Liang Yue's martial arts examination results were not ideal.
In the entirety of Fukang Square garrison, there were a total of twenty-eight deputy guards, and he ranked first. However, compared to those fourteen official guards, his results were only mediocre.
"Sigh."
Sitting on the doorstep outside the martial arts field, he looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.
The foundation of this body was still too weak.
"Ah Yue, what are you sighing about?" Pang Chun walked over, sat down beside him, and asked in confusion, "How well did you do? Those official guards are all second realm martial artists, and you're only at the first realm of cultivation. Your swordsmanship, boxing, and archery are almost as good as theirs. Everyone says you're a genius!"
"If you're inferior, you're inferior," Liang Yue shook his head and said.
Others did not know his ambitions... With such performance, when would he be able to become an official guard?
Liang Yue was tall and robust, quite conspicuous, and with his heroic appearance and clear, handsome features, his eyes bright and spirited, he indeed had the air of an extraordinary figure.
But next to Pang Chun, he seemed quite slender in comparison.
This fellow's physique was like a stone tower, truly tall and robust. With his bull-like eyes, straight nose, square mouth, and broad shoulders and back, he stood out in a crowd like a stationary goose among chickens.
Liang Yue glanced at him and asked, "Big Chun, what rank were you?"
"Twenty-eighth!" Pang Chun puffed up his chest and answered loudly.
What are you so proud of...
Liang Yue couldn't help but smile.
But he was still somewhat puzzled and asked, "With your tremendous strength, even if your martial arts skills are lacking, you shouldn't be ranking last, right? What happened?"
"Everything before was fine, just not the archery," Big Chun scratched his head, speaking somewhat sullenly.
"Old Tang zero out of ten arrows, could you be worse than him?" Liang Yue said.
"No, I only missed one arrow," Big Chun replied, then paused and added, "But it ended up in Commander Hu's buttocks."
"..." Liang Yue couldn't help but grin and almost laughed out loud.
No wonder.
The leader of the Fukang Square garrison was the junior officer Hu Tiehan, although a third realm martial artist, had muscles as tough as wrought iron. But being hit by someone with Big Chun's natural bull strength, he definitely wouldn't feel too comfortable.
And Commander Hu was a man particularly petty.
Ranking Pang Chun last was already lenient. For deputy guards like them, being kicked out was only a word away from the commanding officer.
In the end, Liang Yue still couldn't hold back a laugh, then said, "You didn't injure him with that shot, did you?"
"You know my strength, how could he be okay?" Big Chun slapped his arms with a thump thump, somewhat proudly, "It just went pfft and pierced right in, Commander Hu's physique couldn't withstand it!"
Liang Yue was about to agree with him when he suddenly saw an additional shadow on the ground, as if there was a sudden rush of cold wind, and his whole body turned cold.
He quickly said, "Brother Hu has an iron body, how can you hurt him? Perhaps it only broke some of his clothes."
"Impossible." Big Chun waved his hand, "I saw it with my own eyes, when the arrow struck, blood spurted out! Commander Hu was grinning in pain."
"Perhaps he was looking elsewhere and didn't notice, and you accidentally injured him slightly with your full-strength shot, haha..." Liang Yue said, laughing and making excuses.
"I didn't even use my full strength. The garrison doesn't have enough bow draw weights, so I only used about seventy percent of my strength," Big Chun said with a crooked smile, "I didn't expect it would break Commander Hu's defense... why are you constantly winking? Did staring at the target too much dry out your eyes?"
Liang Yue kept winking at Big Chun, trying to give him a hint, seeing that he was clueless, he could only say aloud, "That's really unfortunate. Commander Hu is a heroic person, always the most respected by us. Having injured him today, surely you must feel very remorseful, right?"
"What are you talking about?" Big Chun chuckled, "Have you forgotten about the times he repeatedly made us increase night patrols and then deducted our subsidies..."
"Ahem!" A heavy cough suddenly came from behind them.
The two of them immediately jumped up.
Turning around, they saw a man in light armor with a beard, standing behind them with a taut face, hands on the hilt of his waist sword, looking like he was ready to pull it out and chop something at any moment.
Big Chun's face showed panic: "Commander Hu!"
Indeed, the person who had been standing behind them eavesdropping was none other than the junior officer Hu Tiehan.
"Liang Yue performed well this time, snatching the top rank among the deputy guards soon after joining the garrison, showing great promise. Twenty-eight, your arm strength is truly extraordinary, but your archery accuracy is lacking. With diligent practice, you too can achieve great things," Commander Hu evaluated the two.
"Eh..." Big Chun blinked, "Commander Hu, are you complimenting me?"
He really wants to chop you down... Liang Yue thought silently to himself, not even referring to him by his full name, and just calling out 'Twenty-eight,' showing just how displeased Commander Hu was.
"Of course, everyone in the garrison knows my magnanimity. How could I possibly take issue with a mere arrow of yours?" Hu Tiehan said cheerfully, "By the way, there have been frequent fires in the Square lately, and I was just thinking about adding two more night patrol teams. Since you, Twenty-eight, are so brave, I'll entrust this task to you!"
"Ah?" Big Chun's expression soured.
Night patrolling was hardly a favored task.
Liang Yue quietly tugged at him, signaling him to quickly follow orders; at this moment, further defiance was feared to truly infuriate Hu Tiehan.
