Qian Shisan

Dawn spread like golden gauze over the hanging-flower gate. The bronze bells beneath the eaves trembled lightly in the morning breeze, scattering shattered-gold light and shadow across Li Chen Zhou's blue-gray archer's uniform.

The gatekeeping Xiaoqi officer hurried forward with his back bent low, the bronze ornament on his hat brim glinting coldly beneath the moonlight. "Congratulations on your promotion, Lord Li!"

Li Chen Zhou's swordlike brows lifted slightly as his fingers casually brushed the throat of the Blood Demon Blade. "How so?"

"Yesterday, you led us in raiding the Hundred Flowers Brothel and confiscating the Chen Residence. The Commander approved the paperwork at three-quarters past the hour of the Rabbit!" The Xiaoqi officer slipped a brocade box from his sleeve. Through the gap in its sandalwood lid, the cold gleam of a black iron token could faintly be seen. "Your newly forged Banner Officer token, new uniform documents, and the invitation from the Nangong Prime Minister's Residence are all waiting on your desk."

Li Chen Zhou nodded. "Understood." His boot soles crushed the swaying shadows of the parasol trees upon the blue bricks.

Aloeswood incense curled through the main hall. As he picked up the token, sunlight happened to pass through the lattice window, reflecting a blinding radiance from the five gilded seal-script characters: "Pacification Office Banner Officer."

"Congratulations, Banner Officer Li!" A booming voice shattered the silence. Li Chen Zhou turned to see Centurion Zhang Qiang striding in, the tassel on the saber at his waist swaying from side to side with every step. "Yesterday's operation was truly satisfying!"

"Lord Zhang, it was thanks to your support yesterday that the brothers had a chance to earn merit." Li Chen Zhou clasped his fists, his words humble.

Zhang Qiang waved a hand, the flesh on his face jiggling along with the motion. "You brat really have talent! You deserve no small share of the credit for yesterday's case. The brothers all made a hefty haul, and the higher-ups gave both praise and rewards. Your brother here got to show his face properly for once."

He leaned closer to Li Chen Zhou and lowered his voice, his expression smug. "Word has already come down from above. Once I condense my martial true intent and enter the fifth-rank realm of Profound Insight, I'll be promoted to Deputy Thousand-Household Officer."

Li Chen Zhou turned toward him, feigning shock. "Really? Then you...?"

Zhang Qiang's fan-sized palm slapped Li Chen Zhou's shoulder armor with a clang. "This old man is about to touch the threshold of Profound Insight!" He lowered his voice, the reek of wine in his throat mingling with the scent of rust. "Once this old man becomes Deputy Thousand-Household Officer, this Centurion's Office..."

"Then let me congratulate Lord Zhang on your promotion in advance." Li Chen Zhou cupped his hands.

Zhang Qiang grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Keep it low-key, low-key." He patted Li Chen Zhou's shoulder. "The Centurion's Office is holding a celebration banquet tonight. You must come."

Li Chen Zhou showed an apologetic expression. "I should have attended, but tonight I must accompany Princess Xuan Yi to the Nangong Prime Minister's Residence for Miss Nangong's poetry gathering. My apologies."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiang was secretly startled. This man's circle was either princesses or prime ministers. He immediately piled on a smile. "It's fine. Go handle your business."

After pondering for a moment, Li Chen Zhou cupped his hands and said, "How about this? Tomorrow night at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, I'll host. Let's have a proper gathering."

Zhang Qiang's eyes lit up, and he repeatedly patted Li Chen Zhou's shoulder. "Good! It's settled, then."

After parting with Zhang Qiang, Li Chen Zhou summoned Black Dog, White Cat, and Bookworm. Moonlight fell over the four of them, outlining their steadfast silhouettes. While Li Chen Zhou had been promoted to Banner Officer, Black Dog and the other two had also become Xiaoqi officers. Li Chen Zhou swept out a hand. "Let's go to the Chen Residence."

They arrived at the entrance of the Chen Residence.

The seal strips across the gates of the Chen Residence were strikingly conspicuous.

Bookworm pushed up the glasses on his nose bridge. A cold gleam flashed across the lenses beneath the moonlight. "This is the merchant Chen Residence. The head of the household is Chen Zhou."

Li Chen Zhou frowned, thinking of the Chen family he had sent into the Imperial Prison. "Is it related to Chen Chang's Chen Residence?"

"Merchant Chen Zhou appears to run silk shops." Cold light reflected from Bookworm's lenses, while the parchment dossier rustled in the wind. "In truth, he is Chen Chang's younger male cousin and handled half of his human trafficking operations for him." Bookworm lowered his voice, his gaze vigilantly sweeping the surroundings.

