Night Patrol, Four-Person Squad

After browsing the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion for a few rounds, Ning Xiu finally found a stall that bought miscellaneous goods.

The stall displayed many bronze wares, iron pieces, bottles, jars, ornaments, and even incomplete bone fragments.

At first glance, it gave Ning Xiu the feeling of being in Panjiayuan, a famous antique market. He immediately walked over, squatted down, and asked, "Shopkeeper, do you buy everything?"

The stall owner was a man who looked quite young, but his exact age was impossible to tell.

Seeing Ning Xiu's question, he directly replied, "We buy everything."

"Then help me take a look at this and give me an estimate," Ning Xiu said, taking out three skull-shaped darts and handing them over.

"Oh, wow!" The man took them and immediately showed an interested expression, then began to carefully examine them.

"These things must have been made by a Demon. They look very exquisite, and they're not ordinary darts either; they actually hide some harmful tricks within."

Ning Xiu asked, "How much silver are they worth?"

"I'll give you ten taels each. Don't worry, I've been doing business here for seven or eight years, and I've always been fair. I definitely won't cheat any customer."

Ning Xiu had no idea what price these three darts could fetch.

Besides, carrying them around was inconvenient, and if he lost them someday, he wouldn't even get back the ten taels he was offered.

With the thought of taking a loss, Ning Xiu nodded in agreement: "Alright, I'll sell them like this."

"Great, you're a straightforward young man. Don't worry, I'm definitely not ripping you off on this deal," the man said with a smile, handing Ning Xiu three silver ingots, each weighing ten taels.

With this, the miscellaneous items Ning Xiu had been carrying were finally cleared out, and he managed to get a good infusion of cash.

The remaining seven hundred taels for the custom puppet instantly had a source.

Ning Xiu never expected that the three-faced demon he encountered would have carried such valuable items.

If he could encounter a few more demons like that, wouldn't he be able to achieve financial freedom very soon?

"Young man, I sense a pure aura flowing faintly around you. This aura is clearly of an evil nature, yet it is exceptionally clean and pure. What treasure is it? May I take a look?"

Just as Ning Xiu took the silver ingots and was about to turn and leave, the stall owner suddenly called out to him, speaking very seriously.

"Treasure?" Ning Xiu was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized what the man was referring to.

The Six-Word Golden Bead was already damaged. After selling the pills and darts, the only item he still carried was the Ghost Tear.

This item was formed from the tears of the Resentful Yin Woman just before she was destroyed by him. According to Su Qianqian, it was a very rare and precious material that needed to be treasured.

Therefore, Ning Xiu had always carried it with him, and he never expected to be spotted by this stall owner at a glance today.

However, as the saying goes, one should not flaunt one's wealth. Ning Xiu had no intention of selling the Ghost Tear at the moment, so there was no need to let others know he possessed such a treasure.

"Shopkeeper, you jest. What treasure do I have on me? If I have anything similar next time, I'll bring it to you to sell. I'll be taking my leave now."

Seeing that Ning Xiu had no intention of showing off, the stall owner had to give up. After all, it was his choice, and he couldn't force him.

Ning Xiu's trip to the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion was a huge success.

Firstly, his initial objective had been achieved; he found a portable solution for carrying the Startling Thunder Hammer.

Secondly, he cleared out some of his unused miscellaneous items and converted them into a large sum of silver.

With his problems solved and feeling light, Ning Xiu returned to his residence at the Demon Subduing Bureau and began to wait for the night to arrive.

Due to the incident at the Spring Full Pavilion, the patrols and inspections throughout Chaotian Capital were extremely strict.

The Marquis Wuyi's mansion and the Spring Full Pavilion were two key areas under close scrutiny, with Demon Subduing Captains conducting scheduled inspections daily.

The temporary team Ning Xiu joined was tasked with patrolling the vicinity of the Spring Full Pavilion for one hour before the next team would arrive for rotation.

At the hour of Chou (1 AM to 3 AM), Ning Xiu donned his Mysterious Silver Lock Armor and carried the Startling Thunder Hammer to the meeting point Su Qianqian had told him about.

He saw that three members had already arrived: two men and one woman, all Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains.

Upon seeing Ning Xiu, they all introduced themselves.

"Liu Yong, Bronze Leopard Squad 1, Martial Dao Eighth Rank."

"Qin Ben, Bronze Leopard Squad 10, General's Path Ninth Rank."

"Li Yueying, Bronze Leopard Squad 13, Immortal Path Ninth Rank."

Ning Xiu placed the Startling Thunder Hammer on the ground and cupped his fists in greeting. "Greetings, everyone. I am Ning Xiu, Bronze Leopard Squad 6, Martial Dao... Eighth Rank."

"Brother Ning, at such a young age, you're already Martial Dao Eighth Rank. Your potential is truly not to be underestimated. If nothing unexpected happens, you'll surely be promoted to lead a Bronze Leopard squad in the future," Qin Ben said with a smile, his personality being quite straightforward.

Liu Yong, also Martial Dao Eighth Rank, looked curiously at Ning Xiu's relatively uncommon weapon.

The most common weapons in the Demon Subduing Bureau were swords and sabers, followed by spears and halberds.

Less common weapons like axes, hammers, bows, and maces were even further down the list.

Seeing a Demon Subduing Captain who wielded a hammer was even rarer than seeing a Malevolent Spirit causing trouble in Chaotian Capital.

"You are too kind. How many more members are in our temporary team? When do we officially start patrolling?" Ning Xiu asked, smiling humbly, and then changed the subject.

