Martial Academy.
In the broad training ground, Wu Ming held a long spear as he sparred with Chen Gui.
Both moved with astonishing speed. After several dozen exchanges, Chen Gui drew his blade and leapt backward, panting heavily as he waved a hand. "No more, no more. In a wide-open place like this, that spear of yours is cheating."
Wu Ming smiled and lowered his spear.
Ever since he had gradually become proficient in the Falling Leaf Spear Technique, among those at First Blood Forging, even martial artists who had achieved mastery found it difficult to get past his spearwork. Chen Gui, who had once been able to completely suppress him, could no longer break through his defense at all.
In truth, Wu Ming was already holding back when he defended with his spear. If he took the initiative to attack, then even with Chen Gui's mastery-level saber technique, Chen Gui would have difficulty resisting Wu Ming's current spearwork. He was only a hair's breadth away from fully mastering it, and with perception at the subtle level, his handling of techniques was even more fluid and refined than that of ordinary mastery-level martial artists.
"Come on, come on, let's go drink."
Chen Gui pulled Wu Ming along and headed out of the Martial Academy.
The medicinal shop's medicinal tea business had been booming lately, with demand outstripping supply. Chen Gui was naturally delighted, often dragging Wu Ming to nearby taverns for drinks. Whenever Wu Ming had free time, he generally accompanied him. On one hand, he was working as a guard now anyway; on the other, there was no reason to turn down a free meal.
After leaving the Martial Academy,
They had not gone far when Wu Ming suddenly spotted a group of soldiers in official uniforms posting notices along the street.
Drawing closer, he saw scarlet words written across the notice: recently, "vicious bandits" had been appearing in the north of the city, committing crimes one after another. No fewer than dozens of innocent people had died. They were utterly vicious criminals, and the notice warned the city's residents to stay alert and take precautions, and not to go out at night.
"Things haven't seemed very peaceful in the city lately."
Wu Ming looked at the notice.
Chen Gui's expression remained unchanged as he replied calmly, "There are bandits like this every year. But after they commit crimes repeatedly, once the Cautious Punishment Division has its eye on them and they're put on wanted notices, they usually quiet down a little. The people of the Cautious Punishment Division aren't pushovers."
Wu Ming nodded slightly as well. The Cautious Punishment Division was responsible for Jingye City's public security and order, standing on equal footing with the Demon Suppression Bureau. Its selection of talent was even stricter than the Inner Hall of the Seven Martial Alliance. It held an extremely lofty position, and the City Guard Division under its command had at least several thousand troops. Once it truly acted in earnest, it could seal the city gates and conduct a full search of the entire city.
It was precisely because the Cautious Punishment Division stood guard that in an age so brimming with martial force, order could still be maintained within the city, rather than allowing martial artists from every side to run wild, fighting and scrambling for resources everywhere.
After pausing briefly, Wu Ming committed the matter of the vicious bandits to memory and followed Chen Gui away.
Jingye City's inner city.
A solemn cluster of bluestone buildings stood there.
This was the government office of the Cautious Punishment Division, one of the Two Divisions. Since Yong Country revered martial strength above all else, the Cautious Punishment Division, as a purely martial institution, wielded immense authority. It was responsible for all order within Jingye City, including the administration and governance of the tens of thousands of martial artists.
Within one quiet office courtyard, several rosewood desks stood around the room. Behind one of them sat a man in a dark-blue official robe, cross-legged as he reviewed stack after stack of documents on the desk.
Suddenly,
A figure walked in from outside.
"Have there been any leads on the case in the north of the city?"
"Yes, a few leads, but they aren't very useful. This group likely doesn't belong to any of the forces outside the city, nor are they men from the city's Thieves' Guild. They are probably just some vicious fellows who temporarily gathered together into a gang to rob homes and plunder households. I reckon that after they commit another two crimes or so and haul in enough silver, they'll divide the stolen money and scatter in all directions."
"..."
Huang Lin, the Cautious Punishment Division's chief officer seated behind the desk, turned cold-eyed. "If we let them scatter in all directions, tracking them down afterward will become troublesome. We must drag every last one of them out before they fall apart."
As the chief officer of the Cautious Punishment Division, Huang Lin held great power and influence. Usually, only several gangs of vicious bandits prowling outside the city would draw his attention. A gang of vicious bandits pieced together from merely First Blood Forging and Second Blood Forging martial artists would ordinarily never enter his sight. However, this gang had acted with exceptional brutality, slaughtering people wantonly while robbing and plundering. Dozens had been killed or injured in a single night, and the matter had thus reached his ears.
The deputy chief officer in a light-blue official robe answered in acknowledgment, then continued, "My lord, those vicious bandits are nothing but nameless rats. What concerns me more is tomorrow night's Yin Sha Yin Hour. How should we deal with it?"
"Yin Sha..."
Huang Lin revealed a contemplative expression.
Heaven and earth turned, yin and yang revolved. At intervals, a special time known as a Yin Year Yin Month Yin Day would appear. During that time, Yin Sha energy would become extraordinarily dense, often giving rise to things such as malevolent thoughts and yin ghosts.
However, such things could not last long. Once the hour of the cockcrow passed, they would naturally dissipate.
"Should we notify the entire city and order every household to remain behind closed doors?"
The deputy chief officer asked thoughtfully.
Huang Lin shook his head. "No. Do not cause panic within the city. A little Yin Sha cannot cause much destruction. If we issue a notice and everyone panics at night, causing chaos throughout the city, it may instead give malevolent ghosts and specters an opening to exploit."
When Yin Sha energy grew dense, some yin ghosts that would not normally appear would emerge to wander about. Yet in truth, those yin ghosts had little ability to harm people. So long as one's spirit was upright and one felt neither fear nor dread, even someone who was not a Blood Forging martial artist could drive ghosts and specters away with a single rebuke. If the entire city were notified and thrown into a state of panic, it might instead fuel their momentum.
"Petty demons and monsters are not worth worrying about. It is merely that several months ago, our division joined hands with the Black Sha and Mystic Jade sects to dispose of a Yin Sha evil demon. That demon's body collapsed and scattered into Evil Sha Demonic Qi. Though we destroyed ninety-nine percent of it at the time, a small portion still fled in all directions and hid deep underground. I only fear that this remnant Evil Sha Demonic Qi will seize this opportunity to emerge again and cause trouble."
The deputy chief officer spoke in a grave voice, his gaze solemn.
Hearing this, Huang Lin showed a thoughtful look. "Evil Sha Demonic Qi is indeed troublesome. Ordinary yin souls and ghostly creatures cannot even approach a Blood Forging martial artist, but the essence of this Evil Sha Demonic Qi lies between the tangible and intangible. It can invade a martial artist's body. Once it enters someone's body, it may devour their soul, drain away their Blood Qi, and turn them into nourishment for itself..."
"However, there is no need to worry too much. That day, we already destroyed its core consciousness. These shattered remnants of demonic intent can no longer amount to much. Still, to guard against accidents, we can contact the Demon Suppression Bureau. Tomorrow night, the forces of our Two Divisions will join hands and patrol the city strictly. As long as we pass the most yin hour, all will be well."
After hearing Huang Lin's words, the deputy chief officer nodded as well and said,
"My lord is absolutely right. I will head to the Demon Suppression Bureau at once and inform them of the matter."
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