New Leather Belt

Yu Ping took the lead, grabbed the rabbit's left hind leg in a flash, twisted and pulled, and expertly removed it, holding it as he bit right in.

Zheng Hui lowered his voice and cursed, "You little brat, it'd be great if you were this handy when practicing your saber."

Han Anbo removed the other sturdy hind leg, shoved it at Li Qingxian without a word, and broke off some front-leg meat for himself to eat.

"Thanks!" Li Qingxian smiled, gripping the rabbit leg.

Inside the room under the faint moonlight, the sound of dense chewing echoed.

Li Qingxian ate and smiled, never expecting that eating a rabbit leg could be so thrilling.

Halfway through his half, he suddenly heard a loud shout from next door: "There's the smell of meat! Which room is breaking the fast? We can't let them get away!"

Nine out of ten dormitories instantly exploded.

"It must be Yu Ping's doing!"

"Right, check Jia-Nine Office first!"

"Let's go..."

Zheng Hui hurriedly said, "I'll block the door! You guys eat fast, get the meatiest parts first!"

The three of them scrambled, speeding up their meat tearing, stuffing it in desperately, and chewing in large bites.

"Blocking the door? Well, buddy isn't being polite! Bring two squad leaders, kick the door together!"

Bang!

Zheng Hui flew backward along with the door. A bunch of fierce demons with glowing green eyes and flaring nostrils surged in, and the pitch-black room filled with the sound of rapid inhaling.

Those three Tenth Rank squad leaders had extremely bright eyes and charged straight ahead. Li Qingxian only felt a gust of black wind sweep past, and the remaining rabbit and paper wrapper on the table vanished.

Even the bones left from gnawing at the edge of the wrapper were gone without a trace.

The beasts who charged in first rushed back out while eating.

"Who dares hog it all? Grab it!"

In the courtyard, a scramble under the moonlight began.

Suddenly, one person cursed, "Are you guys desperate to live? Licked the bones this clean? I risked my life to grab this, and all I get is a mouthful of spit."

Everyone burst into laughter.

After everyone joked and raised a ruckus for a while, they discussed who managed to get a bite and returned to their respective rooms.

Li Qingxian and Zheng Hui worked together to reinstall the door panel, but failed to fit it for ages, leaving them with no choice but to find someone to fix it tomorrow.

"Next time, we'll hide behind the rockery to eat," Yu Ping said.

"Alright, hurry up and sleep," Zheng Hui said.

"I'm not full..." Yu Ping said with a wronged expression.

"Go starve to death then!" Zheng Hui scolded with a smile.

"Sigh..." Yu Ping muttered as he pulled a paper wrapper from his chest, grabbed a few pastries from inside, and shoved them into his mouth.

Li Qingxian gave Yu Ping a sideways glance and said, "You're really something."

Yu Ping finished eating with satisfaction and said, "I anticipated long ago that the rabbit would get snatched away, so I saved a few pieces. I'm full."

"Hurry up and sleep, we're patrolling the street tomorrow."

The four of them lay down, and the meaty aroma of the roasted rabbit still drifted around the room.

Outside the half-closed, broken door, insect chirps and bird calls sounded from time to time, alongside the laughter of Night Guards.

"Qingxian, how's your body? Can you go to the training ground for the evening practice? Morning practice starts in a few days, do you need to ask for leave?" Zheng Hui asked.

"I feel like my body's pretty much okay. I'll try the evening practice tomorrow and see how it goes. If I don't exercise this body of mine, I'm afraid it's going to fall apart," Li Qingxian said.

"Alright, since you're mostly recovered, we'll switch back tomorrow, and you and An Bo can patrol the street together. He has a good head, and actually thinks things through more thoroughly than I do. You must listen to him."

"Got it."

"Sleep..."

The room quieted down, and before long, sounds of deep sleep of varying intensity drifted over.

After a little while longer, a creaking, gnawing sound rang out.

Li Qingxian rolled over in a daze and asked, "Are there rats?"

The creaking sound stopped abruptly.

Zheng Hui cursed, "Yu Ping, can you have a little dignity?"

"Squeak... squeak..." Mouse squeaks came from Yu Ping's bedding.

Li Qingxian squinted and looked over. In the dim room, Yu Ping's bedding was arched into a small tent, and he instantly woke up laughing.

"Little brat!" Zheng Hui finished cursing, turned over, and went back to sleep.

