Chapter 102: Silent Defiance

Chapter 102: Silent Stubbornness

Cold Eagle cast a faint glance at Captain Jin before turning his full attention to Ning Xiu.

“Are you Ning Xiu?”

“Yes.”

“You suddenly disappeared a few days ago. Can you tell me where you’ve been and what you were doing during that time?” Cold Eagle asked, looking intently at Ning Xiu.

“I was naturally trying to evade the Ghost Alliance’s pursuit. Although I don’t know who will ultimately prevail in the war between the Jia family and the Ghost Alliance, it’s always wise to be cautious,” Ning Xiu replied calmly.

“So, the reason you came out this time was to join the Six Doors and thus receive the court’s protection?”

“Yes. One cannot hide forever.”

Cold Eagle stared at Ning Xiu steadfastly. After a long moment, he simply said, “Good.”

A man of few words by nature, Cold Eagle had already spoken enough. After uttering this final sentence, he turned and left.

At the prison door, he suddenly stopped. A glimmer of spiritual energy flashed from his hand towards Ning Xiu.

Ning Xiu reached out and caught a black iron token engraved with fish and dragon motifs.

“Report to the Six Doors within three days.”

After Cold Eagle left, Captain Jin still felt somewhat dazed. Tonight’s events were simply too incredible for him to fully grasp.

Ning Xiu lowered his head, silently gazing at the fish-dragon token in his hand. No one knew what thoughts lay behind his silence.

...

Within Cold Eagle’s intelligence network, Ning Xiu was marked with suspicion.

Upon receiving Captain Jin’s urgent message, he immediately rushed to Shouchun without a moment’s delay.

At first, he even suspected that the person slaughtering monsters everywhere was Ning Xiu, since Ning had disappeared during that period. But after Shi Nan’s self-destruction, that suspicion was completely dispelled.

Having seen Ning Xiu in person tonight, Cold Eagle became even more convinced of his own assessment.

He could tell Ning Xiu was hiding his true strength, but it was only at the Grandmaster level—far from enough to threaten the supernatural beings, let alone force Shi Nan to self-destruct.

Now that the court had retaken control of Lingnan Prefecture, manpower was urgently needed. Ning Xiu’s abilities were clearly what they required. Perhaps at the Grandmaster level, he could bear the burden...

Cold Eagle glanced back once more before vanishing completely into the boundless night.

The Ghost Alliance’s headquarters—Mount Wuran.

In the depths of the grand hall, an old man’s furious roar echoed.

A young girl in red, wearing embroidered shoes, stood stubbornly in the center of the hall.

Alone, she stood resolute.

She lifted her head to face the old man. No matter how harshly he scolded her, she maintained her posture.

Her chin was slightly raised, her expression serene, as if listening intently.

Perhaps knowing all her efforts were in vain, the old man finally stopped. He sighed deeply as he looked at the girl in red, then turned away.

Throughout, the girl never uttered a single word.

All her obstinacy and stubbornness were hidden within her silence.

Her reasoning was simple: everyone else had completed their assassination lists; only she had failed.

The girl in red lowered her gaze to the parchment in her hands, densely inscribed with names. Except for one, every name was crossed out with a blood-red X.

“Ning Xiu...” she whispered.

In a shadowed corner of the hall, a boy in gray cloth leaned against a stone pillar, quietly observing everything.

...

After tonight’s events, Ning Xiu guessed that the Ghost Alliance would likely not act against him—at least not in the near future.

Still unwilling to take any risks, he returned to the Ning residence the next day, bid farewell to Ning Mingfeng and the others, and immediately set off for Lingnan Prefecture City without delay.

Ning Xiu noticed that every time he came to Lingnan Prefecture, something seemed to happen.

Returning now, he felt a bittersweet sense of change.

The four great gangs that had dominated Lingnan’s underworld for over a century had vanished, becoming nothing but a memory.

The four Grandmasters known as “Blades, Spears, Swords, and Halberds” were gradually fading into oblivion with the passage of time.

Moreover, nearly all the gangs throughout Lingnan had been purged by the court. Now, the court was the sole authority ruling this land.

Ning Xiu suddenly realized that the Ghost Alliance’s counterattack and the Jia family’s downfall might have been orchestrated by the court from the start.

The Great Qian Dynasty was home to many noble families. Outside the imperial capital in Zhongzhou, the court had no absolute control over the other six provinces.

It was impossible for the court to openly confront these families, for the consequences would be unbearable.

Thus, using external forces to eliminate the noble houses and then seamlessly absorbing their territories was the smartest strategy.

Of course, this required careful planning and restraint, so that even if some were suspicious, there would be no grounds to accuse or attack.

With this in mind, Ning Xiu finally arrived at the legendary government mansion.

He looked up at the plaque reading “Six Doors” in bold characters and stepped inside.

The onboarding process was smooth; he encountered no difficulties.

After presenting the fish-dragon token given by Cold Eagle, someone quickly took him for registration, then issued official uniform and sword, followed by an escort to a resting room.

“Due to recent manpower shortages, you will rest for half a day, then proceed to the main hall to receive your assignment,” explained a middle-aged man responsible for guiding new Six Doors constables as he handed Ning Xiu the room key.

“What kind of task is it?” Ning Xiu asked.

“You know the four great gangs have completely collapsed. The court wants to absorb all their assets quickly, but it’s no easy feat. Although the major obstacles are gone, some resistance is inevitable.”

“Now the court wants to use this opportunity to thoroughly cleanse the martial arts gangs. Ordinary constables can’t handle this well, so that’s where we come in.”

The middle-aged constable looked at Ning Xiu and continued, “Of course, we don’t work for free. Usually, any confiscated goods become personal property. As long as we don’t go overboard, the court won’t mind. Most importantly, completing tasks earns merit points.”

Merit points?

The same old management system.

Sure enough, the man’s next words confirmed this.

But when he heard the last sentence, Ning Xiu paused and asked, “Did you just say we can use merit points to directly increase our strength?”

“Exactly. Isn’t that why you joined the Six Doors?” the man said, surprised.

[Note: The last lines reference adult-themed manga and a reading website, omitted here.]