The Fallen Goddess Constable

For ten days straight, Duan Yun did not leave his home. He either ate, slept, or cultivated.

The weeds in the courtyard had been swept clean by the Moonlit Water Sword Qi, and that "Shi Gandang" saw Duan Yun's performances every day.

The section of courtyard wall that had already collapsed before was now riddled with holes.

Part of the reason Duan Yun had chosen this place in the first place was that wall.

It was suitable for practicing the "Jade Sword Finger." At least when he moved out, he would not have to compensate the landlord.

Still, he had underestimated his own power.

That broken stretch of wall had long since been shot into a pockmarked face. It would probably be utterly destroyed within days.

His true qi had continued growing according to Duan Yun's plan. In ten days, his true qi capacity had increased by nearly half.

At the same time, every morning when Duan Yun woke up, there was always a bulge beneath his blanket.

Duan Yun had noticed long ago that whenever he practiced swordsmanship at night, he would definitely wake the next day brimming with vitality, unable to suppress it.

The duration was far too long—so long that it felt abnormal. Every time, he had to take a cold shower before it subsided.

Duan Yun could not help but speculate, "It must be the result of practicing the stance and drawing in moonlight. In my perception, moonlight is yin and nourishing; it must have the effect of nourishing yin and strengthening yang."

If that guess was true, then if he became a physician in the future, he could try being an andrologist. If he taught the Jade Sword Stance and breathing technique to those with kidney deficiency, he could surely help them "restore their former vigor."

Yes, in this world, there was far more demand for treating kidney deficiency than simply treating gynecological ailments.

But right now, he was not in a hurry to become a physician. Or rather, for a long time to come, being a physician might not be his main occupation, but merely a side job.

After all, in this world of killing and violation, increasing one's strength was the most important thing.

Meanwhile, the weather grew hotter and hotter. Duan Yun often practiced swordsmanship wearing only a pair of underpants, sweat pouring down like rain.

When the weather was good, he could even see the ghostly blue will-o'-the-wisps drifting up from the graveyard behind the house. They were rather beautiful.

But today, he should be heading out.

Of the rice, meat, and vegetables he had bought before, some rice and cured meat remained, but the fresh meat and vegetables had long been eaten up.

He could not leave them uneaten for too long. It was the height of summer, after all, and food spoiled easily.

Afterward, Duan Yun went to the market again and bought more rice, meat, and vegetables.

Every meal had rice and meat.

This was all thanks to the silver Wang Li had dropped. Otherwise, he could never have afforded a sword, much less lived like this.

Of course, it was only enough for him to sit and eat through his savings for a month or two.

But Duan Yun was not worried. With his abilities, whatever he did in the future, he would not go hungry.

On his way back, Duan Yun passed a bookshop and spotted a copy of The Fallen Goddess Constable.

At the sight of the title, Duan Yun could not help thinking of the pair of beautiful sister goddess constables he had encountered days ago. He wondered whether they had caught that red-clad female ghost.

In the spirit of broadening his understanding of this world, Duan Yun decided to buy the book and take it home to expand his knowledge.

The bookstore owner said with a cheerful smile, "Young brother, you have a good eye. If this had been ten-odd years ago, it would have been banned."

Duan Yun asked in surprise, "Why is it no longer banned?"

The owner scratched his head and explained, "The world is such a mess now. Court officials can be killed at any moment and replaced by impostors. How would the Clear Qi Bureau or the yamen have time to worry about this?"

In the end, Duan Yun bought The Fallen Goddess Constable for one mace of silver.

Honestly, he thought it was expensive. His Jade Sword True Canon had only cost one mace of silver.

But the owner said books like this contained illustrations, which was why they cost more.

Duan Yun did not feel like dwelling on it. With his once-in-ten-thousand swordsmanship genius, it would be unbecoming to fret over half a mace or a mace of silver.

Tucking this book, which would help broaden his knowledge of the martial world, into his robes, Duan Yun headed back.

