Visitors from the Prefectural City

The woman with a spiked club resting on her shoulder abruptly stood up.

"What happened?"

"Cheng Yannian, the chief envoy of the Jiangyin County Soul-Calming Office, has disappeared. We suspect he died at the hands of Yinyuan Sect fiends, and there are signs that the Han Family, a powerful local clan, was involved behind the scenes. Go and find out what happened.

If the Han Family truly colluded with the Yinyuan Sect, wipe them out," the white-robed man said grimly.

He was Wang Ling, a steward of the Soul-Calming Office. He had come to travel between the counties in search of talent.

The muscular woman beside him, Ran Hongxia, was also a steward, though she ranked one level below him. He was the lead, and she was his deputy.

"Cheng Yannian? Isn't he Cheng Feng's younger brother?" Ran Hongxia took the secret letter and skimmed through it.

"He is. Cheng Feng and I went through life and death together. Years ago, Bai'e Cult fiends surrounded me. If Cheng Feng hadn't stepped in, I'd have become a corpse. Sadly, he died young, and I never had the chance to repay him. Now that something has happened to Cheng Yannian, how could I stand aside?" Wang Ling said coldly.

Ran Hongxia licked her lips. "Don't worry, Brother Wang. Anyone who dares collude with the Bai'e Cult—Han Family or whatever family they are—I'll wipe them all out!"

"Ran Hongxia, you have a blunt, heavy-handed way of doing things, but you cannot rely on brute force this time. Gather information on the Han Family in secret while searching for talent for the Prefectural City Soul-Calming Office. Don't startle the snake by beating the grass. Either don't strike at all, or strike like thunder and catch every last Bai'e Cult remnant in one net," Wang Ling said without expression.

"Don't worry, Brother Wang. I may be rough, but I'm not brainless."

Ran Hongxia acknowledged him, swung onto her horse, and galloped toward Jiangyin County with her whip raised.

"Commander Chen!" Wang Ling called back once Ran Hongxia had ridden away.

"Here." A man in black armor stepped out of the crowd.

"Keep leading the group onward. I'm making a trip back to the prefectural city," Wang Ling said coldly.

"Yes." The man nodded.

Wang Ling narrowed his eyes. The letter said that a Han Family convoy would head to the prefectural city soon. Among them would be Han Qi, the family's strongest fighter, and Han Rong, Han Shantong's most beloved second son.

If the Han Family was hiding something, he only needed to intercept those two. Then the truth would come to light.

Jiangyin County's outer district lay beneath a veil of fine drizzle.

"Brother Lin, where should I put this table?"

"Just set it on the floor."

"Got it."

Yu Qiuyu carried a red-lacquered round wooden table into the room and gently set it against the wall on the left.

Lin Qing stood in the courtyard, placing a stone table in its northeast corner.

This was the courtyard house he had just rented. It stood near his old courtyard, less than two hundred paces away.

A two-story wooden building stood inside, with four rooms in all. There was also a woodshed, a latrine, and more.

Yu Qiuyu had been eager to help. When he heard Lin Qing was moving, he had come over on his own initiative.

After an hour's work, the two of them had arranged all the tables, chairs, and other furniture.

"Brother Lin, I heard Lord Shen Lian is moving out too?" Yu Qiuyu asked as he came out of the room, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Lin Qing nodded slightly. "Lord Shen plans to resign as head of the Artisans' Office. She'll move into this courtyard in the next few days."

Lin Qing would live on the ground floor, and Shen Lian would live upstairs.

"Ah, moving out makes sense. The Soul-Calming Office has become a foul mess. Life there isn't easy anymore." Yu Qiuyu sighed.

Lin Qing smiled. "Don't sigh. Every storm passes."

At that, Yu Qiuyu suddenly said with feeling, "Lin Qing, now that you mention it, I've never seen you sigh."

Lin Qing said calmly, "What's there to sigh about? Life's good times and bad are like changes in the weather. Just as cloudy skies eventually clear, hard times eventually pass. Why worry? What matters is making the most of the present."

