Gu Qingyun nodded silently.
“You’re right. I’ll secure second place.”
Chu Yang and the other female constable trailing behind her glanced over, inwardly filled with admiration. She was truly daring.
Hearing Gu Qingyun’s words, the prefecture head constable felt a flare of irritation, sensing a hidden edge to her remark. He glanced back at her once more, only to find her eyes clear and untroubled, with youth still lingering on her features.
Surprise flashed through his eyes.
“How old are you?”
“Thirteen. Uncle, you’re slowing down. Pick up the pace.”
The prefecture head constable’s face flushed red. Why was he getting worked up over a child? Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to accelerate even further.
At long last, in the final moments, he crossed the finish line first. Gu Qingyun was hot on his heels, followed closely by Chu Yang and the female constable from Yumen County.
A burst of enthusiastic cheers instantly erupted across the drill ground.
“As expected, our prefecture capital’s Head Constable Cheng is the most formidable! None of the other constables can outrun him.”
“Of course! He’s from our prefecture capital. How could constables from those backwater boondocks ever compare to him?”
Below, the commoners of the prefecture capital were chatting with great excitement.
“Don’t you think Head Constable Cheng had a hard time winning this year? That female constable behind him was trailing so closely. Who knows, next time she might take first.”
Some spectators who favored Gu Qingyun murmured their thoughts, but their voices were quickly drowned out by the rest of the crowd.
Seated on the high platform, the Prefect watched Gu Qingyun cross the finish line, an appreciative look in his eyes.
“It seems our subordinate counties have produced some impressive constables this year. This is the first time I’ve seen Cheng Yong pushed to such lengths.”
The Vice Prefect beside him smiled and agreed,
“Indeed. And that constable looks quite young.” Then he furrowed his brows. “Though she’s a female constable. It might just be this single event where she excels.”
The Prefect shook his head.
“Not necessarily. If she lacked ability, how could she have been chosen to represent her county in the tournament? This endurance race alone shows that the girl is extraordinary. Let us wait and see.”
The other officials seated nearby smiled and nodded in agreement. While their two superiors could converse freely, subordinate officials like them did not dare chime in.
...
“Qingyun, you're amazing! You took second place and brought great honor to our county!”
Head Constable Liu and the others hurried over, crowding around her with nonstop cheers. As they were speaking, the bronze gong rang out once more from the high platform.
“The second event is martial combat. There will be a half-shichen break. Everyone may rest and recuperate,” a Registrar announced before taking his seat again.
Taking advantage of the break, Head Constable Liu led Gu Qingyun and the others straight to the drill ground's teahouse. With a broad smile, he pulled a large bundle of sugar cakes from his pack and pushed it in front of her.
“Qingyun, you must be hungry after running so many laps. Eat up! Your Uncle Liu went out of his way to buy these early this morning.”
Upon the square table lay the cakes Head Constable Liu had bought, along with a brown teapot prepared by the teahouse, steam gently rising from its spout.
Being the youngest, Gu Qingyun picked up the teapot with one hand and filled the five cups on the table more than halfway. As the tea poured into the cups, soft steam rose, bringing a welcoming warmth to their bodies.
She picked up a sugar cake and took a bite, saying with a grin,
“Thank you, Uncle Liu. I was actually hungry, and this tastes wonderful.”
Head Constable Liu looked at her and sighed softly to himself. Ah, why couldn’t she be my own child? She was so gifted in martial arts, completely surpassing him at such a young age.
Back then, he should have let his own daughter learn martial arts as well, rather than raising her to be so quiet and gentle, never stepping outside the inner quarters.
Then looking at his subordinate here: she practiced martial arts relentlessly every day, several times harder than he ever had, possessing an immense passion for it. He grew even more expectant for the upcoming martial combat, wondering just how formidable she had become.
Snapping back to reality, he smiled and urged the others,
“Wu Yong, you guys eat too. I bought plenty of these baked cakes specifically to have as snacks in between events.”
For a time, all five of them sat around the table, holding their cakes and eating heartily.
Just then, several ill-intentioned voices drifted in from outside.
“I heard Jiangyin County, which always ranks near the bottom, produced a formidable constable—and a female one at that. We from Tuanhua County came specifically to take a look. Liu Zheng, why don't you introduce us?”
The smiles on Head Constable Liu and the others stiffened. Looking toward the door, they saw five constables from Tuanhua County walking over. The man in the lead had a square face and a sturdy, powerful build. He stared straight at Gu Qingyun with a cold, insincere smile.
Gu Qingyun munched on her cake and looked straight back at him, her eyes completely calm and indifferent, as though his words couldn't stir the slightest ripple in her heart.
Her reaction irritated the man. Striding right up in front of her, he sneered,
“Well, well. So you’re Jiangyin County’s promising prospect? Turns out you're just a slip of a girl. And here I thought you’d be something special! You’d better pray you don't run into me in the next event. I’m not the type to show tenderness to the fairer sex or pull my punches.”
Gu Qingyun curved her lips into a smirk.
“And who might you be? I don't recall seeing you during the race just now. What place did you get, sir?”
Her retort struck right at his sore spot. Beside them, Head Constable Liu burst into boisterous laughter.
“Fang Zheng, that's so like you! I was fifth from the bottom, and you were sixth from the bottom! You actually have the nerve to come over here and talk big?” Giving him a heavy slap on the shoulder, Head Constable Liu continued, “Though you certainly looked intimidating just now. Too bad for you, we probably won't be trailing behind you this year. It's high time you guys held up the bottom for once.”
“Come, Qingyun, let me introduce you. This is Constable Fang Zheng from Tuanhua County. He was named well—his face is as square as his name. He was just jealous, green with envy that our county produced such prime talent while they got nothing.”
Fang Zheng cast a complicated look at Gu Qingyun before turning to Head Constable Liu.
“Getting together tonight for drinks?”
Head Constable Liu nodded.
“Sure.”
Gu Qingyun shook her head from the side.
“Head Constable Liu, I won't be going. I need to practice my martial arts tonight.”
Hearing this, Fang Zheng’s thoughts stirred.
“You practice every day?”
Head Constable Liu beamed with pride.
“Of course! She hasn’t missed a single day. Aside from being on duty, she devotes all her free time to training. Her martial prowess is already greater than mine.”
Fang Zheng slung an envious arm around Head Constable Liu's shoulder.
“You really struck gold with your luck.”
Head Constable Liu shoved his arm away.
“Go find a place to rest and stop disturbing our Qingyun’s rest.”
Head Constable Liu pulled Fang Zheng toward the other side of the room, spending quite some time exchanging pleasantries before finally getting away.
He returned cheerfully and asked with concern,
“Rested up yet? Time is almost up.”
“Uncle Liu, I'm well rested. Let’s head out,” Gu Qingyun stood up and said with a smile. “As if you didn't know, I don't usually need much rest anyway. Rest easy about this afternoon—I'm giving up first to secure second.”
Her boastful words gave Head Constable Liu quite a scare. Glancing left and right to ensure no one had overheard, he hurriedly whispered,
“Qingyun, don't be so audacious! If someone hears that, they’ll beat us black and blue!”
Gu Qingyun chuckled inwardly. She had only said it after checking that no one else was around. It wasn't unearned arrogance, either; she had trained with such relentless devotion, and that was genuinely her goal.
Rate on N.U.
