On the second day of the first lunar month, people visited relatives and friends. Zhang Xing had hardly any of either, so naturally he had nothing to do all day.
On the third day of the first lunar month, the New Year holidays were still far from over for most people, and most government offices remained closed. The Jing'an Directorate had not fully resumed work either, of course, but as regular military personnel of an intelligence agency, Zhang Xing and Qin Bao had to return to their previous routine of duty and roll calls starting that day.
Of course, "roll call" did not mean they had to show their faces first thing in the morning. For the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry, the hardship of field assignments was plain to see, so reporting for roll call at the directorate was mostly a formality. Even when Zhang Xing had previously handled his team's paperwork while helping with miscellaneous affairs at the Black Tower, he had never been required to arrive by a particular beat of the drums.
All the more so for holiday duty.
Returning after several months to that familiar little courtyard on the Jing'an Directorate's island, he found it much quieter for some reason, though the sky was overcast today and looked ready to snow. Not only had the idlers he usually got along with failed to appear, but even the familiar Black Sashes in the Black Tower had sent no one over with documents. As for the other members of his own team, they mostly stopped by to say hello before leaving in twos and threes, who knew where, to slack off.
At first, Zhang Xing thought nothing of it. He merely assumed there were fewer people because not everyone had returned to work yet.
But soon, as this happened