"Captain Zheng just can’t help but worry about everyone. Still, it’s thanks to him. If I’d been in any other squad, I would’ve been bullied to death this past half-year," Li Qingxian said with feeling.
"Yeah, I often think about how lucky I am to have Captain Zheng. I’m usually slacking off, always digging through old case files, and he never says a word about it," Han Anbo said.
Li Qingxian hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have a token from the Imperial Prison Department. If there are any case files you can’t access, just let me know."
"Alright, your word is good enough for me." Han Anbo’s short eyebrows and small eyes crinkled together when he smiled, making him look all the more amiable.
Li Qingxian smiled but didn’t ask why Han Anbo liked to flip through old case files.
The two of them chatted as they continued their patrol.
Li Qingxian discovered that Zheng Hui and Han Anbo had completely different approaches.
Zheng Hui’s philosophy was ’good enough,’ always aiming to keep the peace and make sure everyone got along.
Han Anbo, on the other hand, was quiet and seemingly unconcerned with many things on the surface. But the moment he discovered a problem, he would insist on investigating it thoroughly.
Following Zheng Hui, one could learn more about navigating social situations; following Han Anbo, one could learn more about the practical details of the job.
As noon approached, the two of them headed toward Wanping Street.
As usual, Li Qingxian’s feet were numb with exhaustion.
Han Anbo’s pace was much slower than it had been in the morning.
Li Qingxian sighed in admiration. ’This deputy commander really is a thoughtful person.’
As they were walking, a piercing whistle sounded from afar.
They stopped instantly, exchanged a look, and listened intently to discern the signal and its direction.
A call for help.
It was cut off during the second blast.
Han Anbo gripped the hilt of his blade with his left hand and took off down the dirt road. Li Qingxian scrambled to keep up.
Dust kicked up behind them, settling slowly in their wake.
"It’s coming from Wanping Street. I hope it’s not Brother Zheng and Xiaoyu." Han Anbo’s brow furrowed. At the same time, he grabbed his own whistle and blew the same distress signal.
Li Qingxian said nothing, just gritted his teeth and kept pace.
Han Anbo glanced back. "You just recovered from a major illness. You can’t keep this pace. Slow down and wait for reinforcements."
"I can handle it." Li Qingxian didn’t slow down or speed up, just maintained a steady pace.
"Alright!"
They ran one after the other, the distance between them gradually increasing, but Li Qingxian managed to keep Han Anbo’s back in sight.
"HUFF... HUFF..."
After running for only a short while, Li Qingxian felt a searing pain from his nose down to his lungs, as if he were inhaling boiling water.
"If you can’t go on, just rest!" Han Anbo shouted from up ahead.
An image of Captain Zheng Hui’s hearty smile flashed through Li Qingxian’s mind.
"I can do it!" Li Qingxian gritted his teeth and kept running.
A moment later, Han Anbo reached the entrance to Wanping Street. He waved to Li Qingxian, then charged inside.
Li Qingxian put on a burst of speed and rushed forward.
By the time he reached the street entrance, Li Qingxian was gasping for breath, his face flushed and sweat streaming down his forehead.
Unable to run any longer, Li Qingxian walked briskly into Wanping Street.
The road ahead was paved with smooth bluestone slabs, flanked by a dense row of shops with their banners and lanterns fluttering in the air.
A large, dense crowd was gathered in front of the Fengxiang Silk Shop, and more people were rushing over from all directions, craning their necks to see.
Li Qingxian remembered Zheng Hui saying that members of the Demon Sect had forcibly taken over this shop.
On the edge of the crowd, a young man in a Seventh-Grade Military Officer’s Uniform sat astride a maroon horse. His green uniform was embroidered with an interlocking chain pattern along its borders. He pulled out several silver notes, crumpled them into a ball, and tossed them into the crowd like a piece of trash. "Here’s my fine silver," he sneered. "A mere Junior Tenth Grade, daring to meddle in the Demon Sect’s affairs. You’re courting death!"
"Hyah!" With that, the man spurred his horse and rode away, leaving Li Qingxian with only the sight of a rapidly receding back.
Li Qingxian sighed. The fine silver was one of Emperor Taining’s brilliant inventions, mainly for Grade-Entering officials. By paying a fee, one could be absolved of certain crimes. Since the man, a dignified Senior Seventh-Grade Military Officer of the Demon Sect, had thrown down the fine silver, the Junior Tenth Grade officer could do nothing but swallow his teeth and endure the humiliation.
A Senior Seventh Grade officer. Outside the Capital City, that was equivalent to a County Magistrate—the kind with enough power to ruin entire families, earning them the nickname ’Broken Home County Magistrate.’
’Wait, that Junior Tenth Grade... could it be...?’
