How did you know?

February weather, willows drunk with spring mist.

Dragon Abyss City is located in the Central Plains, with distinct seasons. Now the days are warming up, and a vibrant atmosphere permeates the city. The southern section of the Heavenly Street is bustling with traffic, pedestrians flow on both sides, and the sounds of hawking and laughter are endless.

Liang Yue, dressed in a plain cloth robe, sat outside a tea house on Linmen Street, leisurely observing his surroundings, his gaze sharp as a torch.

Sitting next to him was Pang Chun, also in rough cloth and hemp clothes that were somewhat ill-fitting. His large head was lowered, and his shoulders were hunched, making him look like a huge, sneaky creature.

Across from them sat a young man of medium build with a small nose and eyes.

At first glance, he looked ordinary, but upon closer inspection of his embroidered robe, the expensive jade pendant hanging from his waist, and the heavy embroidered money pouch, one would feel that the entire person's demeanor suddenly became approachable.

"Liang Yue, what exactly are we doing here?" the young man asked. "If we want to drink tea, let's go upstairs and find a private room. When have I ever sat on the street to drink tea? How embarrassing would that be if someone saw me?"

The standard configuration for the Imperial Capital Guard is one main guard leading two subordinate guards. The speaking man was named Chen Ju, the main guard whom Liang Yue and Pang Chun followed. He came from the Chen Family, one of the four great families in the Divine Capital.

Although he was from a collateral branch, he was still a scion of a noble family, and his wealth was incomparable to ordinary people.

"The view upstairs isn't good; it's not as clear as it is here," Liang Yue shook his head.

Chen Ju was puzzled. "Don't the suspects set fires at night? What are we doing here during the day?"

"Who says the fire at night couldn't have been set during the day?" Liang Yue smiled. "If I'm not mistaken... you'll know in a moment."

"Tch." Chen Ju was quite disdainful of his secretive behavior and then asked, "I heard Old Hu asked you to pay to become a full member, and you refused?"

"Yes," Liang Yue said. "He asked me for three hundred taels of silver, which is too outrageous."

"Three hundred?" Chen Ju widened his eyes. "When my family sent me in, it cost five hundred taels."

He was a scion of a noble family and a genuine martial artist of the Second Realm. He still had to pay to join the Imperial Capital Guard. In this regard, it was fair to everyone.

Perhaps even the Crown Prince would have to pay three hundred taels of silver to become a main guard.

"Wow, so Old Hu gave me a fair price?" Liang Yue replied.

"Almost, he probably didn't add any extra," Chen Ju nodded. "The power to recruit full members is in the hands of Zou Fang, the Great Commander of the South City. It's impossible to catch his eye for less than three hundred taels."

He then added, "Actually, I can pay for this full membership for you."

"No need," Liang Yue refused without hesitation. "I can't repay it."

"It's not a loan, it's a gift," Chen Ju said. "You know, although my family is just a collateral branch managing business in the clan and our status isn't high, we never lack money. Helping you out is nothing to me. After all, we're friends, aren't we?"

"Really, no need," Liang Yue still refused. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I will never buy an official position with money... I think it's unreasonable."

"Hmm?" Chen Ju was startled, a little surprised. "I thought you were a very smart person and would be flexible."

"Some things can be flexible, some cannot," Liang Yue said with firm eyes. "Even if the whole world goes with the flow, what is unreasonable is unreasonable."

"You..." Chen Ju seemed a little moved and was about to say something more when Liang Yue suddenly pressed his arm under the table, his gaze fixed on the front not far away, his eyes sharp as if he had discovered something.

Ahead.

A person with a simple appearance like an old farmer was pushing a small cart, hawking and selling: "Iced sour plum juice... cool and refreshing sour plum soup..."

Winter had just passed, and some farmers would store ice in their cellars to make iced drinks to sell in the city, which were quite popular.

At a street corner ahead, a dusty man wearing a bamboo hat stopped him. "Give me a bowl of sour plum soup."

"Alright."

The old farmer opened the ice bucket covered with thick quilts, scooped a bowl of sour plum soup for the man, took the three copper coins, and then pushed his cart towards the street corner.

After turning into a small alley, he took out a large piece of ice from the bucket and suddenly threw it into the backyard of a shop on one side.

His movements were quick, there was no one in the alley, and no one on the noisy main street noticed at all. It seemed completely undetectable.

But Liang Yue, who was watching him from afar, suddenly had a sharp glint in his eyes and let out a low shout: "Move!"

The three immediately pulled out their sabers from under the table and quickly ran towards the old farmer with the cart in the alley. Chen Ju shouted as he ran, pushing back the crowded people, "Dragon Abyss Imperial Capital Guard, everyone move aside!"

But just as they reached the center of the main street, a sudden change occurred!

The man in the bamboo hat standing at the opposite street corner, who had just bought sour plum soup, saw three burly men with sabers rushing towards him. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with fierce light, like a wild beast!

"Die!"

He roared, throwing off the bamboo hat on his head, revealing a ferocious face with a scarred cheek.

The bamboo hat flew towards the tallest Pang Chun, hitting him squarely in the chest. With a bang, the tower-like Da Chun was violently knocked flying by this blow, soaring five or six zhang away like a kite before hitting the ground heavily.

The man's sudden outburst caught the three off guard. They felt bewildered. Could this be an accomplice of the arsonist?

Regardless, his attack was merciless, and the remaining two would certainly retaliate.

Chen Ju immediately drew his saber. He was a second-realm martial artist. As soon as he raised his saber, it had the rhythm of martial arts. When he swung it, it seemed to be accompanied by divine thought, extremely sharp.

