Chapter Seventy-Three: Preparations

Bang!

The doors of a gambling house called Eternal Joy Casino were violently kicked open by Qin Yi.

“Surround the place, inside and out! Don’t let a single person escape!” he ordered, leading his squad inside.

At that moment, all the gamblers at the dozen or so tables in the main hall, as well as those on the second floor, instantly ceased their games, turning their attention to the officers who had just stormed in.

“Everyone, come down and assemble here! We’re conducting an identity check and a thorough search of the premises to see if any remnants of the Scarlet Sect are hiding here!” Qin Yi announced coldly.

The manager of Eternal Joy Casino, upon hearing of the search, changed his expression and quickly put on a fawning smile as he approached. “Officer, how could there possibly be Scarlet Sect remnants hiding in our establishment? Surely there’s no need for a search?”

As he spoke, he discreetly slipped a five-tael banknote into Qin Yi’s hand.

Qin Yi pocketed the note, keeping a stern face. “Orders from the Chief Constable. The search must proceed. It’s procedure—no exceptions. Search the place!”

The manager’s face darkened. He asked with a chilling tone, “May I ask your name, officer? Which squad are you from?”

“Qin Feng, Captain of Squad Twelve. What, planning to settle accounts later? I welcome it!” Qin Yi replied with a smile, though the smile sent chills down the manager’s spine.

“Very well, Captain Qin!” The manager forced a laugh, anger blazing in his eyes. Since things had reached this point, there was nothing further to discuss. He only hoped that one day Qin Feng wouldn’t end up groveling at the feet of his powerful backers.

“Search!”

With a clatter, the officers herded everyone together. After a cursory inspection, Qin Yi posted several men to keep watch over the crowd while the rest began searching every corner of the casino.

Qin Yi approached one of the gambling tables, sweeping the copper and silver notes into his own pocket. The other officers followed his example.

“Not much here,” he grumbled, noting that each table held only a few taels at most.

He went straight to the counter.

He opened the drawer.

“Captain Qin, what are you doing? Is this daylight robbery?” the manager shouted angrily when he saw Qin Yi rifling through the cash box.

“Which eye of yours sees me robbing? I’m simply checking for hidden persons,” Qin Yi said, all the while stuffing the silver notes into his pockets.

“You! Get him!” the manager roared. He could no longer endure this—how could anyone hide a person in such a tiny cash box? This was outright sophistry!

He signaled for the casino’s thugs to act.

If anything happened, the influential shareholders behind the scenes would take care of it anyway.

Suddenly, more than a dozen burly men lunged at Qin Yi.

“Hmph!” Qin Yi leaped over the counter.

With a thunderous descent, he felled one of the thugs with a single punch.

The leader of these men was only a second-tier martial artist—none could stand against Qin Yi for long. In short order, he had knocked every last one of them to the ground.

“Let’s go, on to the next one!”

Now that he was leaving anyway, why should he fear their threats?

If he didn’t take something for himself now, he’d be letting himself down. Besides, taking money from a gambling house didn’t trouble his conscience in the least—it was almost like helping the gamblers recover their lost bets in another way.

In a flash, the city guards and all the constables launched a three-day, city-wide sweep. They actually uncovered a handful of Scarlet Sect remnants, though not many.

They even caught dozens of wanted criminals!

During those three days, aside from the massive sweep, Qin Yi also heard some news: yesterday, a thousand-strong provincial garrison had arrived outside Jiangning County to rest, and early this morning, they’d marched straight to the front lines.

“Only a thousand troops?” Qin Yi shook his head—far too few to make a decisive difference at the front. Still, it was better than nothing.

“It seems the province doesn’t have many troops to spare,” he mused.

Over these three days, Qin Yi encountered several minor problems on his way home or while at home—thugs sent by various casinos trying to reclaim their lost funds.

But he dispatched them all with ease.

After this three-day operation, Qin Yi’s pockets were heavy with more than a thousand taels of silver—overnight wealth!

But the sweep concluded after three days.

“The shareholders behind these casinos, having failed to destroy me in the shadows, will soon make their move openly,” Qin Yi mused, stroking his chin. Openly, they’d likely try to strip him of his constable’s badge with some political maneuver.

But he planned to resign anyway.

Because that very morning, he had finally mastered the Giant Elephant Force—a martial art that had taken him several days less than it had to learn any previous techniques.

At the yamen, he went to the Department of Merit and Evaluation—the personnel office—and submitted his resignation. Then, he visited the department in charge of travel permits, slipping them some money to arrange passes for himself and his father.

Now, all that remained was to wait for news. The travel permit office promised the passes would be ready by the next day.

But resigning would take a few days to process.

Word of Qin Yi’s resignation quickly spread through his squad. The two deputy captains were both taken aback.

With Qin Feng resigning, their chance for promotion had come.

That evening, as he was finishing work, Liu Chengzhi from the neighboring squad hurried over.

“Brother Qin, is it true you’re retiring?” Liu Chengzhi asked, incredulous.

Just recently, he’d told Qin Feng that he was planning to resign next month. Now, Qin Feng had beaten him to it, without a word of warning!

“Yes, I submitted my application today,” Qin Yi replied with a nod.

“What made you decide to leave so suddenly?”

“It’s a long story. Shall we discuss it over a meal?” Qin Yi suggested with a smile.

“Gladly!”

...

Another six or seven days passed in a blur.

At last, Qin Yi's resignation was officially approved. After all, he was only the captain of the twelfth squad, with a martial rank of merely third tier. No one above cared to retain him, so the process went smoothly.

Had he been fifth or sixth tier, the chief constables might have tried to keep him, perhaps even refusing to let him go.

But third tier—his superiors were happy to look the other way.

Returning home, Qin Yi looked at the travel pass in his hand, then at the official notice of his resignation.

“Well then, it’s time to leave Jiangning County.” He began to gather his belongings, planning to depart at once.

...

Meanwhile, Wu Yulong walked through the streets of Jiangning County, on his way to the Scarlet Sect’s stronghold in the city. Before entering, he had already received word that Zhou Wuzhi, one of the sect’s branch leaders, seemed to know details about the disappearance of his wife, Zhu Fengyin.

A few days prior, he had received a secret message from his wife, delivered by night courier, summoning him to Jiangning County to kill a ninth-tier constable—because that constable was responsible for her brother’s death, making him Wu Yulong’s brother-in-law.

Upon receiving the message, Wu Yulong, as the Hall Master of the Golden Alliance, had dropped everything, traveling day and night from the neighboring province. Yet, on his journey, he received shocking news—his wife had disappeared.