Nightwatcher

# 220. Trust Between People

"You arrived quite early," Inspector Zhang said with a smile, leaving with Jiang Lyuzhong.

Xu Qi'an did not follow. Instead, he called over the three white-robed arcanists, who preferred not to dine with martial artists and were thus eating breakfast in their rooms.

"Master Xu has arrived."

The three white-clad arcanists hurriedly stood up and respectfully invited Xu Qi'an to sit.

"I have something to ask you..." Xu Qi'an deliberated for a moment, then said, "Besides you three, who else from our Sitianjian came to Yunzhou?"

To foster a sense of camaraderie, he intentionally said "our Sitianjian."

The three white-clad arcanists exchanged glances: "No one else, just the three of us."

Xu Qi'an's face darkened: "Are you looking down on me?"

*I wonder if using qi-watching on arcanists would work… return the favour in kind…* Xu Qi'an nodded: "Got it."

He was just thinking; the three juniors wouldn’t deceive him. Moreover, arcanists must have ways to shield their own qi, being professionals after all.

"Right now, there are officials visiting Inspector Zhang. You three go upstairs and watch how their qi changes, then report back to me."

After giving instructions, Xu Qi'an led the three white-robed arcanists to hide at the corner of the stairs on the second floor.

....

In the hall, Inspector Zhang received the various officials of Baidi City. Anyone with a significant position had gathered here.

With such a commotion last night, anyone who wasn’t blind or deaf would know about it, let alone these city officials who closely watched every move of the Inspector.

After some pleasantries, Commissioner Song, dressed in scarlet robes, got straight to the point: "This morning, the soldiers reported that last night, you went directly to the Headquarters of the Military Command and arrested Lord Yang?"

Commissioner Song, with slightly high cheekbones and a habit of squinting when smiling, widened his eyes and stared intently at Inspector Zhang.

The other officials did the same.

Inspector Zhang nodded, speaking in a deep voice: "The Qi Clique colluded with the Church of the Warlock God, smuggling military supplies. I arrested him and brought him back to the post station for interrogation."

"This…" The officials' expressions changed slightly.

Commissioner Song frowned, lowered his voice, and earnestly said, "Inspector, be cautious, be very cautious."

He leaned closer to Inspector Zhang and continued, "Lord Yang is the Commander-in-Chief. Do you have solid evidence? Without it, it will be hard to convince everyone."

Even with the Inspector's authority, taking action against a dignified second-rank Commander-in-Chief required concrete evidence. Without evidence, it would be a severe taboo.

Firstly, the Yunzhou bureaucracy would not agree. Secondly, the military units under the Military Command wouldn't agree.

The former might just talk, but the latter comprised a group of soldiers and ruffians.

Evidence was definitely needed; without an explanation, it would cause trouble. However, Inspector Zhang did not immediately produce evidence. He smiled and said:

"Gentlemen, you have served in Yunzhou for many years. What are your impressions of Commander Yang Chuannan?"

Upon hearing this, the officials' expressions varied as they shared their thoughts.

At the stairwell corner, Xu Qi'an whispered: "Watch, watch carefully."

A moment later, he asked, "Who's lying? That shifty-eyed one on the left, he seems unreliable. The second one in the back row, he doesn't look like a good person…."

After speaking, he found the three white-robed arcanists silently staring at him. Xu Qi'an, feeling annoyed, said, "Why are you looking at me? Speak up."

One of the white-clad arcanists mumbled, "None of them are telling the truth…."

Xu Qi'an opened his mouth but couldn't find words to say. This was too damned real; this is the officialdom!

The so-called "not a single truthful word" meant that what the officials said didn't match what they thought.

But this didn’t mean they were "wolves." In the officialdom, falsehoods and pretences were rampant. Saying ten sentences, with one being false, would be considered falsehood by the Sitianjian’s qi-watching technique.

Qi-watching also had its limitations; it couldn’t precisely time events down to the second.

Next, Inspector Zhang spoke to the officials about the account books but did not reveal them publicly.

…The officials exchanged subtle glances. How long had the Inspector's team been in Yunzhou? Less than half a month. Three days were spent inspecting outside.

Yet, in such a short time, they found evidence of Yang Chuannan’s crimes?

For a moment, the officials felt a chill. Who could say they had no issues after being a clean official for three years and collecting ten thousand taels of silver?

If Inspector Zhang targeted them, none of them would escape unscathed.

An official swallowed nervously and asked, "Inspector, your team is full of talent. Who contributed significantly to this achievement?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the Nightwatchers.

The other officials discreetly scrutinized the Nightwatchers, all speculating.

Commissioner Song’s eyes flickered, and he said with a smile: "I recall, the Bronze Gong who is skilled in agriculture did not accompany the Inspector on the inspection that day."

This reminded the officials. Senior-level officials began purposefully searching for Xu Qi'an.

Some looked at Inspector Zhang.

