Fang Mo didn't dwell on the subject. He swung onto his horse.
The streets were crowded with people, but Fang Mo keenly noticed that the passersby looked at him differently today.
Some gazed at him with awe, others with curiosity, but most wore the pitying look reserved for a dead man.
"Have you heard? That kid on the white horse solved the Liuxi Village case last night and even slew a demon!"
"So what? I heard he offended the Blood God Temple and made the Ministry of War lose face. Commander Lei's been raising him up so high, he's just setting him up to get roasted over the fire."
Whispers wormed their way into Fang Mo's ears.
Fang Mo's expression didn't change. He even seemed to be in a good mood as he hummed a little tune.
Praising someone to death?
Lei Heng had played that hand beautifully. He'd stirred up Fang Mo's reputation, made him the target of everyone's arrows, and planned to kill with a borrowed knife.
Too bad Lei Heng didn't know that this knife was too fast and too hard.
Anyone who wanted to kill with a borrowed knife had better be ready to have their hand cut by its blade.
As soon as he reached the gate of the Punishment Department Barracks, Fang Mo pulled on the reins.
The entrance had been blocked.
A squad of soldiers in black armor, standard-issue long sabers at their waists, stood there expressionlessly. At their head was a man in a fifth-rank military uniform, one hand on his saber hilt, his sinister gaze fixed on Fang Mo and the others.
"Zhao Gang, of the Ministry of War's Military Selection Department."
The officer stepped forward without offering a salute. His voice was as hard as stone. "Junior Officer Fang, come