Nightwatcher's invitation... for me?

Xu Qi'an couldn't believe it and remained silent, not rushing to speak.

"You're talented. I confirmed that when we were at the yamen courtyard. However, Nightwatchers have rules, and the foundation is the Qi Refinement Realm," Li Yuchun said, changing to a casual sitting position and no longer being as intimidating as before. "As the guardians of the Great Feng and protectors of the emperor, it's normal to have higher requirements. But even if you're only at the Essence Refinement Realm, Nightwatchers are willing to recruit you because you've proven yourself."

Is it because my methods are dirty enough and my thoughts are meticulous enough to be accepted?

Yes, this half-nan barbarian from the Nightwatcher was impressed with me when I solved the tax and silver case.

The serious Nightwatcher added, "Of course, the main reason is that the Princess Chang recommended you."

Princess Chang?! Xu Qi'an was shocked again.

Who is Princess Chang, and why did she recommend me when I don't even know her? Well... I did hear about her at the Yunlu Academy.

But we've never met. Why did she recommend me to the Nightwatchers?

Xu Qi'an was full of confusion and didn't seem like the two Nightwatchers had any intention of explaining. Perhaps they didn't even know themselves.

"Besides these reasons, why didn't you report me?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Li Yuchun smiled and said, "You should know the Nightwatchers' duties."

Monitoring officials... Zhou Shilang, who embezzles the national treasury, is not on the same side as the Nightwatchers. In fact, the Nightwatchers helped push him off his throne... Xu Qi'an suddenly realized.

"Zhou Shilang will fall sooner or later, and we've already started to deal with him. Your little plan just helped us speed up the process," the serious Nightwatcher said.

Li Yuchun looked at him and said, "Mr. Sun, as agreed before, I'll take this person. Please give us some space to talk."

The Nightwatcher surnamed Sun didn't leave but stared at Xu Qi'an. "You have the power to choose, follow him or follow me."

"The difference in power between the two of us isn't significant, but he's too stubborn and inflexible, and following his path will only lead to mediocrity. However, if you follow me, you can buy a decent small courtyard in the inner city within three years," he said.

Working for three years and owning a house in the capital... it was indeed an irresistible temptation. Xu Qi'an politely refused Sun's invitation and said, "When I was involved in the tax and silver case, Mr. Li gave me a chance to redeem myself, and I've always remembered that favor. I want to work under him."

That was only one of the reasons. The other reason was that he didn't want to go against his conscience and do too many shady things.

Sun nodded slightly and praised, "Knowing how to repay kindness is a good thing."

He left without any regrets.

After the door closed, Li Yuchun pointed to the chair opposite and smiled gently, "Sit down and introduce yourself. I'm Li Yuchun, your boss from now on. You can call me that directly. If you're uncomfortable, you can call me Mr. Li."

Can I call you Brother Chun? Xu Qi'an sat down and hesitantly called him "Mr. Li."

"When you work under me, you must have a clear conscience. Remember that," Li Yuchun warned before introducing the Nightwatcher organization."In the Nightwatcher organization, the lowest rank is the 'white laborer', without any official position, doing odd jobs. Next are the 'copper gongs', the proper Nightwatchers, at least at the Qi refining stage, with a monthly salary of five taels of silver and two stones of rice. Above them are the 'silver gongs', enjoying the status of a hundred households.

"Above the silver gongs are the 'golden gongs', the highest-ranking position. There are only ten golden gongs in the Great Feng's capital, who directly obey the orders of Duke Wei."

Xu Qi'an nodded. He knew this common knowledge, and knew that Wei Yuan was the head of the Nightwatchers.

"The Nightwatchers' duties are to monitor the officials and guard the capital. You will gradually become familiar with the specific tasks," Li Yuchun scrutinized Xu Qi'an.

Support us at pawrea𝑑.com .

"You are currently at the peak of the Qi refining stage. I have two suggestions: one, accumulate merits and wait for opportunities. Two, pay four hundred taels of silver, and I will help you open the Tianmen."

Without hesitation, Xu Qi'an replied, "I choose the second one."

