Lantern monster?

"Cough, cough... It was definitely a ghost! I saw it with my own eyes!"

With the combined efforts of the neighbors, the large fire finally didn't spread and was extinguished in the backyard where it started. The entire courtyard was almost completely burned down, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

Such a fierce fire was also thanks to the timely discovery.

In the charred fire scene, the courtyard owner was miserably sifting through the remaining items, and Pang Chun was helping with his strength.

Liang Yue was observing the surroundings, looking for traces of the ignition point, while also listening to everyone's discussions about the fire.

Hearing someone assert that it must have been a ghost, he looked over and asked, "You saw the ghost's true form?"

"Yes!" The man speaking began to recount, "I was relieving myself by the backyard wall when I suddenly saw a ball of green light shoot up from the backyard of the tavern next door. It scared me so much I stumbled and almost fell to the ground. I heard that in the past, there were often resentful spirits in the mass graves outside the city that wouldn't dissipate, turning into Lantern Monsters to find substitutes. If one bumps into you, you'll be possessed!"

"Thinking about it now, I'm still a bit scared, my legs are still weak." The man's expression was exaggerated, making the listeners feel as if they were there. He grabbed the shoulder of a neighbor beside him, "Help me up, I'll continue."

The kind neighbor immediately supported him.

"That ghost appeared out of thin air, followed by a thick smoke, and then this raging fire started." The man's face showed a hint of pride. "Wouldn't an ordinary person be scared to death? I was brave enough to quickly tie up my pants and call people to put out the fire. If it had been any later, the shops in the front would have been gone!"

"You're lying!" Someone on the side loudly retorted, "When I came out, I clearly saw you hadn't pulled up your pants."

"Hey!" The man waved his hand angrily, "I'm talking about evil spirits here, what do you care if I pulled up my pants or not?"

"But you can't lie..." The retorting neighbor said weakly, "I clearly saw... a little something there..."

"Right, right, do I have to tell you that I didn't have time to pull up my pants?" The man became directly angry and embarrassed. "And do I have to tell you that I got it all over my hands and didn't have time to wash them? Do I have to tell you that I can still smell it myself right now? Don't I have any dignity?"

"Ew—"

The neighbors all stepped back in disgust.

Only the neighbor supporting him shivered, looking at his hand that was still rubbing his arm with excitement, his face full of disbelief, his eyes seeming to say, "Is this how you treat a kind person?"

Whether he pulled up his pants or not was not something Liang Yue cared about. He had already lowered his head and continued searching the surroundings, and at this moment, he suddenly made a discovery.

He bent down and saw white traces mixed in the charred soil. He used a piece of cloth to pick up this clump of charred soil and examined it carefully.

His expression was thoughtful.

It wasn't until a middle-aged woman in the crowd said again, "I heard that the tailor shop across the street also caught fire the day before yesterday. It's a shame about those good clothing materials, most of them were burned. The shopkeeper wanted to save some, but half of his body was burned! How did our perfectly fine Linmen Street suddenly offend the Grand Duke?"

A seemingly mystical old man chimed in, "I heard that many wronged souls from the previous dynasty are buried under this street, and now they've all turned into Lantern Monsters to seek revenge."

"Ah?" A wave of panic immediately spread around. "What should we do?"

Liang Yue, who had been squatting on the ground sifting and picking, finally stood up straight at this moment. He tucked a package of things into his chest, cleared his throat, and his tall figure and handsome face immediately stood out in the crowd.

"Cough!"

Everyone looked over.

"Neighbors, the cause of the fire will still be investigated by the yamen. Everyone, please don't panic for now, and don't believe some unfounded rumors." Liang Yue said in a clear voice, "Let alone whether the matter of the Lantern Monster causing trouble has been confirmed, even if it's true, this thing is not a powerful demon or evil spirit. It would be easy for the imperial court to solve it."

"If the imperial court can solve it, please do it quickly." Someone immediately said mournfully, "Otherwise, with fires starting every day, who knows whose turn it will be next? What are we supposed to do living in fear like this?"

Someone also muttered, "If you ask me, it would have been better to sell the house a few days earlier. How could it fetch such a high price now?"

"Everyone, please don't panic..." Liang Yue reassured again, "We will definitely solve it as soon as possible."