Li Chen Zhou's heart tightened, and he said quietly, "Then he did not die unjustly."

He stepped into the main hall first, and a heavy stench of blood rushed at his face.

Sunlight shone in through the shattered window lattice, making the blackish-red bloodstains on the floor glisten.

Li Chen Zhou crouched down, his fingers tracing the marks of battle on the ground. "Four experts. One used a saber, one wielded a sword, one excelled in palm techniques, and one was highly skilled in leg techniques..."

"We checked. No valuables were missing, and there were no signs that the house had been searched. It wasn't robbery." Bookworm spoke while reading from the dossier.

"Have the bodies been examined?" Li Chen Zhou looked at the positions where the Chen Residence's people had been killed.

Bookworm occasionally flipped through the dossier in his hands. "Yes. Judging from their methods, they acted decisively. One strike, one death. They were professionals."

"Their traits are so obvious. Are there any matches in the records of experts entering and leaving the Capital City?" Li Chen Zhou asked again.

After recalling the intelligence provided by the intelligence division, Bookworm said, "Not openly."

Li Chen Zhou flicked up half a broken sword with the tip of his boot. The cloud patterns on its blade were identical to those of the sword on the torture rack in the Imperial Prison. He suddenly spun around, his python-patterned cloak blooming like an ink-black lotus beneath the moon. "How much longer do you intend to watch?"

The black shadow at the eaves suddenly moved, its seventh-rank movement technique swift as a ghost.

"Where do you think you're going? Soul Absorption Art..." Li Chen Zhou spread his five fingers wide. His force surged like a dragon, and the blue bricks three zhang away cracked like tortoise shells.

The instant the black shadow crashed into the screen wall, a blood mist suddenly exploded from its sleeve.

Using the cover of the blood mist, the person tried to flee at once.

"Hmph, you still want to run?" Li Chen Zhou snorted coldly.

His other hand rose as well. "Soul Absorption Art."

Li Chen Zhou's palms had already formed a lotus seal. Blood droplets across the sky froze in midair, then reversed course and dragged the black shadow back onto the stone steps.

Li Chen Zhou's long hand clamped tightly around the other person's throat, making her feel as though she were about to suffocate.

"Who are you... I'll give you one chance to speak..."

Having witnessed Li Chen Zhou's strength, she lost all thought of resisting.

"Urgh..."

Li Chen Zhou's grip choked off her voice.

Li Chen Zhou released her. "Try any tricks, and I'll make you regret coming into this world."

She clutched her throat and coughed twice before weakly saying, "I heard the Chen family had been wiped out. No one had come by these past two days, so I thought I'd come in and pick up a few things. I'd barely entered when you caught me."

Her voice was delicate, and only when she spoke did everyone realize she was a woman.

Li Chen Zhou looked displeased. Seeing his expression, she was so frightened that she hurriedly said in panic, "Don't kill me. I can provide you with information."

"This is your last chance." Li Chen Zhou's cold voice made her shiver even under the blazing sun.

"My name is Qian Shisan. On the night the Chen Residence was wiped out, I was actually outside watching."

At her words, a thread of hope rose in everyone's hearts.

"That night, I was outside the Chen Residence. I had originally planned to sneak in and steal a few things, but then I suddenly noticed several experts entering the Chen Residence ahead of me. Before long, cries of agony came from inside. I was so frightened that I immediately ran."

Bookworm impatiently asked, "Did you see what those people looked like?"

Qian Shisan lightly tapped her lips with a finger, thinking carefully before speaking slowly. "Those people wore face coverings, so I couldn't see their faces clearly, but their traits were obvious. One was a cripple who limped when he walked. Another had extremely thick arms and was bald. There were also two thinner men, but one carried a saber and the other a sword."

White Cat, standing nearby, frowned slightly when he heard this and asked doubtfully, "It was so dark at night. Could you really see that clearly?"

Qian Shisan rolled her eyes at White Cat's question. Then she took a pair of lenses from her bosom and tossed them over, explaining, "These were tribute from the Western Regions. With them, you can see as clearly at night as in daytime."

After trying them, White Cat nodded slightly and said with certainty to Li Chen Zhou, "My lord, then there's no problem. The one with difficulty walking was Crippled Foot. The bald man with thick arms was Iron Arm Arhat. With those two identified, the saber and sword users are not hard to deduce either. They were Soul Severing Blade and Life Taking Sword."

Upon hearing White Cat's words, the others all became heavy-hearted.