Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Shen Qingqiu stayed in the Six Doors Medical Clinic for two days. After his injuries had healed a little, he left the clinic despite the doctor's objections.

The reason was that Xue Fuling had disappeared, and they hadn't found any useful clues.

She returned to the Six Doors with her injuries and immediately became involved in the search for Xue Fuling.

That noon,

A subordinate reported that they had uncovered a clue: one of the people who participated in the attack on Shen Qingqiu had his ring finger cut off by Shen Qingqiu, and today, a person with a newly severed ring finger appeared in the Chang Le Fang area, suspected to be one of the people who participated in the attack on Shen Qingqiu.

At this point, the person had been identified.

Shen Qingqiu immediately changed into civilian clothes and, accompanied by two trusted constables, left the Six Doors, preparing to head to Chang Le Fang.

As she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and asked, "You mean Chang Le Fang?"

The constable nodded and said, "Yes."

"We've located the person, we won't lose them, right?" Shen Qingqiu asked.

"No, Lord Shen, please rest assured."

Shen Qingqiu stood there, the morning breeze ruffling her hair and fluttering the tassel of the short sword at her waist. She glanced down at the sword, then turned and strode towards the inner courtyard of the Six Doors.

She went straight to the Hall of Merit of the Six Doors.

The Hall of Merit is a distinctive building of the Six Doors, housing many rare treasures, martial arts weapons, and other valuable items. It serves as a convenient gateway for those who have rendered meritorious service within the Six Doors, since the Six Doors' salaries are neither low nor high, and many good things are beyond their means.

Therefore, the Six Doors introduced a merit system, where merits accumulated through meritorious service can be exchanged for various rare treasures.

The Hall of Merit was a three-story brick building, rarely visited by anyone. The two guards at the gate, recognizing Shen Qingqiu, quickly bowed. She nodded and pushed open the door to enter.

Shen Qingqiu walked straight to the innermost counter. The advisor on duty was an old man in his fifties surnamed Sun, who had been sitting on the sidelines in the Hall of Merit for twenty years.

"Commander Shen?" Counselor Sun looked up. "You've come at the right time. The gold-threaded soft armor you took a liking to was just transported from the main office yesterday. I was planning to inform you once you recovered, but I didn't expect you to recover so quickly. Are you here to exchange for the soft armor?"

"Old Master Sun," Shen Qingqiu said, "I remember there's a famous sword in the building."

Councilor Sun paused for a moment, then asked, "Commander Shen, are you referring to... Qiu Shui?"

"right."

Councilor Sun put down his pen and asked suspiciously, "Commander Shen, you're not going to exchange for the Autumn Water Sword, are you?"

"Mm." Shen Qingqiu nodded.

Sun, the counselor, paused, carefully choosing his words: "Commander Shen... I remember that you don't use a sword. Could it be that you recently obtained some kind of divine sword technique manual? You need to take it slowly and not rush things. There's no need to use a famous sword right away."

You've been eyeing that golden silk armor for three years, and now you've just accumulated enough merit points. That armor is as light and thin as silk, extremely rare, and you won't get another one anytime soon. The required merit points aren't easy to accumulate either. Have you thought it through? Do you really want to exchange it for a sword that's not much use to you?

Shen Qingqiu hesitated slightly.

The gold-threaded soft armor was actually far more important to her than what Counselor Sun had said.

The internal energy cultivation technique she practiced, the Xuan Yang Scripture, had a fatal weakness. Although she could conceal it when practicing, it would be a fatal flaw if seen through by a top-tier expert. The soft golden armor she wore close to her body perfectly protected that vital point.

She had long desired this golden silk armor, but such precious armor was extremely rare, and the Six Doors of Qingyang County had always been vacant.

but,

Shen Qingqiu hesitated only slightly before saying, "Elder Sun, let's change swords. I'm quite busy."

Sun, the counselor, didn't say anything more. He turned around, pushed open the door, and went into the storeroom. Soon, he came out carrying a box in both hands.

Then, he took out a book, turned to the page with Shen Qingqiu's record of merits, wrote a few strokes on the paper with his pen, and then turned the book over and asked Shen Qingqiu to put his seal on it.

Shen Qingqiu pressed his handprint, picked up the box, turned around and left, his pace much faster than when he came.

Then, Shen Qingqiu slung the Autumn Water Sword across her back, with the two short swords still hanging at her waist, and strode out of the Six Doors. Two trusted constables were still waiting at the door, and quickly followed her when they saw her come out.

