Xiao Yu watched the two of them crying like this. Mo Qian's tears and snot were running together, and the difficulty of breathing was making him choke and go pale.Xiao Yu immediately went to the right side of the mourning hall, leaned toward the crowd sitting on the mats, and called out: "Xiao Ping, Xiao Yun! You two help this man to the inner room. If he keeps crying like this, he will choke himself to death."Two young men rose at once from among those kneeling on the mats and, while offering words of comfort, pulled Mo Qian away from the coffin and led him into the inner room.Mo Qian was guided out of the mourning hall. Xiao Yu turned and patted Zhu Xiaoqi's back, comforting her.Zhu Xiaoqi finally stopped crying. Her voice was hoarse and her face was reddened and blotchy. When her crying had settled, she noticed Mo Qian was no longer in the mourning hall. She raised her tear-filled eyes and asked Xiao Yu: "Where did that man go?""He was taken inside. His crying cannot bring my

An inner-stationed outer disciple, when traveling on official business and bearing the Taiyi Order, was an imperial envoy — with the authority to make decisions on the spot and to determine life and death.The reason Luan Jingfu was frightened was simple: had Fan Yuanhai chosen to kill him on the spot just now, citing obstruction of an official investigation, it would have been entirely within the law."Mr. Luan has already spoken. Head Constable Jie — why are you still standing there?" Fan Yuanhai glanced sidelong at Jie Daohan, a flicker of contempt in his eyes.Jie Daohan clasped his fists toward Fan Yuanhai, then turned and barked at the constables behind him: "Brothers, follow me in to search! You — front yard! You — rear yard and middle yard!"With the order given, the constables shoved past the escorts at the door and poured in.Luan Jingfu turned at once and spoke quietly to Luan Bao beside him: "Take a few men to the rear yard and accompany the search."What he meant by accom

Mo Qian glanced at him and understood immediately. He laughed and said, "That's right. I chose to become an apprentice dart escort. I've been training in internal cultivation for over a month now."Yang Zhen's face went blank.Even knowing Mo Qian had gone to the Yuanshun Escort Agency, he had never imagined Mo Qian could actually be taken on as an apprentice escort.To be an escort was essentially the same social standing as a constable — similar income, similar status. Though a constable had some prestige in front of ordinary people, the moment they stood before a trained escort, that swagger disappeared quickly enough."Really? That's something." Though Yang Zhen was happy for Mo Qian, there was an undercurrent of something less pleasant — because from now on, he would have no advantage to speak of in front of this person he had once looked down upon.Mo Qian noticed that Yang Zhen's smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but he was perceptive enough to understand the small feelings be

Yang Zhen slapped his thigh. "Right! Where did I get to last night?""You said someone snatched the prisoner, and then a shuttle dart ended up in your leg.""Did I say that?" Yang Zhen had no memory of it at all. He picked up the thread anyway, mostly to have something to talk about. "When Xu Ruhu was first arrested, several of our men were injured bringing him in. After that, they had me and Brother Lei taking turns guarding him in the dungeon.""Brother Lei had already reached the second level of internal cultivation. Even among the older constables, he is considered capable. As for me — Jie Daohan saw that I had reached the first level in less than a year and a half and that I was quick on my feet, so he decided to groom me. I was assigned to work under Brother Lei."Yang Zhen paused there for a long moment, drinking his soup and chewing his sesame cake in silence.This was the second time Yang Zhen had deliberately let something like this drop in front of Mo Qian. First level of i

After drying his hair with a towel, Mo Qian stood in his small dormitory and turned his attention back to the sensation of throwing that stone.He was afraid the accidental insight would fade before he could fix it properly in his body. He acted on instinct.He stood where he was and tossed the towel across the room. It landed squarely on the rim of the wooden plate in the corner.Mo Qian allowed himself a quiet smile. With this hidden weapon technique, he thought, he would be a force to be reckoned with.He left the dormitory quickly, walked out of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, and turned onto West Street. He rounded a corner into a narrow alley and stopped at the entrance, looked both ways, then walked into the alley he had chosen.Along the wall of the alley, a man squatted beside a small wooden box — roughly one foot and a half square, with straps on both sides that let it be worn on the chest or set against the wall. It was a needle and thread peddler's box.In those times, needles