Lamplight flickered inside the cramped, narrow room of blue brick.
Thousand-Household Commander Cao Xuan sat facing south at a battered square table, holding a teacup fashioned from a section of bamboo.
The cup was plainly crudely made, with splinters still clinging to it, and the tea had been brewed from mugwort leaves.
Yet Cao Xuan looked thoroughly at ease, as though he held the finest fragrant tea.
He sipped as he spoke. "I truly must thank you for today's incident with the Bloodwind Bandits seizing the Library Tower. Had that standoff continued, both Zhengyang Martial Academy and our Embroidery Guard would have lost all face."
"You give me too much credit, Commander."
Chu Xisheng smiled faintly, his words watertight. "A few Bloodwind Bandits are no more than a patch of scabies to you, Commander. You could suppress them with a turn of your hand. Besides, someone else actually killed that Spellcaster. This commoner merely lent a hand and truly doesn't deserve your thanks."
Cao Xuan clearly disagreed. He had already heard this account from Chu Xisheng at noon.
But his subordinates had searched every corner inside and outside the Library Tower without finding the woman surnamed Lu whom Chu Xisheng had mentioned.
There could be only two reasons the boy said this. One was fear of retaliation from the Bloodwind Bandits. As for the other-
"You seem to be nursing quite a grievance, young fellow." Smiling, he took a pill bottle, a heavy silver ingot, a glittering golden vest, and two bronze waist tokens from his sleeve and set them before Chu Xisheng.
"I'm not a man who fattens himself on broken promises. The earlier setting simply wasn't appropriate. This is the reward I promised you. Your hereditary appointment papers, commissions, and official registrations will have to wait another two days. Someone will deliver them to you then."
Only then did Chu Xisheng's brows lift, his expression shifting slightly.
The pill bottle was identical to the one he had received earlier. Barring any surprises, it should contain five Origin-Nourishing Pills.
The glittering vest was Gold-Silk Inner Armor woven from superior silkworm silk and copper wire. One glance showed it was no ordinary item.
The crucial things were the two bronze waist tokens.
Chu Xisheng picked up a token and examined it closely.
It felt somewhat heavy in his hand; clearly, no material had been spared.
A totem of the divine beast Bian was carved on it, with the words "Chu Xisheng, Bannerman, Xiushui Brocade-Clad Guard Thousand-Household Office" below.
The other was also a Bannerman's waist token, but the name had been changed to "Chu Yunyun."
After looking at them, however, Chu Xisheng's expression tightened slightly.
Rather than looking pleased, he regarded Cao Xuan with a hint of wariness. "Commander, I only asked for hereditary Bannerman titles, not active appointments."
Since its founding, Great Ning had maintained a tradition of granting hereditary military ranks in the Embroidery Guard to the children of powerful nobles and officials.
After eight hundred years of dynastic rule, hereditary Bannermen in the Embroidery Guard were as numerous as carp crossing a river.
The vast majority held no duties in the Embroidery Guard and merely drew a salary.
Later, there were so many hereditary Embroidery Guards that the court could no longer bear the expense and stopped paying even their salaries.
Chu Xisheng wanted these hereditary Bannerman titles solely to resolve the issue of his and Chu Yunyun's identities.
Once they draped themselves in this official skin, whatever they did in the future would be easier.
He had never intended to become an active officer in the Embroidery Guard, subject to its orders.
And as the saying went, a man who humbled himself with gifts wanted something in return. This Cao fellow was plainly a weasel paying New Year's respects to a chicken.
Cao Xuan did not look at Chu Xisheng's expression. Quite at ease, he blew on the mugwort leaves floating in his cup. "I changed them to active Bannerman appointments because there's something I'd like to ask your help with, young Chu. Have you heard of Overlord Martial King Qin Muge and the God-Defying Banner?"
Chu Xisheng had originally resolved to refuse whatever the man asked of him.
