After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the sun was high overhead.
It was the scorching heat of the fifth month, and at midday, pedestrians were scarce on the streets. Even A Huang, the dog kept by the butcher shop, lay under the eaves by the roadside, panting with his tongue out.
But when the big yellow dog spotted a young man in gray robes approaching, he hurried to his feet and stood at attention, following him with his eyes. The moment the young man glanced his way, he tucked his tail between his legs and darted into an alley.
Ye Xingge shook his head with a smile. Naturally, he didn't chase after the dog and beat him as he had when he was a child. After exchanging greetings with a couple of neighbors along the way, he returned to the inn's main hall, dusted and tidied as usual, and glanced at the calligraphy above the liquor cabinet: "A wandering hero hidden from the world."
Those words had been written by his second uncle, Ye Gucheng!
He remembered that when he was just old enough to understand things, hearing his second uncle's name had left him stunned for a long time. He had watched him closely and decided that his second uncle must be a great hero living in seclusion.
Unfortunately, he eventually discovered that, aside from his fondness for striking poses, his second uncle was nothing like a great hero. In particular, Ye Xingge had practiced martial arts since childhood and sparred with him. Whenever Ye Xingge lost, his second uncle would instantly transform into Director Kim:
"Ahahahahaha~~~~"
It had made him so angry that half his skills could be said to have come from his second uncle's mockery!
"Sigh..."
Remembering those days, Ye Xingge couldn't help shaking his head with a smile. As he went about his work, he suddenly heard running footsteps outside:
Tap, tap, tap...
He looked back and saw the embroidered-robed officers who had been patrolling and keeping watch all running toward the east city gate.
A little puzzled, Ye Xingge went to the door to take a look. An official sedan chair was approaching, with Chen Xuance walking beside it.
The great beauty Luo, who had been gone all morning, lifted the curtain, revealing her lovely face and cat ears, and called out:
"Ye Xingge, go pack your things. I'm taking you to the capital to receive your reward."
"Hm?"
Ye Xingge put down his rag and came up to the sedan chair, puzzled.
"Are we getting ready to head back?"
Chen Xuance explained from the side:
"Her Excellency just went to report back to the Heaven-Observing Pavilion. Ruan Jinyu received intelligence that Mantanghong showed up at Wangnan Ferry last night. She must have left the day before yesterday, so there's no need to seal off the city anymore."
"Really?"
Ye Xingge was a little puzzled. Great Beauty, who had already gone upstairs, whispered in his ear:
"The Mountains and Rivers Association's people must have learned I was trapped and spread false information to get me out of trouble."
Understanding dawned on Ye Xingge, and he asked:
"Should we go after her, then?"
Luo Xuanqing actually wanted very much to give chase. After all, now that Mantanghong had escaped, there was no one to undo the Dried Threads Locking the Meridians on her.
But when she heard that, she still shook her head with a sigh.
"Wangnan Ferry is in Jiangdong, Later Zhou territory. How could we chase her there? Let's head home. Your contribution is enough for us to report back."
"Oh."
Relieved, Ye Xingge looked back at the inn.
"Are we leaving now?"
Luo Xuanqing asked, "Do you have something else to do? Oh, right, there's an auntie staying upstairs. I think she's crossing the river too. Go invite her down; she can come with us."
"Huh?"
Ye Xingge inwardly stumbled, sucking back in the breath of relief he had just let out.
"I'm afraid that wouldn't be proper. She's a woman; if people from the authorities went up to fetch her, they'd surely frighten her. There are staff at the inn, and I don't have much to pack. I'm going to the capital anyway, so I can say hello to my parents there. Let's just set off."
As he spoke, Ye Xingge said a quick word to the inn's attendant.
Ye Xingge had often gone out on official business with the authorities before, sometimes for days at a time, so this was a common occurrence, and the attendant was used to it.
Luo Xuanqing beckoned.
"Come up. You're injured, so riding isn't suitable. They can lead your horse."
Ye Xingge looked around at the many embroidered-robed officers.
"Wouldn't that be improper? I'm not really hurt..."
Chen Xuance patted him on the shoulder.
"If Lord Luo doesn't mind, what are you embarrassed about? Without your help this time, we'd have had no face to report back."
