Monarch Night

...

Fang Che and the other seven arrived at a quiet rear courtyard of the Guardian Hall.

A few old geezers were already sitting there, with the fragrance of wine and dishes wafting over.

Each and every one of them had a straight, upright figure, voices like great bronze bells, eyes shining with sharp light, their heroic spirit soaring to the sky.

Completely different from the kind of lifeless, withered old men Fang Che had imagined.

The "after we come, we’ll hear all sorts of reflections on life, endless sighs, laments, and so on..." he had imagined never showed up at all.

Instead, what they had more of was curiosity about the work of the eight-man Life and Death Patrol Team, all kinds of suggestions, and various ideas on how to carry out the work in the future.

When asked about the past battle records of the few seniors,

what they showed instead were proud smiles.

"Worth it!"

Han Baiji’s white beard floated as he smiled proudly: "This life of mine has long since been worth it already!"

The few old geezers burst into loud laughter: "Yes, worth it!"

Yu Zhongge and Feng Xiang, dong Xue, Wanren were filled with respect.

Among these elders, the highest cultivation they had was only Peak stage emperor level; there wasn’t even a single Monarch Level.

Even Hall Master Qi Lie was just Ninth grade emperor level.

Given the three’s family backgrounds, back when they were still Wuzhong or Martial General, even if they saw Martial Artists like these, they wouldn’t have had much respect.

If they had followed a normal life trajectory, people like these at the bottom of the Guardian Hall’s hierarchy would probably never have intersected with their lives at all.

This was just a group of the most ordinary Guardians.

Their entire lives could even be said to be obscure and nameless, and their cultivation was not enough to support them in doing any earth-shattering great deeds.

Yet in just these few short days, they had completely made these Young Masters feel a heartfelt respect.

These older-generation Martial Artists might not have the power to move mountains and fill seas, and did not possess the heaven-shocking cultivation of the old ancestors in their families, but their hearts for this Continent were even purer than many high-level Martial Artists in their own families!

Even more loyal and full of burning devotion!

Every one of the seven elders sitting here was from a family of complete and utter loyal martyrs!

And they were not even willing to talk about their own suffering.

This itself was a kind of strength.

A kind of nobility! A kind of Supreme combat power!

Everyone started talking about Jianghu anecdotes, chatting about heaven and earth. Speaking of one old acquaintance after another, and because of Fang Che, they mentioned Song Yidao of the Baiyun State Guardian Hall.

"That old bastard’s head really shines now! On a starless, moonless dark night, just with his head he can light up several zhang around him... Damn it! I’m starting to suspect he’s cultivated some kind of ’Bright Head Arts’!"

This one line of "Bright Head Arts" from Qi Lie made Han Baiji spray the wine in his mouth, laughing uproariously and coughing again and again.

"That old bastard’s whole family is pretty much dead clean too."

Qi Lie took a sip of wine, chuckled, and said, "Two years ago, I transferred his only remaining grandson to Baixiang Continent and pinned him down hard in the logistics archives!"

"That kid has been so anxious these two years he’s howling non-stop, constantly submitting reports asking to go on duty, to head to the front line, to do this and that... even submitting reports asking for a transfer... Heh heh, how could I possibly let him have his way!"

"Damn it, wants to go to the battlefield without finding a wife and leaving behind a bloodline? That one single seed of Old Song’s, I’ll use my position for private gain and fall out with him if I have to, but I’ll still keep him alive! So what if I’m abusing my authority for personal reasons? I’m just using my authority to suppress him! What are you gonna do about it!"

"Hall Master, that’s exactly how it should be... If that kid were serving under Old Song, he’d probably have been squandered away by him long ago... This bunch of old bastards, whenever there’s a dangerous mission, they always send their own bloodline to the front first..."

"Sigh... a common sickness!"

Qi Lie raised his cup to the moon: "We’re already doing pretty well; we can still sit here drinking. So many old brothers... have damn well been lying in the cemetery waiting for us for who knows how many years; a few days ago I dreamed of Old Yang, that bastard asked me, ’I’ve been lying here a hundred and thirty-five years, how come you still haven’t come?’ Hahahaha..."

The bunch of old bastards roared with laughter, swaying left and right.

Fang Che and the other seven were also smiling.

The eight brothers lifted their cups toward each other at the same time, riding this air of majestic tragic heroism, and poured the burning liquor down their throats in one gulp!

"It’s just a pity, we’re still useless." Qi Lie said, "Like what Captain Fang came to do this time, even though we’re the local snakes of the Guardian Hall, we still couldn’t get it done."

Han Baiji let out a light sigh, then his eyes suddenly brightened as he asked Fang Che, "What did Xiu Shui girl leave behind?"

Fang Che’s expression didn’t change; he understood what Han Baiji meant, and said softly, "Ju, the Chief Steward, left a secret code in her boudoir. On that painting of Zuo Guanglie, she wrote a cipher that only the two of them knew."

"Zuo Guanglie once told me about their little secret. So that’s how I know."

Fang Che said heavily, "What Ju Xiu Shui left behind was... the Lin Family are people of Wei Wo Zheng Sect!"

Everyone’s bodies trembled at the same time.

Qi Lie slammed the wine cup in his hand down on the table with a bang, wine splashing up, eyes wide: "Wei Wo Zheng Sect!?"

Even Han Baiji, who had asked this question, shook all over.

The wrinkles on his face suddenly deepened a great deal.

"The Lin Family, the Rongyao Family, and their ancestor Lin Pingjiang who died resisting Wei Wo Zheng Sect... this... this..."

Another elder named Sun Zhenen opened his mouth wide, his face full of disbelief.

Before this, they had truly thought Fang Che was baselessly fabricating, framing Lin Bai, the Third Master of the Lin Family, out of sheer misconduct.

They had even already prepared to take the blame: if the higher-ups came to investigate, they would say it was all their doing and had nothing to do with Inspector Fang!

They had not expected that there was actually a reason behind it all.

"Ju Xiu Shui had always wanted to capture Lin Ao for testing because she suspected Lin Ao was cultivating Magic Skills and needed to devour the blood marrow and heart veins of some young children..."