After Yan Shixiao left, Zhou Chunfeng said, "Some of you are old hands from the Night Guard, while others were transferred from the Capital Camp, the Military Department, or the Divine Capital Prefecture Government Office. Return to your respective halls and rooms for now. The Internal Factory will issue its orders tomorrow, so be prepared."
Li Qingxian followed all the Grade-Entering Officials to the North Hall. The Hall Leader was a familiar face—Cao Ming, a Sixth-Grade Martial Cultivator. He was an old subordinate of Zhou Chunfeng and had once escorted Jiangg Youfei alongside Li Qingxian.
Cao Ming first introduced himself, then introduced everyone in turn: the Hall Supervision Army, the Palace Garrison Commander, the two Sub-Hall Leaders, the two Vice Hall Leaders, the two Room Leaders, Deputy Room Leader Li Qingxian, and finally, the eight Department Heads.
Cao Ming kept a straight face the entire time, only breaking into a warm smile when introducing the Hall Supervision Army and Li Qingxian. He even addressed Li Qingxian as Younger Brother Qingxian.
Everyone carefully mulled this over, and sweat beaded on Zhong Baishan’s forehead.
The Instructors, Squad Commanders, and others below the rank of Department Head stepped forward to introduce themselves one by one.
After a brief meeting, Cao Ming had the Low-Grade Officials wait outside, leaving only the officials of the Seventh Grade and above, along with the Military Supervisors, in the main hall. Li Qingxian was among them.
With fewer people present, Cao Ming became more relaxed, smiling and chatting with everyone. He first assigned specific tasks. Once official business was concluded, they chatted about personal matters. Cao Ming offered to host a casual meal for everyone at the Huahai Building when they had some free time.
However, Fei Yan, the Hall Supervision Army, politely declined, stating that Inner Officials were not permitted to fraternize with Outer Officials. His tone was courteous.
The meeting adjourned. Cao Ming was just about to go speak with Fei Yan, the Hall Supervision Army, when Fei Yan approached Li Qingxian directly with a smile. "Lord Yan often praises you in my presence," he said. "Are you heading back to the Left Room?"
"Yes." Li Qingxian looked at the pale, gaunt Sixth-Grade Eunuch.
"Come, I’ll go have a look with you. Jingg Guan, you come with us."
Jingg Guan quickly replied, "Yes."
Cao Ming gave a helpless glance and stopped in his tracks, watching as Fei Yan left, chatting and laughing with the officials from the Left Room.
The other officials who saw this stared intently at Li Qingxian’s departing back.
Outside the door, an Eighth-Grade Military Officer from the Capital Camp smiled and said, "Who is this Li Qingxian? I feel like I’ve heard the name somewhere before."
A fellow Military Officer, also from the Capital Camp, whispered a few words in his ear, and the man’s expression changed drastically.
The others just smiled and dispersed.
The Street Patrol Room had been reorganized into the North Road Left Patrol Office. Beneath the large pagoda tree, a dense crowd of over four hundred people stood waiting.
Those who weren’t originally from the Street Patrol Room saw Fei Yan in his bright red eunuch’s robe acting particularly friendly toward Li Qingxian and Hex Lei, and they all reined in their attitudes.
Although Zhong Baishan was a devil-may-care martial artist, he had also spent many years navigating the government offices. He was already on edge after learning of Li Qingxian’s identity as a Fate Master and seeing Cao Ming’s attitude. Now, seeing an influential figure from the Internal Factory acting so close with Li Qingxian while ignoring everyone else, his legs began to feel weak.
Room Leader Hex Lei began his speech, calm and composed. He had been worried he wouldn’t be able to control the newcomers from various factions, but with Fei Yan present, there would be no trouble.
After speaking a few words, Hex Lei invited Fei Yan, the Hall Supervision Army, to address the men. Afterward, he had Jingg Guan, the Palace Garrison Commander, say a few words, and then he asked Li Qingxian to speak.
Li Qingxian said with a serious expression, "Though I am a Fate Master, I am ultimately still young. In the future, the affairs of our room should be primarily handled by Military Inspector Jingg and Room Leader Hex. I will merely act as the blade. If I must say something, it is this: we of the Patrol Bureau must understand that we are the Emperor’s sword. Wherever the Emperor points, we strike. We answer to no one but the Emperor!"
Fei Yan beamed.
Li Qingxian glanced at Zhong Baishan and asked Hex Lei, "That Zhong Baishan is in Class B?"
"That’s right."
"Brother Hex, do me a small favor. Swap him with the Squad Commander of Class A’s First Squad. No need to swap their subordinates."
