The sun rose, and daylight flooded the sky.
The Heavenly Qilin Guard stood in the little courtyard of Qingya Pavilion, chatting.
"Brother Qin, how did things go last night?" one of the junior officers asked.
The short, stout Qin Shou stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "I fought that demoness with my family's ancestral staff technique for three hundred rounds. In the end, I used Flood Dragon Exits the Sea and beat her until she was utterly defeated and begged for mercy."
The junior officer exclaimed, "I've long heard that Brother Liu's staff skills are exquisite, with the makings of a grandmaster. You truly live up to your reputation."
"What about you, Brother Zhang? Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Heh."
The junior officer pulled a porcelain bottle from his robe and shook his head. "I had prepared three Dragon-Tiger Pills, hoping to venture into that dragon's lair and test the waters. I never imagined she'd be routed after I used just one."
Qin Shou clapped his hands. "Brother Zhang's mastery of alchemy rivals that of the Imperial Medical Academy's director. I'm impressed."
The two exchanged a look and burst into laughter.
A real battle, and a satisfying one!
The others looked refreshed and satisfied too.
The Heavenly Qilin Guard paid very well. Even an ordinary constable earned seven taels of silver a month, not counting other under-the-table income... But even that was nowhere near enough in a money pit like the Music Bureau.
The courtesans they'd called on last night were all the likes of Hua Fu and Hua Yan.
Under ordinary circumstances, they'd have had to save up for months.
"It's so much better working under Flag Chief Chen."
"Just running a few errands earned us a great merit and got us a night with the girls... What more could we ask for in a leader?"
The men of the Ding Fire Bureau shook their heads and sighed.
Flag Officer Li was reliable when it came to getting things done, but she was rigid, inflexible, and far too hot-tempered...
Most importantly, she never took them to the brothels!
"It's this late already. Why hasn't Flag Chief Chen come out?"
"Any later and we'll miss roll call."
Just then, a faint "smack, smack" came from inside the room.
A moment later, the smacking grew faster and faster, like a raging storm. Just listening to it was enough to take their breath away!
Qin Shou and the junior officer exchanged a glance.
Damn, there was another master here?!
"Flag Chief Chen still hasn't finished?"
"He's been at it since last night... and all the way till now?"
The others looked at one another, stunned.
Qin Shou had once been given a stern lesson by Chen Mo, so he knew just how impressive the man was. He couldn't help worrying whether Yu'er, a delicate young woman, could withstand such a beating.
Would she be forced into retirement for good?
After a long wait, the door opened, and two figures came out.
"Flag Chief, you..."
Qin Shou had just stepped forward when his expression suddenly froze, as if he'd seen a ghost.
"F-Flag Officer Li?!"
A woman followed behind Chen Mo. She wore a blue-and-white Hezi Skirt, with a green sash tied around her waist that accentuated her slender figure. Her full bust looked even more ample.
Her fair, delicate face was flushed pink, and her once-sharp eyes now seemed as soft as spring water, shimmering as they turned from side to side.
She looked as if she had been...
Thoroughly watered?!
The courtyard fell deathly silent.
Everyone lost control of their expressions. Their mouths hung open as they stared blankly at the pair.
"Ah!"
Li Yuan hadn't expected them all to be waiting outside. Panicked, she couldn't run back into the room, so she turned sideways and hid behind Chen Mo.
?!
Wasn't that just like covering her ears while stealing a bell?
At the sight of her bashful, newlywed look, the Ding Fire Bureau constables promptly collapsed.
Was this really the same impartial, stone-faced flag officer they remembered?!
Chen Mo's mouth twitched. He murmured, "Flag Officer Li, I think your whole image just fell apart."
Li Yuan lowered her head, the tips of her ears bright red, and pinched him hard at the waist. "And whose fault is that?!"
Chen Mo: "..."
"No wonder Flag Officer Li came along. So she was after the boss all along?"
"Feeding herself to the tiger—now that's a real man!"
"So does that mean Flag Chief Chen took on two opponents last night...?"
