Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Prelude
Chen Ping’an walked straight home from the South Town Garrison Command. The journey was uneventful and smooth. Pushing open the courtyard gate, he was greeted by the sight of Chen Erya’s cute little face. This put Chen Ping’an in an even better mood.
In the courtyard, Chen Erya was off to one side, reading a book and learning her characters. Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an began to practice the Flying Locust Stone and Public Door Thirteen Sabers.
After nearly four hours of hard practice, it was already late into the night. Only then did Chen Ping’an return to the room with Chen Erya.
"Nannan, you go to sleep first. Your brother is going to read for a bit," Chen Ping’an told Chen Erya. He then eagerly began to flip through his newly acquired Martial Arts Skill, the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training, by the lamplight.
The training method for the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training was far more complex than that of the Iron Cloth Shirt. It involved the application of breath, the mobilization of Qi Blood, and the coordination of the entire body’s sinews, bones, and muscles.
’Worthy of a Mid-level Technique!’
This made Chen Ping’an look forward to the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training. If he could successfully cultivate it, what kind of Martial Arts Realm would he reach?
As Chen Ping’an finished reading, his Golden Finger Panel had also completely recorded this Martial Arts Skill.
With a slight focus of his mind, Chen Ping’an saw the panel’s information appear in the empty air before him.
Name: Chen Ping’an
Realm: Qi Blood Fourth Layer
Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt (Perfection), Flying Locust Stone (Great Success, 40/100), Public Door Thirteen Sabers (Minor Achievement, 31/40), Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training (Introduction, 0/10)
...
"Just reaching the Entry Level requires 10 Experience Points!? That’s double what Iron Cloth Shirt needed!"
Looking at the information on the panel, Chen Ping’an was a little surprised. He had expected the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training to be harder than the Iron Cloth Shirt, but he hadn’t thought it would require exactly double the Experience Points.
This meant he would need a longer time to practice and accumulate points! Fortunately, as his Martial Arts Realm improved and his Qi Blood became more abundant, the limit of what he could endure in a single training session was also getting higher. Therefore, the actual time required wouldn’t necessarily be double.
That night, it was very late before Chen Ping’an, filled with excitement, finally drifted into a deep sleep.
...
The next morning, after finishing his morning exercises and eating breakfast, Chen Ping’an headed for the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office. He hadn’t officially started practicing the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training yet. As a Mid-level Technique, it was quite difficult to practice. So Chen Ping’an figured he would wait until he got off duty that evening, when he had more time, to study it.
Today, he had a big battle to fight! The matter with Cheng Yuan, Zhao Hu, and Old Fan from the Task Room was still unresolved. He didn’t believe for a second that Constable Zheng would let him succeed easily.
When Chen Ping’an arrived at the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office, he immediately felt a tense atmosphere. Clearly, the constables of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office weren’t fools. Yesterday’s events had already spread throughout the entire Garrison Commandant’s Office. His conflict with Constable Zheng was now out in the open. Many constables were whispering amongst themselves, discussing what had happened.
In contrast to his surroundings, Chen Ping’an’s mood was not affected in the slightest.
In terms of Martial Arts Realm, his true strength—the Qi Blood Fourth Layer, the Bone Forging Realm—was in no way inferior to Constable Zheng’s. In terms of backing, he had just gained the support of the Chief of the Patrol Office of the South Town Garrison Command, completely crushing Constable Zheng.
Under such circumstances, he wasn’t the least bit worried about what was to come today.
"Ping’an."
Monkey Head had the sharpest eyes. The moment Chen Ping’an walked through the gates of the Garrison Commandant’s Office, Monkey Head spotted him and immediately waved him over.
"Monkey Head, Da Shan," Chen Ping’an replied with a smile, glancing around and noticing that Mr. Qin hadn’t arrived yet.
’Even though he’s toned it down a lot, Mr. Qin is still a crafty old veteran. He’ll take any chance he can get to slack off.’
"Be careful today," Monkey Head whispered quietly.
Perceptive as he was, he too had sensed that something was unusual today. It was obvious that after Chen Ping’an had publicly made Constable Zheng lose face, Constable Zheng would definitely try to get his own back today.
"Ping’an, if you can bear it, just bear it," Da Shan said, looking at Chen Ping’an with a worried expression.
"Don’t worry," Chen Ping’an said with a smile to the two of them, then walked toward his post.
"Master Chen, over here," Zeng Jihe said, waving his hand.
’This kid has truly boarded Chen Ping’an’s ship now. At this point, he’s thrown caution to the wind.’
’So what if it’s Constable Zheng! They’ve collected the donation silver anyway. No matter how he targets them, what more can he do!’
Cheng Yuan and Zhao Hu stood to one side, looking sullen. They didn’t greet Chen Ping’an when they saw him, but simply gave a cold sneer.
As of today, the few of them had completely torn away all pretenses.
Chen Ping’an walked to his spot and stood there, calm and composed, without saying a word.
Zheng Shiyong walked in through the gate of the Garrison Commandant’s Office. He glanced around, and when he saw Chen Ping’an, a smug smile appeared on his face.
’You bumpkin, you’re in for it today!’
’Yesterday, they had already gotten their story straight and laid out their plan. So what if the donation silver was collected? Whether it was a merit or a mundane affair was all up to the Constable’s word anyway. On the contrary, his act of offending a superior, of publicly embarrassing the Constable—that was something they could really make an issue out of!’
Compared to Zheng Shiyong, Tan Huacong, who stood not far away, appeared much calmer. He was only secretly looking forward to it, but for the most part, his face betrayed no emotion.
The two of them had long been enemies with Chen Ping’an. If there was a chance to crush Chen Ping’an in one fell swoop, he would naturally be thrilled.
Soon, all the constables of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office had gathered. However, the handful of Constables were still nowhere to be seen.
The crowd of constables waited a while longer, but when the Constables still hadn’t arrived, they gradually began to murmur among themselves.
’Logically, the Constables should have been here by now! Did something happen?’
Zheng Shiyong glanced repeatedly at the main gate of the Garrison Commandant’s Office, a look of confusion also appearing on his face.
’Where’s Uncle? He should have been here long ago! Could something have delayed him?’
Just as the constables were murmuring and growing confused, seven figures appeared at the main gate of the Garrison Commandant’s Office. When Zheng Shiyong got a clear look at the figure leading the group, his heart sank.
The Inspectorate of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office, Shen Shikang!
Besides Shen Shikang, the Vice Inspector Tian Fuliang, and all five Constables of the Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office, including Constable Zheng, had all appeared.
"Greetings, Lord Chief!"
The constables bowed slightly and greeted him in unison.
Only after Shen Shikang nodded did the constables greet the Vice Inspector, Tian Fuliang, in unison.
"Greetings, Lord Tian!"
As for the other five Constables, in a situation where both the Inspectorate and Vice Inspector were present, they were naturally ignored.
Zheng Shiyong lifted his head and saw that his uncle, Constable Zheng, had a dark and unpleasant expression on his face.
’What happened?’
Zheng Shiyong’s first reaction was to wonder if the Inspectorate had gotten some kind of leverage on his uncle.
Tan Huacong and the others had the same thought as Zheng Shiyong.
As for the other constables, their attention was mostly focused on the Lord Chief. For the Lord Chief to suddenly appear at the pre-duty assembly, could it be that something had happened again?
...
PS: The plot is about to get exciting! A sword to slay his foes, and a beauty’s lap to rest on. My Chen Ping’an will seize absolute power, and I’ll try to write it all within a hundred Chapters!!! (These words are free of charge.)
