Crime-Expiation Silver

"Captain Zheng really was born to worry. Still, thanks to him, if I'd been assigned to another squad, I would've been bullied to death these past six months." Li Qingxian sighed.

"Yeah. I often felt lucky to have met Captain Zheng too. Usually, I neglected my proper duties and constantly looked through old case files, but he never stopped me," Han Anbo said.

Li Qingxian hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have an Imperial Prison Bureau badge. If there are any files you can't access, just tell me."

"Alright, having those words from you is enough." Han Anbo had short brows and small eyes that squeezed together whenever he smiled, making him seem even more amiable.

Li Qingxian smiled but did not ask why Han Anbo liked reading old case files.

The two talked as they patrolled the streets.

Li Qingxian discovered that Zheng Hui and Han Anbo operated in completely different ways.

Zheng Hui was the sort who thought close enough was good enough—good for you, good for me, good for everyone.

Han Anbo appeared quiet and unconcerned about many things, but whenever he discovered a problem, he would investigate it until he got to the bottom of it.

Following Zheng Hui, one could learn more about the ways of the world; following Han Anbo, one could learn more about practical matters.

As noon drew near, the two headed toward Wanping Street.

Just like before, Li Qingxian's feet had gone numb from exhaustion.

Han Anbo's steps were much slower than they had been that morning.

Li Qingxian sighed inwardly. This vice-captain truly was a meticulous man.

As they walked, a piercing whistle sounded in the distance.

The two immediately stopped, exchanged a glance, and listened intently, judging the signal and its direction.

A call for help.

It was cut off during the second blast.

His left hand resting on his saber, Han Anbo sprinted down the yellow dirt road. Li Qingxian hurried after him.

Dust billowed up behind them, too weak to settle.

"Wanping Street. I hope it isn't Brother Zheng and Little Yu." Han Anbo frowned tightly. At the same time, he grabbed his whistle with his right hand and sounded the same distress call.

Li Qingxian said nothing, gritted his teeth, and followed.

Han Anbo looked back and said, "You've only just recovered from a serious illness. You can't run like this. Slow down and wait for reinforcements."

"I can do it." Li Qingxian neither slowed nor sped up, keeping his pace steady.

"Good!"

The two ran one before the other, slowly widening the gap, but Li Qingxian could always see Han Anbo's back.

"Huff... huff..."

After running only a short while, Li Qingxian felt as if scalding water had been poured from his nose down into his lungs, leaving everything burning hot.

"If you can't do it, rest!" Han Anbo shouted from ahead.

Captain Zheng Hui's hearty smile flashed through Li Qingxian's mind.

"I can do it!" Li Qingxian clenched his teeth and kept running.

Before long, Han Anbo reached the entrance to Wanping Street. He waved at Li Qingxian, then rushed inside.

Li Qingxian accelerated and charged after him.

By the time he reached the street entrance, Li Qingxian was gasping so hard he could barely catch his breath. His face was bright red, and sweat streamed down from his forehead.

Unable to run any farther, Li Qingxian quickly walked into Wanping Street.

A smooth bluestone road stretched ahead, with rows of shops on both sides and banners and lanterns swaying overhead.

A dense crowd had gathered before Fengxiang Silk Shop, and people from all around craned their necks to look over.

Li Qingxian remembered Zheng Hui saying that people from the Demon Sect had forcibly taken over this shop.

Outside the crowd, a young man in the official uniform of a Seventh Rank martial officer sat atop a jujube-red horse. Chain patterns twisted along the edges of his green official robe. With his right hand, he pulled out several silver notes, crumpled them into a ball, and tossed them into the crowd as though throwing away waste paper. He chuckled. "This is this official's Crime-Expiation Silver. A mere Subordinate Tenth Rank dared meddle in the Demon Sect's affairs? He truly didn't know whether he was alive or dead!"

"Hyah!" After saying that, the man spurred his horse away, leaving Li Qingxian with a retreating figure that gradually blurred into the distance.

Li Qingxian sighed. Crime-Expiation Silver was Emperor Taining's creation, mainly aimed at Entry Rank officials. Paying money could absolve some crimes. The other party had thrown down Crime-Expiation Silver, and he was a dignified Principal Seventh Rank martial officer of the Demon Sect. That Subordinate Tenth Rank probably had no choice but to swallow his broken teeth with blood.

A Principal Seventh Rank, outside the capital, was the lord of an entire county—a county magistrate capable of ruining families.

Wait. Could that Subordinate Tenth Rank be...

