Testing Yin Bone

Lin Qing ignored him. He was now an officer of the Soul-Calming Office, and Han Juetong would not dare do anything to him. All Han Juetong could do was rage helplessly. Jiang Baihe, on the other hand, was someone Lin Qing needed to watch out for.

With the assessment over, the three top officials had no reason to stay and turned to leave. Of the eight squad leaders, only Yang Feng, Han Tai, and Jiang Baihe of the Night Patrol Office remained.

Once the crowd dispersed, Jiang Baihe walked straight up to Lin Qing with a smile. "Not bad, Lin Qing. You reached minor mastery in half a year. You must be feeling on top of the world. Even I wasn't as talented as you back then. But let me give you a word of advice: life is long, and dark roads are hard to travel. Be sure to watch your step."

Lin Qing understood the threat in those words. He was weighing how to respond when Yang Feng stepped forward.

"Brother Jiang, know when to let things go. If you keep pushing him like this, I won't stand by and watch."

Jiang Baihe gave a cold snort and turned away. Yang Feng watched him go, then patted Lin Qing on the shoulder.

"Jiang Baihe values money more than his life. He's a treacherous little man. You've offended him, so be careful from now on. If you run into trouble, tell me at once. I won't stand idly by," Yang Feng said gravely.

"Thank you, squad leader." Lin Qing cupped his hands.

"I saw how well you performed. Rest assured, now that you've joined my corpse-collection team, you have me to back you up," Yang Feng added.

"You're a man of principle, squad leader." Lin Qing cupped his hands again. Yang Feng had always had a reputation for being stern and impartial. From what Lin Qing had seen, it was well deserved.

"Someone will come shortly to assess the Yin Bone grades of you seven," Yang Feng said.

"May I ask what a Yin Bone is, sir?" Lin Qing asked.

"A Yin Bone measures how much of an evil aura's assault a person can withstand. It's different from a Root Bone.

"For example, if two people are both at Bright Force Mid-Stage, the one with a high-grade Yin Bone has a far better chance of surviving an evil spirit's invasion than the one with a low-grade Yin Bone. That makes Yin Bone quality important for officers of the Soul-Calming Office. The higher its grade, the more attention you'll receive, and the easier it'll be to pass next year's reassessment," Yang Feng explained.

"I understand." Lin Qing nodded.

As they spoke, an old man in gray arrived. He swept his gaze over them. "You seven, come here."

Lin Qing and the other six immediately lined up before him.

"My surname is Shen, and I'm an officer of the Artisans' Office. I have seven Evil Soul Pills here. Swallow one each. They draw a large amount of evil aura into the body, allowing me to assess the quality of your Yin Bones. Begin."

The old man handed each of them a gray pill the size of a soybean. Lin Qing put his in his mouth and swallowed.

Before long, the pill took effect. A chill spread through his body. At times he heard someone weeping beside his ear; at others, someone roaring.

That was what it felt like when evil aura entered the body. Without prompt treatment, a person could easily suffer a mental collapse and turn into an evil spirit.

Lin Qing frowned and endured it, keeping his mind calm. Then twisted blue-black patterns appeared on his face.

The old man darted forward and pushed a Vermilion Pill into his mouth.

"Swallow it!"

Lin Qing obeyed. The moment the pill reached his stomach, a fire seemed to ignite there. Heat surged through his limbs and bones. The chill quickly faded, as did the blue-black patterns on his face.

"Blue markings on the face in less than fifteen minutes. Low-grade Yin Bone," the old man pronounced.

Jiang Baihe looked openly delighted at Lin Qing's misfortune. Yang Feng came over to him. "It may be low-grade, but don't let it weigh on you. If your martial arts cultivation is high enough, you can make up for that weakness."

Lin Qing nodded. "Don't worry, squad leader. I'll work even harder to improve."

"Good. That's the spirit." Approval flashed in Yang Feng's eyes.

