Constable

Li Jing'an narrowed his eyes and stared at Chu Ning, his thoughts racing.

"This kid... Is he a born monster, or is there some other secret?"

He slowly exhaled, his expression complicated as he looked at Chu Ning. In a deep voice, he said, "I've taught you the martial art. So? Can you be a constable?"

The corners of Chu Ning's lips lifted slightly. He cupped his hands in an easy manner and said, "Of course I can. But... since you've already taught me, why not give me pointers on a few more simple moves?"

"A few more moves?" Li Jing'an's mouth twitched violently, and his expression immediately turned stormy.

He recalled the martial art he had painstakingly trained for a year to master. Yet the kid before him had merely gestured through it a few times before practicing it to a level even purer than his own had been back then.

A few more moves?

If he taught him a few more moves, wouldn't he just be making himself uncomfortable?

Li Jing'an's expression darkened. With a cold snort, he flung his sleeve, turned, and walked away. "Teach your ass! Take the job or don't."

Chu Ning was slightly stunned. Seeing him storm off, he hurried after him and said with a smile, "Hey, hey, hey, don't be angry, don't be angry. I'll be a constable, all right?"

Li Jing'an halted and cast him a cold glance. He muttered, "What nonsense. You've already learned the martial art. Are you trying to go back on your word?"

Chu Ning shrugged, the smile at his lips deepening. "I just wanted to learn a little more, so I'd have a better chance of solving cases."

The morning mist had yet to disperse, and frost glazed the bluestone pavement.

Chu Ning stood before the county yamen with a saber at his waist, the dark constable's uniform making his features look even colder and sterner.

The copper bell at the eaves swayed lightly, startling a cold crow pecking at scraps.

"Keep your waist token secure."

Li Jing'an tossed over a Black Iron token, its pattern coiling like a snake. "From today onward, you're a Black Snake Guard of the Qingyang Constabulary Camp."

The token was icy in Chu Ning's hand. His fingertip brushed over the raised snake pattern.

"On my first day as a constable, what should I learn?" Chu Ning smiled faintly, his tone calm.

"Adapt first." The corners of Li Jing'an's lips rose slightly. "You'll stay by my side and see how the county yamen operates. While we're at it... I'll take you on patrol."

Li Jing'an led Chu Ning forward at an unhurried pace. Along the way, people would occasionally cast him reverent looks. Some shopkeepers even pushed a few foods on their stalls farther back when he passed, seemingly afraid of provoking something they should not.

Chu Ning noticed this, and something stirred faintly in his heart.

In this world, when the weak encountered the strong and commoners faced the powerful, it was like sheep seeing a fierce tiger: all they had was instinctive fear and retreat.

He, too, had once been one of them, exploited by loan sharks and living amid barrenness and fear. Back then, when he saw the strong, he could only lower his head, terrified that one wrong look would earn him a whipping.

He remembered those days when he had been driven to the brink. He remembered the hunger, the pain, and the dignity trampled beneath merciless feet.

Now, he had also become one of the powerful in the eyes of the weak, but that bone-deep sense of helplessness had never faded.

He lowered his head and glanced at his waist token, slowly tightening his grip.

"As a constable, you need to know this city well."

Li Jing'an suddenly spoke.

"Know its layout, know its people, and know its dark side."

"Otherwise, how can you become a qualified constable?"

Chu Ning nodded silently.

He knew that Li Jing'an was teaching him how to adapt to his identity as a constable.

The two of them walked one behind the other, gradually entering the other end of the county city.

This place was no longer as prosperous as the city center. The streets were narrow, the houses low, and the air thick with a damp, rotten odor.

Li Jing'an did not stop. He walked slowly into the alley, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings as if searching for something.

"Chu Ning."

"Do you know the true face of this city?"

Chu Ning looked at the dilapidated houses before him, his eyes flickering slightly.

"The gap between rich and poor?" he said indifferently.

Li Jing'an smiled faintly, his gaze profound. "It's not just the gap between rich and poor."

"There's real 'business' here."

"What business?" Chu Ning's gaze sank slightly.

"Come with me."

He pushed open a dilapidated wooden door, and Chu Ning followed close behind.

Beyond the door was a dim alley.

The air carried a faint scent of blood.

