The rising sun emerged, and the distant morning bells rang out within the large city. The area around Mingyu Tower was already bustling with people, gathering countless wanderers from all over the world who were seeking a livelihood.
Ye Jingtang rode his black horse, passing through the bustling streets and alleys, and stopped outside the yamen without a plaque near Mingyu Tower.
The Black Yamen was quite large in scale. In front of the main gate was a small square with a flagpole erected on it. However, instead of hanging a flag, it was a place to hang human heads. There was even a specific term in the martial arts world for this, called "Hanging the Head Outside the Black Yamen".
The Black Yamen was known as the "Hall of the King of Hell" and belonged to the "Private Guards of the Prince's Mansion". It was not within the framework of the Six Ministries and did not handle lawsuits or conduct court hearings. Normally, no one would visit at all, and there were only two arresters standing guard outside the gate.
Ye Jingtang presented his waist badge and was invited through the main gate.
Inside the main gate was a normal grand hall. There were offices on both the left and right sides, but there was no place for receiving guests.
After waiting for only a short while behind the screen wall, two people came out from the back of the grand hall. In the lead was Shang Jianli, known as the "White Impermanence". Different from his attire as a martial artist in the Jianghu yesterday, he was wearing a cyan literary robe.
Incidentally, nicknames like "White Impermanence" and "Six Fiends" were given by people in the martial arts world. Originally, they had a derogatory meaning, but because of their extremely strong real strength, they had become terms of respect.
Shang Jianli was a genuine military officer, enjoying a fourth-rank salary. There was a high probability that he wouldn't like the title of "The Impermanence Who Claims Lives". Wearing a cyan robe instead of a white one was presumably to avoid suspicion.
Following behind Shang Jianli was Wang Chihu with a beard. He courteously waved his hand from a distance:
"Brother Ye, you're really not loyal. You were pretending to be poor to me a few days ago. But look, the entire Tianshui Bridge belongs to your family. I even wanted to give you a hand..."
Ye Jingtang stepped forward and cupped his hands in a salute: "Lord Shang, Chief Wang, why did you come out to greet the guest in person? It really makes me feel unworthy."
Wang Chihu smiled and said: "It's good that you know you feel unworthy. As the eldest son of the Pei family, you injured Chief She. If you don't go to Jinping Tower and order more than a dozen girls to serve him, do you still want to hang around in the capital city in the future?"
"Naturally. I accidentally injured Lord She yesterday and haven't had the chance to apologize yet. How about inviting Lord She now and going to Jinping Tower for a visit?"
While speaking, Ye Jingtang took a brief look and realized that Shang Jianli was very young, at most just over thirty years old.
Internal martial arts masters became more powerful as they grew older. To have established a reputation that made people in the martial arts world tremble at this age was truly terrifying.
Shang Jianli had a rather cold and aloof temperament, but when facing Ye Jingtang, he still showed a trace of a smile:
"I'm not interested in wine and women. She Long still needs to recuperate for a few more days. After the yamen closes, Young Master Ye can just accompany Chief Wang. Did Young Master Ye come here because you want to pay a visit to Prince Jing?"
"I'm just a commoner. How dare I disturb Prince Jing? Prince Jing has shown his appreciation for me. I came here today because I also want to do my little bit. I want to see if my martial arts skills can be of any help to the court."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Jianli's eyes showed approval, and he directly led Ye Jingtang towards the back yamen:
"Young Master Ye has this intention, and Prince Jing will surely be pleased to know. The martial arts world outside is too vast, and the powers and responsibilities of the Black Yamen are not clearly defined. All the dirty and tiring work that the judicial yamen can't handle is thrown onto the Black Yamen. The arresters in the yamen really can't keep up..."
After chatting for just a few words, Shang Jianli led Ye Jingtang into a main hall.
There were several rows of bookshelves in the hall. On the west wall, there were "wanted posters" hanging, probably nearly a hundred of them. The one that was left empty alone at the top had the name "Xue Baijin" written on it.
This name was a bit unfamiliar, but when Ye Jingtang took a closer look at the content, he was shocked in his heart— Xue Baijin, known as the "Lord of the Pingtian Sect".
