Nightwatcher

# 82. A Sudden Incident

*My damn eyes are going blind, my damn titanium alloy eyes are going blind…* both of Xu Qi’an’s eyes were in searing pain, hot tears flowing down.

In that one moment where he looked at the Sitianjian, it felt as if two needles had been shoved into his eyes. His consciousness wavered for a moment, before that searing pain struck him.

Song Tingfeng put a knee on Xu Qi’an’s chest, stopping him from rolling around, and then pulled up his eyelids. He saw that Xu Qi’an’s eyes were bloodshot red, but he did not seem to be hurt or blind.

Song Tingfeng let out a sigh of relief, and stopped caring about this stupid colleague.

After about fifteen minutes, the pain in Xu Qi’an’s eyes faded, as he sat on the ground red-eyed, his vision still blurry, only being able to see his colleagues clearly.

“What did you just do?” Song Tingfeng’s voice floated over to him.

“I looked at the Stargazing tower…” Xu Qi’an closed his eyes, saying hesitantly, “My younger cousin is a student at the Cloud Deer Academy, and today he gave me a piece of paper with the qi-watching technique recorded on it.”

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao both knew about the Xu Family, and nodded upon hearing this.

Xu Qi’an continued, “And then with the qi-watching technique, I glanced over at the Sitianjian.”

Afterwards, he found that Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao stayed silent for ages.

Song Tingfeng sighed, “Do you know that Sir Jianzheng likes to stand on the Bagua platform, on top of the tower?”

“No.”

“Then do you know, that the top of the top of the Arcanist path, is our Sir Jianzheng?”

“I do know this point.”

“Mhm, and you used qi-watching to look at the Jianzheng, are you trying to kill yourself?”

“I- I didn’t know about this…”

Zhu Guangxiao sighed, “The Nightwatchers frequently have exchanges with the Sitianjian Arcanists. As you gain experience, you’ll know about these things more and more.”

Apart from the Arcanists themselves, and of course the Confucianists, normal people would not be able to watch qi.

Xu Qi’an’s case was purely an exception.

The three of them did not continue their patrol, rather resting by the side of the street, waiting quietly for Xu Qi’an’s damned eyes to regain their vision.

After a long time, a red glow suddenly appeared in the east, and stayed for a few seconds, before disappearing.

“Sching!”

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao in unison drew their sabres.

Xu Qi’an, having just recovered his vision, asked “What’s the matter?”

Song Tingfeng replied solemnly, “A red light is a warning for us, usually used in situations of an arrest warrant. Perhaps some squad of Nightwatchers have discovered a suspicious person, but they escaped… looking at the distance, it is very close to us.

“Ningyan, your eyes haven’t recovered, you’ll be responsible for patrolling on the streets. Guangxiao, we’ll look out from the rooftops.”

The two of them used their qinggong, and jumped onto the nearest roof, splitting up and going different ways.

The area that the three of them had to patrol was very large, and so in these cases, they could only split up and search.

Seeing his two colleagues leaving, Xu Qi’an drew his sabre in one hand, his crossbow in the other, and then tightened the bronze gong on his chest, as well as adjusting the heart-protection mirror within his robes.

Bone-corroding posion, he usually did not use. He didn’t smear it on his blade, for fear that one day his brain might have an off day, and he’d go and take a lick.

Xu Qi’an started searching around on high alert. After a while, he saw a bronze gong flying over the rooftops, coming to a stop on the roof in front of him, asking: “Where are the other two?”

Xu Qi’an said, “We’ve split up. What’s happened?”

The bronze gong replied “The Earl Pingyuan has been killed. The two people responsbile for that area have been hurt, and the perpetrator has escaped using some unknown techniques. We currently don’t know where he is.”

*The Earl Pingyuan… an earl has been killed!?*

Xu Qi’an was shocked; to someone who dared to kill an earl in the inner city, his first reaction should not have been anger, but rather scalp-tingling unease.

Even though day by day the power and influence of the Great Feng was waning, but an earl was still an earl, they must have had high-skilled masters living in the manor.

And that perpetrator could still kill an earl, and hurt Nightwatchers, and just waltz on out of there. They were no ordinary character.

Without a doubt, if he were to meet him, Xu Qi’an would be at far more risk.

After that bronze gong finished speaking, he darted away, probably to notify the guards at the city gate.

*Shit… my eyes haven’t recovered fully, anything I look at is blurry… but with my European Emperor body, I probably won’t encounter him…* Xu Qi’an quietly prayed to not run into this killer.

