Feng Bao

The meal was sumptuous, far better than the roast chicken and flatbread from that evening. Cao Jinxing ate a little, then asked, "How did your father get mixed up with the Demon Cult? There wasn't much of that true qi. It seemed to have been left there deliberately."

"It was..."

Zhang Chengfeng set down his wine cup with a helpless expression. "You may have heard that my father made his fortune along the Silk Road in his younger days. His travels took him as far as Persia. That was when the seeds of this disaster were sown."

Zhang Chengfeng told him a story.

Back then, the Bright Sect, one of the Demon Cult's three sects, was still called the Bright Cult. It was a new religious order formed when the Persia Fire-Worship Cult spread into the Central Plains and adopted a new name. Its headquarters stood on Bright Peak in the Western Regions.

The cult worshipped the Venerable Brightness God. Its ranks consisted of one cult leader, one holy maiden, two emissaries, four guardian kings, and the Five Elements Banners.

Zhang Dajing had traveled through the Western Regions with merchant caravans many times to trade in Persia. On one such journey, he met a woman from the Western Regions.

At the time, he had no idea that she was the Bright Cult's holy maiden, Aiyixiamu, whose Chinese name was Jiang Manni.

The holy maiden symbolized the Bright Cult's purity, and its rules strictly forbade her from falling in love. Aiyixiamu had always held herself to exacting standards and guarded her heart.

But love and desire were human nature.

How could Aiyixiamu possibly resist them?

By chance, the two traveled through the Western Regions together, and Aiyixiamu fell for the learned and talented Zhang Dajing.

But Zhang Dajing regarded her only as a little sister. Besides, he was already engaged and deeply in love with his fiancée. He would never transfer his affections to someone else.

When Aiyixiamu could no longer hold back and confessed her feelings, Zhang Dajing was astonished. He firmly rejected her, then left without saying goodbye to spare them the awkwardness of meeting again.

Several years passed before they met again.

By then, Zhang Dajing was a prominent merchant renowned throughout the capital. When they met again in the Western Regions, he thought the matter was long behind them. He never imagined that Aiyixiamu's moment of weakness all those years ago had caused her cultivation of the Sacred Fire Canon to go awry. Tormented constantly by demonic fire, her temperament had changed drastically, leaving her obsessed with killing.

In revenge, she struck Zhang Dajing with her palm.

With her strength at the time, killing Zhang Dajing would have been effortless. Yet she deliberately spared him, planting a wisp of Sacred Fire Canon true qi inside him instead, determined to make him taste the torment of demonic fire she had endured.

That torment lasted eight years!

At first, the true qi had little effect, and Zhang Dajing could still manage his business normally. But as time passed, it grew rather than faded, and the pain became increasingly intense.

Zhang Dajing tried countless methods, but none could remove it. Eventually, he became bedridden, spending most of each day asleep. Even when he woke, he suffered terribly.

Had his wife not died young, leaving him with a small child, he would have taken his own life long ago.

By now, his life was all but spent.

Fortunately, Zhang Chengfeng had grown up. Though he had inherited his father's unremarkable aptitude for martial arts, his expertise in mechanisms and concealed weapons was more than enough to protect himself. He had also mastered his father's methods of doing business, something Zhang Dajing had always taken great pride in.

With someone to inherit the manor and family business, he could die content.

Over the past few years, Zhang Chengfeng had also tried every means of prolonging his father's life. Unwilling to let his son's efforts go to waste, Zhang Dajing endured whatever he could. He had held on until now, when at last a way out had appeared.

"I'll settle this debt, little by little."

Zhang Chengfeng raised his cup and drained it. "One day, I'll blow Bright Peak flat and tear that woman into a thousand pieces!"

"That's the spirit."

Cao Jinxing drank with him, quietly committing the information about the Bright Sect to memory in case he needed it.

"Meow~"

While they talked, Xuan Yuan Fourteen finally finished the enormous heap of food, trotted over to Cao Jinxing's feet, and jumped into his lap to curl into a ball.

The cat had returned to normal size, and all its injuries had healed. Graceful and clever, it was truly beautiful and utterly adorable.

Cao Jinxing looked down. "Full yet? If not, ask Young Master Zhang for more. No need to be polite with him."

"Hahaha!"

Zhang Chengfeng laughed heartily. "Exactly! No need to be polite with me. I can never repay such a tremendous kindness. Even if you ate me out of house and home, I'd gladly accept it!"

Cao Jinxing couldn't help giving him another look.

This Zhang Chengfeng really was someone of substance.

Xuan Yuan Fourteen shook its head, pressing close to Cao Jinxing and clutching his robe.

A great deal of residual energy remained inside its body, and it needed time to digest it. It wouldn't need to eat again for a while.

Zhang Chengfeng couldn't help reminding him, "Sir, spirit cats like Snow Glaze are born with extraordinary abilities. They can change size at will, move incredibly fast, fight wolves and tigers, and seek out rare treasures. I'm sure you know the saying about thousand-mile steeds. Spirit beasts like this are exceptional. You'll need to give it special care."

