—— May 30, 2024
When Bai Changkong spat blood, he was at the Shougong Surveillance Office, the small training ground.
A little farther away at the archery range, several guards in white robes held bows and arrows, shooting at human-shaped targets set a hundred steps away.
The specially made arrows, fitted with whistles, sliced through the air with shrill, irritating whistles before thudding heavily into the targets.
These guards were skilled marksmen.
From a hundred steps away, every arrow hit the bullseye.
The force behind the arrows was tremendous—they were made from flexible rattan vines, yet a foot-thick target was repeatedly pierced through, emitting dull ‘thump thump’ sounds.
Lu Qiang stood with both hands tucked inside his sleeves, staring in shock at those guards.
Just with the archery skills of these few white-robed guards, they already surpassed most of the household troops of the Duke of Lai’s estate.
More than that, compared with the pampered and fattened household troops of the Duke of Lai’s estate — who had long since lost all fearsome presence — these guards each wore a fierce expression.
Clearly, they were veterans forged by life-and-death battles.
The sky was cloudless.
Warm sunshine drenched the training ground and the long dormitory roofs surrounding it.
Snow was melting: drops fell from the eaves to the ground, making crisp ‘plip-plop’ sounds.
The whistles of the arrows never stopped.
Standing beside Lu Qiang were the three Black Scorpion brothers, their faces iron-grey as they watched the archers.
If the pursuers from Sikou Platform’s constables had such archery skills, they probably wouldn’t have made it to the Shougong Office alive—they’d have been riddled with arrows halfway.
“Damned eunuchs,” muttered the eldest of the three brothers.
Lu Qiang looked once again at the archers.
Indeed, the robes they wore were slightly different from those of Lu Qiang and the three brothers.
On the sleeves of these guards was an embroidered “Shougong” badge—a single, slender horn on the palace gecko emblem.
This proved these guards were not ‘outsiders’ like Lu Qiang and the brothers who had joined from outside.
No—they were ‘one of their own’, palace eunuchs nurtured from childhood, castrated and raised within the palace.
They had undergone systematic training since childhood, enjoying the vast resources of the Imperial Palace’s inner court.
So their strength far exceeded that of ordinary ‘outsiders’ or the other constables and martial officers hired by various government offices.
Judging by their archery skill, they were truly sharp and terrifying.
The little eunuch who had brought them here had already left.
The three brothers looked around carefully, but their attention immediately fixed on Lu Qiang.
In this deserted small training ground, Lu Qiang was the only one who had joined the Shougong Office at the same time as them.
When they registered their details earlier in the main hall, the little eunuch had ‘invited’ Lu Qiang rather warmly—which the brothers had not forgotten.
The three brothers were all resentful of Lu Qiang’s treatment.
Is it just because he looks better?
Is it just because he looks more robust?
Is it just because he looks like a good person?
Why was the little eunuch so eager to ‘invite’ Lu Qiang, yet called all three of them ‘hopeless’?
“Kid, come here, let the brothers get to know each other properly,” the Black Scorpion eldest coughed heavily and shouted in a wheezy voice, shaking his shoulder to step closer, then grinned weirdly, stretching out his hand toward Lu Qiang.
Lu Qiang narrowed his eyes, smiled faintly in response, and was just about to think through how to deal with this when heavy footsteps sounded.
A group of white-robed guards accompanied a man in a blue robe who strode quickly into the small training ground.
These white-robed guards all had ‘Shougong’ embroidery on their cuffs.
Unlike the plain white palace gecko emblems on Lu Qiang’s and the Black Scorpion brothers’ robes, these guards’ sleeve cuffs bore clearer, more detailed embroidered geckos—with a line of bright red stars along the spine of the gecko’s back.
From head to toe, some guards had as many as seven or eight red stars, others three to five.
And the man wearing the blue robe, black hat, black waist sash, black boots, and armed with a sword at his waist? His palace gecko emblem was embroidered on his chest.
This large gecko’s head faced downward to his chest, with its two front claws lightly pressing his shoulders, the two rear claws pressed against his ribs, and three blood-red dots clearly visible along the gecko’s spine.
This man was a ‘Three-Star’ enforcer.
Lu Qiang knew the rules of the Shougong Office.
Or rather, inside and outside Gaojing City throughout the entire Great Yin Martial Dynasty, almost everyone knew the Shougong Office’s rules.
All new guards joining the Shougong Office wore white robes at first.
The office followed the army’s rules.
Guards could earn merits for their work.
There were two types of military merit: small merit and large merit.
Three small merits added up to one large merit.
For each large merit earned, one blood-red star was embroidered on the spine of the gecko on the sleeve.
Nine red stars meant nine large merits or twenty-seven small merits—the top achievement for a guard.
After reaching the nine-star rank, further merits could be verified and the guard could be promoted to leave the guard ranks and earn a blue robe, with the palace gecko embroidered on the chest.
One, two, and three-star enforcers wore blue robes called Lishi, commanding from ten to a hundred guards.
Four to six stars wore blue robes too but called Xiaowei, commanding hundreds to thousands.
Seven to nine stars wore red robes and were called generals, commanding thousands to tens of thousands.
The Shougong Office was a special institution set up by the Inner Court.
The star-ranking system corresponded with official court ranks from the ninth rank up to the first.
A three-star Lishi was equivalent to a seventh-rank official—a county magistrate if assigned outside.
Because the Shougong Office was a special inner court institution, the authority of its enforcers far surpassed that of a county magistrate.
The three Black Scorpion brothers, who had been ready to cause trouble for Lu Qiang, saw this three-star enforcer and his men hurry forward.
