Respect the Elderly and Care for the Young

Under the desolate moonlight.

Two figures arrived at the mouth of the alley.

Zhao Zhi rested his hand on the hilt of his saber, his well-defined fingers tightening one by one, his gaze cold.

When he saw who had come, he relaxed slightly.

"So it's you two."

The two newcomers were also dressed in blue constable uniforms.

They were constables patrolling with Zhao Zhi tonight. The tall, thin one was named Qian Tong, while the ordinary-looking one was Luo Dashan.

"Zhao Zhi?"

Qian Tong frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"Let the Wang Family Tavern's daughter tell you. I'm going back to rest first."

Zhao Zhi did not say much. He waved a hand and walked away.

He had used Merit to improve his Seizing Hand, but the injury on his head had yet to heal.

It needed treatment quickly, or it would be bad if it left behind a hidden injury.

Qian Tong and Luo Dashan exchanged glances but did not stop him.

The three were of equal rank and had no authority to restrain one another.

Besides.

When the two had passed by Wang Family Tavern earlier, Shopkeeper Wang had asked them to find his daughter, who had suddenly vanished.

Now, she had been found.

"Qian Tong?!"

Luo Dashan's gaze fell upon Li Qingchang's corpse on the ground, and his voice rose several notches.

"Look!"

Qian Tong looked at the corpse, and his expression changed drastically. He cried out, "Li Qingchang."

Qian Tong and Luo Dashan looked at each other again, then both turned to stare at Zhao Zhi's retreating back.

"Was it Zhao Zhi?"

Luo Dashan spoke.

Qian Tong's expression was grave. "He's in trouble."

Li Qingchang was a street thug, hated by all and loathed by everyone.

But.

He had a fairly attractive younger sister.

That sister was now the county magistrate's ninth concubine.

It seemed.

The county magistrate doted greatly on that ninth concubine.

Relying on his sister's status, Li Qingchang had become even more overbearing and tyrannical than before, committing every kind of evil and running rampant without restraint.

Even the constables could do nothing about him.

Now, he was dead.

The county magistrate would certainly not let this pass.

Luo Dashan said quietly, "Zhao Zhi shouldn't be so careless. What exactly happened?"

Qian Tong looked toward the Wang Family Tavern's daughter.

The next day.

At a noodle stall by the street.

Zhao Zhi had a bandage wrapped around his head. Fortunately, his constable's hat concealed it well enough.

He took a sip of hot soup and lowered his eyes in thought.

After a night, he had fully accepted both his identity as a transmigrator and his position as a blue-clad constable.

He had also figured out the panel.

Obtain Merit, then use Merit to improve martial arts.

After returning home last night, he had spent 20 Merit to raise the Grand Ancestor Long Saber to the perfected level.

[Martial Arts: Seizing Hand (Perfected), Grand Ancestor Long Saber (Perfected).]

[Merit: 30.]

[Note: Doing good deeds and accumulating virtue grants Merit. Merit can be used to improve martial arts realms.]

The two martial arts could not be improved any further, and he still had Merit left over.

What he needed next was to acquire more martial arts.

The yamen should have some.

The yamen?

At the thought of the yamen, Zhao Zhi recalled Li Qingchang, whom he had killed last night.

Li Qingchang's younger sister had become the current county magistrate's ninth concubine and was quite favored.

Once she learned that he had killed Li Qingchang, that concubine would likely whisper in the magistrate's ear and have him deal with Zhao Zhi.

Qingfeng County's magistrate was no decent man.

But.

From Zhao Zhi's memories, he knew that higher authorities would soon send someone to investigate in secret. Moreover, Zhao Zhi's father had died suppressing bandits, so County Magistrate Lu Guangyi would not dare move against him openly.

He would likely resort to other means.

As Zhao Zhi pondered, he sensed some disturbance in the surroundings.

He raised his head slightly and looked.

