Tap, tap, tap...
The sun sank behind the western hills, and the buildings grew dark.
Two figures hurried between the tall black walls. The woman, her face frosty and her strides swift as the wind, dragged the man along by the arm. From a distance, she looked like a tyrannosaur of a wife hauling home a man who had been fooling around outside.
Ye Xingge trotted behind her. From her bearing alone, he could tell that Great Beauty Luo was truly angry. His eyes held a hint of innocence.
"Sister Luo, don't be angry. I thought you were signaling three days..."
Thud~
Before he could finish, Ye Xingge felt the world spin. A gust swept him up and slammed him against the tall, gray-blue wall.
Luo Xuanqing seized his lapel with a fair hand and tilted up her devastatingly beautiful face until it was almost against his. Her foxlike eyes fierce, she held up three fingers and ground out a few words through clenched teeth.
"Catch three wanted criminals single-handedly, and you think I'd signal three days? I was telling you to say three months!"
"Huh?"
Ye Xingge raised a hand slightly.
"Three months is way too long. Even if I just watched the inn as usual, I'd beat more than three people to death..."
"But you still couldn't say three days! What were you thinking?"
Luo Xuanqing's chest heaved. But remembering that the wound on Ye Xingge's chest had yet to heal completely, she quietly relaxed her elbow, though her gaze remained unchanged.
"Tell me yourself, what do we do now? An assessment is an assessment. You can only act alone, and the Inspection Bureau will be watching in secret. If I help, your result will be voided on the spot. If you fail, you'll be a common-clothed officer and have to wait two years before becoming a full officer..."
Ye Xingge knew Great Beauty Luo had been racking her brains to secure benefits for him. He spoke gently.
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. I've spent years catching thieves in the county, so I'm confident. Even if I don't make it, the worst that can happen is I start climbing from the bottom. I'm young anyway. A little more experience at the grassroots will do me good later..."
Luo Xuanqing ground her teeth inwardly. "That damned eunuch was deliberately making things difficult for you! If you'd said half a month, you could have just followed the procedure, and failing wouldn't have felt so frustrating. Now you've made it five times harder yourself. Isn't that exactly what he wanted?"
Ye Xingge spread his hands.
"On the other hand, if I pull it off, won't I slap his face to pieces? Lord Luo will get to hold her head high too. Young people, you know-if we aren't hot-blooded, how can we call ourselves young?"
"..."
Luo Xuanqing's eyes shifted. If that really happened, she might be so delighted she'd choke on it...
But that was impossible!
Luo Xuanqing pondered for a moment, then let him go and continued toward the exit.
"That sounds nice, but how are you going to do it? Wanted criminals usually don't dare come to Yongzhou Prefecture. You'll have to go looking for them, and the journey there and back will take four or five days..."
Ye Xingge thought that was a problem.
"The relay stations can cover a thousand li by day and eight hundred by night. Lord Luo, could you let me use them? That wouldn't be against the rules, would it?"
"The assessment tests your ability to get things done. How you travel isn't part of it, so you can use them. Let's hurry back and plan how to catch them..."
As Luo Xuanqing spoke, she looked back and called out.
"Niuniu?"
"Meow~"
The big black cat hurried around the corner and followed the two of them, looking every bit as majestic as a tiger...
Meanwhile, at the top of the five-story building.
Zhang Zhiqing and Old Master Yan stood at the window, watching the pair hurry between the high walls.
Old Master Yan frowned deeply.
"He's certainly young and hot-blooded, but passing this assessment will be harder than climbing to heaven."
With one hand behind his back, Zhang Zhiqing stroked his beard and chuckled, his expression brimming with Director Kim-like high spirits.
"Even with the big dragon slain, there's still a sliver of a chance to turn the game around. A little assessment like this is nothing."
"Pah-"
Old Master Yan bristled his beard and glared, then swept his sleeves and left.
Zhang Zhiqing pointed at his retreating back and spoke to Wu Yi.
"See? He's a sore loser."
"Uh..."
Yi did not dare say more.
Rumble~
After the sunset glow faded, the sky grew dark.
