Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

The gates of Xuan Tie City slowly opened, and Lu Zheng spurred his horse and was the first to enter the pass.

Shen Qi traveled with the army.

Horse hooves pounded through the archway, and layers of iron beams pressed down overhead, the dark red patterns on the walls flashing and disappearing in an instant. Further ahead, the view suddenly opened up.

Beyond the city gates lay not a desolate battlefield, but a vast town.

The streets crisscrossed, barracks stretched out in clusters, and in the distance, the furnaces of workshops burned continuously, the sound of hammers striking echoing through the wind and snow. Further in, another high wall stood, covered with crossbow platforms and beacon towers.

The outer walls blocked the enemy. The inner walls protected the people. The military town within was vast, capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of people.

Shen Qi reined in his horse and slowed down, his gaze sweeping over both sides of the road.

Armored guards escorted the grain carts. Craftsmen pushed wooden carts to transport arrow shafts.

There were also several temporary sheds, with people wrapped in felt outside the sheds, and military doctors checking their pulses one by one.

Before this place, Chengping County suddenly seemed cramped.

Lu Zheng raised his hand: "All troops, listen to my command! Report to your camps and report for duty! No one is to leave without permission!"

The military guards of the three prefectures were then reassigned.

The Pingzhou troops headed to the east camp, the Youzhou troops to the west camp, and the Cangzhou troops were led to the north training ground.

The envoy accompanying the army was led to the side of the road by a soldier.

The soldier held a roster in his hand, with a bronze badge hanging from his waist, and called out names one by one after opening it.

"Chen Meng of Youzhou, Bingzi Courtyard of the Western Camp."

Chen Meng, carrying a blunt, heavy sword, strode forward.

"become."

"Cangzhou Lanxingchen, Nanying Yiziyuan".

"exist."

"Zhao Heng of Pingzhou, Dingzi Courtyard of Dongying".

A tall, thin man stepped forward in response.

After reading more than ten names, the soldier turned to the end of the roster and looked up.

Who is Shen Qi from Chengping County?

Shen Qi took half a step forward.

"exist."

The sergeant closed the roster.

"Envoy Shen, come with me."

Chen Meng, who had already taken a few steps, turned back upon hearing this. "Wait." Leaning on his heavy sword, he glanced at the soldiers. "Everyone else has courtyards and barracks, why were you taking him away alone?"

The tone was straightforward and blunt, but without malice.

The soldier didn't argue with him, but simply took out a token from his pocket and showed it to him. It was a black iron token with the Big Dipper pattern engraved on it.

Chen Meng saw the token clearly and immediately fell silent.

"Alright, I was just being nosy."

Shen Qi followed the soldier, passing through several long streets and then through a small inner gate, where the surrounding noise gradually subsided. The soldier led him to a secluded courtyard, knocked on the door, and announced his arrival.

"Envoy Yaoguang, Shen Qi from Chengping County has arrived."

A woman's voice came from inside the courtyard.

"Let him in."

The sergeant turned to the side.

"please."

Shen Qi pushed open the door and entered.

The snow in the courtyard was swept to both sides, and several soaked cloaks hung stiff with cold under the eaves. The door to the house was half open, and the smell of charcoal fire seeped out from inside.

Li Yaoguang sat behind the desk, still wearing her crimson robe, her hair held up only by a jade hairpin. Three border defense maps were spread out on the desk, with several military reports pressed down beside them.

She glanced at Shen Qi, her gaze lingering on his black martial robe and the seal at his waist, and raised an eyebrow: "Oh."

She put down her pen: "It hasn't been long, and you're already wearing the robes of the Demon Suppressor. Don't keep such a stern face; you're so young, yet you look so mature."

Shen Qi cupped his hands in greeting.

"The affairs of Chengping County are urgent, and the Chief Clerk is kind enough to recommend you."

Li Yaoguang pointed to the chair next to her.

"sit."

Shen Qi did not sit down immediately. He took out the sealed letter with sealing wax given to him by Jiang Xinyue from his inner pocket and presented it with both hands: "Jiang Si-zhu has ordered me to present this letter personally."

Li Yaoguang took the letter and casually placed it on the left side of the desk. Shen Qi then sat down.

