What is honor?
A jade belt around the waist, high rank and great power?
Warehouses filled with gold and silver, wealth that rivals a kingdom?
What is glorious mourning?
The most magnificent coffin, the most lavish burial?
Officials and nobles arriving endlessly to pay respects, a funeral treated like a celebration, carriages and horses lining the front like a dragon?
The living may die, but the dead cannot live again.
In Wu Yinquan's memory, several years ago he attended the funeral of the City Guard Army's Deputy Commander's mother. That Deputy Commander was none other than the current Commander of Yue City's City Guard Army.
Even then, the Commander was already a man of immense influence.
Every official, noble, wealthy clan, and influential family in Yue City who could come, did come.
Their own Warden only managed to secure the lowest seat at the funeral banquet, and Wu Yinquan and the others merely delivered gifts without even being allowed through the gate.
At that time, he thought this must be the pinnacle of glorious mourning.
He even dreamed that when his own old mother passed away, he might have such a scene.
That way, when his mother died, perhaps she could close her eyes in peace, or at least say that this son was not born in vain.
For all these years, he had worked so hard to climb upward, playing the grandson to the Warden, treating his subordinate jailers as brothers, working diligently and conscientiously... Yet after all these years, he was still just a minor jailer.
He knew that being a minor jailer was his limit.
He had no powerful connections outside, no extraordinary cultivation within. This life could offer him no more. His ambition had faded. He began to muddle through, just getting by.
The "glorious mourning" he wished for his mother could only exist in his dreams.
But until now, until today, in this very moment.
Looking at this long street covered with mourning flowers, despite there being so few people present.
He suddenly could not stop his tears.
He suddenly understood what truly constituted "glory in mourning."
Some people die, but they still live.
They live in the hearts of everyone.
A man like Elder Qin, everyone wished he would not die.
Because it was always men like Elder Qin who supported this world.
Allowing people, even in their darkest and most desperate moments, to see that there was still light in this world.
...
...
Li Yang, the Captain of the City Lord's Mansion's Guard, had no other merit besides his unwavering loyalty to the City Lord.
His combat strength was average, his comprehension ability was also average, and he often failed to grasp the City Lord's thoughts.
But whatever the City Lord said, he did, without any compromise, and never slacking off.
His father had told him on his deathbed, "In your life, besides loyalty, you have no other merits. But as long as you maintain this one thing, it is enough."
Li Yang remembered these words clearly.
The City Lord had considered replacing him more than once, but for the most private matters, Li Yang was always the first one entrusted.
This was absolute trust earned through unreserved loyalty.
Li Yang personally oversaw the lockdown of Zeren Medical Clinic, guaranteeing with his own head that no one from the entire clinic could send out any news.
At first, this was certainly not easy, but after he personally killed two people, the entire clinic fell silent.
Only that Qin Nianmin still tried to escape repeatedly.
Climbing over walls in the middle of the night, disguising himself as a night watchman...
He wished he could pretend not to recognize him and simply kill him outright.
But such a person could not be killed.
Killing Mr. Qin's son, especially one with such a good reputation, would have the common people cursing him behind his back.
Li Yang pondered and pondered, but found no good solution. In desperation, he specifically had the man sent to the Great Prison.
In the Great Prison, there would be no walls to climb, right? An old man with brittle bones, not afraid of throwing out his back!
To avoid tainting the City Lord's reputation, he even arranged for the City Guard Army to handle this matter.
Time passed until today. Rong State's condemnation of Yang State had been made public in the Eastern Region, and Jiacheng had officially announced the plague situation to the whole country.
The City Lord of Yue City also received a stern reprimand from the Prefecture and finally decided to reveal the true situation facing the city.
Li Yang thought he could finally rid himself of the hot potato that was Qin Nianmin, as there was no longer any need to keep the information secret.
But at this moment, he received the City Lord's order to kill Qin Nianmin immediately!
He could not quite understand the City Lord's thinking, but whatever the City Lord said, he did.
He did not need to care whether he was willing in his heart, because he did not need to have his own will.
What Li Yang found incredible was that in such a heavily guarded Great Prison, an old man with no strength to even bind a chicken... actually escaped!
Just the day before he set off to the prison to carry out the killing, a riot erupted within.
The Great Prison of Yue City, which had been peaceful for decades, saw a riot in the notorious "Section D Cells."
Dozens of serious criminals took jailers hostage, smashed open cell doors, and fled in all directions, causing chaos throughout the entire prison.
The Warden personally intervened with his extraordinary power to suppress the riot. Only during the subsequent count did they discover that besides the two serious criminals killed on the spot, not a single prisoner had escaped. Only Qin Nianmin was missing.
It was as if the prisoners had risked their lives to launch the riot solely to send this one person out.
The reason Li Yang found it incredible was not because the act was particularly clever. But because it was so utterly meaningless!
This bunch of scum in the prison went to such great lengths to accomplish something entirely pointless.
Even he, who was constantly called a fool by the City Lord, found it laughable.