But hearing the name Qin Muge stirred something in him. Looking doubtful, he said, "Who in the world hasn't heard the name of Overlord Martial King Qin Muge? As for the God-Defying Banner, I don't know much about it, but those Bloodwind Bandits came for it today. Your Embroidery Guard spent half the day searching the Library Tower. I imagine that was what you were after too?"
Cao Xuan gave an awkward chuckle. "That's precisely what I wanted to ask. I hope you'll help me keep an eye out for clues about Qin Muge and the God-Defying Banner at Zhengyang Martial Academy."
For a moment, Chu Xisheng felt indescribably strange. Was he being asked to investigate himself?
Yet he still put on a troubled expression and pushed the tokens and Gold-Silk Inner Armor back across the table. "You're asking far too much, Commander. First, I cannot betray the academy. Second, I know just how much weight I can carry, and I dare not get swept into a storm like the one surrounding the God-Defying Banner. Please find someone more capable."
"I'm not asking you to betray Zhengyang Martial Academy."
Cao Xuan set down his teacup and looked steadily at Chu Xisheng. "I can enter into a Spirit Pact with you. I won't have you do anything that endangers the academy or the Formless Divine Sect. All I want are clues to the God-Defying Banner.
"The God-Defying Banner is a supreme treasure of our human race, possessing divine might capable of defying heaven, changing fate, and opposing the gods. If it falls into wicked hands, the consequences will be unthinkable.
"You stepped forward today and willingly braved extraordinary danger to kill that Bloodwind Bandit Spellcaster. Surely you're someone with a chivalrous heart. Could you stand by and watch such a treasure be seized by evil forces like the Bloodwind Bandits?"
At this point, Cao Xuan shifted his tone. "Before coming here, I actually looked into your background. To be frank, neither of your travel permits or household registrations holds up very well. You moved here from Taishan Commandery in Eastern Province, yet you speak with the capital's accent."
Chu Xisheng remained impassive.
Commander Cao was merely playing the old game of threats and inducements, wielding both soft and hard tactics.
In truth, he was more than willing. Investigating himself would be easy, and he could even draw two salaries from the Embroidery Guard for nothing.
But Chu Xisheng thought he should not agree so readily. It would be best to ask Chu Yunyun's opinion first.
"I'm actually very curious about your origins, young Chu. Are you runaway slaves from some official's household in the capital? Fugitives wanted by the court? Or refugees from over there? But that's no concern of mine. In today's world, there are far too many people like you siblings, with no one knowing where you came from or where you'll go. No one cares."
Smiling again, Cao Xuan picked up the scissors on the table and leisurely trimmed the oil lamp's wick. "But if you siblings want to advance further in Zhengyang Martial Academy or join the Formless Divine Sect someday, these identities won't win anyone's trust.
"I can help you make your identities spotless, without a single flaw. You may even have the chance to obtain pills and martial Secret Methods exclusive to our Embroidery Guard. But everything has its price. Don't you agree, young Chu?"
Chu Xisheng narrowed his eyes, watching Cao Xuan trim the wick with a cold expression.
Cao Xuan looked extraordinarily focused, as though he were pruning the plants in his own garden.
His hand was steady too, his movements meticulous.
Without realizing it, Chu Xisheng gripped the saber at his waist, his mind dwelling on Cao Xuan's words: "where you'll go."
After a long silence of thought, he released his grip on the saber. "This matter has serious implications. Please give me some time to consider it, Commander."
Cao Xuan frowned, a seeming flicker of displeasure in his eyes.
His hand trembled too, and he actually snipped away most of the wick.
"My hand slipped."
Cao Xuan smiled with an air of embarrassment and set down the scissors. "Very well. It's only human to have reservations. I'll give you five days. If you're willing, buy three dried-tangerine-peel buns from the bun shop northeast of the academy.
He patted the Gold-Silk Inner Armor and waist tokens on the table. "These things will stay here. Whether you agree or not, they're the reward I promised you."