Everyone’s experiences in life differ. Once an opportunity is missed, it’s gone forever, no matter how much one regrets it.
Having missed her chance at sudden fame, Hongxiu Niangniang cried uncontrollably. It would likely take her several days to come to terms with this reality, followed by a long period of self-adjustment in her melancholy.
With the top courtesan Hongxiu crying so bitterly, she had to excuse herself from the tea gathering. Young Master Wei and his companions, true to their reputation as well-educated scholars, not only refrained from complaining but also comforted Hongxiu, encouraging her to rest well.
After Hongxiu’s departure, Young Master Wei and the others continued drinking. After all, the Imperial Music Bureau was a place for socializing and entertainment. While the presence of beautiful women was a pleasant addition, their absence didn’t hinder the men from drinking and conversing among themselves.
“Didn’t someone mention earlier that night watchmen had come to join the tea gathering?” Young Master Wei suddenly recalled this detail and asked the serving girl beside him, “Didn’t Hongxiu Niangniang say that one of them claimed Fuxiang was his sweetheart?”
“I believe so,” the serving girl replied.
Young Master Wei had an inkling of suspicion. He stopped drinking and looked at the serving girl seriously, “Then… what was the name of the night watchman with the bronze gong?”
“Young Master, this servant doesn’t know,” the serving girl shook her head, thinking to herself that she hadn’t paid attention to that detail.
The other young masters, being astute, made the connection with Hongxiu Niangniang’s earlier unusual behavior and exclaimed in surprise, “Could it be that Xu Ningyan has come to Yuzhou?”
The case of the Transport Commissioner had only occurred that day and hadn’t yet spread throughout Yuzhou. Among these students, only Young Master Wei had connections in official circles, but even he would need a day or two to learn about such matters.
“We can check the post station tomorrow. If that night watchman is staying there, we should certainly visit him.”
…
Post Station!
The carriage slowed down and stopped outside the post station. Imperial Inspector Zhang alighted from the carriage, his expression grave, and returned to the post station with the accompanying Magistrate Jiang. By this time, the full moon was already high in the night sky.
Imperial Inspector Zhang glanced at the distant stables where only a few horses were tethered. Entering the post station, he inquired with the station attendant and learned that almost all the night watchmen were out carousing and hadn’t returned to the post station.
Already in a somber mood, Imperial Inspector Zhang angrily said, “How preposterous! We bear the Emperor’s mandate, how can they be so negligent and indulge in pleasure-seeking?”
Magistrate Jiang smiled and said, “They’ve been cooped up on the boat for so many days. It’s only human nature to want to relax a bit. As long as you, Imperial Inspector, are well, the others’ activities are of little consequence.”
As the two ascended the stairs, they encountered a figure wearing only shorts coming towards them in the pitch-black corridor, shivering and hugging himself in the cold.
Magistrate Jiang, possessing night vision, stared at the approaching person and asked puzzledly, “What on earth are you doing?”
“I just took a bath, a cold bath,” replied Xu Qi An, who hadn’t stayed overnight at the Imperial Music Bureau.
“And then?” Jiang prompted.
“This is the South,” he said irrelevantly, then suddenly sighed, “Trying to recapture old feelings… Ah, Magistrate Jiang, Imperial Inspector Zhang, you’re back. The others stayed overnight at the Imperial Music Bureau.”
Imperial Inspector Zhang nodded and entered his room without further comment.
“Why didn’t you stay at the Imperial Music Bureau?” Magistrate Jiang scrutinized Xu Qi An, knowing him to be quite experienced in matters of romance.
“An eel, though not a proper eel, still has standards. Any transaction involving money is vulgar and sinful. This eel firmly opposes such behavior,” Xu Qi An said with a serious expression before walking away.
Magistrate Jiang watched his retreating figure, thinking to himself that the young man must be drunk. He was spouting nonsense, and besides, a martial artist at the Refining Essence realm was impervious to heat and cold, yet he was pretending to be suffering from hunger and cold.
Xu Qi An entered his room, closed the door, and continued to shiver for his amusement. He quickly jumped into bed, and wrapped himself in the blanket, pretending he was living in the damp and chilly South.
Geographically speaking, although Yuzhou wasn’t coastal, it was still considered part of the South. Unlike the bone-chilling winds of the capital, Yuzhou’s cold seeped into one’s skin and pores.