Liang Yue tacitly assisted from the side, attacking the man's lower body with a sweeping leg.

Clang!

With a crisp sound, the man caught Chen Ju's saber with his bare hands, producing a metallic sound. Then he pushed out with his right palm, and a surge of energy sent Chen Ju flying several feet away.

"Pfft—" Chen Ju spat out a mouthful of blood cleanly and flew backward, instantly severely injured. While in the air, he didn't forget to remind, "Liang Yue, be careful, he's in the Gang Qi Realm!"

The Gang Qi Realm was already the fourth realm for martial artists, with Gang Qi leaving the body, fierce and violent. They hadn't expected such a master to be hidden on this street, nor had they expected him to launch a sudden attack on the three of them.

But by the time Liang Yue heard it, it was already too late.

When his leg swept against the man's calf, it was like sweeping against an iron pillar. He felt a sharp pain in his leg bone, but the other party seemed completely unaffected.

After the man sent Chen Ju flying, he lowered his head, looking down at Liang Yue, and his palms immediately came down like two ghosts slamming a door, viciously pressing down.

Liang Yue's realm was not as high as Chen Ju's. If this palm strike landed solidly, his head would probably explode on the spot! In an instant, he felt as if he could already hear the whistling wind carrying the scent of death.

At the critical moment, Liang Yue showed no fear. Looking at the man's back, he shouted, "Attack his vital points!"

Seeing this small first-realm martial artist facing him without fear, the man momentarily thought someone was attacking him from behind. He was slightly distracted, dispersing his energy to be on guard.

Then he realized there was nothing behind him.

Was I tricked?

In the instant he was distracted, Liang Yue had no intention of counterattacking. Instead, he did a backward roll on the spot, widening the distance between himself and the man. The terrifying, suffocating sense of oppression slightly dissipated.

Seeing this, the man's anger burned even brighter. He had actually been fooled by this weakling. He was about to step forward.

Whoosh—

In the nick of time, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, a silver-white sword light, like a shooting star, arrived in an instant from the end of the long street several miles away, carrying a chilling and biting aura.

It tore through the sky!

Chirp!

The stream of light pierced through the man's tough chest in an instant, carrying him along and slamming him against the wall behind him.

By the time Liang Yue stood firm, he found that the shadow in front of him had disappeared. The man was pinned to the brick wall more than ten zhang away, his life unknown. In his chest, a pure white sword was embedded, as if forged from moonlight.

Clang, clang went the armor as a team of armored soldiers with black cloaks and sabers gathered from all directions, surrounding the unconscious man. However, not a single person stepped forward, as if waiting for something.

Soon, a figure descended, bringing with her a fragrant breeze.

This was a woman in a plain white dress, tall and slender, with clear eyes. Her eyebrows curved like smoke enveloping the moon, a slight hump on her nose, skin like congealed fat, and a jade-like face facing the wind.

She flew from a distance, floating like a fairy descending to the mortal world, and then landed with a rustle, her sleeves and skirts hanging in the air.

This stunning woman descending from the sky instantly attracted all eyes on the entire street, as if all the sunlight had converged on this one person.

Countless people forgot to breathe in that instant.

After she landed, she flipped her hand, and the flying sword in the man's chest shook off strings of blood beads, whooshing into a stream of light, and drilled back into her sleeve. Only then did she speak: "Yu Wenlong?"

The big man pinned to the wall fell to the ground with a thud, struggling to raise his head, revealing a face covered in scars and extremely ferocious. He cursed indistinctly, "Evil Extermination Bureau's lackeys, despicable southerners..."

"To sneak back to the divine capital, you even went so far as to disfigure yourself." The woman opened a portrait in her hand. It was vaguely the man's appearance, but his hair was much longer, and there were no shocking scars on his face yet.

"Ah..." The big man propped himself up with his arms and roared, "I'll fight you all—"

He was subdued by multiple people, yet he still struggled desperately, refusing to yield, revealing a ferocious appearance like a wild beast.

"Take him away!" Without the woman's command, the surrounding armored soldiers took out heavy iron chains and bound him tightly in the blink of an eye. A team of people escorted him back.

Having completed her task, the woman turned around and looked at Liang Yue, who was sitting on the ground. She walked over slowly, holding up a token at the same time: "Evil Extermination Division Walker, Wen Yifan."

Her voice was soft and clear, just like her temperament.

"Imperial Capital Guard Fukang Fang Station, Liang Yue." Liang Yue quickly stood up, his right leg stumbling, and then cupped his fists in return: "Thank you, miss, for saving me."

"So you're from the Imperial Capital Guard. No need to thank me, we're all working on the case. If you hadn't found him, our Evil Extermination Division would have almost missed a major criminal, but..." Wen Yifan's gaze lingered on Liang Yue for a moment, and she asked a question with a hint of doubt:

"How did you know he was a Nine Yang spy?"

Thanks to Teacher Shen for the Alliance Leader reward, becoming the second super luxurious Alliance Leader of this book!

Thank you, thank you.

The first day's three updates end here. Today's update time is a bit strange to cooperate with the event. Tomorrow it will change to updating at 12 noon on the 20th, and then it will always be updated at noon.

In addition, the new book currently has few words. Friends who are not interested in following the reading can check out the author's previous two books. Currently, the first book has over 40,000 average subscriptions, and the second book has over 80,000 average subscriptions. If the new book does well, I don't know if it can help this book break through 100,000 (I'm dreaming, sorry).

In short, thank you all for your support today, I will continue to work hard!