Qi-Gazing Technique

Deputy Team Leader Han Anbo walked over, glanced at Yu Ping's fingernails stained yellow by tangerine juice, and smiled.

"That was truly close last time. I watched with my own eyes as that Tenth Rank bandit chopped at you. His blade was this close to your neck, and it had already sliced through your collar." Han Anbo gestured at his left shoulder. "Luckily, Team Leader Zheng swung at the back of his head and forced him to withdraw his blade, saving your life. Thinking back on it now, that strike would have at least taken off your left arm. A little worse, and you'd have had a bowl-sized scar on your neck."

Yu Ping reached up to touch his neck. "That really was close. If it were me, I'd have needed a change of pants."

Han Anbo said, "No matter what, Little Li, you need to thank Team Leader Zheng. To save you, Team Leader Zheng took a thrusting kick to the stomach from that man. His intestines nearly ruptured, and it took half a month for him to recover fully."

Li Qingxian hurriedly said, "Thank you, Team Leader Zheng. Once I have some money to spare, I'll definitely come to your home and thank you properly."

A brilliant smile bloomed across Zheng Hui's face. One hand rested on his waist while the other waved dismissively. "Hey! We're brothers here. Why come knocking at my door to thank me? You're even two years younger than my Big Official. Saving you was like saving my own child. Who could watch their own child in danger and not save him? You should focus on learning martial arts, so Lord Li can rest in peace in heaven. I admired Lord Li ten thousand times over. My greatest wish in this life is to rise to Ninth Rank, wear a bronze fish pouch, and hang an iron seal with a ring-shaped knob—not like now, when I can only hang a homemade cowhide pouch for show! Lord Li was five years younger than me, yet he rose to Fourth Rank and wore a silver fish with a nose-shaped knob. How enviable. And you, boy, are ridiculously weak. You can't even beat my Big Official. In a few days..."

Zheng Hui went on and on, while Li Qingxian stared, dumbfounded.

The other two exchanged glances, tossed Li Qingxian looks of sympathy, then silently turned and slipped away.

Li Qingxian let it go in one ear and out the other. He quietly peeled the tangerine, broke off half the segments, and offered them to Zheng Hui.

Zheng Hui was speaking with such animation that he did not take them. Li Qingxian had no choice but to feed the segments into his own mouth one by one.

The juice was plentiful, sweet and tart, leaving a fresh fragrance on his lips and teeth.

Before long, Yu Ping let out a strange cry from nearby. "Deputy Han, Zhang's Mutton Soup is doing such booming business. What if someone drives them away and we can never eat there again?"

"That's possible," Han Anbo answered solemnly.

Zheng Hui's voice stopped short. With a face full of bad luck, he turned around.

"Come on, let's eat mutton soup!"

As Zheng Hui walked, he held out a hand toward Li Qingxian.

"I finished it." Li Qingxian spread both hands.

"Just like Big Official, another little ingrate..." Zheng Hui muttered under his breath as he strode ahead.

As he walked, Li Qingxian looked into the distance.

The buildings in this city were far taller than those of ordinary ancient times. Three- and four-story structures stood everywhere, their outlines concealed amid clusters of trees, blocking the distant skyline.

Li Qingxian frowned. In his hazy memories, there always seemed to be enormous shadows lurking behind those buildings.

Those shadows made him uneasy.

Zheng Hui walked in front in brocade robes with a leather belt, while the other three followed behind in dark blue clothes tied with cloth belts, heading outward.

As Zheng Hui walked, he gave the day's street patrol instructions as usual. "Wanping Street hasn't been peaceful lately. Keep your eyes peeled. Don't provoke anyone you shouldn't, but don't let a single petty thief go, either. Oh, right, the Liu Family Trading House changed hands. I heard the Devil Sect was behind it. In times like these, no matter how good you are at business, without power or cultivation, you'll only end up making wedding clothes for someone else. Old Liu was an honest man, and his brocades and cloth always sold well. What a pity... Also, I heard the Evil Sects and the Devil Sect are fighting over Changle Restaurant. We should keep our distance for a while. We can't afford to provoke them... Ah, the Night Guard isn't what it used to be. Back in the day, I even raided a prince's estate..."

Li Qingxian said nothing, quietly observing everything, yet the feeling of strangeness in his heart grew ever stronger.

