He looked up as he reached the side door and saw a scholar in white robes standing before him. The man had slender eyebrows and delicate features—the very picture of a refined gentleman, exuding a dense scholarly air. He was the same person, yet completely different from the man on the battlefields of Beichen City.
Li Qingxian called out, "Yo, Brother Songg! What are you doing at the Night Guard Office? Shouldn’t you be out at the pleasure quarters enjoying some tunes?"
Songg Baige rolled his eyes at Li Qingxian and beckoned. "Get in my carriage. We have important business."
Li Qingxian had a vague idea of what this was about. He walked out the door, boarded Songg Baige’s carriage, and activated a Sound Insulation Talisman. He looked around at the carriage’s interior and remarked, "This carriage is quite luxurious. Where did you dig it up? Uncle Songg would not approve of this sort of thing."
"It belongs to the Assault Team." Songg Baige’s usual playful grin was gone, his gaze fixed seriously on Li Qingxian.
"So direct?" Li Qingxian said.
"The Demon Sect has gone too far recently. For the past two days, all my friends have been cursing them out whenever we meet. A friend of mine, a Squad Commander in one of the Assault Teams, invited me to join. I was already interested in the Assault Team, so I did. When they learned that I knew you, they asked me to come and see if you have any interest in joining the upcoming assault on the Ministry of Justice," Songg Baige said with a solemn expression.
Li Qingxian found it a little strange to see Songg Baige so serious. He lowered his head in thought for a moment before saying, "I’m not a Literature Cultivator, so the Literature Cultivation Assault Team has no reason to seek me out specifically. But they did, which means the Literature Cultivators want me to declare my stance?"
"The Imperial Court really forges a person. Even a silly boy like you knows how to scheme now," Songg Baige lamented.
Li Qingxian shot him a look and continued, "Is it because I’m not a Literature Cultivator that there are dissenting voices within your ranks?"
"They believe that Mr. Gangfeng is Mr. Gangfeng, and you are you. The two shouldn’t be conflated. But we believe that regardless of whether you are a Literature Cultivator, you are Mr. Gangfeng’s family, along with your aunt and uncle. As long as the Demon Sect makes a move against Mr. Gangfeng’s family, the Assault Team has an unshirkable duty to act. Besides, you aren’t one of the Demon-Evil Cultivators. As long as you join the battle and make your position clear, all dissenting voices will disappear. After all, Destiny Cultivators and Daoist Cultivators alike have fought alongside Literature Cultivators, whether heading north to resist monsters or conducting assaults in the Divine Capital."
"Tell me, is someone trying to drag me into this mess?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Do you even need to be dragged? My father said that with this whole thing blowing up, it’s highly likely you and Uncle Zhou are the ones fanning the flames. Did you think the Ministry of Justice is blind?" Songg Baige said.
"I’m waiting for the Ministry of Justice’s response," Li Qingxian said.
Songg Baige said, "We’re waiting too. If the Ministry of Justice doesn’t resolve this within three days, I will take up my brush and march by night to assault the Ministry of Justice."
"I’m not afraid of a fight, but I am worried about retaliation from the Ministry of Justice afterward," Li Qingxian said.
"My father said not to worry. Every time the Demon Sect Evil Faction retaliates outside of an official assault, we strike back tenfold. Over time, they had no choice but to give up on retaliation. Everything is settled in the assaults and the Cyan Cloud Examinations. You alone are not important enough for the Six Ministries to break their established rules," Songg Baige said.
Li Qingxian said, "Tell me the specific procedure for an assault."
"Major assaults are not for the likes of us. Those are great battles where the Six Ministers and Vice Ministers personally take the field. Each time they act, the Royal Family is forced to mobilize the nation’s treasured artifacts of fortune to cover it up. A minor assault has basically four steps: break the gate, push down the walls, destroy the buildings, and take down the plaque. The next step would be Fasi—destroying a department’s main hall—but that would force Middle-Grade officials to intervene. Our Lower-Grade minor assaults generally don’t involve Fasi, let alone the Upper-Grade assaults on an entire ministry."
Li Qingxian said, "So, after all these years of the Six Ministries assaulting one another, all sides have formed some unspoken, unwritten rules, right?"
