Something greater than life

Damn it!

Xu Qi'an cursed under his breath, resigning himself to his bad luck.

I recalled my past life's experience of being unfairly treated by my boss in my career. Back then, I could still say, "I quit!"

The yamen (government office) for Nightwatchers is strictly hierarchical, and such extreme methods cannot be used to deal with it.

"You're trying to make things difficult for me, huh? Then don't blame me for stirring things up in Wei's ear." Xu Qi'an rubbed his swollen arm, his anger blazing.

Once everyone was assembled and mounted on their horses, the night Nightwatchers and the guards hurried off to their destination.

The official in charge of finances at the Ministry of Revenue, surnamed Cheng, whose Ministry of Revenue was confiscated and who was exiled, owned a large three-courtyard house, which was now completely surrounded by the Imperial Saber Guard.

When the Nightwatchers arrived, Zhu Yinluo drew his sword, and with a flash of light, cleaved the "Cheng Mansion" plaque in two.

With a swift gesture, he shouted, "Seize the property!"

The gong-wielding men and the servants kicked open the central gate and swarmed in.

The servants in the manor were so frightened that they dared not breathe, huddled in fear in various corners—by the roadside, in the garden, and under the eaves.

They only learned yesterday that their master had been imprisoned for a crime, and the mansion was just about to pull some strings when this group of menacing and ruthless people showed up today.

Xu Qi'an and his two companions entered the front hall and were about to go to the backyard when they were kicked back by Zhu Yinluo.

"The three of you will stay here and are not allowed to go anywhere. After this is over, I will search you. If you are found to have embezzled funds, you will be punished according to the law."

Zhu Yinluo said in a deep voice.

The other members of the gong crew noticed that Xu Qi'an and his companions were being targeted. Some sneered with schadenfreude, while others pretended not to see it and tried to protect themselves.

Song Tingfeng dared not speak out against his anger.

Zhu Guangxiao, who was usually taciturn, also had a gloomy face.

Xu Qi'an gritted his teeth and chose to remain silent. He couldn't argue back now, or he would be in for a severe beating.

Watching Zhu Yinluo enter the inner courtyard, Song Tingfeng spat and angrily said, "Cutting off someone's livelihood, that good-for-nothing son who has no connections!"

"I'm sorry, it's my fault that I've dragged you all into this," Xu Qi'an said guiltily.

Song Tingfeng rolled his eyes, his gaze falling on Xu Qi'an's arm. "I've seen you touch your hand several times. How badly is it injured?"

Xu Qi'an smiled wryly as he rolled up his sleeves; his arms were already red and swollen.

"That bastard used his internal energy?" Song Tingfeng's expression changed.

When a superior beats a subordinate, it usually results in superficial injuries at most; there's no hidden resentment involved. Pain and injury are two different things.

This shows how narrow-minded that person surnamed Zhu is.

"Just because of this injury, you can sue him. Go back to the boss; he won't tolerate it," Zhu Guangxiao said in a deep voice.

Song Tingfeng glanced at him and shook his head. "Don't cause trouble for the boss."

Although both are Silver Gongs, the other person's father is a Gold Gong, and with such powerful backing, Li Yuchun is not someone to mess with.

Song Tingfeng continued, "Forget it, just avoid him next time you see him. We'll just have to accept our fate."

I will report it, but not to Brother Chun, but to Wei's father, Xu Qi'an, who will roll up his sleeves.

The raid was different from what Xu Qi'an had imagined; there was no loud smashing or banging. On the contrary, the servants and the men with gongs were very careful.

A vase in a corner of the study might be a fine piece of porcelain worth tens or hundreds of taels of silver; a small table used to display objects might be worth several taels of silver.

Suddenly, the three people in the front hall heard a woman's shrill cries and pleas.

"What's going on?" Xu Qi'an's expression changed, and he turned to look at Song Tingfeng: "The document says that only the property will be confiscated, not that anyone will be punished as a result."