"Indeed, it was him!" Inspector Zhang nodded.

Actually, with the officials' intelligence, even without the Inspector’s confirmation, they could guess. Few Nightwatchers remained at the post station, and Xu Qi'an, a Bronze Gong with a unique sabre, was clearly special.

"Humph!"

Xu Qi'an appeared at the right moment, coughed, and silently stood behind Inspector Zhang.

Noticing his uniqueness before, they didn’t expect a Commander-in-Chief to fall at the hands of a Bronze Gong...

Many officials now looked at him with a mix of wariness and respect.

…

On the second-floor hallway, Li Miaozhen rested her hands on the railing, overlooking the people below. Beside her, Susu pouted, "Always showing off."

From their vantage point, they could see Xu Qi'an and the white-clad arcanists hiding.

Earlier, the credit for solving the case was subtly pointed out by Commissioner Song, and after Inspector Zhang acknowledged it, that obnoxious man immediately tidied up and made a grand entrance.

Susu didn’t know the appropriate modern slang for “showing off”, else she would have used it perfectly.

"Men care about their reputation; it's human nature."

Li Miaozhen was gradually changing her view of Xu Qi'an, thinking that aside from his lecherousness, he was impeccable in every other way. He was upright, spoke well, was good at solving cases, and was highly capable.

"You seem to have quite a prejudice against him, yet you don’t really dislike him," Li Miaozhen glanced at the female ghost and frowned, "You used to be disdainful of men, but now you seem to be at odds with him."

Susu didn’t admit it and hurriedly argued, "I’m just angry! But Master, you seem to like him quite a bit."

Li Miaozhen admitted generously, "Xu Qi'an is indeed quite good."

Susu then said, "He promised me last night that he would help me rebuild my body, but he had one condition."

"What condition?"

"To be his concubine for a few years."

"…Xu Qi'an is indeed of vile character, incorrigible."

After the discussion ended, the officials accompanied Inspector Zhang to the Headquarters of the Military Command to audit the accounts and verify their authenticity.

Auditing accounts was not Xu Qi'an's expertise, so he didn’t join in the excitement. Instead, he was assigned to the post station to guard Yang Chuannan with other Nightwatchers.

When everyone had left, Xu Qi'an stood in the hall, looking up at the two beauties on the second floor, and smiled:

"When are you two leaving? Are you planning to rescue Yang Chuannan while Gold Gong Jiang is away?"

Susu snorted coquettishly, "My master is the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Sect, the one and only Lady Flying Swallow, and she keeps her word."

Xu Qi'an shrugged, "Trust between people is fragile, like paper, easily torn."

Susu retorted loudly.

"Come down, and I’ll show you," Xu Qi'an beckoned.

Susu leapt lightly from the railing, landing gracefully in the hall in front of Xu Qi'an.

"See, I told you," Xu Qi'an poked her chest with a finger, like piercing through a piece of paper.

"You vile man, I'll kill you," Susu was furious.

"See, I was right."

Susu furiously expelled yin energy to attack Xu Qi'an, but with his martial alertness, he easily dodged every attack, causing holes to appear in Susu's body, including her chest, back, and abdomen.

This body was quickly ruined.

Li Miaozhen had to take out another paper figure for Susu to possess. Ghosts, without a physical body, would suffer severe damage or even dissipate under the scorching sun.

The paper figure had Taoist symbols on it to nourish the ghost and seal the yin energy.

"Hey, General Li, you still carry paper figures with you? Where do you hide them?" Xu Qi'an pretended to be curious.

"I have my methods," Li Miaozhen said.

"What methods? The legendary mustard seed technique?" Xu Qi'an widened his eyes, like a bumpkin who had never seen the world.

*What is a mustard seed technique...* Li Miaozhen was initially confused but felt satisfied with Xu Qi'an's admiration, so she nodded and said:

"It's a similar spell."

"General Li is indeed the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Sect," Xu Qi'an admired.

Li Miaozhen acknowledged with a reserved "Hmm."

*...Just keep pretending. Isn't it just a fragment of the Earth Book? The more you show off now, the harder you'll fall later.* Xu Qi'an smiled genuinely.

At noon, Xu Qi'an invited the two beauties for lunch, estimating that Inspector Zhang would be back soon.

Instead of the Inspector, they saw a soldier who guarded the city rush into the post station on horseback, shouting, "I have urgent business with Inspector Zhang!"

The Huben Guards stopped him, scolding, "Do not trespass into the courier station."

The city guard soldier was anxious and shouted, "Inspector Zhang, I have an urgent matter!"

The commotion in the yard alerted the Nightwatchers inside the post station. A Silver Gong led two Bronze Gongs out and frowned, "Inspector Zhang is not here. Speak to me."

The city guard soldier swallowed his saliva and urgently said, "The military forces of Headquarters are assembling outside the south gate, threatening that if Inspector Zhang does not come out to meet them, they will enter the city."

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