Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao at the front suddenly stiffened, frozen in place. The surrounding Night Watchers had a similar reaction.
Zhu Chengzhu’s pupils contracted slightly. This voice was both familiar and strange, appearing countless times in his nightmares like a demon. He both hated and cursed it, while also fearing and despairing it, believing he had no hope of revenge. Now, that person was right behind him. Yet he didn’t even dare to turn around.
Footsteps slowly approached. Zhu Chengzhu’s legs trembled slightly, cold sweat breaking out on his back. Unexpectedly, the footsteps passed him, moving towards Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.
Xu Qi’an, dressed in a cyan robe and carrying a weapon that resembled both a sword and a knife, kicked Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao each, mocking them: “You two don’t seem to be doing so well.”
Zhu Guangxiao’s face was filled with excitement, tears welling up in his eyes.
Song Tingfeng stubbornly refused to turn around, choking back sobs as he cursed, “You bastard, why haven’t you left yet? Are you tired of living?”
The surrounding Night Watchers were both delighted and confused, as well as anxious. Xu Qi’an had dared to return to the Night Watchers’ office. Didn’t he know that the Zhu father and son had returned? Didn’t he know that Yuan Xiong had taken over Wei Gong’s position and become Yuan Gong?
No, he didn’t know. All of this happened just yesterday.
“Xu Qi’an, leave quickly!” Someone in the crowd whispered urgently.
At this moment, Zhu Chengzhu seemed to break free from some invisible restraint, regaining control of his legs. He ran frantically towards the depths of the office.
Now, the Night Watchers spoke up without hesitation, advising him from all directions:
“Xu Qi’an, you shouldn’t have come back. Leave quickly, get out of the city!”
“Qi’an, the Night Watchers’ office is now under Yuan Xiong’s command. He’s rehired the Zhu father and son. Constable Zhao is almost powerless now.”
“The Night Watchers’ office is now Yuan Xiong and the Zhu family’s domain. Zhu Yang is in the Fourth Rank. You need to leave immediately.”
Xu Qi’an listened but remained expressionless. He turned to Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao: “What’s happened these past few days? Tell me.”
“Why don’t I tell you instead?” Zhu Yang’s voice reached them before he appeared.
In the courtyard, everyone’s vision blurred for a moment as Zhu Yang’s imposing figure materialized, wearing the Night Watchers’ uniform with a golden gong embroidered on his chest.
A few seconds later, Zhu Chengzhu caught up, pointing at Xu Qi’an and speaking harshly: “Father, this brat dares to return to the office. Kill him, kill him now!”
Zhu Yang remained motionless, facing off with Xu Qi’an until Constable Zhao arrived.
Reluctantly… Zhu Yang sneered inwardly, saying coolly, “Constable Zhao, join forces with me to capture this traitor. Only then will Yuan Gong and His Majesty truly value you. Yuan Gong is watching from the observatory tower of the Haoqi Building.”
Constable Zhao glanced back, seeing a solitary figure in crimson robes standing on the seventh floor of the distant Haoqi Building, overlooking this scene.
Constable Zhao turned back, his expression complex as he said, “Why did you come back?”
Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched into a smile: “I’ve come back to collect debts!”
More and more Night Watchers were paying attention to the situation, while those on the scene were retreating further and further.
A battle between Fourth Rank experts might well destroy the office. They didn’t know Xu Qi’an’s current cultivation level, but it was certainly not weak.
However, this was still the capital. With two Constables joining forces, dealing with him wouldn’t be difficult. If other experts arrived, Xu Qi’an would have no way out.
“Why did he come back?”
“Wei Gong is dead. Who can protect him now? He’s offended His Majesty deeply. What’s the point of returning?”
“How foolish! Why did Xu Qi’an come back? Damn it, we were colleagues. I can’t bear to see him die.”
“We’re just small fry. What can we do even if we feel sorry for him? Are you willing to risk your family’s lives to help him?”
“That’s right. Haven’t you seen that even Constable Zhao has compromised and is planning to join forces with Zhu Yang against Xu Qi’an? Yuan Xiong is watching from the Haoqi Building.”
“New kings mean new ministers. It’s the same for the Night Watchers. Wei Gong’s era is over and will never return.”
The Night Watchers watched from afar, discussing, sighing, feeling resentful or helpless.
Zhu Yang flicked his thumb, and his sword rang out as it left its scabbard, flashing a brilliant light in the air.