Only after Yu Ping finished eating did sleepiness finally wash over Li Qingxian, and he slowly closed his eyes.

Early the next morning, Zheng Hui was roaring and bellowing to wake everyone up, his voice so loud that even the next room was complaining.

Li Qingxian opened his eyes in a daze to see that Zheng Hui was already fully dressed, pacing back and forth in the room and urging them on incessantly.

After washing up and dressing, the four of them stood at the door.

Zheng Hui put his hands on his hips, looked up at the sky, and lingered without leaving.

The three of them looked at each other, clueless as to what was going on, and could only stand in place.

Suddenly, Han Anbo glanced at Zheng Hui's waist, dawned with realization, bent down, and carefully observed Zheng Hui's leather belt. Clicking his tongue twice, he said, "Old Zheng, who got you this new leather belt? This hide is way better than the ones issued by the office, and the workmanship is exquisite. Only this matches your status as a Tenth Rank."

Li Qingxian followed his gaze. The brown leather belt looked as though it were coated in a layer of oil, shining brightly in the morning light.

Zheng Hui stroked the leather belt and said with a chuckle, "Hah, who else could it be? My big official sent it last night. The kid doesn't focus on proper work all day, just loafing around, and said this is calfskin. What's the use of that? No matter how good a Tenth Rank leather belt is, it's still Tenth Rank. Once I reach the Ninth Rank and get a patterned leather belt, that'll be the good stuff."

"The big official knows how to show filial responsibility now. I'm really envious of Squad Leader Zheng," Han Anbo chimed in with practiced flattery.

"Filial piety? As long as he doesn't drive me crazy, I'll burn high incense! Let's go, time to eat." As Zheng Hui walked, he stroked his leather belt, hummed a little tune, and strutted along triumphantly, smiling at everyone he saw.

The four of them ate their pig slop and went to patrol the street as usual.

On the way, they ran into Instructor Dong Ying and chatted for a while. His mother's health was gradually improving, and in a little while, he would be bustling about with matters regarding Drunken Retreat, at which point he wanted to make sure Li Qingxian and the other three honored him with their presence.

Zheng Hui watched Dong Ying's retreating figure, and only after he had walked far away did he pat Li Qingxian's shoulder and say, "We have you to thank for this matter. Back then, even though he beat me by a single move and became the instructor, he suppressed a mouthful of blood out of sheer stubbornness, leaving behind a root of illness. If he hadn't been nursing his spite that time and directly spat out the blood, he would have stood a good chance at the Ninth Rank. There's no telling who was right or wrong in that matter, so the two of us still butt heads sometimes, but we always keep a sense of proportion."

"There's history like that? No wonder I felt like the two of you had a slightly stiff relationship," Li Qingxian said.

"A few days ago, he sought me out in private and said all those things were in the past, insisting I must go to Drunken Retreat. I let it go too; we're all just trying to get by, none of it is easy," Zheng Hui said as he walked forward.

Along the way, the four of them chatted about various things concerning the Night Guards.

Slowly, Li Qingxian felt that being a Night Guard wasn't bad at all.

There were teammates and brothers, elders and uncles, food and drink to be had, jokes to share, and fortune to be picked up for free. It was perfect.

After the four of them finished patrolling Wanping Street together as usual, they split into two groups.

Yu Ping grabbed Han Anbo and tried to leave, but Zheng Hui slapped Yu Ping's hand away, reached out his right arm to clamp Yu Ping's neck in the crook of his elbow, and squeezed until Yu Ping's face turned bright red.

Zheng Hui waved to Li Qingxian and Han Anbo: "See you at noon!"

In the chilly morning sunlight, Zheng Hui scolded and disciplined Yu Ping, their two stuck-together shadows slowly receding down the bluestone-paved road.

As they walked, Li Qingxian asked, "Brother Han, do you think Brother Zheng partners up with Yu Ping just to keep him from eating randomly?"

"No need to ask, absolutely. But Yu Ping is also a pitiful kid; his family was quite poor when he was little, and he often went two or three days without a meal. Later on, when the family's fortunes improved, he was scared of starvation, so whenever he had money, he bought food. After becoming a Night Guard, his mouth never rests either, and his entire stipend goes toward eating."

"Is it enough?"

"How could it be enough? That's why he frequently sneaks back home to ask for money. His parents know he's just buying food, so they indulge him. Squad Leader Zheng worries he'll eat too much and delay his cultivation, leaving him unable to enter the ranks later, so he's always keeping him on a tight leash."