With Shen Hao's Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivation, fighting a Third-Grade Evil head-on is still too much of a stretch. Now, having these three Third-Grade Thunder Charms finally gives him a bit of confidence.
Talismans are consumables, engraved with all kinds of magic skills. They only require a little mana to activate, making them a great tool to instantly boost combat power.
However, although talismans are easy to make, their quality is tied to cultivation—the best talismans can only be made by powerful cultivators. So even in places like Xuanqing Guard, talismans are always in short supply; each talisman must be reviewed before being rationed.
The last time Shen Hao had a talisman was four months ago.
...
Alchemy Room.
"C Flag, Team A, Small Banner Officer Shen Hao."
"I'm here."
"Here's your Small Nourishing Pill. Take it. Sign here and stamp."
"Alright, thanks."
When Shen Hao heard his name called, he hurried forward, taking a small copper box and a receipt from the other man.
He signed his name, stamped it with his waist token, and cradled the copper box, his steps noticeably lighter.
Compared to the three Thunder Charms which served as his fallback, the Small Nourishing Pill was the harvest Shen Hao was most thrilled about. Once he had it, he didn't linger but went straight back to his rented little house near the garrison. Sitting cross-legged, he opened the copper box and swallowed the pill in one gulp.
The pill melted as soon as it touched his mouth, turning into a breath of coolness, first reaching his stomach and then spreading throughout his body.
This is called Transformation Pill; after the pill disperses, it spreads to every limb and bone. It's the process in which the spiritual qi inside the pill shifts from dormant to "active," and only then can the body absorb it.
Shen Hao dared not slack off. He steadied his mind and operated his cultivation technique with full effort, absorbing the activated spiritual qi.
This is the second Small Nourishing Pill Shen Hao has swallowed in his eight years with Xuanqing Guard. The first was a reward when he was promoted to Small Banner Officer four years ago; that pill directly advanced his cultivation from Qi Refining Third Layer to Fourth Layer.
Now Shen Hao is at Qi Refining Fifth Layer. He doesn't know how much this pill will do for him when taken.
Two hours later, Shen Hao performed Qi Concealment and finished his practice.
"Crack crackle..."
As he stood up, all the bones in Shen Hao's body made a dull noise. A newly born force surged from his dantian, flooding straight to Baihui.
"Bones resonate! Qi Refining Sixth Layer!"
Shen Hao's years of hard cultivation had already brought him to the threshold of late Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Now after swallowing a Small Nourishing Pill, the huge amount of spiritual qi instantly filled the gap in the late Fifth Layer and directly helped him break through the small realm barrier.
After a while, Shen Hao calmed his mood, took a bath, changed into a brocade robe, and finally stepped out.
It was already late. Shen Hao first went to West Main Street, bought five signature roasted chickens at Duan's Roasted Chicken old shop, picked up two vats of Old Man's Brew, then went to the city center teleportation array, flashed his waist token, and teleported again to Five Rams City.
...
"This is midnight snack for the brothers. Let all those off duty have a share."
"Hey! Duan's old roasted chicken! And Old Man's Brew! Tsk tsk, thanks, Xiaoqi, I'll go call the brothers for the snack now."
The whole Qi Mansion was soon rid of its previous gloomy air—even amidst the bloody stench, roasted chicken and liquor aromas began to waft in.
Except for those on duty, the rest of the Xuanqing Guard started relaxing in groups, eating roasted chicken, drinking old liquor, and smiling a little. As for the setting, nobody really cared—just as long as they stayed away from the piles of flesh and blood.
Shen Hao and School Commander Wang found a spot to sit down just the two of them. They split half a roasted chicken and part of a vat of old liquor.
"Tomorrow, General Flag's men will come collect the silver coins from the warehouse. Tonight, have the brothers pre-sort it. We'll skim off two hundred and fifty thousand ourselves, divide as per the usual rules."
"That much?"
"Too much? Don't act innocent with me. However much I tell you to take, you take. When have I ever screwed this up?"
"Heh, Xiaoqi's righteous! I thank you on behalf of the brothers!" He cupped his hands to Shen Hao as he spoke.
"No need to thank me, it's all hard-earned. Still, same as always, once we've got the money, we need to handle business cleanly, right? The Qi Family case has a deadline from Chen Zongqi—they want results by the sixth of next month. Keep that in your mind."
"So soon? Counting it, that's only ten days? Isn't this kind of case usually..."
Shen Hao raised a hand to cut him off: "Don't ask. Just dig into it, report anything you find to me right away, understand?"
"Got it. Rest assured, Xiaoqi."
They chatted a bit more, then Wang Xiaoling suddenly said: "Oh right, Xiaoqi, you told me to secretly look into the Qi Family's background. Got some clues."
Shen Hao sipped his liquor and motioned him to continue.
"Xiaoqi, you truly see through everything. The Qi Family's background is not simple. After you left this afternoon, I went through their accounts room again. Found a few books hidden in a secret compartment—Yin Yang Account Books. The sums on each side are worlds apart, and the flow of goods looks nothing like a normal business."
At the start of the month, the Qi Family's gross income on the surface account book was over three hundred seventy thousand, but the hidden side showed a deficit of over sixty thousand. The main reason for the deficit is they brought in seven hundred thousand taels of raw materials, but according to Qi Family's official records, they don't need that much at all for normal production."
Why make their own books into Yin Yang Account Books? To fool the government office? Doesn't seem like it. Also, I had the office's constables take me to the Qi Family's warehouse in the city outskirts. The materials and finished products stored there definitely aren't worth seven hundred thousand taels—the numbers don't match their hidden books..."
Plus, we found some secret chambers in their warehouse—there's a lot of standardized weapons stored, and some banned materials."
When he finished, Shen Hao put down his liquor cup and asked: "In your opinion, what's the Qi Family doing behind the scenes?"
"Smuggling. I think the Qi Family is most likely involved in smuggling."
"Who else knows about this?"
"I handled it alone. The office's constables just showed me around; I didn't let them into the warehouse. Now I've got men guarding it—without your token, nobody gets in."
"Well done. Don't make this public. Tomorrow, after you finish passing on the silver coins, pick two trustworthy brothers and dig deeper into the Qi Family. Whether it's smuggling or not, I want the truth about what they're up to."
...
Late night.
Shen Hao didn't rest—the ten days are tight, and he doesn't want to waste any time.
"Xiaoqi, this is Qi Family's back door. Everything inside is untouched—still as it was after the case."
"Alright, go do your thing, no need to hang around. I'll take a look myself."
Glancing around, the Qi Family's back door was in a deserted alleyway. Ten yards to the left after a turn was the main street; to the right, the alley runs deep, likely serving as the rear passage for all the mansions along the street.
The alley was wide—you could easily fit a carriage through.
Turning to look at the entrance, compared to the Qi Family's grand front door, the back entrance was ordinary, nothing eye-catching.
Pushing open the door, a broken leg appeared before his eyes on the ground.