"I've just passed the Squad Leader promotion assessment and am putting my own team together. How about joining me?" Qin Shuang took the opportunity to invite him.
"Sure!" Heng Feijing agreed without hesitation.
"Then I'll see you in a few days." Seeing Heng Feijing accept so readily, Qin Shuang felt pleased, though he did not show it much on his face.
Just then, Jiang Xiaoyu had already picked up Tiger Break and handed it back to Heng Feijing, who accepted it and said only one word again: "Sure."
"Where are we going next?" After seeing that Heng Feijing had been successfully recruited, Jiang Xiaoyu asked Qin Shuang.
"Do you have anyone else suitable to recommend?"
"Not for now." Jiang Xiaoyu shook his head.
"In any case, there aren't any suitable candidates at the moment. Let's first go to the Flood Unit's Iron Department and claim a new set of blades!" Qin Shuang pondered briefly before deciding where to go.
The Flood Unit's Iron Department was responsible for forging the Dragon Guard's weapons and armor. Its most important task was creating the Dragon Guard's signature weapon—the standard paired blades!
As their positions rose, the quality of the Dragon Guard's standard paired blades improved as well. Qin Shuang had just passed the Squad Leader promotion assessment, so he was eligible to claim the standard paired blades assigned to a Squad Leader.
The Flood Unit's Iron Department stood right beside the Dragon Guard Yamen. It had its own forging area, testing grounds, weapon repository, offices, and dormitories. After Qin Shuang and Jiang Xiaoyu presented their identity tokens and explained their purpose, a colleague led them to the weapon repository.
Weapon racks were filled with pairs of long and short blades of similar design. The long blades were three feet seven inches long, while the short blades were two feet one inch. Both the hilts and scabbards were black.
The difference lay in their grades. Ordinary Dragon Guards used the Yong'an Blade and Changning Blade, whose blades were made of snow-white refined steel. Squad Leaders used the Inlaid Gold and Jade-Adorned pair, whose blades were made of black iron cold steel and whose hilts were carved brass. Section Leaders used the Mountain Cutter and River Severer pair, also made of black iron, with snowflake-shaped edges. Squad Leaders used the Sorrow Dispeller and Hatred Severer pair, whose blades were dark gold and whose edges were serrated. Garrison Generals used the State Stabilizer and Barbarians Breaker pair, whose blades were pitch-black and adorned with silver patterns of mountains and rivers. Military Marquises used the Duty Settler and Obstacle Breaker pair, whose blades were snow-white and streaked with golden sunlight.
For commanders at the Military Sima level and above, their weapons were bestowed by the emperor to display imperial grace. It was also one of the royal family's methods of winning people's loyalty.
Qin Shuang took down the Sorrow Dispeller and swung it through the air a few times. It felt perfectly comfortable in both weight and length, and delight filled his heart.
Qin Shuang then took down the Hatred Severer and said to the colleague who had guided them, "I'll take the blades with me. Please register them."
The guide looked no more than twenty years old. He was tall and powerfully built, with dark skin and sharply defined, resolute features, like a statue. His deep, shadowy eyes were as cold as ice, and his entire bearing was rugged, unrestrained, and forged of iron.
"Sorrow Dispeller and Hatred Severer? Please show me your Squad Leader token." Seeing that Qin Shuang was even younger than himself, the guide could not help but grow suspicious.
"I'm from the Yu Unit's Divine Department. I've just completed the Squad Leader promotion assessment, and my identity token hasn't been issued yet." Qin Shuang knew the rules and explained, "My blades were damaged during martial practice just now, so I came to claim replacements early."
"That makes things difficult. I'm only an ordinary blacksmith and can't make this decision. Do either of you know anyone in the Flood Unit? Have them help communicate with my superior and see whether they can vouch for your identity."
"We don't know anyone. Can't you make an exception? At most three—four days from now, my identity token will be issued along with my appointment document."
"Then I'm sorry, but according to our Iron Department's rules, I can't give you the paired blades early until your identity has been verified. If you truly need weapons urgently, you can take the Yong'an Blade and Changning Blade for now. Leave me an address, and four days later I'll have the Sorrow Dispeller and Hatred Severer delivered to you." The guide spoke politely, but he stood firm on his principles and did not yield at all.
"All right. I won't make things difficult for you. I'll come back in a few days. In any case, this place isn't far from the yamen." Qin Shuang was helpless, but he knew that the rules were the rules.
"Wait!" Just as Qin Shuang and Jiang Xiaoyu turned to leave, the guide suddenly called out to them.
"Is something wrong?" This time, Qin Shuang was the one who felt puzzled.
"I heard that after being promoted to Squad Leader, you can recruit a ten-man squad of your own. Is your team full yet?"
"That's right, we do have that rule, and I haven't filled my team yet." Qin Shuang's thoughts turned, and he vaguely guessed what the man before him had in mind. "You want to join?"
The guide drew a deep breath, as though he had made up his mind. "My name is Huai Mie. I've studied forging and martial arts under my master since childhood, and I've officially been part of the Dragon Guard for five years. I've always followed my master in the Flood Unit's Iron Department. I hope to join your team and venture into the outside world!"
"You want to come to the Yu Unit's Divine Department? Do you know what we do?" Qin Shuang curiously sized up the man named Huai Mie.
"I do. Our primary duties are inspection, arrests, interrogation, and handling cases."
"So, what advantage do you think you have that would make me choose you instead of one of our original colleagues in the Divine Department?"
"I'm confident in my courage and resourcefulness, and my martial skills are no weaker than those of my peers. I can absolutely fulfill the Divine Department's duties. Most importantly, if you choose me, I will be loyal to you!" Huai Mie declared with complete conviction.
"Interesting!" Qin Shuang's heart stirred when he heard the second half of Huai Mie's answer. "May I test your martial skills?"
"Of course. The weapon testing grounds are spacious and convenient for displaying one's skills." Huai Mie understood Qin Shuang's caution and agreed immediately.
"No need. Here will do!" Qin Shuang smiled faintly. He was not planning to engage in a full-scale battle.
"Brother Shuang, watching you fight Heng Feijing just now made my hands itch. Let me stretch my limbs this time!" Jiang Xiaoyu stepped in front of Qin Shuang and volunteered.
"All right!" Qin Shuang naturally knew that Little Fish was worried he had not recovered from the exhaustion of his previous battle, so he did not refuse his good intentions.
"Hello. I'm Jiang Xiaoyu of the Yu Unit's Divine Department. Shall we fight barehanded or with weapons?" Jiang Xiaoyu introduced himself first, then asked.
"Barehanded!" Huai Mie said as he assumed a stance, his expression cautious.
Although Jiang Xiaoyu was young, Huai Mie did not take him lightly in the slightest. This battle was not about victory or defeat but about displaying his strength, which left no room for even the slightest carelessness.
The Jiang family's ancestral martial art was the Five Absolute Divine Arts. The Jiang family's forebears had gathered the finest aspects of the martial arts of every sect and school under Heaven, combined their strengths, and then paid a tremendous price to have such figures as Ouyang Ting, the Five Absolutes of Heaven and Earth, and others of their generation refine them. In the end, they had created a school of their own. It recorded the most secret and essential techniques of every sect and school. Not only did it allow the user to execute them to perfection, but every move could also change, incorporating the essence of other schools. Most importantly, its transitions between the different forms of attack were extraordinarily subtle and natural, without the slightest stiffness or awkwardness. To an observer, it seemed as though all these martial arts had originally been parts of one complete technique.
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