Muffled thunder rumbled across the horizon, and soon raindrops pattered down over the countless streets and alleys. Pedestrians could be seen everywhere, hurrying for shelter, while vendors scrambled to pack up their stalls.
Holding the fat cat, which weighed more than ten jin, in his arms, Ye Xingge shielded himself from the sudden downpour with one hand. He ran across a stone bridge to a residence in an alley and took a quick look at its white walls, blue-tiled roof, and drum-shaped gate stones.
"This is your house, Sister Luo? How many people live here?"
Luo Xuanqing had run back with Ye Xingge rather than take a sedan chair, and a few raindrops clung to her hair. She opened the bronze lock.
"Just me. Do you want to live here?"
Ye Xingge did want to, but he would probably have to live with Great Beauty too. With the three of them together, he might be in a little danger.
"My family took over an inn in Azure Dragon Ward. I can live there from now on."
Luo Xuanqing had only been joking. If she really let him live there, Ye Xingge would become her kept man. She gestured into the distance.
"When you serve at the Heaven-Observing Pavilion, you have to be on call around the clock. If you become a military officer, you won't have to sleep in the communal bunks at the yamen. You can pick a residence in Peach Blossom Lane. Those are all An Clan properties, and the Heaven-Observing Pavilion pays the rent. You can even have meals delivered from its dining hall."
"Really?"
Ye Xingge thought the Heaven-Observing Pavilion's benefits were quite good indeed. It provided both food and lodging.
As they talked, the large black-lacquered gate opened, revealing a spacious little courtyard.
The two-courtyard residence was quite large. A few green bamboo plants grew in the front courtyard, giving it an elegant atmosphere. Beyond the central passage gate lay the rear courtyard, square and neat, plain and spotless.
Ye Xingge followed her through the passage gate. The big black cat sheltering from the rain in his arms jumped down on its own, ran into a room in the side wing, and perched on a cat climbing frame.
The west wing appeared to be the bathing room. Two dresses hung under the eaves, along with a blue dudou embroidered with white cranes and...
Whoosh-
Ye Xingge had only just turned to look when a crosswind swept through the curtain of rain before his eyes.
The next moment, Great Beauty Luo was already at the door of the main room, pushing it open and entering as if nothing had happened. The dudou and smallclothes hanging under the eaves had vanished without a trace.
Ye Xingge was taken aback and praised her.
"Nice moves, Sister Luo! But perhaps I shouldn't go into a young lady's room? It's still early. I'll go look around the city..."
Luo Xuanqing entered the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and put the things inside. Then she went to the room on the east side and searched among the things there.
"Time is short, and you need to go out right away anyway. I'll tend to your wound first and get some things ready for you."
Seeing this, Ye Xingge did not stand on ceremony. He went into the room and sat on a reclining couch, looking around. There were books, small boxes, and wine flasks everywhere, and a painting hung on the wall.
It depicted a noble lady in a blue dress, her sashes fluttering like those of a fairy standing on waves of cloud. The proportions of her waist and hips were exact, and even her clothes had a palpable texture.
Her features were so lifelike that he could even sense Great Beauty Luo's distinctive blend of coolness and allure. The fat cat by her feet looked just as alive.
The painting was signed with a "wine gourd," and there was no telling whose hand had made it.
Ye Xingge had been about to ask about it, but when he turned his head, he was startled again.
By the candlelight, he saw Great Beauty Luo approaching with a small medicine chest. In the dim little room, her curving figure made her look rather like a certain someone getting ready to start the clock...
?
Ye Xingge blinked and looked away, making conversation for lack of anything else to say.
"By the way, I saw the Lady of Anyang and Eldest Miss Shen at the Heaven-Observing Pavilion just now."
Luo Xuanqing brought the little medicine chest over, sat down on a round stool, and pressed Ye Xingge down.
"Yueyao usually lives at the Lady of Anyang's residence, so it's no surprise you ran into them. You should greet them more often when you see them. If you want to rise to a high position soon, their words carry more weight than mine. Speaking of which, you don't know Yueyao?"
Ye Xingge obediently loosened his outer robe, revealing half his chest.
"Should I know her?"
Seeing his confusion, Luo Xuanqing figured Shen Songnian had kept too low a profile as a county official and had never told Ye Xingge about his connections to the heavens. She explained.
