Apprenticing at Yunzhi Temple

Fortunately, as a subordinate guard, taking leave was quite convenient.

If an Official Guard failed to show up for several days, that definitely would not do. Subordinate Guards were not part of the official ranks to begin with; they received a stipend for each day they worked. If they did not want to come in, they only had to give advance notice, and that day's pay would be deducted.

He had already taken a day off to accompany Ling Yuanbao into the cloth shop, and now he was taking another. Counting the previous days as well, Liang Yue truly had not worked many shifts this month. He might not even receive two hundred copper coins in monthly pay.

But he no longer needed to fret over that now. After all, he had a two-hundred-tael silver note tucked against his chest.

Warm and reassuring.

Early the next morning.

Miss Wen had originally said she would come find him, but when knocking sounded outside, Liang Yue went out to look and found Ling Yuanbao standing at the door instead.

"Captain Ling?" he greeted her with a smile. "What brings you here?"

Ling Yuanbao was dressed in casual clothes as well. Even in daily life, however, she did not wear women's attire. She wore a lake-blue long robe, her hair still bound up, ever valiant and spirited.

"I just went to the Fukang Ward station to find you. They said you didn't come in today, so I asked around for your home address." Ling Yuanbao smiled. "I came to reward you."

"Oh?" Liang Yue's eyes lit up.

He had been too embarrassed to bring it up before, but he had rendered such great merit and seized so much stolen silver. The Ministry of Justice would surely reward him according to his contributions.

For a time, he had even worried that Captain Ling lacked social awareness and might forget his share.

It seemed this little girl was quite sensible after all.

"Personally, I wanted to summon you straight into the Ministry of Justice as a constable, so you would not have to waste your talent in that tiny station." Ling Yuanbao said, "But after my superiors reviewed your record, they discovered that Zhen Changzhi's case had not been resolved, so they temporarily set that suggestion aside. This matter is strictly confidential, and the Ministry of Justice cannot directly have the Imperial Capital Guard promote you either... So I could only help you ask for some other reward."

"Ah." Liang Yue sighed softly.

Zhen Changzhi's case was at the Ministry of Justice. No matter how little they cared, they could not recruit someone under suspicion as a constable. That truly would have been far too careless.

Strictly speaking, Ling Yuanbao asking him to help investigate Zhen Changzhi's case had already been hard to justify. One could only say that she trusted him enough and could not be bothered with all those regulations.

But when would this case ever be concluded?

Though they had cracked the underground bank this time, that had merely been the source of his stolen silver. It should have had nothing to do with this murder case. Now, every lead in the Zhen Changzhi case had completely lost its thread to grasp.

If he could become a ninth-rank constable, his monthly pay would be four or five taels, and he would even be able to lead teams on cases. If he earned more merit or accumulated enough seniority to rise to eighth-rank constable, then in terms of rank, he would stand on equal footing with Old Hu.

Though his actual authority might not surpass that of an Imperial Capital Guard ward chief, everyone had their own specialty. He might not necessarily lose out to him.

Somewhat disappointed, he asked, "Then what is the reward?"

Ling Yuanbao took out a cloth bundle. "The supervisor's intention was to reward you with an Iron Gauze Robe, something only Blade Lifting Division elites qualify to wear. It is an artifact inscribed with defensive array patterns. But I felt that since you helped me accomplish such a great deed, that garment was truly not enough, so I paid out of my own pocket to exchange it for a Gold Gauze Robe."

She opened the bundle. Inside was a thin cloth garment, apparently an inner layer worn beneath one's clothes. Numerous golden threads were woven through it in a netlike pattern, interlacing into intricate array markings.

Liang Yue had heard of the Iron Gauze Robe before. It was said that every elite light cavalryman of the Imperial Capital Guard had one. It was a defensive item capable of withstanding the full-force strike of a Third Realm expert. It was also far lighter and thinner than armor and could be worn close to the body. The brothers at the station all envied it greatly.

As for the Gold Gauze Robe, he had never even heard of it.

"If you wear this beneath your clothes, it can withstand the full-force blow of a Fourth Realm martial artist. It is especially effective against the inner force of blades and swords. It can also ward off damage from water and fire true qi, though with some reduction in effect."

As Ling Yuanbao spoke, she was just about to hand over the garment when Liang Yue grabbed the bundle in one swift motion, all disappointment wiped from his face.

"Captain Ling, I won't say anything more." He enunciated every word. "From now on, you are my best brother... No, best sister!"

After Ling Yuanbao left, Liang Yue turned and walked back into the courtyard. Before he even had time to close the gate, he saw Mother poking her head out from her room.

"Why didn't you invite that young lady in to sit for a while?" Li Caiyun asked with a smile.

"She only came to deliver a garment for me. Once she delivered it, she left." Liang Yue explained.

"Oh my." Li Caiyun smiled again. "Back then, I delivered your father a garment, and that was how the two of us got together."

"Mother, don't read too much into it." Liang Yue said helplessly. "This is a reward for helping her solve a case."

"I know. Back then, I also said it was a reward for helping our family drive away thugs." Li Caiyun's eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Anyway, it's not what you think." Liang Yue said. "She is a constable from the Ministry of Justice, several ranks above me. It's impossible."