The document states that the verdict against Cheng, the clerk in the Ministry of Revenue, was confiscation of his property and exile, without mentioning any punishment for his family members.

In other words, the family members were at most kicked out of the house; they did not commit any crime.

Song Tingfeng stammered, "Perhaps it's because the women in the household are beautiful that they wanted to have some fun. This kind of thing happens quite often."

"Bullshit!" Xu Qi'an cursed and strode towards the backyard.

In the backyard, a woman's shrill screams echoed from several rooms, accompanied by a man's lewd laughter.

"Bang!"

Following the principle of proximity, Xu Qi'an kicked open the door of a room and saw an unfamiliar man tearing at a woman's clothes.

The woman had dignified features and fair skin, and was only wearing a lotus-colored bodice on her upper body. She cried out in despair.

Tongluo was startled, and his face turned pale. If it had been any later, he might have been frightened into having a mental breakdown. He turned around angrily to look at the door.

Xu Qi'an stared coldly at him, glancing at the badge hanging from Tongluo's waist. "Continue. I've remembered your name. I'll personally complain to Duke Wei later."

Wei Yuan's reputation was quite intimidating. The man with the gong glanced at the woman, then at Xu Qi'an's gloomy face, and, confirming that he wasn't joking, hesitated.

Xu Qi'an ignored him and, seizing the opportunity, kicked open the doors of the other rooms in the same way, scaring away his colleague who was about to commit an act of misconduct.

Xu Qi'an's heart sank when he didn't see the man surnamed Zhu. Without hesitation, he kicked open the last room door.

Sure enough, Zhu Yinluo was inside.

He was grinning maliciously as he grabbed a young girl and, with a twisted sense of pleasure, stripped off her clothes piece by piece.

The girl looked young, with tear tracks on her face, sobbing as if she wanted to cry but dared not.

In that instant, Xu Qi'an's anger reached its peak, but he did not act rashly; he simply stared intently at Zhu Yinluo.

"Get out!" Zhu Yinluo's face darkened.

Xu Qi'an didn't leave. He met the gaze of a Spirit Refining Realm expert without flinching and said, word by word, "If you dare touch her, I'll report you to Duke Wei."

Upon hearing this, the girl's eyes lit up with a fierce light, as if a drowning person had grasped at a straw.

The conflict attracted the attention of other gong players and white-robed servants, who stood not far away, watching in astonishment as the rising star of the young gong player confronted the silver-robed servant.

"Fine, you ignorant fool."

If before it was because they couldn't stand Xu Qi'an showing off, now it's because they're filled with rage and want to destroy him.

Zhu Yinlu grabbed the girl by the neck, lifted her into the air, and strode out of the room.

Xu Qi'an sensed the surging energy and instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword, retreating warily to avoid its sharp edge.

Zhu Yinluo carried the girl into the courtyard, threw her onto the stone table, turned his head, and grinned maliciously at Xu Qi'an, saying:

What do you intend to do?

Xu Qi'an's temple throbbed.

"Ningyan!" Song Tingfeng rushed over, his face grim, grabbed Xu Qi'an's right hand that was gripping his knife, and said through gritted teeth, "Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive, you know the consequences!"

His tone was pleading.

Xu Qi'an regained some composure and understood Song Tingfeng's warning.

Firstly, it is a grave offense for the copper gong to attack the silver gong; even if the person is killed on the spot, it is their own fault.

In other words, Zhu dragged the girl into the yard and publicly humiliated her to provoke Xu Qi'an and force him to take action.

This is intended to kill Xu Qi'an.

Secondly, how does Qi Refining Realm fight against the Spirit Refining Realm?

Neither their status nor their strength allows it.

Xu Qi'an didn't give up, repeating earnestly, "If you dare touch me, I'll report you to Duke Wei."

Zhu Yinluo laughed wildly, "You can go and complain, but only after I've enjoyed the little beauty."

