On Bailu Avenue, at a sheltered alley entrance, several constables on night patrol were huddled under a bluestone courtyard wall, chatting idly to pass the grueling night shift.

Just then, a tall, imposing figure came striding from down the street with purpose.

"Who goes there?" the lead constable shouted, darting out from the alley with his men to block the newcomer’s path.

"Chen Cheng." Chen Cheng frowned slightly as he announced his name.

Chen Cheng had already noticed these night patrol constables slacking off. If he had wanted to, he had no fewer than ten ways to slip past them unnoticed.

These constables weren’t his subordinates, so naturally, he couldn’t be bothered with them slacking off. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"So it’s Mr. Chen! My apologies for my impertinence!" The constable quickly cupped his hands respectfully and cleared the path.

The other constables also scrambled to make way, all calling out respectful greetings:

"Still heading to your post so late, Mr. Chen?"

"Mr. Chen, it’s dark out. How about you take a lantern? We happen to have an extra one."

...

These constables weren’t under Chen Cheng’s command, so they didn’t fear a reprimand from him. They had never been this solicitous before. He was quite surprised by how quickly their attitude had changed.

"There’s no need," Chen Cheng said coolly, quickening his pace and hurrying away.

Watching Chen Cheng’s receding figure, the constables murmured in admiration.

"As expected of Mr. Chen. Such a powerful gait, truly awe-inspiring!"

"Alright, that’s enough. Mr. Chen is long gone; he can’t hear you!"

"It doesn’t matter if he can’t hear me. I’m being sincere!"

"Yeah! It’s better to work under Mr. Chen."

"Should we go for a stroll?"

"Stroll my ass! Not everyone got a huge bonus like Mr. Chen’s men did!"

"Then let’s just go back to holing up!"

After a moment of whispering amongst themselves, they ran back to the corner and huddled together again.

...

Along the way, Chen Cheng ran into several other groups of constables serving under different Chief Constables. Without exception, they were all just coasting through their shifts, yet they all acted very respectfully upon seeing him.

’These are turbulent times in the Qingshui Pier district. My constables can’t afford to just coast by.

It shouldn’t be a big problem. I’ve fed the horse this much grass; it should be willing to run now!’

Having just assigned their tasks, Chen Cheng, as a Chief Constable, naturally had to make an appearance to put his men at ease. So, he had slept until almost midnight, then gotten up and left the house, planning to make a quick round of his jurisdiction before heading home to get some real sleep.

There was another consideration: to see if any of the twenty-two constables on the night shift were still loyal to Yang Xingyao and Ji Jingbei, and whether they were slacking off or secretly causing trouble.

Just as he reached the Qingshui Pier district, a red flare suddenly exploded in the distant sky. It was the City Guard Department’s signal for backup. Chen Cheng glanced at the direction and immediately quickened his pace, running toward the signal.

He hadn’t run far when he saw a man in black rushing toward him from the direction of the incident.

Upon seeing Chen Cheng, the man in black darted onto a nearby courtyard wall, his movements remarkably light and swift.

After a moment of thought, Chen Cheng decided not to give chase and continued sprinting down the main street toward the incident.

’With my current strength, I’m not afraid of a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, but this world is full of countless experts. Who’s to say a Bone Forger Realm Martial Artist won’t suddenly appear? Or several Perfect Martial Artists of the Muscle Strengthening Realm?’

’When the situation is unclear, you can’t go wrong by being cautious!’

After sprinting another few dozen yards, a dark figure suddenly flashed out from an alley entrance. With a flick of their hand, they sent a Hidden Weapon shooting toward the center of Chen Cheng’s back.

Chen Cheng was already prepared. He spun around abruptly, swiftly executing the Dragon Eagle Captures the Tiger technique.

CLANG!

A Flying Saber, a little over three inches long, was caught firmly in his Dragon Eagle Iron Claw.

"Iron Hand Chief Constable, you really do have some skill!" a shrill voice called out. The man in black darted out of the alley and shot off in the opposite direction, moving like a ghostly shadow.

Chen Cheng frowned slightly, then suddenly produced a copper coin, flicking his hand to send it shooting toward the man’s back.

As he fled at high speed, the man in black’s ears twitched. He judged the coin’s power just from the sound of it whistling through the air.

Not daring to be careless, he suddenly spun around and snatched the copper coin out of the air. However, the coin’s momentum was powerful and heavy, exceeding his expectations and leaving the hand that caught it slightly numb.

’Everyone says the Iron Hand Chief Constable possesses Innate Divine Power. He’s truly extraordinary!’ he thought to himself. Without looking back, the man in black sped up again and vanished into the distance.

"Thanks for the tip, Chief Chen!"

Watching the man in black catch the coin, Chen Cheng frowned slightly and thought to himself, ’This fellow managed to catch a coin I threw with fifty percent of my strength. He does have some skill.’

Seeing the man in black disappear down the street, Chen Cheng turned back and headed toward the site of the incident once more.

The man in black’s strength was merely at Skin Grinding Realm Perfection. If Chen Cheng had wanted to kill him, he would have only needed to add a bit more power to the coin he’d thrown.

But... to Chen Cheng, a Perfect Martial Artist of the Skin Grinding Realm was just an insignificant underling. Killing him might solve the recent theft case, but doing so would likely expose his own strength. That could draw out the true expert hiding behind the scenes, a major loss for a minor gain.

On the contrary, letting the thief go and feigning weakness might make the enemy behind the scenes arrogant and conceited, causing them to lower their guard. This could lead to an unexpectedly large reward.

In any case, Chen Cheng’s intended targets were never these small fry. They were the Martial Artists at Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection and above—the ones who could truly threaten his life and fortune.

In Lishui District, only the Zhou Family and the Wang Family possessed such strength. As for the others, he would have plenty of opportunities to crush them directly.

Along the way, he ran into his subordinate constables one after another, all of them rushing toward the location of the incident.