That afternoon, Li Xuanji arrived at the security station to start his shift. Xiao Liu, his regular partner, sidled up to him.
"Old Li, how'd the morning class go? Is the coursework hard? Back when I was studying, it took me eleven months to graduate. I reckon you'll beat that."
"Not bad, really. The material isn't difficult — it's more about breaking old habits, which takes some doing. But on the whole it's fine. I think I can graduate on schedule in nine months."
"Old Li, no empty boasting now. How about a bet — if you don't graduate in nine months, you buy me dinner. Deal?"
"Fine, you're on."
"Right, what's our post this afternoon?"
"Our team's rotation takes us to the main road junction."
"Alright, let me change my clothes and we'll head over."
"Old Li, you're way too fussy about cleanliness. You change your clothes every single day, and you won't even wash them yourself — you pay someone else to do it. Besides, we'll be standing on the main road this afternoon, dust flying everywhere. You'll be filthy again in no time."
"And you go to the bathhouse every two or three days. You're the only one in our whole unit like that. Anyone who was truly clean wouldn't be doing this job in the first place. If you ask me, it's all for show."
"Ha! So I'm all for show, and you're genuinely filthy — is that it? A whole month without a single bath! Just wait a minute, I'll be quick."
The unit had a simple shower room — a small separate stall with cold water only, open to anyone who wanted to use it.
Li Xuanji had adapted remarkably well. After just one month here, he had settled in like a seasoned veteran.
A quick freshen-up and they were off. Their small squad, led by their squad leader, made their way to the far eastern edge of the construction zone in Longbei District.
Everywhere around them, busy figures moved about, steadily expanding the boundaries of Long City.
A temporary guardpost had been set up not far from the construction site. On the other side stretched empty, desolate wasteland. Occasionally people moved back and forth along the single wide dirt road — some heading out on errands, others arriving as newcomers from distant places.
Their work was not unlike that of the old women posted at the entrance to Taoyuan Town: guiding first-time arrivals, explaining what they needed to know, how to obtain an identity card, where to find lodging, where to look for job postings, and so on.
"Everyone out! We've got a big crowd coming!"
Li Xuanji was sitting inside the temporary shelter, drinking tea and reading, when he heard the commotion and hurried out with the others.
A large convoy approached at a leisurely pace — some passengers riding in carriages, others mounted soldiers riding alongside.
One glance made it clear: these were not Long City people.
"Look — that old… that elder poking his head out of the carriage up front. I know who that is. That's the Imperial Governor of Liang-Jiang, His Excellency Wen!"
"Governor of Liang-Jiang? He's a second-rank court official — the top man over Jiangxi and Jiangnan!"
"I made a point of asking our captain about it!"
"Quiet — they're getting close."
Wen Jingran had been traveling hard for a month and was exhausted in body and spirit. He leaned his head out of the carriage and took in the city before him — modest in area, perhaps, but striking in presence, its varied buildings rising in every direction. His mood lifted at once.
Once here, they would be safe. Truly safe.
Thirty-odd riders, armored head to toe in steel, came cutting forward like a drawn blade. Few in number, yet their bearing was utterly commanding.
The convoy of several hundred people dissolved into panic. Wen Jingran scrambled to his feet atop the carriage and shouted, "Stay calm! They are friendlies!"
A platoon of over thirty riders drew up before the carriage. The lead rider, whose face was concealed by his helmet, spoke.
"Ah, Your Excellency Wen. Traveling with so many people — and military escorts at that — you really ought to have sent word ahead, to avoid any misunderstanding."
"My apologies. That was an oversight on my part. The soldiers will not enter the city. I am only bringing a portion of the civilians in."
Only then did the lead rider give a brief nod of approval. With a single wave of his hand, he turned and rode off with his men.
Wen Jingran wiped his brow. He raised his hand. "Into the city!"
Half the convoy began filing toward the city; the other half drew back a short distance and set up camp nearby.
Wen Jingran ducked back into the carriage. His gaze drifted almost absently across the ten-man security squad standing to one side — and he froze for a moment.
He said nothing, and quietly settled back inside.
"That looked like Father." A small head craned curiously toward the window and piped up.
