"If we can just hold out a little longer, the money from the distillery will come in and give us some breathing room. But the distillery is still being set up, so it can’t provide much cash right away," said Li Qingxian.
"You should head back for now. This is out of our hands," said Zhou Henn.
Parting ways with Zhou Henn, Li Qingxian walked on, lost in thought. Before he even reached the left wing of the North Hall, he heard angry shouting coming from under the large scholar tree in the courtyard.
"Those sons of bitches from the Demon Sect... they’re fucking inhuman! I saw it with my own eyes—Little Zhang was crushed by a boulder as tall as a man. I... SIGH..."
"That goddamn Ministry of Justice is vicious. They got run in circles by the rebels and couldn’t claim any credit, so they made it their mission to sabotage ours."
"It’s not just us. The Divine Capital Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, the Military Department, and the Beichang Guard are all cursing out the Ministry of Justice. Word has spread all over the Divine Capital. The whole city is cursing the Demon Sect."
"Heh. What’s the point of just cursing? We’ve been cursing the Demon Sect for years, haven’t we? Isn’t Depu, right outside the city, a scar on the face of the Divine Capital? Have we torn it away? We can’t! They managed to create a Dead Demon Land right here, Under the Emperor’s Feet. Is there anything they wouldn’t dare do?"
"Sigh... those poor brothers who got buried..."
"It’s a good thing Master Xiaoli was there overseeing things, using his Fate Skill to find people. Otherwise, at least another hundred would have died. Those jackasses in the Imperial Court... they could have solved the whole thing just by sending one Upper Grade expert..."
"Forget it. Let’s not talk about what the higher-ups are doing."
Li Qingxian let out a soft sigh and walked slowly into the courtyard.
When the Night Guards saw it was Li Qingxian, they hurried to their feet to salute him, even those who were in the middle of bandaging their wounds.
"Thank you, Master Xiaoli!"
"My ma had me bring you these eggs. Please, you must accept them."
"Here are some freshly made white-flour buns..."
"And some freshly boiled corn..."
About a dozen Night Guards came forward, offering him various foods.
Li Qingxian tried repeatedly to decline, but everyone was so insistent that he had no choice but to thank them and store the items in his Qiankun Bracelet.
The men gathered around Li Qingxian, talking about the Battle of Changg Mountain.
Li Qingxian remained silent as the men all started talking at once, cursing the Demon Sect and the Ministry of Justice.
Dong Ying spoke up. "Master Xiaoli, are you saying we should just swallow this insult? When have we, the Night Guard, ever been humiliated this badly!"
The Night Guards turned their expectant eyes toward Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian remained silent.
Han Anbo quickly tried to play peacemaker. "Things are different now. Before, we answered directly to the Guard Commander. If something happened, all our brothers in the Night Guard would charge in together. But now the Patrol Bureau is semi-independent and only takes orders from the Internal Factory. Even if Li Ke wanted to ask the higher-ups to step in, it’s not easy for them to do so."
"The Internal Factory? Hah. They’re quick enough to bully common folk like us, but when they face the Demon Sect, they just tuck their tails between their legs, don’t they?"
"I thought following the Internal Factory would give us some real power, but it turns out they’re a load of crap!"
"A bunch of spineless motherfuckers."
"Stick to cursing the Demon Sect. Leave the Internal Factory out of it," the older Night Guards urged.
Li Qingxian remained silent, quietly listening as his brothers in the Night Guard vented their frustrations.
Suddenly, the voices in the courtyard fell silent. Li Qingxian looked toward the gate and saw Palace Garrison Commander Jingg Guan standing outside.
The round-faced Eunuch had two layers of white cloth wrapped around his head.
Li Qingxian walked over and followed Jingg Guan outside.
"Why didn’t you follow me back then?" Li Qingxian asked.
Jingg Guan said helplessly, "I saw Eunuch Fei and Eunuch Yui bolt, and I just froze on the spot. By the time it occurred to me to follow you to save my own skin, it was too late. I’ve spent my whole life in the palace, I’ve never been in a situation like that. I just ran around blindly and got my head bashed in before I found a place to hide. It’s all thanks to your Fate Skill, otherwise I’d still be trapped there."
"Any news from the Internal Factory?" Li Qingxian asked.
Jingg Guan curled his lip. "Duke Lu chewed out Eunuch Fei, but he was mostly raging about the Demon Sect. Eunuch Fei wanted to go after the Demon Sect, but Duke Lu gave him a hell of a dressing-down. He said even if your mouth is full of broken teeth and blood, you swallow it until after the Emperor’s birthday. I just came to check on you. It’s nothing important."
