Grateful for Great Kindness

Street Patrol Office Chief He Lei had a face full of beard. Unlike ordinary Martial Cultivators, who grew taller and taller with training, he was a slightly fat, burly man who had grown sideways, with a bulging belly. He smiled warmly at Li Qingxian.

Behind him, a sturdy guard carried a six-foot-long bright bronze round hammer engraved with coiling dragons. Its head was as large as a human head, and it stood slightly taller than He Lei.

"Reporting to Chief He, this subordinate was completely unharmed." Li Qingxian glanced at the tiger embroidered on the Principal Seventh Rank badge on Chief He's chest.

As He Lei walked, he laughed. "Well done! I've long disliked that bastard Pang Mingjing. All day long, he talks in barbed riddles and never acts straightforwardly. If he stretches his claws into the Street Patrol Office, they should be chopped off! Zheng Hui, you did right. Our Street Patrol Office people can't let outsiders bully us! I haven't praised your Jia-Nine Office for nothing before Lord Zhou. I'll request credit for you later!"

"Thank you, Chief He!" Zheng Hui was overjoyed.

When he reached Li Qingxian, He Lei patted his left arm and asked, "How's your illness? If you're still uncomfortable, rest a few more days."

"The shock on Ministry of Revenue Street actually left me feeling much refreshed," Li Qingxian said.

"Good!" He Lei said. "If anything comes up, come directly to me. We're all family here."

"Yes," Li Qingxian replied.

The others looked at Li Qingxian enviously, each lost in their own thoughts.

"All right, you all chat. I still have official business to handle." He Lei smiled and took his leave.

He Lei had only gone a few steps when someone shouted from nearby, "Is Li Qingxian here? Is that Zheng Hui, the darkest one? Have you seen Li Qingxian?"

A familiar voice rang out.

Li Qingxian, Zheng Hui, and the others looked over to see Dong Ying hurrying toward them with two people in tow.

"Dong Ying, what do you mean by this?" Seeing Dong Ying's unfriendly expression and recalling that morning's events, Zheng Hui hurriedly stepped in front of Li Qingxian.

By the firelight, Dong Ying spotted Li Qingxian. He rushed forward, dropped to his knees, and slammed his forehead against the stone road three times with loud thuds.

With his forehead turning from red to purple, Dong Ying panted heavily. "I'll never forget the kindness of saving my mother! From this day onward, you are the benefactor of my entire family."

"It was nothing, nothing. Instructor Dong, there's no need to stand on ceremony." Smiling, Li Qingxian helped the tall, thin Dong Ying up.

Though they had not seen each other for only half a day, Dong Ying looked as though he had aged ten years.

The surroundings fell silent. Everyone looked at one another, having no idea what had happened.

Chief He Lei, who was not far away, laughed. "Instructor Dong, you usually rely on your decent fists and feet to refuse to yield to anyone. Why are you kowtowing to a young man? How did he save your mother?"

"Ah? Chief He..."

"Don't rush. Tell us what happened."

Dong Ying calmed himself and recounted what had happened between himself and Li Qingxian that morning. Then he said, "When I rushed to Life-Preserving Hall, my mother was already unconscious. The doctor saw that I was Entry Rank and immediately had me use True Essence to assist him. Only by coordinating with his acupuncture and medicine did we pull my mother back from the Ghost Gate. I feared her body wouldn't hold up, so I kept using True Essence to sustain her. Only after night fell, when the doctor said she was fine, did I come to offer my thanks. Li Qingxian, I'm convinced. I believe you understand Fate Arts."

"Good lad! Fate Reading led you to corn cakes and Life-Preserving Hall—nothing ordinary about that!" He Lei's eyes widened brightly. As he walked back, he scrutinized Li Qingxian with great care, no longer merely playing along as before.

"It was only luck." Li Qingxian smiled.

Han Anbo laughed. "If we hadn't all been together these past two days, I'd have thought you went to Instructor Dong's home in advance to scout it out."

Dong Ying shouted, "Absolutely impossible! Let me tell you what was most incredible about this. My mother originally planned to go to another small pharmacy, but the pain became unbearable, so she changed course halfway and went to the larger Life-Preserving Hall. I worked out the timing. When my mother left home, I had only just met Li Qingxian. He knew she would go to Life-Preserving Hall before my mother did. He is absolutely a master of Fate Arts!"