"Don't talk nonsense. Why would your father be here?" A gentle woman's voice pulled the child back inside — then she glanced out casually, and went still.
That figure in black clothes, black cap, standing perfectly upright — who was he?
How could he look so much like His Majesty?
The security squad watched in silence as the convoy filed past and entered Long City.
Li Xuanji's expression was calm. He had recognized several familiar faces just now, yet found within himself no particular surge of feeling — as if he were looking at strangers.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say: he had severed his present self from his former self.
Perhaps the dividing line had been formed during that period when he had single-mindedly wanted to become a monk.
The people, the events, the things of his old life had grown hazy and indistinct. This new life, by contrast, grew clearer with every passing day.
"I just saw a woman back there — looked like a fairy descended from heaven…"
Li Xuanji picked up the thread with a grin. "I saw her too. She really is beautiful."
"Right? Right?! I'm telling you, drop-dead gorgeous. I'd have loved to stare a little longer — I'd gladly knock ten… ten days off my life for a few more seconds!"
Li Xuanji punched Xiao Liu on the shoulder. "Watch your mouth. That's your sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law? Which brother of mine has a sister-in-law that beautiful? Hang on — damn, Old Li, you've got some ambitions! I'll tell you one thing: don't go getting any ideas. That woman looked like she had a kid."
"Get lost. I'm not dignifying that." Li Xuanji rolled his eyes, turned, and walked back into the temporary shelter to resume his tea and his book while he waited for the shift change.
"Everyone out, everyone out! Someone important's here — Vice District Chief Jinyuan is coming!"
A shout went up outside. The squad leader led the others rushing out, and as they went, he couldn't resist holding forth as usual. "I'll have you know, I'm acquainted with District Chief Jinyuan. Years ago, I served under his father — his father was the company captain back then, and I was one of his men, just like you lot are now…"
The ten of them snapped into a straight line and watched the carriage approach. It drew alongside them, and Jinyuan — dressed, as he was during working hours, in black jacket and black trousers — pushed aside the curtain.
"Cousin, your family has arrived. Come with me to see them."
Cousin? Who was District Chief Jinyuan calling cousin? There were only the ten of them here.
Everyone exchanged glances, looking back and forth at one another.
Li Xuanji had no wish to hold up his shift, but fearing that Jinyuan might let something else slip, he stepped reluctantly out of the line. "Squad leader, mind if I go take a look?"
"Uh — yes, alright, go ahead, be quick about it — or, well, just follow the district chief's lead."
The squad leader could barely form a coherent sentence in Jinyuan's presence.
It wasn't entirely an empty boast, what he'd said. Back when Jinyuan's father Li Dabao had been company captain, he had been an ordinary member of one of the squads under his command. Li Dabao would probably recognize his face — whether he could put a name to it was another question. As for Jinyuan — she didn't know the man at all.
Now that Li Dabao had come to Long City, he had worked his way up to director of a neighborhood security station. Below him was a company captain, and below that, the squad leader himself.
Still two grades apart.
The district-level security director held rank 7 and was a member of the Zhao family, answering to Jinyuan, the rank-8 deputy township chief in charge of civilian affairs. Below the district director, the deputy director post sat vacant, followed by Li Dabao at rank 5 as neighborhood station director, and then the squad leader at rank 3.
So the squad leader was two grades below Li Dabao, and a full five grades below Jinyuan.
By that measure, Li Dabao was genuinely not very ambitious. While everyone else was striding forward in great leaps, he was shuffling along in small, plodding steps. At this rate, he wouldn't go very far.
But no matter — who cared, when his own daughter was the remarkable one?
Officials at rank 6 and 7 still had to treat him with courtesy and respect.
The squad watched Li Xuanji climb into Jinyuan's carriage. Xiao Liu muttered under his breath, "I always knew Old Li had connections, but I didn't think they'd be this solid."
"No wonder he walked straight into a security post the moment he showed up."
"The way I see it, Brother Li's got a bright future ahead of him. I'd better hold tight to his coattails. Mm, Brother Li, and sister-in-law…"
"Holy — that really was his sister-in-law just now, wasn't it?"
"Brother Li is something else!"