Chapter 6 | Days of Being a Constable in Ancient Times

Gu Qingyun returned to her room, washed up, and pulled out the purse the woman had pressed into her hands. She tipped it over, pouring a small mountain of copper coins onto the table.

After counting them, she found roughly fifty coins. A flatbread outside cost a single copper coin, so in her eyes, this was already a generous gift.

Her official monthly stipend as a Constable was around eight qian of silver. Without grey income, no one would likely be willing to do this job; it was both dangerous and poorly paid.

This was why the senior Constables preferred daytime shifts. Collecting protection money while patrolling the streets during the day yielded much higher grey income, whereas working the night shift meant relying entirely on luck.

Since younger Constables like Gu Qingyun brought in little grey income on night patrols, they received an extra night allowance of one qian of silver on top of their base stipend. All in all, it was still decent pay.

She stuffed the coins back into the purse and stashed it inside the spatial storage of her 【Blazing Sun Saber】. This blade was a weapon residing within her divine sense that could shift its form at will—a bit of compensation from the heavens, perhaps.

Gu Qingyun stored her father's blade inside it as well, using her divine sense to transform the Blazing Sun Saber into the appearance of a standard-issue saber to carry on her nightly patrols.

To this day, she still didn't understand how magical treasures existed in this world. It didn't seem like a cultivation world either; her life over the past decade or so had been quite peaceful, with no strange encounters or news of immortal sects recruiting disciples anywhere.

Even her ability to see white, grey, and black qi had only emerged over the past year, and she had only encountered black qi once before.

Even so, in an unfamiliar environment, she diligently practiced martial arts to gain a sense of security, allowing her to take control of her own destiny rather than being forced into an unwanted marriage.

By the time she finished, dawn was already breaking. Gu Qingyun sat cross-legged on her bed, formed hand seals, and began practicing her mental art. After all, the twilight transition between yin and yang was the optimal time for cultivation.

Practicing at this hour tripled the speed at which her mental art circulated. The technique seemed tailor-made for her, and she mastered it quickly. Gu Qingyun didn't overthink it, focusing solely on her training.

By the time she finished her cultivation, it was already the Si hour. Rubbing her stomach, Gu Qingyun stepped out to find an eatery for a meal.

The auntie serving food at the eatery was accustomed to her coming by for food at this exact hour every day.

After paying for her meal, Gu Qingyun ordered a few coarse flour mantou, a side of green vegetables, and a small bowl of fish pieces, then dug in.

Halfway through her meal, Constable Wang rushed over to her.

“Qingyun, quick! Come with me to the constabulary room. Head Constable Liu is looking for you!”

His voice was urgent and tense, signaling that something major had happened.

She hurriedly wolfed down the rest of the dishes and stuffed the mantou on the table into her robe. She had paid good money for them, after all; wasting food was out of the question.

“Uncle Wang, what happened?”

Swallowing the food in her mouth, she saw that Wang Wu was fully armed and asked in quick succession.

“I'll explain later. Let's head to Head Constable Liu first,” Wang Wu said with a solemn face.

In the duty room, Head Constable Liu sat strictly at the head seat with a grim expression. Seeing Gu Qingyun and Wang Wu enter, he said in a deep voice:

“Now that everyone is here, I have an announcement. As you all know, we captured a major criminal a few days ago—a notorious flower-stealer who excels at disguise. Having finally caught him, we now need to escort him to the prefectural yamen to face justice.”

“This is no minor affair, so we need a few skilled fighters for the escort. This counts as field duty, and everyone who goes will receive a three-liang silver allowance for their hard work. Who wants to volunteer?”

Everyone hung their heads. Three liang of silver was no easy money. The journey to the prefectural yamen was at least four hundred li, passing through countless deserted mountains and wilderness along the way. They would often have to camp in the wild, and the round trip would take at least half a month.

If they encountered bandits or unclean things, there was no guarantee they would return alive. What Constables dreaded most was field assignments; remaining in the county was far safer.