Li Yueying shook her head. "There are only the four of us in the team. Once you arrived, we were all here. Without further ado, let's begin."

Ning Xiu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He thought he had arrived right on time, but it turned out he was the last one to be late.

The position of squad leader for this impromptu team formation was given to the oldest member, Liu Yong.

No one had any objections to this; after all, it was just a temporary team, and no one knew when it would be disbanded.

Who became captain didn't matter to them, and not having to be captain meant they could enjoy some leisure.

Under Liu Yong's leadership, Ning Xiu and the others left the Demon Subduing Bureau and headed straight towards the area where the Spring Full Pavilion was located.

The nearest Chaotian Capital was noticeably less lively than usual. The Demon Subduing Bureau's city-wide investigation had impacted many businesses that operated at night.

"As soon as Marquis Wuyi's mansion was sealed, some of the royal relatives in the palace started getting restless, constantly petitioning His Majesty to have the Demon Subduing Bureau lift the ban on Marquis Wuyi's residence. Now we have to be vigilant against Malevolent Spirits while also strictly guarding Marquis Wuyi, which is a pointless waste of our already insufficient number of Demon Subduing Captains."

"It's claimed that Marquis Wuyi's properties harbored Malevolent Spirits, but that he had absolutely no knowledge of it. Those in charge definitely won't believe that. The only reason he hasn't been directly taken back to the Demon Subduing Bureau for interrogation is out of respect for the royal dignity of the Great Shang's thirty-six Marquises. I believe those in charge are also investigating this matter in secret; Marquis Wuyi won't be able to maintain his facade for much longer."

The night was pleasant, and the streets were quiet.

Qin Ben, perhaps feeling bored, began talking in a low voice with Li Yueying.

The two seemed to have a good relationship; otherwise, they wouldn't be discussing such gossip at a time like this.

When it came to the matter of the Spring Full Pavilion, Ning Xiu was one of the informed parties, as he was the one who had anonymously exposed it.

Without his anonymous report, no one might have discovered the hidden secrets behind the Spring Full Pavilion.

Ning Xiu, listening in, suddenly interjected, "You two, why do you think Marquis Wuyi would set up a place like the Spring Full Pavilion specifically to harbor Malevolent Spirits? What could be his objective?"

Li Yueying glanced back at him and replied, "People who fall by the wayside usually have various reasons; those who don't understand can't guess the specifics. I once saw someone whose parents were murdered and wife and daughter were humiliated. Unable to avenge them, he willingly submitted to the control of Malevolent Spirits in exchange for the power to seek revenge."

Qin Ben added, "I saw a diligent old farmer who had lived a quiet life. One day, his family's fertile land and his granddaughter were seized by a spoiled young master. In his desperation, he joined the Black Heaven Gate. After destroying the family of that wealthy landowner, he disappeared without a trace."

"They were all unfortunate souls pushed to their limits," Liu Yong, sitting at the very front, sighed. "But with Marquis Wuyi's status and position, never lacking for money or food, and as royalty of the Great Shang, possessing so many resources and enjoying such great convenience, what reason could he have for falling by the wayside and disgracing the Great Shang?"

Ning Xiu pursed his lips, unable to answer. The specific reasons were likely known only to Marquis Wuyi himself.

Suddenly, as Ning Xiu scanned his surroundings, his peripheral vision caught a fleeting figure. He quickly turned his head to look.

But in that direction, there was only silence; there was no figure to be seen.

Did I see wrong? Ning Xiu wondered, confused.

Seeing Ning Xiu stop, the other three also halted and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Just now, something seemed to pass by over there, but I didn't get a clear look, so I can't be sure," Ning Xiu said hesitantly.

Ordinary citizens wouldn't be able to move so stealthily, and if it were a Demon Subduing Officer passing by, they would definitely stop to greet them.

Besides that, the only other possibility was a Malevolent Spirit. But this was Chaotian Capital! Could Malevolent Spirits really be so brazen these days as to appear openly in Chaotian Capital?

"That direction seems to be towards the Spring Full Pavilion," Liu Yong said after a moment's thought. "Let's go take a look. We can't ignore any anomalies."

The others nodded, and they immediately headed towards the Spring Full Pavilion.

Since being cleared out by Qin Daorong and his men, the Spring Full Pavilion had become an empty building.

Seals bearing the mark of the Demon Subduing Bureau were affixed to the doors and windows, prohibiting anyone from entering. Anyone who dared to tear them down, other than a Demon Subduing Officer, would be treated as a Demon and prosecuted.

As Ning Xiu and the other three approached, they carefully inspected the seals on the doors and windows to see if there were any signs of them being torn down.

After checking the entire perimeter of the first floor, all the seals were intact and showed no signs of damage.

"That's strange, Qin Ben asked in confusion. "Are you sure you saw something move, Ning Xiu?"

Before Ning Xiu could respond, Liu Yong said directly, "Never doubt your companions. Malevolent Spirits have bizarre methods; it's normal for us to miss things. It's quite possible that what Ning Xiu saw is indeed related to the Spring Full Pavilion."

Li Yueying asked, "What do we do now?"

"Let's go inside and check again to ensure everything is normal."

Under everyone's gaze, Liu Yong directly reached out, tore off the seal, and pushed open the door of the Spring Full Pavilion.

Crack!

With a piercing, unusual sound, the dark interior of the Spring Full Pavilion came into view for Ning Xiu and the other three.

Darkness and a chilling wind immediately spread out from within.