Li Qingxian walked up to Prison Overseer Luh and said, "Bring Zheng Gaojue out, or I’ll beat you until you do."
Prison Overseer Luh let out a soft sigh and turned to walk inside.
"A few of you, follow me in," Li Qingxian said.
He Lei gestured, leading over a dozen Grade-Entering Night Guards to follow.
With reddened eyes, Zheng Hui followed excitedly behind them.
Before long, Li Qingxian and his men emerged with someone.
The tall and sturdy Zheng Gaojue had disheveled hair and bloodstained clothes. The torn parts of his garments revealed skin covered in whip marks.
The sight made the Night Guards’ eyes burn with rage.
Inside, Li Qingxian had fed him a Spirit Medicine from the Dan Yuan Sect, so he was no longer in any serious danger.
Just then, a man outside bellowed, "The audacity! Trespassing in the Ministry of War’s Military Department prison! Is this a rebellion?"
The Night Guards parted to reveal an Eighth-Grade Civil Servant standing outside the main gate. He wore a green robe with an oriole patch and glared furiously at the group.
"Is that him?" Li Qingxian asked.
"It’s him!" Zheng Hui and Zheng Gaojue, father and son, said in unison.
"Seize him and drag him back to the Imperial Prison for interrogation!" Li Qingxian bellowed.
"You..."
Several Grade-Entering experts charged. A string of silver, glowing characters suddenly materialized around the man, flowing together to form a lotus-shaped shield of light that enveloped him.
"Stop! We can talk this through!"
Li Qingxian raised a hand, and over a dozen Thunder Talismans ignited.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM...
Over a dozen arm-thick Thunderbolts, like vipers of lightning, shot forth. In an instant, they crashed into the man, piercing his Lotus Treasure’s defenses. The remaining power of the assault struck his body.
"Aargh... I..." The man shrieked as his body, wreathed in smoke, convulsed and collapsed.
Before he fainted, he had only one thought left, ’I came to make peace, why wouldn’t they even let me say one word...’
Li Qingxian had controlled the power of the Thunderbolts. With a wave of his hand, the residual energy dissipated.
Smelling the stench of burnt flesh, the Night Guards realized that this young Fate Master was also an expert in Daoist Skills.
"Take him away. Back to the Imperial Prison for interrogation!" Li Qingxian said, striding away.
The Night Guards hoisted the charred man onto their shoulders and withdrew from the West District Military Department.
Hiding in a corner, Zhong Baishan trembled uncontrollably.
In the main hall of the West District Military Department, Commander Tann slammed his fist on the table and shot to his feet. "Under the Emperor’s Feet, how dare the Night Guard act this way!" he roared. "Request reinforcements from the Ministry of War! Fetch my Cultural Treasure, gather the men, and surround them!"
"C-Commander, Madman Zhou came in with them too."
"Why didn’t you say so earlier!" Commander Tann sat down again, staring out the door, not saying a word.
Once the soldiers outside reported the Night Guards’ departure, Commander Tann stood up again and commanded angrily, "Follow me to the Ministry of War."
Their spirits high, the Night Guard procession returned triumphantly to the Night Guard Office.
The men gathered under the locust tree in the Street Patrol Room’s courtyard. After a lively chat, they gradually dispersed, eager to spread the tale of the Night Guards storming the Military Department and Li Qingxian striking down an Eighth-Grade Official with a thunderbolt.
「Chunfeng Inn.」
After listening to Zhou Henn’s report, Zhou Chunfeng nodded. "He’s certainly thoughtful."
"Sir, shouldn’t you be saying he’s reckless?" Zhou Henn asked, confused.
"He was taught by Gangfeng, after all, so he has a rough understanding of how things work. I mentioned before that the Emperor intends to form the New Divine Capital Department by drawing personnel from the Night Guard, the Divine Capital Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, the Military Department, the Ministry of Justice, and even the Capital Camp. He might also trial joint investigations. But in such an arrangement, who will be on top and who will be on the bottom? Who will lead, and who will follow? By suppressing the Military Department’s arrogance today, Li Qingxian has made it much easier for me to take control of the New Divine Capital Department in the future. Moreover, the Emperor has long been displeased with the atmosphere in the Divine Capital and is planning drastic reforms. He naturally appreciates someone so bold and combative."
"I see. I thought he was just being reckless."
"That’s also possible."
「In Room A9.」
Zheng Gaojue peeled back his scabs in surprise, staring at the tender red lines beneath. "It’s healed already?"
