Compensation

News of Chen Mu being ambushed and plotted against by vicious men quickly spread through the City Guard, leaving countless yamen runners stunned.

Though the world was in chaos these days, with criminals defying the law and officers being killed from time to time, such a brazen daytime assassination attempt on a head runner had not occurred even once in the past few years.

Chen Mu cleaned himself up at the City Guard, changed into a long robe, and waited for news from Min Baoyi. It was not until the afternoon that word finally came.

"The Evil Gang in the West District?"

Chen Mu raised a brow.

He had only been a head runner for a few days. At present, he was only familiar with the gangs in Nine Stripes Ward, and did not yet know much about the tangled forces of the South District, let alone the West District. That was practically another world altogether.

But from what he knew, the West District was far more chaotic than the South District. In several of its most remote wards, vicious fights and disputes raged almost daily even in broad daylight. Nearly everyone there was a hardened brute; even ten-year-old children could pick up cleavers and fight others to the death. Naturally, the gangs that grew there were even more savage and overbearing.

The problem was—

The Evil Gang of the West District should have had nothing to do with him, not even by eight poles.

Min Baoyi did not dwell on it. He sat directly in the chair opposite Chen Mu, then sighed. "I don't know the Evil Gang either, and I have no dealings with them, so I went to ask Lord Xu."

Chen Mu handed him a cup of tea and asked, "What did Lord Xu say?"

Min Baoyi shook his head. "She did not say much. She only said that you had been caught up in this matter and sent me to ask what compensation you wanted. Also, this matter ends here. She told you not to touch the West District for the time being."

Chen Mu was not surprised to hear that.

He had absolutely nothing to do with the West District or the Evil Gang. For them to suddenly come after him, the more he thought about it, the only thread leading anywhere was Xu Hongyu.

Sure enough, good things did not come for free. Only days after taking Xu Hongyu's money and Mo Pi Fa, trouble had already come knocking.

Xu Hongyu had been quite straightforward. She directly told him that he had been implicated, fearing that he might not be able to suppress his anger and do something rash, so she warned him to stop there. Then she told him to think about what compensation he wanted... In his previous life, he had been thoroughly familiar with such tactics. In this life, retribution had come without fail, and a woman was using them against him instead. There was nothing he could do but obediently consider what compensation would be appropriate.

His first thought was to ask for the Lian Rou Technique after Skin Tempering.

For someone like him, it would not take long at all to cultivate Skin Tempering to Perfection. After that, he would need the Lian Rou Technique. But Xu Hongyu did not know that. When the time came, that woman might think he was "aiming too high," not only refusing him but turning around to lecture him. And he would have no way to refute her; he could hardly shout that he was a Skin Tempering genius who could accomplish it in a month.

"Mm... this is a good opportunity."

Chen Mu's thoughts shifted, and he seemed to think of something. A thoughtful look appeared on his face.

Today's ambush had been a false alarm, but in truth, it was only because the other side had misjudged his strength. If he had not reached Mo Pi Minor Accomplishment, his life and death might truly have hung in the balance. And there was no guarantee such a thing would not happen again. Therefore, it was not safe for Chen Yue to stay with him.

If he could use Xu Hongyu's connections to send Chen Yue to study martial arts at a martial hall in the Inner City, that would be ideal. On one hand, the Inner City was safe. On the other, at the little girl's age, if she did not learn martial arts, who knew what she would be able to do in this world later on?

Having thought of that—

Chen Mu immediately revealed a "worried" expression and said, "It is my duty to share the Chief Constable's burdens. A little danger is nothing. But my younger sister is still very young. I fear that she may be implicated, and I also fear that if something happens to me, she will have no one to rely on and no way to survive. If I could trouble the Chief Constable to send her to the Inner City to study martial arts, then no matter what happens in the future, she would at least have some foundation to stand on."

Min Baoyi smiled upon hearing this. "Rest easy about that. The Yu Family runs martial halls in the Inner City, and they train quite a few people every year. They also have separate male and female courtyards. If Lord Xu puts in a word, there will be no problem at all."

As a great lineage of the Inner City, the Yu Family naturally cultivated its own private soldiers. Some of those private soldiers were selected from their vast numbers of slaves, servants, and household-born retainers, while others were recruited through martial halls from disciples with decent aptitude.

In fact—

Once Chen Mu reached Min Baoyi's level and took a position in the Runner Office, he himself would be able to send his own children or relatives to the Yu Family Martial Hall to study martial arts. Ties of kinship and patronage were bound layer upon layer; this was precisely what the great lineages of the Inner City were happy to see.

