"Who would've thought I'd still be working nine-to-five after transmigrating!"
Strapping on his saber at his waist, Wei Fan headed out, dressed in a blue uniform stamped with a huge "Constable" character across the chest.
He'd transmigrated into a government officer at the Yun City Government Office—at least he was eating from the official family's rice bowl now.
Locking the door, Wei Fan rubbed his aching head and felt a massive lump of dried blood.
According to his predecessor's memories, this bump was from a beating during an arrest yesterday—someone smacked him with a stick—and that knock probably sent him over into this new world.
This blood lump had hurt like hell before, but as memories fused, the pain eased a bit.
His eyes were still out of whack, though—everything was blurry and unfocused.
"Demon fiends everywhere, evil spirits running wild?"
Wei Fan muttered under his breath.
From what he remembered, this world wasn't just ancient China—it had demon fiends and evil spirits, but also martial artists who could bend the Dao itself.
His predecessor had been a martial artist, and after joining the government office, had learned the Golden Bell Shield and Blood Evil Saber Technique.
After three months of training, Golden Bell Shield was still uninitiated, but the Blood Evil Saber Technique was finally showing results.
"Lord Wei, what do you want for breakfast today?"
"Gimme three big pork buns!"
Passing the bun shop, Wei Fan bought a few buns, then kept heading to the squad room.
Sure, he was just a bottom-rung grunt at the government office—but to regular folks, he was a big shot. They bowed and scraped, terrified to offend him.
Because this government officer gig was only passed down through family, just like tobacco sellers in his old world—regular people would never get a shot!
Wearing blue all over, he walked down the street; people saw him coming and made way automatically.
"Lord Wei, if not for you yesterday, that animal would've ruined my granddaughter. I came here just to thank you!"
By the road, an old man with a basket and a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl suddenly blocked Wei Fan's path, gratitude all over their faces.
Wei Fan looked over—he recognized them.
Yesterday, his predecessor caught someone trying to do something terrible to the girl; he intervened and nabbed the guy, only to get clubbed in the back of the head for his trouble.
The little girl nervously hid behind the old man, peeking out at Wei Fan every so often.
"No need to thank me, Uncle Zhang—I was just doing my job!"
The old man, surnamed Zhang, lived nearby. Wei Fan knew him before yesterday's incident.
If memory served, Uncle Zhang's son and daughter-in-law had been killed by demon fiends…when Wei Fan checked it out, all he saw were torn-up remains.
Wei Fan was in a rush to check in at the government office. After his reply, he tried to walk past, but Old Man Zhang stopped him and pushed his basket forward.
"I don't have much, just a few eggs. Please, Lord Wei, take this small token of thanks."
Wei Fan looked down—there were five or six boiled eggs in the basket.
That warmed him, just a little.
His predecessor was a guy with a strong sense of justice—a reliable constable who'd helped plenty of folks, but it was the first time anyone brought him a thank-you gift.
Wei Fan didn't want to take it, but Old Man Zhang wouldn't let go, and he didn't dare pull too hard—worried he'd knock the old guy straight to the ground.
"I'll take one, but that's all—the rest, let your granddaughter eat and get her strength back."
Wei Fan took one egg from the basket; Old Man Zhang finally let go.
"Lord Wei is kind—shame there aren't many good constables like you!"
Old Man Zhang stared after Wei Fan's retreating figure, full of emotion.
"Grandpa, there's money here!"
Old Man Zhang glanced down; sure enough, two copper coins were sitting in the basket.
"Lord Wei…"
Instantly, tears welled up. He'd lived decades, and most government officers would take everything from the people—at least this one didn't.
"Remember this, girl—if you ever get the chance, you must repay Lord Wei!"
…
"Man, real free-range eggs just taste better!"
Wei Fan wolfed down the egg in three bites, then regretted not taking more. After a bit, he arrived at the squad room.
After checking in with the Squad Leader, Wei Fan headed out with his partner Zhou Qi to patrol the streets.
