Is This It?

The eight exchanged glances; they had already communicated fully before coming. In the end, Manna answered, “They say they’re looking for a fallen ability master; at least that’s the reason the City Guard Bureau gave...” The youth nodded. “I have only one requirement: autonomous patrol right. I accept no assignments or supervision!” “I raised that requirement!” Kenpa said bluntly. “Krog said he’s only assisting with the investigation—no problem.” Everyone understood the score: once they accepted an assignment, they could not only have their credit stolen but also face endless trouble. Manna smiled. “Master said that even if we didn’t bring it up, Krog would fight hard for it.” “How could he let anyone else steal his credit?” “Then there’s no problem,” the youth said calmly. “Precautionary measures… are you all ready?” Hearing this, the female archer glared fiercely at the discipline inspector. “Luckily someone reminded me.” The discipline inspector spread his hands. “You make it sound like you’ve never done patrol work,” he said calmly. “I can leave at any time,” Wu Youren said seriously. “I just don’t want to lose any more people.” His tent was easy to pack, his visible supplies few, and as for those traps, he couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. The nine drove overnight to Tianjing, arriving at Red Pine’s capital office before dawn. When rooms were assigned, Wu Youren asked for a separate room, saying this parasitic Guizu seemed especially fond of Jin natives. The reason gave no one grounds to complain; after all, rooming with him carried some risk. Before anyone could rest, the bearded man arrived. “Perfect timing—so grateful. Lunch is on me!” Hong Yan hadn’t come, but he had already told them to treat this group the way they treated him. At noon it really was so; after everyone woke up, the grand knight accompanied them through lunch. After lunch, Krog left a female knight. “She’s also from Red Pine. If you need anything, she’ll help coordinate.” Kenpa spoke up first to play the bad guy. “We applied for curfew passes, mainly for night activity—can we be out at night?” The female knight was plain and sturdy, but highly ambitious. “I’m not married; earning merit is a convenient way to find a husband!” “The lion’s share of the credit is mine!” Krog glared at her and walked off. “This silly child, nothing but blunt truths!” For this kind of task, if the client cooperates, it’s actually quite comfortable. They set out at dusk, in twos and threes, mainly to patrol the streets. Ten people in total, split into three groups, with two providing support. Each group had at least two knights. With this combination, even in the middle of the night, basically no one would dare pick a fight. In the blink of an eye, three days of patrols passed with nothing to show. No one was anxious, though, because they were “night gathering”—just gathering intelligence, not conducting night raids that would alarm others. Meanwhile, besides the City Guard Bureau, other departments were also patrolling—security in huge Tianjing couldn’t be handled by one agency. So their investigative efficiency was low; they were more like a bunch of hoodlums unafraid of curfew, wandering around at night, keeping a low profile. On the third day, approaching dawn, they encountered a military street blockade. Night gathering emphasized silence; they couldn’t go head-to-head with the military. But the military wasn’t going to let them go; they insisted on carefully checking their identities. Suddenly, a voice called out, “Withdraw—Guizu aura ahead!” Manna, Rossi, and the male archer were the ones entangled; hearing Wu Youren’s voice, they turned and ran without a word. The soldiers blocking the road hesitated, then immediately perked up. “Chase them—there’s definitely something wrong!” “Chase your damn ass!” Manna cursed furiously. “There’s Guizu aura ahead of you, and my pass was issued by the City Guard Bureau!” There was no time for more; Guizu aura wasn’t scary—the parasitic Guizu was. If they had approached quietly, everyone might have considered it a deliberate act versus an accident. With the other side acting like idiots, an ambush was impossible, but a warning was still in order, wasn’t it? Fortunately, the female knight from the City Guard Bureau arrived quickly on a motorcycle, showed her identity token, and managed to stop them. She said they were auxiliary investigators invited by the Bureau, that they hadn’t forcibly breached the blockade, and that they should stop the investigation. However, the soldiers were also unhappy, saying that even so, they shouldn’t have shouted recklessly—what if they alerted the Guizu aura inside? Manna glared at them from a distance and turned to leave. “If we hadn’t shouted, you’d all be chasing us—that would be even harder to explain!” The soldiers on that side were still staring at each other when an officer arrived and, hearing this, quickly asked, “Are these experts hired by the City Guard Bureau?” Seeing her own people leave, the female knight nodded and turned to leave as well. This matter involved her boss and her own people’s credit, so she naturally didn’t want to say more. But the officer hurried after her. “Hey, hey, can you lend them to us? You won’t lose out!” The female knight glanced at him, shook her head, and kept going. What a joke. Even if she agreed, the Red Pine people