The other gong players might be wary of Xu Qi'an's threats, but he wasn't afraid.

With a father who is a financial backer and someone who acts with discretion, one is unlikely to encounter insurmountable troubles or misfortunes.

So what if a few convicted officials' families were humiliated? It's no big deal.

Moreover, this wasn't a one-off occurrence. With so many corrupt officials having their homes confiscated and being exiled every year, even if the women in their families weren't implicated, could they really escape unscathed?

Something always has to be sacrificed.

Zhu Yinluo chuckled contemptuously and assumed a posture of humiliation.

Some gongs turned their heads away, while others whistled and made strange noises.

The fate that this middle school girl was about to face deeply affected the soul that had traveled from the 21st century.

"Release!"

Song Tingfeng heard his new colleague's words and spoke softly.

But his expression was so firm and resolute that, as if possessed, Song Tingfeng took a step back.

Xu Qi'an's eyes were calm, his breath was calm, and all his emotions settled down. He instantly entered his best state.

He pressed his thumb on the hilt, gently lifting the guard of the black and gold longsword, causing it to emerge from its sheath by an inch.

"Clang!"

As the sound of a long sword being drawn echoed, Zhu Yinluo suddenly sprang to his feet, his eyes sharp and his attack swift and decisive, slashing at Xu Qi'an with his sword.

He had been preparing for this for a long time.

A violent aura surged forth like a tidal wave. Xu Qi'an, however, remained as steadfast as a rock.

Focus on one thing, and you'll reach the pinnacle!

"Clang!"

Another sound of a sword being drawn.

All the onlookers saw was a fleeting glimpse of a thin, thread-like blade, and that Xu Qi'an's hand, which was resting on the blade, seemed to twitch.

The somewhat straight knife remained in its sheath; the powerful clanging sound from before seemed like an auditory hallucination.

Zhu Yinluo froze, his eyes wide open, frozen in place.

A few seconds later, the gong on his chest cracked and fell to the ground with a clatter.

Immediately afterwards, a knife wound opened in his chest, and blood gushed out, splattering onto Xu Qi'an's face and body.

In the deathly silence, he fell backward, powerless.

A moment later, Song Tingfeng was the first to react. His face turned pale as he rushed to Zhu Yinluo's side and touched his carotid artery.

"He's not dead! He's not dead!" Song Tingfeng shouted hoarsely, "Quick, save him! Save him!"

The scene immediately descended into chaos. Some of the gong-wielding soldiers rushed to Zhu Yinluo's aid, channeling their vital energy and administering medicinal pills. They then carried him away, intending to take him back to the Nightwatchers's office for further treatment.

The other group drew their swords, and amidst the continuous clanging sounds, they surrounded Xu Qi'an.

The taciturn Zhu Guangxiao gripped the hilt of his sword, standing protectively in front of Xu Qi'an.

"Ningyan." Song Tingfeng's face turned pale, and he forced out the words with difficulty, "You should run away."

Xu Qi'an, whose life force had been drained by a single blow, shook his head, his eyes filled with exhaustion, and forced a smile, saying, "If I escape, what will happen to my uncle and aunt?"

Song Tingfeng was furious. He grabbed Xu Qi'an by the collar, pointed at the bewildered girl, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Is it worth it? Is it worth it for a woman you don't even know?"

"She's still a child." Xu Qi'an gazed at him. "There are always things that are more important than life itself."

He walked out with unsteady steps, and no one dared to stop him. With each step he took, the Nightwatchers back.

Ten steps later, Xu Qi'an removed his waist token and sword, threw them on the ground, and then made a gesture that no one could understand.

He gazed at the distant sky, raised his hand, and gave a military salute.

After many years, Xu Qi'an's face once again radiated the youthful vigor he had when he first stepped out of the campus.

Despite being covered in blood.

P. S.: That's the end of the big update. I'm going to sleep now, and I'll update again when I wake up.