The side hall of the Inner Courtyard.

After respectfully leading the two men inside, Li Da turned and left.

"Your subordinates greet you, my lord!"

The two men entered, clasped their fists in a salute, and bowed their heads low.

"What brings you two here so late?" Su Yu gestured for them to sit. He wore a smile, lacking the stern expression he had at the Law Enforcement Team’s headquarters during the day.

Song Mirror’s eyes darted about before he pulled a heavy, red-wrapped bundle from his robes and presented it with both hands. "My lord, you’ve just taken office and established your household, and your subordinate doesn’t have much to offer. Here are one hundred taels of Patterned Silver and a twenty-year-old wild ginseng. It’s a small nest egg I saved up during my time at Broken Mountain Pavilion. I’ve brought it specially to honor you and express my humble sentiments."

Zhao Tie, standing beside him, followed his lead. He clumsily lowered the sack from his back and set it on the floor. A clucking sound came from within. "My lord, me too! This is a Black Grouse I caught in the Black Forest Mountain Range!"

Su Yu’s expression twitched. ’This Zhao Tie is certainly an honest fellow.’

Although a Black Grouse couldn’t compare to an Exotic Beast like the Flying Dragon, it was still quite good for replenishing Qi and Blood, worth at least fifty or sixty taels of silver.

He nodded slightly and gestured for them to be seated. "We’re all brothers here. Sit."

Seeing that Su Yu hadn’t refused, Song Mirror felt greatly relieved. He didn’t take a seat, however. Instead, he took half a step forward and lowered his voice. "My lord, your subordinate dares to offer some advice. That Zhu Rui, relying on his family’s protection, has no respect for authority. He actually dared to give you a sour look in the public office. This kind of behavior must not be allowed to continue!"

He stole a glance at Su Yu’s face and continued, "My lord, you are a person of great importance and a newly appointed Captain. If you were to discipline him personally, it might stir up gossip about you being intolerant, and it would give the Zhu Family an easy excuse to make trouble."

"Your subordinate is untalented, but I’ve knocked around the streets for many years. I have a few ways to deal with troublemakers. I am willing to resolve this problem for you, my lord..."

Su Yu looked at Song Mirror, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

’I was just getting a headache over how to handle Zhu Rui, but I didn’t expect Song Mirror to offer to solve the problem for me directly.’

’Is this the benefit of having power?’

’Song Mirror is certainly a clever man. As for whether he’s a sharp blade, I’ll just have to test him and see.’

"In that case, Song Mirror, you will temporarily serve as the deputy leader of the Jiaomu Squad."

"I am willing to serve you, my lord!"

A look of delight instantly appeared on Song Mirror’s face.

After the three sat down, they chatted for a while about matters inside and outside the city, and the atmosphere grew congenial.

An hour later, Su Yu saw Song Mirror and Zhao Tie out, and the Inner Courtyard returned to its tranquility.

Su Yu opened the sack and looked at the bird inside, which was trussed up tightly.

The Black Grouse was enormous, its feathers as black and glossy as iron. It was still squawking chaotically.

"Li Da."

Su Yu called Li Da in. "For now, put this Black Grouse in with the Flying Dragon."

"Yes, Master!" Li Da hurried forward, carefully picked up the sack, and withdrew.

Su Yu then picked up the brocade box and walked toward the private storeroom in the rear courtyard.

He pushed open the storeroom’s wooden door, and a scent blending aged wood and fragrant medicinal herbs washed over him.

Although the shelves were still mostly empty, a Purple Sandalwood Box already sat in the center of the most prominent curio shelf. Su Yu walked over and opened the brocade box in his hands, placing it beside the other.

Two old mountain ginseng roots!

One was a gift from Senior Sister Qin, and the other was the one Song Mirror had just given him.

Both ginseng roots had their rootlets intact, and their bodies were a translucent, topaz-yellow color. They lay quietly on the red silk, like two dormant little dragons, exuding an enticing Spiritual Qi.

HUFF...

Su Yu took a deep breath and felt his mind clear and his spirits lift.

’There was a time when I had to bow and scrape just for a fish catch worth a few copper coins. Now, these two life-saving Spirit Medicines alone are worth a common person’s entire life savings.’

He stroked the cool bodies of the ginseng, his heart filled with emotion.

’But a medicine left in a box is just a dead thing. Only when it’s in my stomach, transformed into surging Qi and Blood, does it become my true power!’

’I’ve heard that stewing Flying Dragon Meat with mountain ginseng and wild mushrooms is delicious and greatly replenishes Qi and Blood. I should give it a try.’

’But for ingredients of this spiritual quality, if the cooking method is wrong and most of the medicinal potency is lost, it would be a terrible waste.’

’I wonder how the search for a cook that Aunt Liu is handling is going. I’ll send someone to ask tomorrow.’

...

The next morning, a cold wind swirled with withered leaves.

The sound of fragmented hoofbeats echoed on the dirt road leading to Qingxi Town.

