Captain Qi, I'm Willing

Captain Qi turned around, the smile on his face fading slightly.

"Xu Qing, let me tell you something straight." He lowered his voice. "I know all about how you saved the Su Clan's young cousin. Young Master Su hosted a banquet at Lucky Auspice Restaurant last night."

Xu Qing sat on the bench, looking at him without speaking.

"The Su Clan has some ties with your Zhao Family Boxing Gym. Su Mingkong from your inner court is one of the Su Clan. You should know that."

Captain Qi returned behind the desk and leaned back in his chair, his hands resting on the armrests as he crossed one leg over the other. His eyes narrowed, revealing the shrewdness unique to an old hand in the martial world—the shrewdness of someone who had soaked in the yamen for over a decade, seen the warmth and chill of human affairs, and witnessed too much deceit and intrigue.

"You're from Blackwater Bay. The day before yesterday was your rest day; you went back to Blackwater Bay and stayed there one night before returning." Captain Qi spoke unhurriedly, as though chatting about household matters. "Did you know that the Leviathan Gang of Blackwater Bay was wiped out overnight?"

"Oh, the very night you stayed at home," he added.

Not a trace of change appeared on Xu Qing's face. He looked Captain Qi straight in the eye, his gaze steady and unruffled. Nothing seemed amiss—not even a flicker of his eyelids.

"I heard about it when I came back this morning," Xu Qing said.

Captain Qi smiled. He lifted his tea bowl and took another gulp, then set it down and wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

He glanced at Xu Qing, amusement and appreciation in his eyes. He did not appreciate how skilled Xu Qing was, but rather his composure.

A boy of sixteen or seventeen, having such a matter exposed right to his face, yet without the faintest ripple on his expression—such poise was not something just anyone possessed.

"The Leviathan Gang was exterminated. Several dozen people, top to bottom, and not one survivor left behind. The case files were rushed over yesterday, and I read them first thing this morning." He paused, lightly tapping the tabletop twice with his fingers. "A whole gang wiped out. No witnesses, no evidence left behind."

Captain Qi spoke casually, looking thoroughly relaxed.

"I've worked in the yamen for more than ten years. What sort of case haven't I seen? Family massacres, vendetta killings, robberies for wealth—I've handled no fewer than three hundred, if not five hundred."

His gaze settled on the beam overhead, his eyes carrying a touch of wistfulness, as though recalling something.

"Blackwater Bay is poor enough to make coins rattle. The Leviathan Gang had lorded over the place for years, bullying men and women, collecting protection money, lending at usurious rates, driving families to ruin and death. This time, someone finally uprooted them. To tell the truth, I applauded in my heart."

He paused, his gaze falling on Xu Qing's face. The corner of his mouth curled upward, and his smile was rich with meaning. "I'm not interrogating you, nor am I investigating you. I'm simply telling you that this case has now landed in my hands. County Assistant Magistrate Su assigned it to me personally."

Xu Qing looked at Captain Qi calmly without speaking. He did not know what Captain Qi meant by this.

Captain Qi suddenly smiled again. He lowered his crossed leg and leaned forward, his voice several degrees quieter and more serious than before. "Do you know who stands behind the Leviathan Gang?"

He answered his own question, enunciating every word. "The county magistrate's third son, Lin Mu."

"The Leviathan Gang's tribute silver was delivered to the Lin Residence every year. Not many in the yamen know about it, but I do. County Assistant Magistrate Su does too. Lin Mu kept the Leviathan Gang to collect dirty money and do his dirty work, treating Blackwater Bay as his own purse."

Captain Qi watched Xu Qing, scrutiny in his gaze.

"County Assistant Magistrate Su and the county magistrate are polite to each other on the surface, but what lies beneath? Everyone knows in their heart."

He narrowed his eyes, a cold smile at the corner of his mouth. "To tell you the truth, I'm County Assistant Magistrate Su's man. Lord Su deliberately assigned this case to me. If I don't pursue it, it will never be investigated."

Captain Qi gave a soft snort and smiled. "Even if Lin Mu truly suspects something, he has no evidence, and he wouldn't dare make a fuss. Why? Because the Leviathan Gang was his purse, and he dares not admit it. Whoever investigates this case for him would only be helping him cover up his filthy business. If I don't investigate, he can only swallow this mute loss."

"Besides, Lin Mu has plenty of gangs like the Leviathan Gang under his command. One more makes no difference; one less makes no difference. He wouldn't, and wouldn't dare, tear all pretenses apart between the county magistrate and County Assistant Magistrate Su over one petty Leviathan Gang."

Captain Qi leaned forward again, lowering his voice even further. "Xu Qing, the errand I'm taking you on is this very case."

"You're from Blackwater Bay, so you know the place well. There's no one more suitable than you to go investigate with me. How do we investigate? Who do we investigate? That's for us to decide. If we truly find no results, then the matter can only be left unresolved, and Lin Mu will have nothing to say. Once the case is closed, everyone can rest easy."

