Chapter 69: Fair and Just
Time passed, and soon, the tenth month was half gone.
It should have been Cold Dew, but because Seven Blood Eyes was located next to the sea, the days were still hot. [1]
It was only after the sun set that the wind turned cold. It was the same with the sea, as if the sinister cold on the seafloor would follow the moonlight up into the world above, and eventually fill cultivators with the malicious iciness of winter. As the wind blew, moonlight spilled over the Port District and the bluish limestone that paved the streets.
The light of the moon also fell on Xu Qing, who was on his way back to his berth after a long day of work. He walked tall and straight in his gray robe, his long hair swaying around him. From a distance, he looked like a lonely figure under the moon in a scroll painting.
However, the frigid wind made him feel very cold. What was truly cold was not his body, though, but his memories of life in the slums. It was like a scorch mark on a painting. Even if ink was used to cover up that scorch mark, and no one noticed it... the scorch mark was still there. As the frigid wind blew, Xu Qing started walking a bit more quickly.
Half a month had passed since his reunion dinner with Zhou Qingpeng and the others. During that time, he reported in for duty regularly at the Violent Crimes Division, just like before. The promotion Zhou Qingpeng had mentioned never happened, but Xu Qing didn’t care about that. As far as he was concerned, cultivation was the most important thing right now.
His Seaforming Scripture was at the peak of the seventh level, not far from the breakthrough point. He was in a similar position with the Sea and Mountain Incantation, being close to the eighth level.
It filled Xu Qing with anticipation.
Given his current battle prowess, once he broke into the eighth level with both techniques, he could absolutely crush the version of himself that existed before coming to Seven Blood Eyes. Although being in the eighth level wouldn’t make him strong enough to defeat Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior in a fair fight, if he used his shadow and laid an ambush, he would at least be able to hold his own for a time.
“Soon...” he murmured, his eyes narrowed. Right now, he urgently needed to kill both Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior and that young merman.
When it came to the former, he knew that he just needed to wait for a bit longer, until he was stronger. As for the latter, he continued to seek the right opportunity.
Unfortunately, despite shadowing the young merman almost every day for the past half-month, the dharma protectors never left his side, making it impossible to make a move. On one occasion, the merman did as the Captain had mentioned, and went off on his own. But he used some special item to mask his presence, making it impossible to follow him.
Xu Qing continued to search patiently, but to no avail. After that incident, he came to the conclusion he should try to plant something on the merman to make it easy to track him.
Going forward, I should do the same with any opponent I have to deal with like this.
He would treat this new challenge just like he’d handled the old challenge of dealing with corpses.
Eventually, he reached his berth in Harbor 79. On his way back, he didn’t become the subject of any malicious gazes, nor did anyone cause any trouble for him. He hadn’t been in Seven Blood Eyes for very long, but he had already carved out a reputation for himself. Because of that, few people dared to target him.
He took out his dharmaboat, and the moment it appeared, it smacked down onto the water with a splash, sending waves out in all directions.
The boat was very impressive now, being more than 60 meters long and nine meters wide. It was pitch black in the moonlight, emanating a black glow from its scaly surface. With the vicious crocodile head on the prow, it really did look like a gigantic crocodile. The open mouth had countless razor-sharp teeth in it, and its eyes glowed with a mysterious, intimidating light. If one looked closely, it was possible to see that there was an outer layer of scales, beneath which were more scales. The boat had a special keel running its length that made it extremely tough.
As the wind whipped around it, the dharmaboat looked like a giant beast resting in the water, exuding a threatening aura. The boat’s hold was much bigger than before, as was the cabin. It now had a location for rest, cultivation, and even a special medicinal plant laboratory. There was also a greenish light that flowed back and forth across the boat, almost like a living thing. That was something that made the dharmaboat much more durable. Most importantly, there was a large open spot in the deck that was currently empty, but had clearly been set aside for a special reason.
So far, Xu Qing had spent over 100 spirit stones, using mid-level materials to upgrade his dharmaboat to class-six!
The open spot in the deck had actually cost ten spirit stones. The reason was that a very unique item had caught his eye. It was a whale skull. Once set into the deck, it would make the dharmaboat much tougher, and would push it past class-six and to the peak of class-seven.
Unfortunately, the whale skull was shockingly expensive. After all, it was considered a high-level material. In order to purchase it, he would need a full 200 spirit stones. It seemed like a ridiculous price. But after going back several times to examine the whale skull, he finally gritted his teeth and decided that he would buy it.
Once my cultivation base reaches the eighth level, I’ll buy that whale skull and push my dharmaboat to class-seven! Then... I’ll go out into the open sea!
