The Black Office

The sun rose from the east, and the distant morning bell rang in the enormous city. The area around Jasper Pavilion was already packed with people. Countless travelers from all over the world gathered here to seek a livelihood.

Ye Jingtang rode his black horse through the bustling streets and alleys and stopped outside the unplaqued government office near Jasper Pavilion.

The Black Office was quite large. There was a small square outside the main entrance with a flagpole erected on it. However, there was no flag hanging on it. Instead, it was a place where heads were hung. There was even a special saying in Jianghu about this: Hanging heads at the Black Office.

The Black Office was known as the ‘King of Hell’s Palace’ and was a private guard of the Prince of Jing. It was not within the framework of the six departments, and it didn’t accept lawsuits or hold trials. Usually, no one would visit at all. There were only two constables standing guard outside the door.

Ye Jingtang handed over his token and was invited in.

Inside the door was a normal lobby. There were detention rooms on both sides but no place to receive guests.

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After waiting for a while behind the screen wall, two people walked out from the back of the hall. The one in the lead was ‘White Impermanence’ Shang Jianli. He was dressed differently from yesterday’s Jianghu apparel. He was wearing a blue robe.

By the way, the nicknames White Impermanence and Six Fiends were given by the people of Jianghu. Their original intention was derogatory, but because of their strength, they became respectful titles.

Shang Jianli was a proper military official who enjoyed a fourth-rank salary. There was a high probability that he didn’t like the title of ‘Life-Reaping Impermanence’. He wore a blue robe instead of white, presumably to avoid arousing suspicion.

Following behind Shang Jianli was the bearded Wang Chihu. He waved politely from afar. “Brother Ye, you’re really disloyal. Two days ago, you pretended to be poor. But the entire Heavenly Water Bridge belongs to your family. To think I wanted to help you…”

Ye Jingtang stepped forward and cupped his hands. “Sir Shang, Commander Wang, why did you personally come out to welcome me? I’m too undeserving.”

Wang Chihu chuckled and said, “It’s good that you know. As the eldest young master of the Pei family, you injured Constable She. If you don’t go to the Golden Screen Building and order more than ten girls to serve us, do you still want to survive in the capital?”

“Of course. I accidentally injured Sir She yesterday and didn’t have the time to apologize. Why don’t we invite Sir She up to the Golden Screen Building now?”

While talking, Ye Jingtang sized Shang Jianli up. Only then did he realize that Shang Jianli was very young, in his early thirties at most.

Internal martial arts experts were all more monstrous the older they got. To be able to create a reputation that made the people of Jianghu tremble in fear at such a young age was terrifying.

Shang Jianli’s temperament was rather cold, but he still showed a smile when facing Ye Jingtang. “I don’t like alcohol and women, and She Long still needs to recuperate for a few days. Young Master Ye, when work is over, you can accompany Commander Wang. Young Master Ye, are you here to see Her Highness the Prince of Jing?”

“I’m just a commoner, so I wouldn’t dare to alarm Her Highness. Her Highness appreciates me, so I’m here today to see if I can help the Imperial Court with my skills.”

“Oh?” When Shang Jianli heard this, his eyes showed a look of approval. He directly led Ye Jingtang to the back office. “If Her Highness knows that you have such intentions, she will definitely be gratified. Jianghu is too big, and the authority of the Black Office isn’t clear. The dirty work that the Law Office can’t handle is all thrown to the Black Office. The constables of the Law Office really can’t do any work…”

After chatting for a while, Shang Jianli brought Ye Jingtang into the main hall.

There were several rows of bookshelves in the hall, and the west wall was full of ‘wanted posters’. There were probably close to a hundred people. The topmost one had the name ‘Xue Baijin’ written on it.

This name was a little unfamiliar, but Ye Jingtang looked at the content for a bit and was shocked. Xue Baijin, Pacifying Heaven Cult Master.

The Pacifying Heaven Cult was like thunder in Ye Jingtang’s ears. It was an organization established by the remnants of the previous dynasty. They guarded the South Firmament Mountains to the death and still refused to surrender even 60 years after their country perished.

