Duke Lu's Courtyard, Meeting the Banner Commander!

He walked out of the Lin Jiang Department.

Lin Yan quietly put away the Lin Jiang Banner and took a deep breath. "Last night's events were more complicated than I anticipated."

As he thought this, he looked back once more.

His three subordinates inside, from what he could see so far, were all decent.

He had asked Chief Clerk Yang to directly admit to the Worship of Evil Method matter because he wanted to see firsthand how these three Junior Banners would react.

If they were intimidated by the "Worship of Evil Method," they would be useless. Even if they were willing to stay in the end, they couldn't be entrusted with important tasks.

But now, it seemed these three were much more steady and reliable than he had imagined.

"That's true. If they had left with Liang Hu last night, they would have had a chance to survive. But by choosing to stay, they showed a willingness to die."

Lin Yan secretly thought, "Making a choice to face death between life and death might not be wise for these three, but their character is worth a high regard."

Thinking this, he walked towards a spot not far away, passing through an alley.

Sensing no one was watching his surroundings, he quickly changed his clothes.

He hid his saber, concealed his small crossbow, and took out another item to cover his shoe uppers.

When he emerged from the alley at the other end, he casually removed the disguise from his face, returning to being Lin Yan.

Inside the Lin Jiang Department.

The three Junior Banners were responsible for assisting Chief Clerk Yang with the aftermath of the day's affairs.

"Congratulations to the three of you for returning to the Lin Jiang Department," Chief Clerk Yang said with a smile.

"We still have to thank Chief Clerk Yang for speaking up for us in front of Fifth Master," the Middle-aged Man with a Missing Ear said, bowing.

"It's you three who are loyal and righteous, which caught Fifth Master's eye," Chief Clerk Yang said. He then added, "However, the appearance of the Worship of Evil Method is no ordinary matter. The fact that all three of you chose to stay was truly unexpected."

"Besides wielding a saber, I have no other skills to support my family," the missing-eared Zou Jin said, touching half of his ear with a smile.

"I can offer my strength," Zheng Liu said, holding his small banner, "but working at the Lin Jiang Department still brings in more silver, enough to pay for my mother's medical treatment."

"I thought it was Fifth Master's imposing presence that won you over, making you loyal and willing to follow him to your death," Chief Clerk Yang chuckled. "So it turns out you're all here for the silver."

"Chief Clerk Yang underestimates them."

Xiao Hui, sitting nearby, was wiping his saber while slowly saying, "More importantly, they stayed because they saw Fifth Master's determination to protect the Lin Jiang Ward!"

"Besides, protecting the Lin Jiang Ward means protecting their own homes."

"Of course, the silver is also very important."

"Working at the Lin Jiang Department allows them to protect their homes, earn silver, and even receive a pension if they die. Such a good job is rare in Gao Liu City these days."

After speaking, he sheathed his saber.

"They chose to risk their lives because they had no better options," Chief Clerk Yang said with a smile. "What about you, Xiao Hui? You're alone, with no family to support. With your skills, you could go anywhere. Why are you willing to stay?"

"To achieve mastery in martial arts, one needs medicinal baths. I've been looking forward to this medicinal bath for strengthening blood and forging the body."

Xiao Hui stood up, waved his hand, and walked out with the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp.

"Where are you going?"

"The Banner Bearer has given me orders to go out of the city after dawn to deliver a letter to Sophora Venerate."

"..."

Watching his retreating back, Chief Clerk Yang shook his head with a smile.

Only then did Zou Jin remove his hand from his half-ear, his expression becoming serious. "This kid, he seems to have no family or friends, but in his heart, half of the Lin Jiang Ward is his home, all his concerns."

Then, Zou Jin looked at the saber in his hand and said with a smile, "When I went home last night, I discovered a Demonic Creature had almost broken into my house... and it was pinned to the ground by a crossbow bolt."

"A crossbow bolt?" Zheng Liu asked in surprise.

"A specially made crossbow bolt from the Heavenly Supervision Department," Zou Jin slowly exhaled. "You all saw it, the Banner Bearer had a crossbow hanging from his right hip."

"Understood."

Chief Clerk Yang spread his hands and walked out.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Then Zheng Liu exhaled and continued, "So, you want to use Chief Clerk Yang's mouth to tell the Banner Bearer that we are genuinely loyal?"

"After all, we followed Liang Hu before, so there was some unpleasantness with our Fifth Master. We need to show our sincerity."

Zou Jin touched his missing half-ear and chuckled. "I assume you wouldn't want to risk your life for Fifth Master in the future but not be trusted, would you?"

The sky gradually brightened.

Inside the Lin Jiang Ward, Duke Lu's small courtyard.

Predicting that Duke Lu would already be awake, Lin Yan went to pay his respects.

However, he hadn't expected that someone else was already in the courtyard.

Commander Han of the Outer Southern Department.

"Having breakfast?"

Commander Han heard the movement, turned his head, and smiled.

The scar on his face was faintly visible in the dim light, looking somewhat fierce.

If it weren't for this scar, the Commander would still seem quite refined.

Lin Yan thought this to himself, but he walked towards the side.

Duke Lu was carrying a pot of steaming hot white porridge, walking out.

The honest-looking middle-aged man was lowering his head, adding firewood to the stove.

"You're here?"

As soon as Duke Lu spoke, his hands lightened as Lin Yan took the pot of porridge.

The old man was startled at first, then a smile appeared on his face.

But his gaze swept over and, seeing Commander Han, he couldn't help but scold, "Look at you, scoundrel! Do you have any thought of respecting the old and loving the young? Coming here to freeload food and drink, sitting around idly and being lazy, you're truly detestable, bah!"

"..."

Having been inexplicably scolded, Commander Han was full of bewilderment.

He opened his mouth, unable to speak for a moment.

Then he looked at Lin Yan, his expression gradually becoming complicated.

"Why weren't you this polite when dealing with me before?"

"Commander, you are in your prime, your martial arts are profound. This small matter doesn't require my intervention."

Lin Yan placed the porridge on the table and said calmly, "Duke Lu is old and frail. Handling these trivial matters is easy for me, and it's only right to save him some effort..."

As he said this, he pulled out a chair and invited Duke Lu to sit.

Duke Lu smiled and slowly sat down.

Commander Han suddenly raised his eyebrows, a half-smile on his face, "You always do things with a purpose. Now you're being attentive for no reason, you must have a scheme!"

"Nonsense!"

Duke Lu slammed the table, angered, "We are friends who met late in life. Do you have a right to interrupt our conversation?"

After speaking, Duke Lu patted the wooden chair beside him, signaling Lin Yan to sit.

Then he saw Lin Yan sit down and ladle porridge into a bowl.

Commander Han chuckled and was about to speak.

But he saw Lin Yan had already lowered his head and started drinking the porridge.

So he retracted his words and silently picked up his bowl.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit silent.

The sky brightened, sunlight shone down, the morning sun was ethereal.

The honest-looking middle-aged man also came out with side dishes.

But he frowned, standing by the table, looking at the three people who were silently eating porridge with their heads bowed.

"You three, can you just say what you have to say?"

This honest-looking middle-aged man felt an itch all over his body, a sense of impatience enveloping him, and he couldn't help but roar, "Why is one more patient than the other?"

"If you keep your thoughts to yourselves, my heart feels like it's being scratched."

"We all know what's going on, why play hide-and-seek?"

"Who are you trying to outdo in willpower?"

"Why pretend to be so profound?"