They quickly swallowed their malice, forced bright smiles onto their faces, and bowed respectfully.
“Your Excellency!” The brothers tried all their street-smart charm, flattering the three-star Lishi.
“Ah, we’re all but poor souls!” The thin, tall man had a delicate face with narrow eyes and a flat nose, almost pitiful-looking.
He tucked his hands into his sleeves, glanced at the three Black Scorpion brothers, then looked repeatedly at Lu Qiang, who also held his hands inside his robe.
“Don’t stand on ceremony. I am Lu Tianxing. You can call me Lord Lu, or better yet, Brother Lu,” the man with the narrow eyes squinted slightly, a faint smile breaking across his thin lips as he greeted Lu Qiang and the others warmly.
“Ah, it’s hard all around, isn’t it?”
Lu Tianxing shook his head, sighing as he looked at the four of them.
“This is still the Lunar New Year, not even the fifteenth day yet. In previous years, on this day, no one ever came to join our Shougong guards.”
“Who would want to be pushed to this point? Who would come to the Shougong Office in the middle of the New Year when everyone else is enjoying their firesides? No one.”
“So clearly, you’re all in trouble. I understand that kind of hardship!”
“But brothers, rest assured, once you join the Shougong, you’re family. I, Lu Tianxing, take good care of my brothers. Since the little eunuchs have assigned you to me, you’ll soon know what kind of man I am.”
“In short—I won’t let my brothers suffer or be wronged.”
“Right, brothers? Isn’t that how it is?”
The group of a dozen or so white-robed guards surrounding Lu Tianxing broke into a noisy chorus of laughter and praise, calling Lu Tianxing ‘loyal,’ ‘generous,’ ‘magnanimous,’ and ‘straightforward.’
Lu Tianxing nodded with satisfaction, then continued, “Alright, that counts as introductions. Now, four new brothers, introduce yourselves. No need to mention origins or backgrounds—we don’t care about those in the Shougong Office.”
“But do tell your names and what skills or cultivation you have,” Lu Tianxing squinted slightly and spoke softly. “When we go out on missions, knowing what you’re capable of helps us assign tasks properly and avoid mistakes.”
The three Black Scorpion brothers glanced at each other and nodded.
“Brother Lu, I’m Qiu Da, with twelve layers of meridian expansion. I wield a scorpion tail whip and specialize in using iron caltrops laced with poison.”
“Brother Lu, I’m Qiu Er, with eleven layers of meridian expansion. I wield a scorpion tail whip and specialize in bone-piercing three-edged throwing knives.”
“Brother Lu, I’m Qiu San, also eleven layers of meridian expansion. I wield a scorpion tail whip and specialize in various knockout poisons.”
Lu Tianxing’s eyes widened as he looked intently at the third brother. “Oh, you deal with drugs? I’ll remember you—you’re a real talent!”
The guards Lu Tianxing brought looked solemn and stared seriously at the three brothers.
No matter where you put them, cultivation at eleven or twelve layers of meridian expansion is formidable.
Having such talents join boosts Lu Tianxing’s team’s strength significantly, which is absolutely good news.
But at the same time, having such talent increases competition for merit, promotion, and money.
Especially with the ample ‘grey income’ flowing through the Shougong Office—who gets how much depends on who’s stronger.
Just simple muscle.
Judging by their looks, those three brothers are trouble—not kind souls.
They’ll have to be watched carefully and guarded against.
Lu Tianxing turned his gaze to Lu Qiang.
Lu Qiang stretched out his hand, bowed slightly toward Lu Tianxing, and softly said, “Brother Lu, I’m Lu Qiang. I hope to be under your care going forward. I just expanded my meridians and have little experience in the martial world yet, but if you ask what I’m good at—I’m fast at running. Does that count for anything?”
All eyes immediately fell on Lu Qiang.
No experience, but fast runner—that wasn’t a problem.
What surprised everyone was that this young man had already advanced his meridians.
Such innate talent was a bit frightening.
Lu Tianxing raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.
“Not bad, not bad. So young with that cultivation—well born?”
Lu Qiang just smiled and said nothing.
Lu Tianxing shook his head.
“Origins don’t matter. Once you join Shougong, your life, future, all depend on your abilities!”
He appraised Lu Qiang up and down, then clasped his hands behind his back and said solemnly, “Enough pleasantries. By rule, you newcomers should have two days to familiarize yourselves with the Shougong, and our team would take you around the precinct to show what we do normally.”
“But…”
“There’s big work right now. The higher-ups are pressing hard and manpower is tight. So the four of you who just joined will have to get busy.”
“The usual welcome party will wait until this job is done.”
“This is what’s going on: here we have a portrait of a man—Liu Wu, the young master of the Liu family at Jin Gu Alley.”
An eight-star guard took out a charcoal sketch of a rather handsome young man.
“Find him. Then watch him closely!”
“But remember, don’t alert him.”
Lu Tianxing squinted as he gave serious instructions to Lu Qiang and the three brothers.
“Remember, don’t be greedy for merit. Report any findings immediately.”
He paused and warned one word at a time:
“Listen well. Since the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, my team has lost over a dozen brothers investigating this case.”
“I don’t want to be the one to come pick up your remains next time!”
“So be careful. Careful. Careful!”
Note to readers: The protagonist definitely does not become a eunuch!
Also, for those curious, in the Ming dynasty’s Dongchang and Xichang, the heads were eunuchs, but the vast majority of the enforcers themselves were regular men.
(End of chapter)