Distance

"There is, actually."

Jiang Wang said, "I've been thinking of taking a trip to the Near-Sea Archipelago. I thought I'd stop by the Patrol Inspection Office and pick up a task while I was there, but I've looked around for a long time and haven't found anything suitable. I'm not sure whether I've been looking in the wrong place or whether I don't have the clearance."

He had no need to reject Zheng Shangming's goodwill. Friendship was a two-way street, and relationships were built through time spent together.

And he really had come to the Capital Patrol Inspection Office to report on his duties with the intention of taking on a task.

As the man who had killed Hai Zongming, Jiang Wang had indeed acted in self-defense, and the battle had indeed taken place outside the territories of Qi State and the Sea Fishing Tower. The Sea Fishing Tower had no grounds to openly hunt him down. Still, if he went flaunting himself around the Near-Sea Archipelago, trouble was bound to find him.

His title of Baron of Green Sheep Town naturally afforded him Qi State's protection.

A Fourth-rank Green Badge Constable carrying out official duties was even more important, and in a sense, represented Qi State's dignity.

When Hai Zongming had tried to kill Jiang Wang, he had acted in private and beyond Qi's borders. Had Jiang Wang died, Qi State would certainly have made trouble for the Sea Fishing Tower. Even as an elder with real authority, Hai Zongming would have had to pay a price. He had simply decided that the value of the Red Makeup Mirror outweighed the price of killing Jiang Wang, so he had struck without hesitation.

And if he had killed Jiang Wang without anyone knowing, the price would have been nothing at