A person sacrifices himself to become a saint in a chaotic world of martial arts.

Zhenfu Division, Case Acceptance Office.

The glow of the oil lamp flickered slightly on the wall, casting a long shadow of the person writing at the desk.

Xiang Quan paused, blew on the still-wet ink on the paper, and then carefully straightened the pages that recorded the whole story of Mao Buli's case.

"Alright, now that you're done, go back and rest early. Remember to come to work on time tomorrow, and I'll take you to find the officer." Xiang Quan stood up, walked to the row of heavy oak cabinets by the wall, opened one of the drawers, and carefully placed the case file inside.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Xiang." Su Bai stood up and replied respectfully.

"It's nothing." Xiang Quan turned around, walked back to the desk, opened the drawer and rummaged around for a bit, taking out a receipt with a red stamp. "By the way, take this receipt; it's proof of registration."

"Yes." Su Bai nodded, stepped forward, and took the light but significant piece of paper with both hands. He could feel the texture of the paper and the cool ink on his fingertips.

He carefully folded the receipt and put it into the inner pocket close to his body.

After hesitating for a moment, he still spoke with anticipation: "Uncle Xiang, I want to ask... I've done a great service this time, right? Is there any chance I'll be promoted to a regular officer?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Quan did not answer immediately.

He sat back in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

After a moment, he slowly spoke: "Normally speaking, a single major merit is not enough to directly promote someone to a regular constable. It's just a little bit too much."

He saw the light in Su Bai's eyes dim, and then changed the subject, lowering his voice: "However, things are possible with human effort. You need to find the right people, and if you find the right people and put in the right effort, there is hope."

"Then who should I look for?" Su Bai's spirits lifted, and he quickly asked, his body involuntarily leaning forward.

Xiang Quan glanced at the doorway to make sure no one was there before moving closer and speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"You can try your luck with any of the three constables in this area. Constable Wang is upright, disciplined, and intolerant of any wrongdoing; trying to get through to him will be difficult. Constable Chen..."

Xiang Quan paused, a complex look flashing across his eyes that Su Bai couldn't decipher.

"You know he has the widest connections and is very resourceful. As for Chief Li, he's usually a quiet type and doesn't pay much attention to trivial matters, but he's the most senior and I've heard his background isn't simple either. Perhaps... he's also an option."

Su Bai nodded seriously, memorizing every word.

Fortunately, my father had made a good relationship with Uncle Xiang in his early years.

Otherwise, such a crucial matter concerning one's future career advancement...

Even if others knew, would they easily reveal everything to him, a temporary helper?

When we left the heavy gate of the Zhenfu Division, the sky was already a deep blue, with a few scattered stars twinkling faintly.

The night breeze, carrying a coolness, brushed against Su Bai's cheeks, but Su Bai felt a burning heat in his chest, extremely comfortable.

He touched the receipt in his pocket, as if he had already touched a bright future.

As soon as it gets light.

Once the merit is officially confirmed.

That formal uniform, symbolizing his status and future, seemed to be beckoning to him from not far away.

……

Su Bai was unaware that shortly after he and Xiang Quan left the case handling office, one after the other...

A figure dressed in a constable's uniform, walking hurriedly, quietly entered.

It was Chen, the constable.

His sharp gaze swept over the rows of tall filing cabinets in the room, as if he were extremely familiar with the layout.

Soon, he found the fresh case file about Mao Buli in the "filed, pending verification" area.

He quickly pulled out the few pages with fresh ink and began to browse them rapidly by the light of the oil lamp.

The light shone on his face, revealing an expression that was hard to suppress, a mixture of excitement and calculation.

Finally, he carefully folded the papers, tucked them into his sleeve, and looked around warily once more.

He then left the Zhenfu Division with light but silent steps, his figure quickly blending into the night outside.

……

The next day, just as dawn was breaking and the east was beginning to lighten, the sky began to turn a pale white.

Su Bai was so excited that he barely slept all night, and even temporarily put aside his daily morning cultivation practice.

He got up early, splashed his face with cold water, stuffed a few mouthfuls of the cold, hard bread left over from last night, and then couldn't wait to go out the door.

When we arrived at the street where the Zhenfusi was located, the morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the bluestone road was wet.

The pair of stone lions at the yamen stood quietly in the morning mist, and one of the vermilion gates was already open.

In the training ground, not many colleagues had arrived yet. They gathered in twos and threes, talking in hushed tones, or adjusting the swords and ropes on their bodies.

Old Wang was nowhere to be seen, but Sun Hou had already arrived and was leaning against the old locust tree in the courtyard, yawning.

"Brother Su, did the sun rise in the west today? You've arrived a quarter of an hour earlier than usual!" Sun Hou, with sharp eyes, saw Su Bai enter and waved to greet him, his face bearing his usual somewhat lazy smile.

"Brother Sun." Su Bai walked over quickly, nodded in response, and the smile on his face, which he couldn't hide, made his eyes shine especially brightly in the morning light.

"Oh?" Sun Hou looked him up and down, his curiosity piqued. "What's wrong? You're all smiles like you've found a gold ingot. What good thing happened? Tell Brother Sun quickly!" He leaned closer and nudged Su Bai with his shoulder.

"It's nothing, really nothing," Su Bai waved his hand, trying to appear calm, but the corners of his mouth still involuntarily turned up. "You'll find out soon enough... you'll see soon enough."

"What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious!" Sun Hou was intrigued by his attitude and pressed on relentlessly, "Can't we tell you about our relationship? Tell me now, or I'll be itching to tell you."

"I really can't tell you, Brother Sun." Su Bai shook his head decisively this time, but still smiled. "Anyway, it's a good thing."

If it were anything else, he probably would have said it.

But the matter of his promotion must be kept secret until everything is finalized; this was something he had repeatedly told himself last night.

"Huh? Why is Officer Chen here so early today?"

One of the sharp-eyed constables whispered something.

The once somewhat loose and noisy training ground instantly became much quieter.

Everyone looked up and saw Chen Cha Tou's familiar figure emerging from behind the moon gate of the second hall, his steps seemingly more hurried than usual, heading straight for the main hall.

Su Bai and Sun Hou quickly stood up straight and composed themselves.

Su Bai watched Chen Cha Tou's retreating figure, her heart pounding faster involuntarily.

He originally intended to go up now and report his meritorious service yesterday, but then he changed his mind.

Let's wait until Uncle Xiang arrives before we talk about it.

With Uncle Xiang present to corroborate, his words would be more credible and more reliable.

He suppressed his eagerness, but his gaze involuntarily followed the direction where Chen Chatou had disappeared, waiting quietly.