Towering mud walls rose over a road paved with broken stones.
They climbed a flight of wooden steps and entered an office.
The three stopped.
"Mr. Fu, the two honored guests have arrived," Xu Changren said respectfully.
Li Qingxian looked inside. Beneath the deep darkness of night, a dim artifact lamp cast a bean-sized glow.
Behind a broad desk sat a man in a tattered fourth-rank official robe, wearing a bamboo hat with a red crown. Fine white gauze hung from the hat, concealing his face.
Through the fine white gauze, Li Qingxian could faintly make out a black mask bearing a fortune character, leaving only the man's eyes, mouth, and nose exposed.
"Ye Han, chief of the Night Guard's Patrol Bureau, pays his respects to Mr. Fu." Li Qingxian gave a simple cupped-fist salute.
"Zhou Hen." Zhou Hen remained motionless.
"Heh, heh, heh... Please, take a seat, both of you. You're both bound for the Upper Mountain District. There's no need to stand on ceremony."
Li Qingxian stepped over the threshold and sat in a chair beside the door. Zhou Hen stood beside him.
Seeing Zhou Hen stand rather than sit, Xu Changren's eyelid twitched sharply.
Li Qingxian said, "I came here only to make a small deal with you, Mr. Fu. We get resident status, and you get a middle-rank artifact."
Mr. Fu sighed softly. "Chief Ye is a straightforward man. In the past, upon meeting two dragons and phoenixes among men like yourselves, I wouldn't have bothered with talk of deals. I'd simply have obtained your certificates of good citizenship, taken you around the Upper Mountain District to meet a few friends, and then secured temporary status there as a gift from the mayor. But over the past few years, one fierce dragon after another has crossed