On his way home, he saw that chest submerged in the water again.

Duan Yun thought for a moment, then continued onward.

In fact, every time he came out to fetch water, he noticed that large chest.

It made him rather uncomfortable.

Could it be that he was the only one curious about it?

Still, for now, he was more interested in The Fallen Goddess Constable.

After returning to the house, Duan Yun took out the banned book to supplement his knowledge of the martial world.

It really did tell the story of a goddess constable from the Clear Qi Bureau named Shen Yuer.

Shen Yuer had been the youngest and most beautiful goddess constable in Thunder Prefecture's Clear Qi Bureau. At merely twenty-three, she was already a dazzling genius with formidable skills. While still so young, she had solved several major cases and was a goddess in the hearts of many men, not to be defiled.

Yet such a goddess, not to be defiled, had drawn the attention of certain people.

One day, while investigating a case, goddess constable Shen Yuer exchanged a few words with a notorious demon.

Then

she was captured.

The book wrote that Shen Yuer had been captured by that demon surnamed Hua. First, she was imprisoned in a pitch-black underground chamber, then confined in a pavilion. There was no shortage of indescribable content, accompanied by somewhat crude yet vivid illustrations. Duan Yun read it with great relish.

Later, the goddess constable could only endure humiliation and bear three children for the demon. Her mind grew dazed, and every day she wept until her face was wet with tears.

The story ended with the demon being surrounded and attacked. Goddess constable Shen Yuer actually sacrificed herself to block a sword strike for him, tears in her eyes as she died for love.

After that, the demon flew into a rage and launched a massacre. In the end, he said, "Yuer, in the next life, it will still be you," before leaping into the abyss with the goddess constable's corpse in his arms to die for love, completing a tale of doomed romance.

Duan Yun closed the book, veins throbbing on his forehead, and could not help cursing, "What kind of idiotic plot is this!"

So the goddess constable and the demon were true love, was that it?

The world was the one at fault?

He had the urge to rush back and smash the book into the bookstore owner's face.

Aside from the parts where the goddess constable was trained by the demon, the logic of the book was excruciatingly painful. Duan Yun seriously suspected that the first half's training scenes had been written by a seasoned veteran, while the latter half's romance and doomed love had been continued by some little fairy maiden who would talk about love even from beyond the grave. The disconnect was severe.

Could it be that the veteran had been beaten to death midway through writing by that little fairy maiden, who then continued expressing herself?

Having seen the fairy maidens of this world, Duan Yun felt that guess was not unreasonable at all.

Duan Yun looked at the pen name "Purple Jade Fairy" and bore a grudge in his heart.

If he ever encountered her someday, she should not blame him for being irritable and personally feeding her cakes.

Duan Yun resolutely tore up the latter half of the book and took it to the latrine to wipe his ass with, leaving only the first half behind for study.

Still, although the book's plot was full of shit, it did add to Duan Yun's martial-world knowledge, whether true or false.

That was, by the time the story took place, there were already many demons and martial madmen in the world. Even the Clear Qi Bureau, backed by the imperial court, was no longer powerful. That was why the goddess constable could be held captive for decades, while a male goddess constable from the Clear Qi Bureau, her childhood sweetheart, found it difficult to save her.

So what level was the Clear Qi Bureau at now?

Judging from their performance that night, at least that pair of beautiful sisters had been relatively formidable.

Before he knew it, night had fallen, moonlight spilling across the land.

Duan Yun gathered his thoughts and began practicing beneath the moon.

Holding the Jade Sword Stance, he began pondering the problems he had encountered with "Grasp Sparrow's Tail," while certain scenes involving the goddess constable continued to stir his nerves.

Duan Yun recalled the "uniforms" worn by the pair of goddess constable sisters that night. They had truly looked dashing and heroic, especially those close-fitting leather trousers that set off their long legs.

Wait, uniforms?

At that moment, the brilliant mind of the swordsmanship genius flashed with inspiration once more.