Chapter Sixty-Five: The Arrival

“The situation in Jiangning Commandery is unstable now; it’s no place to linger. I need to plan ahead.”

“I don’t have much money left on me, and my energy reserves are low. First, I need to make some money!”

Once everything was prepared, he could take his father and leave this place of trouble at any time.

...

In a teahouse.

A group of constables were drinking tea.

Liu Hairong, eager to flatter, presented a stack of copper notes to Qin Yi. “Captain Qin, this is the tribute money collected from our district today. I hand it all over to you.”

Qin Yi glanced over the notes. They were mostly in denominations of two hundred, three hundred, or five hundred coins, totaling nine taels of silver. He took five taels for himself, placed two notes worth one tael each before the two vice-captains, Li Dongming and Lin Jiaxian, and tossed the remaining two taels to Liu Hairong. “Divide these two taels among the brothers!”

Liu Hairong accepted them with delight. Two taels equaled two thousand coins—divided among thirty men, each would get over sixty coins.

It might not seem much, but over a month, it became a substantial sum.

This was just the daily perk. If there were cases, disputes, acts of bullying, or if someone sought their favor, the extra benefits could be much larger. Especially during search operations, those were times of sudden windfall—those were the real profits!

Li Dongming and Lin Jiaxian looked at the copper notes worth a tael each before them, both with sour expressions.

They had spent the past few days familiarizing themselves with procedures at the office and were only today brought out to patrol with Qin Yi.

“Captain Qin, you take five taels for yourself, while Lin and I get only one tael each. Isn’t that too little?” Li Dongming said, displeasure showing on his face.

“I’m the captain; you two are vice-captains. Is there a problem if you get less?” Qin Yi stared at them, took a sip of tea, his face expressionless.

“Sure, you’re the captain, we’re the vice-captains, so we get less. No problem. But Qin Feng, I’m afraid that captain’s seat won’t be so easy for you to keep!” Li Dongming snorted coldly and got up to leave.

Lin Jiaxian glanced at Qin Yi, then followed out.

On the street.

“Dongming, we’ve just torn all pretense with that Qin Feng.”

“Hmph, Qin Feng is only at the third stage of cultivation. If we join forces, we’ll definitely pull him down! Our next step should be to win people over and sideline him…” Li Dongming muttered.

He and Lin Jiaxian were also of third-stage strength. Why should they fear a captain who was only at the same level as themselves?

...

Qin Yi watched the two leave, his face still blank. He couldn’t be bothered with these troublesome upstarts. If they dared to provoke him, he wouldn’t mind showing them how to disappear without a trace.

Looking at the five taels of silver notes in his hand, he thought, “This is still too slow a way to make money!”

He drained his cup of tea and tossed a hundred-coin note onto the table. “Let’s go—continue the patrol!”

With a rustle, thirty constables followed Qin Yi out of the teahouse.

The teahouse owner watched the group depart, then eyed the copper note on the table. He hurried over to pocket it, muttering, “I’ve sold tea for twenty years, and Captain Qin is the only official who always pays for his tea.”

...

Passing by a gambling house.

Bang!

A figure flew out from the entrance of the gambling house, landing right in front of Qin Yi and his patrol.

Qin Yi shifted slightly, letting the figure crash to the ground with a thud.

“Ah! So Changle Casino can’t handle losing? The moment I win, you accuse me of cheating. Give me back my hard-earned money!” the bruised young man on the ground shouted angrily.

At that moment, five or six burly men rushed out from the casino. They were about to beat the youth further but stopped short when they saw the group of over thirty constables.

“What do you think you’re doing? You almost threw that man onto our Captain Qin! If our captain hadn’t dodged, you’d be guilty of attacking an imperial officer!” Liu Hairong, ever the sycophant, shrieked at them.

The burly men’s faces changed instantly. The leader cursed his luck inwardly but put on a fawning smile as he walked over and bowed to Qin Yi. “Officer, please forgive us for nearly offending you. Please, accept my apologies.”

As he spoke, he slipped Qin Yi five taels of silver.

Qin Yi weighed the silver and replied coolly, “Be more careful next time.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” the big man nodded hastily.

“Officer, please help me! I won money at their casino, and they accused me of cheating. Please, give me justice!” The youth on the ground, realizing these were constables, scrambled up and kowtowed loudly.

“Officer, he’s slandering us! He’s the one who was cheating!” The burly man panicked when he saw the youth complaining.

Qin Yi looked at both sides calmly. “I don’t meddle in gambling house affairs. If you’re attacked in the street or at home, I’ll intervene. But if you get beaten inside, that’s none of my concern. Let’s go.”

Those who mingled in casinos were never good people; it didn’t matter to him who was lying. He couldn’t be bothered to interfere.

The youth was stunned but, seeing Qin Yi’s group leaving, dared not linger for fear of another beating. He hurried after them, planning to try his luck at a smaller gambling house.

...

Outside the city of Jiangning Commandery.

A woman around thirty years old, with delicate features, gazed at the imposing city gates and walked forward with measured steps.

“Little brother, rest assured—your sister has come to avenge you!” Her voice was cold as ice.

She and her brother had been close since childhood, orphaned early on. By chance, she became the disciple of a powerful master and joined a formidable organization.

She had even arranged for her brother to work at a merchant house under their influence, believing he would live a safe and prosperous life. She never imagined he would die in Jiangning Commandery.

“I will make sure everyone connected to your death pays with their lives!”

An hour later.

Inside a courtyard within the city.

Four large men knelt before her.

“Steward, Young Master Zhu was arrested because the night the yamen was chasing an old Taoist named Zhang Daoxuan, launching a citywide search. Our Four Seas Merchant House was raided by constables from the Twelfth Squad, who then discovered the heavy armor we had hidden in the warehouse. The secret was out, so Young Master Zhu and Leader Zhong Yanbin were arrested. The next day… they were both executed…”

The leader of the four men broke into a cold sweat as he spoke, nervous and trembling.

“The Twelfth Squad?” Zhu Fengyin closed her beautiful eyes, her face unreadable.

“So, if the Twelfth Squad hadn’t conducted that search, my brother would still be alive?”

“Y-yes,” stammered the man.

“Then why are you all still alive?” Suddenly Zhu Fengyin opened her eyes, a murderous gleam in them.

“We—we weren’t at the merchant house at the time, so…” the men stammered, desperate to explain.

“Oh, so you were luckier than my brother. In that case, you might as well die too.”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before the four men could react, their foreheads caved in, and they fell lifeless to the ground.