Guo Jing, Yang Kang

"If you don't want to, then forget it. I was just asking casually. In the end, that's the Zhou Battalion's business, and I wouldn't part with you anyway. Besides, if I really let you go undercover, your mother would probably come after me with a knife."

"Your promotion assessment score still needs to be reviewed after the Xuan Battalion's Fire Division gets information from the Six Gates yamen in Hongnong Commandery. Counting the days, it should be here in two or three days. At that time, the corresponding rewards will be issued along with the appointment letter for the promotion to Squad Leader. Until then, you can go and select the subordinates who will belong to your team."

"A squad has five sections. Unlike the section leaders, the section chiefs were an additional position established from above. So, you will actually have a total of fifty-five subordinates."

"According to the rules, five sections will be assigned by the higher-ups. You can choose one section yourself, and you can appoint the section chief and section leaders. However, the section chief must have been at least a section leader level before. Once decided, give me the list as soon as possible."

"Uncle Yang, I'm young and inexperienced, so what about those five sections...?" Qin Shuang glanced at Yang Yuncong. Yang Yuncong raised his eyebrows, giving him a look of understanding, as if to say, 'Just go ahead and do it with confidence.'

"Alright, thank you, Uncle Yang. I'll be going now!"

"Go ahead."

As soon as he left the main hall, Jiang Xiaoyu grinned and gave Qin Shuang a thumbs-up. "Brother Shuang is amazing! You finished your promotion mission so quickly!"

"Heh heh, just lucky. Are you free this afternoon? Come with me to recruit people."

"I knew you'd be back, so I already asked for leave. I'll accompany you this afternoon!" Jiang Xiaoyu looked like he had expected this. "However, Xiao Ding and Xiao Gao are out on a mission with their section chiefs. There are eight spots left. Who should we go find first?"

Jiang Xiaoyu naturally included himself and the other two Dragon Guards he was close with in the list of eleven people. Given their relationship with Qin Shuang, there was no need to go through the formality of inviting them.

"Guo Jing, Yang Kang!" Qin Shuang had also already defaulted to having Jiang Xiaoyu and the other two in his team, answering without hesitation.

"The Guo and Yang families are both hereditary families within the Dragon Guard. Guo Jing is relatively easy to handle, but Yang Kang is quite intelligent, skilled in martial arts, and ambitious. He's not someone who likes to be subordinate to others for long. I estimate he'll be applying for the promotion assessment soon too."

"Don't worry, as long as I get promoted faster than him, that's all that matters!" Qin Shuang said confidently.

"Brother Shuang!"

"Huh?"

"I admire that about you. You say such bold things, yet you somehow make people believe you!"

"Haha, it's because I always do what I say!"

Guo Jing and Yang Kang belonged to the Demon Division under the Dragon Guard's Yu Battalion. Today was their turn to be on duty at the imperial prison. Qin Shuang and Jiang Xiaoyu, being familiar with the place, quickly found the two on duty.

Guo Jing and Yang Kang's fathers were sworn brothers. When their wives became pregnant around the same time, they agreed that if their children were a boy and a girl, they would marry them off. If they were both boys or both girls, they would become sworn brothers.

Therefore, Guo Jing and Yang Kang had been inseparable since childhood, always together. They even learned martial arts together under the Quanzhen Sect. Guo Jing's master was Ma Yu, the Danyangzi and the foremost of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. Yang Kang's master was Qiu Chuji, the Changchunzi, ranked second among the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.

"Guo Jing, Yang Kang!" Qin Shuang greeted them enthusiastically.

"Brother Shuang, when did you get back? Weren't you on a mission for your promotion to Squad Leader?" Guo Jing asked in confusion.

"Brother Shuang." As they were all from hereditary Dragon Guard families and of similar age, Yang Kang and Qin Shuang were naturally acquainted.

"I just got back at noon and have already completed it."

"So quickly! It's only been a few days!" Guo Jing said incredulously. "Aren't you going to rest for a few days? Are you going into the imperial prison to interrogate someone?"

"I'm not that desperate. I came to the imperial prison specifically to find you two."

"Looking for us? Is something wrong?" Guo Jing looked at Yang Kang, then at Qin Shuang, with a bewildered expression.

"Brother Jing, Brother Shuang is probably here to ask us to join his team." Yang Kang reacted quickly. Qin Shuang came to find them right after submitting his promotion mission, so he must be inviting them.

"That's right. So, are you interested in joining my team?" Qin Shuang confirmed Yang Kang's guess.

"I have no problem with it, but what about Brother Kang?" Guo Jing looked at Yang Kang.

Yang Kang said seriously, "Brother Shuang, we've known each other since we were kids, so of course, I'm willing to work with you. But I don't want to deceive you. Before joining your team, I hope to make something clear."

"Okay, go ahead."

"I have my own aspirations and have been preparing to take the promotion assessment recently. If I am successfully promoted in the future, I hope you won't try to keep me."

"That's natural. Whether it's you or anyone else in the team, if you have a better opportunity, I will only bless you and will never hinder your future!" Qin Shuang had already guessed what Yang Kang was going to say and agreed immediately.

"Great, Brother Shuang. We'll tell our section leader later, and from now on, Brother Jing and I will follow you!" Yang Kang felt relieved and said with a hearty laugh.

"Yes, inform him in advance. I will handle the specific procedures. Welcome aboard! From now on, we'll be brothers united, sharp as a blade!"

"Great!"

After bidding farewell to Guo Jing and Yang Kang, Qin Shuang and Jiang Xiaoyu left the imperial prison and rushed to their next destination without delay.

"Brother Shuang, there are six more people. Who are you planning to find?" Jiang Xiaoyu asked as they traveled.

"Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling!" Qin Shuang stated his remaining targets without hesitation.

"Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling? Brother Shuang, are you kidding me?" Jiang Xiaoyu was very surprised to hear their names.

"I'm not kidding you." Qin Shuang said seriously.

"They only joined our Dragon Guard last year. Before that, they were just street thugs in Chaoge City. You had a lot of contact with them back then, so why are you choosing them?"

"It's precisely because I understand their past that I'm choosing them!"

"Little Fish, do you remember? Just two years ago, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were mere pickpockets and hoodlums with no martial arts foundation. Yet last year, they directly passed the Dragon Guard recruitment assessment!"

"You also passed the assessment to join the Dragon Guard, so you know better than anyone how difficult that assessment is. They went from knowing no martial arts to having the skills to pass the recruitment assessment in less than a year!"

"Brother Shuang, you mean they learned all their martial arts in just under a year?"

"Exactly. Moreover, at their age, their bones and bodies were already set. To achieve such a huge breakthrough, they must have encountered an incredible fortuitous encounter two years ago and obtained a great destiny!" Qin Shuang stated with certainty.

"So, Brother Shuang, you want to investigate their fortuitous encounter more closely?"