjing saw the giant of a man, Zhou Henn, his face fell.
’The Night Guard’s Ti Qi haven’t been deployed in half a year, and their first move is for Li Qingxian?’
’Unless Zhou Chunfeng has lost his mind!’
The four Night Guard soldiers and the carriage driver looked nervously at Pang Mingjing.
"Lord Pang..."
Pang Mingjing gritted his teeth. "Hold your ground! Anyone who moves will be subject to military law!"
As the Ti Qi charged and the thundering of hooves drew closer, even the members of the Evil Sect felt their hearts pound in terror.
When they were still over a hundred feet away, the other riders slowed, but Zhou Henn, built like an iron pagoda, continued to charge straight ahead.
The massive, diagonal scar on his face seemed to writhe like a crimson serpent.
"The Night Guard’s Ti Qi are on official business! Stand down or be considered an enemy!" Zhou Henn bellowed.
"Stand down or be considered an enemy!" all the riders roared in unison.
Zheng Hui yelled, "Rescue Li Qingxian!"
Pang Mingjing snarled through gritted teeth, "Move without orders and you will be executed!"
THUD, THUD, THUD...
Zhou Henn and his black horse charged forward. Just as he was about to collide with one of Pang Mingjing’s guards, Zhou Henn violently pulled back on the reins, leaning his body back. The powerful steed reared, lifting its front hooves high into the air.
NEIGHHH...
BAM!
The horse’s hooves came crashing down, smashing into the chest of the guard who had refused to back down.
The guard’s upper torso caved in like a ball of dough struck by a fist. He was sent flying backward, spewing blood, hurtling toward Pang Mingjing.
Pang Mingjing sidestepped the body. The man hit the ground hard, blood gurgling from his mouth. He stared intently at Pang Mingjing as his body convulsed. Then, with a final kick of his legs, he went still.
The other three guards scrambled backward. This was Zhou Henn! He was a Martial Cultivator who had crawled his way out of a mountain of corpses, a man who had even served as a River Guardian for three years.
"Zhou Henn, how dare you ride down and kill a man on Ministry of Revenue Street! I’ll..."
Before Pang Mingjing could finish, a black shadow whipped past him.
CRACK!
The riding crop flashed by, and a crimson welt bloomed across Pang Mingjing’s face.
"You..." As a Senior Seventh-Grade Military Officer, Pang Mingjing had never been struck like this. He trembled with fury.
Zhou Henn remained on his horse, looking down imperiously at Pang Mingjing.
"Who gave you the gall to harm a man from my Divine Capital Bureau!"
Pang Mingjing collected himself, forcing back the pain. He hissed, "The Finance Department was conducting official business and requisitioned nearby personnel. This is perfectly normal and justified! Even if Disciplinary Officer Zhou or the Guard Commander himself were here, they couldn’t find a single fault in it! You, on the other hand, whipping a fellow Senior Seventh-Grade Night Guard officer in the middle of the street—that is brazen impudence! Brazen impudence!"
Zhou Henn furrowed his brow and glanced at Zheng Hui.
Zheng Hui, also on horseback, frowned, unsure of what to do.
"Evidence! You claim I harmed a man from the Divine Capital Bureau? Then present your evidence! But as for you, a man of the Divine Capital Bureau, riding down a colleague and whipping a court-appointed official in the street—the evidence of your crimes is irrefutable!" Pang Mingjing’s eyes were bloodshot.
Zhou Henn’s gaze shifted to Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian smiled. Tucking a paper pouch under his arm, he gave Zhou Henn a fist-and-palm salute. "Thank you for your timely rescue, Lord Zhou Henn. As for the proof that the Finance Department framed me, I have it right here." He patted the pouch.
All eyes turned to Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian raised the pouch slightly with his right hand. "These are the documents Lord Pang gave me, but I haven’t opened them. I can guarantee that there is something very wrong with this paperwork. Lord Luo, you’re from the Ministry of Revenue. Could I trouble you to take a look?"
Pang Mingjing stared at Li Qingxian in disbelief. ’How can someone so young be so astute? Who’s pulling the strings behind the scenes?’
