# 39
**Chapter 39: Tutoring**
“Ding-dong—welcome!”
A crisp electronic chime rang out as Lin Qiye pushed open the agency door and stepped inside.
The moment he entered, he froze.
On the shop’s sofa sat a woman in her fifties, one hand leaning on a cane, the other adjusting her reading glasses, gesticulating wildly as she spoke.
“…Ah, let me tell you! My old man, he never used t’be like this!
Back when we went out, he’d always hold my hand, scared I’d come t’harm. But since last week—poof—he stopped!
He’s got some other woman outside, I swear!”
Across from her, Hongying cupped her chin, listening with rapt attention, chiming in every so often:
“Ah? He really went that far?”
“Mm-hmm, I think you’re absolutely right, Grandma!”
“So awful of him!”
“Don’t worry—our agency will take this case!”
Beside her, Wen Qimo sat upright, maintaining a gentle, spring-breeze smile:
“I think you’re right, Grandma…”
“I think you’re right, Hongying…”
“Yes, I think you’re both right…”
Seeing Lin Qiye standing dumbstruck in the doorway, Wen Qimo gave him a look, stood up, and followed him to the back.
Hongying stayed put, happily chatting with the old lady.
“What… is going on?”
Lin Qiye finally asked once they were in the stairwell down to the basement.
“Hmm? Normal business.”
“I thought the storefront was just a cover—turns out you actually take clients?”
“Qiye, you still don’t get it.” Wen Qimo clapped his shoulder. “Cangnan isn’t huge, but it isn’t tiny either. Mysterious incidents happen, sure—maybe five or six a year.
When we’re just sitting around with nothing to do but train or shoot the breeze, life gets boring, y’know?”
“So you branched into adultery investigations?” Lin Qiye’s expression was beyond strange. “For a sixty-year-old grandma?”
“She’s sixty, actually.”
“…”
“Look, taking harmless little jobs keeps us busy and earns pocket money—great, right?”
“I see…” Lin Qiye pondered. “Besides adultery, what else do we offer?”
“Plenty. Super wide range!” Wen Qimo’s eyes lit up. “Rescuing cats stuck in trees, tutoring kids under middle-school age, free legal aid, saving abducted children, even masked bank-robber takedowns…”
“Hold on, that list’s gotten way too broad,” Lin Qiye exclaimed. “Rescue, education, law, relationships—and you’re doing police work too?”
“Standard ops.”
“Out of curiosity—who here knows law?”
“Leng Xuan. Before joining Night Watch, he had a PhD in law from Politics & Law University.”
Lin Qiye: ?(????)?
They reached the underground activity space. Wen Qimo patted his shoulder. “Right, the captain said to find him in the training arena when you arrived.”
“Where?”
“Straight down the hall, last door.”
“Got it.”
Lin Qiye crossed the activity room and followed the corridor.
Last time he hadn’t paid attention; now he realized how vast the underground complex was.
Passages and mysterious rooms everywhere—roughly two whole streets wide, he guessed.
At the end he found a heavy iron door.
Pushing it open revealed a vast, bright training field—at least three football pitches!
“Did they… hollow out the entire canal bed?” he muttered.
In the center, Chen Muye opened his eyes from meditation and waved him over.
“Captain.”
“So—what d’you think?”
“Feels… like a huge contrast,” Lin Qiye admitted. “Upstairs it’s just a tiny shopfront—”
Chen Muye nodded slightly. “Decades ago an earth-type Forbidden Ruins user built this; the surface never felt a thing.”
“Makes sense.”
“Your Night Watch paperwork’s all in the archive—grab it if you want. But your blade, cloak, and Coat of Arms won’t be issued until boot camp. Use this for now.”
He handed Lin Qiye a Straight Blade. Beneath the hilt were three small characters:
—Zhao Kongcheng.
“This is…” Lin Qiye looked up, stunned.
“Old Zhao’s blade,” Chen Muye said quietly. “You were his choice. He fell, so his sword passes to you.”
Lin Qiye said nothing; he tightened his grip. “All right.”
Then, puzzled: “But I’m only a temp—why give me a blade?”
“Boot camp’s still a month away; we won’t waste it. We’ll teach you a few things.” Chen Muye stood. “After all, you’ll wear the 136 badge. If you flop at camp, we lose face.”
Lin Qiye: …
For no reason he felt like a kid with bad grades being dragged to cram school.
“Fine—how do we start?” He didn’t hesitate; even if Chen Muye hadn’t offered, he’d have asked.
Life was his own; slacking now was slow suicide.
“Mornings: blade work with me. Afternoons: Forbidden Ruins theory with Wen Qimo. Evenings: firearms with Leng Xuan.” Chen Muye took two bamboo swords from a rack.
“Pick up your sword—let’s begin.”
Lin Qiye glanced at the real Straight Blade. “Captain, mine’s live steel!”
“Doesn’t matter.” Chen Muye advanced with the bamboo blades. “The outcome’s the same either way.”
A chill ran through Lin Qiye; a bad premonition prickled.
He drew the Straight Blade, inhaled.
“Captain—here I come.”
Chen Muye nodded. “Come.”
Eyes sharp, Lin Qiye charged—
Three seconds later, his screams echoed through the entire basement…