Han Anbo laughed. "You’d better thank Captain Li. That was a Spirit Medicine from the Dan Yuan Sect. It’s more than enough to treat the external wounds of a Middle-Grade Cultivator."
"Kowtow to Captain Li!" Zheng Hui pressed down on Zheng Gaojue’s head.
Zheng Gaojue followed the pressure and knelt.
"We’re all comrades here, why the kowtowing? When you saved me back then, I didn’t bang my head on the floor for you," Li Qingxian said, pulling Zheng Gaojue to his feet.
Zheng Hui said, "It’s different. You didn’t just save Gao Jue, you saved our whole family. If it weren’t for you, we..."
Zheng Hui choked up, unable to finish.
Li Qingxian smiled. "Brother Zheng, don’t overthink things. To put it bluntly, I think you have too much time on your hands, which is why your mind is always racing. In a few days, I’ll ask Uncle Zhou to grant you the status of a Hidden Guard. You can be the Chief Shopkeeper for the Art Troupe and build it up with Brother Han. But let me give you a fair warning: the Art Troupe has plenty of handsome young men and beautiful young women. Don’t you go chasing a May-December romance and causing trouble at home. Of course, if you plan to properly take a concubine, that’s none of my business."
Han Anbo and Zheng Gaojue lowered their heads and snickered.
"Of course not, of course not..." Zheng Hui said hastily.
"Your injuries haven’t fully healed, and now Gao Jue has fresh ones. Both of you go home and rest for a few days. Once you’re recovered, Gao Jue can start working with me. In the meantime, you can instruct him on the ways of the Night Guard."
"Will do!" Zheng Hui’s voice was much brighter.
After seeing off Zheng Hui and Zheng Gaojue, Li Qingxian and Han Anbo went to the Imperial Prison Department. They first interrogated the family that had framed Zheng Gaojue, then the Eighth-Grade Official, solidifying the evidence before finally handing the case over to Zhou Chunfeng.
What remained was the squabbling between the Night Guard and the Ministry of War. As always, both sides would exchange some harsh words and the matter would eventually fizzle out.
During his recovery, Li Qingxian couldn’t be bothered to go out. He spent his days consolidating his Fate Skills and studying the Miscellaneous Records of Fate Skill.
Reading through the records, he learned that while advanced Fate Skills were passed down through specific lineages, ordinary Fate Skills had once been quite common.
Ever since the founding of the Daqi Dynasty, the Celestial Fate Sect had systematically obstructed the practice. They confiscated Life Books from all corners of the land and forbade their private trade among commoners. Only Grade-Entering Fate Masters were permitted to formally teach Fate Skills, causing the folk traditions to gradually die out.
Only some travelogues, miscellaneous records, novels, and theoretical texts that did not involve any specific Fate Skills remained in circulation.
For a Fate Master to learn Fate Skills, they either had to join a Fate Skill Sect, trade at the Beast Bridge, or work for the Black Lamp Department.
Li Qingxian took stock of the Fate Skills he had learned and realized he still needed two more types.
One type consisted of branching Magic Techniques for foundational Fate Skills. For example, all Fate Masters knew the Life Acceleration Skill, but the methods for Accelerating Life, the required Life Materials, and the ultimate effects varied wildly.
Then there were the comprehensive Secret Fate Skills. For example, the Celestial Fate Sect excelled in Great Trend Formations and manipulating the National Fortune. The Mountain Fate Sect specialized in establishing the Destiny Mountain and Fate River. The Life God Sect had achieved masterful proficiency with the Life God, and the Life Artifact Sect’s Life Artifacts always came with all sorts of novel features. Each Sect had its own specialty.
During his days of rest, Li Qingxian leisurely studied Fate Skills.
「The thirtieth of the fifth month.」
Auspicious for travel, commerce, laying foundations, and burials.
Inauspicious for accepting proposals, forming alliances, breaking ground, and positioning a bed.
Beneath a sky full of stars, an ordinary carriage rambled out of the Night Guard Office.
Li Qingxian and Guo Xiang, the Deputy Disciplinary Officer of the Black Lamp Department, sat in the carriage.
They had first met outside Deceit Village. Their second meeting was when Guo Xiang paid a personal visit to invite Li Qingxian to join the Black Lamp Department.
"So you’re really not considering joining the Black Lamp Department?"
"I’m always considering it!" Li Qingxian said earnestly.
"I’ll take that as a yes." Guo Xiang’s bright eyes shone from his square face. His left hand rested on a round Great Fate Disc, which was wrapped in blue cloth and stood over half a man tall, as he stared at Li Qingxian.
"I am being serious," Li Qingxian said. "And thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be my guide."