Ye Jingtang had heard the name of the Pingtian Sect like thunder in his ears. It was an organization established by the remnants of the previous dynasty. They firmly held onto Nanxiao Mountain and still refused to surrender even sixty years after the dynasty was destroyed.
And the Lord of the Pingtian Sect ranked first among the Eight Great Champions and fourth in the world, known as "Invincible at the Foot of the Mountain". There was no opponent for him in the secular martial arts world. The only ones he couldn't defeat were the three old immortal-like martial artists on the mountain.
Ye Jingtang stood in front of the wall, looking at the wanted poster of the Lord of the Pingtian Sect, and felt that this thing was completely a decoration.
Wang Chihu behind him probably saw what Ye Jingtang was thinking and joked:
"Even Lord Dizang would shake his head when seeing this. No one dares to take this task. Does Brother Ye want to give it a try?"
"These people on the wall are like celestial soldiers and generals. I can't even afford to provoke the ones at the bottom. Chief Wang, stop joking."
"One should have ambition."
Wang Chihu sighed: "That dog thief, the Lord of the Pingtian Sect, is no kind person. In the past, the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world, the 'Goddess of the Moon Palace', had high martial arts skills and a strong sense of chivalry. There were countless admirers of her in the martial arts world. Her peerless elegance of 'Walking on the Waves Under the Moon in a Green Dress' fascinated countless martial artists. Even now, women in the martial arts world prefer green dresses to red ones..."
Ye Jingtang had never heard of this story and asked curiously:
"Was this female martial artist harmed by the Lord of the Pingtian Sect?"
"If she was harmed, I would still respect Xue Baijin for not being tempted by beauty. According to the rumor, the 'Goddess of the Moon Palace' was upholding justice and chivalry and accidentally met the Lord of the Pingtian Sect, and then she became the Lady of the Sect."
"Did the Lord of the Pingtian Sect abduct her?"
Shang Jianli stood beside them and shook his head:
"Don't listen to the nonsense in the rumors of the martial arts world. It's true that the Pingtian Sect has firmly held onto Nanxiao Mountain for sixty years and refused to surrender. They are stubbornly thinking about restoring the previous dynasty and are unforgivable rebels. But they do indeed uphold the two characters of 'loyalty and righteousness'. Otherwise, the Pingtian Sect wouldn't be so admired by so many people in the martial arts world. How could such an outstanding hero do the despicable act of abducting a woman?"
Ye Jingtang thought about it and nodded.
Shang Jianli might have been afraid that Ye Jingtang would misunderstand, so he explained further:
"Of course, I'm not saying that the Lord of the Pingtian Sect is a kind person. It's just that he pays a bit more attention to the code of the martial arts world compared to the extremely evil 'Green Bandits'. To the court, they are all unforgivable rebels. If all the people in the martial arts world were like Yuxu Mountain and Junshan Terrace, who are loyal to the court, or as law-abiding as Honghua Tower and Shuiyun Sword Pool, the world would have been at peace long ago."
Wang Chihu beside him was quite bold and directly said:
"Those who know that those in power are unjust and heartless but dare not violate the law with their martial arts don't deserve the word 'chivalrous'. If everyone could have enough to eat and drink, how many people would risk their lives walking in the martial arts world? In my opinion, the proliferation of people in the martial arts world who are unwilling to be controlled is a problem that lies with the first three rows in front of the Taiji Hall. We can't blame the people in the martial arts world for having backbone."
?!
This was no longer about ending the conversation awkwardly; it was about really putting an end to it.
Shang Jianli turned around and left as if he hadn't heard anything.
Ye Jingtang was stunned and asked bravely:
"May I ask who your father is, Chief Wang?"
Wang Chihu showed a proud expression: "My father is Wang Yin, the Duke of Zhen Guo. Prince Jing is my cousin. Isn't that amazing?"
Ye Jingtang really didn't expect that. No wonder he wasn't afraid of death. He cupped his hands and said:
"Amazing, amazing. I was blind."
"Not at all..."
Shang Jianli should have long been used to Wang Chihu's unrestrained words and actions. He went to the bookshelf, took out a pile of files, and handed them to Ye Jingtang:
"Young Master Ye, these are the tasks that the Black Yamen is currently handling. They are all within the jurisdiction of Yunzhou. You can choose at will. Young Master Ye is not a person from the Black Yamen. According to the rules, after completing the task, the reward money will be directly sent to your residence, and the credit can only be recorded under my name. I hope Young Master Ye won't mind."