Wanting to get the great beauty Luo away as soon as possible, Ye Xingge decided not to stand on ceremony and climbed into the sedan chair.
The official sedan chair wasn't as wide inside as Ruan Jinyu's open-topped litter, but it wasn't small either. There was just enough room for two people.
Luo Xuanqing shifted her bottom to the side to make room. After ordering her subordinates to fetch the horses, she lowered the curtain and turned to look at Ye Xingge.
"How have you thought over what I said last night?"
Ye Xingge still had no definite information about the Fate-Robbing Saber. After some thought, he replied:
"Since Lord Luo thinks highly of me, I naturally can't let your goodwill go to waste. I'll give it a try first. If I can't adapt and resign from the post, I hope you won't blame me."
Luo Xuanqing felt that calling each other "lord" all the time was a little distant. She glanced outside and lowered her voice.
"I am the Judicial Review Bureau's Investigation Commissioner, and from now on, I'll be your immediate superior. I don't care what you do in private, but in public you must address me as 'my lord.' If you dare offend me, the punishment by law is fifty strokes of the cane. Understood?"
Hm?
Ye Xingge wondered what he had done to offend her.
Hongyu was already packing to follow the man to the capital. Listening in from the sidelines, she interjected:
"That little hussy means you can offend her however you like in private, but not in public."
Oh...
Understanding dawned on Ye Xingge, and he nodded.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Sister Luo."
"Hmph~"
Only then was Luo Xuanqing satisfied. She put on the air of an icy female superior again.
"If you have nothing to do, study your cultivation technique. I'll personally test you in a couple of days. If you haven't improved, you won't like the consequences."
Ye Xingge couldn't very well flirt in the sedan chair, so he took out Eight Extremes Gang-Piercing Force from his robes and began reading.
Although it was an outer-disciples' technique, its description sounded quite grand, presumably to attract disciples to learn the art.
After looking through it over the past two days, Ye Xingge had seen that it claimed Eight Extremes Gang-Piercing Force, cultivated to its ultimate stage, became Heaven-Opening and Qi-Unification, the technique of Yuchi Jingnan, the man in charge of Eight Pillars Hall.
"Heaven-Opening" referred to breaking through the barriers of the innate physique, while "Qi-Unification" meant borrowing the power of heaven and earth to remold one's muscles and bones, thereby achieving bodily sainthood and so on.
Though it sounded incredibly impressive, the real substance in the booklet was Open-Gate Eight Extremes, and even that was the outer-disciples' version. His foundations were good, and he had nearly mastered it already, so there really wasn't much to look at...
Qingxi County lay in Hexi. Once across the Yong River, one was near the capital, which was actually a little closer than Linyang County.
Ye Xingge traveled with the group. When they reached the dock, they boarded an official boat to cross the river, then continued onward. Before long, a magnificent city twenty li in both length and width came into view.
Yong Capital had originally had 108 walled wards and markets. The previous dynasty had torn down the ward walls and turned them into streets and markets, though most of the place names still followed the old ones.
As the imperial capital, the city was indeed grand. Its central axis ran straight to the imperial city, while streets crisscrossed, cutting the buildings into blocks like cubes of tofu. The whole sight was magnificent.
Ye Xingge hadn't visited the capital often before. Last month, however, his parents had taken over an inn on Azure Dragon Street in the outer city. His parents and second uncle were all busy there now, though he didn't know whether they had heard the news from Qingxi.
Ye Xingge sat in the great beauty Luo's sedan chair. Since she had turned into a "beautiful tutor" and was watching him from beside him, he couldn't very well leave the group to visit the inn. He simply continued studying the technique. After they had traveled for who knew how long, the sedan chair came to a stop.
Ye Xingge stepped out and looked around. They were on a street in Yingtian Ward.
There were a few shops on either side of the street, but not many people. At the center stood a wall of blue-gray brick two zhang high, with an ornately carved and painted gateway in the middle. Above it were the words "Heaven-Observing Pavilion," written in sharp, forceful strokes that gave the oppressive impression of a sword pointed between one's brows.
Beyond the gateway were a walkway and duty rooms on either side, with many embroidered-robed officers coming and going. Beyond the rooftops stood a five-story tower, wind chimes hanging from its four corners and glazed tiles covering its roof. It looked solemn and dignified.
