Closing the door, Shen Hao leaned back in his chair, looking a bit fatigued; it was the first time he'd been home in half a month, but the case was finally closed.
After resting for a while and catching his breath, Shen Hao began to remove the burdens from his body.
First was the Yanji Saber strapped at his waist.
Then came a Black Iron Waist Token.
The Yanji Saber was standard issue, three feet three inches long, weighing nine jin eight liang, forged from Black Crystal Iron; it was both a weapon and a lower-grade magical artifact.
The Black Iron Waist Token was likewise standard issue, featuring a taotie pattern on the front with the character "Xuan" inscribed in the center. On the back, it was engraved with "Small Banner Officer Shen Hao." Beyond that, the token itself formed a special array, precisely for identification and anti-forgery purposes.
Finally, he took off his black brocade robe and changed into short, casual wear, making him feel comfortable all over.
Glancing at these items lying on the table, Shen Hao sighed, turned, and took a jar of liquor from the nearby shelf. He walked into the courtyard, slumped onto the recliner, and gazed at the crescent moon hanging on the tree branches, his thoughts drifting.
Today was the twenty-fourth day of the third month—a day neither festive nor significant, yet no one knew it held extraordinary meaning for Shen Hao.
Eight years ago, on this very night, Shen Hao sat in front of his computer with a can of cola and a packet of Da Qianmen cigarettes beside him, happily playing PUBG, never imagining that in the next second he'd transmigrate into this bizarre, fantastical world.
Still, despite transmigrating, Shen Hao felt pretty lucky—not only did he have decent cultivation talent, but thanks to what he learned at the police academy, he'd joined the Xuanqing Guard and managed to make quite a name for himself.
Thinking of the Xuanqing Guard, Shen Hao's lips curled slightly; he always associated them with the ancient Jinyi Guard from Earth.
Like the Jinyi Guard, Xuanqing Guard was also a special force independent from the Court's usual institutions, directly reporting to the Celestial Listener, striking fear into both ordinary folk and most officials alike. And, just like the Jinyi Guard, their enemies were of a darkness the common people could hardly imagine.
After eight years with the Xuanqing Guard, weathering storms and dancing with death, someone who'd just become a junior neighborhood cop had turned into someone altogether different.
When he first joined Xuanqing Guard, Shen Hao was just an ordinary soldier, then promoted to squad leader, later to warrior, and after that to School Commander. In just five years, he'd reached the highest point an unknown Xuanqing Guard soldier could rise to.
Until, four years ago, that desperate counterattack earned Shen Hao a distinguished merit; only then did he get the Small Banner Officer's waist token as a special promotion. Of the sixty-three people in his Little Banner Battalion at the time, he was the only one who survived.
Recalling that brush with death, Shen Hao still felt his heart race even now.
Honestly, he'd always believed he'd died in that battle four years ago. Who'd ever seen a junior cultivator at Qi Refining Stage survive after his heart was dug out and crushed?
Pulling open his shirt, you could still see a radiating, ferocious scar over Shen Hao's heart even now.
As for how he'd survived after his heart was crushed—that was pure mystery. Shen Hao hadn't figured it out even now; he could only bury it deep in his heart along with his transmigration, telling no one.
But not understanding didn't mean he had no clues.
Because ever since that escape from death four years ago, what appeared on Shen Hao's chest wasn't just a fierce scar—there was also a bizarre "tattoo."
This tattoo had a strange shape: twin wings, a scaled spine, a large and elongated head with a pointed snout, small nose, eyes, and ears, large eye sockets, high brow ridges, sharp teeth, a protruding forehead, slender neck, bloated belly, a long pointed tail, powerful limbs, its whole body pitch-black with a hint of golden sheen. It looked remarkably like the legendary Ying Long.
Only, he'd never heard of a black Ying Long. So Shen Hao had never been certain exactly what this tattoo was, but he was convinced his survival was inextricably linked to this strange tattoo.
In fact, in times of danger, he'd found that this tattoo would inexplicably heat up, stirring a bizarre sense of hunger inside him.
...
The jar of liquor held just over three jin, and its proof wasn't high—about as strong as ordinary beer back on Earth—so, paired with these unspeakable memories, it was quickly emptied.
"Hoo!"
A cloud of boozy breath escaped, making Shen Hao feel even more relaxed; sprawled on the recliner, his eyes slowly closed. Was he actually falling asleep?
He was. He even started to dream.
In the dream, Shen Hao felt himself become a midnight-black beast with wings, roaring to destroy the heavens and earth...
"Dong dong dong..."
The knocking startled Shen Hao awake. He opened his eyes to find daylight well underway. He'd been so exhausted lately, barely resting at all, then drank a bit yesterday and somehow fell asleep in the yard—and, once again, had that same dream.
Stretching, Shen Hao shook away the last fragments of the dream; this wasn't the first time he'd had it, and the tattoo on his chest was almost becoming an obsession.
"Who is it?"
"Xiaoqi, it's me, He the Fifth."
"Just a second."
Shambling to the door, he opened it to reveal a burly man standing outside with a fawning grin, dressed in a black brocade robe with a Yanji Saber at his waist.
"Old He? What's up?"
"Xiaoqi, sorry to disturb your rest, but yes, something's up. A message just came from the General Flag; there's a new case for you to handle."
"A new case? I just got back yesterday, why assign it to me?" By regulation, after returning to the Garrison and submitting his token, he was supposed to get three days off. Shen Hao frowned; he'd planned to rest up for a few days.
"Well…it seems the other two Small Banner Officers still haven't returned, so the General Flag had to..."
"Got it. Where's the writ?"
"Right here! Please have a look." Old He hurriedly took a long copper box from his breast and handed it to Shen Hao.
Shen Hao took it, waved him off with resignation, and only then did Old He leave.
"Why are there so damn many things piling up every day!" he grumbled to himself. But once a writ lands in your hands, as a Small Banner Officer, you simply don't have the right to refuse.
Back inside, he took his waist token, brushed its inscriptions and array lightly across the copper box. The mana fluctuations from both instantly synched; with a "ka-cha," the box's mechanism unlocked.
Inside, unfolded, was a dispatch order:
Urgent order: C Banner Team A Small Banner Officer Shen Hao is to immediately begin investigating the homicide in Five Rams City on the twenty-fourth day of the third month. Report progress as required, with no delay permitted.
Signed, C Banner Flag Officer Chen Tianwen.
Shen Hao closed the copper box in his hand and shook his head. Then he took a command token out of his pocket and lit it with true fire; in the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a young School Commander of not even thirty arrived at his doorstep.
"Greetings, Xiaoqi. What are your orders?"
"Just got a writ from Chen Zongqi—big case in Five Rams City. The local government office can't handle it, so we need to go. Gather the brothers and head over first, I'll follow soon."
"Understood, Xiaoqi. I'll get on it right away."