STG 39

Chapter 39: Tutoring

“Ding dong—Welcome!”

A crisp electronic chime rang out as Lin Qiye pushed open the door to the agency and stepped inside.

The moment he entered, he froze in place.

Sitting on the sofa in the agency’s front room was a grandmother in her fifties, leaning on a cane with one hand and adjusting her reading glasses with the other, animatedly describing something.

“…Ah, let me tell ya! My old man, he ain’t like this normally, y’know!

Back in the day, whenever we went out, he’d always hold my hand, scared somethin’ might happen to me. But startin’ last week, he ain’t doin’ that no more!

I’m tellin’ ya! He must’ve found himself another woman out there!”

Opposite her, Hong Ying was resting her chin on her hand, listening intently, occasionally interjecting with shocked responses:

“Huh? He’s really that awful?”

“Mhm, I think you’re absolutely right, Granny!”

“Wow, that’s just terrible!”

“Don’t worry, our agency will definitely handle this for you!”

Beside her, Wen Qimo was also sitting there with a perfectly serious expression, maintaining a warm, pleasant smile:

“I think Granny makes a valid point…”

“I think Hong Ying makes a valid point…”

“Yes, I think you’re both absolutely right…”

Seeing Lin Qiye standing dumbfounded at the door, Wen Qimo shot him a look, then stood up and followed him to the back of the shop.

Hong Ying remained seated, enthusiastically chatting away with the grandmother.

“What… what’s going on here?”

Once they reached the stairwell leading to the basement, Lin Qiye finally couldn’t hold back his question.

“Hm? Just normal work, why?”

“I thought the front shop was just a cover… You guys actually take real cases?”

“Qiye, you still don’t quite get it.” Wen Qimo patted his shoulder. “Cangnan isn’t a huge city, but it’s not tiny either. Mysterious incidents do happen, but there are only about five or six a year.

“What do you think we do here when there’s nothing supernatural to deal with? Just train and shoot the breeze all day? That’d be way too boring.”

“So… you expanded into investigating extramarital affairs?” Lin Qiye’s expression was deeply perplexed. “And the client is a grandmother in her fifties?”

“She’s actually sixty.”

“……”

“Look, taking on small, harmless cases like this gives us something to do and earns us some extra cash. Win-win!”

“I see…” Lin Qiye nodded thoughtfully. “So, besides investigating affairs, what other services do we offer?”

“Oh, our scope is broad. Very broad!” Wen Qimo’s eyes lit up. “Rescuing cats and dogs stuck in trees, tutoring kids below middle school level, providing legal aid to those in need, occasionally busting child trafficking rings, and sometimes even masking up to take down bank robbers…”

“Wait, that scope is way too broad!” Lin Qiye’s eyes widened. “Rescue, education, legal services, relationship counseling… You’re even stealing the police’s jobs?”

“Standard procedure.”

“I’m suddenly curious—who among you knows law?”

“Leng Xuan. Before joining the Night Watch, he was a Ph.D. in law from a top university.”

Lin Qiye: ?(????)?

The two walked into the underground activity area, and Wen Qimo patted his shoulder again. “Oh, right. The captain said to go find him in the training hall once you arrived.”

“Where’s that?”

“Just follow this hallway all the way to the end.”

“Got it.”

Lin Qiye passed through the activity room and followed the corridor forward.

He hadn’t noticed it during his last visit, but now he realized just how massive this underground space was.

With its winding hallways and mysterious rooms, Lin Qiye roughly estimated that the area was at least as wide as two city blocks.

Finally, he reached the end of the corridor, where a large iron door stood.

Lin Qiye pushed it open—inside was a vast, brightly lit training hall, at least the size of three soccer fields!

“Did they… hollow out the entire canal bed?” Lin Qiye muttered to himself.

Seeing him arrive, Chen Muye, who had been meditating in the center of the training hall, opened his eyes and waved him over.

“Captain.”

“Hm. What do you think of this place?”

“It’s… a bit of a contrast.” Lin Qiye answered honestly. “The front shop is just a tiny, unremarkable storefront, but down here, it’s this huge space. Feels like something out of a sci-fi movie.”

Chen Muye nodded slightly. “This place was built decades ago by someone with an earth-based Forbidden Ruin ability, so a project of this scale didn’t disturb the surface at all.”

“I see.”

“By the way, all your paperwork for joining the Night Watch has arrived. It’s filed in the archives—you can go check it out yourself if you want.” Chen Muye paused.

“However, your assigned saber, cloak, and insignia won’t be issued until you join the official training camp. For now, you’ll use this blade.”

Chen Muye handed Lin Qiye a straight saber from behind him. Lin Qiye took it and examined it, spotting three small characters engraved near the hilt.

—Zhao Kongcheng.

“This is…” Lin Qiye looked up in surprise.

“Old Zhao’s saber.” Chen Muye said calmly. “You were the one he chose. Now that he’s fallen in battle, his blade is yours to keep.”

Lin Qiye fell silent for a moment, then tightened his grip on the hilt. “Understood.”

Then, he asked curiously, “But I thought I was just a temporary member for now? Why do I need a blade?”

“There’s still over a month before the training camp starts. We’re not going to let you waste that time—we’ll teach you a few things.” Chen Muye slowly stood up, looking at Lin Qiye as he continued:

“After all, you’re joining our 136th Special Team. If you perform poorly in the training camp, it’ll make us look bad.”

Lin Qiye: “……”

For some reason, Lin Qiye suddenly felt like a kid being forced into cram school by his parents for bad grades…

“Fine. So, how do we train?” Lin Qiye didn’t hesitate. Even if Chen Muye hadn’t brought it up, he would’ve asked for combat instruction himself.

His life was his own.

Slacking off now would be slow suicide.

“Mornings, you train blades with me. Afternoons, you learn Forbidden Ruin usage with Wen Qimo. Evenings, firearms with Leng Xuan.” Chen Muye picked up two bamboo practice swords from a nearby weapon rack.

“Pick up your blade. We’re starting.”

Lin Qiye glanced at the straight saber beside him and blinked. “Captain, mine’s a real sword!”

“Doesn’t matter.” Chen Muye walked toward him expressionlessly, dual-wielding the bamboo swords. “The outcome will be the same either way.”

For some reason, Lin Qiye’s heart tightened—he had a vague sense of impending doom.

He picked up the straight saber, unsheathed it, and took a deep breath.

“Captain, here I come.”

Chen Muye nodded. “Go ahead.”

Lin Qiye’s gaze sharpened. Gripping the hilt, he dashed toward Chen Muye at full speed!

Three seconds later, his agonized screams echoed throughout the entire underground space…