Seeing that no one was speaking up, Gu Qingyun followed suit, lowering her head in silence.

Seeing his subordinates shrinking back, Head Constable Liu slammed his hand heavily on his armrest and stood up.

“The top ten Constables in skill will come with me. Go prepare your gear now. We set out at first light tomorrow. The rest of you, stick to your duties.” Without sparing another glance at his men, he turned and left.

Once the Head Constable was gone, several skilled Constables walked over toward Wang Wu and Gu Qingyun. Among them, Li Si said with a crestfallen face:

“Sigh, what attraction does our county town even hold? Why does it keep drawing these major criminals? Last time we escorted a convict, we lost three of our brothers. Less than a month has passed, and we have to do another escort. Who knows if things will go smoothly this time.”

Gu Qingyun lowered her eyelids. Her father had lost his life during that previous mission. Martial artists occasionally wandered into Jiangyin County, though she had no idea what drew them here.

“I know why,” a Constable named Wu Yong chimed in mysteriously. “I heard from the older generation that an immortal appeared in our lands a hundred years ago. With a single strike of her blade, she could part a river! Supposedly, she perished alongside a Ghost King to slay it, and these people are probably looking for her relics.”

The other Constables rolled their eyes at his words.

“You've brought up that secret rumor dozens of times already! Do you even believe it yourself? Alright, let me go pack my things. We're all born to labor anyway—let's just hope everything goes smoothly this time.” With that, the men dispersed to get ready.

Listening to them, Gu Qingyun felt that this rumor wasn't entirely fabricated; it might very well be true.

In the past, she wouldn't have believed it either. But now that she could see qi, and after what she witnessed in the bamboo grove and while searching for Little Stone, her worldview had been completely overturned. It wouldn't be surprising if an immortal truly had existed.

Leaving the yamen, she bought some flatbreads, two extra waterskins, as well as fire strikers, spirits, and insect repellent powder needed for long travels before returning to her room to rest.

...

Early the next morning, the prisoner—whose hamstrings had been severed—was dragged out of the dungeon and loaded into a prisoner cart. Ten Constables, including Gu Qingyun, stood ready on high alert.

Wang Wu sat at the front of the cart driving it, while Head Constable Liu rode a strong horse. Even though it was an inferior mount, the sight of it made Gu Qingyun and the other Constables green with envy.

None of them owned a horse, so they had to jog alongside the prisoner cart on foot.

Gu Qingyun calculated in her mind: even the cheapest horse cost over twenty liang. With her current wage, after giving her share to the family pool, she was left with barely three qian each month. How long would she have to save before she could afford a horse?

The journey from Jiangyin County to the prefectural yamen required crossing several mountains. Once they left the official highway, the road grew bumpy, and their travel speed noticeably slowed.

At first, they could still meet people hurrying from the countryside into the city, but as they ventured deeper into remote areas, only the sound of their own footsteps remained.

Wu Yong walked up beside Gu Qingyun and grinned.

“Girl Gu, how are you feeling? Tired? Don't worry, we still have many days of walking ahead of us on this route—you'll get used to it slowly.”

Gu Qingyun, who had been scanning her surroundings, nodded at his words.

“Uncle Wu Yong, I do feel a bit tired, but I can still hold on.”

“By the way, Uncle Wu Yong, will we be able to reach a courier station by nightfall at this rate?”

Before Wu Yong could answer, Zhao San, walking behind her, let out a laugh.

“Girl Gu, the prisoner we're escorting isn't an imperial high-value convict, just an ordinary major criminal. His rank isn't high enough to qualify for courier stations. We'll just have to sleep out in the open and brave the elements.”

“If we're lucky enough to run into an inn or a local homestead, we might manage a proper night's rest. But our Jiangyin County is surrounded by mountains on three sides with a great river on the fourth. Since we're taking the mountain paths, we'll likely have to make camp outdoors. As for ruined temples, avoid them if you can—they're a bit uncanny.”