“Zhao Da and Zhao Er—who are they again?”
Zheng Jun paused, but quickly recalled the two brothers from the depths of his memory.
Zhao Da was the head of the Soap Division, while Zhao Er was a fast-hand in the Rapid Response Unit. The two had a fairly decent relationship with Old Sun, the head of the Rapid Response Unit.
Both brothers were bailiffs at the county office and were known for throwing their weight around. Just a few days ago, Zhao Er had one too many drinks—three taels of “horse piss” (cheap alcohol)—and picked a fight with Zheng Jun. Things nearly turned physical.
Since then, Zhao Er had been watching Zheng Jun like a hawk. When orders came down to capture the thief known as “Wave Treader Lou Wei,” it was Zhao Er who assigned Zheng Jun to guard the gate alone.
“Brother-in-law, what are you thinking? Killing an officer is a serious crime—you can’t bear that kind of burden,” Zheng Jun said helplessly, spreading his hands. “I just practiced the Armored Blade technique with some tree branches and felt like I improved, so I wanted to try it with a real blade...”
The Zhao brothers were certainly detestable, but it wasn’t yet time to think about killing anyone.
Heihe County only had a population of around 140,000—someone dying was already a big deal, and if the dead was an officer, it’d shake the entire county.
Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, Zhou Pu’s interest was piqued. He jumped off the heated bed, flung open a cabinet, and pulled out a worn-out old blade, tossing it to Zheng Jun. At the same time, he shouted, “How refined can that old Armored Blade technique get? These days, the constables and bailiffs who have a bit of silver saved up all go train at Xu’s Martial Hall in the north of town. Who still clings to that worthless technique?”
Xu’s Martial Hall in the north of town was run by a warrior from out of town—his external martial arts were so refined, they said he had “bronze tendons and iron bones,” impervious to blades and spears. Even armed infantry couldn’t handle him barehanded.
There were two other martial halls in the county, but they were nothing compared to Xu’s.
Zheng Jun took the blade and immediately felt its weight in his hand. He took a deep breath, gave it a few test swings, then stepped outside.
Zhou Pu, still interested, grabbed a chunk of chicken tail, stuffed it in his mouth, and followed Zheng Jun outside.
He wanted to see just how refined this so-called “Armored Blade Technique” could really be.
Zheng Ping rolled her eyes at the two of them. Carrying two bowls of cloudy rice wine, she walked after them while shouting, “What’s the rush? Eat first! Food’ll be cold by the time you’re done swinging!”
Outside the courtyard, Zheng Jun gripped the mottled old blade tightly and prepared to practice his moves.
The “Armored Blade Technique” wasn’t some ancient secret—it was a basic set of moves cobbled together by martial hall instructors, traveling bodyguards, and even farmers. It was a mishmash of simple techniques: “sweep, chop, parry, slice, graze, press, cleave, thrust”—all part of the form.
Zheng Jun began with the “sweep.” Whether it was a chop, slice, or cleave, he performed each technique thoroughly, one by one. He practiced every grip—normal, reverse, left-handed, right-handed, diagonal—and smoothly switched stances and footwork as he moved. He was astonishingly skilled and precise.
Meanwhile, Zhou Pu, chewing on his chicken tail, hadn’t expected much. After gulping down some cloudy rice wine handed to him by Zheng Ping, he glanced at Zheng Jun’s movements.
After a few moments of watching, he realized there was something different here—this kid actually had something. With a grin, he muttered to Zheng Ping, “That brat hasn't been slacking. Looks halfway decent... If I didn’t know he only got here a month ago, I’d think he was some seasoned old constable!”
After finishing the routine, Zheng Jun’s eyes were sharp and clear. Countless techniques seemed etched into his mind, accessible whenever he needed them.
“To borrow from the fruits of the future... what a marvelous thing…”
Zheng Jun’s gaze was bright. He felt that if he returned to that gate duty right now, no petty thief could possibly take him down.
[Current Debt Repayment Progress: 15/5000]
Ink-like characters flashed briefly before fading.
Zheng Jun drew a deep breath.
One full routine of the blade technique yielded 15 progress points. That meant he needed to perform the routine 334 times to fully repay this karmic debt. If he wanted to repay it within a month, he’d have to practice it about 11 times a day—roughly an hour and a half of training daily.
Zheng Jun mulled it over silently. If that’s how it worked, then mastering the Armored Blade Technique—while admittedly rigorous—didn’t seem too difficult after all. But… no, wait!
He was essentially cheating the system.
After all, he was performing the technique with mastery already in hand. Of course he progressed faster. A true beginner, barely scratching the surface, would need several times longer to get through a single routine. Comparing himself to them wasn’t exactly fair.
“Good, good, good!”
At that moment, his brother-in-law Zhou Pu’s voice rang out in praise, snapping Zheng Jun out of his thoughts. Only then did he remember his sister and brother-in-law were still watching. He promptly sheathed the blade and walked over to them.
“You rascal,” Zhou Pu scolded with a grin. “Turns out you haven’t been slacking off! That bladework of yours is better than your brother-in-law’s already.” He slapped Zheng Jun’s shoulder and added, “Didn’t I tell you? The commandery’s sending in a new County Captain. When he gets here, make sure you perform well. I’ll get you your own official blade—save you the trouble of borrowing mine all the time!”
County Captain?
Zheng Jun recalled the news vaguely.
The previous County Captain, Lin, had heard that the Commandery Lord’s daughter was gravely ill and required old snake gall as a medicinal primer. Hoping to curry favor with the lord, Lin had assembled a team to hunt snakes in the Black Mountain. But instead of snakes, they ran into a great demon—and got eaten. Many constables and fast-hands died that day, which was what opened up a position for Zheng Jun to fill.
The Commandery Lord, upon learning this, flew into a rage and reported the matter straight to the court. The court mobilized commandery troops, who marched through the mountains and supposedly slew two great demons before withdrawing. Around the same time, a new County Captain with some supposed connections was appointed—and was expected to arrive any day now.
Hmph.
When commoners get eaten in the mountains, no one bats an eye. But when the commandery lord gets angry, an entire army is deployed, mountains are cleared, and demons are slain.
Power. Now that was a seductive thing.
Zheng Jun’s thoughts flitted by, and he took the bowl of cloudy rice wine his sister handed him. He took a casual sip—it was sour and sweet, a little like one of those probiotic mini-drinks from trendy online shops, only this one tasted even worse.
After licking his lips, Zheng Jun turned to Zhou Pu and said, “Brother-in-law, can I borrow your blade every night? If I train hard, day and night, I’ll definitely improve!”
“Sigh…”
Zhou Pu scratched his head, unsure what to say. “This blade is government-issued, you know—not mine alone. Might still be needed for night patrols or other assignments. Can’t have it sitting at your place all the time… Tell you what—come with me to the armory later. I’ll find you a broken or discarded blade that’s scheduled for smelting. You can use that to practice at the yamen.”
Broken blades at the yamen?
Zheng Jun’s ears perked up at the thought. He did remember that the workshop and armory had plenty of damaged weapons.
Technically, those were government property meant to be melted down and re-forged.
But…
The emperor was far, far away. Slipping a few coins to take a broken blade off the list? Not exactly unheard of at the workshop.
Just underreport it when filing the paperwork.
At that thought, a spark of joy lit up in Zheng Jun’s heart.
As he grinned from ear to ear, Zhou Pu threw an arm around him and dragged him back toward the house. “Alright, alright, enough! Let’s go eat meat and drink wine! What’re you doing standing around freezing in the courtyard?”
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