"Easy enough!" Hex Lei said with a laugh.
Not far away, Zhong Baishan heard every word clearly, and it was as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern.
When the speeches were over, Fei Yan left. The four departments lined up in their respective areas for their Department Heads to address them.
As the Department Head of Class A, Li Qingxian stood before more than a hundred men in blue, dressed in a green brocade robe with a snarling black wolf embroidered on the chest.
Han Anbo, Yur Ping, and Zheng Gaojue stood behind Li Qingxian.
Zhong Baishan, who had just been transferred over, had a mournful look in his eyes.
Li Qingxian scanned the crowd, a faint smile on his face, and spoke slowly. "Some of you newcomers may not know who I am, so let me give a brief introduction. I am a Fate Master, and I also cultivate Daoist Skills. I’m currently Senior Ninth Grade. As for my personality, I’m a rather kind and shy person—they call me the Sunshine Boy of the Night Guard, and my reputation in the Patrol Bureau is impeccable. Normally, I don’t care what you do; I can’t be bothered with trivialities. But when it’s time to work, everyone must follow the rules to the letter. Whoever breaks the rules will be punished. I’m laying it all out now, so if something happens down the line, don’t blame me, Li Qingxian, for having a sunny disposition but a ruthless hand."
A few of the Old Night Guards almost laughed, but after hearing the end of his speech, they dutifully suppressed it.
The newcomers from the other units all knew this was not a man to be crossed, and they stood perfectly still.
Zhong Baishan felt like crying. ’I’m never eating lamb soup again for the rest of my life.’
"Did you hear me?" Li Qingxian asked.
"We heard you," the crowd answered listlessly.
"Did you hear me?" Li Qingxian’s face was devoid of expression as his cold gaze swept over them.
A jolt went through the men, and they hurriedly shouted, "We heard you!"
Li Qingxian slowly asked, "Did you hear me?"
The men roared, "We heard you!"
"What is this, the buzzing of mosquitoes that haven’t eaten? I’ll ask one last time. Did you hear me?!" Li Qingxian’s expression darkened.
"WE! HEARD! YOU!" everyone roared in unison. Those of Entering Grade infused their voices with True Essence, shaking the entire courtyard and drawing the gazes of the other departments.
Li Qingxian revealed a satisfied smile. "That’s how it should be from now on. Shout with guts, shout with conviction, shout with courage! Brother Han, get everyone organized. After lunch, I want all the Entering Grade members to meet in Room A9."
「That afternoon,」 Department Head Li Qingxian held a brief meeting.
The position of Department Head was a middle-management role, serving as a link between the upper and lower ranks. Their usual duties involved overseeing daily training and carrying out orders as they were received. They didn’t have much autonomy.
With the addition of the Military Supervisors, the Night Guard’s autonomy was squeezed even further.
During the meeting, Li Qingxian delegated all of his already limited responsibilities. Instructor Dong Ying was put in charge of daily training, Fengg Shimo, a department deputy who had previously served under Hex Lei, was assigned to daily supervision, and Han Anbo was temporarily tasked with miscellaneous affairs.
The Patrol Office was considered a Military Office, so it had far fewer twists and turns than other government offices. Li Qingxian managed to sort out all relevant matters in a single afternoon.
Seeing that Li Qingxian wasn’t the type to hoard power or stir up trouble, the Instructors and Squad Commanders were genuinely pleased.
After seeing everyone out, Li Qingxian looked at Han Anbo, Yur Ping, and Zheng Gaojue.
"Brother Han, you’ll have to work hard for a while. After some time, we can find someone you trust to take over," Li Qingxian said.
Han Anbo nodded.
"Yur Ping, with your disposition, you’re not suited for grueling training. Just stick with me and help handle some matters. Attending the daily drills is enough; you don’t need to participate in the more strenuous training."
"Thank you, Li Ke," Yur Ping said with a wide smile.
"Gao Jue, you’re different. You’re still young and strong, so try to reach Entering Grade before you turn twenty. For now, follow Instructor Dong Ying and train your body well. I’ll give you some elixirs for physical conditioning that won’t affect your future promotions," Li Qingxian said.
"Thank you, Lord Li." Zheng Gaojue hurriedly bowed his thanks.
Li Qingxian looked at Zheng Gaojue. He was even taller than Zheng Hui, with a broad, sturdy frame. His skin wasn’t as dark as Zheng Hui’s, but it was a bit grayer than average. His eyes and brows strongly resembled Zheng Hui’s.
"You may all go about your duties. I will be spending most of my time studying Fate Skills, to solve problems for the Night Guard and ease the Emperor’s burdens," Li Qingxian said.