I just wanted to be a quiet, handsome man

The silver gong who inexplicably came to demand the person was named Tao Man. He didn't have a deep relationship with Li Yuchun, but they worked in the same government office and often saw each other, so they were fairly familiar with each other.

Li Yuchun naturally refused. What a joke! It's blatant kidnapping of my treasure boy! Would I agree to that?

But Tao Man seemed unconcerned about Li Yuchun's attitude. He brought his men in, gave a brief announcement, and then turned to take Xu Qi'an away.

Bang!

Li Yuchun waved his sleeves, and the doors of Chunfeng Hall slammed shut.

"What do you mean by this, Lord Li?" Tao Yinluo asked, surprised by his reaction.

"What does Lord Tao mean by this?" Li Yuchun stood up expressionlessly, pointed to the corner of the wall, and gestured for Xu Qi'an to go there.

After his younger brother obediently complied, he turned to Tao Yinluo and continued, "You and I are not under the same command, so there is no such rule."

If they are all under the same Jinluo, personnel transfers don't even require going to the document office to modify files; they can simply report to the office.

However, for subordinates of Jinluo, personnel transfers require going through a long series of procedures.

Li Yuchun and Tao Man did not have the same superior; the subordinates under them could not be transferred at will.

"That's how it is," Tao Man slapped his forehead, pointing to Xu Qi'an in the corner:

"Lord Jiang sent me to bring someone over. He's taken a liking to this lad. Hey, I don't know where he got such good fortune. What are you standing there for? Come here! Stop standing in the corner. From now on, you're mine."

"Jiang Jinluo has taken a liking to you; this is your good fortune."

"This sounds weird. Is Lord Jiang going to have me carried in a sedan chair by eight men? I don't even know him," Xu Qi'an thought to himself, casting an inquiring glance at Li Yuchun.

Li Yuchun said, "Then go and tell Lord Jiang that I disagree."

"What?" Tao Man wondered if he had misheard. This Li Yuchun, dared to refuse Lord Jiang? Had he been drinking fake alcohol today and lost his mind?

"I'm not going to waste my breath on you. Lord Jiang is still waiting. I need to make the appointment now. If you have any objections, go talk to Lord Jiang yourself."

"You, surnamed Tao, try messing with my men. If I let you step out of this door today, I'm not Li Yuchun."

"Hey Li, are you really out of your mind today? Do you even know what you're saying?"

The argument between the two silver gong players alerted the copper gong players and officials in the side hall. Song Tingfeng, Zhu Guangxiao, and the copper gong player brought by Tao Man were squatting in the courtyard eating fried beans, listening to the cursing inside.

"Hey, who's that colleague of yours?" A gong-wielding man slapped Song Tingfeng's thigh with his scabbard.

Song Tingfeng said, "He has no special background."

"Would Jiang Jinlu specifically ask for him?" The gongs didn't believe it; such a person must have some extraordinary talent.

Song Tingfeng thought for a moment and gave a reasonable explanation, "He went to the Imperial Academy of Music to sleep with girls for free."

The crowd didn't believe it and looked at Zhu Guangxiao, who nodded.

Now I believe it.

"Why is it free?" The gong players were taken aback and humbly asked for an explanation, for getting something for free is an age-old human pleasure.

"I can't say, I promised to keep it a secret." Song Tingfeng shook his head, paused, and added, "He gave us one tael of silver as hush money."

"One tael of silver, right? Here you go."

Song Tingfeng took it, put it in his pocket, and then shook his head. "One tael isn't enough, you'll have to pay more."

Give me another ounce.

"Speak," the gong players said, looking at him expectantly.

"Because we're treating!" Song Tingfeng laughed heartily.

"Beat him up."

Song Tingfeng was pinned to the ground and beaten by several gong-wielding men, and the silver was snatched back.

Regarding the pseudonym Yang Ling, Xu Qi'an treated two of his colleagues to a meal at Cassia Moon Tower as hush money.

In fact, in Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao's eyes, Shui Fuxiang was the one who inspired envy and jealousy. As for his poetic talent, what use were his lousy poems?

A crude brute won't care whether your poetry is good or not.

Jiang Luzhong sat in the hall and brought out Xu Qi'an's household registration and information. Upon seeing it, he realized that Xu Qi'an was the quick-witted young man from Changle County who had performed outstandingly in the tax silver case.

"I'm in charge of the murder of the Earl of Pingyuan. Although Duke Wei withstood the pressure from all sides of the court for me, I can't let my guard down because of that, or Duke Wei will question my abilities." Jiang Luzhong subconsciously tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought.

"This man excels at apprehending criminals, which is exactly the talent I need. Moreover, he has close ties with the Warlock of the Bureau of Astronomy, so I can use him to purchase magical Law Artifact from the Bureau of Astronomy to arm my subordinates."

