Free Web NovelChapter 66: Chapter 66: Acting Constable
"Su Mu is a Taiping Bureau White Clothes? How is that possible?!"
In the South City Government Office, Sima Hu Yuxing sat behind his desk, his brow instantly knitting together.
"Sima, it’s the absolute truth!"
The speaker was Hu Yuxing’s Master, a man named Fu Peisheng. "Su Mu has already arrested the brothers Zhao Ji and Zhao Gui. He’s on his way to the Government Office now."
"Even if he is a Taiping Bureau White Clothes, what business does he have arresting the Zhao brothers?"
Hu Yuxing frowned. "A Taiping Bureau White Clothes should be dealing with demons."
"It seems the murder case in Five Miles Temple Village was orchestrated by Zhao Gui, and it also seems to be related to demons—"
Fu Peisheng said.
One of the constables Zhao Ji took with him was his informant. After Su Mu revealed his identity, the constable saw things were going south and immediately ran back to report. His knowledge was limited.
"Useless trash!"
Hu Yuxing cursed inwardly. ’This Zhao Ji is far worse than even Xing Zhao Fu. Truly unfit for any important task!’
’Skimming silver on the side is one thing, but daring to get involved in matters concerning demons? Isn’t that just courting death?’
"Sima, what do we do now?"
Fu Peisheng asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
That was the Taiping Bureau they were talking about. Who wouldn’t be afraid?
"What is there to be afraid of?"
Hu Yuxing’s expression was grim. He snorted coldly. "A Taiping Bureau White Clothes may be an official, but he’s merely Ninth Grade. He has no authority over me.
"I have no involvement with demons, so what do I have to fear from him?
"Besides, it’s not like the Hu Family doesn’t have its own Taiping Bureau White Clothes."
The fact that Su Mu was a Taiping Bureau White Clothes was unexpected and made things somewhat tricky for him.
But to say he was afraid would be an overstatement.
If Su Mu were a Taiping Captain, or a Taiping Capital Captain, then he might have felt some fear.
But he was just a probationary member of the Taiping Bureau. It wasn’t even certain if he’d get a permanent position in the future. What was there to fear?
He wasn’t some minor official with no backing. He was a scion of the Hu Family.
His own nephew was currently a Taiping Bureau White Clothes.
Hearing Hu Yuxing’s words, Fu Peisheng gradually calmed down.
On second thought, it seemed right. They had nothing to do with Zhao Ji’s involvement with demons; they were truly in the dark. Never mind a probationary White Clothes, they wouldn’t need to be afraid even if a Taiping Captain showed up.
As for the bit of silver they usually skimmed, it hardly seemed enough to warrant the Taiping Bureau’s intervention.
"Sima, if Su Mu is already a Taiping Bureau White Clothes, why is he still holed up in our South City Bureau as a lowly squad leader?"
Fu Peisheng complained. Wasn’t this just setting people up?
A Taiping Bureau White Clothes was already a Ninth Grade official, while a squad leader was just an unranked minor functionary.
"You don’t understand."
Hu Yuxing said, "To put it plainly, a Taiping Bureau White Clothes is still on probation. It’s not certain if they can become a Taiping Capital Captain. From what I know, only about two or three out of ten White Clothes manage to get promoted.
"To get that promotion, besides their own strength, they need to slay demons and eliminate evil to accumulate enough merit.
"Think about it. The White Clothes are just candidates for the Taiping Bureau. They definitely don’t get assigned important missions.
"If they want to accumulate merit, they have to find their own opportunities."
"Can’t they slay demons and eliminate evil using their identity as a Taiping Bureau White Clothes?"
Fu Peisheng asked, confused.
"Of course they can, but how are they supposed to find out the whereabouts of demons and evil spirits?"
Hu Yuxing said, "Before becoming a Taiping Capital Captain, they aren’t qualified to use the Taiping Bureau’s own intelligence channels.
"If they come from a prominent family, it’s fine; they’ll have their own sources.
"But for someone like Su Mu, who comes from a common background, even if he got lucky enough to become a Taiping Bureau White Clothes, accumulating merit isn’t so easy. Laying low in the South City Bureau and using its power to accumulate merit is the best choice for him."
Hu Yuxing was, after all, a scion of the Hu Family, one of the four great families of the Inner City. With his worldly knowledge, he had instantly figured out Su Mu’s plan.
