“Since you’ve taken him under your wing, you should indeed know his rating,” Wei Yuan said in a gentle tone. “But don’t overthink it, and don’t be too concerned. Just keep a normal mindset. Of course, remember not to spread it around.”
The first part of the statement seemed fine, but the latter part confused Li Yuchun.
What did Lord Wei mean? Keep a normal mindset, don’t be too concerned… Was he saying Xu Qi An’s rating was too low, and that I shouldn’t develop feelings of disgust or contempt towards him because of it?
But why warn me not to spread it around? Given Lord Wei’s status, he shouldn’t be so protective of a mere Bronze Gong… Li Yuchun frowned slightly, unable to decipher the Grand Eunuch’s meaning.
At this moment, Wei Yuan flipped open the household register and pushed it to the edge of the desk. “See for yourself.”
Li Yuchun’s gaze fell on the register, where he saw two bright red characters: Top Grade A!
… Brother Chun nearly lost control of his facial expressions and exclaimed in shock, “Lord Wei?”
Top Grade A!
How could it possibly be Top Grade A?
I’ve been serving in the Night Watchmen organization for over a decade, and I’ve never seen anyone with a Top Grade A rating. Even Gold Gongs only have an A-grade aptitude at most.
What does Top Grade A mean?
No wonder he wanted to seal my lips. If this news were to spread, it would be tantamount to killing Xu Qi An with kindness.
Which Night Watchman could accept this?
At the same time, Li Yuchun noticed something odd. The aptitude test had three aspects: “Intelligence,” “Strength,” and “Heart Examination.”
Xu Qi An was in the Qi Refining realm, so he wasn’t qualified to take the strength test.
In other words, he had achieved a Top Grade A aptitude rating based on just two tests.
So, if his talent in Qi cultivation were added, would the rating increase? Hasn’t it already broken through the rating system set by Lord Wei… Would Lord Wei give a new rating, or keep it unchanged?
Thinking of this, Li Yuchun’s heart began to burn with excitement.
Wei Yuan closed the household register and said casually, “Remember to keep this strictly confidential. What matters did you wish to report to me?”
Li Yuchun exhaled and chose his words carefully, “I’ve already opened the Heavenly Gate for Xu Qi An. According to the rules, I collected four hundred taels from him.”
Wei Yuan said, “Return it to him.”
For a talent with Top Grade A aptitude, resources should already be tilted in their favor. If they still had to pay for opening the Heavenly Gate, what would be the point of the rating?
Li Yuchun nodded.
Wei Yuan glanced at him and smiled, “He has good aptitude? How many cycles did it take him to find his Qi sense?”
The effeminate man with yin energy and Yang Yan, who had found their Qi sense in three cycles, was quite interested in this and also fixed their eyes on Li Yuchun.
“One cycle…” Li Yuchun said while observing the expressions of the three high-ranking officials.
The three had different reactions. Yang Yan’s perpetually expressionless face showed a rare look of shock.
The effeminate man walked from the observation tower into the tea room, his cold eyes scanning Li Yuchun as he sneered, “Impossible.”
His reaction was the most intense.
Even the usually gentle and refined Wei Yuan was momentarily stunned.
Li Yuchun silently lowered his head, extremely satisfied with the three’s reactions.
“You may go now!” Wei Yuan watched Li Yuchun leave and then looked at his two adopted sons. “What are your thoughts?”
Yang Yan pondered for a moment: “Does he need special attention?”
Wei Yuan shook his head: “No need to force growth. Let’s just keep an eye on him.”
Then, he looked at the effeminate man and smiled, “You’re not much older than him. He may not be comparable to you now, but who knows about the future? It’s good, it gives you some motivation.”
The handsome man with the effeminate aura nodded.
Li Yuchun came out of Haoqi Tower, encountering several Silver Gongs along the way.
“Lord Li, what’s got you smiling like that?”
Li Yuchun unconsciously touched his face, realizing his smile was almost reaching his ears.
“Nothing, nothing…” Li Yuchun waved his hand, walking away while laughing heartily.
…
Xu Qi An had someone send a message to his family, while he stayed at the Night Watchmen’s office, repeatedly practicing breath control and moving his Qi.
He felt the benefits that the circulation of Qi brought to his body, making his cells more active and his spirit more vigorous.
His physique and strength were growing at a delightful rate.
This state continued until dusk before it stabilized, indicating that the benefits of entering the Qi Refining realm had come to an end.
“In my current state, I feel like I could take on ten of my former selves. It turns out that when Second Uncle sparred with me before, he wasn’t even being serious, just pretending to put in effort. If he had used his full strength, I probably would have died on the spot…”
Xu Qi An casually performed a few sets of punches, generating a fierce wind, feeling better than ever before.
He concentrated Qi in both fists, lowered his waist, and squatted down, punching towards the ground from a distance.
Bang!
The ground emitted a muffled sound, cracking into a spider web-like pattern as dust filled the air.
