"Today, at the grand court assembly on the first of the month, the Emperor announced the dissolution of the Eastern Depot and Western Depot, the reorganization of the Divine Capital Bureau, and its renaming to the Patrol Bureau. The Patrol Bureau will draw personnel from the original Divine Capital Bureau, the Night Guard, the Five Cities Military Department, and the Capital Camp. It will have jurisdiction over the Divine Capital and the twelve surrounding counties, be divided into East, West, South, and North branches, and will be specifically responsible for investigating Entering Grade individuals and special factions. It cannot act without an Order Letter from the Internal Factory. With an Order Letter from the Internal Factory, however, the Patrol Bureau has the authority to mobilize the Divine Capital Prefecture, the Inspection Bureau, the Five Cities Military Department, the Night Guard, and the Capital Camp outside the city," Han Anbo said slowly.
Li Qingxian thought it over carefully and said, "So their influence is expanding and their power is greater, but their duties are more focused, and the leash is tighter?"
"Exactly."
"Does this mean the Patrol Bureau is only nominally under the Night Guard?"
"I’m afraid so."
"In the future, could the Night Guard also end up completely answering to the Internal Factory?" Li Qingxian asked.
"That’s pretty much the consensus. But everyone’s used to it; we answered to the Eastern Depot before anyway. Everyone’s saying it won’t be long before the entire Night Guard becomes just a bigger version of the Patrol Bureau."
"It’s highly likely. A department like the Night Guard can only be a blade; it can’t have a mind of its own. The current Night Guard is indeed too bloated. If nothing unexpected happens, the Imperial Prison and the Black Lamp Department will completely break away from the Night Guard and report directly to the Internal Factory."
"The Black Lamp Department won’t. There’s no way that bunch of Fate Masters would work under eunuchs. They still report directly to the Cabinet and the Emperor."
"Sigh, this is just stirring things up. And the name ’Patrol Bureau’ is honestly so lame."
"It’s precisely because it’s lame that it’s reassuring."
Li Qingxian had a sudden realization. "The Emperor is using the Patrol Bureau as a pilot project to strengthen control over all the cultivators in the country. On the surface, it’s an ordinary Patrol Bureau, but in reality, it’s a government office dedicated to apprehending cultivators. The ordinary name is to avoid backlash?"
Han Anbo nodded.
"This... Then the real power of our bureau will be no less than it was in its heyday, I’m afraid," Li Qingxian said.
"As long as we smooth things over with the Internal Factory, our Patrol Bureau will become a mini-Night Guard, and I’m talking compared to the Night Guard of old," Han Anbo said.
Li Qingxian thought it over slowly. He quickly washed his face, took out three pea flour cakes and a tea egg from his Qiankun Bracelet and ate them, then led Han Anbo and Yur Ping to the Chunfeng Inn.
Zhou Chunfeng hadn’t returned yet. Han Anbo and Yur Ping stood guard outside while Li Qingxian sat in the room. He was about to read his Fate Master notes, but after a moment’s thought, he instead recalled last night’s Life Play.
A summer breeze drifted through the window. The young man sat in his room.
A light cough sounded.
Li Qingxian looked toward the sound and saw Zhou Chunfeng already sitting in a chair.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
Li Qingxian said, "I was just using the method Sister Youfei taught me to review yesterday’s Life Play. Sister Youfei said that after learning something new, you have to recall it over and over, every day, until you’ve completely absorbed it."
"Oh, so you’ve started using the Mountain Shifting Technique as well?"
"What Mountain Shifting Technique?"
"It’s the learning method of the current Chief Minister, Zhao Yishan. He relied on this very method to advance step by step."
"I see... Uncle Zhou, among the Three Sons of Bingchen, the Champion Scholar became the nation’s Chief Minister, achieving First Grade in both Literature Cultivation and official rank. You, the third-place scholar... are doing okay, I guess. At least you’re Fourth Grade. What was the name of the Runner-Up Scholar again?"
"Xu Chuxin." Zhou Chunfeng let out a long sigh.
"I rarely hear that name."
"When Champion City fell and the lands north of the Great River were completely lost, he couldn’t accept it and went north to aid in the war. But... he was captured by the Demon Race, forced to consume a Celestial Worm Pill, and turned into one of the Insect People. He has acted against us multiple times, causing immense losses for the River Guard Army."
Li Qingxian looked at Zhou Chunfeng. No wonder he looked so melancholic.
"How do you counter the Celestial Worm Pill? That thing is a little terrifying."
"Others can’t undo it, but for you Fate Masters, it’s simple. You can use your Destiny Star as a lure to trap the celestial worm inside, remain unaffected, and make it difficult for the Demon Race to tell the difference."