At this time, he felt that a message had just come in from the Earth Book fragment. After dripping blood and becoming its owner, between him and this Earth Book formed a mysterious connection.

*Which one is not asleep at this hour and browsing the group chat?*

Confused, he pulled out the jade mirror, and saw written on it a line of characters:

【SIX: Everyone, I’ve encountered trouble in the capital, can I get some help?】

After a few minutes, Jinlian came online: 【NINE: what trouble did you encounter?】

【SIX: I’m trapped in the inner city, facing the Nightwatchers’ pursuit. At most after two hours, the Arcanists of the Sitianjian will come, and then I will be hard-pressed to escape this calamity.】

Xu Qi’an: ???

*No, it can’t be…*

He immediately thought to the death of the Earl Pingyuan; *SIX was that killer?*

For a time, no one spoke. Jinlian Daozhang seemed to also find it a troubling problem, and for a time couldn’t give a suggestion.

【TWO: You could try use force to escape the encirclement?】

【SIX: No, I’m too far away from the city gate, and on the path are Nightwatcher patrols. Furthermore, outside of the inner city was still the outer city.】

【TWO: Do you have any magic items that could hide your qi?】

【SIX: No.】

【NINE: This poor Daoist has some, but I cannot bring them to you.】

【SIX: Daozhang relax. If I cannot escape this calamity, I will leave the Earth Book where it is, you can simply find it by its qi aura.】

In the capital, especially the inner city, trying to escape when one was being actively hunted down was a nigh on impossible task.

【TWO: You damn bald ass,[^1] don’t say defeatist words.】

At this time, a new person came onto the stage.

【FOUR: I have some relation with the Human Sect’s leader… problem is Lingbao Temple is in the inner city.】

【TWO: Is this any better than not saying anything at all?】

*FOUR has relations with the female national teacher… Jinlian Daozhang didn’t lie; the ones who carry the Earth Book are not ordinary people.*

*TWO called SIX a bald-ass, is SIX a Buddhist then?*

Xu Qi’an lurked silently.

At the same time, he saw the Heaven and Earth Society’s cohesion. Even though the holders of the Earth Book all had their guards up, not revealing their identities, but they still had that support between the members.

【TWO: Bald-ass, go ask ONE, he’s in the capital.】

One was probably also lurking, but after Two dragged him in, he no longer stayed silent: 【ONE: What did you do?】

【SIX: I killed Earl Pingyuan.】

*Of course it was him, the killer tonight was him!*

*SIX admitted so quickly, he’s too honest and frank… when I asked him that day if he was a member of the Heaven and Earth Society or not, he also did not hesitate to admit so… a monk does not lie?*

*But he’s committed murder, where the hell did you get the idea to go to the Earl Pingyuan’s house in the middle of the night to kill the man?*

Xu Qi’an complained.

The Earth Book group chat fell silent, and for a long while no one spoke.

Probably because they were all shocked by what Six had done.

After a long while, One replied: 【ONE: Sorry, I cannot help you.】

【NINE: One, you are also in the Heaven and Earth Society, if you can help then help. This poor Daoist believes that SIX would not kill with no reason.】

*What Jinlian Daozhang meant by this, was that he thought that ONE could help SIX? Even with the pursuit by the Nightwatchers and the city guard, with the imminent arrival of the Sitianjian Arcanists, he still thought that ONE could help SIX?*

*Mm, Jinlian Daozhang is the only one who knows everyone’s identities… ONE’s background and status might be higher than I thought.*

Xu Qi’an adjusted his impressions slightly.

What responded to Jinlian was silence. One’s expression seemed to be very stubborn; they would not help.

Xu Qi’an started thinking, *SIX killed Earl Pingyuan, so ONE doesn’t want to help SIX.*

*TWO is a hot-blooded character, at least on the surface. SIX is a Buddhist, very honest, never lying. FOUR has some relations with the Human Sect’s leader, his background is not clear yet. NINE is Jinlian Daozhang, and ONE is someone within the court, who likes to lurk, and with a very high status… this Mafia game is quite interesting.*

*Let me also boast- no, display my talents.* Xu Qi’an used his finger as a pen, and wrote:

【THREE: Six, I can consider helping you, but I must first know why you killed Earl Pingyuan. Hehe, you can of course not answer, and refuse my offer, but do not lie.

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[^1]: (derogatory) A Buddhist Monk