Hong Cheng laughed loudly. "Captain, we're Night Guards, not lackeys of the Divine Capital Yamen, nor are we the Military and Horse Bureau's little hooligans. We Night Guards have fought our way up. Of course, you're the captain, so I wouldn't dare provoke you. But if you want to trade blows with me, I'll oblige. Even if you beat me black and blue, if I, Hong Cheng, utter half a word of surrender, then I'm dog-fucked."
After speaking, Hong Cheng grinned, baring his snow-white teeth. His body swayed lightly, and the bones throughout his body crackled like popping beans.
The exposed joints seemed to have earthworms writhing and tangling beneath them. Great lumps bulged from his knuckles, gleaming with a metallic sheen as though he wore thick brass knuckles.
Li Qingxian stared at Hong Cheng.
Hong Cheng smiled broadly. "Those of us who practice the Hard-Bone Technique might not be good at much else, but we're damn good at fighting."
As he spoke, he lightly struck his fists together before his chest, producing a clang like metal against iron.
"Captain Li, it's all a small matter. I never took it to heart," Han Anbo said with a smile.
Li Qingxian nodded. "True, just a small matter. I had originally planned to buy the new vice-captain a drink and build some rapport. But Lord Zhou just assigned Team Jia-Nine a job. Since you're here, come handle it with us."
Li Qingxian turned and headed out.
Hong Cheng froze for a moment. He watched Han Anbo and Yu Ping pass by him, hesitated briefly, then stepped forward to follow.
Along the way, Li Qingxian remained expressionless and silent.
Hong Cheng kept smiling, occasionally saying a few words, but no one responded.
He asked several times where they were going, yet Li Qingxian acted as though he had not heard.
As they passed the entrance to Wanping Street, Han Anbo paused and looked toward Yu Ping.
Yu Ping also wore a puzzled expression.
This road was familiar.
It was here that day that Pang Mingjing had forced Li Qingxian onto a carriage.
The four continued onward.
Only when the Evil God Statues appeared behind the buildings did Han Anbo's expression change slightly. He hurried a few steps to keep close to Li Qingxian and lowered his voice. "Don't be impulsive."
"I'm the captain. Listen to me," Li Qingxian said.
Han Anbo walked at his side, looking at Li Qingxian's youthful face as a warm current surged through his heart.
"It isn't worth it... for my sake," he whispered.
Li Qingxian said nothing.
Yu Ping raised his head to glance at the statues, recalling what had happened that day.
At first, Hong Cheng had kept talking to himself, but as they drew closer and closer to Ministry of Revenue Street, and as the Evil God Statues grew larger and larger, he stopped speaking.
Everyone in the Night Guard knew about Pang Mingjing.
Everyone also knew that, in order to save Li Qingxian, Zhou Chunfeng had used his connections within the Ministry of Revenue.
Hong Cheng looked suspiciously at the statues, then at Li Qingxian. His hesitation deepened.
To most people, Ministry of Revenue Street, Ministry of Justice Street, and Night Guard Street were no different from Demon Race territory.
Before long, the four arrived at God-Worship Street, which ran alongside Ministry of Revenue Street.
The ground was paved with black stone, and every household hung white lanterns bearing red characters high above its doors.
There were no cries of vendors, no sounds of haggling.
People came and went, yet the street was silent and desolate.
The shelves of the shops on both sides were packed with offerings: incense, candles, wine, fruit, paper, memorial documents, yellow banners, command tablets, colored cords, and more.
When they reached an incense and candle shop, Li Qingxian stopped. "Vice-Captain Han, buy a set of nine incense sticks. Put it on the public account."
Han Anbo sighed softly. "Yes, Captain Li."
Hong Cheng looked at the icy Li Qingxian, and for some reason, goosebumps rose on his arms.
But when he recalled Wei Yong's encouraging gaze and Tao Zhi's harsh words, he gritted his teeth and smiled. "Captain Li, Han Anbo ceased being vice-captain long ago. Calling him that so casually disrupts the Night Guard's rules."
Li Qingxian seemed not to hear him. He stood there quietly, watching Han Anbo take out copper coins and count them into the shopkeeper's hand.
Hong Cheng's face stiffened with embarrassment.
The shopkeeper accepted the money, wrapped up nine pale-yellow, one-foot-long incense sticks, and handed them to Han Anbo. "May the gods bless you."
Holding the incense, Han Anbo followed Li Qingxian onward.
