Dawn light slipped through the gaps in Eastern Hill, spilling over the mottled ancient city walls and draping them in a layer of brilliant gold, lending them an age-old charm.
In the distance, someone shouted loudly:
"Open the city gates!"
At that cry—
Those squatting by the city walls, sitting in tea stalls, and waiting at crossroads to leave the city all swiftly converged upon the gate.
They formed a long, winding line.
Shen Yi had deliberately chosen a seat at the tea stall closest to the city gate. Hearing the shout, he planted one hand on the stall's wooden railing, nimbly vaulted over it, and seized a place at the very front of the line.
"Kid, are you rushing off to reincarnate?!"
Behind him, a burly man whom Shen Yi had slipped past in a flash, cutting into the empty space before him, demanded in a rough voice.
Before the city gates, no one dared make trouble.
Not even a simple-minded brute with an axe hanging at his waist.
So Shen Yi paid no heed to the man's questioning.
He merely gave a slight nod and said:
"I'm not rushing to reincarnate, but I am in a hurry."
"Fuck, what the hell are you in a hurry for?"
"Once we're outside the city, tell your grandpa exactly what you're rushing off to do!"
Amid the burly man's stream of curses—
Shen Yi had already followed the line forward without incident.
Entering the passage beneath the city wall, he saw the city-defense soldiers standing crookedly on either side, bleary-eyed and yawning without end.
Only one slightly younger soldier stood weakly beside the line, routinely asking a few basic questions.
"What are you leaving the city for?"
"Traveling the martial world."
With his blade slung crosswise at his waist, a bamboo hat on his head, and plain cloth robes upon his body, Shen Yi answered calmly.
The young soldier gave Shen Yi a casual once-over. He looked every inch like a wandering Ronin, so the soldier asked:
"Have you committed any wicked or unlawful acts?"
Shen Yi noticed that the soldier's gaze had already passed over him and landed on the indignant brute behind him.
He understood that the soldier was merely conducting a routine inquiry.
It was only to show that he was doing his duty.
In truth, even if a vicious martial-world criminal really passed through, the soldiers would prefer that the other party toss out a few perfunctory words so they could let them through.
After all, if a conflict truly broke out—
These city guards were more likely to lose their lives.
"No."
Shen Yi gave the answer the soldier wanted.
The soldier gave an oh.
"Go on."
Shen Yi nodded faintly and strode out of the city. Behind him, the burly man anxiously waved his arms and shouted:
"You brat, don't you dare leave if you've got the guts!"
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you shouting for?!"
The young soldier leveled the spear in his hands.
Blocking the burly man, who was stamping about in agitation.
His gaze scrutinized him suspiciously. The man looked reckless and uncouth, clearly a street thug who stirred up trouble.
Someone he could handle.
"Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going?"
"Explain yourself honestly!"
The brute's fierce face flushed red, but in the end, he did not dare challenge an officer.
Suddenly—
A rumbling wave of hoofbeats came from afar down the city's main street, followed by a resounding shout that rolled over them.
"A bandit has committed murder within the city!"
"Guard the city gates strictly!"
"Thoroughly inspect all passing merchants and travelers!"
The voice was thunderously loud, jolting the several lax soldiers on either side of the gate awake. They sprang up with a bang and crossed their spears, completely blocking the brute's path out of the city.
Before long—
A string of galloping hoofbeats raced toward them.
At the front were two Black Guards clad in black robes embroidered with silver cranes, Embroidered Spring Blades at their waists. Behind them followed four constables dressed in dark robes.
One of the Black Guards drew a portrait from behind his waist. The man in it was rendered lifelike—it was Shen Yi.
"Criminal Shen Yi murdered a fellow member of the Pacification Office. He is now wanted throughout the Nine Provinces Pacification Office, with a bounty of fifty taels."
The Black Guard cut an imposing figure as he rode forward. He handed the two portraits to the young gate soldier and instructed him:
"Post one on the notice board outside the city gate."
"Keep the other in hand and compare it against every passing merchant and traveler. Do not let the criminal escape. We..." The Black Guard swept his gaze around, then pointed toward the nearest tea house. "...will wait over there. If the criminal is discovered, we will swarm him and take him down!"
"Do you understand?"
Several city-defense soldiers clustered together, craning their heads to inspect the portrait as they hurriedly replied:
"Understood, understood."