Before long, the other six had finished their tests. All of them had mid-grade Yin Bones.

The old man turned and left. Yang Feng instructed them, "Report to the Night Patrol Office courtyard first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir."

A short while later.

Lin Qing returned to the small courtyard and told Shen Lian the news at once.

Shen Lian beamed. "Good! The rest of them were useless. Not one got picked. At least I didn't misjudge you. I promised you a generous reward if you passed the assessment. So tell me, what do you want?"

Lin Qing thought for a moment. "My lady, I haven't decided yet. Please give me a few days to think it over."

"You take a measured approach to things, don't you? Come to me when you've decided. Now that you're a corpse collector, you ought to move out of this courtyard. But I'm not well yet, and traveling back and forth would be inconvenient. Stay here a while longer. I'll have a room prepared just for you. Don't worry, I'll treat you well: meat at every meal and a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills every week. How does that sound?" Shen Lian asked with a smile.

"I'll move out once your illness is cured." Lin Qing nodded.

Shen Lian had helped him before. Naturally, he intended to see her treatment through.

"So you do have a conscience. By the way, what grade is your Yin Bone?" Shen Lian asked.

"Low-grade," Lin Qing replied.

"Low-grade? Hmm. The Soul-Calming Office places great importance on Yin Bones. Your grade will put you at a disadvantage in next year's reassessment. Don't slack off. Learn as many martial arts as you can before then. If you can produce enough forms of force, you'll be able to make up for the difference in Yin Bone quality," Shen Lian said.

"I'll work hard. I won't slack off." Lin Qing nodded slightly. He had heard that force could counter evil spirits. Taking the Eight Strikes of the Spirit Snake to major mastery, for instance, would let him produce Spirit Snake Force. Other martial arts could produce other kinds of force. The more kinds a martial artist wielded, the stronger he became and the better he could fight evil spirits.

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

After breakfast, Lin Qing headed straight for the corpse collectors' courtyard.

From that day on, he no longer had to grind bones. As he left the courtyard, the other youths looked at him with envy.

He followed several paths and rounded a few corners before reaching the corpse collectors' courtyard. Nothing inside was particularly remarkable: a row of rooms, a few willow trees, and seven or eight people practicing martial arts.

He had heard that Shanyin County had a population of two hundred thousand. The number of officers fluctuated between one and two hundred, while the number of hired workers ranged from five to eight hundred. Corpse collectors, meanwhile, rarely numbered more than twenty.

As he considered this, he saw a round-faced young man approaching.

"You must be Brother Lin Qing?"

"That's right."

"I'm Yu Qiuyu, deputy squad leader of the corpse-collection team. Lord Yang has something to attend to and hasn't arrived yet, so I'll show you around and explain our rules." Yu Qiuyu was exceedingly friendly.

"Sorry for the trouble, deputy squad leader," Lin Qing said politely.

"Hey, no need for titles. Just call me Yu Qiuyu. We corpse collectors don't bother with that sort of thing." Yu Qiuyu waved a hand.

Lin Qing immediately warmed to him. He seemed easy to get along with.

"Stop training, you lot! We've got someone new. Let me introduce Brother Lin Qing."

Yu Qiuyu led Lin Qing toward the training ground. After walking a short way, he raised his voice.

The others stopped what they were doing and greeted Lin Qing with friendly smiles.

"Welcome, Brother Lin. We're all one family from now on!"

"I heard Brother Lin Qing's a genius. He brought the Spirit Snake technique to minor mastery in just half a year."

"That's impressive. Better than me."

"You blockhead, don't even start. Which of us isn't better than you?"

"Get lost! You're useless too!"

The sight eased some of the tension in Lin Qing's body. Their joking and bickering made the place feel welcoming to a newcomer.

"That's just how they are. Come on, Brother Lin. I'll take you to the storeroom and get you properly outfitted," Yu Qiuyu said with a smile.

"All right."