Su Yu, dressed in a tight-fitting black uniform with cloud patterns, rode at the very front. The jet-black Mo Yuan hung at his waist, and he sat astride a tall, black-scaled crossbreed horse.

Behind him, Song Mirror had a sharp gaze, and Zhao Tie’s tower-like frame made his horse’s back dip slightly. Even the reluctant Zhu Rui had no choice but to wear the standard team uniform and eat dust at the rear of the group.

Although there were only four of them, their attire and the horses they rode were clearly extraordinary. Outside the city in these chaotic times, this alone was the greatest deterrent.

Along the way, refugees with greedy glints in their eyes saw them and scattered in fear.

"My lord, Qingxi Village is just ahead. I’ve already sent someone in advance to inform them," Song Mirror reported quietly from behind Su Yu.

"Mm, I’m originally from Qingxi Village."

"My lord, you are a true genius! To think you came from such humble beginnings... you are a role model for our generation!" Song Mirror immediately began to flatter him.

"Me too! My lord is a true genius... too!" Zhao Tie clumsily chimed in with his own flattery.

Zhu Rui, who was trailing a short distance behind, had a flash of contempt in his eyes.

’Bootlicking slaves. Just as I thought, lowborn trash!’

Just as the group arrived at the entrance to Qingxi Village, they saw a dense crowd of people.

Old Village Chief Wang Yuechi was wearing a set of tattered leather armor. The hideous scar on his face—where flesh had been licked away by some strange creature—was particularly striking in the sunlight.

Behind him, several hundred villagers from Qingxi Village craned their necks in anticipation. There were even people from several neighboring, disaster-stricken villages who had come to welcome him.

The moment Su Yu’s figure appeared at the end of the road, the crowd erupted.

"He’s here! Lord Su is here!"

Someone shouted, and Wang Yuechi was the first to hurry forward. He prostrated himself, his voice trembling with emotion. "This humble commoner, Wang Yuechi, leading the elders of Qingxi Town, respectfully welcomes Captain Su on his return home!"

"We respectfully welcome Lord Su!"

Hundreds of villagers knelt in unison, a dark, dense mass of people.

The sound was like a tidal wave, shaking the countryside and startling the birds from the forest.

Their eyes held not just the awe one has for the strong, but also a fanatical worship and the dependence of a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

In this era where life was as cheap as grass and strange creatures ran rampant, Su Yu’s return was their only hope for survival!

Su Yu reined in his horse and dismounted. He helped Wang Yuechi up with both hands, his gaze sweeping over the familiar yet unfamiliar faces as he announced in a clear voice:

"Everyone, please rise! Since I have accepted the post of Jing’an Captain, I will protect the peace of this region!"

...

At the Su Family’s Old Mansion, Su Yu had set up his temporary base.

He was currently listening to Wang Yuechi report on the latest situation.

"My lord, things have been relatively peaceful in Qingxi Village these past few days, with no more appearances of strange creatures. As for the organized bandits, they seem to have headed toward Yunshan Town. A few days ago, new refugees came over from that direction, saying their village was massacred by them."

Beside them, Song Mirror jotted down the information with a brush pen and added, "My lord, what Village Chief Wang said is mostly consistent with the information I’ve gathered. The appearances of these strange creatures are completely random. We don’t know when they’ll enter a village to attack people and livestock, which makes it very difficult to deal with them in a concentrated effort."

"Has the Law Enforcement Team investigated the source of these strange creatures?" Su Yu asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

"The lords have been investigating for over ten days. For now, they only speculate that the strange creatures all come from the depths of the Black Water River. But as for why they’ve been coming ashore so frequently and even attacking villages recently, they have no leads."

At this point, Song Mirror also felt a headache coming on and glanced cautiously at Su Yu.

’The Captain said he wants to stamp out the chaos and restore order, but that’s a really tough job.’

’First, there are the bandits, running wild everywhere, with many expert Martial Artists hidden among them. You could say that wherever they go, misfortune follows.’

’It’s not something a single squad can solve.’

’Second, there are the strange creatures, which are even trickier. Where is their source? Why has their activity intensified so much recently? Even the lords of the Law Enforcement Team have investigated for a long time without any clues.’

’As for eliminating these strange creatures, you have to find them first!’

’And whether you can even run into them is a matter of luck!’

’If an ordinary villager runs into one, that’s bad luck!’

’But for those of us who actually came to deal with them, we haven’t encountered a single one. I don’t know if we should call that good luck or bad luck.’

’This information is also in the Law Enforcement Team’s files. Some even suspect that these strange creatures can sense a Martial Artist’s Qi and Blood and deliberately avoid powerful ones!’

Su Yu was also aware of these matters and knew that dealing with the strange creatures would not be easy.

However, he had an idea that might help with the investigation. This was also why he had chosen to come to Qingxi Village!

"We’ll make camp here for tonight. Song Mirror, arrange for our men to stand watch with the villagers!"

"Yes, my lord!"