If Anything Goes Wrong, I'll Take the Heat!

Song Qian's blood heated up quickly, but it cooled just as fast.

At the sight of the corpses strewn across the bandit stronghold, Song Qian's excited heart turned ice-cold.

"Brother, someone beat us here!"

Song Xuan grunted in acknowledgment. He surveyed their surroundings, examined the wounds on the corpses, and searched several rooms before beckoning to Song Qian.

"Let's go. Back to the office to report!"

Song Qian asked in confusion, "We're just leaving? Aren't we going to look for clues?"

"No need!" Song Xuan shook his head. "Every one of them was killed with a single blow, clean and decisive. They've been dead less than an hour, and everything of value has been stripped away.

"This is how our Black Robe Guard operates.

"Unless something unexpected happened, after we killed those bandits at the village entrance and completed our assignment, the Black Robe Guard Office sent people to wipe out this stronghold."

Understanding dawned on Song Qian. "So the Black Robe Guard Office had its eye on these bandits all along, and only sent people to clear them out after we finished our assessment?"

Song Xuan nodded with a smile. "The Black Robe Guard has three offices. Besides the Inspection Office we belong to, there's also the Adjudication Office and the Enforcement Office.

"The Inspection Office primarily investigates cases, while the Adjudication Office handles judgments. As for the Enforcement Office, to put it bluntly, it's an organization dedicated to killing people and taking out the trash.

"There were over a hundred bandits here, but not one showed any sign of struggling before death. They were all killed in an instant. The gap in strength was simply too great.

"Unless something unexpected happened, this should have been the work of the Enforcement Office's Black Robe Guards."

"The Enforcement Office... I've heard of them. Supposedly, every one of them is ruthless, existing solely to slaughter. Brother, do you think we'll be transferred there after we're promoted to Second-Rank Black Robe Guards?"

"Hard to say. That depends on just how ironclad Dad's friendship with Uncle Zhao really is."

Their father, Song Yuanshan, had said more than once that he and Zhao Dezhu, the head of the Black Robe Guard's Inspection Office, were brothers who had grown up together in split-crotch pants. They were extremely close, with a friendship forged through life and death.

"As long as Uncle Zhao doesn't agree, there's nothing the Enforcement Office can do."

Song Qian sighed. "Let's hope Uncle Zhao comes through. I don't think killing people is all that hard, but I don't want to join the Enforcement Office and become a killing machine."

Song Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and rubbed his forehead.

Over the years, he had sometimes unconsciously used expressions from his previous life, and Song Qian had picked them up without him noticing. This girl was starting to sound more and more like a transmigrator.

The Great Zhou's Black Robe Guard was a privileged organization whose very name made people pale.

Although the Black Robe Guard's three offices were connected, they were relatively independent, each with its own headquarters.

Hereditary Black Robe Guard descendants like Song Xuan and Song Qian generally served in the Inspection Office, but upon promotion to Second-Rank Black Robe Guards, they had one opportunity for reassignment.

Their specific duties would usually be reassigned according to their performance in the promotion assignment. Some would be transferred to the Enforcement Office, while a very small number would go to the Adjudication Office.

The moment Song Xuan and Song Qian stepped through the gates of the Black Robe Guard's Inspection Office, someone led them to its head, Zhao Dezhu.

"Uncle Zhao!"

Zhao Dezhu was sitting at his desk, working through the documents on it. At the sight of Song Xuan and his sister, he immediately set down his brush and nodded with a smile.

"I've already received the record of your performance. The Enforcement Office gave you an excellent evaluation."

At those words, Song Xuan's heart tightened.

Shit, the Enforcement Office has its eye on us. Are they really going to transfer us there?

Sure enough, Zhao Dezhu continued, "The Enforcement Office sent over a transfer order. They want to recruit you both... I wanted to ask your opinion. Would you like to go?"

Song Xuan shook his head. Naturally, Song Qian stood with her brother and hastily shook hers as well.

"I knew you wouldn't want to, so I rejected it."

Song Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Uncle Zhao, won't they be unhappy that you rejected the Enforcement Office's transfer order outright?"

Zhao Dezhu laughed heartily. "So what if they are? Would that fellow Li really dare fall out with me over two Second-Rank Black Robe Guards?"

"Serving in the Enforcement Office means fighting Martial World experts sooner or later. The death rate is far from low."

"Given my friendship with your father, I certainly couldn't send you there to gamble with your lives."

As he spoke, he rose and walked over to Song Xuan, feeling his arm. "I heard you punched straight through a bandit's chest?"

Song Xuan nodded sheepishly. "It was my first time killing someone, and I'm still not skilled at controlling my internal energy. Sorry for making a fool of myself, Uncle Zhao."

Zhao Dezhu waved it off. "As for killing, once you've killed more people, you'll gradually gain experience. When dealing with ordinary petty bandits like these in the future, try not to waste internal energy needlessly."

Song Xuan nodded in agreement.

Returning to his desk, Zhao Dezhu handed them two Second-Rank Black Robe Guard tokens. "Before, as Third-Rank Black Robe Guards, you mostly just idled away your days in the Imperial Capital.

"But things are different now. As Second-Rank Black Robe Guards serving in the Inspection Office, you'll be responsible for investigating and handling specific cases."

"Since you've only just passed the assessment, ordinarily I'd give you a few days off to rest.

"But a case has just been submitted from below, and I can't spare anyone suitable. I'll leave this one to you two."

As he spoke, Zhao Dezhu took a folded report from a desk drawer and handed it to Song Xuan.

Song Xuan opened the report and quickly scanned it, then frowned. "Uncle Zhao, aren't cases like this usually handled by the local authorities? Since when does our Black Robe Guard have to get involved in adultery cases?"

Zhao Dezhu looked helpless as well. "Normally, cases involving ordinary citizens like this aren't under our jurisdiction as Black Robe Guards."

"But this case is a little unusual. After investigating, the local constables thought it might involve people from the martial world, so they reported it to our Black Robe Guard.

"Apparently, it's stirred up a great deal of unfavorable public opinion locally. Our Inspection Office handles investigations, so the case landed on our desk."

Song Xuan put away the report and asked, "Uncle Zhao, can I take some people with me?"

"Second-Rank Black Robe Guards all have their own duties to attend to, but you can pick a few of those Third-Rank Black Robe Guards idling away their days in our Inspection Office to take along."

"Remember, once you're there, all you need to do is get to the bottom of what happened.

"If the case really does involve someone from the martial world, stop meddling once you've identified them. Just report back to me. Those killers from the Enforcement Office will take care of the rest.

"When it comes to fighting people from the martial world, they're the professionals!"

"Understood!"

After saluting Zhao Dezhu, Song Xuan and Song Qian prepared to leave.

But as Song Xuan stepped out the door, he turned back to ask one more question.

"Uncle Zhao, if we encounter someone threatening us while we're out there..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Dezhu's clear voice rang out.

"If they need killing, kill them. Our Black Robe Guard doesn't have that many scruples!"

"Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the heat!"