This reminded Xu Qi An of his life in the South in his previous incarnation—taking a bath in the dead of winter, turning off the hot water to apply soap, and shivering while lathering up.
After bathing, as one got dressed, one’s nose would start to run.
Unfortunately, martial artists in the Qi Refining realm had robust physiques and rarely felt cold. Even if submerged in ice water, at most they would only feel a chill.
Wrapped in his blanket, Xu Qi An contentedly drifted off to sleep.
…
The candlelight flickered dimly, casting a yellow glow.
Imperial Inspector Zhang sat at his desk, picked up his brush, and began writing a memorial:
“On my way through Yuzhou, I inadvertently uncovered a case of corruption. The Transport Commissioner of Yuzhou’s Canal Transportation Office, Yan Kai, instructed the local Yellow Flag Gang to murder the escort guards and embezzle iron ore, secretly transporting it to Yunzhou…
“Upon reviewing the Canal Transportation Office’s records of sunken ships in Yuzhou, I discovered that in the past ten years, there have been forty-three instances of ships sinking, resulting in the loss of two million catties of iron ore. The sheer scale of this loss is appalling. These traitors to our nation have been quietly draining the Great Sui’s resources, sucking the marrow from its bones, chilling one to the core.
“In Yuzhou alone, two million catties of iron ore have been lost in ten years. If we were to calculate the cumulative losses across all sixteen provinces of the Great Sui, the figures would be staggering. I humbly request Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the sinking incidents of canal boats in all provinces of the Great Sui.
“The former Minister of Works colluded with the Wushen Cult, secretly supporting the bandits in Yunzhou, likely with treasonous intent.
“Furthermore, the Bronze Gong Xu Qi An has shown remarkable intelligence and outstanding ability. He should be credited as the primary contributor to solving this canal boat case.
“The journey to Yunzhou is fraught with danger. Your humble servant will spare no effort, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to the task until his dying breath.”
…
The following evening, the group departed from Yuzhou, continuing their journey to Yunzhou by boat.
During the day, Xu Qi An had led the Tiger Warriors and his fellow night watchmen to purchase some seasonal vegetables, wine, rice, and other supplies in the city.
The expenses were charged to the Canal Transportation Office’s account, effectively making it a free acquisition.
That night, the ship’s cook prepared a sumptuous dinner for the imperial envoy’s team. After the feast, Xu Qi An sat cross-legged in his room, practicing his breathing exercises.
“Ningyan, you missed out by not spending the night with the top courtesan at Yuzhou’s Imperial Music Bureau yesterday,” Song Tingfeng lamented on behalf of his colleague, feeling it was a shame to pass up such a fine opportunity.
“Heh, that Hongxiu Niangniang looked down on us crude martial artists,” Xu Qi An said.
“That’s because you didn’t reveal your identity. If you had told her you were the great talent who wrote ‘Lingering Fragrance Drifts in the Dusk of a Yellow Moon,’ she would have been eager to offer herself to you,” Song Tingfeng replied.
Xu Qi An was puzzled, “If that’s the case, why didn’t you speak up for me?”
Song Tingfeng sneered, “Dog shit! I was too busy being jealous. Why would I help you become famous only to watch you sleep with another top courtesan?”
“But you’re always enjoying your romantic escapades,” Xu Qi An retorted.
“It’s not the same,” Song Tingfeng insisted.
“When the lights are out, it’s all the same,” Xu Qi An countered.
“You mean when the lamps are blown out, right?” Song Tingfeng corrected.
Oil lamps were meant to be blown out, not switched off. What did he mean by “turning off the lights”?
Zhu Guangxiao, who was also practicing his breathing, paused for a moment and opened his eyes to say, “Besides the top courtesan from the Imperial Music Bureau, I noticed that Constable Lü from the prefecture office also seemed quite taken with Ningyan.”
Song Tingfeng felt even more envious, “How do you do it? Your skill in seducing respectable women is too strong. Teach your big brother a few tricks?”
“Big brother?” Xu Qi An questioned.
“Teach your little brother a few tricks,” Song Tingfeng amended.
“You’ll have to call me dad first,” Xu Qi An demanded.
“Get lost!” Song Tingfeng flatly refused, having fallen for the same trick from Xu Ningyan before.
