Zhending Prefecture, which is directly under the jurisdiction of Tiandu, happens to be the transportation hub of ancient Yanjin. Since the Xuande period, after the establishment of the Right Guard Command Department, it has become an important military town guarding Tiandu.
Although it is nominally a prefecture, it governs five prefectures and eleven counties, and it also has jurisdiction over the other counties directly under Tiandu.
Pei Xuanjing, riding on a top-notch warhorse gifted by Shen Qianhu, finally arrived at this major town adjacent to Tiandu after a three-month journey , only a step away from entering Tiandu.
The realm of Heaven and Earth here is much larger than in Pei Xuanjing's previous life. If not for his excellent physical condition as a third -grade Martial Artist and this warhorse capable of travelling a thousand miles a day, the journey would have taken even longer.
Originally, Pei Xuanjing planned to travel day and night directly to Tiandu.
However, the weather suddenly changed, and a thunderstorm was about to arrive. Even though he is not afraid of storms, he has no interest in traveling in the rain.
At the entrance of Yue Lai Inn, Pei Xuanjing pulled the horse's reins and dismounted, planning to rest at this inn and wait for the storm to pass before hitting the road again.
"Sir, are you here for a meal or an overnight stay?"
Seeing Pei Xuanjing's arrival, a sharp-eyed waiter came over.
Handsome young men are called "Gentlemen", and those less good-looking are referred to as "Young Heroes"; these waiters are very clever in this respect.
Pei Xuanjing handed over the reins in his hand and ordered, "First, prepare some good fodder for my horse. Also, arrange a top room for me, and prepare a table of food and wine."
As he spoke, he pulled out a silver ingot and tossed it over.
The waiter weighed the silver ingot in his hand, and the smile on his face grew thicker, "Alright, sir.
Don't worry, I will definitely arrange everything for you."
Doorman welcoming guests from all directions, these waiters may not have other abilities, but they do Imow how to read people.
Seeing Pei Xuanjing's generous tip, he naturally treated him with great respect.
"Deal, there will be a reward if you do well," Pei Xuanj ing responded generously.
Now, what he lacks least is money. Not to mention the wealth shared from the Liu family and Shen's Business Association, the silver money given as congratulatory gifts by various forces in Anping Prefecture alone is a large sum.
It turned out that Pei Xuanjing didn't have the ability to spend money. Even though he has been travelling and spending extravagantly, the silver money spent is negligible compared to what he has. The waiter smiled even more, "Sir, follow me. I'll take you to your room to rest first."
Perhaps it was the allure of the silver, Pei Xuanjing was able to freshen up in his room without waiting long, and the food and wine he ordered were already prepared.
He chose not to stay in the room, but picked a table by the window on the second floor of the inn instead.
As expected of a place under the Emperor's feet, although the cost was much higher, comparing with some small town inns he had passed, not only were the services better, the food and wine were also more abundant.
Not long after he sat down, a thunderstorm arrived as expected.
The wind howled, and the rain and thunder gathered.
Pei Xuanjing leisurely enjoyed his meal, accompanied by a pot of rice wine.
In fact, at his level, unless the food was made from special ingredients, eating was merely to satisfy his appetite.
If we were to speak purely about aiding Martial Arts cultivation, on the journey here, the wild boar he accidentally killed, although the taste of the meat he roasted was average, the Blood Qi contained in the wild boar meat was dozens of times more than the food in front of him.
Sitting and watching the wind and clouds rise, waiting quietly for them to settle.
Admittedly, the scene at this moment did resonate with Pei Xuanjing's artistic heart.
However, unfortunately, he hadn't even had time to appreciate it, when he was disturbed by a clamor.
A group of special guests suddenly barged in, attracting everyone's attention.
"Waiter, bring up the good wine and good food…"
A group of more than ten people, dressed in green and blue brocade, with Embroidered Spring Knives at their waists, came upstairs.
Seeing their attire, almost everyone Imew their identity.
They rode horses and dressed elaborately, spoke with a Tiandu accent.
These were the people from the Brocade Guards!
Personally established by the founding emperor of Great Ming, the emperor's personal troops, they have the power to inspect officials, arrest, and interrogate, are not subject to the Six Gates or the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, and are directly responsible to the Emperor, having special privileges, ranked one level higher than an ordinary official.
Although he had heard of the Brocade Guards' great reputation, he had never seen them before.
"Indeed, the famous Brocade Guards, a fourth-grade martial artist is just a hundred households among the Brocade Guards," Pei Xuanjing thought to himself.
