I'll Ease His Majesty's Burdens

The Heaven-Listening Bureau had a spacious courtyard, half paved with bluestone and half bare earth, which served as a training ground. Several Wandering Stars and strongmen under Shi Zhoushan were practicing there.

Seeing the two of them arrive, Xiang Wei laughed. "You're certainly early, Lord Wang. Were you afraid you'd miss the meal, so you came half a day ahead?"

Wang Qilin froze. Half a day?

But he did not ask. Taking the bait would lower his standing.

Xu Da barked, "Half a day ahead? What do you mean? Didn't you say..."

"Lord Shi invited you to dinner. You've come before noon-isn't that half a day early?" Xiang Wei laughed smugly.

Wang Qilin understood. The man had tricked him.

The invitation gave only the date of the banquet, not the time, but before leaving, Xiang Wei had said it was lunch.

This was why, since ancient times, one could not afford to offend those around one's superiors.

Furious, Xu Da strode forward with his fists raised. "You bastard, you dare make a fool of me?"

The Wandering Stars and strongmen stopped what they were doing and gathered behind Xiang Wei.

Their eyes were challenging.

Their smiles were contemptuous.

Xu Da walked back again.

He was crude, but not reckless. Naturally, he would not strike when he was certain to come off worse.

Xiang Wei laughed. He looked smugly at Wang Qilin, his smile saying everything: This is my turf!

Wang Qilin walked forward, dragging his saber.

There was nothing he could do about Shi Zhoushan setting him up, but now even Xiang Wei dared to trick him?

Then he would have to reason with him properly-with his fists!

The Heaven-Listening Bureau respected strength. If he took bullying without fighting back, people would only look down on him, and more and more would bully him!

That absolutely would not do!

As a young, newly appointed Minor Seal, he needed to establish his authority!

Xiang Wei had witnessed his swift saber yesterday. Watching him approach, he grew uneasy. "Lord Wang, what are you going to do?"

"I see you're all practicing very diligently," Wang Qilin said. "I'll test your abilities for Lord Shi and see whether you're just putting on a show."

A broad-shouldered, thick-waisted strongman clenched his fists and stepped out from the crowd. "Fine. I'll go first."

The strongman used a monk's form of address for himself and had a gleaming bald head, so Wang Qilin thought he was a Buddhist disciple.

But he had not only no hair, but no beard or eyebrows either, only a face full of brutish flesh, which made him look rather strange.

Xu Da called from behind, "White Tiger, this is between me and Xiang Wei. What's it got to do with you?"

"What did you call me?" the strongman roared. He lunged twenty or thirty feet forward, sank into a horse stance, and brought his fist smashing down!

The wind howled around the heavy, powerful blow!

Xiang Wei warned from behind, "Watch out for his swift saber..."

Wang Qilin did not draw his saber at all. Forming the fundamental mudra with his left hand, he silently recited the Vajrasattva Heart Mantra and likewise stepped forward, driving his arm out in a straight punch!

Fifteen years of internal energy-was that a joke?

They met head-on, their fists colliding!

No technique-the stronger man ruled!

Internal energy surged like a river into the meridians of his right arm. As Wang Qilin's fist struck, it burst forth!

The White Tiger strongman had only some brute strength. Like Wang Qilin, he had never had the opportunity to study an internal cultivation method, so he had no internal energy.

How could natural brute strength withstand fifteen years of internal energy?

The strongman's sleeve whipped backward as though caught by a gale, and the punch sent him staggering.

"Again!"

Wang Qilin's heart was as still as water, his expression composed as an old monk's. He withdrew his right fist and opened it to form the Lion's Swift Advance mudra, while his left hand clenched and blasted forward.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the courtyard streamed into every pore of his body, lending him even greater momentum!

The strongmen behind White Tiger knew things were going badly when they saw him retreat and hurried forward to help.

The four Wandering Stars exchanged looks. One tried to draw his saber, but Xiang Wei pressed it down. "Don't draw, and don't let him draw either. I've never seen a saber as fast as his!"

Hearing this, Wang Qilin sighed inwardly. The fellow was no fool.

But Xu Da was even less of a fool.

Naturally, they could not draw sabers on their colleagues, but the training ground's weapon racks held bamboo sabers!

Wang Qilin punched aside the strongmen rushing up to him. Once he had forced them back, Xu Da shouted, "Seventh Master, catch!"

With a long saber in hand-Supreme Yin Soul Severing!

Wang Qilin gave them an eerie smile, and Xiang Wei's expression changed.

Saber shadows shimmered as he twisted his waist, shifted his footing, and charged.

The bamboo saber spun as swiftly as a wheel of light, sweeping up a whistling wind as he plunged into the crowd and slashed in every direction.

The strongmen could not make out the saber's patterns at all. They could only grit their teeth and endure with their body-hardening skills.