had agreed long before coming not to take orders from anyone. “Damn…” Seeing she was unmoved, the officer was also annoyed. “Am I doing this for myself?” The military had blocked this area for three or four hours and found nothing abnormal. Pressure was one thing, but the longer it lasted, the greater the chance of unexpected developments. Whether a major incident broke out or the Guizu aura escaped, neither was something they wanted to see. The military noted the female knight’s identity and directly contacted the City Guard Bureau, demanding an explanation. They checked and contacted Krog—the female knight was his subordinate. The grand knight simply laughed it off, saying it was his subordinate acting on her own, and he didn’t know who had been invited. “Probably exaggerating. She’s just a kid—can’t take a bit of grievance… The people she invited are about to leave, and the military is insisting on making trouble.” This was why the female knight hadn’t used her boss’s name; it made it easier for the higher-ups to hedge. If Krog’s name had been thrown around, things really wouldn’t have been easy to handle. The nine met up two blocks away. Manna asked anxiously, “Little Wu, is there really Guizu aura inside?” “Xiao Ha is acting a bit strange,” the youth said, shifting the blame to the snow harrier. The little creature wasn’t nocturnal; staying up occasionally was fine, but three nights straight had left it looking poorly. Crucially, the youth had other ideas. “Alerting them isn’t a bad outcome either. Let’s patrol the surrounding streets first.” Kenpa laughed at that. “So you’re still thinking of using the military. How does your brain work?” Although he had also fought in the Liang-Jin War, he really had no fondness for the military. The youth looked at him helplessly. “I’m settling for second best. They won’t let us in—what can we do?” When it was time to explain, he absolutely could not stay silent. His persona rejected labels like “sly.” Manna was growing impatient. “What are the odds of a payoff?” The youth thought and shook his head. “Don’t get too close. Credit like this… even if there is any, it could lead to disputes.” Actually, his original plan had been that if the Guizu aura escaped, he could use Chen Quanxu’s ability to track it. But seeing everyone’s reaction, he felt it necessary to adjust slightly. Sure enough, hearing that disputes might arise—not to mention Red Pine’s eight knights, even the City Guard Bureau’s female knight lost some enthusiasm. Their next actions deliberately kept their distance from the military. Over an hour later, the female knight’s wristwatch vibrated. She glanced at it, her expression strange, and spoke quietly. “The military has brought in an ability master to assist.” The instructors glanced toward Wu Youren, intentionally or not, and found the youth’s face completely calm. “Leave?” Kenpa looked at Manna. “If those people want to requisition us, there’s no reasoning with them…” “If it’s not someone from the Hall of Esoteric Masters…” the female archer still hesitated. That was everyone’s general feeling about ability masters: they wanted to get close but worried about trouble, especially the Hall of Esoteric Masters, which was a real headache. “Let’s go,” Manna decided. “Try not to draw their attention.” Besides Wu Youren’s special status as a Jin hostage, everyone was relying on the snow harrier to earn credit; most importantly, the situation was now disputed. The youth showed no expression, but quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, binding through shared interests was the most reliable. Everyone quietly left to continue patrolling the streets in other directions. Two hours later, dawn was breaking. The female knight got on her motorcycle, planning to drive an off-road vehicle to take them back. Wu Youren looked at Manna and shook his head slightly. The female instructor’s eyes lit up instantly; she gave him a questioning look: Are you sure? The youth rolled his eyes: How can you guarantee that? Manna glanced at the sleepy Xiao Ha, a flicker of doubt in her eyes, but she spoke up. “Wait a moment.” The female knight looked at her in surprise. “Something wrong?” “Wait and see,” Manna said without changing expression. “It’s still a while until dawn anyway.” “Still a while?” The female knight glanced at the pale glow on the distant horizon and nodded slightly. “All right.” She was a bit puzzled. Usually at this time, weren’t they all hurrying back to eat breakfast? But this stroll lasted over an hour—not to mention whether dawn would come, it was already fully bright. At one moment, the drowsy Xiao Ha shivered slightly. It was just a slight shake, then its little bird head continued to nod, obviously dozing. But more than one person saw this scene. Then everyone glanced at the youth, intentionally or not, and saw him nod slightly. Daiqisi raised a hand and patted the female knight’s shoulder. “Any good breakfast nearby?” While the two chatted about breakfast, the others had already confirmed that faint Guizu aura existed nearby. It had nothing to do with Chen Quanxu; it was purely Xiao Ha’s ability. Red Pine’s seven knights spread out discreetly, surrounding the area, while Daiqisi pulled the female knight to watch from a short distance. The sturdy female knight was a bit slow on the uptake. Seeing this, she looked completely bewildered. “This… is this it?”