When Ye Xingge had heard of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion as a child, he had assumed it was the emperor's eyes and ears, like the "Embroidered Uniform Guard" or the "Eastern Depot."
Later, however, he discovered that wasn't the case. The office of "Heaven-Observing Decree" was unique to this world. Its holder was normally granted the title of Grand Protector, one of the Three Preceptors, and was charged with protecting the sovereign and upholding the realm.
The Three Preceptors had the right to establish their own offices and recruit their own staff. Thus, the Heaven-Observing Pavilion had been founded, with the Heaven-Observing Decree as its head.
Everyone within it was selected, appointed, and dismissed by the Heaven-Observing Decree, who only had to report the decisions to the court afterward.
Although Ye Xingge had heard about it since childhood, this was his first visit. He entered the gates with the many embroidered-robed officers, the great beauty Luo walking at the front. The officers and minor officials within the compound all stepped aside and saluted when they saw her.
After they had gone some distance, Luo Xuanqing raised a hand.
"Dismissed. Ye Xingge, come with me."
"Yes!"
Chen Xuance and the others cupped their fists, accepted the order, and withdrew.
Ye Xingge straightened his robes a little and followed her, looking around.
"The Heaven-Observing Pavilion is this big?"
Luo Xuanqing stepped onto a covered walkway and headed toward the tower at the center, explaining along the way:
"The Heaven-Observing Pavilion has four bureaus beneath it: Judicial Review, Peacekeeping, Inspection, and the Privy Bureau. Their offices are to the east, south, west, and north. My territory is in the east, so don't go the wrong way in the future. The Heaven-Observing Pavilion is in the very center, where the Heaven-Observing Decree and Heaven-Observing Assistant work..."
Ye Xingge was indeed somewhat curious about the Heaven-Observing Decree.
After all, the Heaven-Observing Decree, Zhang Zhiqing, ranked second in the First Rank. He was also a Confucian great figure from the Dongyang Zhang Clan and wielded the Wisdom Weapon, No-Strategy Bow. He was a genuine earthly immortal.
He wondered whether he would get to meet him later...
After listening for a while, Ye Xingge asked another question:
"Since the Heaven-Observing Decree wields a Wisdom Weapon, does that mean his strategic wisdom is unmatched?"
Luo Xuanqing slowed her steps and explained gently:
"Among divine weapons, those of Daoism and Buddhism recognize one's inner nature, while those of Confucianism look at one's words and deeds. Confucian wisdom means 'understanding good and evil, distinguishing right from wrong, and knowing honor and disgrace,' and putting that knowledge into practice. It isn't about being a clever schemer. It's a bit troublesome to explain. The Heaven-Observing Pavilion has a library; look through it when you have time, and you'll understand."
"Oh..."
Ye Xingge asked no more questions and continued following her. Before long, they reached the vicinity of the five-story tower.
Luo Xuanqing stopped in front of the entrance and turned to him.
"I'm going to request a reward for your service. It might take some time. Look around here for now, but don't go far. If anyone questions you, tell them you came with me."
"All right."
Ye Xingge nodded and watched her go. Only after the great beauty Luo climbed the white stone steps and entered the tower did he look around.
The sun was sinking in the west, and the compound was full of high walls, leaving the passageways dim. The blue-gray walls were slowly turning a dark bluish black.
The blue-gray bricks paving the ground had also darkened slightly under years of footsteps, yet they were spotless. Embroidered-robed officers with sabers at their waists stood guard outside the passageways and gateways. The place was solemn and dignified, yet utterly silent, and being there was indeed a little oppressive.
Ye Xingge couldn't very well stand planted at the entrance, so he strolled slowly along a passageway to pass the time. When he reached a fork, however, he saw that the deep alley beyond was empty. There were several doors, but no guards.
?
Seeing no one there, Ye Xingge entered the alley. He had intended to take out the yellow strip to contact Great Beauty, but after walking some distance, he spotted a large door in the middle with a plaque bearing the words "Armaments Bureau."
"Armaments Bureau?"
Ye Xingge searched his memory but couldn't recall the Heaven-Observing Pavilion having such an office, and the great beauty Luo hadn't mentioned it just now. He figured it might be a logistics department and poked his head in for a look.
And that look landed him in trouble on the spot!