In early spring, the season was marked by frequent winds and rains.
A three-masted ship plowed through the waves, its sails billowing in the strong wind.
After lunch, Song Dingfeng stepped onto the deck with one hand on his sword, gazing towards the capital city against the wind.
Over a month, the fires of war had sharpened the angles of his face, and blood had honed his gaze. His entire demeanor had changed dramatically.
Footsteps approached from behind. Without turning, Song Dingfeng pointed northward and said, “We’ll reach the capital in about ten days.”
Zhu Guangxiao grunted in acknowledgment, standing shoulder to shoulder with Song Dingfeng, looking north. He remained as taciturn as ever, with only his aura becoming more steady and honest – not much else had changed.
In contrast, the once glib Song Dingfeng seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
“With the military merits I’ve earned in Yunzhou, I can exchange them for a Spirit Refinement Realm visualization chart…” Song Dingfeng smiled. “I plan to advance to the Spirit Refinement Realm.”
In the past, Zhu Guangxiao would have been surprised. Having been colleagues for years, he knew Song Dingfeng lacked ambition, content with being a Bronze Gong. He was satisfied patrolling during the day and visiting courtesans at night, living a comfortable life.
The military merits from Yunzhou, if exchanged for silver, would be enough for him to live in the pleasure quarters for a year.
“Mm,” Zhu Guangxiao nodded.
At this moment, another group of Bronze Gongs who had finished their meal came out to enjoy the breeze. They were chattering happily, their expressions filled with joy and anticipation of returning home.
“Dingfeng, let’s go drink at the pleasure quarters when we get back to the capital,” a familiar Bronze Gong came over, putting his arm around Song Dingfeng’s shoulders.
Song Dingfeng seemed not to have heard, silently gazing northward.
The Bronze Gong walked away, looking disappointed.
Song Dingfeng let out a deep breath and said, “My attitude isn’t bad. I’ve been stuck at the peak of Qi Refinement for so many years, my foundation is solid enough. By the end of this year, advancing to Spirit Refinement Realm shouldn’t be difficult.”
“All this time, I’ve been thinking, if I hadn’t been so lazy if I hadn’t been so useless if I had already been at Spirit Refinement Realm when I came to Yunzhou…”
Song Dingfeng lowered his head and said softly, “I won’t go to the pleasure quarters anymore. Never again.”
Zhu Guangxiao remained silent, patting him on the shoulder.
…
The spring imperial examinations proceeded smoothly. At first, Second Uncle Xu and Xu Qi’an were quite concerned about Second Young Master Xu’s condition, constantly checking on him.
Just as parents would treat their children during the college entrance exams, Xu Qi’an now treated Second Young Master Xu the same way.
However, the ensuing chaos in public security kept Xu Pingzhi, the Hundred Household of the Imperial Blade Guards, and Xu Qi’an, the Night Watchman, busy to the point of exhaustion.
Jianghu people liked to show off their bravery and fighting skills. While there were indeed some righteous heroes, most were unsavory characters from the lower classes. After all, what decent person would choose to roam the Jianghu?
When they ran out of money, they would target a few wealthy households with bad reputations, and then help some impoverished civilians, thus considering themselves chivalrous thieves.
True heroines like Li Miaozheng, who genuinely helped the world and upheld justice, were extremely rare.
In just four or five days, Xu Qi’an alone had caught several drunken brawlers from out of town. According to Second Uncle, they caught burglars in the outer city every night, while the inner city remained peaceful.
This was because the inner city had a curfew. The Five Guards of the capital who patrolled at night would sound their bows as a warning if they encountered anyone out after curfew. At this point, if someone chose to flee, they would be shot dead on the spot.
For suspicious figures walking on rooftops, there was no need to sound the bow – they had the authority to execute first and report later.
Those caught causing trouble were usually taken to jail, waiting for their companions to bail them out. These minor offenses that didn’t warrant death were the most troublesome.
On this day, Xu Qi’an was patrolling with two Bronze Gongs when they passed by a brothel. Suddenly, they heard the sound of tiles shattering.
Looking up, they saw two Jianghu men fighting fiercely on the rooftop.
Below, a crowd had gathered, pointing and commenting, some cheering, others applauding.