And Pacifying Heaven Cult Master ranked first among the Eight Chiefs and fourth in the world. This person was known as ‘invincible under the mountains’ and had no opponents in the secular Jianghu. The only ones the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master couldn’t defeat were the three old monsters cultivating immortality on the mountains.

Standing in front of the wall, Ye Jingtang looked at the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master’s wanted poster. He felt that it was just for show.

Behind him, Wang Chihu guessed Ye Jingtang’s thoughts and teased, “Master Ksitigarbha shook his head when he saw this thing. No one dares to accept it. Brother Ye, do you want to give it a try?”

“The people hanging on this wall are all celestial soldiers and generals. I can’t even afford to offend the ones at the lowest level. Commander Wang, stop joking.”

“One must have ambition.” Wang Chihu sighed. “The Pacifying Heaven Cult Master isn’t a good person. The former number one beauty of Jianghu, the ‘Moon Goddess’, was chivalrous, highly skilled in martial arts, and had countless admirers in Jianghu. Her peerless elegance of ‘dressing in blue under the moonlight’ had attracted countless young heroes. To this day, all the women in Jianghu love blue clothes more than red clothes…”

Ye Jingtang had never heard of this story before and asked curiously, “This heroine was harmed by the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master?”

“If she were harmed, I would still respect Xue Baijin for not being moved by beauty. According to the rumors, the Moon Goddess was a chivalrous heroine who accidentally met the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master and then became the cult mistress.”

“The Pacifying Heaven Cult Master captured her?”

Shang Jianli shook his head. “Don’t listen to the rumors of Jianghu. The Pacifying Heaven Cult has been defending the South Firmament Mountains for sixty years without surrendering. It’s true that they are stubborn, want to restore the former dynasty, and are unforgivable rebels, but they do know the word loyalty. Otherwise, the Pacifying Heaven Cult wouldn’t be sought after by so many people in Jianghu. How could such a formidable person do such a despicable thing as robbing a woman?”

Ye Jingtang thought about it and nodded.

Shang Jianli was afraid that Ye Jingtang would misunderstand, so he explained, “Of course, I’m not saying that the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master is a good person. It’s just that compared to the Green Bandits, who have committed countless atrocious acts, he’s slightly more moral. To the Imperial Court, they are all unpardonable rebels. If the people of Jianghu were as loyal to the Imperial Court as the Void Jade Mountain and Jun Mountain Terrace or as obedient as the Red Flower Pavilion and Water Cloud Sword Pool, the world would have long been at peace.”

Wang Chihu was bold enough to say directly, “People who know that those in power are unfair and unkind but dare not use martial arts to break the rules are not worthy of the word ‘chivalrous’. If everyone could eat and drink their fill, how many people would hang their heads on their belts and wander around Jianghu? In my opinion, there is a reason that there are too many people in Jianghu who are unruly. The problem lies in the first three rows of the Hall of the Supreme Principle. You can’t blame the people of Jianghu for having spines.”

?!

This was no longer killing the conversation but killing people.

Shang Jianli turned around and left, as if he hadn’t heard anything.

Ye Jingtang was stunned. He braced himself and asked, “May I ask who Commander Wang’s respected father is?”

A proud look appeared on Wang Chihu’s face. “My father is the Country-Protecting Duke, Wang Yin, and the Prince of Jing is my cousin. Am I fierce?”

Ye Jingtang really couldn’t tell. No wonder he wasn’t afraid of death. He cupped his hands and said, “Impressive, impressive. I was blind.”

“It’s nothing…”

Shang Jianli should be accustomed to Wang Chihu’s unrestrained words and actions. He went to the bookshelves, took out a pile of dossiers, and handed them to Ye Jingtang. “Young Master Ye, these are the tasks that the Black Office is doing. They are all under the jurisdiction of Yun Province. You can choose whatever you want. Young Master Ye, you are not from the Black Office, so according to the rules, after you complete a task, the reward will be sent directly to your residence. The credit can only be recorded in my name. Please don’t mind it, Young Master Ye.”

