The next morning, during the Six Doors roll call and morning session, the transfers and demotions were formally announced.
The prefectural capital's original constables showed little change in expression. This matter was not directed at them; unless someone deliberately pushed them around, only the constables who had come from outside would be affected.
Shen Qianjun remained impassive as well. With Xia Miaozheng backing him, such measures would never fall on his head.
Then he heard that Wei Yuefu was being transferred to the military to serve as a company commander, which took him by surprise.
Logically, this made no sense. Wei Yuefu should have been protected by Tian Muchuan, a fellow Silver Robe head constable.
Yet Wei Yuefu was the one leaving. It was utterly baffling.
Soon, however, Shen Qianjun realized what had happened. Without a second thought, he knew this must have been Wei Yuefu's own request.
Still, Shen Qianjun did not dwell on it. Wei Yuefu's style was indeed well suited to the army.
However, once Wei Yuefu departed, obtaining the Dragon Marrow Blood-Tempering Pill from him would become far more difficult.
Therefore, the moment the morning session concluded, Shen Qianjun immediately went to find Wei Yuefu, determined to secure it this time no matter what.
"Bronze Badge Shen, here for that pill again?" Wei Yuefu knew what Shen Qianjun wanted the moment he saw him arrive.
Once he left for the military, meeting each other would no longer be so convenient.
"Indeed. With your departure, Bronze Badge Ding, it will be inconvenient to meet again," Shen Qianjun said. "I am determined to obtain that pill."
The two spoke as they walked side by side along the path.
"Since I'm leaving anyway, I won't hide it from you, Bronze Badge Shen," Wei Yuefu said. "That so-called Dragon Marrow Blood-Tempering Pill was ruined all along. I originally planned to fleece you for a tidy sum."
"After all, the two of us have never seen eye to eye, so I wanted to make you suffer a loss."
"Demanding the Mount Sumeru King Immovable Divine Art was merely a smoke screen; what I really wanted was your money."
"But now I'm heading to the military to take up my post, so we no longer have any conflict of interest."
"You've come to my door time and again. If I swindled you now, it wouldn't be worth the risk of you stabbing me in the back later."
"So it isn't that I don't want to sell it to you—I genuinely don't have it, so I can't sell it."
"On the road, the stench became unbearable, so I secretly threw it away long ago."
"Only the jade bottle is left. If you don't believe me, come back with me and take a sniff for yourself."
Hearing Wei Yuefu's words, Shen Qianjun's heart sank.
If that was truly the case, did that not mean he would never be able to cultivate the Mount Sumeru King Immovable Divine Art in this lifetime?
"Since you are being so forthright, Bronze Badge Ding, then I..." Shen Qianjun said, "shall accompany you for a look."
"If it turns out I have truly misunderstood you, I am willing to offer an apology."
"Money will do," Wei Yuefu replied bluntly, cutting through any pretenses. "As you know, raising troops and buying horses takes silver."
"How much are you prepared to give?"
Seeing Wei Yuefu so confident, Shen Qianjun's heart sank even further, though he still said, "I am willing to assist you with a five-hundred-tael banknote, Bronze Badge Ding."
"Hiss—" Wei Yuefu could not help drawing a sharp breath. "You don't take bribes or skim off the top, so where did you get so much money?!"
Even after all the wealth Wei Yuefu had amassed so far, his liquid funds amounted to only slightly more than that.
"There is no need for you to trouble yourself over that, Bronze Badge Ding." Shen Qianjun naturally would not reveal the origin of the funds.
Before long, the two arrived at Wei Yuefu's quarters. But the moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by total disarray.
Someone had sneaked in and ransacked the place, turning every chest and cupboard upside down.
"Six Doors was burglarized?!" Wei Yuefu was genuinely shocked. This was absurd enough to shatter his world view.
The corner of Shen Qianjun's eye twitched, and for a moment he had no idea what to say.
Unless Wei Yuefu had staged this himself, Shen Qianjun already guessed who had torn through the room.
It was either Meng Zhijie or Meng Mingzhu—or quite possibly the two of them together.
"I didn't stage this," Wei Yuefu said, his gaze settling on Shen Qianjun. "Only someone truly foolish would do something like this..."
Having such foolish allies around was practically a rare handicap weighing Shen Qianjun down.
"I'll add another five hundred taels," Shen Qianjun said with a sigh. "Consider this matter settled."
"Now that's too generous," Wei Yuefu said, offering polite modesty while keeping a straight face. "How about you search a bit more?"
"Lest you say I deliberately fooled you."
"See if you can find the jade bottle. I kept it in the cabinet before, but now it's definitely gone. If you find it, inspect it yourself."
"If you can't find it, you'll have to compensate me in silver or return it."
"I was still planning to pawn it for money."
In the end, Shen Qianjun could only say, "There is no need. I have caused you trouble this time, Bronze Badge Ding."
"I shall take my leave. We can... speak again in the future if the opportunity arises."
With this incident laid bare, Shen Qianjun's face flushed red.
As he spoke, he drew two banknotes from his robes and handed them to Wei Yuefu.
"These banknotes for one thousand taels are accepted across all branches of Tianxia Bank," Shen Qianjun cautioned. "However, signs of unrest have already surfaced, so you had best cash them soon, Bronze Badge Ding."
"Otherwise, you may not be able to redeem them in the future."
Wei Yuefu nodded. "Don't worry, I'll go exchange them right away—and I'll go in my official uniform."
"If they dare refuse me, I have plenty of ways to sort them out."
Shen Qianjun parted his lips, intending to advise Wei Yuefu against throwing his official weight around so openly, but thinking of the mess at hand, he found it awkward to say anything.
He simply cupped his hands and departed.
***
Upon returning to his own quarters, Shen Qianjun immediately spotted the shattered pieces of the jade bottle. Meng Mingzhu was sweeping them up.
Seeing Shen Qianjun return, Meng Mingzhu started in fright, speaking with a guilty conscience: "Junior Brother, you're back."
Shen Qianjun glanced at the character for *Marrow* visible on one of the shards and merely said, "Have someone take one hundred taels to Ding Shoucheng later as compensation."
"He knows?" Meng Wei could not resist asking.
"It's far too obvious; it couldn't be hidden from him," Shen Qianjun continued. "Furthermore, there will be no need to trouble him in the future."
"He has been transferred to the military to serve as a company commander."
"From now on, we will rarely cross paths outside of official business."
"You are no match for him. Do not do such things again, lest you hand him leverage against us."
Once those words were spoken, the room fell silent.
"What about the pill?" Hua Shirui cared nothing for Wei Yuefu; she had merely heard of the grudge between the Meng family and him.
Her only concern was Shen Qianjun.
"Ruined," Shen Qianjun said, recounting the entire sequence of events.
"It seems this Bronze Badge Ding truly intends to make peace with you." After listening, Hua Shirui cast a subtle glance at the members of the Meng family.
As long as the Mengs did not make spectacles of themselves or pick fights before Ding Shoucheng, he would not care in the slightest whether the three of them lived or died.
In fact, he had disregarded the Meng family from the very beginning.
Naturally, that was because the Meng family posed no threat to him. Against someone like Shen Qianjun, who posed both a threat and a conflict of interest, he showed no mercy whatsoever.
Had he not been transferred, he would have extorted Shen Qianjun even more ruthlessly.
"It's just a pity about the Mount Sumeru King Immovable Divine Art," Hua Shirui remarked with regret. She had examined the manual as well.
Its worth was truly deserving of a dedicated vault to preserve it.
"No matter. There are countless martial arts under heaven; there will be others." Shen Qianjun, by contrast, took it in stride.
Chapter 44