“Damn these dogs, still causing trouble even after we confiscated their weapons,” Xu Qi’an cursed, ordering the Bronze Gongs beside him, “Go, bring them down for me. Take them all back to the yamen.”
With ordinary people watching, it wasn’t appropriate to sound the gong, as the sound waves from the magical tool would harm the surrounding civilians.
The two Bronze Gongs leaped up, shouting, “Fighting is prohibited in the inner city. Come with us to the yamen.”
They were warning the men not to resist, similar to sounding the bow as a warning.
However, the two Jianghu men had fought themselves into a frenzy. When martial artists get hot-headed, they don’t care who you are – even government officials are fair game.
One of the Bronze Gongs narrowly avoided a vicious groin kick, became furious, and with a clang, drew his sword. Channeling his qi, he slashed downward.
Although Bronze Gongs were the lowest rank of Night Watchmen, their Qi Refinement Realm cultivation made them formidable in the Jianghu world, more than a match for ordinary Jianghu wanderers.
Ding!
A stream of qi shot up from below, hitting the Bronze Gong’s blade and deflecting it.
The Jianghu man who had narrowly escaped death instinctively exerted all his strength, kicking the Bronze Gong in the chest. The Bronze Gong fell from the rooftop, performed a beautiful backflip, and landed steadily on the ground.
Xu Qi’an narrowed his eyes and flicked his thumb against his black gold longsword.
Sensing his killing intent, someone from the crowd below shouted, “Stop!”
It was two groups of well-dressed out-of-towners, including young masters and beautiful, curvaceous female martial artists. Behind them stood middle-aged men and elders.
Hearing their masters call for a stop, the two Jianghu men ceased fighting.
Xu Qi’an, with one hand on his sword, strode over with a don’t-care-who-you-are attitude.
“Esteemed official, I am Lu Chun of the Lu family from Jingzhou,” a handsome young man in white finery bowed.
Seeing Xu Qi’an approach, several beautiful young women’s eyes lit up.
Xu Qi’an nodded and looked at the other group, asking, “And you?”
The leader of that group was an effeminate young master who snorted. The elder beside him quickly said, “Sir, we are the Zhao family from Jingzhou.”
The Lu and Zhao families were renowned clans in Jingzhou, with pillars in both official circles and the Jianghu, operating in both legal and underground spheres.
In simpler terms, they were the local gentry. Of course, clans of the scale of the Lu and Zhao families had already surpassed the “gentry” category. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them aristocratic families.
The two families were bitter rivals in Jingzhou, stabbing each other in official circles and engaging in sword fights in the Jianghu. Their enmity went back a long way.
This time, they happened to encounter each other on the street while coming to the capital to watch the imperial examinations. After exchanging a few sarcastic remarks, tempers flared, but they still showed some restraint, only sending two of their trained experts to fight on the rooftop.
Although causing trouble on the street violated the law, they hadn’t harmed any innocent bystanders or caused significant damage. With the influence of the two families, they were fully capable of smoothing things over.
“Who flicked that qi just now?” Xu Qi’an scanned the crowd.
The effeminate young master raised his chin. “It was me.”
Xu Qi’an nodded slowly, looking at the two groups. “Alright, all of you come with me to the Night Watchmen’s office.”
The handsome and distinguished young master from the Lu family frowned slightly.
“What?”
The effeminate young master sneered, “We didn’t fight on the street. Just take those two back to your office.”
“When I tell you to go, you go. Keep talking, and I’ll cut you down,” Xu Qi’an scolded.
Attacking a Night Watchman – this charge alone was enough to get them in serious trouble. These out-of-towners were being too arrogant.
“On what grounds? Even Night Watchmen must follow the law in the capital,” the effeminate young master was not intimidated at all.
Clang!
The black gold longsword was unsheathed, a flash of dark golden lines barely visible.
Before the effeminate young master could react, as he was about to lose his life, a beautiful woman with a gentle demeanor beside him reacted first, removing a silver hairpin from her head and pointing it towards the sword qi.
Bang!
The silver hairpin shattered, and the sword qi cut her delicate hand.
Xu Qi’an sprang forward, kicking the woman away, then performed a spinning kick, knocking down the effeminate young master.
