The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

Linjiang City, Jiangnan Province.

As autumn arrives and the weather turns cold, a curfew is imposed on the outer city, leaving it desolate and bleak.

The tall buildings on both sides of the street were all dark, except for the GG sign, which was still lit up with neon, telling the story of the "Holy Land Pill" for martial artists to break through bottlenecks and the "Spirit Tree Dew" for enhancing martial artists' physical constitution.

In the dim light, a young inspector dressed in black lay dead in a deserted alley, shot in the left chest, blood gushing out.

"Hiss!~~"

A chill spread through his body. Chen Jue opened his eyes, and a piercing pain shot through his chest, causing him to gasp and sit up on the spot.

Damn it! Those scoundrels from the "Rat Gang" actually dared to illegally manufacture firearms!

According to the "Great Ming Code", this was a serious crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire family!

Fortunately, the craftsmanship of the Rat Gang was not very good, and the lead bullet that hit his left chest did not penetrate too deeply into his flesh thanks to the protection of the bulletproof lining.

Chen Juexin gritted his teeth, bit the hilt of the knife, took out the short blade, cut open his clothes, and then picked out the lead bullet that was half an inch into his flesh.

Blood spurted wildly.

He then took out a piece of ointment and sealed the wound. Immediately, a cool sensation spread from the wound, and the bleeding stopped in just a few breaths.

"The first-aid wound ointment from Wan Hua Fang is still the most reliable. The wound medicine issued by the government is only good for cutting hemorrhoids."

Despite the pain, Chen Jue moved to sit down against the wall and reviewed the battle that night.

He was originally a martial arts college student who was about to graduate from "Linjiang Martial Arts College".

Due to his excellent grades and with the help of his uncle, he was assigned to the "Kaiyang Guard Station" under the "Inspection Division" for an internship.

As a result, after only a few days at work, the garrison mobilized troops to suppress the rat gang that was smuggling medicines.

He was a newcomer, and because of his superiors' consideration, he was only assigned to guard a small, secluded alley.

However, fate played a cruel trick on them, and one of the rats who had slipped through the net fled out of the alley in a panic.

Chen Jue instinctively drew his knife to grab the man, but to his surprise, the henchman had a musket. He raised his hand and fired a shot, knocking Chen Jue down.

"Still not cautious enough, underestimating the heroes of the world..."

Chen Jue let out a deep breath, thinking about how to arrange the affairs of the Rat Gang and the Firearms after returning to the team.

"A-Jue? A-Jue?!"

Just as they were pondering this, a hurried shout came from the alley.

Chen Jue looked in the direction of the sound and saw his uncle He Yuanshan, dressed in a black patrol uniform, running towards him anxiously with his hand on the hilt of his knife.

The patrol uniform features a cross-collar, right-fastening front, shorter front and longer back, side slits, and pleats at the waist, giving it a magnificent and imposing appearance.

This was originally the flying fish-patterned robe unique to the Embroidered Uniform Guard during the early years of the Divine Dynasty.

After the Shen Dynasty experienced invasions by foreign tribes and the devastation of the land, the centralized power was gradually fragmented by powerful clans.

Such secret police agencies, exclusively for the emperor, disappeared into the annals of history.

"A-Jue! How did you get hurt?!"

Seeing Chen Jue struggling to his feet, his chest covered in blood, He Yuanshan was terrified and blurted out, "Don't scare your uncle! If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to your mother?!"

Chen Jue leaned against the wall, hissing softly in pain, and explained, "I was on guard here when a thug from the Rat Gang ran out of the alley. I tried to stop him, but I didn't expect him to have a flintlock musket..."

"Luckily, my uncle gave me a bulletproof liner before I left, otherwise my nephew would be done for tonight."

Hearing that the thief had a musket, He Yuanshan was even more frightened. He carefully checked Chen Jue three times before letting out a sigh of relief and saying, "Fortunately, the musket that thief had wasn't very good, and it wasn't filled with pellets. Otherwise, even with bulletproof measures, you wouldn't have escaped death..."

"Oh! It's all my uncle's fault. He should have kept you by his side."

"The outer city is not what it was when you were a child! Gangs are everywhere, bandits roam the streets, and wicked shrines and rituals are rampant, and they can't be stopped no matter what!"

Chen Jue opened his mouth, intending to have a long talk with his uncle about national affairs, but ultimately didn't say anything.

The dynasty has lasted for ten thousand years, and its various ills have long been deeply ingrained. Even scraping the bone to remove the poison would not cure them, let alone the wild and unfounded talk of two grassroots inspectors.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the "Kaiyang Garrison" mobilized its forces to raid the Rat Gang tonight, thinking that the government is cracking down on gangs and punishing evil.

But in reality, the Rat Gang overstepped their bounds, taking the Qi family's experimental drugs from the inner city to the Kaiyang community for "promotion."

It should be noted that Kaiyang Community is the territory of the Wu family in the inner city.

Their superior, Wu Yue, the garrison commander, was a member of the Wu family's collateral branch.

If Wu Yue doesn't give the Rat Gang a good beating, how will he ever be able to speak to the Wu family again?