Boarding his dharmaboat, he sat down cross-legged to start his session of cultivation. The wind blew all night. By morning, it seemed so tired that it faded into nothing. Then the sun shone down, causing Xu Qing to open his eyes to a new day.
Now that they didn’t need to investigate Night Dove, things were a lot more relaxed in the Violent Crimes Division. Occasionally, the Patrol Division would encounter situations they couldn’t handle, and would request support. In fact, when Xu Qing showed up for roll call, Celestial Bureau Unit Six was given just such a support request.
Not many people went on the assignment. It was the Captain and five others including Xu Qing. As the Captain led them out onto the street, he explained the details. As it turned out, the Patrol Division actually needed help dealing with the Dispatch Division. The Dispatch Division and the Pilot Assistance Division were two of the most important parts of the port. Dispatch was responsible for all the dispatch orders for incoming and outgoing watercraft. Pilot Assistance was responsible for assisting ships and boats that wanted to enter the port.
Every single harbor in the port had a bureau of each division. And today, there was an issue in Harbor 96.
The Dispatch and Pilot Assistance Divisions in that harbor were at odds. Over 100 members of Pilot Assistance had gathered at the Dispatch Division office to protest. And thus, the Dispatch Division had put in a request for help from the Patrol Division. The Patrol Division, not confident that they could handle the situation, had in turn put in a request for support from Violent Crimes.
After hearing this explanation, one of the Unit Six constables sneered and said, “The reason for all of this is that the Dispatch Division in Harbor 96 should have given an incentive payment to Pilot Assistance this month. Instead, Dispatch only gave twenty percent of the usual. Put anybody in the shoes of Pilot Assistance, and they’d react the same.”
“Disciples in Dispatch and Pilot Assistance get a regular salary,” another constable said. “But Pilot Assistance provides a lot of help to Dispatch, which results in Dispatch getting extra money on the side. Because of that, it’s customary for Dispatch to give incentives.”
Although this was Xu Qing’s first time hearing about this arrangement, it made sense to him.
“You know why?” another Unit Six constable said. “It’s because Harbor 96 Dispatch just got a new overseer. It’s that conclave disciple Zhao Zhongheng.” [2]
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything.
“Yeah, he’s a conclave disciple, so he thinks he can change all the rules. I’ve heard that historically, Dispatch and Pilot Assistance split things fifty-fifty. But this Zhao Zhongheng decided to change it to ninety-ten. No wonder the Pilot Assistance disciples are angry.”
Xu Qing listened to the talk as they proceeded to Harbor 96‘s Dispatch Division. When they arrived, Xu Qing saw that the division headquarters itself looked like a large sail laid on the ground. It was made up of numerous structures, and had numerous dharmaboats docked off to the side.
In front of the main gate, over a hundred Pilot Assistance disciples had gathered. A group of Dispatch disciples was also there, and they were shouting at each other. The atmosphere was tense, as if fighting might break out at any moment. A large group of other random disciples had gathered to watch the commotion.
There were also Patrol Division disciples present, trying to mediate between the two groups. However, neither side seemed willing to back down. It seemed the slightest spark could cause a complete blowup. When the Patrol disciples saw the group from Violent Crimes arrive, they breathed sighs of relief. As for the crowd of onlookers, they parted to allow Violent Crimes through.
The Captain munched on an apple as he completely ignored Patrol as well as the two opposing factions. Instead, he found a suitable place off to the side to sit down and watch things play out. After all, the Violent Crimes Division only needed to get involved once deadly fighting broke out. Until that happened, they didn’t have to lift a finger.
The other Violent Crimes constables followed suit, including Xu Qing. After he sat down, he looked over the crowd. He didn’t spot Zhao Zhongheng, but he did see one familiar face.
Standing at the front of the group from the Pilot Assistance Division was the same pudgy young man who had given Xu Qing some condensing spirit leaves at the medicine shop some time ago. His name was Huang Yan. [3]
In fact, Huang Yan seemed to be speaking for the Pilot Assistance disciples. “You Dispatch bastards! You might as well make it impossible for us Pilot Assistance disciples in Harbor 96 to make a living. Without our monthly incentive, we won’t be able to keep up with cultivation and pill concocting. How are we supposed to survive like that in this deadly city? You’re literally trying to get us killed! Well since we’re dead either way, we might as well take you out first!”
Huang Yan wore an ordinary gray robe, but he stood with his shoulders square and his chest out. He had a very vicious expression on his face, and when he yelled, his neck bulged.
The person standing in the leadership position of the Dispatch disciples was a middle-aged man who wore the same gray daoist robe as Huang Yan. He actually wasn’t from the Dispatch Division in Harbor 96, but rather, was one of Zhao Zhongheng’s retinue.