"There are three things to do at the North Gate right now. First, the ley lines outside the boundary are damaged, and the array foundation is loose. The gate walls are fine, but with the array foundation damaged, the northern barbarian warriors come to cause trouble every now and then, and I can't repair it by myself."

She then pointed to several red circles outside the image.

"Secondly, the tribes of the Frozen Bone have been restless lately. Small groups of barbarian soldiers frequently raid the passes with refugees, but each time they return empty-handed, leaving behind a large number of corpses."

Li Yaoguang tossed the charcoal sticks onto the table.

"Third, more than 100,000 refugees gathered outside the pass."

Shen Qi looked up: "Over ten thousand?"

"More than enough." Li Yaoguang picked up the military report, flipped through a couple of pages, and said, "The Northern Barbarians are in turmoil. The Frozen Bone tribes are fighting each other, and the grasslands outside the border have been tainted by evil energy. People who can't survive are fleeing south, but they're all stuck outside the pass. Those infected with the corpse plague can't be allowed into the Northern Xuan Province. But keeping them all outside the pass isn't a long-term solution."

She pushed a military report in front of Shen Qi.

"This matter involves the Hidden Netherworld Sect. There are also several unorthodox sects spreading plague among the refugees, refining corpses, and provoking barbarian soldiers to charge into battle."

Shen Qi took the military report.

In a refugee camp outside the pass, more than 300 people died suddenly at night.

The cremation pit was vandalized, and 76 corpses went missing.

The frozen bones of the barbarian soldiers were dissected, and their marrow was extracted.

A military doctor examined the body and found that the plague virus contained a hidden cold evil.

General Shen Qi placed the report back on the table.

"So, why did you transfer me here, sir?"

"When you were in Chengping County, you were able to pick out heretical cultivators from among the refugees."

She pushed the teacup in front of Shen Qi.

"I don't care if you're using fate-reading techniques or some other skill. As long as it works, the Northern Mystery Pass can use it."

Shen Qi's gaze darkened slightly.

The suppressors of evil spirits have no shortage of tasks here. As long as they can establish a firm foothold, their needs for cultivation will be met.

Returning to the camp to drift through life is peaceful, but it would be a waste of a trip to the North.

"What does my lord require of me?"

Li Yaoguang tapped the border map with his finger: "Come with me to Suocheng first, and see the garrison commander of Beixuan Pass. I will have him send a battalion of men to escort you out of the pass. You are in charge of screening people. Anyone suspected of being an evil cultivator should be arrested on the spot; those with milder cases of plague should be sent to the Plague Purification Camp; those without plague and without suspicion should be registered and then sent south in batches."

Shen Qi stated bluntly, "The refugees outside the pass are not citizens of Dayan. Rescuing them will deplete medicine, food, and military strength. The Northern Xuan Pass's defenses are already damaged, and barbarian troops are harassing the defenses from the outside. Opening the Plague Purification Camp at this time would be tantamount to drawing trouble into the pass. Why must Dayan rescue them?"

Li Yaoguang paused.

Shen Qi continued, "If the court is benevolent, I understand. If it is due to military orders, I also understand. But this matter involves hundreds of thousands of people, and I would like to hear the truth."

Li Yaoguang chuckled: "You've asked a very direct question."

She got up and walked to the wall.

A map of the Great Yan territory hangs on the wall.

Nine provinces and twenty-three prefectures are connected by a red thread, eventually converging at the Central Capital.

She raised her hand and pointed at the capital.

"The establishment of the Great Yan Kingdom was not solely based on military force."

"When the founding emperor established the empire, he set up the imperial examination system, restricted the military lineage, established the Bureau of Astronomy, and guarded the four cardinal directions. He did all this to carry on the destiny of humanity."

Shen Qi listened quietly. He had seen the power of human destiny in Yan Qing before. Bamboo slips, official seals, red and blue shimmering—these were far from ordinary wealth and status.

Li Yaoguang moved his hand from Shendu to Beixuanguan: "The fortune benefits the Great Yan. Civil officials are protected by the fortune, and military men dare not kill indiscriminately. The imperial court is blessed with the fortune, which stabilizes the earth veins of the nine provinces and allows the Four Extremes Formation to stand firm. But once you receive the benefits, you must abide by the rules."

Shen Qi asked, "What are the rules?"

