"Is that you, Brother Yuan?"

Tie Qinghua knelt on the ground, gazing at the coffin in front of her, her voice soft.

"Yes, it's me..."

Chen Yuan glanced at the mourning clothes on Tie Qinghua, a certain phrase suddenly flashed in his mind.

*Yūsuru mado...* (Note: I've chosen to leave this untranslated as it appears to be a Japanese term that the original author included, and is left up to interpretation by the reader.)

However, he quickly banished these strange thoughts and, as if by magic, produced a white flower from behind his back and placed it before Tie Xuan's coffin.

Tie Qinghua looked at Chen Yuan, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"This is a custom that's becoming popular in my hometown. My condolences, Madam Tie."

Chen Yuan appropriately displayed a hint of sadness.

Tie Qinghua took a deep breath and slowly lowered her head:

"When my elder brother was alive, I didn't feel anything, but now that he's gone, all sorts of demons and monsters have emerged."

"I believe Madam Tie can safely overcome these tribulations."

"I don't even believe it myself," Tie Qinghua said self-deprecatingly.

In just a few short days, she had lost both her husband and her brother, the two most important men to her. If it were anyone else, they would have long been distraught and at a loss.

But she couldn't. Besides herself, she also had her brother's children to raise. If she didn't pull herself together, the Tie family would truly be without hope.

Tie Xuan had indeed had some close friends and subordinates during his lifetime, but once a man dies, his lamp goes out. The moment Tie Xuan died, those so-called friends were the first to rush in.

"Brother Yuan, the Tie family still has some silver. Take it. As for the Tiger Bone Pill, I don't even know if I can hold on until then..." Tie Qinghua said softly.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes, watching Tie Qinghua's performance, and then said:

"Silver is of no use to me. What I want is the Tiger Bone Pill. As for the Tie family, I will do what I can to help."

Tie Qinghua raised her head, her gaze fixed on Chen Yuan for a moment:

"Thank you for your help, Brother Yuan."

"Don't be too quick to thank me. We're simply helping each other. Besides the Tiger Bone Pills from before, I need more, as compensation."

"To think that in this great calamity of the Tie family, the one truly helping Qinghua is Brother Yuan, a friend of only a few days. I believe my elder brother can rest in peace below."

Tie Qinghua continued.

"Yes, Brother Tie can rest in peace..." A subtle, almost imperceptible smile gradually crept into Chen Yuan's eyes.

"Madam Tie, do you know how your brother died?" Chen Yuan asked softly.

"The news from the county government is that my brother died at the hands of the Unborn Church (Wu Sheng Jiao) bandits." A trace of hatred flashed in Tie Qinghua's eyes.

Tie Xuan had raised her, acting as both her brother and her father. Such hatred could never be forgotten.

"The Unborn Church (Wu Sheng Jiao), that's a very powerful demonic sect. I'm afraid Madam Tie won't be able to avenge herself anytime soon." Chen Yuan shook his head.

"Such a great hatred can wait ten years. Even if I can't avenge him, the descendants of the Tie family will carry on this hatred, endlessly!"

Tie Qinghua said through gritted teeth.

"Is that so..." A cold glint flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes, then disappeared, replaced by a smile:

"I believe that one day, Madam Tie will be able to avenge this hatred."

In his heart, however, Chen Yuan had already sentenced Tie Qinghua to death. Once he was done with her, she would have to die. Chen Yuan didn't want to leave any hidden dangers. Although the Tie family's revenge might never be achieved, Chen Yuan didn't want to create problems for himself.

What if, one day, a peerless genius emerged from the Tie family? That would be disgusting. Although the possibility was very small.

"It's getting late. Madam Tie, please continue your vigil. Yuan will take his leave. If any forces make things difficult for the Tie family, leave some marks on the stone lions in front of the gate. Yuan will come when he sees them..."

Chen Yuan said, standing in front of the entrance to the mourning hall, his back to Tie Qinghua.

"Farewell, Brother Yuan..."

Although she felt that this sentence was a bit awkward, Chen Yuan didn't show it. He nodded slightly and disappeared into the darkness.

Inside the mourning hall, Tie Qinghua pressed her head to the ground and said coldly:

"Brother, your revenge, Qinghua will never forget!"

......

......

The next day.

The Eastern Training Grounds of the city.

Starting from the early morning, *yayi* (government runners) had been arriving one after another, all wanting to see the new captain of the constable's office who had won this competition.

Although he didn't have an official rank for the time being, he had the power. Moreover, as long as he stepped into the Bone Refinement (Lian Gu) realm, County Commandant Li Mingqi would report to the prefectural city for the issuance of documents.

There was not much difference from a true captain.

Moreover, what was truly interesting was that this time it wasn't a Bone Refinement expert who was taking on the role of captain. Instead, County Commandant Li Mingqi had decided to select a master from the six departments of the county government to serve as captain.

These masters were at most at the Blood Refinement (Lian Xue) level.

Although it wasn't the first time in history, it was an extremely rare occurrence.

Peaceful County (Ping An Xian) hadn't seen such a thing in at least several decades. Usually, the captains were Bone Refinement experts. Only in this way could they suppress a group of unruly veteran *yayi* (government runners).

The competition within the county government. County Commandant Li Mingqi ordered that outsiders not be allowed to enter. After all, this wasn't some martial arts competition, nor was it anything glorious. Such a large Peaceful County (Ping An Xian) couldn't find a suitable person to serve as captain. Speaking of which, it was his mistake.

If he had a choice, Li Mingqi wouldn't have chosen this way.

The main reason was that the other two Bone Refinement experts within the county government had both sided with County Magistrate Wu Qingfeng. If he used people who were loyal to Wu Qingfeng, wouldn't he be sidelined?

This was something Li Mingqi could never tolerate.

And he couldn't show weakness and ask the prefectural city for people. Otherwise, how would his superiors view him?

If he couldn't make his superiors think he had the ability, how would he be promoted in the future?

Therefore, Li Mingqi could only reluctantly choose the tallest among the short, selecting the strongest from those Blood Refinement-level *yayi* (government runners). In this way, as long as they wholeheartedly pledged their loyalty, coupled with his cultivation, advancing to Bone Refinement wouldn't be too difficult.

Walking on the road in the east of the city, Chen Yuan and Wang Ping were chatting leisurely.

"Brother Yuan, how's the preparation going?"

Chen Yuan looked down at the protective mirror hidden in his chest and smiled:

"Don't worry."

"It's good that Brother Yuan has confidence. This brother believes in you." Wang Ping patted his chest.

"How was the Misty Rain Tower (Yan Yu Lou) last night? Did you see the courtesan?" Chen Yuan asked with a smile.

Mentioning this, Wang Ping lowered his eyelids a bit and said in a muffled voice:

"I saw her."

"What's wrong? Not satisfied, or was the rumor wrong?"

"No... no, that woman is very good."

"Then why do you look like this?"

"Brother Yuan, do you believe in love at first sight?"

Chen Yuan raised his eyebrows and said mockingly:

"You wouldn't have fallen in love with a prostitute, would you?"

Whoever gets emotionally invested in playing around loses.

Wang Ping immediately retorted:

"Last night, Xiaoyue and I had a lot of contact. She is very virtuous, very gentle, very... beautiful. Although she is a prostitute, she is still a good woman."

Chen Yuan's forehead darkened. Isn't that the same as saying, "She goes clubbing, drinks, gets tattoos, and doesn't come home at night, but she's still a good girl?"