The death of the Earl of Pingyuan is not a pity, but the case still needs to be solved. Solving it will be a merit. Xu Qi'an solved the tax silver case based solely on the case files, demonstrating outstanding ability. This is Xu Qi'an's first advantage.

The second advantage is that the white-robed sorcerers of the Bureau of Astronomy look down on martial artists. Apart from regularly replenishing their copper gongs and magical Law Artifact, they are stingy and refuse to sell any other Law Artifact. That day, when he saw the white-robed Warlock being so respectful to Xu Qi'an, he learned that Xu Qi'an had a close relationship with the sixth-rank Alchemy and had the idea of recruiting him into their ranks.

A high-quality magical Law Artifact requires not only the guidance of Formation Master but also the skill of Alchemist in forging it.

At this moment, Tao Yinlu strode in, his face full of anger, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Boss, Li Yuchun has sent me back."

"You've made it back?" Jiang Luzhong's eagle eyes sharpened instantly, and his imposing aura made Tao Man dare not look him in the eye, causing her to lower her head slightly.

"What happened?" Jiang Jinluo asked in a deep voice.

"They just won't give it to you, and they even said if you want it, you can go to them in person," Tao Man told the truth.

He was furious with Li Yuchun. If it weren't for the regulations that Nightwatchers were not allowed to fight privately except in the martial arts training ground, Tao Man would have already shown Li Yuchun how hard and big his fists were.

"Alright, I'll go myself," Jiang Jinluo said without showing any emotion.

On the other side, Li Yuchun went to Yang Yan's Divine Spear Hall but couldn't find him. He went to the side hall and asked a clerk, who told him that Yang Jinluo was having tea with Duke Wei at Haoqi Tower.

Wei Yuan had two adopted sons. One was Nangong Qianrou, who was recognized in the government office as being more beautiful than any woman. The other was Yang Yan, who was "unyielding to reason."

Li Yuchun ran to Haoqi Tower, saying he had something important to report. As usual, the guards on duty went upstairs to inform him. After being summoned, Brother Chun rushed up to the seventh floor in one breath.

Seeing Yang Yan, whose posture remained unchanged for eternity and who was as rigid and serious as a stone statue, Chun Ge breathed a sigh of relief and said loudly, "Yang Jinluo, this subordinate has something to report."

Yang Yan nodded slightly, his gaze calm as he looked at him. "Speak."

Chun Ge said with a hint of emotion, "Jiang Jinluo wants to take her away."

Wei Yuan and Nangong Qianrou looked over.

Yang Yan said, "Snatch people?"

"Yes," Li Yuchun said, "Xu Qi'an snatched the gong."

Yang Yan raised his thick eyebrows and looked at Wei Yuan: "Godfather."

Wei Yuan chuckled and said, "That's between the two of you."

Yang Yan immediately got up and quickly left Haoqi Tower.

Li Yuchun clasped his hands in a fist salute to Wei Yuan and Nangong Qianrou, then turned and followed them.

"I don't know what's gotten into that guy surnamed Jiang. He suddenly sent people to my Chunfeng Hall to take someone away today. He's very domineering." Li Yuchun briefly explained what had happened.

He added, "Xu Qi'an has top-tier talent; we can't just let him go."

Yang Yan remained silent.

He quickened his pace, his attitude firm; he was determined to hold onto the bronze gong of the highest rank.

Anyone who dares to snatch someone will have their brains splattered out.

The two Golden Gongs bumped into each other at the entrance of Chunfeng Hall. Jiang Luzhong was taken aback at first, then squinted, making the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes even more obvious.

"Yang Jinluo, could you transfer Xu Qi'an to my command?"

Yang Yan didn't speak, but shook his head.

"I disagree." For a mere gong... Jiang Luzhong's eyes flickered slightly. He chuckled, a forced smile playing on his lips, "I insist on having it."

Yang Yan said in a deep voice, "Follow the rules."

"OK!"

What rules? Fighting, of course.

This was a rule set by Wei Yuan: regardless of whether it was a gold gong, silver gong, or bronze gong, any conflict would be resolved by force. However, it had to take place in the yamen's martial arts training ground; private fights were not allowed.

Instead of engaging in backstabbing and cutthroat competition behind the scenes, let's put it all out in the open and have a real showdown.

A warrior should be pure in spirit, and his will should not be suppressed.

The news that the two golden gong masters would fight over a small bronze gong at the martial arts arena spread like wildfire.

Ugh, how annoying! All I could think of was a quiet, handsome man. Upon hearing the news, Xu Qi'an went to the martial arts arena with his colleagues to watch the excitement.