Had he not needed to cut out its heart to make medicine, he would never have tried to kill such a wondrous creature.

"Don't worry. I can afford to keep it."

Cao Jinxing glanced at the sky outside and stood. "It's about time. I have official duties tomorrow, so I need to leave."

"Sir..."

"No need to keep calling me sir. I rather like you. Just use my name. I'm off."

Cao Jinxing waved and departed in a flash of lightning.

Seeing how lightly he treated it all, Zhang Chengfeng couldn't help feeling respect for him.

The Zhang family was immensely wealthy, and he had repeatedly indicated that he would never forget the debt of saving his father. Whatever Cao Jinxing asked for, he would grant. Yet Cao Jinxing hadn't taken any of it to heart.

Fine wine, exquisite food, gold, silver, and jewels meant less to him than a story.

"Guan Chong."

"Young master."

"Starting tomorrow, personally escort rare natural treasures to Brother Cao's residence every day for Snow Glaze to eat. Without fail. Understood?"

"Yes."

"When someone treats me sincerely, I repay them in kind. That is the principle of our Windcloud Manor. If he gives you any instructions, attend to them as carefully as you would mine."

"Yes!"

Early the next morning.

Cao Jinxing went to the office to report for duty.

Xuan Yuan Fourteen brought him a small leather pouch in its mouth, shrank itself, and climbed inside. It gazed pleadingly at Cao Jinxing, signaling for him to take it along.

After its brush with death, the little creature had become terribly clingy. In fact, now that its injuries had healed, even Cao Jinxing would have struggled to catch it at its full speed.

"All right, then. I can't say no to you..."

Cao Jinxing hung the little leather pouch at his waist, left home, and headed for the Pacification Commission's office.

His assignment for the day was already on record, so he didn't need to draw lots again.

When he reached the entrance, the two company commanders, Su Yunsheng and Sun Lang, were waiting with tall horses and more than seventy guards.

"Let's go."

Cao Jinxing swung into the saddle and turned his horse toward the Heavenly Fragrance House.

The main force followed closely on foot.

Riding his horse, Sun Lang said with a smile, "I heard these hundred maidens were carefully selected from all over the country. I wonder if they really deserve to stay at the Heavenly Fragrance House..."

The Heavenly Fragrance House took its name from the phrase describing incomparable beauty.

"They probably won't be all that pretty."

Su Yunsheng said, "They call them maidens, but they're really just palace maids. They're entering the palace to cultivate medicinal herbs and collect dew. What matters is being deft with their hands and understanding medicine. A pretty face alone is useless."

Uninterested in their conversation, Cao Jinxing asked casually, "Which eunuch is representing the Eastern Depot?"

"..."

Sun Lang and Su Yunsheng exchanged a covert glance. Realizing that their superior cared only about the assignment and had no interest in anything else, they relaxed.

With a leader like this, at least they wouldn't be bullied into doing dirty work. Neither could ask for more, and their replies became considerably more respectful.

Su Yunsheng said, "Sir, it's Eunuch Feng Bao, the punishment officer with the rank of battalion commander in the Eastern Depot's Criminal Justice Division."

"Who?" Cao Jinxing froze.

Sun Lang asked in confusion, "Eunuch Feng Bao... Sir, what's..."

The corner of Cao Jinxing's mouth twitched. "Nothing. The name just sounded familiar..." How could it not? This fellow was a hugely famous historical figure!

Su Yunsheng said, "He's Eunuch Lu's newly adopted son. Though young, he's very capable and highly valued."

"Oh..."

Cao Jinxing feigned realization while making up his mind to avoid the man if possible. Who knows what kind of historical plot armor this game has? If I can't afford to provoke him, surely I can at least stay out of his way?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, a rider suddenly charged down the street, hooves cracking against the paving stones. The rider was a eunuch, who called out anxiously:

"Are you Company Commander Cao Jinxing, assigned to guard the Heavenly Fragrance House today?"

Cao Jinxing said, "That's me."

The eunuch quickly displayed an Eastern Depot token and spoke in a rush. "Orders from the punishment officer! Take your men to Red Maple Slope in the western hills immediately to provide support. The convoy has been ambushed! Bandits are abducting the maidens!"

Everyone was startled.

Daring to do something like this in the imperial capital-they really had a death wish!

Cao Jinxing sighed inwardly. I just decided to avoid him, and now some blind idiot is making trouble for me?

There was no way around it.

A single rank's difference could crush a man.

A company commander was only a sixth-rank military officer, while the Criminal Justice Division's punishment officer held the rank of battalion commander, a full fifth-rank position.

Besides, Feng Bao was the principal official in charge of today's assignment. By every measure, he had the authority to order Cao Jinxing around.

There was no time to complain.

Cao Jinxing told Su Yunsheng and Sun Lang, "This is urgent. I'll go ahead. You two bring the main force."

"Yes."

They lowered their heads to answer. When they looked up again, Cao Jinxing had already vanished from his horse.

What superb lightness skills...

Sun Lang marveled inwardly.

Su Yunsheng turned and shouted, "Everyone! Rear ranks to the front! Change course for the western hills! Move out!"