“Will you call me that or not?” Xu Qi An pressed.
“Dad,” Song Tingfeng relented.
Xu Qi An laughed, “You see, women are like sand. You can’t hold them tightly. You need to get them wet. Not only can you hold them then, but you can also shape them into various poses.”
“What do you mean?” Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao didn’t understand.
“You need to touch their hearts, not just their bodies,” Xu Qi An explained.
“Sounds like it makes sense, but do you have the right to say that?” Song Tingfeng said, then suddenly shouted angrily, “You tricked me into calling you dad again. Take it back right now, or I’ll kill you!”
He lunged forward, ready to wrestle Xu Qi An.
At that moment, the three of them heard a cry for help from outside.
“Something’s wrong…” Xu Qi An kicked Song Tingfeng away, not bothering to put on his boots as he rushed out of the room.
His two colleagues followed closely behind.
Almost simultaneously, the Silver Gongs with their profound cultivation burst out, followed by the Bronze Gongs.
At night, the boat wasn’t sailing and was anchored in an area with calm waters. On the pitch-black surface, a Tiger Warrior was thrashing about, sometimes sinking beneath the water, sometimes struggling to resurface.
He appeared to know how to swim, but something beneath the water was pulling him down relentlessly.
“Hmph!”
From the cabin came Magistrate Jiang’s cold snort.
Suddenly, the drowning Tiger Warrior seemed to be freed from whatever was binding him and floated to the surface, no longer sinking.
The night watchmen on deck threw down ropes and pulled him up.
At this point, many more Tiger Warriors rushed up from below deck, fully armed and with tense expressions.
“It’s alright now, someone just fell into the water,” Xu Qi An turned to reassure them, then scrutinized the man who had fallen in, noticing a purplish handprint on his ankle.
“What happened?” asked a Silver Gong, one of Magistrate Jiang’s subordinates.
This mission was led by Gold Gong Jiang Lucheng. Apart from Xu Qi An, who had been assigned by Wei Yuan for training, the rest of the night watchmen were under Jiang’s command.
As for Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao, they had been brought along by Xu Qi An because the travel allowance was too tempting, and there was also an opportunity to earn merit.
The man spat out some water and quickly recovered, though his face remained pale, likely from the fright.
“This lowly one had too much to drink and came up here to relieve myself… Suddenly, I heard someone calling me from the water. When I looked down, I saw my deceased mother.
“I don’t know what came over me, but remembering how my mother had raised me, I was overcome with grief and jumped in.
“After falling into the water, I came to my senses. Even if my mother had become a ghost, how could she appear here? But that thing grabbed my foot tightly, dragging me down…”
“It’s a water ghost,” said an experienced boatman, somewhat frightened. “It’s an evil spirit formed from the corpses of the drowned, often luring passers-by into the water. Every year, countless people die in these canals. With the accumulation of yin energy over time, water ghosts inevitably appear.
“My lords, it’s best not to come out at night. Water ghosts never come ashore. As long as you stay off the deck, you’ll be safe. When we set sail, we stay below deck at night for all our needs. It’s the rule of the trade.”
Everyone couldn’t help but turn to look at the dark water surface. Encountering such things at night was quite eerie.
After this incident, the Tiger Warriors no longer came out at night to relieve themselves. The night watchmen, however, continued their usual routines.
Take Xu Qi An, for instance. Every night, he deliberately went to the deck to relieve himself, but he never encountered the legendary water ghost.
It wasn’t that Xu Qi An was particularly brave or wanted to give the water ghost maternity leave. He simply wanted to see what a water monkey looked like. In his previous life, he had grown up hearing stories about water monkeys.
Finally, the imperial envoy’s team arrived at the Qingzhou dock.
After reaching Qingzhou, they would have to travel by land, which required carriages and horses. The imperial envoy’s team didn’t have these, so they needed help from the Qingzhou officials to arrange transportation.
As they disembarked, Imperial Inspector Zhang walked up to Xu Qi An with a smile and said, “The Governor of Qingzhou is a great scholar from the Cloud Deer Academy, Yang Gong, courtesy name Ziqian.”
When Xu Qi An didn’t immediately react, Imperial Inspector Zhang added, “He goes by the alias Ziyang Hermit.”