The three of them walked through several streets and alleys, heading towards Chang Le Fang.

Chang Le Fang is one of the busiest areas in the east of Qingyang City, with numerous restaurants and teahouses, and a diverse mix of people from all walks of life.

Shen Qingqiu led his men to investigate.

However, the final result was disappointing.

The intelligence was correct; there is indeed such a person.

But he wasn't one of the people who participated in the attack on Shen Qingqiu that day; he was just a gambler who was caught cheating at the gambling table two days ago, and the people at the gambling den chopped off one of his ring fingers.

The trail went cold.

Shen Qingqiu left with his men, looking dejected.

However, when she reached a fork in the road, she separated from her two subordinates and headed towards Qingping Lane alone.

As she walked down the alley, her pace quickened unconsciously.

After passing through two alleys and around an old well, you arrive at Qingping Alley.

Deep in the alley, the door of Gu's Medical Clinic was still open, a wooden door half-closed.

Shen Qingqiu stood at the door for a while, straightened her collar, and adjusted the sword case on her back. She walked to the door and looked around. There was no one in the clinic. She went in and called out to the inner courtyard, "Gu Guanqi."

The sound of a spatula stirring came from inside. A moment later, Gu Guanqi came out from the inner room, wearing an apron and with water stains on his hands.

"Qingqiu?" He was slightly taken aback when he saw Shen Qingqiu, then quickly stepped forward and asked, "Are you healed?"

Shen Qingqiu nodded and said, "I'm basically healed. The Six Doors have a lot of spiritual medicines, and the cultivation technique I practice has healing effects. In addition, I avoided fatal blows that day, so the recovery was quite fast. I just need to pay more attention to recuperation."

Gu Guanqi reached out and placed his hand on Shen Qingqiu's pulse, taking a moment to feel it. Then, he looked up at her complexion and said, "You're recovering really quickly!"

Gu Guanqi was deeply moved. This world with extraordinary power was indeed so unreasonable. No wonder there were rumors of severed limbs regenerating and the dead being brought back to life.

"fine!"

Shen Qingqiu smiled, took the box off his back, placed it on the table, and slowly opened it to reveal the sword inside.

The scabbard is plain white, without any patterns, yet it has a serene luster, like moonlight condensing on the scabbard.

"This is……"

"It's for you." Shen Qingqiu's tone was casual, as if he were talking about a trivial matter. "Didn't you say last time that your sword wasn't very good? I happened to be in Chang Le Fang today investigating a case, so I just grabbed one for you from the Six Doors storeroom. It's just gathering dust anyway."

Gu Guanqi picked up the sword and gently pulled it out an inch.

A section of the sword blade was exposed.

The sword's color was like water, so clear it was almost transparent, with a faint, cold light shimmering on its blade, as if covered by a thin layer of ice. Faint, water-like patterns were visible on the sword's surface, layer upon layer, rippling like waves.

Gu Guanqi drew his sword completely, its blade illuminating the entire room in the sunlight. He casually twirled the sword, its edge cutting through the air with a soft, crisp sound, like a dragon's roar, lingering for a long time.

"A fine sword," he praised sincerely, sheathing the sword before turning to look at Shen Qingqiu. "Such a fine sword, and you tell me you just grabbed it on the spur of the moment? Are all the Six Doors this wealthy?"

Shen Qingqiu leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his gaze elsewhere, and said indifferently, "Of course it was just something I did on the spur of the moment. What else could I do? Would I go out of my way to find it? I don't have the time for that. I'm very busy, okay?"

Gu Guanqi smiled and said, "Yes, yes, thank you very much for this handy sword!"

Shen Qingqiu hummed in agreement, then changed the subject, asking, "Are you cooking?"

"Ah, right," Gu Guanqi said, "Sit here for a while and try my cooking."

As he spoke, Gu Guanqi went into the kitchen.

Shen Qingqiu wanted to say no, but swallowed the words back.

The sounds of pots and pans clattering came from the kitchen, intermittently humming a tune by Gu Guanqi, the melody unclear. Firelight leaked through the crack in the kitchen door, casting a warm yellow stripe on the blue brick floor.

Shen Qingqiu sat in the clinic.

Her gaze had somehow drifted towards the kitchen, landing on the figure busily working at the stove. Gu Guanqi was chopping something, his movements swift and precise, the knife rising and falling with a clear rhythm.

In my mind,

The image of Gu Guanqi protecting her behind him in the alley that day resurfaced in her mind.

For a time,

A slight smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of her lips.