Patrol Team

Two stone locks, one on the left and one on the right, whistled through the air with a dull thud as they hurtled toward Su Yuan's head and face.

Su Yuan's brows furrowed slightly; he neither caught nor blocked them, instead retreating with a swift movement that carried him straight out of the tent.

The two stone locks slammed into the ground with a boom, sending dust billowing into the air.

Only then did Su Yuan step forward to weigh the stone locks.

These locks were quite heavy; he lifted one in each hand and hefted them up and down a few times.

"You—you can actually lift Captain Wei's stone locks so easily? Each one... weighs at least six hundred catties!" Lu Ning stared, dumbfounded.

Are they that heavy?

Su Yuan quickly set them down, thinking to himself that he shouldn't reveal his true strength.

Wei Xian strode out of the tent at this moment, his eyes flashing with a sharp light as he took in the scene: "Reaction and strength are both top-tier. Your Three-Blood Realm cultivation is quite solid."

What he didn't point out was that to lift such weight with such ease meant the strength in Su Yuan's arms was well over a thousand catties, placing him at the peak of the Three-Blood Realm—no less than he himself had been at that age.

A pity, he was only of inferior bone-root quality.

His father was City Lord Wei, and he had learned the details of Su Yuan's condition from him.

The conclusion was that unless the bone-root could be improved, even with a Break Strength Pill, reaching the Savage Strength realm was essentially hopeless.

And they remained deeply skeptical of the Blood Bone Pill.

Su Yuan breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Still, if he hadn't dodged in time just now, he might have been flattened into a meat patty.

It was clearly the other party who had invited him into the army, yet they had resorted to such petty provocations.

He would remember this.

After some negotiation, Su Yuan received his monthly salary of thirty taels of silver and took command of a ten-man patrol squad, directly under Wei Xian's jurisdiction, tasked specifically with pursuit and patrol duties in the South City area.

This small squad consisted entirely of martial artists, and their strength was quite impressive.

South City Patrol Station.

This was the gathering place for the South City patrol squads, garrisoned by Savage Strength martial artists and dozens of Blood Condensing martial artists.

Eighth Patrol Squad.

When Wei Che heard the news, it was as if he had been struck by lightning.

He had gone to great lengths to beg his cousin, Wei Xian, for this lucrative patrol position, and before his seat had even warmed, he was being replaced by a Jing person.

So what if he was a champion?

The Fierce Horse Army was an army of the Liang People; how could they allow a Jing person to throw his weight around?

The more Wei Che thought about it, the angrier he became, and he rose to find his cousin to argue the matter.

Just as he stepped out of his room, he collided head-on with someone.

Seeing someone rushing toward him, Su Yuan sank his shoulders slightly and lightly flicked the man away.

Caught off guard, Wei Che stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Captain Wei!" The few martial artists nearby hurried forward to help him up.

Su Yuan scanned them; this entire squad was composed of Liang People.

He took out his token and said in a flat tone, "From today on, I am the captain of the Eighth Patrol Squad, and you shall serve as the deputy captain."

"I refuse! You are a mere Jing person, by what right do you command us Liang People? The rules of the army state that when both are in the Three-Blood Realm, rank is decided by the fist! Do you dare to compete with me?" Wei Che scrambled up and roared.

Lu Ning, who had followed him, whispered a warning: "Brother Wei, you are no match for him."

"Lu Ning, stop boosting his morale! How could I lose to an inferior bone-root who only got this far by stuffing himself with pills?" Wei Che had his own calculations; if he could step on Su Yuan to make a name for himself, his prestige in the army would surely skyrocket.

"Su Yuan, do you dare to fight?"

Su Yuan shook his head: "How boring. Don't waste my time. If you aren't convinced, just come at me all together."

"Fine! You said it yourself, don't you dare—" Before Wei Che could finish his sentence, a shadow flickered before his eyes.

Su Yuan had already closed the distance, his hand lashing out in a palm strike as fast as lightning.

A sharp pain flared on Wei Che's cheek, and he was sent spinning to the ground by the force of the blow.

"Captain!" Seeing this, the other nine men rushed forward.

Su Yuan moved with fluid grace, his palms flying, striking, pressing, brushing, and vibrating.

In the span of a single breath, all ten men in the tent were lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Too weak." Su Yuan withdrew his hands, his tone indifferent.

Wei Che clutched his face, blood streaming from his nose, both shocked and furious: "You dared to launch a sneak attack! And you hit my face! Do you know who my cousin is? It's Captain Wei Xian! My uncle is the City Lord!"

Eh?

Su Yuan hadn't known about his connection to Wei Xian.

But knowing it didn't matter; he would let him make a scene, as it would be the perfect excuse to leave the patrol squad.

His gaze was cold and clear, waiting silently for the other to flare up.

Wei Che felt the sting of that look, and his arrogance faltered.

He suddenly recalled that this transfer had been arranged by his cousin; if he caused a scene, he would be the one to suffer, and after seeing Su Yuan's skills just now, he knew he was no match for him.

Military discipline was strict, and he could not act lawlessly.

After shouting a few times, he eventually shut his mouth in embarrassment.

The atmosphere fell into a sudden silence.

Gu Yi suddenly stood up, took a few pieces of silver from his robes, and offered them: "Congratulations on your appointment, Captain Su. A small token of my sincerity, please do not take offense."

Su Yuan was slightly surprised, taking the silver: "You are sensible. From today on, you are also a vice-captain."

"Thank you, Captain Su!"

Seeing this, the others followed suit, and before long, Su Yuan had collected thirty taels of congratulatory silver.