He abruptly stopped, his eyes tightening as he stared at Xu Qing and asked word by word, "Xu Qing. Are you willing to go to Blackwater Bay with me to investigate this case?"

Xu Qing was no fool. He heard the meaning beneath Captain Qi's words.

If he agreed, it meant boarding the Su Clan's ship. From then on, they would be grasshoppers tied to the same rope—sharing glory and sharing ruin.

If he refused, the outcome was equally clear. Captain Qi would handle matters officially: investigate what needed investigating, report what needed reporting. He would not bear the county magistrate's son's retaliation for the sake of a fisher boy.

Captain Qi was not asking whether he was willing to investigate a case. He was asking whether Xu Qing was willing to choose a side. He was asking him... which side would you choose?

Why was the Su Clan willing to let him board their ship?

Xu Qing roughly knew the reason in his heart: the potential he had displayed, and his master.

The Su Clan had certainly investigated him. They knew Zhao Yan had taken him as a personal disciple. They knew about his achieving Clear Strength in twenty days.

As for talk that his natural foundations were below average and Clear Strength was his limit, the Su Clan likely had their own view.

They would only assume Zhao Yan was laying out a smokescreen to protect him, unwilling to let his edge show too brightly, unwilling for him to meet the same fate as Ning Yun. A disciple whom a Transforming Strength expert was willing to teach without holding anything back was worth drawing in, worth placing a wager on. Even if the odds were not high, what if they won?

What was more, he had saved the Su Clan's young cousin. The Su Clan remembered that favor.

Xu Qing fell silent for a moment.

Then he rose to his feet and cupped his hands toward Captain Qi. His voice was not loud, but it was firm. "Captain Qi, I'm willing."

Captain Qi's eyes lit up, and the curve of his smile deepened.

He stood, walked around the desk, and stopped before Xu Qing. Reaching out, he patted Xu Qing on the shoulder. The pat was not hard, carrying both an elder's affection and the intimate closeness of a fellow conspirator.

"Good." He said only that one word. Then, looking seriously into Xu Qing's eyes, he said, "From now on, we're one of our own. While you serve in the yamen, I'll look after you. While you train at the boxing gym, Gym Master Zhao will look after you. And over at County Assistant Magistrate Su's side, he thinks highly of you as well. You saved the Su Clan's young cousin; the Su Clan remembers that favor."

Xu Qing cupped his hands toward Captain Qi again, bowing deeply. "Thank you, Captain Qi."

Captain Qi waved carelessly and said with a smile, "Let's go. We'll ride the yamen's fast horses to Blackwater Bay. We'll investigate, officially and by the book. Whether we find anything is another matter."

As he walked outside, he added, "Though winter has begun, those Leviathan Gang corpses can't be left lying around forever. The people from the charity graveyard ought to collect them. We can't have them stinking up an entire street. Their properties must be confiscated too; we can't let others profit from them."

Two horses left the yamen and headed west. They passed through the city gate and took the official road.

Hooves struck the yellow earth, kicking up dust all along the way.

Xu Qing rode on horseback, the wind cool against his face.

Captain Qi had practically spelled it out. He knew everything. He knew Xu Qing had returned to Blackwater Bay, knew the Leviathan Gang had been wiped out, knew Xu Qing could not be unrelated to it.

Yet he had chosen to protect him. Not because of friendship, nor because of conscience, but because of faction.

He was County Assistant Magistrate Su's man. By protecting Xu Qing, he was protecting someone who could fight, someone with potential, someone who had ties to the Su Clan, someone who might be useful in the future.

From today onward, Xu Qing was tied to the county assistant magistrate's faction.

It was not his choice. Events had shoved him step by step to this point. Yet he did not resist it. The county magistrate's third son, Lin Mu, had destroyed his family and caused his father and mother to die in the river.

He would surely avenge that hatred.

He could never walk the same road as the county magistrate's faction. He could only stand with County Assistant Magistrate Su. This was the road Heaven had chosen for him, and also the road he was willing to walk.

Besides, choosing County Assistant Magistrate Su's side was not a bad thing. It was an opportunity countless people could beg for and never obtain.

Captain Qi was right. From now on, they were one of their own. With the county assistant magistrate as backing, his safety had some protection as well. It was not foolproof protection—only a few more walls, enough to block the storm for a while.

He was no longer the fisher boy who caught fish in Blackwater Bay, no longer the youth who could only grit his teeth and endure when others stole his silver.

He had status, a master, backing, and fists.

He tightened his grip on the reins, picked up his pace, and caught up with Captain Qi's horse.

The two horses traveled side by side, their hooves going clop, clop, clop.

The wind swept over them, sending the corners of their clothes fluttering. Indigo blue and sooty black tangled together, until it was impossible to tell whose was whose.