The two Demon Suppression Guards had finally finished calming the people.
They made their way to the stone lions by the ward gate, then dropped onto the steps, utterly spent.
The young Demon Suppression Guard untied the waterskin at his waist, gulped down two mouthfuls, then handed it to Old Li. "Brother Li, those bigwigs up there are something else. Can't they practice out in some wilderness beyond the city? Why do they have to make a racket in Chang'an City in the middle of the night? They're making us suffer for it."
Old Li took the waterskin and shot him an annoyed look. "What the hell do you know?"
He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I heard Her Highness the Grand Princess returned to the capital this evening... That bunch of officials can't deduce a ball of lightning magic. This commotion was probably caused by that ancestor herself."
The young man shrank his neck in alarm.
By now, Her Highness the Grand Princess's fearsome reputation had thundered through the ranks of the Demon Suppression Bureau.
"Enough, enough. Quit poking your nose into things."
Old Li stood up and brushed the dust off his backside. "Our shift's over. Hurry back to the bureau and report in. I still have to get home and hold my wife while I sleep."
But then.
No sooner had the words left his mouth—
RUMBLE—!!!
Another earth-shaking boom rolled over from the direction of the Imperial City.
The commoners had just crawled back into bed, before the blankets had even warmed up.
They felt the bedboards jolt beneath them, hurling them into the air.
Only after they landed in a heap did they come back to their senses, dazed and bewildered.
The ward erupted into chaos once more.
This time, even the people who