"That's good."

Chen Mu smiled.

Being able to arrange a good place for Chen Yue could be considered the settling of one concern in his heart. As for the Evil Gang and the West District... he silently committed them all to memory. The days ahead were long.

South District, City Guard Main Division.

Bang!

On the third floor of the main building, the two doors of a certain office were violently shoved open.

Xu Hongyu appeared in the doorway.

He Mingxuan sat leisurely in a Wisteria Wood chair, sipping tea. Seeing Xu Hongyu storm in with such fierce momentum, he neither hurried nor grew angry, merely smiling. "Lord Xu honors me with her presence. What business brings you here? If you wished to see me, you only needed to send word."

Xu Hongyu said nothing. She walked straight to He Mingxuan's desk, lifted her slender pale hand, and slapped it lightly onto the surface. The solid yellowwood desk shuddered violently. From the spot where Xu Hongyu's palm landed, dense cracks burst outward in every direction. At last, the entire desk shattered and collapsed.

The teacups and tea atop it clattered down and smashed all over the floor.

The sound was tremendous, loud enough for the many head runners and Runner Office officials throughout the main building to hear clearly. Nearly everyone froze for a moment. After exchanging glances, they all pretended nothing had happened and continued with their work, not daring to look upstairs.

The composed expression on He Mingxuan's face immediately stiffened. He could no longer maintain his earlier smile, and said coldly:

"What is the meaning of this, Lord Xu?"

"..."

Xu Hongyu did not answer. She merely stared at him coldly.

Naturally, He Mingxuan knew why Xu Hongyu had come. Although those people had failed to kill even a mere head runner, making them utter trash, he was still pleased to see Xu Hongyu so furious. He had simply not expected that Xu Hongyu would not even investigate. Upon learning of the matter, she had come directly to his door.

"Lord Xu's official authority is a little too excessive, is it not? I believe I have made no mistakes in my duties these past days. If Lord Xu finds me displeasing to the eye, you may report it to the Commandant and have me transferred out of the South District."

He Mingxuan let out a cold laugh.

He was not afraid that Xu Hongyu would use this as a pretext to make trouble, because, plainly speaking, this matter had not the slightest connection to him. He had not secretly ordered it either; he had merely quietly released a few pieces of information. Never mind that nothing had happened to Chen Mu—if Chen Mu had truly died, it would still have been the Evil Gang's doing. No matter how thoroughly they investigated, they would never find any evidence against him.

Xu Hongyu stared coldly at He Mingxuan and did not respond to his words at all. Indifferently, she said, "Listen carefully. If anything happens in Nine Stripes Ward again, no matter the reason, I will only come looking for you. This time, it is in your office. Next time, it will be on the Life and Death Stage!"

As soon as the words fell—

Xu Hongyu turned and left.

Only He Mingxuan remained behind, his face completely dark. He sat there with half a cup of tea still in his hand, watching Xu Hongyu's figure disappear through the door, leaving behind nothing but a floor full of wreckage.

Outrageous!

That crazy woman...

For the sake of a mere subordinate, she was actually willing to go with him onto the Life and Death Stage. She was insane beyond measure!

And why should anything happening in Nine Stripes Ward be pinned on his head? What kind of dogshit logic was that?!

Did she have no reason at all?!

He Mingxuan crushed the teacup in his hand into fragments. Water splashed everywhere as his chest heaved violently with rage, yet he could only forcibly suppress the anger in his heart...

Because he was no match for Xu Hongyu.

If Xu Hongyu truly went mad and insisted on dragging him onto the Life and Death Stage, asking the City Lord to bear witness, then he would inevitably be left in a dilemma. If he gritted his teeth and fought on the stage, he might truly die by Xu Hongyu's hand.

Besides...

What era was this? A Life and Death Stage?

That thing had not been heard of for decades, ever since the court's voice had gradually weakened.

"Forget it."

He Mingxuan took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart.

He had lost his mind as well, trying to play schemes and reason with a crazy woman. It was truly asking for trouble. In any case, the Yu Family was currently beset by troubles within and without, and could not possibly last long. Once the Yu Family's power waned, Xu Hongyu would become a plaything in his palm, free for him to handle as he pleased. There was no need to provoke bad luck at this time.

As for that Chen Mu, since Xu Hongyu cared about him so much, he could let him live a few more days.

"West" is apparently a censored word, though I have no idea why.