Yu Qiuyu nodded. "You're right, Lin Qing. I'm older than you, yet my outlook isn't as steady as yours."

After chatting a while, Yu Qiuyu rose and brushed the dust from his clothes, ready to leave.

Lin Qing called out, "Brother Yu, let's eat at a nearby restaurant at noon. My treat. We ought to have a good drink."

"Another day. I'm going to visit Bai Jingming's family in a little while," Yu Qiuyu said.

"Bai Jingming? Now that you mention him, I haven't seen him for some time." Lin Qing's interest stirred.

Bai Jingming had invited him into Willow Forest that day, but nothing had been heard from him since. He had not even taken part in the battle at Cao Family Village. Lin Qing had felt something was wrong then, but only Yu Qiuyu's words brought it back to mind.

"Bai Jingming went into Willow Forest more than ten days ago, and there's still no word of him. Ah, he's had a hard life. One of his children fell gravely ill, and the little silver the Soul-Calming Office paid him wasn't nearly enough. He had no choice but to take a desperate risk. Who would have thought it would end like this?" Yu Qiuyu sighed. "His family is struggling even more now. The women at home barely have enough to eat. I'm taking them two sacks of rice and flour."

Lin Qing nodded slightly. "Brother Bai is an honest, decent man. Please give them these two taels of silver as a small token from me."

Two taels of silver meant little to him now, but they could save Bai Jingming's family. He did not consider himself a good man, yet he had principles and lines he would not cross.

Yu Qiuyu nodded, thinking with feeling, Lin Qing is a man who does right by others.

Elsewhere.

At the Soul-Calming Office compound.

Jiang Baihe stood in the Martial Arts Arena with his hands behind his back. Before him was a row of youths, all helpers selected from the various courtyards.

Several constables had died in the battle at Cao Family Village, leaving a few positions open.

The Soul-Calming Office had therefore begun a new round of assessments, with Jiang Baihe once again responsible for teaching martial arts.

At sunset, the helpers dispersed, leaving behind a young gentleman dressed in brocade.

"Lord Jiang, a small token of my appreciation. Please look after me." A round-faced young man approached Jiang Baihe with a beaming smile and offered him a money pouch in both hands.

A broad smile immediately spread across Jiang Baihe's face. He took the pouch and weighed it in his hand. It was satisfyingly heavy.

"You want to join the Night Patrol Team? Simple. Rest assured, this old man will secure you a place."

"Lord Jiang, from what I've seen, a few of the helpers in this group have real talent," the plump young man said quietly.

"No matter. They're a pack of mud-legged peasants. What good is talent if they don't know to show respect with silver? They deserve to spend their lives crawling at the very bottom." Jiang Baihe looked disdainful.

"That puts my mind at ease, Lord Jiang." The plump young man left with a smile on his face.

Just then, a young man in black hurried over, clutching a piece of cloth.

"My lord, I visited more than thirty pharmacies in the outer district and checked their account books. I've recorded on this cloth how much silver Lin Qing has spent on medicinal supplements lately."

Jiang Baihe took the cloth and read it carefully. His face darkened.

"These are only some of the purchases. Those dozen or so payments alone add up to more than two hundred taels of silver. Where did he get so much money?"

"My lord, do you mean Lin Qing killed Rong Futong and took that huge sum of silver?" Gao Feng asked tentatively.

"Who else could it be? And even if it wasn't him, so what? If I say it was, then it was. Cheng Yannian and Yang Feng protected him before, so there was little I could do. Now Cheng Yannian has vanished, and Yang Feng can barely protect himself. Let's see who saves Lin Qing." Jiang Baihe sneered.

"My lord, I heard Lin Qing moved out of the Soul-Calming Office courtyard yesterday," Gao Feng added.

"So what if he moved? As long as he's still in Jiangyin County, he can never escape. Arrange for a few men to watch him and learn his daily routine," Jiang Baihe said coldly.

"Yes." Gao Feng turned and left.