Diligence Rewards Log

Jiangnan Province, Linjiang City.

Autumn had turned cold. The outer city was under curfew, empty and grim.

Tall buildings lined both sides of the street. The lights of countless homes had all gone out; only GG's neon signs still glowed, proclaiming the wondrous effects of "Holy Land Pill" in helping martial artists break through bottlenecks, and of "Spirit Tree Dew" in improving their innate bone structure.

Under the dim light, a young Patrol Inspector in black lay abandoned in an uncared-for alley, shot in the left chest, blood welling steadily from the wound.

"Hiss!"

Cold spread through his entire body. Chen Jue opened his eyes, and a piercing pain tore through his chest. It hurt so badly that he sucked in a sharp breath and sat up where he was.

Damn those bastards! Those Rat Gang punks actually dared to manufacture firearms in secret!

Under the Great Ming Code, that was a heinous crime worthy of exterminating an entire family!

Fortunately, the Rat Gang's handmade weaponry was crude. Protected by his bulletproof lining, the lead ball that had struck his left chest had not penetrated deeply.

Chen Jue hardened his heart, bit down on the saber hilt, pulled out a short blade, and sliced open his lapel. With a flick, he dug out the lead ball embedded half an inch into his flesh.

Blood sprayed wildly.

He then took out a piece of medicinal plaster and sealed the wound. At once, a cool sensation spread outward from the injury, and after only a few breaths, the bleeding stopped.

"Myriad Blossoms House's emergency wound plaster was still reliable. The government-issued wound medicine was only fit for cutting hemorrhoids."

Enduring the pain, Chen Jue shifted himself to sit against the wall and reviewed tonight's battle.

He had originally been a martial arts college student about to graduate from Linjiang Martial Arts College.

Because of his excellent grades, along with some maneuvering by his uncle, he had been assigned to intern at the Kaiyang Guard Station under the Patrol Inspectorate.

Yet only a few days after starting work, the guard station had mobilized its forces to suppress the Rat Gang, which was smuggling medicinal agents.

He was a newcomer, so his superiors had looked after him and only assigned him to guard a short, remote alley.

But fate loved playing tricks. A Rat Gang fish that had slipped through the net had burst out of the alley in blind panic.

Chen Jue had instinctively drawn his saber to apprehend him. Who could have guessed that the lackey had a firelock musket in his hands? He raised it and fired, knocking Chen Jue flat.

"I still wasn't cautious enough. I underestimated the heroes of the world..."

Chen Jue spat out a harsh breath and wondered how he should frame the matter of the Rat Gang and its firearms once he returned to the unit.

"A-Jue? A-Jue?!"

Just as he was weighing it over, hurried shouts rang out from the alley.

Chen Jue looked toward the sound and saw his uncle, He Yuanshan, dressed in a black Patrol Inspector uniform. One hand rested on the hilt at his waist as he rushed toward him in frantic haste.

The Patrol Inspector uniform had a crossed collar fastening to the right, short in front and long in back, slits on both sides, and pleats at the waist. It looked resplendent and imposing.

It had originally been the Flying-Fish Court Robe exclusive to the Embroidered Uniform Guard during the early years of the Divine Dynasty.

Later, after the Divine Dynasty suffered invasions by foreign tribes from the south and the Divine Land was thrown into upheaval, the great aristocratic clans gradually carved up the central authority.

Institutions of mounted secret police that belonged solely to the emperor, like the Embroidered Uniform Guard, disappeared into the long river of history.

"A-Jue! How did you get hurt?!"

When He Yuanshan saw the blood pouring from Chen Jue's chest and saw him struggle to rise with his saber for support, he was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body. In his panic, he blurted out, "Don't scare your uncle! If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to answer to your mother?!"

Supporting himself against the wall, Chen Jue hissed softly in pain and explained, "I was on watch here when a Rat Gang punk ran out of the alley. I wanted to stop him, but I never expected him to have a flintlock musket in his hand..."

"Luckily, Uncle stuffed a bulletproof lining into my clothes before I set out. Otherwise, your nephew would've died here tonight."

Upon hearing that a petty criminal had actually possessed a musket, He Yuanshan became even more frightened in retrospect. He carefully checked Chen Jue over three times before finally letting out a breath. "Fortunately, that thief's musket wasn't well made, and he hadn't loaded it with buckshot or steel pellets. Otherwise, even with bulletproof protection, you wouldn't have escaped death..."

"Ah! It's all your uncle's fault. I should have kept you by my side."

"The outer city now isn't like when you were little! Gangs stand in dense ranks, bandits run rampant, and lewd temples and wicked cults cannot be stamped out no matter how often they are banned!"

Chen Jue opened his mouth, intending to discuss the affairs of the state with his uncle, but in the end, he said nothing.

The Divine Dynasty had endured for ten thousand years. Its many ailments had long seeped into the marrow; even scraping the bone to cure the poison could not heal them. What could the grand talk and wild words of two lowly Patrol Inspectors accomplish?

Just because the Kaiyang Guard Station had gathered men tonight to raid the Rat Gang did not mean the authorities were suppressing the underworld and punishing evil while upholding good.

The truth was that the Rat Gang had crossed the line. It had brought the Qi Clan's experimental medicines from the inner city to Kaiyang Community to "promote" them.

One had to know that Kaiyang Community was Wu Clan territory in the inner city.