"Come on, your uncle will take you to see Doctor Jiao..."

He Yuanshan called Zeng You, the supervisor, to explain the situation, and then helped his nephew Chen Jue walk toward a familiar clinic.

The clinic was dark; behind the tempered glass, only neatly arranged medicine shelves were visible, a completely black space that seemed deserted.

He Yuanshan knocked sixteen times before the pharmacy slowly responded.

A short, thin, dark-skinned old man came out.

He lifted the ointment on Chen Jue's chest, glanced at the wound, and then touched Chen Jue's waist, saying confidently, "It's nothing. Wan Hua Fang's wound ointment is very effective against firearm injuries. Just rest for a few days and avoid getting it wet, and it will heal naturally."

The old man accepted five thousand coins from He Yuanshan without even prescribing any medicine.

Chen Jue was immediately speechless; five thousand banknotes was his two months' internship salary!

He was about to confront the old man when He Yuanshan stopped him and pulled him out of the clinic.

"Don't cause trouble. Old Jiao is the best doctor in this area. Just consider it money to buy peace of mind."

"Five thousand dollars for just touching someone's waist? That's robbery!"

Chen Jue was still unwilling to give up. He was now at the ninth level of Qi and Blood, and was only a short distance away from the limit of ordinary people.

Five thousand precious notes are enough to buy ten entry-level "Qi-boosting capsules," significantly reducing the time needed for Qi and blood to reach full replenishment.

"Just bear with it for now. After you reach the Foundation Establishment stage in martial arts, the garrison will buy you insurance, and you'll get a 20% discount on medical treatment."

"..." Chen Jue.

Regular inspectors and interns are truly two different kinds of people.

Not only are the salaries vastly different, but the benefits are also worlds apart.

"Does this count as a work-related injury? The health center won't even cover the cost of the medicine, will they?"

"They will give it to you. The Wu family is wealthy and powerful; they certainly won't skimp on your medicine expenses..."

……

Chen Jue didn't want his mother to worry, and He Yuanshan was afraid his younger sister would lose her temper.

The two hit it off immediately. Chen Jue would stay at his uncle's house temporarily and make further plans after he recovered from his injuries.

He Yuanshan had served in the patrol and inspection department for more than 20 years and had considerable savings. His three-bedroom, one-living-room house was considered a luxury residence in the entire area where the inner and outer cities meet.

Chen Jue quickly washed up, changed his clothes, and lay down in the study when he heard his aunt's fierce outburst from outside the living room.

"What kind of uncle are you? I told you to give Xiao Jue more money so he could get a clerical job! What did you say then?"

"You said the garrison pays well, there are subsidies for fieldwork, and you have your uncle as a backer... Is this how you act as a backer?!"

Chen Yun is both Chen Jue's maternal aunt and his biological aunt.

Chen Yun, who lost her father at a young age and her younger brother, always regarded Chen Jue as her own son.

Cousin He Tang, dressed in her pajamas, wanted to come to the study to chat with her cousin, but was also suppressed by her aunt.

Chen Jue stared at the ceiling, listening to the sounds outside, and a warm feeling gradually welled up in his heart.

This is probably what family is like... A few words of concern are enough to bring joy and help people overcome extremes.

However, tonight's life-or-death situation served as a wake-up call for Chen Jue.

When people are killed, they die.

Although he was an outstanding graduate of "Linjiang Martial Arts Academy", his strength at the ninth level of Qi and Blood was really weak.

Let alone a single shot from a thug's musket, a bow, a crossbow, or an arrow could easily take his life.

"I must work harder to become stronger quickly..."

Chen Jue vaguely remembered that ten years ago, his father followed the army to destroy mountains and temples and died in battle at Hongyu Mountain.

My mother and aunt cried their eyes out, and it took them years to recover from their grief.

His thoughts were wandering, and his mind was in turmoil.

One moment he'd think of "selling himself to others," working for powerful families and clans to gain access to martial arts resources.

One moment I'm thinking of "wandering the world," doing some shady, unethical things to increase my income.

But none of these roads are easy to travel.

Powerful families are often embroiled in conflict, and once one pledges allegiance, there is no turning back.

Those who "mingle in the underworld" are more likely to be targeted by both the legitimate and criminal worlds, and might even be swindled out of their underwear by "older brothers" in the underworld.

Disaster!Disaster!Disaster!

Just as Chen Jue was sighing inwardly, the time came to midnight.

Suddenly, a ripple spread before his eyes, and two lines of neat, small characters appeared silently.

[Rewards Log Updating...]

[In the past day, you practiced standing meditation for 2 hours, demonstrated the Six Harmonies Knife Technique 7 times, and applied one emergency wound ointment.]

[Today's evaluation: You work all day and rest as soon as night falls. Your efforts are unremarkable; diligence reward index: 1.5.]

[Settlement Rewards: 3.5 additional experiences from using the Six Harmonies Blade Technique, and the health gained from standing still for one hour, instantly restoring 7.5% of injuries.]

[Providing external spiritual energy can increase the Diligence Reward Index by up to 1 point.]