When Lu Jing'an returned to his detached courtyard.
The courtyard was quiet, with only the rustling of wind through the branches and leaves of the old trees.
Back in his room, he saw more than a dozen ebony chests.
They were arranged neatly on the floor.
In the fading daylight, they gleamed with a deep, somber luster.
The martial-arts-related items seized from the Qian and Lin families.
Had all been delivered.
The two families had held sway over Yinshan County for generations. Their reserves were indeed considerable.
Lu Jing'an walked over to the nearest chest.
He reached out and lifted the lid.
A mingled scent of aged wood and faint medicinal herbs wafted out. Inside, delicate brocade boxes were packed in neat rows.
He casually picked one up and opened it.
A Wild Ginseng, roots intact and shape well-preserved, lay on a piece of crimson velvet.
The ginseng was plump, its root crown tightly clustered. It was at least a hundred years old.
Lu Jing'an opened several more boxes in succession.
Every one contained ginseng of the same quality, all over a hundred years old. There were fifteen in total.
His fingertips traced the ginseng's rough texture as he quietly pondered.
For an ordinary family, obtaining even a single life-saving treasure like this was a stroke of fortune.
A slice could keep someone alive when they were gravely wounded and on the brink of death.
The Qian and Lin families had managed to collect so many.
They truly were local snakes.
These alone were worth nearly fifty thousand silver dollars.
He closed the brocade box and turned to the second chest.
When he lifted the lid, he saw neatly stacked thread-bound books and scrolls.
Their pages had yellowed, and their ink had darkened. All were martial-arts texts.
Lu Jing'an took one out. The cover read Wind-Breaking Blade Art.
He casually flipped through a couple of pages. The diagrams and notes on the techniques and mental cultivation method were fairly detailed, but he didn't read further and put it back.
He had no intention of studying all these texts himself, one by one.
That would take far too much time.
Lu Jing'an planned to send them all to his master, Chen Xuan, later.
He would ask his master to sort through them first.
With the time he saved, he would be better off practicing his stances for two more incense sticks. Breaking through to the Three Transformations of Blood and Qi sooner was what mattered.
The third chest contained neither books nor ginseng.
Instead, it held a neatly folded set of soft armor.
Lu Jing'an lifted the jacket. It felt cool and supple to the touch.
On closer inspection, it was woven from dense, dark strands of unusual silk, with subtle patterns running through them.
But compared to the set Chen Xuan had given him, the material was clearly inferior.
He pressed it with a finger, channeling his strength into it, and thought:
At close range, it probably couldn't stop a bullet.
But it should deflect seven or eight tenths of the force from ordinary blades and swords. That was still a rare find.
He opened the remaining chests one by one.
Most held weapons and miscellaneous items related to martial arts.
Some were of fine quality, but none were supernatural.
Leaning against the edge of a chest, Lu Jing'an's gaze deepened.
The Qian and Lin families had been in business for many years.
They couldn't have accumulated only these mundane martial-arts items.
They had to have some treasured items, like Treasure Tools, hidden away.
His father and the others didn't know that he needed those too, so they hadn't sent any over.
"I'll have to go to the storerooms they seized in person and take a look." Lu Jing'an murmured, already making up his mind.
In the end, Lu Jing'an kept only the fifteen old ginseng roots.
He also took a sheathed short sword from the bottom of one chest.
It was three inches longer than a standard dagger, so it could be called a short sword.
The sheath was made of black sharkskin, plain and unadorned.
Lu Jing'an gripped the hilt and slowly drew the sword.
A gleam of cold light spilled out like water, and fine patterns like ice showed faintly on the blade.
He snapped a copper ring off the chest and casually swept the blade across it.
The ring split silently in two, its cut surface smooth as a mirror.
"Fine blade."
Lu Jing'an returned the sword to its sheath and tucked it close to his body.
He didn't often use weapons, but having this on him gave him one more thing to rely on.
He had the remaining books sent straight to Chen Xuan.
The other items were temporarily placed in storage.
At dusk, his second uncle, Lu Huaichuan, sent over the information he'd gathered that day.
Two documents lay on top.
Lu Jing'an picked up the one on top first.
It was a report from the Li Family to the Lu Family, detailing the demonic beast.
The Li Family was being so cooperative.