The matter itself was not difficult to investigate.
Those involved, besides all the serious criminals from the "Section D Cells," also included two people within the Great Prison itself.
A jailer surnamed Ding and a clerk surnamed Wu, now both stripped of their clothes and thrown into a cell. Whether they would be killed or punished would be decided later.
Qin Nianmin, who had already escaped the Great Prison, was not difficult to track either. An ordinary person who had not even achieved Foundation Establishment, and a man in his fifties at that—no matter how good his stamina, where could he possibly run to?
Coincidentally, Yue City had already begun imposing lockdowns in various areas, with the entire region under martial law.
Forget a fugitive; even perfectly legitimate citizens could not go far!
As the Captain of the City Lord's Mansion's Guard, Li Yang naturally moved unimpeded throughout the entire territory of Yue City, with support from all forces.
It was only at this point that the situation truly beyond his comprehension arrived—
He discovered that as an extraordinary cultivator, carrying the City Lord's order, with the covert support of the entire city's official forces, and having mobilized a large number of personnel, he still could not capture Qin Nianmin.
The man was like a weak but agile fly. Li Yang could feel him circling nearby, but for a time could not see where he was, could not catch him.
He felt an invisible force subtly opposing his search, yet he could not identify what that force was.
What force within the entire territory of Yue City could stand against the City Lord's Mansion?
How was this possible?
After a long search with no results, the City Lord of Yue City flew into a rage and simply switched from covert capture to public arrest, deploying several of Yue City's most famous extraordinary constables to participate in the pursuit.
One of these constables had once worked under a Blue Badge Constable in Qi State in his youth, and his methods were refined and seasoned.
A small display of his skills allowed Li Yang to see the prowess of these constables who specialized in criminal investigations.
It was only then that he realized what had been hindering his private capture of Qin Nianmin was not some organization, but rather those street vendors, shop owners, and restaurant waiters... ordinary and unremarkable people.
They spontaneously concealed Qin Nianmin's movements, deliberately leading Li Yang and his men in the wrong direction.
This was something Li Yang had never witnessed in his limited experience. Among these ordinary people, there was not a single one who posed a threat to him. Yet for some reason, he felt a chill run down his spine, his heart growing cold.
Fortunately, his fear did not need to be taken into consideration, because he did not need to have his own will.
Fortunately, Qin Nianmin's whereabouts had been revealed.
Under the methods of the extraordinary constables, a mere Qin Nianmin had nowhere to hide.
When Li Yang caught up to Qin Nianmin with the two extraordinary constables, he discovered that the man had already, without their realizing it, reached the very border of Yue City's territory.
Under the pursuit of extraordinary power, he had nearly escaped.
For an ordinary fifty-year-old old man, this was truly incredible!
It could almost be called a miracle created by an ordinary person.
But in the end, he had fallen just short.
Sometimes a step's distance is an uncrossable chasm.
"Qin Nianmin!" Li Yang shouted at the old man's retreating figure. "You cannot escape! Come back with me to the city and await the City Lord's judgment!"
His orders were to kill Qin Nianmin, but it was not convenient to do so in front of several extraordinary constables. He would take him back first.
Qin Nianmin's body visibly trembled.
He turned around.
His face, once well-maintained, was now gaunt and haggard, but his expression remained stubborn, without any hint of dejection.
"You are also people of Yue City!" he shouted. "Do you not know what is happening in Yue City right now? Should not someone bear responsibility for this? Where is your conscience? Where is your humanity?"
The two extraordinary constables exchanged glances. They certainly knew about the plague outbreak. But the source was in Jiacheng, and as a neighboring city, Yue City's infection was inevitable.
As for responsibility... The City Lord of Jiacheng had reportedly already been killed. What more responsibility was there to bear?
They guessed there might be hidden circumstances. After all, having them pursue an ordinary person, no matter how you looked at it, felt slightly off. But it was merely suspicion. As seasoned and worldly as they were, they naturally would not show it.
Turning a blind eye, letting the years pass peacefully in a golden age.
Only Li Yang understood what Qin Nianmin was referring to.
When the plague broke out in Yue City, Elder Qin had detected it immediately. The reason it had evolved into the current situation, second only to Jiacheng, was precisely because of the City Lord of Yue City's inaction!
And precisely because of this, he could not let the man say any more.
He lunged forward, shouting, "Stop spreading fallacies and confusing the people here! If you have any grievances, state them at the yamen!"
Was a mere ordinary old man not easy to handle?
At that moment, a sheathed long sword blocked the path.
It was a sword that immediately drew admiration, its sharpness almost piercing through the sheath.
Still within its sheath, the sword actually hummed of its own accord.
As if it, too, could not restrain itself, as if it, too, wanted to straighten its spine and speak out.
People are like swords—injustice will not be silenced!
"For some reason, lately whenever I hear the phrase 'spreading fallacies and confusing the people'... I feel very uncomfortable!"
A clear, bright voice spoke these words.
Le Wen