"Shen Songnian, the magistrate of Qingxi County, was Duke Zhang's student. He later married a young lady of the Zhang Clan. Yueyao is their daughter, but the county was boring, so she's lived over at the Heaven-Observing Pavilion since she was little."
"Really?"
Ye Xingge had seen Magistrate Shen go years without a transfer and guessed there was something behind it, but he truly had not expected his connections to be so powerful.
If that was true, then given his relationship with Magistrate Shen, never mind beating Zhang Qing to death that day-even if he had beaten Ruan Jinyu to death, Magistrate Shen could probably have protected him...
So he was a powerful backer too...
And since Eldest Miss Shen was Magistrate Shen's daughter, he would naturally have to look after her more in the future...
After the two chatted a little longer, Luo Xuanqing undid the bandages and examined the wound by lamplight. Seeing that it had mostly healed thanks to the medicinal pill, she felt much relieved and asked a question.
"What are your plans now?"
Ye Xingge planned to rush out, kill everyone in a frenzy, and come back to report the job done, but he could hardly put it that way.
"Hmm... the rain's heavy today, so I'll look around the city first. If I find nothing, I'll use the relay stations tomorrow and search outside. I should find something in three days, one way or another."
"Sigh~"
Luo Xuanqing had thought about it all the way back but still could not see how he could pass the assessment in three days. She frowned.
"I'm an examiner too. Because of the assessment rules, I can't go with you or provide information. I can only support you with medicinal pills and a token. Take off your bracer, and I'll give you the Returning Flow Pendant..."
Ye Xingge was taken aback and quickly waved his hand.
"At my level, my opponents are all rough external-style fighters. I won't run into an internal-style grandmaster. And if I really do, I'll be dead even with seventy percent of their internal force reduced. Wearing it would be the same as not wearing it. The Heaven-Obscuring Arm is more practical; at least it can protect me from blades and axes."
Luo Xuanqing thought about it and found that reasonable. She sighed softly.
"It's a shame you can't wear both. I'll go to the yamen tomorrow and get you a suit of mail. That way, blades and swords should have a hard time hurting you, but you still need to be careful..."
Ye Xingge sensed Great Beauty Luo's concern. After a moment's thought, he asked another question.
"Why do I have to take off the bracer to use the Returning Flow Pendant and the Heaven-Obscuring Arm?"
Seeing that Ye Xingge still did not understand how named weapons worked, Luo Xuanqing explained.
"Anyone can use a named weapon. They don't pick their masters, and there are plenty of them, but that doesn't mean they have no restrictions. You know the five elements, right? Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The Returning Flow Pendant is mainly protective and belongs to earth; the Heaven-Obscuring Arm is also mainly protective and belongs to earth.
"If you carry both together, the named weapon you picked up later definitely won't work. It'll be nothing more than a blank item. To switch them, you have to drop both on the ground, then pick up the one you want first..."
It was Ye Xingge's first time hearing this, and he was surprised.
"There's a rule like that?"
Luo Xuanqing shrugged slightly. "If not, who in the jianghu would bother practicing martial arts? Mount Jiuhua has passed down its heritage for a thousand years and amassed an arsenal of named weapons. Even if you trained for another ten lifetimes, you couldn't possibly be its match. Divine weapons aren't subject to that restriction, of course!"
"Oh..."
Ye Xingge nodded slightly, gaining a better understanding of the value of divine weapons: you could carry an extra piece of god-tier equipment.
At the same time, he also learned the Heaven-Obscuring Arm's weakness: it occupied the "five elements: earth" slot, which essentially ruled out top-tier armor.
No wonder it wasn't worth much...
But he had to admit that the bracer's defense was genuinely strong. If he dared take it off, he might die on the spot...
As the two chatted, Great Beauty Luo soon finished changing the medicine on his chest and had him sit up so she could bandage it.
The wound was on his left ribs, so she had to wrap the bandage around his chest to secure it. Like a dispassionate female nurse, Great Beauty Luo showed no unusual reaction as she passed her hands beneath his arms and around his back.
But Ye Xingge was well built, so this brought their cheeks alongside each other and left him in the circle of her arms. His bare chest could even feel the warmth of her melons, though they were not touching.