"It was merely a fortunate chance. My Fate Arts aren't accurate every time." Li Qingxian smiled modestly.

"For our Dong family, being accurate once was enough!"

"That's right, once was enough. Li Qingxian is amazing!"

Everyone praised him in turn.

After pondering for a moment, He Lei walked back, slung an arm around Dong Ying's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Instructor Dong, such life-saving kindness cannot go unthanked. How about this? Once your old mother has recovered from her illness, host a banquet. I'll come join the festivities too."

"Right! I'll definitely hold a feast to give thanks!" Dong Ying nodded hurriedly.

Li Qingxian quickly said, "It was a mere lift of the hand, hardly worth mentioning. If Instructor Dong truly wishes to thank me, an ordinary meal will do."

"How could that do? I must host a banquet! We'll go to... Red Sleeve Tower..."

Smack!

He Lei slapped the back of Dong Ying's head, leaving Dong Ying dazed.

He Lei laughed and cursed, "Red Sleeve Tower, my ass! Qingxian is still so young, and you want to take him to that kind of place? What if those vixens drain him dry? Will he ever reach Entry Rank afterward? Pick somewhere else!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Dong Ying's face reddened. He coughed lightly and said, "Then let's go to Drunken Retreat. There are many scholars there, so it counts as an elegant place. I usually can't bear to go myself. You can't refuse, or every Night Guard in the city will point at my spine and condemn me."

Li Qingxian seemed somewhat regretful as he said, "Since Instructor Dong is so sincere, I'll accept rather than decline. But you must invite the brothers of our Jia-Nine Office as well. They helped too."

"Yes, yes, invite everyone together," Dong Ying said.

He Lei looked at the group, pulled Zheng Hui aside, and spoke with him for a few moments. Zheng Hui nodded repeatedly and thanked him without pause.

"All right, it's late at night. Go wash up and sleep. Tomorrow, you still have to patrol the streets and keep the people safe. Disperse, disperse."

The crowd gradually left. He Lei spoke with Li Qingxian for quite some time and settled on going to Drunken Retreat together in a few days before finally leaving in satisfaction.

Dong Ying came over again to offer a thousand thanks before hurrying home that very night.

Zheng Hui, Han Anbo, Yu Ping, and Li Qingxian strolled leisurely toward the Jia-Nine Office.

"Guess what Chief He told me?" Zheng Hui said smugly.

Before the other three could ask, Zheng Hui could not resist answering himself. "He said we won't be sent to the docks anymore. He told me to stay on Wanping Street without worry. If anything happens on Wanping Street in the future, I should go to him! He also said that if there's a chance, he'll find a position for our family's Big Official and send him into the Night Guard."

"Then you should thank Chief He properly," Han Anbo said.

Zheng Hui threw an arm around Li Qingxian's shoulders and said with a broad smile, "No need. We should thank Qingxian. Chief He made it clear that he was doing this for Qingxian's sake, and he told me to take better care of Qingxian from now on."

Han Anbo looked at Li Qingxian and smiled in relief. "The hardest times have passed."

"Yes, they've finally passed." Li Qingxian sighed softly.

"No wonder Head Chef Wang personally delivered eight oranges this evening. I put them in the room—just enough for two each," Yu Ping said with a cheerful smile.

After they entered the room, Zheng Hui began taking off his tattered strips of cloth and said, "Qingxian, how exactly did you persuade that Lord Luo? People from the Evil Sects aren't easy to deal with. They're even more sinister than the Demon Sect."

"It was nothing. He discovered I came from the Fate Measuring Sect and struck up a conversation. As it happened, he had ties with both my late father and Lord Zhou, so he helped me along the way." Li Qingxian sat on the bed and let out a breath of relief.

After being busy all day, he was exhausted in both body and mind.

Zheng Hui was about to speak again when Han Anbo said, "We've all been tired for a whole day. Let's wipe ourselves down and sleep early. We can talk tomorrow."

"That's true. Let's sleep quickly."

Everyone went out one after another to fetch water and wipe themselves down. The moment Li Qingxian arrived, the people by the well moved aside. Those with sharp eyes immediately helped draw water for him, and the atmosphere was one of perfect harmony.