Lu Jing'an suspected Secretary Hu had pulled some strings.
Otherwise, given that their two families had just fought each other,
the Li Family couldn't possibly have been this cooperative.
Even if they wanted to set the Lu Family up, they wouldn't have cooperated so readily.
"A demon tiger..."
Lu Jing'an read quickly, tapping the page lightly with his fingertip.
The intelligence was sparse.
It only said that the tiger had been seen in an old forest thirty li north of the county seat.
The rest of the information was just as sparse.
Lu Jing'an set down the document and gazed at the deepening darkness outside the window.
A demonic beast lurking on one's doorstep was always a pressing concern.
After a moment's thought, he murmured:
"Perhaps I should pay a visit to the Peacekeeping Bureau.
They patrol the region year-round. They should have more detailed records."
His father and the others probably wouldn't learn much by asking around at the Peacekeeping Bureau.
But his status was different now. It might be worth a try.
Before getting up, he glanced at the other document.
It was about Secretary Hu.
He unfolded it and read it through.
A knowing smile tugged at Lu Jing'an's lips.
Just as he thought.
Secretary Hu was so eager to get the Lu Family involved
because he was paving the way for himself.
The document stated it plainly:
The Provincial Garrison Command was short a chief administrator.
Secretary Hu had his eyes on the position. He urgently needed accomplishments and loyal followers.
If the Lu Family could establish itself in Yinshan County,
it would become a sharp blade in his hand.
That would give him more leverage when he rose to power.
"Power comes first. At least he's being practical."
This was more or less what Lu Jing'an had suspected.
Secretary Hu wanted nothing more than power and money.
He'd taken the money and still done nothing. So now he wanted power.
Lu Jing'an thought no more of it and straightened his robe.
He called for Chen Xuan, then left for the Peacekeeping Bureau.
When the car stopped in front of the Peacekeeping Bureau's somewhat weathered black-lacquered gate,
the lanterns beneath the eaves had already begun to glow with a dim yellow light.
Lu Jing'an had just gotten out of the car
when a graceful figure emerged from inside. It was Wen Ling.
Today, she wore a dark-purple satin qipao.
Her hair was loosely pinned up, and her dangling hair ornament swayed as she walked.
In the dusk, she exuded a lazy, alluring charm.
Seeing Lu Jing'an, Wen Ling's eyes sparkled. She smiled before she spoke:
"Well, Young Master Lu, have you missed your big sister? You came back after only a few days."
Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Jing'an had already spotted Kui Shan in the courtyard. The burly man stood with his arms crossed, staring toward them with a hostile expression.
Lu Jing'an smiled calmly, his clear voice loud enough for those in the courtyard to hear:
"Sister Wen Ling, you jest.
"Nine-Fingered Yama caused a disturbance in town yesterday and injured quite a few people.
"He disrupted the lives and businesses of many.
"The county feels bad about it, so it set aside some relief money to distribute to those affected.
"I was asked to bring some to the brothers of the Peacekeeping Bureau first."
Money opened doors; it had worked since ancient times.
Wen Ling's smile deepened at his words, her eyes curving like crescent moons:
"Young Master Lu is always so thoughtful. Come on in."
Kui Shan gave a heavy cough from inside the courtyard, but in the end, he didn't say anything unpleasant.
The Peacekeeping Bureau's pay had often been delayed in recent years.
The brothers were struggling to get by. When someone came with a good excuse to give them money, Kui Shan couldn't turn him away.
He turned his head and pretended not to see.
Wen Ling led Lu Jing'an into the hall and had him sit. Her voice softened to a gentle drawl:
"Wait here a moment, little brother. Your big sister will go fetch you some more good tea."
Hearing Wen Ling, Lu Jing'an almost felt sorry for that Plant Cultivator.
Their own life-bound Treasure Tool had been plucked and plucked again by Wen Ling.
Kui Shan waited until Wen Ling had left.
Then he said in a deep, rumbling voice, "Young Master Lu, what brings you here this time?"
"Don't tell me you're planning to use money to buy the entire Peacekeeping Bureau over to the Lu Family."
"Senior Kui Shan, you're joking. I really did come just to deliver the relief money."
After a pause, Lu Jing'an said, "There's also an official matter I'd like to ask the Peacekeeping Bureau about. I hope you can give me some guidance."
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