Luo Jing took the pouch and quickly scanned the documents inside. "This Official Seal is incorrect; it’s a forgery. I’ve seen the seal of approval from the Night Guard Finance Department a few times, and this is fake as well. There are a number of other subtle issues here, all quite serious. If you had taken these documents into the Ministry of Revenue, you would have been thrown in prison immediately."
Pang Mingjing’s voice was sharp. "Li Qingxian, you swapped the documents to frame your superior! You deserve to die for this!"
"Pang Mingjing, Pang Mingjing, I think you’ve truly lost your mind! Where are we? This is Ministry of Revenue Street! And what is this place? Open your damn eyes and look! The Five Gods are watching! Lord Luo, someone is fabricating evidence right here on Ministry of Revenue Street, desecrating the Divine Spirits. Is your faction capable of investigating this?" Li Qingxian’s voice rang with conviction.
Luo Jing smiled faintly. "If someone truly used the Ministry of Revenue and our gods to frame an innocent person, that would be an act of sacrilege. Pang Mingjing, why don’t you repeat what you just said?"
Pang Mingjing was tongue-tied, unable to utter a single word.
Zhou Henn shot Li Qingxian a look of deep satisfaction. From his high perch on horseback, he asked, "Pang Mingjing, do you have anything else to say for yourself?"
Pang Mingjing took a slow, deep breath. "Perhaps one of my subordinates grabbed the wrong documents by mistake. I will be sure to investigate thoroughly when I return to the Finance Department."
But Li Qingxian interjected, "You dare to lie in the very presence of the Five Gods’ statues? I think this calls for a thorough interrogation in the Divine Prison."
The guards beside Pang Mingjing trembled, and even the Night Guard members who had come with Zhou Henn flinched.
"Li Qingxian, there is no grudge between us! How dare you speak such venomous words!" Pang Mingjing raged.
Li Qingxian chuckled. "Lord Pang is right. What evil intentions could the great Pang Mingjing possibly have? You only want me dead, that’s all. I’m just a lowly Night Guard soldier; what right do I have to hold a grudge against an esteemed Seventh-Grade Martial Cultivator like yourself? Even if you had managed to get me killed here on Ministry of Revenue Street today, it would have been a trivial matter. You would have done nothing wrong. But for me, the intended victim, to say anything at all—that’s truly venomous."
The gazes from Zheng Hui and the other Night Guard soldiers now burned with unconcealed fury as they looked at Pang Mingjing.
"Such a sharp tongue!" Pang Mingjing spat.
Just then, four people emerged from a side door of the Ministry of Revenue. They glanced around before hurrying over.
Catching sight of the newcomers out of the corner of his eye, Pang Mingjing couldn’t help but shout, "Lord Xie! It is I, Pang Mingjing! We met at Vice Minister Feng’s banquet. An Eighth-Grade Official from your Ministry of Revenue is colluding with a Night Guard soldier to frame me!"
All eyes turned to see a man of about fifty walking toward them. He looked vigorous and hale, with few wrinkles for his age. He wore a crimson official’s robe, and the mandarin square patch on his chest was embroidered with a silver pheasant poised for flight. The patch was not bordered with gold thread.
"Lord Xie," Luo Jing and the other staff from the Ministry of Revenue hurriedly greeted the Junior Fifth-Grade official with a bow.
Xie Ming nodded to Pang Mingjing and Luo Jing, then smiled. "Which of you is Li Qingxian?"
"I am he," Li Qingxian replied, offering a fist-and-palm salute.
Xie Ming studied Li Qingxian carefully, his gaze sweeping over the Deer and Crane Pattern Jade Pendant at his waist. "My master, Lord Feng, heard you were coming to the Ministry of Revenue on business and sent me to greet you."
Li Qingxian smiled. "My thanks to you, Lord Xie. However, my business is already concluded, and I was just preparing to return to the Night Guard."
Xie Ming nodded, then simply stood his ground, saying nothing more.
Pang Mingjing felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.