This meant ‘outsourcing’. Because there were too many people in Great Wei’s Jianghu, the government didn’t have enough manpower. Such things were actually very common. The ‘bounty order’ was one of them.

Ye Jingtang had come to the Black Office to build some connections. It was definitely not enough to just talk without action. So he immediately took the stack of dossiers and checked them…

Shang Jianli didn’t stand on ceremony at all. They were all big cases!

The perpetrators basically all had nicknames in Jianghu, such as ‘Heart Eviscerator’ and ‘Skinning Scholar’. One look and it was apparent that they were devils of Jianghu. The evaluations of martial arts skills were either ‘first-rate expert, suspected Grandmaster’ or ‘ruthless and cunning, treat with caution’.

After Ye Jingtang flipped through a few pages, his expression became slightly awkward. “Is there anything simpler? I’ve just entered society… Ahem… I’ve just entered Jianghu. I’m afraid these tasks…”

Shang Jianli did a ‘ghost pat’ on the shoulder. “Young Master Ye, you almost severed She Long’s arm. Even though he’s not a Grandmaster, he’s not far from being one. Letting you catch petty thieves who will only reward you with a few taels of silver is too unfair to you. The Black Office doesn’t have such simple tasks. Since you’re already here, you can just pick any one of them. If you succeed, you will be getting rid of evil for the people. It doesn’t matter if you don’t succeed.”

Ye Jingtang braced himself and flipped through the list. Finally, he found a cat burglar—the Yan Province thief ‘Wingless Owl’. His lightness skills were outstanding, but his combat strength was not high. According to sources, he had come to the capital recently and snuck into the ‘Monolith Stele Pavilion’, where historical materials were stored. He seemed to be looking for something, so he should still be in the capital.

The Wingless Owl had a few lives on his hands, which was why he was wanted by the Black Office. But those who were ‘thieves’ probably didn’t have exaggerated combat strength and were less dangerous.

Ye Jingtang wanted to accept it, but after taking a closer look at his file, he found that the most famous feat of the Wingless Owl had been stealing from Yan Mountain’s Cutting Cloud Palace!

Ye Jingtang was shocked. He never expected that there would be a Jianghu thief in the world who could steal from one of the Eight Chiefs.

This person was dangerous but also not dangerous. But how could a fierce person who dared to steal from Cutting Cloud Palace and escape unscathed be easily captured?

The other cases were much more risky than this one. Ye Jingtang flipped through them twice, but there weren’t any other ones that were easy for him to get involved in. It seemed that this was the only case. After thinking about it, he still took out the case file of the Wingless Owl. “I don’t have much combat experience, so I’ll try this. If I can’t catch him, I hope you won’t blame me.”

“The government is also investigating. Young Master Ye, just do your best. Even if you can’t catch him, if you can find his whereabouts, the reward will not be small.”

“Dead or alive?”

“The bandits who can be pursued by the Black Office have all committed serious crimes and are dangerous and cunning. Other than some people with special identities, if you can kill them on the spot, don’t hold back. In the past, because of this, many brothers in the government died. Young Master Ye, you must not be merciful.”

Ye Jingtang nodded slightly. After accepting the task, he made use of the situation and said, “I’m quite passionate about saber techniques. Yesterday, Sir Shang mentioned ‘Heavenly Equalling Saber’ Qiu Tianhe. I heard that he’s a Grandmaster of the saber. I wonder if it’s convenient for you…”

Shang Jianli had seen Ye Jingtang’s saber technique yesterday, so he wasn’t surprised that he was curious about the saber Grandmasters of Jianghu.

Ye Jingtang’s family background was clear. And in the Black Office, Shang Jianli was not afraid of him breaking the prisoner out or killing the prisoner.

Shang Jianli turned around and led the way. “Alright, Young Master Ye, I’ll bring you to take a look. Qiu Tianhe is a saber Grandmaster who is famous in Jianghu. If he can give you some pointers, it will be extremely beneficial to you.”

Ye Jingtang didn’t expect Shang Jianli to be so straightforward. He immediately followed behind and cupped his hands. “Thank you for your help, Sir Shang.”

“It’s nothing. Don’t mention it.”