"Correct. For example, in a Lower-Grade assault, as long as you only take the plaque and don’t perform a Fasi, the other side’s Middle-Grade officials cannot intervene. Or, for instance, you must inform the other side a quarter hour in advance which gate you will break first. Or, if you fight your way through three halls and find no one, the opposing side must concede defeat. If they refuse, you can set the sky ablaze and burn it all to scorched earth."
"That’s pretty ruthless." Li Qingxian had initially thought the idea of the Six Ministries assaulting each other was absurd, but when he recalled certain events from history, he realized this was merely history repeating itself.
"So, what do you think? Are you interested?" Songg Baige asked with a slight smile.
"I never realized before that a gentle, refined scholar like you had such a murderous streak." Li Qingxian studied Songg Baige carefully.
Songg Baige sighed softly. "I spent years in Beichen City, fighting monsters, fighting officials, fighting the heavens themselves. I knew every family in that city. I attended every funeral after every battle. I remember the look in the eyes of every child and every elder. I slowly realized that I had to do something. I just feel that the Human Race can be better. This world can be better."
"You’ve really matured. But still, I just want to get by and live a quiet life," Li Qingxian said calmly.
"My father said that when you’re caught in the tide of great events, you either die or you advance. Only by advancing can you survive; to not advance is to die. Qingxian, you have a talent for Fate Skills. You can’t let it go to waste." Songg Baige stared into Li Qingxian’s eyes.
"Uncle Songg sees things with great clarity," Li Qingxian said with a nod.
"Are you interested in joining the Assault Team? Not just to lend a hand, but to swear an oath and become an official member of the Literature Cultivation Assault Team."
"Well... I’m still young, and only Eighth Grade. I need some time to think about it," Li Qingxian said, politely refusing.
"Fine!" Songg Baige gave Li Qingxian a deep look. "In that case, if the Ministry of Justice doesn’t resolve this matter, will you at least lend a hand to the Assault Team?"
"I would like to witness an assault between the Six Ministries, but I still need to hear Uncle Zhou’s advice."
"Uncle Zhou talks a soft game but has a ruthless heart. He’ll definitely want you to join the Assault Team. First, to get to know more Literature Cultivators, and second, to temper you," Songg Baige said.
Li Qingxian nodded. "If the Ministry of Justice doesn’t resolve this, then I’ll see you outside their gates in three days!"
"Excellent!" Songg Baige flopped back lazily, slumping into the seat like a completely different person. His carefree voice rang out, "So, how’s it going at the Patrol Bureau?"
"It’s alright. The Patrol Bureau is the kind of place where nothing happens for three years, and then one case feeds you for the next three. When there’s nothing going on, I just stay in my room and focus on my Cultivation. When there is something, I’m usually only responsible for Fate Skills, not charging to the front lines, so it’s very safe. What about you? Did you come to the Divine Capital to study, seek promotion, or form a clique?"
"Form a clique? I came to the Divine Capital to participate in this year’s Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination, to obtain a Senior Seventh Grade official position and compete for Cyan Cloud Champion Scholar. After that, my father will arrange for me to study at the Hanlin Academy for a year or two before being assigned to serve as a County Magistrate in a Jiangnan county. I dare not stay long in this Divine Capital, nor do I wish to," Songg Baige said lazily.
"I’ll visit Uncle Songg at your home before noon tomorrow. What do your father and mother like?" Li Qingxian asked.
"My mother likes flowers and plants, so just buy her an elegant potted flower. As for my dad? He’s happy as long as my mom is happy, so you can just buy another pot for him," Songg Baige said.
"Doesn’t Uncle Songg have any hobbies? Tobacco, wine, sweets, tea?"
"None at all. My dad is one of those genuinely proper types. The most important thing in his life is making my mom happy, followed by reading, and then governing the country and bringing peace to the people."
"You don’t even make the top three?" Li Qingxian asked with a laugh.
"Don’t even mention it. I don’t even make the top five. In my dad’s eyes, I’m not even as important as my cousin Yanxue," Songg Baige said with a helpless look.
"Hm? You and Songg Yanxue are related?"
"You didn’t know? We’re distant relatives; we don’t interact much. When my cousin visited the other day, she even praised you," Songg Baige said, looking surprised.
"Our relationship is purely platonic. We rarely interact," Li Qingxian said.