I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 51 Five Patrolmen
After reading through the Daoist scriptures, Wu Ming memorized all the contents. He put the scriptures back in their original place and continued searching in the room, but he couldn't find a second document related to Daoist teachings.

After a while, Zhao Hu still hadn't arrived, so Wu Ming left the pavilion where the files were kept. He summoned a minor official from the Censorate to lead the way. At the Miscellaneous Goods Department south of the Censorate, he received his official robe and waist token. Then, using the Censorate's waist token, he rented a small courtyard in Anning Lane and settled Wu Qi and Liu Shi there.

Although it was called a small courtyard, it was not actually a solitary residence. The entire courtyard had three houses in each of the three directions: east, west, and south. The southeast two houses were already occupied by patrolmen of the Shenxing Division and their relatives. Wu Ming rented three empty houses in the west. One house was occupied by Wu Qi and Liu Shi, one house was temporarily occupied by himself, and the other house was reserved for other uses.

Of the other two families living in the same courtyard, one worked in the Foreign Affairs Department and the other in the Night Patrol Department. He happened to be under Zhou Huai'an's command, and his name was Shi Zhenbang. He was also a patrolman who had undergone secondary blood coagulation.

In Yong Kingdom, martial prowess is highly valued, so official ranks are generally corresponding to martial arts cultivation. For example, one blood coagulation level is usually equivalent to a ninth-rank patrol officer, a second blood coagulation level is equivalent to an eighth-rank patrol officer, and a third blood coagulation level is equivalent to a seventh-rank patrol officer.

Under Zhou Huai'an's command, there were a total of five eighth-rank patrol officers and twenty ninth-rank patrol clerks.

These five eighth-rank patrol officers were not all outstanding young martial artists. Only three were young: Zhao Hu, Feng Yong, and Zhou Ruoyun, the eldest daughter of Zhou Huai'an. Among the other two, Shi Zhenbang and Liu Yan were both veteran patrol officers in their late thirties and early forties. At this age, they basically had no chance of achieving blood coagulation three times, but they were senior enough and experienced enough, so they remained in the Shenxing Division and were not demoted to other departments in Jingye City.

In fact, the other teams in the Censorate led by patrol officers were roughly the same, usually consisting of a group of young patrol officers paired with a group of older patrol officers, with the older patrol officers taking care of most things on a daily basis.

The Shenxing Division is full of talented people, and there are more than one person with top-notch qualifications. Although Wu Ming has outstanding talent in marksmanship, he is not particularly noticeable here. However, Shi Zhenbang is very polite to Wu Ming.

after all,

He's already a veteran patrolman here, with no chance of advancing further. He might be demoted to another office at any time. Wu Ming, on the other hand, will at least be promoted to patrolman in the future. Even if his blood clotting aptitude is slightly lacking, he's still young, and youth means opportunity and possibility.

Especially after learning that Wu Ming had killed ten bandits in one night, thus gaining recognition and entering the Censorate, Shi Zhenbang began to look at Wu Ming with new respect.

"Don't be fooled by the abundance of talent in our Cautious Punishment Division. Martial arts cultivation is no child's play. It's funny to say, but I've seen people who, at a young age, have reached the level of blood clotting twice. Yet, when they encounter truly ferocious bandits, they are intimidated by the bandits' ferocity and can't even unleash half of their strength. They are even held back by bandits who have only reached the level of blood clotting once."

Shi Zhenbang sat in the courtyard, chatting idly with Wu Ming, shaking his head and chuckling.

Martial arts training requires unwavering will, perseverance, and indomitable spirit. So-called aptitude is merely a stepping stone, determining whether you have the opportunity to attempt the third Blood Coagulation stage, but whether you can truly overcome it is another matter entirely.

In Shi Zhenbang's view, it was Wu Ming who, in his first real battle, was able to fight fearlessly against vicious bandits, even killing ten thieves. This kind of strong martial will is what a martial artist must possess.

"Alright, it's about time. We should get going."

Shi Zhenbang glanced at the sky and saw that the afterglow of the setting sun was hanging on the horizon. He got up and called out to Wu Ming, while telling his two children, Shi Ying and Shi Lian, to go to bed early.

Wu Ming responded and went back into the house to say a few words to Wu Qi and Liu Shi, telling the old couple to rest early. Then he and Shi Zhenbang left the courtyard and headed towards the Shenxing Division.

Upon arriving at the Shenxing Division and then at the office of the Night Patrol Division, they found Zhao Hu and Feng Yong already waiting there.

"You are Wu Ming?" A slender woman with a cold face, also dressed in the robes of a patrol officer, nodded slightly to Shi Zhenbang upon seeing him and Wu Ming arrive. She then looked at Wu Ming and said in a light tone, "Since you have gained my father's favor, you should do your job well here. Don't rely on the name of the Censorate to act recklessly outside, or I will not let you off easily."

"..."

Wu Ming was suddenly warned, but he didn't feel anything. He just glanced at the woman and knew that she must be Zhou Ruoyun, Zhou Huai'an's eldest daughter.

He was brought in by Zhou Huai'an, and if he caused trouble outside, it would inevitably affect Zhou Huai'an's reputation. Therefore, Zhou Ruoyun's attitude towards him, giving him a warning on their first meeting, was quite reasonable.

but,

It must be said that there are very few women who practice martial arts in this world. On the one hand, women have a lower social status, and on the other hand, it is much more difficult for women to practice martial arts than for men. Zhou Ruoyun was the first woman he had ever met who practiced martial arts.

Wu Ming knew that a woman's menstrual period not only affected her training but also depleted her blood and energy. Therefore, although women's martial arts aptitude was divided into nine grades (high, medium, and low), their training efficiency was much lower than that of men, even with the same aptitude.

therefore,

In this world, unless a woman is born into a wealthy family or a powerful clan, she is usually not qualified to learn martial arts. Her family would not support her to learn martial arts. Even if she wanted to compete in martial arts based on her talent, she would have to be at least of 'above average' caliber.

According to Shi Zhenbang, Zhou Ruoyun was of above-average talent and was also Zhou Huai'an's legitimate daughter, which enabled her to cultivate martial arts and even work in the Shenxing Division. After her second blood coagulation, she became an eighth-rank patrol officer.

"Lord Zhou has been kind to me, and I will certainly not tarnish your reputation."

Wu Ming responded calmly.

Zhou Ruoyun glanced at Wu Ming noncommittally, then looked away and said, "The time has come, let's set off."

Zhou Huai'an was a seventh-rank patrol officer. Unless there were some special circumstances, he would not personally patrol every night. Usually, the night patrols were conducted by five patrol officers under Zhou Huai'an, each leading a group of patrol officers and some minor officials, who would patrol in batches.

Wu Ming was originally with Zhao Hu's team, but Shi Zhenbang took the initiative to mention it to Zhao Hu, and then took Wu Ming away from Zhao Hu's team. He led Wu Ming and several other patrol officers, along with several minor officials.

As night fell.

Several minor officials accompanying the group lit the lanterns of the night patrol and began their patrol from the inner city towards the north of the city.

(End of this chapter)