Li Qingxian said, "The Patrol Bureau is cursing up a storm. What’s the attitude from you folks at the Internal Factory?"
"The same. But what can we do besides curse them a little? The Demon Sect is the Emperor’s soft spot." Jingg Guan immediately looked regretful after saying it.
Li Qingxian pretended not to hear and changed the subject. "I have to say, Eunuch Jingg, your Internal Factory has been rather dishonorable this time."
"How so?"
"The pensions for the Patrol Bureau... you’re really not going to contribute a single copper coin?"
Jingg Guan said helplessly, "It’s not that we won’t pay, we really just can’t get involved. How about I report it to Lord Yan and try to hurry things along with the Ministry of Revenue?"
"If the Ministry of Revenue actually listened to you folks from the Internal Factory, they wouldn’t be dragging their feet."
"That bunch of gold-swallowing gluttons..." Jingg Guan ground his teeth in frustration.
"We all thought it was just the Night Guard in decline, but I never expected the Internal Factory’s prestige to be fading too," Li Qingxian said mockingly.
Jingg Guan’s face flushed. "You can’t put it like that. These are special circumstances; our hands are tied. Just wait until after the Emperor’s birthday. The Internal Factory will definitely settle the score with the Ministry of Justice."
"Not a single one of the Military Supervisors from the Internal Factory died. Are you really willing to pick a fight with the Ministry of Justice over the men of the Patrol Bureau?" Li Qingxian sneered.
Jingg Guan turned his head and stared at the weeds on the courtyard wall, saying nothing.
Li Qingxian thought for a moment. "The resentment among the Night Guard is running high. We can’t do anything to the Ministry of Justice, but we can’t afford to lose our fighting spirit. How about this: do me a favor and have a word with Lord Yan. Just mention that you visited the Patrol Bureau and saw everyone cursing the Ministry of Justice. At least let Lord Yan know that morale is collapsing and the men are becoming difficult to lead."
"Lord Yan knows."
"It’s one thing for Lord Yan to know, it’s another for you to say it," Li Qingxian said.
Jingg Guan nodded. "Alright. It’s no trouble to mention it. If it helps put the brothers in the Patrol Bureau at ease, then it’s worth it even if Lord Yan chews me out."
Watching Jingg Guan leave, Li Qingxian pondered for a good while, then returned to Chunfeng Inn.
Zhou Chunfeng wasn’t there. An hour later, there was a noise at the door.
"What is it?" Zhou Chunfeng strode in.
Li Qingxian looked up. Zhou Chunfeng’s color was a little better than it had been during the day, but he still looked much worse than usual.
"Uncle Zhou, the men in the Night Guard are full of resentment. I can’t keep it under control," Li Qingxian lamented.
"As a Department Head, maintaining morale is your basic duty," Zhou Chunfeng said, walking behind his desk.
"Yes, I have a Magic Seed for maintaining morale, but I’m not sure you’ll let me use it."
"Oh?" Zhou Chunfeng looked at Li Qingxian.
Zhou Henn blinked. ’This little rascal is about to stir up trouble again.’
Li Qingxian smiled. "I have a plan. First, it will let our brothers in the Patrol Bureau vent their anger and let off some steam, which will boost morale. Second, it will fill the Patrol Bureau’s coffers so we’ll have the silver to pay out the pensions."
"Go on," Zhou Chunfeng said, sitting down in his chair.
"What’s the time-honored tradition of the Factory Guard?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Chunfeng said nothing.
"Raiding houses."
Zhou Chunfeng pondered for a moment, then took a cyan ledger from his Qi Fortune Silver Fish Pouch. "I’ve discussed this with Lord Yan. We must take action, but it’s not appropriate to do so before the Emperor’s birthday. We have to wait."
Li Qingxian smiled. "But what if we were targeting the Nether Mountain rebels who want to disrupt the Emperor’s birthday, and we just so happened to uncover a Ministry of Justice official in the process?"
"Making a ’coincidental’ discovery will be difficult. The Demon Sect’s people are being very careful these days," said Zhou Chunfeng.
"Just lend me the Great Seal, the Official Hat, and the Official Uniform. By borrowing the Qi Fortune of the Patrol Bureau and the Internal Factory, I can make anyone from the Ministry of Justice below Middle Grade go wherever I want them to go!" said Li Qingxian.
"I’ve heard of such Fate Skills, but they usually end in failure."
"Then we’ll just have to try a few more times," Li Qingxian said.