As the emperor's personal troops, the selection of the Brocade Guards must be from good families, most are selected from the descendants of officials and military households, and the resources they can gain are top-notch.
The leader of this group should be in the Fourth-grade Realm according to his True Qi fluctuations. Whether he is in the Guard Command Department or in the Border Army, a thousand-household position is sure to be available.
But these Brocade Guards aren't wearing flying fish uniforms, but green and blue brocade uniforms, the garment of a hundred households.
From small observations, one can know how strong the Brocade Guards are.
The leader also seemed to sense Pei Xuanjing's scrutiny, casting his gaze over and their eyes met.
"Hmm?"
Lin Qingyi didn't notice anyone upstairs when he was downstairs.
But as soon as he got upstairs, he realized there was a young man in his twenties sitting there.
C.0111d it he a Master Martial Artist?
A hint of doubt flashed in Lin Qingyi's mind.
But seeing the young man's young face, he pushed this guess aside.
"He must have cultivated some skill that conceals his presence!" he thought to himself.
After all, a master martial artist in his early twenties, even with his experience, he thought was impossible.
In a split second, thousands of thoughts flashed through Lin Qingyi's mind.
"Boss, is there a problem?" one of his subordinates asked quietly.
Lin Qingyi shook his head, "Nothing is wrong, find a place to sit down, I'll treat you all today." "Thank you, boss Lin." His men cheered excitedly.
Lin Qingyi led his men to a table to sit down, but as he turned his head, he nodded slightly at Pei
Xuanjing.
In response to Lin Qingyi's gesture, Pei Xuanjing also nodded slightly.
While he was surprised by the sudden appearance of this group of Brocade Guards, he had no intention to probe further.
He shifted his attention back to the storm outside the window, contemplating his next moves.
"According to what Shen Qianhu said, after arriving in Tianjing, I just need to deliver the documents to the Dudu Mansion, and someone will arrange where to go next. But now that I am in Tiandu, it would be improper not to visit Gu Ji."
Initially, when Gu Ji invited him to Tiandu, he didn't agree.
Now that he arrived in Tiandu after such a short time , he should pay a visit out of courtesy and reason, otherwise, if they were to accidentally meet in the future, it would be awkward. According to what Gu Ji said before, he should have been transferred to the Ministry of Personnel.
This Ministry of Personnel is indeed the head of the six departments, and he could also take the opportunity to probe for some news from him to see what everyone's opinions are about the emperor's current compilation of the 'Martial Classics..
"Commander of the Brocade Guards, Lin Qingyi."
Lin Qingyi walked to Pei Xuanjing•s table, holding a jug of wine.
"A wandering martial artist, Pei Xuanjing."
Pei Xuanjing was somewhat confused as to why the other party had come, but he answered calmly without showing any apprehension.
"From Anping Prefecture, a third-grade grand master, Pei Xuanjing." Lin Qingyi exclaimed with a hint of shock on his face.
He hadn't expected his initial guess to be correct; the man in fact was a third-grade grand master.
"Oh? You know me?"
Pei Xuanjing expressed surprise as he picked up his wine glass.
"Hehe." Lin Qingyi laughed awkwardly.
He too hadn't expected to encounter a third-grade grand master.
Although being a part of the Brocade Guards gave him the courage not to be afraid, he was not keen on provoking a third-grade grand master unless necessary.
Seeing Pei Xuanjing gesturing for him to sit, Lin Qingyi had no choice but to take a seat.
Setting down the jug, gesturing at his noisy men and he said respectfully, "I'm sorry to disturb you,
Grandmaster Pei, please accept our apologies." Pei Xuanjing simply shook his head, "No need to say such things." "I still don't know how you came to know of me?"
Lin Qingyi answered, "Recently, the commander praised you highly. "
Pei Xuanjing seemed deep in thought.
As Lin Qingyi continued speaking, "Every Grandmaster in the upper three realms in the Great Ming territory soon becomes known to the Brocade Guards, unless they are completely secluded and have no interaction with outsiders."
As he said these words, an air of pride played on his face – this was the pride of the Brocade Guards.
Their information network cast a wide net, even secret guards could be embedded in any power circle.
Ordinary martial artists might be ignored, but once a martial artist entered the upper three Grand Master realms, their appearance represented entirely different significance.
In both Great Ming territory and beyond, wherever there were secret guards of the Brocade Guards, all the third -grade martial artists would have their information recorded.
They would then establish files on these martial artists, assessing whether they could be recruited or considered enemies.
However, Lin Qingyi did not express these thoughts out loud.
"Of course, I also heard about your invitation to Tiandu to spearhead the compilation of Martial
Classics. I didn't expect to have the honor of meeting you here." Lin Qingyi added another reason.
