Joining the Peace Guard

Chapter 48: Joining the Peace Guard in Jiaqing County.

The Peace Guard headquarters.

This was where the Peace Guard was stationed in the county.

The Peace Guard was mainly responsible for all matters of public security within the city, big and small.

This included, but was not limited to, hunting down the Demonic Cult, arresting Evil Cultivators, and even settling all sorts of messy personal disputes.

The Peace Guard had its hands full most of the time, so most of its recruits were county elites.

With the Contract in hand, Lin Yi came to the gate. He showed it to the guards, then entered the headquarters without a hitch.

A guard led Lin Yi toward the inner courtyard and its Martial Practice Platform.

"You're Lin Yi, from Rainbow Martial Hall?"

Soon, Lin Yi spotted a handsome man who looked to be in his thirties.

Beside him stood a young woman, about seventeen or eighteen, with delicate features and a slender figure.

"It's him, it's him. I remember him."

Lin Yi bowed slightly and greeted them without fawning or arrogance. "Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Sister."

They were Master Yuan's eldest disciple, Su Ji, and his fourth disciple, Bai Qiqi.

Bai Qiqi leaned forward until her face was almost against Lin Yi's.

Lin Yi kept his eyes straight ahead and lowered them slightly.

"Shh, Junior Brother. When we're on duty, you can't call us Senior Brother and Senior Sister. You have to use our titles."

"You should call Senior Brother Su Squad Leader Su."

"And you should call me Captain Bai!"

Lin Yi dutifully said, "Squad Leader Su, Captain Bai."

The Peace Guard's ranks were somewhat like those of the Embroidered Uniform Guard from Lin Yi's previous life.

A squad leader was roughly equivalent to a team captain, with a dozen or so people under his command.

A captain was a full-fledged member of the Peace Guard, whose status was far above that of a temporary appointee like Lin Yi.

"Enough, Qiqi. Stop teasing him," Su Ji said helplessly.

Bai Qiqi stuck out her tongue at Lin Yi, then stepped back beside Su Ji.

Su Ji looked at Lin Yi and said,

"I know about you. Liu Lie mentioned you to me..."

"He said you train hard, have good comprehension, and are eager to improve."

"Actually, I was the one who proposed the Contract for temporary sparring partners at the Peace Guard. The goal was to help both the Peace Guard and the martial halls improve their combat skills as much as possible. So whenever someone at a martial hall breaks through to become a Martial Artist, I send them a Contract on behalf of the Peace Guard."

"But very few understand that. They think coming to the Peace Guard just means being used as a whetstone, a punching bag for us. The truth is, they simply aren't strong enough. If you're strong enough, then the Peace Guard will be your whetstone instead."

"So, even though you're my junior brother from the same martial hall, I won't go easy on you. Understood?"

Lin Yi replied, "Understood."

Su Ji nodded and beckoned for Lin Yi to follow.

Lin Yi followed behind Su Ji, while Bai Qiqi quietly sidled up beside him and whispered,

"Senior Brother usually doesn't say much, but you're someone Senior Brother Liu took an interest in, so he has high hopes for you too."

"A lot of people from the martial halls have come before, but the gap between their strength and the Peace Guard's was too great. Most of them left after just a few days. Then they went around the martial halls spreading stories about how the Peace Guard was a den of wolves and tigers. It really made Senior Brother hate how they failed to live up to expectations."

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Lin Yi said, understanding what she meant.

Bai Qiqi was already doing him a kindness by explaining so much.

"Hehe." Bai Qiqi smiled, patted Lin Yi on the shoulder, and winked at him. "I have faith in you too!"

Along the way, Lin Yi's sharp senses picked up plenty of quiet gossip.

"This must be the sparring partner from Rainbow Martial Hall, right?"

"Looks like it. Squad Leader Su brought him here himself, after all."

"Hey, how long do you think this kid will last?"

"Who knows? Anyway, those guys from Rainbow Martial Hall have been cowards these past few years..."