Who knew Hu Tiehan would immediately turn around and say, "Liang Yue! Since you're worried about him, you both can go together!"
"Ah?"
Upon hearing he had company, Pang Chun's sorrow turned to joy. However, the look of anguish didn't disappear but shifted onto Liang Yue's face instead.
...
The wind howled fiercely on this night in February.
Liang Yue, holding a flickering torch, walked along the pitch-dark square, facing the wind and staring into the distance, speechless and choked with emotion.
"This is such a sin!" he lamented in his heart.
He was actually not from this world, but rather a student who'd just finished his college entrance exams. As a poor student who had been addicted to various detective novels and comics for two and a half years, he had made a concerted effort in the last six months to apply to his desired university, majoring in politics and law. Surprisingly, he exhibited an astonishing talent, achieving the excellent score of fourth in the province.
Yet, he still wasn't satisfied, wondering what sort of monsters the top three must be.
However, just as he had passed the physical examination and was preparing to embrace a bright future, he was hit by a drunk truck driver. When he woke up, he found himself in this world.
A vast and mysterious world.
There were spirits and demons, myriad cultivation practices, and numerous spiritual treasures and immortal seeds, born from the essence of the sun and the moon. Among the Human Clan, those with talent could unlock hidden potentials, harnessing the power of heaven and earth.
To the northwest lay the vast Jiuyang Land, rife with secret realms, perilous lands, and toxic miasmas, occupied by tribes that had split from the ancient Guyang Country; to the southeast was the fertile Jiuzhou Continent, filled with spiritual energy and outstanding individuals, currently under the rule of the thousand-year-old unified Yin Dynasty.
He found that he was still himself, with the same appearance and name, but his identity and experiences had completely changed.
Here, Liang Yue was a proud Imperial Guardian of Dragon Abyss City within the Divine Capital of the Yin Dynasty... a reserve guard, whose greatest aspiration was to be promoted to a full guardian, a hope that always seemed forever out of reach.
Nearly three months since arriving here, under the identity of an Imperial Guardian of Dragon Abyss City, he gradually adapted to everything in this world... including Pang Chun.
Pang Chun was the tall man beside Liang Yue. They both hailed from Peace Alley, having played together since childhood and now, following the same guard, they were always together.
When they first arrived at the Fukang Square station, nobody knew Pang Chun's family name; they simply knew him as a man called "Chun."
After a few months, everyone came to remember his full name... Big Silly Chun.
Having such a brother sometimes truly left Liang Yue helpless, like tonight, because of Pang Chun's blunder, he too suffered the displaced anger, thrown onto the duty of overnight patrol.
"A-Yue, try the sweet potatoes my mother baked, they're really tasty." They reached a wind-sheltered corner, and Big Chun pulled out a steaming oily paper bag from his bosom, taking out the food inside.
"Sure, I'm actually hungry." Pang Chun's mother's roasted sweet potatoes were always soft, sticky, and sweet; Liang Yue was tempted and reached out to take one.
However, when he opened the bag, inside was a pile of squished, sticky yellow mash.
"Oops, it got flattened by my pecs," said Big Chun as he slapped his forehead, then lifted his eyes as if he'd discovered something fun and grinned broadly, "What does it look like?"
"I've suddenly lost my appetite," Liang Yue mutely retracted his hand, saying, "Let's stay focused. If anyone starts a fire, we absolutely can't let them get away."
"Don't worry, if there really is a bad guy, I can handle him with just one hand... Ah! Ghost!" Big Chun patted his chest, boasting, but his words cut short as he let out a sharp scream.
Liang Yue looked in the direction of the scream, just in time to see a green light shooting up into the sky not far away, almost like a towering giant. In the darkness, there appeared to be a pair of bottomless eye sockets eerily watching them.
"What's going on?" Liang Yue immediately said, "Let's go check it out!"
With a snap, he drew his sword and rushed towards the ghostly figure.
"A-Yue, wait for me..." Pang Chun trailed behind with his hefty body, though terrified by the ghostly figure, he dared not stay alone and had no choice but to follow Liang Yue.
Liang Yue also harbored apprehensions in his heart.
The spirits and demons of this world were no mere illusions, but truly wicked entities, and naturally, he was afraid of encountering them. Afraid as he might be, he remembered that the ghostly shadow emerged from the backyard of a shop on Linmen Street, where many residents lived. Compared to them, armed with martial arts cultivation, the unarmed common people were undoubtedly in more danger.
That's why he didn't hesitate and resolutely rushed to the scene.
Although the fiery figure seemed close, the streets wound and turned. By the time the two hurried over, the vast green ghostly figure had already vanished, replaced by towering flames!
Mighty infernos and billowing smoke seemed to spring up out of nowhere, engulfing an entire shop's backyard in moments, cries of panic filling their ears.
The residents nearby, awakened by the sounds of the blaze and screams, hastily dressed and brought water, attempting to help put out the fire.
There wasn't a single spark just moments ago, how could it suddenly turn into this?
"I checked before going to bed! Where did this fire start?"
"Help—"
"It's a ghost, definitely a ghost!"
Amid the chaos, Liang Yue's gaze quickly swept the surroundings, but he saw no suspicious figures. In the vast night, the whistling wind sounded like a sinister laugh.
Could it be...
There really was a malevolent spirit at play?