Boom—

Before the words even fell, a sudden, massive collapse sounded from behind, startling everyone. They all turned to look.

They saw that it was Pang Chun, who was helping the old couple who owned the courtyard clear away the burnt-down sheds.

At this moment, the old couple stared dumbfounded at the tall and sturdy Pang Chun, their faces full of misery. "Officer, didn't you say you were helping us tear down the burnt parts? This shed where we store our wine wasn't burned, why did you push it down?"

"Ah." Da Chun scratched his head in a panic. "I got carried away with the tearing down."

By the time Liang Yue returned home, it was almost dawn.

He had been busy all night. Fighting the fire took a little over half an hour, investigating the fire scene took a little over half an hour—the rest of the night was spent helping the old couple rebuild the wine shed that Pang Chun had mistakenly torn down.

But even so, he still practiced a set of the Tiger Might Fist, taught by the Imperial Capital Guard, in the courtyard.

One could see the wind generated by his movements, and the momentum grew like thunder.

He continued until divine light burst forth from his eyes, wisps of white steam rose from the top of his head, and his face was like a red-hot branding iron, faintly surrounded by a fiery aura.

"Hoo—"

Only then did he let out a long breath and choose to stop.

For Liang Yue, the most novel thing about this world was the prevalent practice of cultivation.

The martial arts experts here could truly split mountains and shatter stones with their physical bodies, traversing the heavens and earth, developing the power of the human body to a terrifying degree.

Not to mention the legendary Qi Refiners of the Three Religions, who mastered various divine abilities of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the creation of heaven and earth, which sounded infinitely fascinating.

However, the Liang family's circumstances were not good, and the original owner's exposure to cultivation was limited to martial arts. At the age of fifteen, he had already entered the first realm of martial arts—the Qi Blood Realm.

Logically speaking, this could be considered good talent, but the cultivation of this first realm of martial arts depended not only on talent but also on wealth.

Ordinary people practicing martial arts could only repeatedly practice their forms and exercises to invigorate the qi and blood within their bodies, bringing it to a boiling state, integrating wisps of internal essence into their bloodlines, and finally reaching completion. If they could eat some beef and mutton every day, it would be considered a decent supplement.

Wealthy families practicing martial arts relied on taking spiritual pills and elixirs that supplemented qi and blood, or the flesh and blood of demonic beasts, and could quickly reach completion.

Therefore, wealthy people could cross the Qi Blood Realm in a year or two, while the original owner had practiced for three years but was still only in the middle stage of the Qi Blood Realm.

There was no other way.

The rich relied on medicinal power, the poor relied on effort.

However...

Liang Yue felt the state of abundant qi and blood, and it was as if a warm current was penetrating into his divine palace, making it increasingly clear and transparent. Although he had been awake almost all night, his spirit was not at all listless.

With the same bone structure, the same Tiger Might Fist, and the same lack of supplements, after he arrived, it took him less than three months to cultivate to the peak of the Qi Blood Realm.

He had a premonition that this bottleneck should not take long to break through either.

Because after a little practice at first, he quickly grasped the essence of the Tiger Might Fist, found the twenty-eight minor errors he had made before, and improved to the most effective way of practicing.

This was also why he could compare to many in the second realm in the martial arts examination with his cultivation at the peak of the first realm.

He had truly grasped the true meaning of this set of fist techniques.

Those who reached the Second Realm through sheer hard work or by consuming supplements simply couldn't achieve the level of seamless mastery he had, even with the most basic set of fists.

Sometimes, talent might not be a match for wealth.

But absolute talent could be.

Liang Yue felt the threshold of the Second Realm; a new world seemed within reach. If outsiders knew of his progress, they might be shocked.

Yet, he shook his head, dissatisfied, and sighed, "Too slow."

After finishing his practice, he went inside to sleep and didn't wake up until noon. As soon as he arrived at the station, Hu Tiehan called him over again.

"Brother Hu, you were looking for me?"

As Liang Yue entered the room, he saw Hu Tiehan standing behind the desk.

"I heard you encountered another fire last night?" Hu Tiehan asked. "Have you found the cause? If it's truly the Lantern Monster causing trouble, I'll have the court send Qi Refiners to handle it. If it's arson, I'll need to send more men to stake out the culprit."