This was the Divine Capital, the capital of Qi Kingdom, the largest and strongest nation on the entire continent. Beneath the Imperial City, in the foremost city of the realm, how could the Evil Sects and Devil Sect run rampant like this? Why would the Night Guard, a vital department of the court, fear them?

What kind of damned place was Qi Kingdom?

Li Qingxian tried hard to recall, but the crucial memories remained blurred.

Along the way, people occasionally called out greetings of "Zheng Black," and Zheng Hui always answered with a smile.

Now and then, people also greeted Han Anbo or Yu Ping.

Yet even after they left through the Night Guard's side gate and proceeded down Night Guard Street, no one greeted Li Qingxian.

Several people looked familiar from his memories, but they treated him as though he did not exist.

Li Qingxian finally understood. Ever since his father had died from crashing into a pillar, more and more people had cut off contact with him.

Thinking carefully, only these three people in the Night Guard had remained as they always were, continuously looking after him. A month ago, rivals from the Military and Horse Bureau had come looking for trouble, and these three had stepped forward and driven them back. There was also someone named Ye Han, whom he had met recently and gotten along with fairly well.

His aunt and uncle, his cousin, and his younger cousin had not changed. The two childhood friends he had grown up with, close as if they had worn the same pair of pants, were also the same as ever.

As for his former academy classmates, aside from two with whom he had been close, he had basically lost touch with all of them.

As Zheng Hui walked, he said, "Don't think all this exchanging greetings is too troublesome. Everyone needs face. If others give Zheng Hui face, then I must give them face in return. But remember this: face is earned by yourself, and it can also be lost by yourself..."

Han Anbo glanced at Li Qingxian, who was walking with his head lowered in thought. Taking advantage of a pause in Zheng Hui's speech, he said, "Old Zheng, I heard someone above wanted to make a move against Lord Zhou. It didn't happen?"

Zheng Hui's eyes lit up. He gave a cold laugh and said, "That did happen! But they didn't stop to consider who Lord Zhou is! He was personally selected by the late emperor as the Third Scholar of the First Class, a master calligrapher whose writing the current emperor has requested many times, and such a handsome man that even the Empress Dowager herself praised him as 'truly handsome.' His fame fills the world. Forget those petty schemers; even a Grand Secretary would have to weigh the matter carefully before moving against Lord Zhou."

"There are also rumors that the court wanted to promote Lord Zhou by one rank, but Lord Zhou did not want to move," Han Anbo said.

"There was such a matter. Lord Zhou doesn't enjoy scrambling for advancement. Some say that after his wife and daughter died, his heart turned to ashes. Otherwise, with Lord Zhou's ability and connections, he would certainly have gone a step further," Zheng Hui said.

Han Anbo turned to Li Qingxian. "When Little Li first came here, some people said Lord Li had used Lord Zhou's connections to get him in."

Li Qingxian was stunned.

His impression was that his father, Li Gangfeng, had never mentioned Zhou Chunfeng. He did have some impression of Zhou Chunfeng, though. Zhou was the Chief Director of the Divine Capital Office within the Night Guard and also held a concurrent post in the Imperial Prison Bureau. He was one of Great Qi's most famous handsome men, with romantic affairs and scandalous rumors about him spread throughout the country.

Zheng Hui smiled. "When Qingxian fell ill twice, the office proactively sent Doctor Sun over. They showed him exceptional care. An ordinary Night Guard wouldn't be worth Doctor Sun coming in person."

Li Qingxian shook his head. "I truly don't remember any such connection. My father never mentioned it."

Han Anbo patted Li Qingxian's right shoulder. "It's true that Lord Zhou has looked after you."

"Yes." Zheng Hui glanced at Han Anbo.

Something stirred in Li Qingxian's heart, and he looked toward Han Anbo.

He looked to be in his thirties, with a square face, a flat nose bridge, short brows, and small eyes. Under the morning light, his features appeared especially gentle and harmonious.

Han Anbo smiled.

Li Qingxian nodded, drew a deep breath, and felt warmth fill his heart.

"Team Jia-Nine, halt!" A familiar voice rang out.

All four turned around together.

Zheng Hui's skin had always been dark, but now his face looked so gloomy that it had turned purple-black.