Given Zhao Zhongheng’s status, there was no way he would go out to deal with a matter like this one, so he’d had one of his followers handle it.
The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes shone with cold light and extreme annoyance. He had been a follower of Zhao Zhongheng for a long time, and normally speaking, Offpeak disciples treated him with a lot of respect. He had brushed shoulders with so many conclave disciples that he’d come to forget his own status. As far as he was concerned, these gray-robed disciples weren’t even worth thinking about. That was especially true considering he knew without a doubt that Zhao Zhongheng wouldn’t change his mind about his decision.
“One incense stick’s worth of time,” he shouted. “Anyone who wants to live had better screw off before then!”
When he said that, the Pilot Assistance disciples’ killing intent surged. And when the Dispatch Division saw that, their eyes shone with cold light. Each disciple in Seven Blood Eyes was someone who had slaughtered their way out of a den of wolves, and didn’t ever feel the need to rely on the help of others. To people like that... killing wasn’t an unusual thing.
“You want us to screw off? Screw your grandpa!” Eyes wild, Huang Yan lunged forward in a head-butt, moving at top speed.
At that point, the tension exploded, and the two sides started fighting. Booms rang out, and the fluctuations of magical techniques shot out in all directions. Xu Qing looked on as hundreds of people started battling, and blood flowed.
The Patrol Division disciples who had been trying to broker a peace just backed up. At the same time, Xu Qing and the other Violent Crimes constables remained seated.
Xu Qing looked over at the Captain, who just kept eating his apple and occasionally cheering as he watched the fight play out.
“There are way too many people involved in the fight,” the Captain said between cheering. “A chaotic battle is the most dangerous type. Let them fight it out for a bit, then we’ll step in and calm things down. Besides... the sect doesn’t want two divisions slaughtering each other. I’d say there’s an eighty or ninety percent chance the bigwigs send someone to interfere.”
There were already casualties on both sides. As the screams and booms rang out, Xu Qing spotted Huang Yan in the crowd, eyes bloodshot as he fought wildly. He was in the seventh level of Qi Condensation, which made him particularly deadly in the fighting.
Before long, Xu Qing noticed the ringleader of the Dispatch Division, the middle-aged cultivator, backing up while glaring venomously at Huang Yan. Taking advantage of the fact that Huang Yan was facing away from him, the man waved his arm, causing a flying dagger to shoot out from his sleeve.
The dagger was made from a special material; it was translucent and glowed with a faint blue light. Apparently, it was poisoned.
Huang Yan was so caught up in fighting that he had no idea the dagger was heading straight toward his neck.
However, Xu Qing saw it. Eyes narrowing, he flicked his right hand, causing a drop of water to fly with shocking speed toward the flying dagger. When the water hit the dagger, a loud pinging sound rang out, and the dagger was knocked off course, speeding just past Huang Yan.
Expression flickering, Huang Yan looked at Xu Qing and nodded. Then a malevolent expression overtook his face as he turned toward the middle-aged cultivator, howled, and threw himself forward.
“Dammit!” the middle-aged cultivator growled, and he tried to leap back, but Huang Yan blocked his path, then lunged forward with a head-butt.
The resulting crunch was drowned out by the general chaotic sound of the battle, but Xu Qing saw the middle-aged cultivator’s face distort with pain before he launched a counter attack.
The fighting continued, and the casualties grew.
Off to the side, the Captain glanced at Xu Qing and then smiled enigmatically.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything, and in fact, looked away from Huang Yan. He had interfered in the fighting simply because Huang Yan had been so generous with those condensing spirit leaves.
As the fighting between the two departments grew more intense, a booming voice rang out like thunder.
“Everybody stand down!”
A figure appeared overhead, walking through the air and emanating a terrifying aura that weighed down on the entire area. All of the disciples below looked up in shock.
“Time to get to work,” the Captain said quietly, getting to his feet. He really looked like he was ready to enforce the law. Xu Qing and the others joined him.
At that exact same moment, the figure from above resolved into a young man in a violet daoist robe. He wasn’t particularly good-looking, and his eyes weren’t unusually threatening. But there was something shocking about him as he hovered in midair, looking down coldly at the disciples from both sides of the conflict.
1. Here’s the reference link to the solar terms. ☜
2. Zhao Zhongheng is the same disciple who appeared briefly in chapter 65. ☜
3. Huang Yan’s surname is listed as #7 on the list of top 100 most common Chinese surnames. It also means “yellow.” Yan means “rock, cliff.” To Madam Deathblade, this seems like an ordinary name. It sounds nice but doesn’t convey any special feeling. ☜