As the emperor's most trusted Brocade Guards, the news of the emperor intending to compile Martial Classics would naturally not be withheld from them. Moreover, the execution of this matter was a joint operation conducted by the Dudu Mansion and them, in secret and in the open.
"I see." Pei Xuanjing finally understood.
"So what brings the commander here to look for me?" he asked.
Lin Qingyi explained, "We are here today to arrest a suspect. So we'd like to…"
He didn't complete his sentence, but his intention was obvious – they were here to clear the area.
Normally, a Brocade Guard's arrest wouldn't require Lin Qingyi's presence. But owing to his earlier guess, he had assumed Pei Xuanjing to be a noble son of some power, so he thought it polite to ask him to leave.
"It'S okay, you do your job, I'm just fine." Pei Xuanjing said.
We may be fine, but what if you disrupt our operation? Lin Qingyi wondered inwardly.
However, he did not want to offend a third-grade grand master and thus, backed off. He figured he would distract the man if necessary later.
"May I know who you're looking to arrest?"
In the middle of his meal, Pei Xuanjing nonchalantly asked just as the other party was standing up to leave.
Lin Qingyi saw no reason to hide it and answered, "An enforcer of Mire Sect." Pei Xuanjing slightly paused in his meal, but quickly resumed.
When Lin Qingyi had left, a cold smile flashed across Pei Xuanjing's face.
Mire Sect!
What a coincidence!
Mire Sect was a branch of the White Lotus Sect, and even a major one at that.
If the three attitudes of the White Lotus Sect towards the imperial court of Great Ming were to be divided into collaborative, neutral and antagonistic, Mire Sect would fall into the last category. Almost all its actions were in open rebellion to the authority, making it a notorious rebel faction for thousands of years.
According to the clues gathered by Pei Xuanjing over the past three months, the backstage supporter of the Liu family was a faction from the White Lotus Sect, and it was indeed the Mire Sect.
In the past three months, Pei Xuanjing had been looking for traces of the Mire Sect but had not gotten much result.
He had not expected that he would come across them here.
Remembering some future life scenarios where he was meant to be targeted for assassination by the Mire Sect, it seemed like he had long been on their blacklist.
Originally, he did not intend to interfere with Brocade Guards arresting a suspect, but now that he heard that it was an enforcer from the Mire Sect, he was interested in getting involved.
He wished to gather some clues about the Mire Sect from this enforcer to gauge the strength of their faction, which would help decide Pei Xuanjing's next move.
The rain kept pouring!
A violent storm raged, and thunder echoed in the skies.
About two hours later, Pei Xuanjing suddenly heard people talking downstairs. "Boy, set up some rooms for us. Send the food and drinks upstairs."
The party of Lin Qingyi on the side, hearing this voice, also displayed alert faces.
They all instinctively placed their hands on their Embroidered Spring Knives.
Lin Qingyi motioned to one of the Brocade Guards.
The Brocade Guard stood up and walked to the railing, looking downward.
A group of seven men, donned in capes and guild hats, were just taking off their headwear. The leader was a slender middle-aged man with a gloomy face. He turned around and gave Lin Qingyi a nod, signaling him.
Step!
Step!
One step at a time, the seven men marched up the stairs.
The moment they reached the second floor and spotted the group of Brocade Guards in green suits, they halted in their tracks.
"Brocade Guards!" The leading man voiced out with a grating voice, articulating the words coldly.
Lin Qingyi said sternly, "Shentu Han, your time is up."
The leader of the group, aka Shentu Han, a guardian of the Mire Sect as referred to by Lin Qingyi, surveyed his surroundings with disdain, "Just with a few of you, waste material." "Attack!" Lin Qingyi was instantly furious, and he unsheathed his sword to strike.
Clang!
The Embroidered Spring Knife was out, aiming straight at Shentu Han.
The rest of the Brocade Guards also drew their knives, charging at the remaining six Mire Sect men. "Hmph!" Shentu Han's face darkened and the Mysterious Iron Ruler from his waist flicked out, heading towards the knife.
Clang!
There was a sudden surge of fierce energy on the second floor that sent furniture flying around, scattering food and drinks.
Pei Xuanjing sitting by the window gently waved his sleeves to ward off the energy, and then continued to drink his wine, utterly ignoring the fight between the two sides.
We have a master here!
A chill ran down Shentu Han's spine, but he saw no attempt from the man to get involved and temporarily let go of his anxiety, deciding to finish the fight quickly.
After all, the presence of an unknown skilled fighter raised concerns, making him feel highly threatened..