"How is it impossible? Just work harder. A girl as lovely as that will be hard to find again if you let her slip away..." Before she could finish, her words abruptly stopped.

A figure appeared outside the door, dressed in white robes with fluttering sleeves, carrying the faint air of a beauty capable of toppling a city.

"Miss Wen, you're here!" Liang Yue called out, then said to Li Caiyun, "Mother, I'm heading out first!"

As he spoke with Miss Wen, he closed the door from outside.

Li Caiyun stood dazed by the window for a while before murmuring to herself, "Great heavens, did I just see a fairy?"

"If my Little Yue could marry a wife like that..." After indulging in the fantasy for a moment, she suddenly shook her head. "No, he is not worthy of her."

Li Caiyun, who had always viewed her own son through an endless halo, finally lost confidence on this ordinary morning.

"Martial Uncle Wang lives at Yunzhi Temple on Apricot Blossom Mountain, seven or eight li southwest of Dragon Abyss City. It is not too far from your home."

"That sounds good."

"If you truly become his disciple in the future, you may learn his skills, but you must still have your own judgment about other things... Especially remember what you are like now."

"Hm? What am I like now?"

"Filled with righteous energy, open and upright."

"Huh?"

Wen Yifan and Liang Yue walked side by side, chatting lightly now and then. Yet the more they spoke, the stranger Liang Yue found it.

Just how worrying did this master's character have to be for Miss Wen to fear that he would lead Liang Yue astray?

That was truly frightening.

And so they made their way out through the city gate.

Qi Refiners could not fly as they pleased within the city, but once outside, there was no such rule. Wen Yifan raised two fingers, and a scroll of clear wind wrapped around the two of them, lifting them from the ground with a whoosh.

"Whoa." Liang Yue could not help crying out as his feet left the ground.

But he adapted quickly. Though a Qi Refiner's method of riding the wind looked elusive and drifting, it was actually very steady. It felt somewhat as though a giant hand were holding him in its palm.

Before long, they had arrived at Apricot Blossom Mountain.

The mountain had earned its name because its summit was covered in colorful apricot blossoms. It was now the flowering season. From afar, petals flew like rain, luxuriant and flourishing.

A small Daoist temple stood halfway up the mountain, with green tiles and white walls, simple, clean, and elegant.

There seemed to be another building atop the mountain, half-hidden among the flowering woods, its full appearance impossible to make out.

The two landed outside the temple, only to find its gates tightly shut, with not a sound coming from within.

"Eh?" Wen Yifan murmured in puzzlement. "I already informed Martial Uncle Wang beforehand."

Just as they were wondering, the two doors suddenly opened from within with a creak, as though they possessed spirits.

Once the doors opened, they revealed a Small Courtyard inside. In the courtyard stood an empty round incense burner, and directly ahead was the main hall. A statue of Saint Zhuang Ancestor was enshrined within, while beneath the offering table sat a rather straight-backed figure.

Slightly puzzled, Wen Yifan led Liang Yue inside.

As the two stepped in, a long, melodious chant drifted from the main hall.

"Beyond worldly things, mist and rosy clouds are my companions; within the gourd, sun and moon may shine as they please.

"When merit is complete, where shall I return? I shall drive a cloud carriage straight into the celestial grotto—"

Amid the curling green smoke before the hall, a man dressed in a dark blue Daoist robe slowly turned around. He had a bronze complexion, lean cheeks, bright and clear brows and eyes, two splayed moustaches, and a small tuft of beard beneath his chin. His gaze was gentle and smiling.

He was a middle-aged Daoist who looked as though a clear breeze lingered in his heart.

This master looked rather impressive, Liang Yue thought. Though he was not that old, at a glance he had the immortal bearing and Daoist bones of a middle-aged sage.

He looked quite reliable.

That was Liang Yue's first impression of him.

"Not bad." The middle-aged Daoist across from him nodded slightly as well. "The young man is quite handsome, fitting Yunzhi Temple's long-standing tradition."

"Shouyi Zhenren, you've opened the gate. Where do we go to collect our eggs?" A voice suddenly came from behind.

Only when Liang Yue turned around did he realize that the ones who had opened the gate from inside were two elderly women who looked to be sixty or seventy. Their faces were aged, and both were somewhat hunched over. One stood on each side, now asking from the steps.

"Oh, what are you in such a hurry for?" The middle-aged Daoist looked somewhat displeased. "Didn't I tell you to hide behind the door for a while?"

"If we don't ask, what if you welch on your debt like last time?" the other elderly woman said.

"Fine, fine, fine." The middle-aged Daoist hurriedly waved a hand. "Go take them from the back kitchen yourselves. Five each, and do not take extra!"

Only then did the two elderly women leave in satisfaction.

The middle-aged Daoist turned back around with an awkward smile. "The temple acolyte has fallen ill recently, so I temporarily hired two attendants. Please do not mind them."

He flicked his whisk and laid it across the crook of his arm, then said leisurely, "This poor Daoist is Shouyi. My secular name is Wang Rulin."

Good morning.