Every Night Watcher present felt a chill in their hearts, stimulated by the blade’s light, the hair on their hands standing on end.
Zhu Yang took a step, crossing over a dozen zhangs, swinging his blade towards Xu Qi’an’s head in one motion.
Regardless of whether the rumors from Yuyang Pass were true, Xu Qi’an’s current cultivation was enough to fight against a Fourth Rank expert. Zhu Yang alone might not be able to defeat him.
But as long as Constable Zhao followed up, the two of them together could easily capture Xu Qi’an.
Xu Qi’an responded with a backhand slap!
Smack!
Zhu Yang’s head exploded like a watermelon, bone fragments, brain matter, flesh, and eyeballs splattering out, leaving speckled traces on the bluestone slabs of the courtyard.
Zhu Yang’s body staggered forward a few steps before collapsing lifelessly.
In an instant, the Night Watchers’ courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
Zhu Yang’s bronze skin and iron bones couldn’t withstand a single slap from him. That casual slap, I couldn’t withstand it either. I would be killed by one slap too… Constable Zhao’s pupils contracted to pinpoints as if suddenly exposed to intense light.
Zhu Yang, a Fourth Rank Constable, was killed just like that? Was it true that he single-handedly slaughtered hundreds of thousands of enemies at Yuyang Pass? The watching Night Watchers collectively lost their voices, suddenly realizing that the stories circulating among the common people were not exaggerations, but actual feats.
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao looked dazed, unable to accept that their colleague, who often accompanied them to brothels and music halls, had unknowingly grown into such a terrifying figure.
Killing a Fourth Rank Constable with a single slap, shattering his head—what fearsome cultivation level was this?
Xu Qi’an, what rank is he now?
A ridiculous thought flashed through everyone’s minds, but they quickly suppressed it, not letting it surface because it was too crazy, too absurd, too contrary to common sense.
Zhu Chengzhu’s face turned as white as paper, his lips trembling slightly. His entire body shook like a branch in the wind, trembling incessantly.
His father, whom he revered as a god, his sole support, his Fourth Rank warrior father, had been killed by this man with a single slap.
No more difficult than squashing an ant.
Immense fear exploded in Zhu Chengzhu’s heart. He suddenly shuddered, and a stream of foul-smelling liquid flowed down from his crotch.
“Step back, and I won’t kill you. Otherwise, you’ll end up like Zhu Yang,” Xu Qi’an said, looking at Constable Zhao.
Constable Zhao, suppressing his fear, cupped his hands and bowed, quickly retreating.
Xu Qi’an then turned to Song Tingfeng, pointing at Zhu Chengzhu: “He’s yours to deal with.”
With that, he walked forward, heading towards the Haoqi Building.
Gazes followed him, wanting to follow but lacking the courage. Only after Xu Qi’an’s figure disappeared did everyone turn to look at Song Tingfeng.
Song Tingfeng walked up to Zhu Chengzhu and spread his legs: “If you want to live, crawl through here.”
“I’ll crawl, I’ll crawl…” Zhu Chengzhu hurriedly knelt, trembling in fear, begging for mercy as he crawled through Song Tingfeng’s legs.
Suddenly, Zhu Guangxiao drew his sword and slashed down fiercely. A head rolled on the ground.
Zhu Chengzhu’s face was frozen in terror, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. His lips moved slightly before settling into eternal silence.
“Hahahaha!” Song Tingfeng covered his face, laughing and crying like a madman, finally releasing the pent-up frustration in his chest.
At this moment, someone pointed at the top of the Haoqi Building and cried out in shock: “Xu Qi’an is going to kill Yuan Xiong…”
Suddenly, everyone looked over. On the seventh-floor observatory, they saw Xu Qi’an grabbing Yuan Xiong by the collar, half of his body dangling over the edge.
“Yuan Xiong, oh no, Duke Yuan!”
Xu Qi’an smiled as he examined the pale-faced, struggling Yuan Xiong.
“I hear Duke Yuan worked tirelessly, listing Wei Gong’s ten great crimes, imprisoning the corrupt elements of the Night Watchers’ office, and purging the Night Watchers’ atmosphere. He played a crucial role in exposing Wei Gong as a treasonous minister who harmed the country.”
Yuan Xiong saw the cold killing intent in his eyes and said gravely, “Xu Qi’an, I am an imperial official, a Third Rank dignitary. You… you can’t kill me.”