This kick contained hidden force; it didn’t break bones but injured the young master’s internal organs.
Xu Qi’an didn’t bother looking at the effeminate young master. He thrust his sword forward and sneered, “Even those with Bronze Skin and Iron Bones won’t leave the capital alive.”
The elder’s face turned ashen as he looked down at his chest.
Xu Qi’an turned back to the Lu family group: “Are you coming or not?”
The Lu family members’ gazes fell on the elder’s chest, where a faint red stain was appearing.
Bronze Skin and Iron Bones… had been penetrated.
They reassessed Xu Qi’an. This young Silver Gong was already incredibly impressive to them at his age.
That casual sword strike and kick had just defeated the Zhao family’s young miss at the Spirit Refinement Realm, and then effortlessly pierced through the physical defense of someone at the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm.
This level of cultivation was terrifying, and his talent even more astounding.
As expected of the capital – even a random Silver Gong would be considered a heaven-defying genius elsewhere.
“We’ll follow your lead, sir,” the handsome young master dared not defy him.
…
Escorting the two groups back to the yamen, Xu Qi’an found the managing clerk and said, “These two groups, make each person pay one hundred taels of silver. Don’t release them if they’re short by even one tael.”
“Out of that, three hundred taels go into the accounts, fifty taels for you and your colleagues to split, fifty taels each for the two Bronze Gongs who patrolled with me, and the rest, bring to me at Spring Wind Hall tomorrow.”
“Rest assured, this lowly official will handle it properly,” the clerk hurriedly replied.
Xu Qi’an nodded in satisfaction, then went to the stable, mounted his beloved mare, and rode towards the imperial city.
It was high noon, and he planned to mooch lunch at Lingbao Temple, and also seek guidance from Luo Yuheng about the “Heart Sword” manual.
He had already grasped the basics of the Heart Sword technique. In Xu Qi’an’s view, it wasn’t difficult. When using it, one only needed to infuse spiritual power into the sword body and slash it out like qi.
The difficulty lay in how to seamlessly integrate it with qi.
It was like being able to draw a circle with one hand and a square with the other without problem, but when trying to do both simultaneously, the brain couldn’t keep up. Often, when striking with the sword, he would either forget to channel qi or forget to infuse spiritual power.
Now that he was a Silver Gong, he could freely enter and exit the imperial city. He flashed his badge, and the guards at the city gate immediately let him through.
Arriving at Lingbao Temple, the novice guarding the gate went to announce his arrival, returning shortly after.
“The Dao Leader invites you in,” said the novice.
Xu Qi’an nodded and followed the novice into the temple, through corridors and courtyards, to meet “kind aunt” Luo Yuheng in a quiet room.
Besides her, there was also a swordsman in green robes sitting on a meditation cushion. He had a carefree demeanor, with a streak of white hair on his forehead showcasing his maturity and adding to his charm.
“Damn, Number Four is here too…” This was Xu Qi’an’s first thought.
“Damn, Luo Yuheng knows I’m the wielder of a Book of Destiny fragment…” This was Xu Qi’an’s second thought.
“Imperial Mentor!” Xu Qi’an greeted calmly, maintaining his composure.
Then he grinned and cupped his hands towards Chu Yuanzhen: “Top Scholar.”
Chu Yuanzhen smiled casually, somewhat surprised to encounter Xu Qi’an here.
By rights, someone of Xu Qi’an’s rank shouldn’t have the privilege of entering the Lingbao Temple and meeting the Dao Leader.
“How did Mr. Xu come to know the Imperial Mentor?” he asked, voicing his curiosity.
Luo Yuheng was about to answer.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Xu Qi’an coughed forcefully, quickly trying to send a mental message to the Imperial Mentor, but it was deflected back.
He tried again, and again it was bounced back.
A third attempt, and once more his kind aunt deflected it.
Luo Yuheng’s attitude was clear: We’re not that close, no private chats.
Using such an intimate gesture as mental communication with the Imperial Mentor was indeed too presumptuous… Xu Qi’an felt a bit anxious.
Chu Yuanzhen looked at Xu Qi’an, then at the Imperial Mentor, and smiled, “Do you need me to step aside for a moment?”
Xu Qi’an felt somewhat embarrassed.