The tallest building in the Night Watchman headquarters was the Haoqi Tower in the central courtyard. With its pointed roof, layered eaves, and identical appearance from all four sides, it dominated the skyline.
The lower four floors had external corridors, while the fifth and sixth floor corridors served as observation decks, offering a panoramic view of the entire Night Watchman compound.
The eunuch known in the jianghu as "Wei Qingyi" lived within this tower.
On the seventh floor, in the tea room, a man in azure robes reclined on a soft couch, a book rolled in his hand.
His sky-blue robes were embroidered with intricate cloud patterns, exquisitely tailored. His black hair was bound with a jade hairpin, the temples touched with frost, his face clean-shaven and fair, his eyes deep, containing the vicissitudes of time.
Wei Yuan was a man of both bearing and appearance — refined and handsome, deep and reserved.
Two others shared the tea room with him. One was a solemn, humorless man whose features seemed carved from stone, betraying not the slightest emotion. He sipped tea and read alongside Wei Yuan.
The other had an effeminate bearing and strikingly handsome features — phoenix eyes, willow-leaf brows, thin and rosy lips. At first glance, one might mistake him for a woman disguised as a man.
The effeminate man stood at the observation balcony, bathed in warm sunlight, one hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist: "The sun is bright, not a cloud in the sky. Isn't watching the scenery from here more interesting than hiding indoors with a book?"
Wei Yuan set down his scroll: "There are fewer and fewer books worth reading. I recently heard the Directorate of Celestials has acquired a blue book containing the essence of all things in heaven and earth. I'm quite curious."
"Yang Yan, in ten days it will be the Emperor's ancestral sacrifice. Send word to tighten patrols in the inner city and restrict commercial traffic."
The stone-faced man gave a curt "Mm."
The effeminate man exhaled: "Father, are you truly not going to contest the Vice Minister of Revenue position and install your own people?"
"This is a necessary concession," Wei Qingyi said, his gaze shifting to the tea room doorway where a blue-robed clerk bowed his head and entered.
"My Lord, here are the aptitude test results and household registration for the newly appointed Copper Gong. Please review."
The clerk handed over a stack of documents.
Wei Yuan opened the household registration and read: the new Copper Gong was named Xu Qian, formerly a fast runner at Changle County Yamen. His father and uncle had both served in the military.
This information was both important and unimportant.
Important because Night Watchman identity was special — three generations of clean records were required. Xu Qian was a native of the Great Feng capital, born and raised there. So his identity qualified.
Unimportant because every Night Watchman had similar clean backgrounds.
Beneath the registration lay the "Wisdom" test result. Wei Yuan glanced at it, and a smile tugged at his lips: "Qianrou, when you took the test, how many breaths did it take?"
The effeminate man of striking beauty tilted his chin upward: "Fifteen breaths. Yang Yan took nineteen."
"This new Copper Gong took twelve."
Twelve breaths... The effeminate man raised an eyebrow: "Not bad."
Yang Yan's expressionless face showed no change: "His ability to quickly solve the tax silver case speaks to sharp thinking. This is not surprising."
Wei Yuan smiled, his eyes lingering on the supplementary notes: "The clerk holding the box hesitated for approximately five breaths."
"Impossible." The effeminate man spun around and strode into the tea room.
Yang Yan frowned.
That meant the thinking time was only seven breaths. What a razor-sharp mind.
Yang Yan rose and cupped his fists: "Father, assign this man to me."
"He's under your subordinate Silver Gong Li Yuchun." Wei Yuan set down his teacup and looked at the effeminate man: "You've both seen him before — that day at the Directorate of Celestials."
The Directorate of Celestials... The effeminate man pondered for a few seconds, then sneered: "Him? That brat who talks big."
When Yang Yan heard the new Copper Gong was working under Li Yuchun, he nodded with satisfaction.
Each Gold Gong managed seven Silver Gongs. Li Yuchun was among his.
"Father, how about his combat ability?" Yang Yan asked.
"Peak Essence Refining. No need to test." Wei Yuan smiled: "He was recommended by the Princess Royal. I find him resourceful and capable, so I made an exception to let him join."