"Captain Zheng!" Han Anbo's voice rang out from within the crowd.

Li Qingxian's heart lurched. He rushed forward and shouted, "Night Guard business! Move aside! Move aside!"

The crowd parted to both sides. Yu Ping and Zheng Hui lay on the ground, while Han Anbo pinched the spot beneath Zheng Hui's nose. An unfamiliar man lay nearby as well.

Dark red blood had blossomed across the ground, then congealed.

Zheng Hui's eyes were shut tight, and he did not move. A faint layer of white frost covered his originally dark face, and traces of blood remained at the corners of his mouth.

A crumpled bundle of silver notes lay rolled beside him.

Li Qingxian ran over, crouched beside Zheng Hui, and asked, "Vice-Captain Han, how is Captain Zheng?"

Han Anbo's face darkened. "When I rushed in, the two of them were already down. But they're still breathing. It doesn't look like their lives are in danger."

"Should we take them back to the Night Guard to save them, or what?" Li Qingxian asked.

Han Anbo shook his head. "We can't move them recklessly. The distress whistle has already gone out, and I heard responses from elsewhere. Entry Rank Night Guards will definitely come. It'll be more reliable if they handle this."

"I'll fetch a doctor!" Li Qingxian said.

Han Anbo swept his gaze through the crowd and looked toward a man in dark blue robes. "Doctor Cheng, please help us. If anything happens, we Night Guards will bear the responsibility!"

Doctor Cheng sighed, glanced at the people standing at the entrance of Fengxiang Silk Shop, and said, "I'll get my acupuncture needles and return at once."

Li Qingxian stood and looked around at the sea of people. Cupping his hands in salute, he said, "Friends of Wanping Street, if anyone knows what happened, please tell us. The Night Guard will offer a generous reward."

Those present looked sympathetically at Li Qingxian, then, as though by prior agreement, looked toward the shopkeeper and two black-clad guards at Fengxiang Silk Shop's entrance. No one spoke.

"You know the cause and effect of this?" Li Qingxian gripped his saber hilt with his right hand as if about to draw it, staring at the three people at the shop entrance.

The shopkeeper wore an ink-green wealthy gentleman's robe patterned with clustered flowers and a black square cap. He showed a kindly smile and said, "Little brother, you misunderstand. This matter has little to do with us. That Liu Minghao claimed his father's heirloom was left in the shop and came to demand it. But since our master has taken over Fengxiang Silk Shop, every single item in Fengxiang Silk Shop belongs to our master. Captain Zheng did not distinguish black from white before demanding that we produce the heirloom. Our master's friend could not bear to watch and struck out, injuring them. We are merely law-abiding commoners helping our master run the shop. How would we dare fight the Night Guard? I hope this Night Guard little brother will judge clearly."

Li Qingxian was about to continue questioning him when Han Anbo said, "Go check on Yu Ping. I'll watch the captain. The captain is not in immediate danger. Don't stir up trouble first." As he spoke, he gave him a meaningful look.

Li Qingxian nodded and silently walked over to Yu Ping, crouching down to inspect him.

Yu Ping's breathing was steady. Only the clothing around his abdomen had been torn apart. It looked as though someone had knocked him unconscious with a single palm strike; there was not even blood at the corner of his mouth.

Li Qingxian carefully examined the torn portion of Yu Ping's clothes. A bad premonition rose in his heart, and he abruptly looked toward Zheng Hui.

The clothing over Zheng Hui's abdomen had likewise been torn apart by True Essence.

That gleaming cowhide belt had snapped, and the horse-head iron buckle at its center had shattered, scattering pieces everywhere.

"Vice-Captain Han, their dantians..." Li Qingxian asked tentatively.

Han Anbo's eyes reddened. He lowered his head and said nothing.

Li Qingxian froze, a flash of anger crossing his face.

Three inches below the navel lay the lower dantian, where a Martial Cultivator's True Essence resided.

Destroying their dantians was no different from cutting off both their futures.

Li Qingxian took a deep breath and said slowly, "It's alright. Once Captain Zheng wakes up, nurtures his dantian back to health, and advances to Ninth Rank, even if I have to smash my pots and sell my iron, I'll treat him to Flower Sea Strong Brew!"

Han Anbo said nothing.

"Yu Ping has plenty of flesh. It'll definitely protect his dantian," Li Qingxian said softly.

Han Anbo kept his head lowered.

The fragrance of wine from Flower Sea Tower drifted through Wanping Street.

The crowd did not disperse for a long time.