They'd barely left the government office when Zhou Qi said, "I heard Yang Jun got released last night."
Yang Jun was the guy Wei Fan grabbed yesterday.
The bastard tried to abduct the Zhang Family Girl in broad daylight. Wei Fan went to stop him—Yang Jun fought back and hit Wei Fan. Only when Wei Fan drew his saber did Yang Jun finally back off.
Wei Fan's gaze hardened. "Who let him go?"
Abducting people in broad daylight, attacking a constable—and he gets released?
Zhou Qi said, "Rumor is Captain Li did it. See, Yang Jun's brother-in-law is the Fierce Tiger Gang's Incense Master. I already told you, messing with them is pointless—even if you grab someone, they walk free.
I heard Yang Jun was talking big as he left—said you'd better watch your back!
In this line of work, how many guys do you see taking things as seriously as you? The ones who do…they're all gone now.
Sigh…be careful from now on, huh? The Fierce Tiger Gang isn't something we can afford to mess with—you know exactly how they got their name."
No 'from now on' for me.
His predecessor was already beaten to death by that stick.
"Fierce Tiger Gang…"
Wei Fan thought back; memories quickly dredged up the truth—supposedly, this gang was connected to the Tiger Demon.
The gang's whole purpose? Collecting treasure, beauties, and feeding people to Tiger Demons. Piss them off and you disappear for good.
Forget street-patrolling constables—even the arrest officers didn't dare cross the Fierce Tiger Gang.
"Hey, is your head okay?"
"I'm fine."
Wei Fan shook his head.
Human life meant nothing here. A gang openly feeding people to Tiger Demons, and nobody lifts a finger.
"Someone's been killed!"
Suddenly, a shout broke out.
Wei Fan and Zhou Qi shot each other a look and hurried toward the source of the noise.
"Move aside! We're with the government office!"
Wei Fan pushed past the crowd—a pool of blood spread on the ground. Smashed eggs and two copper coins floated in the red.
The same Old Man Zhang who'd just thanked him, his neck hacked almost all the way through, lay dead with eyes wide open—hand reaching for something, refusing to give up even in death.
"Which way did the killer run?"
Wei Fan grabbed a random onlooker by the collar.
"They carried off a little girl—ran that way!" said the guy, pointing down an alley.
Wei Fan tossed the man aside and raced into the alley, the image of Old Man Zhang's lifeless body burned into his mind.
"Wei Fan, don't go—they're trying to lure you in!"
Zhou Qi shouted from behind, but Wei Fan vanished into the alley before he could finish.
"Ha! Wei Fan, I knew you'd have the guts to chase after me!"
In the alley, Yang Jun stood holding a blood-stained saber. Two thugs gripped the Zhang Family Girl, who was crying her heart out: "Brother Wei, they killed Grandpa—they're monsters, wuwu…"
The Zhang Family Girl struggled desperately, but she was just a young teen—there was no way she could break free from those brutes.
"Yang Jun, let her go! Whatever your beef, bring it to me!"
Wei Fan walked forward, saber at the ready. Zhou Qi hesitated, then followed him into the alley.
"Let her go? Yesterday she played dumb and made me sleep in the squad room for the first time in my life!
And you—you dared disrespect me, so I'll make damn sure you regret it. Step by step, I'll make you suffer, then deliver you to Lord Hu as tiger chow."
As he spoke, Yang Jun backhanded the crying Zhang Family Girl, nearly knocking her out. Her pale face swelled up instantly.
"Didn't you want to be a hero? Come on—let me hit you instead, and I'll leave her alone!"
"Yang Jun, don't push me!"
Wei Fan met Yang Jun's cocky stare—and suddenly, the haze he'd felt since transmigrating cleared in a flash:
[Martial Arts:]
[Golden Bell Shield (Uninitiated)]
[Blood Evil Saber Technique (Expertise)]
[Current Power Level: None]
[Power can be added to Martial Arts, boosting their progress]
[Slay demon fiends or evil spirits to gain corresponding power]