Li Yaoguang turned around: "People."

The charcoal fire crackled in the room. Shen Qi's finger paused lightly on the rim of his cup.

Li Yaoguang continued, "As long as they are human, and Dayan has the capacity to save them, we cannot stand idly by and watch them die. They do not pay taxes to Dayan, nor do they worship the Dayan Emperor, but they are still human. If Beixuan Pass had the ability to identify the plague and eliminate the evil spirits, and would give them a way out, why would it watch tens of thousands of people freeze to death, die of disease, and become demonic corpses outside the pass..."

She picked up a command arrow from the table and placed it in front of Shen Qi.

"Humanity's fortunes will be diminished."

Shen Qi looked at the command arrow.

This is the actual object of the North Gate.

Saving lives is not merely a matter of pure good; it is because the dynasty has upheld humanity and is therefore obligated to uphold it. This rule is so weighty that even the dynasty cannot turn a blind eye.

Li Yaoguang continued, "When the fortune is disrupted, the first to be affected are not the common people, but the array foundation. The array foundation of the Northern Profound Pass is already damaged. If it is damaged again, those things outside can truly penetrate unimpeded."

Shen Qi stood up and cupped his hands in greeting: "This humble servant is grateful for your instruction."

Li Yaoguang waved her hand: "Don't give me that."

She slipped the sealed letter into her sleeve: "Let's go see the garrison commander first."

Shen Qi stood up as well. Li Yaoguang walked to the door, paused, and turned back to look at the seal on his waist: "Now that you have become the Suppressor of Evil, you will inevitably have to deal with evil corpses when you arrive outside the pass."

Shen Qi nodded.

"Before I came to the northern border, I had already taken up the post of the Suppressing Evil Envoy."

Li Yaoguang reached out and took a small wooden box from the shelf, tossing it to him.

Shen Qi caught it, opened it, and found three yellow talismans, a bottle of cinnabar, and a silver needle.

"Thank you, sir."

Two guards were waiting outside the gate with their horses. Seeing Shen Qi come out with Li Yaoguang, the guards, who had been sitting casually, immediately straightened up, silently handed over the reins, and said nothing more.

The four riders passed through the inner city's long street, and soldiers along the way made way for them. Someone noticed the Zhensha Envoy pattern on Shen Qi's robe and saw him riding alongside Yao Guang Envoy. He paused, whispered something, but was pulled by the sleeve of the person next to him to stop him from speaking.

The fortified city was built in the very center of the inner wall. It had a high gate with double eaves, and two bronze beasts guarding the gate stood in front of it. Inside the gate, heavily armored soldiers stood guard, and the officers and soldiers coming and going all carried scrolls and walked quickly.

Li Yaoguang dismounted and went straight inside.

The gatekeeper stepped forward and saluted.

"Envoy Yaoguang, the garrison commander is in a meeting."

"Perfect."

Li Yaoguang kept walking.

"I brought some people with me, so they can hear it too."

The captain hesitated for a moment, then turned his gaze to Shen Qi.

Li Yaoguang stopped in her tracks, coldly glancing at them: "Trying to stop me?"

The captain immediately stepped back.

"I wouldn't dare."

Shen Qi followed her across the threshold.

Inside the council hall, several generals argued around a sand table. The sand table was covered with red and black flags, and seven camps of refugees outside the pass were marked out, three of which had been heavily marked with cinnabar.

Seated in the main seat was a middle-aged man in armor, his temples graying, his face solemn. He looked up and saw Li Yaoguang, but before he could speak, his gaze fell on Shen Qi, pausing for two breaths.

The argument inside the hall then ceased.

Li Yaoguang raised her hand and pointed at Shen Qi.

"I've brought the man. Shen Qi, the envoy of Chengping County. From today onwards, he will be in charge of investigating the smuggling of evil spirits among the refugees outside the pass."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a general in red armor on the left slammed his fist on the table.

"Nonsense!"

Several wooden flags on the sand table were shaken and fell over.

The general stared at Shen Qi: "Hundreds of thousands of refugees, three thousand suspected criminals, seven camps! And you want a small-town envoy who just arrived at Beixuan Pass to handle the investigation? Envoy Yaoguang, are you willing to gamble the lives of all the soldiers and civilians of the pass with his mere eyesight?"