Seeing Xu Qi’an’s gaze remain cold, he quickly assessed the situation and changed his attitude, begging, “It was His Majesty who forced me to do it. I had no choice. As a subject, how could I refuse? I had no choice. This wasn’t my intention. Forgive me, Xu Qi’an, please forgive me.”
The sky was pitch black, the darkest moment before dawn. The cold wind chilled Yuan Xiong to the bone, his heart equally cold.
“Leave the capital immediately. I… I will buy you time. If you’re late, those dogs below will report you. Once the city gates close, you won’t be able to leave.”
He was unwilling to give up the chance to survive, thinking only of bowing and scraping to escape this calamity, then informing His Majesty later to execute this scoundrel.
“Forgiving you is Wei Gong’s business. My task is to send you to meet him.”
Xu Qi’an let go.
Yuan Xiong fell backward, plummeting from the seventh floor. With a “thud,” he lay face-up, eyes bulging, staring lifelessly at the sky.
He died on the spot.
In the distance, the Night Watchers who witnessed this scene were dumbfounded.
“Xu Qi’an, he… he’s rebelling…”
A Third Rank dignitary was killed just like that. This was truly a great figure, one of the highest officials.
“I’ve long despised them. Good riddance,” someone muttered quietly, venting their frustration.
After a brief silence…
“Well done!”
“The Night Watchers belong to Wei Gong. Who does Yuan Xiong think he is?”
“The Zhu father and son betrayed the office and were dismissed long ago. Pah! Good riddance.”
The suppression that had begun yesterday was now fully released.
Xu Qi’an was still Xu Qi’an, lawless as ever. He had returned, and all resentment and dissatisfaction would now dissipate.
…
Xu Qi’an returned to the tea room. The setting was unchanged, but there would never again be a figure in cyan robes sitting at the table, waiting for him with gentle eyes.
He opened the teacup and found the water in the teapot was still hot, likely boiled on Yuan Xiong’s orders when he rose this morning.
Xu Qi’an poured two cups of water from the teapot, took a sip, and shook his head, saying, “Tea is dull. Today I want to drink wine. What do you think, Wei Gong?”
The room was empty and silent. No one answered.
He took out a fragment of the Earth Book and poured out a jar of fine wine he had prepared earlier. He broke the clay seal and drank deeply from the jar.
The first mouthful was bold and invigorating, but he slowed down with the second, sipping slowly. Soon, half the jar was gone.
As he drank, Xu Qi’an mumbled about past events.
His eyes grew misty, slightly tipsy but not fully drunk—the perfect state of intoxication.
In his hazy vision, Xu Qi’an seemed to see a cyan-robed figure with graying temples sitting across from him, eyes filled with the vicissitudes of time, gazing at him gently.
“Wei Gong, this humble officer will sing a song for you.”
You always wanted to hear it. I’ll sing it for you now.
He carried the wine jar and slowly walked to the observatory. The morning wind was bitter, blowing against his face. Remembering the past, he sang loudly:
“I stand in the fierce wind, wishing I could sweep away this endless heartache…”
He pointed his fingers like a sword, looking down on the capital, his voice suddenly rising:
“Looking at the four directions where clouds move in the sky, sword in hand, I ask who in the world is a hero!”
Then, he slowly turned his head towards the imperial palace, towards the inner palace, his voice softening:
“In this world of countless beauties, I love only your kind. Who doesn’t share the same sorrow at parting? How many years of love have been hastily buried…”
“In my heart, you are the most important, sharing joys and sorrows, life and death. You used tender affection to engrave on my bones, in exchange for my heaven-sent passionate spirit.”
“In my heart, you are the most important, my tears surge towards the sky. In the next life, I’ll still be a hero, returning as the setting sun grows thick.”
“Returning as the setting sun grows thick…”
He raised the jar and drained it in one gulp.
Xu Qi’an threw the wine jar down from the high tower, turned back, looked at the cyan-robed figure, and laughed, “Wei Gong, how was this humble officer’s singing?”
In his ears, he seemed to hear that gentle voice: “Very good.”
Xu Qi’an laughed heartily, but tears streamed from his eyes. He dared not look that way again and staggered out of the tea room.
Where to go from here?
To shatter the heavens.
What if there’s no return?
Then there shall be no return!
…
In the Hall of Golden Chimes.
Emperor Yuan Jing sat high on the dragon throne, his expression solemn as he looked down at the officials in the hall.
His gaze swept over an empty seat, and he said in a deep voice, “Why hasn’t Minister Yuan arrived?”
