Commendation

The news of the Rat Gang's "rebellion and murder of officials," along with Chen Jue's title of "Stairwell War God."

Like wild grass shooting up after spring rain, it spread throughout the entire Patrol Inspectorate within a single day.

Within the Patrol Inspectorate, the higher-ups were furious. They directly abandoned the earlier Kaiyang Community accusation that the Rat Gang had been "illegally manufacturing firearms," transferred two Spirit-Seed realm martial artists from the inner city, and wiped the Rat Gang off the outer city's map.

"The higher-ups really are protective of the Qi family..."

"With so much evidence right in front of them, they still sent two Qi family martial artists to clean up afterward."

Inside the Kaiyang Guard Station, Wu Yue, dressed in a ninth-rank official uniform, sat in his office, tapping his fingers against the desk.

His face was pale and lean, his brows sharp as blades. An icy, unquestionable authority naturally surrounded him.

Across from him sat a middle-aged man in his forties. He wore no official uniform, only simple modern Chinese casual clothes and a pair of black-framed glasses. He was Zhao Wei, the secretary officer—the real second-in-command of the Kaiyang Guard Station, ranking above even the deputy chief.

"This is already quite enough. In one stroke, you cleared out the Qi family's forces from both Kaiyang and Sun City communities."

"The Wu Clan will definitely see you in a new light after this. They may even promote you. Zhao offers Brother Wu his congratulations in advance."

Hearing Zhao Wei's flattering words, an almost imperceptible smile curled at Wu Yue's lips. He waved a hand modestly. "It was merely cleaning up a Rat Gang. Hardly worth calling an achievement."

Zhao Wei only smiled without speaking at Wu Yue's posturing.

If the Rat Gang had truly been so easy to deal with, the Kaiyang Guard Station's earlier report about their illegal firearm manufacturing would not have remained stuck in the Patrol Inspectorate without resolution.

Indeed, if not for that newly recruited young inspector from the guard station, who had been savage enough to personally cut down fifty people and flooded the entire inspection system with his astonishing record—

Then the Rat Gang's attack on officials would probably still have been open to argument within the bureau.

"By the way, how should we commend that rookie who drank an experimental Blood-Burning Potion, suffered more than a dozen wounds, and was hospitalized in critical condition?"

Zhao Wei reminded him, "I think that after the Rat Gang's destruction, the scattered remnants probably won't let him go. Should we protect him for now? We can discuss it again after this storm blows over."

Wu Yue waved the suggestion aside. "No need. We uprooted the Qi family's forces, so they are probably bottling up quite a bit of anger."

"We might as well let them vent it on that rookie, so they do not come looking to make trouble for us."

Zhao Wei shook his head with a laugh. "Throwing someone away after using them—this truly is Brother Wu's usual style."

Wu Yue sneered. "He is merely a mud-legged peasant from the outer city. Though he was lucky enough to possess above-average talent, he drank a Blood-Burning Potion at the most fragile stage of building his martial foundation."

"By now, his qi and blood are probably half withered and his furnace damaged. His future in martial arts is ruined. He has no value left to exploit."

"If he can still give off his last bit of heat afterward, taking the blame and shielding the Wu Clan from disaster, that would be his honor."

"For an ordinary person to serve a seventh-rank great house like the Wu Clan truly is his honor," Zhao Wei echoed.

Wu Yue waved a hand and continued, "Of course, he did render service this time. We cannot withhold even a fraction of the reward due to him."

"Give him ten mid-grade spirit stones and a low-grade mystic weapon..."

Zhao Wei's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Brother Wu, you truly are generous. Those two rewards together must be worth two or three million in cash, no matter what?"

"But he is only a first-layer True Qi realm martial artist, and his qi-and-blood foundation has been damaged. Can he hold on to such a windfall?"

Wu Yue could not care less about that.

"Anyway, the excess reward has already been given. Whether he can keep it depends entirely on his own fortune. What does it have to do with me?"

Atractylodes Street, a clinic facing the road.

Wrapped in bandages, Chen Jue sat cross-legged on one of Jiao the Divine Physician's only two beds. An IV drip hung from his arm as he cultivated in one breath until nightfall, when the curfew began.

Jiao the Divine Physician sat beside Chen Jue's bed, quietly watching as Chen Jue completed two full major circulations right before his eyes.

"Are you two messing with me?"

Suddenly coming to his senses, Jiao the Divine Physician turned to look at He Yuanshan, who was anxiously pacing nearby, his face full of grave suspicion.

"Old Jiao, what do you mean?" He Yuanshan looked utterly confused.

"What decent person drinks a Blood-Burning Potion and still has enough qi and blood to cultivate internal arts continuously for nine hours? Is he not afraid of having his bones and blood drained dry?"