"The Black Snake Guard specializes in investigating cases of martial artists causing trouble." Li Jing'an turned and stepped into the ruined courtyard, his black boots crushing the thin frost. "Your first assignment is to solve the extermination of the grain merchant's household in the Western Market."

A charred door panel leaned crookedly against the wall. The plaque above the door, engraved with "Virtue Carries All Things," had split into three pieces.

Chu Ning's eyes shifted slightly. Three days ago, seventeen members of the Zhao Grain Shop had died overnight. Their corpses had all turned bluish-purple. The coroner could not detect any poison. It looked instead as though someone had forcibly drained their qi and blood.

Li Jing'an kicked open half a cabinet. Dark-red particles were mixed among the moldy grains. He picked up one and sniffed it, his expression growing grim.

"Crimson Blood Sand, the main ingredient for refining Blood Pills."

At those words, a scene flashed through Chu Ning's mind.

Half a month ago, when he had traded at Shen's Leather Shop, Shen Yan had worn a gilded sachet at his waist. Chu Ning had not paid attention to it at the time, but the bloody scent from that instant had been remarkably similar to the smell of Crimson Blood Sand.

His brows drew together. He was just about to speak when Li Jing'an suddenly stopped.

As they passed through the corridor, a filthy, disheveled old beggar crouched in the shadows of a pillar. Half a moldy steamed cake lay in his broken bowl.

Li Jing'an bent down and held out a piece of broken silver in his palm.

"Three days ago, what did you see here?"

The old beggar's murky eyes suddenly bulged. His withered claws dug desperately into the bluestone, as if struggling free from some nightmare.

"A ghost... A ghost with a green face and fangs!" His voice was hoarse and trembling, filled with bone-deep terror. "It... it was crouched on Shopkeeper Zhao's back... sucking... sucking his blood..."

Before he could finish, the veins in his neck suddenly bulged. Inky-black blood gushed from his seven orifices.

Chu Ning's eyes sharpened. His Rusty Saber slid three inches from its sheath, thunder patterns surging darkly within.

But Li Jing'an firmly pressed down on his wrist and reached two fingers toward the old beggar's brow, his tone cold and merciless.

"Soul Seizing Technique."

A wisp of sinister baleful energy, black as night, shot from the corpse's crown. In an instant, it transformed into a hideous ghost face, its fangs stark and vicious, lunging straight at Li Jing'an's face.

Li Jing'an flicked a finger. The black energy, as if scorched by the blazing sun, let out a shrill scream and vanished into the morning light in the blink of an eye.

He shook the ashes from his fingertip, his gaze deep and shadowy.

"The handiwork of the Blood Refining Hall."

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes. "The Blood Refining Hall?"

"They extract the qi and blood of living people to refine Blood Pills." Li Jing'an's tone was cold, as though merely stating the most ordinary fact.

"What are Blood Pills used for?" Chu Ning pressed.

"Blood Pills can help them break through in cultivation, but..." Li Jing'an paused, his gaze turning somber. "I think their function goes far beyond that."

Chu Ning slowly clenched his fist, his voice low. "The authorities don't intervene?"

"The authorities?" Li Jing'an sneered, his tone full of disdain. "As long as it doesn't affect their rule or their salaries, why would they block someone else's path to profit? Besides, some people... are the umbrellas protecting them."

Chu Ning's heart sank.

"The wealthy and powerful all have Ranked Martial Artists protecting them. The poor are the only ones who don't. And in this world, the poor make up the overwhelming majority." Li Jing'an spoke slowly.

"So they can not only exploit the poor of their money, but also drain their qi and blood to help themselves break through in cultivation."

Chu Ning fell silent, his fingertips turning faintly white.

Why were there so many people in this world living in abject poverty?

He remembered the helplessness of his elder sister when debt collectors had hounded him over loan sharks. He remembered the despair of a home with bare walls. He remembered being whipped until he rolled through the snow on that bitter winter night.

The person he had once been was nothing more than livestock waiting to be butchered.

Today, relying on the Chaos Divine Order to draw upon his future, he held a saber in hand and had finally stood on the other side.

But this was still far from enough.

The wind poured through the corridor, carrying a faint scent of blood.

His gaze turned cold. He had to repay the price of the second stage of Thunderclap Saber Art as soon as possible, then find Li Jing'an to learn another martial art.