"Based on the current clues, it's highly likely to be arson," Liang Yue said. "There's no need for staking out for now. I already have some leads. Give me some time, and I should be able to find the real culprit."

"Oh?" Seeing his confident demeanor, Hu Tiehan pondered for a moment and said, "Then I'll trust you this once. You will be in charge of this arson case. If you handle it well, you'll be credited with a major merit."

"Thank you for your trust, Brother Hu," Liang Yue said with a smile.

"No need to thank me," Hu Tiehan nodded. "Just don't disappoint me."

Taking advantage of the moment, Liang Yue asked again, "Brother Hu, if I catch the arsonist this time, is there a chance for me to become a regular officer?"

This was the question he cared about most.

"This..." Hu Tiehan fell silent upon hearing this, then sighed, "I'm sure you have some understanding of the situation with our Imperial Capital Guard. It's probably not easy to become a regular officer based solely on this merit."

"I understand it all too well," Liang Yue also felt a bit helpless.

His father had died in battle in the Yunxiang Kingdom. According to the court's decree of compensation, all children of fallen soldiers could receive a regular position in the Imperial Capital Guard. As the eldest son, Liang Yue should have become a regular guard upon reaching adulthood.

However, when he came to claim his position upon reaching adulthood, he was told that he could become a regular guard, but he had to wait. The imperial decree at the time did state that this position could be given, but there were no vacancies for regular guards now, and they couldn't just force someone in.

Go home and wait for news.

After several such back-and-forths, he waited for a year until a comrade of his father's from back then pointed out the issue. He said that the vacancy for the regular guard was likely taken by a child of some noble, and he would never get it even if he waited a lifetime. If Liang Yue wanted to join, he should proactively apply to change his position to an auxiliary guard and seek a transfer to a regular position later if the opportunity arose.

Auxiliary guard and regular guard, a difference of one word, but a world of difference.

A regular guard was considered a ninth-rank official of the court, belonging to the official ranks, and received a monthly salary of two or three taels of silver. An auxiliary guard wasn't considered a position at all; they could get some subsidies by patrolling the streets, amounting to a few hundred coins a month. To put it nicely, they were official runners; to put it bluntly, they were attendants.

Moreover, the Imperial Capital Guard held the power of arrest and criminal justice, and this power was in the hands of the regular guards. Auxiliary guards had no qualification to handle cases independently and had to be led by regular guards.

Only by becoming a regular officer could he truly showcase his abilities.

At that time, Liang Yue was eager to support his mother and adopted this suggestion. As expected, he was immediately assigned to the Fukang Ward station and became an auxiliary guard.

But after coming here, he realized how difficult it was to become a regular officer.

There were only two paths to promotion: earning merit and accumulating seniority.

But an auxiliary guard was someone who did the dirty and tiring work. The merit would naturally be claimed by the regular guards and officers. How much could possibly be allocated to you?

As for seniority, let's not even mention it. Old Tang at the station is over seventy this year. He's been a guard for sixty years and is just hoping to become a regular before he dies. Who knows if he'll even get the chance.

In short, it's as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"How about this, if you're really in a hurry to become a regular, I can point you to a clear path," Hu Tiehan lowered his voice and said, "Last year, four people in the entire Southern City Imperial Capital Guard became regulars. Do you know what they relied on?"

"What?" Liang Yue's eyes lit up slightly.

"Three hundred taels of silver." Hu Tiehan held up three fingers and raised them upwards. "Give it to the higher-ups, and you'll definitely be on this year's list of regulars."

"The case is urgent, I'll be going now." Liang Yue didn't say another word after hearing that, got up, and left.

What kind of joke was this?

Let alone the pitifully small monthly allowance for a guard, even if he successfully became a regular, his monthly salary would only be two taels of silver. What kind of person would buy an official position with over a decade's worth of future income?

"What kind of attitude is that?" Hu Tiehan saw his disdainful attitude, slammed the table in anger, sat down indignantly, then suddenly sprang up, crying out in pain, "Ouch..."

He yelled at Liang Yue's disappearing back as if venting his anger, "If you want to get promoted by earning merit, go catch Nine Yang spies!"

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