Jiao the Divine Physician viciously slammed the pen in his hand onto the medical chart. "Get out, all of you! Take your nephew and go home already!"

He Yuanshan was dumbfounded.

"My nephew is all right?" He could hardly believe it.

After all, when his colleague had notified him to come to the clinic, that expression telling him to restrain his grief and accept his fate had not seemed fake.

"Heh heh..." Jiao the Divine Physician gave He Yuanshan a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Your nephew definitely has some sort of special constitution. But the fewer people who know about such things, the better..."

"After all, the art your nephew cultivates is the Little Five-Element Art..."

"Above-average talent plus a special constitution plus the Little Five-Element Art—if that combination catches the Linjiang Clan's attention, your nephew's little body will probably rot away in the Zong family."

A chill ran down He Yuanshan's spine. He hurriedly cupped his hands to Jiao the Divine Physician, begging him to keep the matter secret.

Jiao the Divine Physician gave no clear answer. He wrote He Yuanshan a prescription and prepared a packet of medicine.

"Take this medicine home and prepare it according to the prescription. It should replenish some of his depleted qi, blood, and constitution."

"That will be twenty thousand in cash."

Hearing this terrifying price, He Yuanshan could not help but feel the sting.

But when he thought about how Jiao the Divine Physician had spent an entire day observing his nephew and had even prescribed medicine, he accepted it.

"Jue, let's go. Jiao the Divine Physician says you're all right."

Holding the medicine, He Yuanshan called out to Chen Jue, who was focused on cultivation.

Chen Jue opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. The two strands of Five-Element True Qi restored within him left him feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

"Jiao the Divine Physician, is there really nothing wrong with my body?"

"When I took that potion, I could feel my qi and blood burning. My whole body was on fire!"

Jiao the Divine Physician shot Chen Jue a look usually reserved for fools.

"Has it occurred to you that you may be exceptionally gifted, with qi and blood far more abundant than ordinary people's? The portion of qi and blood you burned away may simply not have been enough to damage your sinews and bones."

At those words, Chen Jue suddenly saw the light.

A divine physician truly was a divine physician—one sentence had actually resolved the confusion in his heart!

"Divine Physician, how is Uncle Lin doing now?" Chen Jue looked toward Lin Shoucheng, still unconscious on the neighboring bed.

"The saber wound on his chest is a small matter. The key issue is that he exhausted every one of the three hundred strands of True Qi in his body. For the rest of his life, he will likely never return to his peak condition," Jiao the Divine Physician declared flatly.

Chen Jue fell silent.

Indeed, a middle-aged man's qi and blood had already begun to decline. For Uncle Lin to refine another three hundred strands of True Qi through qi and blood would undoubtedly shorten his life.

"Jiao the Divine Physician, please look after my brother. Notify me the moment he wakes up."

He Yuanshan helped Chen Jue out of Jiao the Divine Physician's clinic. Just as they were preparing to head toward Happiness Estate, a patrol car from the Kaiyang Guard Station abruptly stopped before them.

The rear window slowly lowered. In the dim light, Zhao Wei's lean, square face gradually appeared before He Yuanshan and Chen Jue.

"Secretary Zhao!" He Yuanshan instinctively lowered his head.

Chen Jue was wrapped like a mummy at the moment, so he made no movement at all.

"Your nephew did very well this time. Chief Wu not only approved a month of injury leave for him, he also paid out of pocket to reward him with ten low-grade spirit stones and a weapon of excellent quality."

At Zhao Wei's signal, the driver took a cloth bag and a case from the trunk and handed them to He Yuanshan.

"Praise Chief Wu, and thank you, Secretary!"

Clutching the case, He Yuanshan gave Zhao Wei a sharp salute.

Seeing this, Zhao Wei nodded in satisfaction. Before leaving, as if recalling something, he said, "I already know about Zhang Wei extorting your nephew. Tomorrow, I will make him compensate you threefold..."

Holding the case, He Yuanshan nodded repeatedly in excitement.

Fuck, if I'd known this would be the outcome, why had I bargained over the price in the first place?

"Work hard. The leaders above are watching..."

Out of habit, Zhao Wei dangled a carrot before his subordinate, then sped away in a cloud of dust.

"We really hit the jackpot today! Altogether, we got two hundred and fifty thousand in cash alone!"

After Zhao Wei left, He Yuanshan began counting the money on his fingers.

"Though the guard station is covering Uncle Lin's medicine expenses, we still need to find a way to give him some extra."

"If Uncle Lin hadn't kept supporting me from the side at noon today, I definitely would not have been able to cut my way through those Rat Gang bastards!"

Chen Jue reminded him.

"I know, I know."

"He is not just your Uncle Lin—he is my brother too. I would shortchange anyone before I shortchange him..."

Beneath the dim streetlights, the two tall figures gradually vanished into the outer city amid their back-and-forth conversation.