Li Yuchun narrowed his eyes. "You're quite wealthy."

"I borrowed the money from the lady Caiwei of the Observatory," Xu Qi'an said, shamelessly deflecting the credit to the beautiful lady.

"First, I will arrange for you to change your household registration and handle the relevant procedures," Li Yuchun said, then left the room. After a while, he returned with two young men.

"I'm Song Tingfeng," the man who smiled with his eyes introduced himself, sizing up Xu Qi'an. "You're good. You came in once and became our colleague?"

"I'm Zhu Guangxiao," the other young man said, not speaking again.

Xu Qi'an followed the two of them to handle the admission procedures. On the way, Song Tingfeng chatted casually, "Working under Li, it's generally easier, with less scheming and less trouble. The downside is that you have to be cautious when making money. A little greed is fine, but don't go too far."

"Can you return my thirty taels of silver?" Xu Qi'an asked sincerely.

Song Tingfeng replied with an even more sincere look in his eyes, "When did I take your money?"

...What a jerk! Xu Qi'an grinned, "Oh, my mistake."

"By the way, we're going to the official brothel tonight. Want to come with us?" Song Tingfeng invited him.

I hate this kind of decadent official socializing... Xu Qi'an smiled brightly, "Sure."

After completing the procedures, Song Tingfeng led him to the depths of the yamen, explaining as they walked, "After joining the Nightwatchers, there is another process to test your qualifications."

"Qualification test?" Xu Qi'an imagined himself placing his hand on a crystal stone, testing his level of Qi cultivation.

"It's a process established by Duke Wei, consisting of tests of 'intelligence', 'strength', and 'truthfulness'," Song Tingfeng said.

They arrived at a loft, and after passing through the tall threshold, they entered a large hall on the first floor. Two lines of poetry were hung on the load-bearing pillars:

Wishing to offer a deep heart to the Buddha,

Not seeking personal gain.

"This was written by Duke Wei to warn and admonish us," Song Tingfeng said.

"It's clear that it's not very effective," Xu Qi'an glanced at him askance, his words pointed.

Song Tingfeng pretended not to understand and led him inside. "You're at the Qi refining stage, so you don't need to test your combat power. Let's test your intelligence first."

He called over the officials in the loft and gave them instructions.

After a moment, two officials came in, each holding a brocade box.

"Each of them has a brocade box in their hands, one is empty, and the other has something inside. You can choose one person to ask a question, but you can only ask one question," Song Tingfeng explained."And among them, there is one who only tells lies, and one who only tells the truth."

Song Tingfeng made a sound of "hey": "You have the time it takes to burn an incense stick to think about it. I can't give you any hints."

Zhu Guangxiao succinctly reminded him: "This question is difficult. Think carefully."

Song Tingfeng nodded: "Although Lord Wei said this is just a small game, very few people can guess correctly. Although I figured it out afterwards, an incense stick's worth of time has already passed. It is said that only the lords with the golden gongs can figure out this question within twenty breaths."

An official lit an incense stick and placed it aside.

I don't know how many times I've solved this simple logic problem in my past life.

Xu Qi'an turned to the official on his left and asked, "If you were him, what would you tell me?"

The official was a little confused, seemingly not expecting Xu Qi'an to ask such a question. After thinking for a while, he muttered, "There is nothing."

Xu Qi'an nodded and reached out to press on the brocade box in the hand of the yamen runner on his right. "The thing is in this brocade box."

Song Tingfeng opened his mouth, looking at his poker-faced companion with a stiff expression. "How long?"

Zhu Guangxiao sounded a bit depressed. "Excluding the time the official was stunned, twelve breaths..."

The air fell silent for a second. Song Tingfeng arched his hand and shook his head helplessly. "You didn't break the tax silver case by chance."

He knew who Xu Qi'an was. Li Yuchun was one of the chief trial officials in the tax silver case, and at that time, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao had exhausted themselves tracking down non-existent monsters outside. After the tax silver case was solved, as a participant in the case, he naturally knew of Xu Qi'an's existence.