The next morning, as dawn’s light slowly filtered through the paper window, Zheng Hui’s voice rang out.
"Get up, get up! No lamb soup today. We’re all going to the Dining Hall for some pig slop, then it’s off to patrol the streets! Hurry!"
The four of them got ready and headed to the Dining Hall.
Breakfast was an ordeal, especially compared to yesterday’s lamb offal soup.
Li Qingxian finally understood why Zheng Hui and Yu Ping called the department’s food pig slop.
That wasn’t a metaphor; the same cooks were also responsible for feeding the pigs.
A year ago, a cook had mixed up the watery congee with the pig slop. The Night Guards hadn’t noticed the difference until the pigs refused to eat and overturned their trough.
After breakfast, the four members of Team A9 ambled toward Wanping Street, occasionally running into acquaintances and exchanging a few pleasantries.
Today, many more people greeted Li Qingxian.
Instead of going to the morning market on Xile Street, the four of them went straight to Wanping Street and then split into two pairs to patrol the areas around Wanping Square.
Starting at 5:00 AM, Zheng Hui and Li Qingxian walked and paused, patrolling the streets.
Li Qingxian finally understood the duties of the Street Patrol Room.
The Night Guard sounded impressive, but the impressive ones were the experts, the interrogators of the Imperial Prison Department, and the arresting Ti Qi.
The Street Patrol Room was responsible for patrolling the Capital City and monitoring Grade-Entering Cultivators, but with the major powers all gathered around Wanping Square, the Grade-Entering Cultivators were actually quite cautious.
Most of the time, Team A9 was basically just a group of common soldiers in fancy uniforms.
They spent the entire morning mediating disputes between merchants, helping the elderly cross the road, and keeping children away from the main thoroughfare. No thieves were caught, no bandits encountered. Their swords never left their sheaths. The morning passed smoothly.
As noon approached, Li Qingxian and Zheng Hui walked back to the entrance of Wanping Street.
The grand archway bearing the name "Wanping Square" stood before them. Li Qingxian dragged his heavy legs forward, feeling completely drained.
Not counting breaks, they had been walking for over four hours, and his calves were cramping from exhaustion.
"Tired?"
"I’m all right," Li Qingxian said, putting on a brave face.
Zheng Hui thought for a moment and said, "Then in the afternoon, we’ll patrol for another hour and call it a day. You should get some rest."
"Thanks, Brother Zheng," Li Qingxian said with a smile.
"Come on, Anx Bo and the others are here. Let’s go get lunch."
The four of them met up and returned to the Night Guard Department for lunch.
During the lunch break, Li Qingxian, like everyone else, went to the large scholar tree in the center of the Street Patrol Room’s courtyard. He joined the Night Guards from various rooms, listening to them chat about everything under the sun.
There were tales of a Grand Scholar from a previous dynasty whose Righteous Sword parted the sea; of an Alliance Leader from the Old Martial Arts World who ascended to the heavens and shattered a thousand-zhang-tall mountain with a single punch; of a Super-Grade Grand Saint from the Demon Race who drained the Great River with one breath; of the Celestial Fate Sect, which could divine three thousand years into the future and predict five hundred years into the past; and of the Grand General who swore to guard the river for life, vowing not to return to the Capital City until the Demon Race retreated. The stories were endless.
The lunch break ended, but the Night Guards remained motionless, as if they’d taken root to the spot. After another half hour, they finally rose lazily to their feet.
The four of them left the Divine Capital Bureau, went to a teahouse to listen to a storyteller for a little while, and drank three large pots of cold tea before heading out to patrol again.
As evening approached, Zheng Hui announced that the day’s patrol was over. The four of them slowly headed back.
The day of patrolling was officially over.
Stepping through the side gate of the Night Guard building, Zheng Hui said, "We’re off duty. You guys go rest. I’m going to report to Room Leader He."
At the same time, Li Qingxian felt a cool stream of air come from an unknown source and enter the space between his eyebrows. The sensation was identical to when the Qi Fortune had descended on him yesterday.
’Could this Qi Fortune be a reward for my diligent patrols?’ Li Qingxian couldn’t help but wonder.
When he returned to their quarters, one of Zhou Chunfeng’s guards was waiting. The guard pulled Li Qingxian aside, handed him a waist token from the Imperial Prison Department, and whispered that the distillery was in preparation. In ten days at most, people from the Ministry of Works would come to his door.
After Zhou Chunfeng’s guard left, Yu Ping and Han Anbo curiously borrowed the Imperial Prison Department token to examine it, clucking their tongues in amazement.
"If you get rich, don’t forget the lamb soup!" Yu Ping said, handing the token back with envy.
"Definitely," Li Qingxian said with a laugh.
"Is everything settled?" Han Anbo asked vaguely.
Li Qingxian was silent for a moment before saying, "Lord Zhou said I don’t need to worry."
"That’s good. With Lord Zhou’s word, they at least won’t dare to use any dirty tricks. If they try anything out in the open, Lord Zhou can handle it. Just be careful yourself. Don’t take a wrong step and give them any leverage," Han Anbo said.
Li Qingxian smiled. "Don’t worry. Back when I was getting into street fights, what kind of dirty tricks haven’t I seen?"
After dinner, Li Qingxian went to the Night Guard’s library, borrowed a few basic books related to Fate Skills, and brought them back to his quarters to read.
The other three didn’t disturb him. They first went to chat under the large scholar tree, then went to the training grounds to practice their martial arts.
Another day passed. After getting off duty, a stream of Qi Fortune descended upon him.
And the day after that, the Qi Fortune arrived right on schedule.