"I see. I actually encountered a Celestial Worm Pill in the Life Play," Li Qingxian said.
Zhou Chunfeng looked over with a grin, his interest piqued. "I heard a newly initiated Cross-Eyed Dog Head Fate Master appeared at Beast Bridge, bravely seized the title of Play Leader, and shook the Divine Capital’s Fate Skill Realm. Who is that dog head?"
Li Qingxian shot Zhou Chunfeng a look. "Just keep pretending. You guessed it was me a long time ago. Didn’t Guo Xiang tell you?"
Zhou Chunfeng laughed. "So it really was you. But Guo Xiang wouldn’t have said anything. He’d take that matter to his grave. Unless you admitted it yourself, he wouldn’t say a word even if the Emperor issued a Holy Decree."
"Not bad. He’s a good man," Li Qingxian said.
"Tell me about the Life Play. This one seems to have been quite different," Zhou Chunfeng said.
Li Qingxian recounted the important parts of the Life Play and his subsequent review of it.
Zhou Chunfeng nodded frequently, constantly praising Li Qingxian for his correct choices. Finally, he said, "However, some of the other Fate Masters had a point. Sometimes you’re too cautious, and it might cost you opportunities. For example, when choosing between ’Mountain Range Cross-Cut’ and ’Ten Peaks Towering,’ it would have been better to use the All-Purpose Jade Pendant to pick the latter. Because if that Excellent Young Master had been even a little more cautious, you might not have been his match."
"You’re right, Uncle Zhou. I’ve thought about this over and over since. The Destiny Star is different from other things; if you have a choice, you should always choose the best. The crucial thing is, the Life Play might be fake, but life is real. Ten Peaks Towering is simply better than Mountain Range Cross-Cut," Li Qingxian said.
"Good. Are you here about the Patrol Bureau?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"Yes. What should I do next?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Chunfeng gave Li Qingxian a deep look and said, "Plant your roots in the Night Guard."
"But the Night Guard is constrained by the Internal Factory at every turn. I won’t have any room to maneuver," Li Qingxian said.
"When you actually get to the point where you have no room to maneuver, it won’t be too late to consider new horizons. As long as the cultivators of this world remain ungoverned, the Night Guard will forever be a mini-Cabinet. No matter how powerful the Internal Factory becomes, it won’t dare to overstep. It can only issue orders and supervise. When it comes to concrete actions, the Night Guard will always have autonomy."
Li Qingxian thought about it carefully. It was true. ’The essence of eunuch politics is the Emperor granting them unlimited authority to use against the Civil Servant faction.’
’Emperor Taining rules with an iron fist; he would never give eunuchs unlimited power. The Eastern Depot saw one batch of eunuchs purged, the Western Depot saw another. The Internal Factory won’t escape the same fate in the end. The Internal Factory and the Night Guard have a subordinate relationship, but they are also meant to check and balance each other. The Internal Factory would never dare to become all-powerful.’
"I see now. The Night Guard is the blade, and the Internal Factory is the hilt. If the hilt starts to show its own edge, the one wielding the blade will be the first to replace it," Li Qingxian said.
"Soon, Lord Yan Shixiao will arrive at the Patrol Bureau to define the jurisdictions of the Four Roads Hall with me and appoint the new Hall Chiefs and Room Leaders. Which road are you planning to join?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"Which road is the easiest?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Chunfeng snorted lightly. "None of them."
"Then I’ll take the north of the city. My home is in the north."
"Then I’ll have the old Street Patrol Room staff transferred to the North Hall with you. As for everyone else, they will all be shuffled around," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Uncle Zhou, will Lord Yan be in charge of us from now on?" Li Qingxian asked.
"For his service in the Inner Treasury Bureau, Lord Yan Shixiao has been formally transferred to the Internal Factory as the Right Hand Punishment Envoy. The head of the Internal Factory is the Factory Director, with Commanders beneath him. The Factory Director role is held by the Chief Eunuch of the Ritual Department, who in reality only relays the Emperor’s edicts; daily affairs are managed by the Internal Factory’s Commander. Below the Commander are the Left and Right Hand Punishment Envoys. The Left Hand Punishment Envoy handles punishments and prisons and will likely take over the Imperial Prison in the future. The Right Hand Punishment Envoy is currently overseeing our Patrol Bureau and will probably oversee the entire Night Guard down the line," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"So he’s the fourth in command of the Internal Factory?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Chunfeng nodded. "Yan Shixiao is Factory Director Lu’s godson. That Factory Director Lu is an old retainer from the Emperor’s days as a prince and has been with His Majesty since childhood."