activa-t Chapter 12 The Academy, Examination Papers
Chapter 12 The Academy, Examination Papers
"Yes."
The thin young man shrank his neck, gave a perfunctory reply, and then rubbed his hands together.
"Let me see what happened. Who was offered as an offering to Master He and was killed?"
A damp, fishy wind blew in from outside. The moist mud was half-dried, mixed with blood to form dark red, cracked pieces. The wooden boxes and dark iron blocks piled together were ignored.
Mosquitoes and flies rise and fall.
Right next to the long table, amidst the chaos, a headless corpse slumped over the table leg, its bones appearing as if they had been carefully crushed.
A dozen or so corpses were scattered haphazardly in various places, all killed with a single blow, their deaths swift and clean.
In the span of a dozen or so fierce gang members wielding knives and swords, they were all dead.
The gaunt young man looked around, took out a Nuo wood mask from his waist, and put it on his face.
When I closed my eyes and opened them again, an endless crimson hue, encompassing the details reflected in the courtyard, converged into an axis, rushing towards me like a torrent of memories, instantly penetrating my mind through the eyes of the mask.
The thin young man's body trembled involuntarily.
In the blurry hallucination before my eyes, the figure who had done all this leaped down from the courtyard wall, and then, with unstoppable force, killed all the Green Gang members who were besieging him in a dozen or so breaths.
Their speed and methods were so swift that they even left a trail of radioactive bloodstains during the siege.
Then came the fierce battle between Master He of the Green Gang and the murderer, and finally, the murderer used Master He's most prized skill, the Crane Cry Fist, to send Master He on his final journey.
"This is the fourth one."
The gaunt young man removed his Nuo wood mask and said in a serious tone, "It should still be the same person who committed the crime before."
I guess they killed several former leaders of the Green Gang, and seeing that neither we nor the county government had any reaction, this time they simply put the matter out in the open.
"They didn't even take the stolen goods."
The thin young man pointed to the items on the long table and added.
"Upholding justice?"
Zhou Jing murmured softly.
In just over a month, four leaders of the Green Gang were beheaded. Even a fool would know who this was targeting. This time, they didn't even take the stolen goods from the transaction. It was as if they were openly beating the drum at the county government office.
"This is a bit troublesome."
The gaunt young man said, "If this continues, and another deal gets ruined while we still do nothing, even the most obtuse big players and gang members should realize that our inaction is problematic."
Dragon Knights are the most powerful military, police, and secret agents in Da Zhao, but they are not the only ones. There are limits to how much they can turn a blind eye to accepting bribes.
"These past few days, the county government has been ordered not to take any action. The surrounding counties of Gaoyang County have been brutally exploited. The county constable almost drew his sword to fight you."
The thin young man scratched the back of his neck: "What are they thinking? They're not only not arresting people, but they're also preventing the officials from moving."
"Jing-jie, do you have any clues?"
Zhou Jing glanced at the thin young man, and an invisible force field spread out, making their figures seem slightly blurred.
"The Prime Minister overruled objections and, with His Majesty's permission, the academy established three years ago has seen its first batch of students complete their studies. Gaoyang County is one of the graduation exams prepared for these students."
Once the invisible force field enveloped both of them, Zhou Jing calmly said, "It must be around the time of this year's martial arts examination, which is why the higher-ups have ordered us to remain still and forbid local officials from making any moves."
"This is quite a large-scale project. Gaoyang County, including the surrounding villages, has a population of nearly 200,000, right?"
Allowing powerful local families and gangs to exploit and oppress more than 100,000 people, leaving them in dire straits, all just to provide an exam paper for a recent graduate?
The gaunt young man clicked his tongue, paused, and then asked, "Do the Tiger Cavalry know about this?"
"I don't know. To ensure the fairness of the exam papers, I am the only one in the entire Gaoyang County who knows that the Tiger Cavalry's commander in Gaoyang County, like the county magistrate, was ordered by me with the Dragon Token not to move."
Everyone else thought that the Dragon Tiger Guards hadn't taken any action because they were colluding with local wealthy families and working with the county magistrate to exploit the people.
I estimate that by this time, the memorial impeaching me had already reached Longtan in Hangzhou Prefecture.
Zhou Jing glanced down at the section of her fair wrist peeking out from her sleeve, where several menacing black dragon scales were faintly visible. She suddenly asked:
"Should I send a message to transfer you away? I was imprisoned here for committing a crime, but you weren't. Don't ruin your future by following me."
"Thank you, Sister Jing. If I left for this reason, it would truly ruin my future. Besides, I'm also curious about what kind of person could take 200,000 people in a county as his test."
The gaunt young man waved his hands repeatedly, swearing, "I came from Eagle's Nest to follow you, you have to believe me."
"Tone down your swagger. The Imperial Guards are not like the Eagle's Nest; they still need to follow some rules and laws."
Even so, a barely perceptible smile appeared on that beautiful, austere face:
"I don't know much either. It's top secret in the files. Even my imprisonment here to atone for my sins is to keep an eye on, or rather, protect, the examinees who have come here."
"What if you're not satisfied with his answers, Sister Jing?"
The thin young man asked.
"Then my time imprisoned in Gaoyang County will double again."
Zhou Jing tilted her pretty profile, her tone remaining unchanged.
"Have you found any clues?"
"It seems you don't intend to continue this topic," Zhou Jing asked.
The gaunt young man chuckled. "He's a newbie. He didn't try to hide anything at all. There are as many clues as there are corpses lying here."
"Alright, you can investigate it yourself. Keep today's events to yourself. Find the person who did it and make him stop."
Zhou Jing wasted no more time and waved her hand, saying, "Try to avoid any physical conflict. If a conflict does occur, we'll see whether to imprison him or kill him."
"Huh? Such a loyal and courageous hero, wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate to just kill him?"
The thin young man was momentarily at a loss.
"If his reckless behavior ruins the exam papers, wouldn't all those people have died in vain?"
"Anyway, you can control the intensity yourself; if anything goes wrong, just blame it on me."
After saying this, Zhou Jing withdrew the invisible isolation field and turned to leave.
......
morning.
Tiger's Den, Gaoyang County.
The third class of prospective Tiger Riders are practicing the Six Stances of Zhan Zhuang in the training ground.
The ground was covered with a layer of fine sand, and all the equipment was made of wood.
Under the guidance of the instructors, the prospective tiger riders practiced breathing exercises and physical training meticulously, following the stances and postures.
These techniques are designed to stretch the muscles and tendons of the body, allowing for better circulation of qi and blood throughout the body, thereby helping beginners overcome the three barriers of bone, tendon, and blood.
Most of the reserve Tiger Riders in the third class were around fifteen or sixteen years old, and there were three others like Fu Que who were around twenty-two.
Yes, all three of them are just like him, purely relatives.
Seeing the tiger riders around him breathing and stretching their fascia and flesh in a very professional manner, Fu Que didn't dare to stand out too much and also completed the movements in a very precise manner.