The young soldier stretched the portrait open with both hands, his brows drawing together slightly. The man in the portrait had sword-like brows and starry eyes, with a profound gaze.
As if it contained some kind of Killing Intent.
Most importantly, the man gave him a strangely familiar feeling. Suddenly, a coarse voice slashed in from the side:
"Huh? Isn't that the kid who just left the city?!"
The blocked brute took one look and immediately recognized the man in the portrait as Shen Yi, the person with whom he had just clashed.
He was actually a wanted criminal of the Pacification Office?
And he had even murdered his colleagues?
The brute's heart instantly turned cold. He had just wanted to beat the man up—looking back now, he had practically been courting death.
He was nothing more than a street thug who bullied people by throwing his weight around. The man before him was a heinous criminal who had cut down members of the Pacification Office with his blade!
How could he possibly have been a match for him...
The brute's words instantly froze the atmosphere at the scene...
Suddenly, a sharp metallic clang rang out.
A gleaming steel blade was already pressed against the brute's neck. The other Black Guard narrowed his eyes, his voice as frigid as the north wind at the winter solstice.
"Say that again."
The brute's body trembled at once. His legs went weak, and he clutched his head with both hands. That hulking body immediately dropped to its knees.
"Sir Officer!"
"Every word I said is true! When you arrived, this—this Shen Yi had just passed the checkpoint and left the city. I saw him head north along the official road!"
The large man spoke with a sobbing lilt. A man nearly nine feet tall now looked strangely aggrieved and timid. Pointing at the young gate soldier, he rattled off:
"It was him! He let the man through the checkpoint!"
The young soldier was instantly horrified. Prompted by the brute's reminder, he truly recalled the young man who had claimed he was leaving to travel the martial world.
He looked exactly like the man in the portrait.
He hurriedly waved his hands and explained to the Pacification Office officers:
"My lord, I... I didn't know..."
Splurt!
Blade light flashed through the dim city-gate passage, bringing up a spray of blood. A bone-deep wound appeared across the young soldier's chest.
Blood splashed over the portrait, staining it red.
It also sprayed directly across the brute's face.
The brute was utterly dumbfounded. A city-defense soldier had been killed on the spot before his very eyes by a Black Guard of the Pacification Office?
"Hmph!"
The Black Guard who had swung the blade spat. "Privately releasing a wanted criminal and delaying the perfect chance to capture him—his crime deserved execution!"
The other several soldiers glared furiously at the Black Guard who had acted.
Those old hands had been the ones slacking off just now, which was why Little Li had guarded the checkpoint alone. Yet Little Li had lost his life because of it!
But how could Little Li have known that Shen Yi was a wanted criminal? The Black Guards of the Pacification Office were simply inventing a charge to condemn him—they had gone too far in bullying others!
Seeing that the soldiers seemed dissatisfied, the Black Guard who had spoken earlier also drew his blade and said blandly:
"The Pacification Office answers directly to the imperial family. We may execute first and report afterward; it is a special prerogative of imperial authority. Do you have objections?!"
Under the coercion of that icy blade light—
The city-defense soldiers ultimately lost their nerve and lowered their heads.
"We wouldn't dare."
"Then why haven't you gotten out of the way?!"
"If you delay the capture of an important criminal, will your few heads be enough to answer for it?!"
The Black Guard sheathed his blade with a clang.
With a flick of the reins, his fine horse reared and neighed, charging through the crowd. The other Black Guard and the constables followed close behind.
Leaving behind a corpse, the group rode away amid rumbling hoofbeats and vanished beyond the city gates in the blink of an eye.
The Great Xia Pacification Office.
Specialized in tracking and arrests.
The two Black Guards led their men out of the city at a gallop. After racing along the official road for a while, the leading Black Guard yanked his horse to an abrupt halt, lowering his gaze in focused observation.
"That man's trail is gone."
"Perhaps he turned into the forest."
"You two..." The Black Guard pointed to the last two constables. "Go back and notify the prefectural office. That bastard left through the northern gate."
"Have our men close in from the north along every major route and encircle him."
The Black Guard turned and stared into the forest. "Ma Cheng and I will take the remaining two and follow the trail."
"If we catch up to that fellow, take him down immediately!"
The last two constables clasped their fists in acknowledgment.
They wheeled their horses around and rode back.
Before you continue