"Captain Zheng!" Han Anbo’s voice suddenly rang out from within the crowd.
Li Qingxian’s heart leaped. He shoved his way forward, yelling, "Night Guard business! Make way! Make way!"
The crowd parted. Yu Ping and Zheng Hui were lying on the ground. Han Anbo was desperately trying to revive Zheng Hui by applying pressure to the philtrum beneath his nose. A stranger lay unconscious beside them.
Crimson blood bloomed across the ground, already starting to congeal.
Zheng Hui’s eyes were shut tight, and he lay completely still. His normally swarthy face was covered in a faint, frost-like pallor, and a trickle of blood stained the corner of his mouth.
A crumpled ball of silver notes lay on the ground beside him.
Li Qingxian ran over and knelt beside Zheng Hui. "Captain Han, how is he?"
Han Anbo’s face was grim. "They were both already on the ground when I got here. But they’re still breathing. It doesn’t look like their lives are in danger."
"Should we take them back to the Night Guard for help, or what do we do?" Li Qingxian asked.
Han Anbo shook his head. "We can’t move them recklessly. The distress signal has been sent, and I heard responses from other sectors. A Grade-Entering Night Guard is bound to arrive soon. It’s safer to let them handle this."
"I’ll go get a doctor!" Li Qingxian said.
Han Anbo’s gaze swept over the crowd and landed on a man in dark blue robes. "Doctor Cheng, we’ll have to trouble you. If anything goes wrong, we, the Night Guard, will take full responsibility!"
Doctor Cheng sighed, glancing at the people standing in the doorway of the Fengxiang shop. "I’ll go get my acupuncture needles. I’ll be right back."
Li Qingxian stood up and scanned the dense crowd surrounding them. Cupping his fists, he said, "Friends of Wanping Street, if anyone knows what happened here, I implore you to speak up. The Night Guard will be sure to reward you generously."
The onlookers cast a sympathetic glance at Li Qingxian, then, as one, they all turned their eyes toward the Shopkeeper and two black-clad guards standing in the doorway of the Fengxiang Silk Shop. No one said a word.
"You know the whole story, don’t you?" Li Qingxian’s right hand gripped the hilt of his blade, his posture threatening to draw, as he stared at the three people in the Fengxiang doorway.
The Shopkeeper, dressed in a dark green, floral-patterned gentleman’s robe and a black square cap, offered an amiable smile. "Young brother, you misunderstand. This matter has very little to do with us. That Liu Minghao fellow claimed his father’s belongings were left in the shop and came demanding them. But our master has already taken over Fengxiang, so everything within the shop now belongs to him. Squad Commander Zheng, without asking for any details, simply ordered us to hand over the items. As a result, one of our master’s friends couldn’t stand by and watch, and ended up hurting them. We’re just law-abiding folk helping our master run his business. How would we dare raise a hand against the Night Guard? I hope this young Night Guard brother can see the truth of the matter."
Li Qingxian was about to question him further when Han Anbo cut in. "Go check on Yu Ping. I’ll watch the Captain. He’s stable for now, so don’t stir up any more trouble." As he spoke, he gave Li Qingxian a pointed look.
Li Qingxian nodded, walked silently over to Yu Ping, and knelt to examine him.
Yu Ping was breathing steadily. The only sign of injury was the torn fabric over his abdomen. It looked as though he had been knocked unconscious by a single palm strike, without so much as a drop of blood on his lips.
Li Qingxian carefully examined the torn spot on Yu Ping’s uniform. A terrible premonition surfaced in his mind, and he whipped his head around to look at Zheng Hui.
The cloth over Zheng Hui’s abdomen was torn in the exact same way, ripped apart by True Essence.
His polished leather belt was snapped, and the iron, horse-head buckle at its center had been shattered into pieces, which lay scattered on the ground.
"Captain Han, their Dantians..." Li Qingxian asked hesitantly.
The rims of Han Anbo’s eyes reddened. He lowered his head and said nothing.
Li Qingxian froze, a flash of fury crossing his face.
The area three inches below the navel was the Lower Dantian, the very seat of a Martial Cultivator’s True Essence.
To destroy their Dantians was to destroy their entire futures as cultivators.
Li Qingxian took a deep breath and said slowly, "It’s going to be fine. When Captain Zheng wakes up and his Dantian heals, he’ll advance to the Ninth Grade. And I’ll sell everything I own if I have to, just to treat him to a drink of Flower Sea Brew!"
Han Anbo remained silent.
"Yu Ping has more meat on his bones. It must have protected his Dantian," Li Qingxian muttered.
Han Anbo kept his head bowed.
The fragrance of wine from the Huahai Building wafted through Wanping Street.
The crowd lingered, unwilling to disperse.