Yuan Xiong hadn’t requested leave. Missing a court session without notice was, according to Da Feng law, punishable by a three-month salary deduction and fifteen strokes of the cane.
Fifteen strikes would leave a frail scholar bedridden for ten to fifteen days.
Emperor Yuan Jing wasn’t angry about Yuan Xiong’s absence. He still needed Yuan Xiong as a vanguard for what was to come.
As time passed, Emperor Yuan Jing gave up on Yuan Xiong and glanced at Qin Yuandao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.
With Yuan Xiong absent, the task of leading the charge naturally fell to Qin Yuandao, a core member of the imperial faction. He stepped forward, bowed, and said:
“Your Majesty, we cannot delay any longer on the matter of the war against the Shaman Religion and Wei Yuan’s posthumous affairs. The families of the fallen soldiers are still waiting for compensation.”
Emperor Yuan Jing nodded slowly and asked, “What is Minister Qin’s opinion?”
Qin Yuandao spoke with anguish: “Wei Yuan was recklessly ambitious, disregarding the overall situation. He forcibly attacked Jingshan City, resulting in the sacrifice of over 80,000 soldiers, causing Da Feng to lose 80,000 elite troops. Wei Yuan… his death is not to be pitied.
“After the Battle of Jingshan City, the armies of Yan and Kang approached Yuyang Pass. Although they eventually retreated, their elite forces remain intact and may return at any time.
“The situation in Xiangzhou, Jingzhou, and Yuzhou is critical. They could fall to the Shaman Religion’s army at any moment. The lives of millions in these three provinces hang by a thread. The current solution is to send envoys to negotiate peace with the Shaman Religion to remedy the disaster caused by Wei Yuan.
“As for Wei Yuan, I implore Your Majesty to posthumously title him ‘Li’.”
Wu Li, meaning cruel.
Emperor Yuan Jing swept his gaze over the officials and said calmly, “What do the rest of you think?”
No one spoke. Some looked towards another empty seat, the position of Prime Minister Wang Zhenwen.
In the eyes of the officials, the Prime Minister had given up.
Since the Prime Minister no longer cared about this matter, they didn’t need to fight to the death with His Majesty for Wei Yuan.
Those standing here were all intelligent people. They could see Emperor Yuan Jing’s schemes in the changes of the past few days.
Wei Yuan’s reputation was now tarnished. There was no point in stepping forward to ask for titles or honors for him.
One would have to clear his name first, but the key was that the one sitting on the dragon throne wouldn’t allow it.
It was futile!
As for the former members of the Wei faction, they had long been disappointed in Yuan Jing and had turned their hopes to the new dynasty. They would wait for the new emperor to ascend the throne before trying to clear Wei Gong’s name.
Emperor Yuan Jing’s mouth twitched, but his tone remained low: “Very well, we shall proceed as Minister Qin suggests…”
Before he could finish, a sudden commotion erupted outside the hall.
The noise rose in waves, continuous and unending.
Chaos erupted.
“What’s all this noise about?”
The officials were startled. Inside the hall, they heard the clamor of their colleagues losing composure outside and the sound of people scattering like birds and beasts.
This made the officials realize something was amiss, but they couldn’t guess what had happened.
Confused, the officials rushed to the entrance of the hall. They saw the courtyard below, where the well-dressed officials were fleeing for their lives, scattering in all directions.
A figure in cyan robes, wielding a knife, was fighting his way up to the Hall of Golden Chimes. Behind him lay the bodies of palace guards.
The officials were shocked to their core, overwhelmed by a sense of absurdity and unreality.
In the six hundred years since Da Feng’s founding, apart from the usurping Emperor Wu Zong, had anyone ever invaded the imperial palace and fought their way to the Hall of Golden Chimes?
Never!
At this moment, even these pinnacles of Da Feng’s power structure—seasoned officials with unparalleled depths of cunning—found it difficult to maintain their composure with so-called “inner tranquility.”
One by one, their faces changed dramatically—some angry, some panicked, some despairing, some terrified…
The cyan-robed figure, holding a knife with a small octagonal copper plate dangling from a red string on its hilt, crossed the threshold of the Hall of Golden Chimes. As the officials scattered in panic, he hurled the knife towards the emperor on the dragon throne.
Accompanied by a thunderous roar:
“You — dog — emperor!”
The long knife whistled through the air.
Only one thought remained in the minds of the officials:
Xu Qi’an has rebelled!