The Wandering Stars who had just joined the fray fared miserably, scattering in chaos beneath the bamboo saber's blows.

Xiang Wei was among the more capable ones. He, too, had taken up a bamboo saber, and facing the flickering saber light, he could grit his teeth and hold out for a few exchanges, blocking the bamboo blade striking at him.

But that did not last long. Xu Da took advantage of the chaos to come up behind him, hook an arm around his neck, and force him to the ground. The two then rolled across the ground.

Hou Decai returned and was startled by the sight. He hurriedly shouted sternly, "All of you, stop!"

Wang Qilin withdrew his saber and stepped back. He did not want to make the scene too ugly.

The strongmen and Wandering Stars retreated, sucking in sharp breaths. Xiang Wei also stopped when he heard Hou Decai's command, but Xu Da did not. He seized the chance to drive two punches beneath Xiang Wei's ribs, making him tremble right down to his crotch.

The brute struck viciously!

Holding the saber, Wang Qilin twirled it, his expression dark and his voice fierce. "What the hell have you been practicing all day? All show and no substance! Does the court spend silver zhu supporting you just so you can sit around doing nothing?"

One strongman snapped, "Who do you think you are? It's not your place to lecture us."

Wang Qilin reversed his grip and thrust the bamboo saber into the ground. The hard bamboo, soaked in tung oil and baked under the blazing sun, snapped in the middle with a crack!

Their brows all twitched.

Throwing away the bamboo saber, he clasped both hands toward the imperial capital. "Of course I'm nothing, but what about the court? Seeing that all the court's money, effort, and resources have produced nothing but a pack of parasites like you, I simply cannot contain my indignation!"

Xu Da added, "Lord Wang is loyal to his sovereign and his country. He wants nothing but to ease His Majesty's burdens and troubles, and he considers His Majesty in everything he does. What, have you got a problem with that?"

Fuck your mothers, they all cursed inwardly.

But Wang Qilin outranked them, and his words claimed the moral high ground. They had nothing to say and could only silently curse, their hearts full of resentment.

Xiang Wei reacted quickly. He sneered, "If we're parasites, what does that make Xu Da? He ambushed me just now, and I still beat him until he could only defend himself without fighting back."

Wang Qilin looked at Xu Da. Xu Da gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. "We're all colleagues. I couldn't bring myself to hit him hard."

Xiang Wei's breath caught in his chest, and his vision darkened.

How could anyone be so shameless?

Wang Qilin said to him, "Your skills are quite good, Lord Xiang. I truly admire them."

Thinking he was offering an olive branch, Xiang Wei sneered.

Then Wang Qilin continued, "I'm ashamed to admit I'm no match for you. So how about this? I'll give up my position as Minor Seal to you."

Xiang Wei immediately panicked. Turning around, he said, "What are you looking at? Everyone, keep practicing! You heard Lord Wang. Our skills aren't up to scratch. Put your backs into it and keep practicing!"

Shi Zhoushan was not at the station. Apparently, something strange had been happening at the county yamen lately, and he had gone over specifically to take a look.

Wang Qilin dragged over a chair to supervise Xiang Wei and the others as they practiced. Xu Da went out to buy candied fruit, candied winter melon, melon seeds, roasted chestnuts, and other snacks. The two ate as they watched.

Whenever someone wanted to rest, Wang Qilin went over with his saber. "Does the court pay you silver zhu to rest and play? Keep practicing!"

"If practice doesn't kill you, practice to death!"

Shi Zhoushan only returned after lunch. Seeing his subordinates drenched in sweat, he nodded in satisfaction. "Good work today. We'll all go to the Prosperity Restaurant tonight."

The Gathering Fragrance Restaurant was the best restaurant in Crouching Dragon Township, while the Prosperity Restaurant was the finest in Auspicious County.

The gap between the two was greater than the gap between county and township.

The other three Minor Seals arrived one after another that afternoon: Chang Guizhi, who oversaw Stone Mountain Township and Wolf Mountain Township; Sun Miu, who oversaw Paifang Township; and Cui Wang, who oversaw Seven Zhang Township.

Chang Guizhi and Cui Wang both greeted him warmly. After all, the Heaven-Listening Bureau dealt with ghosts and evil beings every day, and they needed one another's help from time to time, so they were all happy to cultivate good relations.

Sun Miu's attitude toward him was lukewarm, but Wang Qilin had no objection to that.

Huang Huaji's trip to the county to claim merit on his behalf had amounted to a slap in Sun Miu's face. He had crossed the boundary to handle affairs on the other man's turf, so it was understandable that the man was displeased.

Toward evening, the sun sank in the west.

Lights gradually came on in countless homes, and smoke began drifting from the chimneys of hundreds upon thousands of houses. It was time to eat.