…
At the Xu residence.
Xu Xinnian frowned, pacing back and forth in the back hall. Xu Pingzhi sat in a chair with a gloomy face, not saying a word.
Aunt glanced at her eldest daughter, whose fingers were twisting her skirt hem, her eyes slightly red, and her delicate eyebrows tightly furrowed.
Noticing her mother’s gaze, Xu Lingyue pouted and called out with a sob in her voice: “Mother…”
“Stop pacing around, you’re giving me a headache,” Aunt scolded her son irritably, then tentatively said: “My Lord?”
“Let’s wait for news. Being taken away by the Night Watchmen, doing nothing is the best choice,” Second Uncle Xu said in a deep voice.
Aunt bit her bright red lips, suddenly stomping her foot in anger: “You’d be better off trying to pull some strings than just sitting here doing nothing.”
Xu Xinnian frowned and said, “What strings can we pull? We don’t even know why the Night Watchmen took Big Brother away. Now is not the time for bribery.”
“Always causing trouble, always causing trouble,” Aunt scolded.
Her hands, hidden in her sleeves, were tightly clenched into fists.
At this moment, Old Zhang, the doorman, came running in. Before he even entered the front hall, his voice could be heard: “Master, Young Master has sent a message.”
Xu Xinnian was the first to meet him, and the whole family stood up from their chairs.
Xu Lingyue rushed to the doorway, her skirt fluttering, anxiously staring at Old Zhang.
Old Zhang stood on the steps in front of the hall and said, “Young Master says he has become a Night Watchman. He won’t be coming home tonight, so don’t worry.”
Became a Night Watchman… Xu Pingzhi and Xu Xinnian looked at each other in bewilderment.
…
Accompanied by his two colleagues, Squinty Eyes and Expressionless Face, Xu Qi An received an ill-fitting uniform, a waist token, a bronze gong, and a standard long sword at the office’s service counter.
“It’ll take about two days to get a properly fitted uniform… This bronze gong is a standard magical tool exclusive to Night Watchmen,” Song Tingfeng said, chewing on candy beans in the corner of his mouth:
“It has two functions: First, when tied to the chest, it can act as a shield, protecting vital areas. It can withstand a full-force strike from a Spirit Refinement realm expert. Second, when struck, it produces sound waves that can shake the enemy’s spirit, causing dizziness, headaches, and other negative effects.”
Sounds quite ordinary. The heart-protecting mirror Lord Song gave me can withstand three attacks from a Spirit Refinement realm expert, and Bronze Skin Iron Bones can withstand one… Wait, isn’t this just an enhanced version of the bronze gong? Xu Qi An’s mind stirred: “Is it a product of the Astronomical Bureau?”
“Of course, only fourth-grade formation masters from the Astronomical Bureau can forge magical tools,” Song Tingfeng said:
“You should report for duty on time tomorrow. The captain said you’ll be following us from now on. A Night Watchmen team consists of at least two people and at most four, patrolling different areas of the capital. Usually, we rotate every three days. Guangxiao and I have just finished night patrol, so we’ll be on day patrol for the next three days.”
“So which area will we be patrolling?” Xu Qi An was a bit reluctant, thinking that night shifts were even more inhumane than 996 work schedules.
“The area is yet to be determined. In every rotation, areas are randomly assigned. This is to prevent some unscrupulous Night Watchmen from scoping out places and abusing their position,” Song Tingfeng said with a smile:
“Stealing silver or engaging in lecherous activities. Of course, such examples are rare, but we must guard against them.”
Xu Qi An nodded: “Every department has its bad apples.”
At this moment, a clerk hurriedly came over and said, “Lord Song, Lord Zhu, Silver Gong Li summons you.”
Brother Chun is looking for us… Xu Qi An followed his two colleagues towards Li Yuchun’s office.
Each Silver Gong had an independent office called a “Hall,” and in this era, working in an office was called “sitting in the hall.”
Silver Gongs rarely went out on patrol, as that was the job of the lower-ranking Bronze Gongs.
Li Yuchun’s office was called the Spring Breeze Hall.
The room was clean and odorless… documents were neatly arranged… the blue and white patterns on two cups were facing the same direction… the placement of potted plants was equally meticulous… Brother Chun is truly a refined older man.
Xu Qi An scanned the Spring Breeze Hall.
In the spacious hall, Li Yuchun sat at his desk and pushed a file to the edge of the table.
“There have been traces of a monster on Mount Dahuang in Taikang County. It has eaten quite a few people. You go and investigate the situation. If the monster’s realm isn’t too high, kill it on the spot. The people from the Ministry of Justice’s Six Offices will collaborate on the case; they’re already waiting outside the office.
“Mm, Xu Qi An, you go too. Gain some experience. You haven’t done your ‘combat power’ test yet, right? Consider this as actual combat training.”
A monster eating people… Encountering this right after taking office?!
Am I lucky or unlucky?