Three men in gray short garments swaggered over. Each had a tattoo resembling a gray snake on his arm.

The Gray Snake Gang.

The man in the middle was a minor Gray Snake Gang leader named Wu Meng. The other two were merely ordinary gang members.

When the customers in the noodle stall saw Wu Meng and his companions approach, their expressions changed sharply. Not caring that they had not finished their noodles, they rose and hurried away.

"Old Man Sun."

Wu Meng swept his eyes over the noodle stall and grinned frivolously. "Business is pretty good today."

Old Man Sun's expression changed slightly. He said cautiously, "Master Wu, I already paid the protection fee the day before yesterday."

"I know."

Wu Meng answered casually, then tossed clumps of noodles from the bamboo tray into the pot.

"You ate yesterday, so you don't need to eat today?"

"Th-this..." Old Man Sun's face was bitter. "I really don't have any money..."

Bang.

Wu Meng slammed a palm onto the wooden counter. His sinister gaze fixed directly on Old Man Sun. "No money?"

Hmph.

A cold snort rang out.

Wu Meng turned toward its source. Seeing Zhao Zhi sitting calmly in his seat and noticing his blue constable uniform, his eyes shifted as he walked over.

"I was wondering who was bold enough to sit here. So it's Constable Zhao."

Wu Meng sat down beside Zhao Zhi of his own accord, placing particular emphasis on the words "Constable Zhao."

The Gray Snake Gang was a major gang in Qingfeng County and extremely powerful. Even the county yamen had no way to deal with them.

If Zhao Zhi had been a head constable, Wu Meng might have shown a little courtesy.

But he was only Zhao Zhi, a lowly blue-clad constable.

Zhao Zhi glanced at Wu Meng. The five fingers of his right hand curled into claws as he shot forward like lightning and seized Wu Meng's shoulder.

His force erupted.

Crack.

Bone shattered.

Wu Meng's arm drooped limply, and he let out a miserable scream.

The other two gang members rushed forward.

A flash of cold light streaked past like a flying moon, forcing the two gang members back in an instant.

The sharp blade came down on Wu Meng's shoulder. Its silvery gleam brushed intimately against his neck, and a chill like winter ice and snow invaded him.

Wu Meng's face went pale with fright. He forcibly swallowed his scream, his features twisting as sweat poured down like rain.

Zhao Zhi looked coldly at Wu Meng. "Come to this noodle stall again, and I'll chop off one of your legs. If Old Man Sun gets hurt, I'll chop off your three legs. If this noodle stall gets smashed, I'll chop off your head. Do you understand?"

"Understood, understood."

Wu Meng hurriedly answered. He wanted to nod, but feeling the coldness at his neck, he did not dare move in the slightest. His eyes flicked frantically toward Zhao Zhi's saber.

"Go apologize to Old Man Sun."

Zhao Zhi sheathed his saber.

Wu Meng might have been a minor leader of the Gray Snake Gang, but he did not know the slightest martial art. He merely relied on his sturdy physique to bully the good and weak.

When he encountered someone ruthless, he immediately shrank into a ball.

"Yes, yes, yes."

Wu Meng rose with difficulty and walked toward Old Man Sun, grimacing in pain. "Old Man Sun... no... Master Sun, I was wrong just now. I apologize to you."

Old Man Sun stared blankly, standing there in a daze, completely at a loss.

"Get lost."

Zhao Zhi snorted coldly.

"Yes."

Wu Meng immediately fled with the two Gray Snake Gang members.

[Made an uncouth minor gang leader learn to respect the elderly and care for the young. Merit +1.]

Zhao Zhi glanced at the message, drained the noodle soup in one gulp, left behind several copper coins, and departed.

A short while later.

He arrived at the county yamen. After checking in, Head Constable Chen Qingzhi immediately summoned him, saying County Magistrate Lu had a task to assign.

That came quickly.

A glint flashed in Zhao Zhi's eyes.