And their immediate superior, Guard Station Chief Wu Yue, was even a descendant of a collateral Wu Clan branch.

If he did not cut the Rat Gang down hard, how would Wu Yue be able to speak when he returned to the Wu Clan in the future?

"Come on. Uncle will take you to see Physician Jiao..."

He Yuanshan called Zeng You, the shift supervisor, to explain the situation, then supported his nephew Chen Jue as they headed toward a familiar clinic.

The clinic's lights were off. Behind the tempered glass, they could only see neatly arranged medicine shelves. Everything was pitch-black, as though no one were inside.

He Yuanshan knocked sixteen times in a row before movement slowly arose from the dispensary.

A short, thin, dark-skinned old man came out.

He lifted the medicinal plaster from Chen Jue's chest, glanced at the wound, then felt Chen Jue's waist. With certainty, he said, "It's nothing. Myriad Blossoms House's wound plaster works wonders on firearm injuries. Rest for a few days, don't let it touch water, and it'll heal on its own."

Without even prescribing medicine, the old man charged He Yuanshan five thousand treasure notes.

Chen Jue's face immediately darkened. Five thousand treasure notes were two months of his internship wages!

Just as he was about to argue with the old man, He Yuanshan stopped him and dragged him out of the clinic.

"Don't make trouble. Old Jiao is the best divine physician around here. Just consider it money spent for peace of mind."

"Five thousand just for feeling someone's waist? Even robbery isn't that fast, is it?"

Chen Jue was still unwilling to accept it. His blood and qi had reached the ninth level, and he was only a short distance from the limits of an ordinary man.

Five thousand treasure notes were enough to buy ten beginner-level Qi-Nourishing Capsules, greatly reducing the time needed to bring his blood and qi to completion.

"Bear with it for now. Once you achieve Foundation Establishment in martial arts, the guard station will buy you insurance. Then you'll get a twenty percent discount on medical care."

"..." Chen Jue.

Full-time Patrol Inspectors and interns really were two different species.

Not only was there a vast difference in salary, but even their benefits were as far apart as heaven and earth.

"Then did this count as a workplace injury? The guard station wouldn't refuse to even cover the cost of medicine, would it?"

"They will cover it. The Wu Clan is rich and powerful. How could they begrudge you this little bit of medicine money..."

Chen Jue did not want to worry his mother, while He Yuanshan feared his younger sister's fury.

The two immediately saw eye to eye. Chen Jue would temporarily stay at his uncle's home, then make further plans after his injury healed.

He Yuanshan had served in the Patrol Inspectorate for more than twenty years and had accumulated considerable savings. His three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment was considered a mansion throughout the border between the inner and outer cities.

Chen Jue washed up briefly, changed clothes, and had just lain down in the study when he heard his aunt unleashing her wrath in the living room.

"How are you even an uncle? Back then, I told you to put in more money and send Xiao Jue into clerical work! What did you say?"

"You said the guard station paid well, field duty came with allowances, and he had you, his uncle, as a backer... Is this how you act as his backer?!"

Chen Yun was both Chen Jue's aunt by marriage and his biological eldest aunt.

Chen Jue's father had died early. Having painfully lost her younger brother, Chen Yun had always treated Chen Jue as though he were her own son.

His cousin He Tang, dressed in pajamas, had wanted to come to the study and chat with her cousin, but Aunt Chen suppressed her with a backhand as well.

Chen Jue stared at the ceiling, listening to the commotion outside as warmth gradually welled up in his heart.

So this was family... A few words of concern alone were enough to make one feel content in body and mind, enough to pull one back from the edge.

Yet tonight's brush with life and death had given Chen Jue a reminder.

When people were killed, they died.

He might have been an outstanding graduate of Linjiang Martial Arts College, but the strength of blood and qi at the ninth level was truly too weak.

Forget a single musket shot from some punk—even a bow, a crossbow, or an arrow might take his life.

"I must work harder and make myself stronger as soon as possible..."

Chen Jue vaguely remembered that ten years ago, his father had followed the army in razing mountains and smashing temples, only to die in battle at Red Jade Mountain.

His mother and aunt had wept until they were nearly made of tears, and it had taken them years to emerge from their grief.

His thoughts drifted, tangled as hemp.

One moment, he considered "selling himself to others," serving aristocratic clans and great houses with his life in exchange for martial resources.

The next, he considered "roaming the martial world," doing some shady gray-market work to supplement his income.

But neither path was easy.

The great aristocratic clans were rife with strife. Once he pledged himself to one, there would be no turning back.

"Muddling through the martial world" made it even easier to draw the attention of both the underworld and the authorities. If things went badly, he might even be tricked by some "senior of the martial world" until not even his underpants remained.

Hard! Hard! Hard!

Just as Chen Jue sighed inwardly, the clock struck midnight.

A ripple suddenly spread before his eyes, and two lines of neat, square characters silently appeared.

[Diligence Rewards Log updating...]

[Over the past day, you practiced stance work for 2 hours, drilled the Six Directions Saber Art seven times, and used one emergency wound plaster.]

[Today's evaluation: You worked throughout the day and rested once night fell. Your diligence was utterly ordinary. Diligence index: 1.5.]

[Settlement reward: Gain the experience of performing the Six Directions Saber Art an additional 3.5 times, the blood and qi gained from one hour of stance work, and a one-time recovery of 7.5% of your injuries.]

[By providing external spiritual energy, you may increase the diligence index by up to 1 point.]