The Princess Royal?!
Yang Yan and the effeminate man exchanged glances — Wei Yuan hadn't told them this.
Wei Yuan continued reviewing the "Heart-Questioning Gate" results. Gradually, his gentle expression turned serious, his deep gaze sharpened.
Yang Yan straightened his back, his eyes fixed on the paper.
The effeminate man walked casually to Wei Qingyi's side and glanced over, immediately laughing: "Another one even more arrogant than me! Father, how shall we handle him?"
His laughter carried a note of schadenfreude.
Wei Yuan pulled out the bottom sheet. In ugly handwriting, it read:
*You eat and drink, the people's fat and marrow* *The common folk are easy to abuse, but Heaven is hard to deceive.*
Wei Qingyi's pupils constricted. He stared at the two lines for a long while without speaking.
"The common folk are easy to abuse, but Heaven is hard to deceive..." Yang Yan repeated the words.
The effeminate man's eyes flickered. Recovering from his brief shock, he focused on the opposite point from the stone-faced Yang Yan:
"'You eat and drink, the people's fat and marrow'... So this little runner believes he consumes the people's fat, not the Emperor's."
Yang Yan considered, then asked: "What does Father think?"
Wei Yuan countered: "What do you think?"
Yang Yan weighed his words: "Eat the lord's rice, bear the lord's worries."
The implication was that he disagreed with the line.
Wei Yuan nodded: "Someday, when that little Copper Gong rises to Gold Gong, you can debate it with him yourself."
The effeminate man's eyebrow arched: "Father thinks that brat can become a Gold Gong someday?"
"As long as he's a martial artist, there's no problem." Wei Yuan's smile was warm: "The three teachings each have their rules. Warlocks are burdened by the nation's fortune, as are shamans. In the current era, only the martial artists remain pure."
"I may despise martial artists for using force to break the law, but I must admit — the more defiant the martial artist, the faster they progress."
"With nothing to revere, nothing to fear, they dare to overturn heaven and earth."
At this point, Wei Yuan took a new inkstone from beneath the desk, added cinnabar and water, and ground it into red ink. He dipped his brush.
On the household registration, he wrote two characters: **A-plus**.
"Unruly defiance marks the martial artist; a heart for all marks the hero. The greatest heroes fight for their nation and their people."
A-plus!
In the entire history of the Night Watchmen, those who received this evaluation could be counted on one hand.
...
A certain secret chamber.
Li Yuchun pointed at the wooden tub: "Strip naked and get in."
*Finally stepping into Qi Refining...* Xu Qian suppressed his excitement and eyed the pungent-smelling tub, filled with dark green liquid.
This stuff was called Marrow-Washing Solution. This single tub cost roughly a hundred and fifty taels of silver.
He quickly stripped off his clothes, pants, and shoes, climbing into the tub bare-skinned.
Li Yuchun asked: "Are you still a virgin?"
Xu Qian nodded: "My second uncle, a hundred-household of the Imperial Blade Guard, told me. Before Qi Refining, I couldn't lose my virginity."
He leaned comfortably in the tub: "Chief, you're at Spirit Refining?"
Li Yuchun gave a hum of acknowledgment.
"So after Spirit Refining comes Copper-Bone Tier, right?"
Another hum of acknowledgment.
Xu Qian grinned: "Those names aren't great. Why not call it Vajra Tier instead?"
*Copper-Bone sounds so low-class. It makes us martial artists look like uncultured peasants.*
"The Buddhist path's third rank is called Vajra," Li Yuchun explained.
*I see!* Xu Qian nodded, then earnestly asked: "Chief, of all the world's cultivation systems, which is the strongest?"
Li Yuchun answered without hesitation: "The Daoists say they're the strongest."
"What about the other systems?"
"The other systems all think they're the strongest."
"Oh... I understand."
"However, there's one consensus among all systems: that martial artists are the most vulgar and least respected."
"...I knew that part. It's because martial artists only have brute strength, without any mystical powers."
Still not fancy enough.
"That's just the surface. There's a deeper secret involving the upper limits of the cultivation system."
Xu Qian straightened his back, probing: "Chief, can you tell me?"