Night Guard

Biodata

Background / History

At its height, the Night Guard supervised civil and military officials, commanded martial sects, and handled supernatural threats. Its authority was extensive enough for Zheng Hui to call it the “Little Cabinet.” 2

Its power depended heavily on imperial backing. A Night Guard soldier explains that the organization could act with impunity when Emperor Taining supported it, but became powerless when the Emperor withheld his word. 6

By the beginning of Li Qingxian’s service, the Night Guard was already in decline: its main gate had remained closed for more than half a year, and the Mounted Patrol had not appeared in public over the same period. 2 The Patrol’s eventual deployment to rescue Li Qingxian was treated as a major revival of the organization’s old prestige. 8 11

The organization was later reorganized alongside the abolition of the Eastern and Western Depots. The new Patrol Bureau absorbed personnel from the Divine Capital Office, Night Guard, Five-City Military and Horse Bureau, and Capital Camp, but required Inner Factory warrants to act. 194

After Zhou Chunfeng’s death, Prince of Chu’s appointees moved to control Night Guard posts, threatening to replace lower-ranking officers and further destabilizing the organization. 564 By the time Coward King meets Chief Eunuch Cheng Baihan, the Night Guard has been reduced to less than one-tenth of its former peak. 1112

Organization

Open and Hidden Branches

The Night Guard has two branches:

• Open branch — monitors civil and military officials and handles demonfiends, puppets, monsters, and related threats. 17
• Hidden branch — a nationwide intelligence network operating “like a great net cast over the world”; its reach can uncover matters hidden from grand secretaries and princes. 17

Known Offices and Units

Ranks and Authority

• The Night Guard employs a formal official-rank hierarchy, ranging from low-ranking guards to high-ranking commanders and Chief Guard Envoys. 5 76
• Gold-Character Command Tokens authorize their holders to directly execute anyone below Ninth Rank. 5
• The organization possesses an Imperial Edict Gold Plaque, described as its final deterrent; using it risks exposing the limits of its authority if the target refuses to comply. 654
• The Night Guard Yamen has formed its own Grand Momentum Configuration, making Fate Observation within its halls especially dangerous. 46

Duties

• Monitor civil and military officials. 2 17
• Investigate and apprehend ranked cultivators and special forces through the Patrol Bureau. 194
• Eliminate demons, monsters, ghosts, puppets, and strange entities. 2 17 49
• Conduct demon-hunting operations outside the Divine Capital. 46 49
• Maintain hidden intelligence networks across the realm. 17
• Protect Night Guard personnel and their families when other institutions threaten them. 178
• Support major military operations through cultivators, elite soldiers, reconnaissance, talismans, and coordinated raids. 204 236

Equipment and Insignia

• Night Guard command token — black wood with gold characters; grants exceptional enforcement authority. 5
• Gold-Character Command Token — used to identify official authority during the rescue of Zheng Gaojue. 178
• Imperial Edict Gold Plaque — the organization’s highest deterrent in negotiations with powerful sects. 654
• Uniforms and rank badges — Night Guard uniforms vary by rank; Tenth Rank officers wear green embroidered robes and a white-horse badge, while higher-ranking personnel may wear brocade uniforms. 45 72
• Sabers, bows, crossbows, breaching tools, and horse carriages — standard equipment prepared for major Street Patrol Office mobilizations. 177
• Whistles — used to signal Night Guard calls for aid. 5

Relationships

• Emperor Taining — the Night Guard’s practical authority rises or falls according to imperial support. 6
• Inner Factory — gained operational control through the Patrol Bureau warrant system; the Night Guard became a subordinate “blade” under the Inner Factory’s “hilt.” 194
• Five-City Military and Horse Bureau — longstanding institutional rival; conflicts between the two are common, though major confrontations are unusual. 177 178
• Ministry of Justice — adversarial relationship intensified by the Ministry’s involvement in torture, corruption, and clashes with Night Guard operations. 200 236
• Black Lantern Bureau — formerly linked to the Night Guard but expected to become independently accountable to the Inner Factory. 194
• Martial sects — historically subject to Night Guard command, though powerful sects can resist its authority in the organization’s weakened era. 2 654

Major Operations

• Rescue on Ministry of Revenue Street — Zhou Chunfeng deploys the Mounted Patrol to recover Li Qingxian after Pang Mingjing’s coercive debt-collection scheme. 8 11
• Fangyuan Village investigation — a Night Guard team investigates a wolf demon and becomes trapped in a Hidden Eerie connected to the Fifth Lady’s ritual. 100 102
• Rescue of Zheng Gaojue — over three hundred Night Guards march on the West District Military and Horse Bureau, force its guards to disarm, and recover Zheng Gaojue from prison. 177 178 179
• Six Ministries War — Night Guard personnel join large-scale operations against Ministry of Justice and Nether Mountain forces. 204 236
• Blessing Town and Eerie Ground operations — Night Guards stranded in an Eerie Ground regroup under Li Qingxian, establish a Patrol Bureau yamen, and later join the ascent against the Ginseng Fruit Tree sacrifice. 676 746 792
• Conflict with Prince of Chu’s retainers — the Night Guard intervenes in Good Fortune Born’s street confrontation, arrests the retainers, and later fights alongside him against Prince of Chu’s forces. 787 788

Notable Quotes

“Do you know what people used to call our Night Guard? The Little Cabinet!” — Zheng Hui 2

“What we are protecting now is not Zheng Black's son, nor Zheng Black. We are protecting ourselves of tomorrow, and our families of tomorrow!” — Li Qingxian 178