"Doesn’t the Taiping Bureau care? He’s clearly a Taiping Bureau White Clothes, yet he’s also working as a constable? How can the Taiping Bureau allow such a thing?"
Fu Peisheng grumbled.
"This is how the Taiping Bureau cultivates its candidates. The White Clothes are just candidates, and the Bureau’s attitude towards them is ’free-range.’ They don’t restrict what they do.
"As long as they meet the Bureau’s assessment standards within the specified time, it’s fine."
Hu Yuxing’s own nephew was a Taiping Bureau White Clothes, so he naturally knew these details like the back of his hand.
"The identity of a Taiping Bureau White Clothes might be enough to scare others, but to scare me? He’s a long way from that."
Hu Yuxing snorted. "In the South City Bureau, I don’t care if he’s a Taiping Bureau White Clothes or not. Here, he’s just a squad leader. If he thinks he can have special privileges, he can forget it."
"You are truly formidable, Sima!"
Fu Peisheng exclaimed with sincere admiration. ’To be unafraid of even the Taiping Bureau... Lord Sima is truly incredible.’
***
The sky had grown dim, and a fine, steady rain had begun to fall at some point.
The main hall of the South City Bureau was silent and solemn.
Nearly all of the hundred-odd constables were there, and outside, another hundred-plus constables stood waiting.
Most of them didn’t know what was happening and were murmuring amongst themselves, their expressions unavoidably tense and grave.
Inside the Hall Office, Sima Hu Yuxing, Master Fu Peisheng, Su Mu, and several squad leaders, including Zheng Wang, were all present.
"Lord Sima, that is the long and short of the matter. I suspect the No-Heaven Sect is using some method to artificially create demons, so I would like to ask you, Lord Sima, to dispatch men to help me eradicate the No-Heaven Sect."
Su Mu said in a low voice.
The corpse of the No-Heaven Sect’s Dharma Protector lay on the floor. Zhao Ji and Zhao Gui were bound and held at the front of the hall. The evidence was irrefutable.
"The No-Heaven Sect is a scourge upon South City. Naturally, we must eradicate them."
Hu Yuxing said, "But I would like to ask, in what capacity have you come?"
"What’s the difference?"
Before Su Mu could speak, Wei Yongfu, whom he had brought as a guard, spoke up.
"There is a difference, of course."
Master Fu Peisheng said, "If Sergeant Su has come in his capacity as a Taiping Bureau White Clothes, then it is no trouble for us at the South City Bureau to cooperate with the Taiping Bureau’s operation. Everything will be under Su Taiping’s command, with the three squads of the South City Bureau providing support.
"If he has come in his capacity as Sergeant Su, then eradicating the No-Heaven Sect will be an internal operation of our South City Bureau."
Wei Yongfu was completely bewildered. He couldn’t hear any difference at all.
He didn’t understand, but Su Mu did.
A probationary member of the Taiping Bureau didn’t have enough clout to command a City Bureau’s Sima. If they "cooperated," it would be just that—cooperation in name only. Showing up but putting in no real effort was standard procedure.
If he undertook this matter as a squad leader, then it would be done under the leadership of the South City Bureau. If successful, the greatest credit would go to the Sima of the South City Bureau for devising strategies from within his command tent.
Who took the lead seemed like a small difference, but in reality, it would directly determine whether the matter could be accomplished at all.
"This matter began with the murder case in Five Miles Temple Village. I was ordered to investigate this case in my capacity as a squad leader of the South City Bureau, and it is only natural that I see it through to the end."
Su Mu paused in thought, then said slowly, "The South City Bureau’s acting constable, Zhao Ji, is suspected of colluding with demons. I am willing to temporarily take his position and lead the three squads of the South City Bureau to crush the No-Heaven Sect."
A thoughtful expression appeared on Hu Yuxing’s face. He also understood Su Mu’s meaning: Su Mu was willing to cede the credit to him, but in return, Su Mu wanted the position of South City Bureau’s constable.
To put it bluntly, it was an exchange.
Wei Yongfu blinked, looking from Su Mu to Hu Yuxing and back.
He understood every word they were saying, but when put together, why did he feel like he didn’t understand at all?
’Politics really is complicated,’ Wei Yongfu grumbled to himself. ’I’m better off just being a Ghostwriter.’
"Good! Constable Xiao Su, I, the Sima, hereby authorize you. I trust you will achieve swift success and annihilate all those lawbreakers!"
Hu Yuxing said after a moment of weighing his options.
***