Chen Mo furrowed his brows and said coldly,
"What are you all muttering about? Flag Officer Li drank too much last night and slept alone in an empty room."
"Keep your mouths shut! If I hear even a hint of gossip, I'll skin you alive!"
"Yes!"
They answered, all wearing expressions that said, "Don't worry, we understand."
The more Chen Mo tried to deny it, the guiltier it sounded. He sighed and didn't bother explaining further.
The group left Qingya Pavilion and headed for the alley entrance. Guests in disheveled clothes kept emerging from the houses on either side.
Li Yuan's face was bright red and she was barely holding it together, but she didn't dare quicken her pace. Her legs were still weak... so she could only follow right behind Chen Mo, one small step at a time.
Seeing this, Qin Shou silently gave him a thumbs-up.
The boss really was a tiger-taming expert...
In the bedroom, Qing'er was doing stretches, slowly getting used to her body.
At present, she had only an empty shell; inside, she was a paper puppet inhabited by a wandering soul. It was unrealistic to expect her to be exactly like the original.
But as long as Gu Manzhi kept guiding her—or simply controlled her herself—she could probably get about seventy percent of the way there. Unless someone knew her very well, they shouldn't notice anything amiss.
The Xu household had been raided. Some were dead, and the rest had been exiled.
Aside from a few women who had also been sent to the Music Bureau, she had no acquaintances left in the capital...
But Gu Manzhi had no mood to think about any of that just then. She sat on the bed with her legs drawn up, her breathtaking face resting on her knees, her limpid eyes shimmering like rippling autumn waters.
"First he hit me in the chest, and now he's hit me on the bottom. He's practically bullied every part of me."
"That woman just now was powerful, at least a Sixth-Grade Martial Artist. Her surname was Li... Wasn't Chen Mo's fiancée surnamed Shen?"
"I never would've guessed. That fellow is quite the womanizer..."
But when she thought of what she herself had done before, she seemed to have no right to blame him.
Perhaps he had changed completely after she broke his heart...
Whoosh—
A figure wrapped from head to toe in a grey robe slipped into the room.
Without even looking up, Gu Manzhi said, "Ye Henshui, why haven't you gotten lost yet?"
The Grey-Robed Person shrugged. "After the last mission failed and my identity was exposed, Master was very displeased with you. I'll be in charge of all operations in Heaven Capital City from now on... Tsk, can you stop using the Blazing Thunder Curse to scare me? Go on, just strike me dead. Then neither of us has to live!"
Gu Manzhi held a jade talisman in her hand, her gaze icy. "You think I wouldn't dare?"
The Grey-Robed Person knew her temper. If she was pushed too far, she was capable of anything.
With no choice, the Grey-Robed Person backed down. "Fine, you can stay here. But tell me, what's the plan?"
Gu Manzhi said coolly, "Chen Mo is a favorite of the Noble Consort. If we want to deal with Yu Youhan, we still have to start with Chen Mo."
The Grey-Robed Person immediately perked up. "Oh? Go on."
Gu Manzhi's lips curled slightly. "I've decided... to turn Chen Mo to our side!"
"..."
After a moment's silence, the Grey-Robed Person shook their head. "He's highborn and lives in luxury. He's also a centurion in the Heavenly Qilin Guard. Why would he want to mix with a band of rebels like us?"
"I have my own plans. Leave it to me."
Gu Manzhi had already decided: she would do everything in her power to "seduce" Chen Mo!
This time, she wouldn't use the Paper Puppet Technique. She would take the field herself!
"By the way, if you dare go after him behind my back, don't blame the heavens for striking you down!"
Gu Manzhi tossed out the warning coldly, then rose and left.
The Grey-Robed Person was speechless.
For some reason, they had a feeling Saintess Gu would stumble into the same pit again...
She walked to the bed and sat down. Watching Yu'er beside her doing jumping jacks with little "heave-ho, heave-ho" sounds, she rested a hand on the mattress and suddenly paused.
"Hm? Why is this bedsheet wet..."
Before you continue