Hong Cheng hesitantly trailed at the very back, glancing around at his surroundings.
They turned right, passed through a narrow alley, and stepped onto the broad Ministry of Revenue Street.
The near-noon sunlight was white and dazzling.
With nothing blocking them, the five Evil God Statues pressed an invisible presence onto everyone's hearts.
Not far away, the Ministry of Revenue's distinctive walls of double blood-gold stripes were especially eye-catching.
The empty Ministry of Revenue Street clearly held nothing, yet it made one's heart panic.
Hong Cheng stopped walking, his legs going weak.
Li Qingxian turned to look at Hong Cheng, a mocking smile appearing on his face. "What, scared?"
"What are we doing here?" Hong Cheng asked, forcing himself to stand firm.
"To collect money. What else would we come to the Ministry of Revenue for besides demanding payment?" Li Qingxian asked with an astonished look.
"Y-you... are you going to harm me like you did Pang Mingjing?"
"Are you practicing the Hard-Bone Technique, or the Soft-Bone Technique?" Li Qingxian asked.
Hong Cheng swallowed, his throat bobbing. He glanced at the Ministry of Revenue's high walls, drew a deep breath, and said, "I'll wait outside."
Li Qingxian smiled. "Are you sure you want to stay alone on Ministry of Revenue Street?"
"I'll wait on God-Worship Street," Hong Cheng said.
Li Qingxian stared into Hong Cheng's eyes and slowly said, "On your first day as vice-captain, you disobey the order of Zhou Chunfeng, Commissioner of the Divine Capital Office. Do you know the consequences?"
Hong Cheng fell silent. He remembered the punishment he faced for crippling Finance Office soldiers, remembered the smile on Tao Zhi's face and the threat in his words, and finally imagined what would happen if he were driven out of the Night Guard.
He gritted his teeth. "I'll go! If you harm me, Commissioner Wei will not let this rest!"
"Keep up."
After saying that, Li Qingxian continued onward. The four arrived at the side gate of the Southern Court. Li Qingxian took out his Night Guard waist token and asked a guard to fetch Luo Jing.
Before long, Luo Jing hurried over with Duan Heng behind him.
"Lord Li, it has only been a few days, yet you've already entered the ranks. Congratulations, congratulations!" Luo Jing said politely, clasping his hands.
"We're on the same side. No need to be so polite," Li Qingxian said coldly.
Luo Jing's smile faded. He gave Li Qingxian a surprised look, then swept his gaze over the three men behind him. Finally, his eyes fell on Hong Cheng. A Principal Tenth Rank official was walking at the back of the group?
Hong Cheng's entire body stiffened, and his heart pounded wildly. Luo Jing wore a Gold-trimmed Oriole Badge—the garb of a Principal Eighth Rank civil official—so why was he being so polite to Li Qingxian?
Seeing Luo Jing look over, he hurriedly bent at the waist and bowed. "Hong Cheng, vice-captain of Team Jia-Nine of the Night Guard Street Patrol Office, greets you, my lord."
Luo Jing only caught the words "vice-captain." He glanced at Han Anbo thoughtfully, then looked to Li Qingxian. "Did Lord Zhou send you?"
Li Qingxian said, "Take me to worship the gods first. We cannot break the rules this time."
"Very well." Luo Jing led them across Ministry of Revenue Street and into the North Court of the Ministry of Revenue.
The moment they entered, an enormous plaza unfolded before them.
At the center of the great plaza, the five gods seemed to stand amid the clouds, towering enough to shoulder the heavens, their peaks impossible to see.
Li Qingxian no longer looked up. He could only vaguely see layers upon layers of dark clouds gathering in the corner of his vision, and within those clouds, countless eyes trembled and peered around.
Li Qingxian surveyed the area. Blood-Gold Paint covered the entire plaza, making it seem at first glance as if dried blood had been smeared across the ground.
Along the edges of the plaza on either side of the statues stood numerous smaller god statues, like the five gods' guards.
Li Qingxian felt as though he had lost his sense of space. This place was clearly within the Divine Capital and should not have been large, yet for some reason, it felt boundless at a glance.
Not far ahead stood exactly thirty offering tables of patterned red sandalwood. Each one held the three sacrificial livestock of pig, ox, and sheep; the three sacrificial fowl of chicken, duck, and goose; and the three sacrificial fruits of pear, tangerine, and crabapple.
In the brass incense burner at the center of the offering tables, long incense sticks stood upright as white smoke curled upward.
Before you continue