Based on the books he had read over the past few days, combined with his prior knowledge, Li Qingxian pieced together a rough idea.
The six major powers—Confucianism, the Daoist School, the Martial Arts World, the Demon Sect, the Evil Sect, and the Underworld—had willingly joined the Imperial Court, supposedly to absorb the Imperial Court’s Qi Fortune and strengthen themselves.
Starting with Emperor Tiankang, the Imperial Court had been able to create powerful Qi Fortune Treasures to reward meritorious subjects.
The Founding Jade Seal of Qii Country was the most powerful Qi Fortune treasure under the heavens.
People had Qi Fortune, and so did nations.
A chill ran down Li Qingxian’s spine. ’Am I stealing the National Fortune?’
’Considering my own aptitude,’ Li Qingxian decided, ’I’d better keep this to myself and get rich quietly.’
Li Qingxian felt a pang of regret. For now, he could only sense the Qi Fortune and the Celestial Destiny Instrument somewhere in his glabella, but he couldn’t use them.
’Maybe I have to wait until I reach Entering Grade. I’ll take it slow. No rush.’
Another day went by. After the patrol ended, Li Qingxian received his usual wisp of Qi Fortune. When he returned to the government office, one of Zhou Chunfeng’s guards was standing at the side entrance.
"Lord Li, Lord Zhou requests your presence."
"I’m not really an official. Just call me Xiaoli," Li Qingxian said, then looked toward Zheng Hui and the others. "I’m going to see Lord Zhou. You guys don’t have to wait for me."
Zheng Hui and Han Anbo nodded. Yu Ping blinked rapidly and whispered, "If there are any pastries, grab some on your way back."
Zheng Hui flicked Yu Ping on the forehead and cursed good-naturedly, "Are you a pig? You’d risk your life for a snack?"
"OINK... OINK..." Yu Ping threw his head back, opened his mouth, and made an uncanny impression.
Li Qingxian and Han Anbo burst out laughing. Zheng Hui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and waved his hand in mock disgust as he left.
"If there are, I’ll bring some back for you," Li Qingxian said with a grin.
Following the guard, he walked along the semi-familiar path into the rear hall of the Divine Capital Bureau, taking his time to observe the scenery.
Rock gardens and flowing water, lotus ponds and blooming flowers—a mix of spring’s vibrancy and summer’s lushness.
Li Qingxian looked at the name "Chunfeng Residence" above the entrance. ’When will I be able to live in a courtyard like this...?’ he wondered.
"Uncle Zhou, I’m here," Li Qingxian said, knocking three times before nonchalantly pushing the door open and walking in.
"Mm," Zhou Chunfeng replied without looking up, his brush flying across the paper he was writing on.
Zhou Henn stood beside the desk, his eyes closed in quiet contemplation.
Out of the corner of his eye, Li Qingxian saw a slender, pale figure standing by the window. He turned his head to look.
A delicate woman in a white dress was gazing out the window. The daylight fell upon her youthful and beautiful face, her skin so translucent and gentle it seemed to glow like warm, fine jade, as white as snow.
She was only half a head shorter than Li Qingxian, but her waist was so slender that, at first glance, she looked as small and fragile as a little lamb.
Li Qingxian looked closer. Her neck was long and slim, her waist was long and slim, and even her wrists were so thin it seemed a ring could slide over them.
Her slender, jade-like arms rested on the windowsill, the forearms visible outside her sleeves shining like warm jade, a brilliant gleam of light.
Around her left wrist was a flawless, ice-variety, imperial green jadeite bangle.
Before the bookshelf, behind the wooden window, the light of the setting sun illuminated her small, pale form, like a figure in a painting.
On the windowsill, small birds with yellow beaks, light green katydids, and pale pink butterflies gathered, hopping and fluttering around as they looked at the young woman.
With a slight movement of her fingers, the birds and insects chirped reluctantly, then scattered in all directions, some flying high into the clouds, others burrowing among the flowers and grass.
The woman in white turned around slowly, glanced at Li Qingxian, and gave a slight nod. A faint smile seemed to flash across her face for an instant before vanishing, making one wonder if it was just an illusion, if she had ever smiled at all.
Her eyebrows were long and fine, her eyes bright and luminous, her gaze nimble. She had a delicate, straight nose and extremely thin lips—so thin that her upper lip looked like a fine crescent moon.
Her white gauze dress was cinched by a bright blue sash, her slender waist looking as if it could be encircled by a single hand.
Everything about her was slender. Even her small face seemed to have been slowly sketched out with the finest of brushstrokes.
A slender maiden, a pale countenance, as exquisite as a poem, as ethereal as a fairy.
At first glance, she looked to be fourteen or fifteen, but the faint heroic spirit in her eyes and the black-sheathed, blue-patterned Ancient Sword floating at her side made her seem at least eighteen.
"Hello, my name is Li Qingxian," he introduced himself with a smile.
"Jiang Youfei." The young woman’s voice was soft and delicate, neither cold nor warm.
She turned and walked toward Zhou Chunfeng, her small body held perfectly straight. Her white clothes fluttered, the hem of her skirt twirled, and her waterfall of long hair swayed gently. A white gauze ribbon was tied loosely, letting two strands of white fabric flow down with her thick black hair.
Her long hair, dyed with the pale light of the setting sun, cascaded down, concealing the sway of her waist.
Zhou Chunfeng suddenly looked up, a half-smile playing on his lips as he glanced at Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian cleared his throat and said seriously, "Jiang Youfei? The name sounds familiar. Uncle Zhou, aren’t you going to introduce us?"