Huff, huff~
Her gentle breathing brushed his ear, and a faint orchid fragrance lingered at his nose.
Ye Xingge blinked and instinctively glanced down along her shoulder and back. Her waist and back formed a smooth curve, and her great green peaches, measuring three feet one, were indeed wider than her shoulders...
He had only looked a few times when the bandage suddenly tightened around his chest.
"Hiss~!"
Ye Xingge drew a sharp breath.
Luo Xuanqing had judged the distance perfectly, and their bodies had not touched at all. Now she pulled the bandage tight, her gaze turning slightly cold.
"Is it a good view?"
Fuck?!
Ye Xingge had already been squeezed hard enough. Her words nearly made him lose his breath, and he hurriedly patted her arm.
"Good view, good view... hiss~... no, I was just looking around..."
Luo Xuanqing's expression remained that of an icy female superior, though the faintest blush appeared on her cheeks. She rose, clapped her hands, and looked down at him.
"You've got some nerve. With the deadline breathing down your neck, you still dare let your mind wander and offend your superior... We have important business, so I won't punish you for now. But you've made a big boast. If you come back empty-handed and make me lose face..."
Luo Xuanqing produced a bamboo-green throwing knife in her right hand, her gaze traveling down from his chest.
"You know the consequences."
A certain part of Ye Xingge went cold, and he quickly pulled his robe shut.
"Understood. I'll do my best."
"Hmph..."
Luo Xuanqing turned away and fetched two small medicine bottles and a waist token.
"The waist token lets you use the relay stations and enter the case archives of local yamens to examine files, but you can't use it to mobilize yamen personnel. Of these two bottles of pills, one relieves pain, heals wounds, and saves lives; the other restores strength. But you can only take one pill within a short period..."
Ye Xingge took the two bottles and examined them. Thinking they were probably not cheap, he put them away carefully.
"It's getting late. I'll go out and make inquiries. Get some rest early, Sister Luo. You don't need to leave the door open for me."
The playful remark left Luo Xuanqing speechless.
"The clock has already started. You think you can come back after going out? I'll leave the door open for you and warm the bed too. If you're capable enough to catch one tonight, then even if you sneak into bed, I'll just take it as proof of how capable you are."
It was plainly a tease.
Ye Xingge said no more. He got to his feet.
"All right, I'll give it a try. I really am good at catching thieves and bandits. I've got several years of work experience..."
"?"
Remembering Ye Xingge's background, Luo Xuanqing realized she might have talked too big. But the capital was not some outlying county, and she still refused to believe it. She turned, fetched an oil-paper umbrella, his saber, and other things, and tossed them to him.
"Go on, go on. If you're capable enough, give me a surprise in a little while."
With that, she walked toward the bathing room.
As the light came on inside, the graceful silhouette of a woman appeared on the window paper, both hands raised as she loosened her hair.
Rustle, rustle...
Ye Xingge hadn't completed the task, so he naturally couldn't very well keep staring. Without saying much more, he picked up his oiled-paper umbrella and the saber wrapped in black cloth, then strode out the door.
Tap, tap, tap...
Click~
Soon afterward, the sound of the door closing came from the front courtyard.
Luo Xuanqing, her long hair falling over her shoulders, emerged from the house again and looked outside.
The languidness had vanished from her breathtakingly beautiful face, replaced by a trace of worry.
After all, it was impossible to achieve the goal in just three days.
And that brat Ye Xingge was far too reckless, not afraid of death at all. If he rushed in recklessly to achieve the goal and lost his life out there...
Luo Xuanqing was a little worried that something might happen and wanted to go back inside, change into her night clothes, and secretly follow him to see.
But the Heaven-Observing Pavilion had its own procedures. Once the assessment began, every division would be watching. If they discovered her following him, even results of Ye Xingge's that would otherwise have counted could be invalidated because they were called into question.
The brat did have some ability. It was hard to say what might happen outside, but searching for wanted criminals within the capital, with an examiner following behind to verify his results, there was no way anything serious could happen...
After hesitating for a moment, Luo Xuanqing decided to hold her position for now and observe how things went for one night...