"Ugh, why does Squad Leader Su even bother? He stood against everyone to bring in Martial Artists from outside halls as sparring partners, hoping to bring out our fighting spirit and hone our combat skills. But they're all a bunch of cowards. They fight for two or three days, then run off. Fighting them is a waste of time."

"Didn't Rainbow Martial Hall place sixth in last year's Seven Halls Martial Arts Tournament?"

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"Go easy on them in a bit. That kid doesn't look much older than my son..."

Lin Yi heard every word loud and clear.

Su Ji and Bai Qiqi were at a higher level, so they had to hear it even more clearly.

Still, their expressions remained calm, and neither said anything. They had probably heard remarks like these many times before.

On the Martial Practice Platform.

Besides Lin Yi, there was a pair of twin brothers in their twenties, along with a young woman about Bai Qiqi's age, though less beautiful.

Su Ji then gathered everyone together.

"These four are temporary sparring partners from the martial halls."

"These two are Zhang Chang and Zhang Lu from Gengjin Martial Hall."

"This is Zheng Yu from Yunbo Martial Hall."

"He's Lin Yi, from Rainbow Martial Hall."

Su Ji addressed the people from the Peace Guard. "Take a moment to get acquainted. We'll begin the sparring practice shortly."

Below, a man with a scruffy beard grinned. "Boss, there's no need to introduce them all. We don't even know if they'll stick around. They're sparring partners, aren't they? A couple of rounds and we'll know each other well enough."

The bearded man had spoken.

The others immediately chimed in. "That's right. Nothing brings people together like a fight. A couple of rounds and we'll be acquainted."

Lin Yi shrugged helplessly.

That show of force had come far too quickly.

Lin Yi knew this was par for the course.

Whenever you entered a new environment, the veterans needed to assert their authority, and the newcomers had to learn the rules.

In the end, amid the many voices, Su Ji nodded slightly. He looked at the scruffy-bearded man with a rough, outlawish air and said, "Hu Biao, since you brought it up, you can be the first to spar with them."

Hu Biao grinned, pushed off hard with both legs, and leaped onto the Martial Practice Platform, his blood and qi surging.

He released the aura of a mid-stage Houtian cultivator without holding back.

"Sure. Let's see how good this batch of sparring partners is."

Su Ji asked, "Who do you want to fight?"

Hu Biao smiled and swept his gaze over the four of them, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Hey, come at me together. It'll save time."

As soon as he finished speaking,

Lin Yi raised his brows. "That arrogant?"

Lin Yi glanced at Su Ji, whose expression remained unchanged.

Hmm? Looks like Senior Brother gave him the go-ahead.

Then Lin Yi glanced at the three people beside him. He could clearly see their brows knit at the same time, indignation flashing across their faces.

Bai Qiqi suddenly said, "You're getting ahead of yourself. Don't get beaten flat by the newcomers."

Hu Biao waved it off and laughed. "It's not arrogance. I'm just speaking from experience."

Hu Biao was talking about the martial hall disciples who had come to the Peace Guard before, only to leave after a couple of days.

His blatant contempt instantly enraged these spirited young people, especially the martial hall disciples who had just become Martial Artists and were still riding high on their newfound strength.

The twin brothers from Gengjin Martial Hall, Zhang Chang and Zhang Lu, were the first to lose patience.

"Squad Leader Su, we've long heard that the Peace Guard is the cream of the crop among Martial Artists. We brothers would like to see the masters of the Peace Guard in action."

Zheng Yu's expression was cold. One hand was already on the sword hilt at her waist. "I want to fight too."

After Zheng Yu spoke,

the three of them all turned to look at Lin Yi.

Well then.

There was no dodging it now. He'd been dragged into this too.

Lin Yi gave a wry smile and spread his hands. "I'm fine either way."

Su Ji pondered for a moment, then went along with it.

"Fine. Hold back and stop once a winner is clear. No killing."