This meant "outsourcing". Because there were so many people in the martial arts world of the Great Wei Dynasty and the yamen didn't have enough manpower, such things were actually quite common. The "reward notices" were one of them.
Ye Jingtang came to the Black Yamen to build relationships. Just talking without doing anything definitely wouldn't work. So he took the stack of files and started to look through them...
Shang Jianli wasn't being polite at all. They were all major cases!
The criminals basically all had nicknames in the martial arts world, like "Heart-Wrenching Hand" and "Skinning Scholar". At a glance, they were all martial arts devils. The evaluations of their martial arts skills at the back were either "First-class master, suspected to be a grandmaster" or "Cruel and cunning, treat with caution".
After flipping through a few of them, Ye Jingtang's expression showed a bit of embarrassment:
"Are there any simpler ones? I've just entered society... cough... just entered the martial arts world. I'm afraid I can't handle these tasks..."
Shang Jianli gave him a "Ghost Pat on the Shoulder": "Young Master Ye almost removed She Long's arm. You're either a grandmaster or not far from being one. Asking you to catch some small thieves for a few taels of reward money would be too unfair to you, and the Black Yamen doesn't have such simple tasks. Since you're already here, just pick one casually. If you succeed, you'll be ridding the people of a scourge. If you don't succeed, it doesn't matter either."
Ye Jingtang forced himself to keep flipping through them. Finally, he found a flying thief— The Great Thief of Yanzhou, the "Wingless Owl". His lightness kung fu was outstanding, but his combat power wasn't high. According to the tip-off, he had recently come to the capital city and secretly sneaked into the "Yubeige Pavilion" where historical materials were stored. It seemed that he was looking for something and should still be in the capital city.
The Wingless Owl had several lives on his hands, which was why he was wanted by the Black Yamen. But people who could be "thieves" usually didn't have overly exaggerated combat power, so the danger level was relatively low.
Ye Jingtang originally wanted to take this task, but when he looked at the resume more carefully— The most famous achievement of the Wingless Owl was that he had stolen from Jieyun Palace in Yanshan!
Ye Jingtang was shocked. He never expected that there was a flying thief in the martial arts world who dared to steal from one of the Eight Great Champions.
This person wasn't really dangerous, but a bold person who dared to steal from Jieyun Palace and could still be at large. Could he be easily caught?
The other cases were much more risky than this one. Ye Jingtang flipped through them twice. The only one that didn't seem likely to get him into too much trouble seemed to be this one. After thinking about it, he took out the file of the "Wingless Owl":
"I don't have much experience in fighting. Let me give this a try. If I can't catch him, I hope Lord Shang won't blame me."
"The yamen is also investigating. Young Master Ye just needs to do his best. Even if you can't catch him, if you can find his whereabouts, the reward money won't be less."
"Do you want him alive or dead?"
"The bandits being pursued by the Black Yamen all have major cases on their hands and are dangerous and cunning. Except for some people with special identities, for the others, if you can kill them on the spot, don't hold back. In the past, the yamen lost quite a few brothers because of this. Young Master Ye, don't be soft-hearted."
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly. After accepting the task, he took the opportunity to say:
"I'm quite passionate about saber skills. Lord Shang mentioned Qiu Tianhe, the 'Heavenly Harmony Saber', yesterday. I heard that he is a grandmaster of saber skills. I wonder if it's convenient for you, Lord..."
Shang Jianli had witnessed Ye Jingtang's saber skills yesterday, so he wasn't surprised that he was curious about the grandmasters of saber skills in the martial arts world.
Ye Jingtang's family background was clear. Inside the Black Yamen, there was no need to be afraid that he would break into prison and kill the prisoners. Shang Jianli directly turned around and led the way:
"Let's go. I'll take Young Master Ye to have a look. Qiu Tianhe is a well-known grandmaster of saber skills in the martial arts world. If he can give Young Master Ye some pointers, it will be of great benefit to Young Master Ye."
Ye Jingtang didn't expect Shang Jianli to be so straightforward. He followed behind and cupped his hands in a salute:
"Thank you, Lord Shang, for making it convenient for me."
"It's just a small favor. It's not worth mentioning."
...