Like Zheng Hui, this man wore an official robe bearing a white horse insignia. However, a faint ring of golden thread was embroidered around the insignia's edge—the uniform of a Principal Tenth Rank military official.

He was as tall as Zheng Hui but much thinner, with sunken cheeks and high cheekbones. He smiled as he looked their way.

Li Qingxian recognized him as Dong Ying, the instructor of the Street Patrol Office. Back then, Dong Ying had defeated Zheng Hui by one move and seized the position of Street Patrol Office instructor.

"Zheng Hui, how have you considered the matter of changing streets?"

Zheng Hui gritted his teeth. "Instructor Dong, we're doing fine on Wanping Street. Switching to the docks would be truly hard to adapt to. Besides, our team only has four people. We simply can't manage such a huge dock."

"The docks are rich in profit. I'm doing this for your own good," Dong Ying said with a smile.

"No matter how rich the profit, you need to be alive to spend it. Old Dong, you know me. I, Zheng Black, have never touched anything I shouldn't take. Among all the shopkeepers and clerks on Wanping Street, not one has anything but praise for me," Zheng Hui said.

"Then what should we do? Chief Fang has always wanted to find someone reliable, and I think you're the best candidate."

"Brother Dong, please think it over again." Zheng Hui looked utterly dejected.

"Brother Dong, please do us a favor. I'll send you some game later." Yu Ping grinned.

"That's right, Brother Dong. None of us are good for much. We just want to live our little lives in peace. We can't get used to a place as mixed up as the docks, where fish and dragons mingle," Han Anbo said.

"I don't want to make things difficult for you either, but Chief Fang is pressing hard. He said it has to be decided today or tomorrow," Dong Ying said with a sigh.

Li Qingxian frowned slightly. The docks were one of the most chaotic places, and Night Guard casualties were as common as daily meals.

Even a Tenth Rank Martial Cultivator like Zheng Hui could hardly guarantee his life there, let alone someone with arms and legs as slight as his.

A thought flashed through Li Qingxian's mind. He silently recited the Qi-Gazing Technique and looked toward Dong Ying.

His eyes grew faintly hot, and heaven and earth blazed with light. Dong Ying stood at the center of the radiance.

Above Dong Ying's head appeared a withered yellow old tree, three feet tall. One image after another flashed across it, every scene connected to Dong Ying.

There was Dong Ying eating with his family, Dong Ying clutching an elderly woman as he wept, Dong Ying smashing up the kitchen at home, Dong Ying dressed in mourning hemp and wearing mourning cloth, kneeling before a Tomb scattered with paper money and kowtowing until his head bled...

An instant later, Li Qingxian became dizzy and disoriented. His body swayed, and he hurriedly stopped the Qi-Gazing Technique.

Han Anbo quickly supported Li Qingxian and asked, "Little Li, are you all right?"

Li Qingxian hurriedly said, "I'm fine."

"Zheng Hui, are you going or not? Give me an answer," Dong Ying said.

Zheng Hui lowered his head slightly.

Li Qingxian suddenly cupped his fist in his palm. "Lord Dong, I have an important matter to discuss. Could we speak somewhere private?"

"Oh, Mr. Gangfeng's son? Certainly." Dong Ying swept a glance over Li Qingxian and walked toward the other side of Night Guard Street.

Zheng Hui, Yu Ping, and Han Anbo looked curiously at Li Qingxian. Li Qingxian gave the three of them a reassuring look and followed.

"Lord Dong, I learned Fate Arts from my maternal grandfather," Li Qingxian said.

Dong Ying narrowed his eyes slightly. "I seem to have heard someone say that you know a little Fate Arts. But a Fate Arts Master's strength is important. When low-rank Fate Arts Masters read the fate of those above them, their readings are often riddled with errors and omissions. They may even suffer backlash."

"I'm Unranked, and you're Tenth Rank. Our ranks differ by only one level. Even if there is backlash, it will be very mild," Li Qingxian said.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I saw something unusual in Lord Dong's Fortune and unconsciously used Fate Arts on you. After calculating, I found that Lord Dong himself will be fine. However, your honored mother will encounter a great calamity today," Li Qingxian said.

"Nonsense. My mother is in good health. She can walk for half a shichen without even breathing hard, and she bustles about every day. How could she face some great calamity?" Vigilance appeared in Dong Ying's eyes.