The perks of this patrol squad were indeed substantial.

"Form up, patrol the streets," Su Yuan ordered.

This squad of martial artists was primarily tasked with dealing with the harassment of rebels.

Although the resistance from some time ago had been suppressed, the activities of the Great Jing rebels had become even more frequent, specifically hunting down isolated Liang People and causing widespread panic.

Facing the Great Liang's policy of appeasement, rumors were also spreading that the Great Jing army marching north had already recaptured several cities.

The situation looked promising, encouraging the people of Ji City to hold on.

Patrolling once or twice a day was enough; the military did not require him to meet any performance quotas. He was merely holding a nominal post and remained a member of the Chai Family, so the conditions were relaxed.

Su Yuan only wanted to go through the motions before returning home to practice his arts.

He led the group back to Fengxing Street.

He wore only a simple black martial outfit, while those behind him were fully armored, their helmets particularly conspicuous, as if they feared others would not know they were Liang People.

As they walked through the market, the vendors on both sides bowed and greeted them, calling out "Lord Liang" at every turn.

Su Yuan sighed; after all this circling, he had returned to this place once again.

Passing by a steamed bun shop, Wei Che and his men grabbed a few buns, chewing as they said, "Just enough to fill the gaps."

The shopkeeper saw them taking his buns so casually but did not get angry, instead fawning, "Greetings, Lords Liang."

Lifting his eyes to catch sight of Su Yuan in the lead, he was startled for a moment, then broke into an even more obsequious smile: "Greetings, Lord Su!"

He hurriedly wrapped up a few steaming buns and handed them over.

Su Yuan took them.

The buns had thin skins and generous fillings; the steam from the freshly made buns carried the fragrance of flour and fresh meat. Taking a bite, the juices were rich, the meat filling was firm and springy, and the scallions added a fresh flavor—it was truly an authentic taste.

He finished slowly and wiped his mouth: "Pay for them."

"Pay?" Wei Che was stunned, licking the oil from his lips. "Is Captain Su joking? Do we need to pay for a few buns?"

"Yes, yes! It is our honor that you Lords would grace us with your presence, how could we take your money!" the shopkeeper hurriedly apologized with a smile.

"I told you to pay. This meal is on you." Su Yuan reached out and placed a hand on Wei Che's shoulder, using the moment to wipe the grease from his fingers.

The heavy force coming from his shoulder turned Wei Che's face pale, and he had to reach into his robes, fumbling for a long time, only to find not a single coin.

"Captain Su, I never carry money when I go out," he said with a bitter smile.

Su Yuan glanced at him, took a piece of silver from his own robes, and tossed it to the shopkeeper: "Keep the change."

He then led the squad away, lest the men try to eat for free again.

The shopkeeper clutched the silver, watching Su Yuan's retreating back, and muttered: "Lord Su is truly formidable; even the Lords Liang dare not act recklessly in front of him."

"Indeed, I have never seen Liang People following behind one of our Jing People before. Our Jing People can finally be high officials too."

"But Lord Su is hardly a Jing Person anymore; he holds a first-class Liang registration..."

Hearing this, the people around them also began to whisper: "You had better think carefully—have you ever spoken ill of Lord Su in the past? If so, hurry and prepare a gift to apologize."

Those who had once gossiped about Su Yuan behind his back now turned pale, filled with fear.

They all remembered that a group of people had previously been dragged to the Void Cloud Horse Ranch for wagging their tongues about Su Yuan.

Now that Su Yuan's influence was even greater, if he found out about their old grudges, they might be raided and executed on the spot!

Su Yuan returned to his old residence and made his stance clear to the men: "I have no interest in this captaincy. You two vice-captains may handle the daily duties and responsibilities. From now on, you can manage the patrol affairs yourselves. There is only one rule: you must act according to regulations and not harass the common people. The superiors have ordered us to treat the people with kindness; cruel and violent searches are strictly forbidden."

"Yes, we will strictly follow Captain Su's orders!" The men bowed and promised.

After Su Yuan left, the group continued to act together on the surface, but behind the scenes, the squad gradually split into two factions: one led by Wei Che, the other by Gu Yi.

Wei Che sneered: "Those few buns earlier weren't enough to satisfy me. Let's go back and have some more."

Returning to the morning market, they saw many vendors approaching them with various packages.

"Lords Liang, why didn't Lord Su come with you?"

"If you have matters to discuss, tell me, and I shall relay them to Captain Su," Wei Che said, hands clasped behind his back.

Even though Su Yuan had delegated authority to his two vice-captains, he still regarded himself as the boss.

"Captain Su has just taken office, so we have prepared some modest gifts as a token of our respect..."

"I see. I will accept them on behalf of Captain Su." Wei Che refused nothing, tucking everything away into his robes.

Returning to a secluded spot to tally the gains, the tributes from several streets actually amounted to fifty taels.

Wei Che did not swallow it all for himself this time; instead, he divided the silver equally among the others, leaving out only Su Yuan's share.

"Wei Che, what is the meaning of this?" Gu Yi frowned.

"Oh, Gu Yi, Gu Yi, why do you still not understand? Su Yuan has made it clear he has no interest in such ill-gotten gains; he wouldn't even let us take advantage of the bun shop. If we cut off this source of income too, how are we supposed to cover the costs of martial arts training on that meager salary? How are we supposed to live?" Wei Che scoffed.

As he spoke, he even pushed his own share toward Gu Yi.

Gu Yi accepted it in silence and sighed, "Very well, but this matter must not be leaked to anyone."

Just then, however, a gust of wind picked up, whistling with a howling sound.