Evening!
Xia Chen returned home. Originally, he was slated to patrol the curfew tonight, but inquiring, he discovered that the curfew tasks assigned to his two companies had been completed two days prior.
So tonight, with nothing to do—and no chance to visit brothels for music—he simply came back.
"Commander!"
Barely settled in his room, Xia Qian's voice sounded outside.
"Come in!"
"Commander, the files on the Daqing spies you requested have arrived!"
Xia Qian entered with a stack of documents—internal Feathered Forest Guard records Xia Chen, as a commander, could access.
The capital had been turbulent this past month, rumors reaching the Emperor's ears, sparking his fury.
The Lamplighters had mobilized, arresting scores in the city, leaving its people jittery.
"The northwest military defense map was stolen?"
Flipping through the case files, Xia Chen grasped the gravity.
Dawu's northwest border abutted Daqing and Dafeng, garrisoned by 200,000 frontier troops. Now, the defense map was pilfered—a dire breach. No wonder the Emperor raged, unleashing the Lamplighters to scour the capital.
"Such a critical map, lifted straight from the Ministry of War without a whisper—there's a mole inside!"
Xia Chen murmured, poring over the dossier. For decades, Dawu had clashed with Daqing and Dafeng, but save for the Huaiyang War with Dafeng 36 years ago, no major conflicts flared—only border skirmishes.
Now, with the northwest map stolen, upheaval loomed.
Thirty-six years on, Dafeng had likely recovered. Post-Huaiyang, Daqing and Dafeng grew closer, hinting at an alliance against Dawu!
Xia Chen pressed on, reading further.
The file noted the map was filched by a minor Ministry of War clerk, passed to a West City blacksmith. When the Lamplighters traced this lead, both were found dead by suicide.
The trail ended there.
"Six or seven days gone—the map's surely out now. The northwest's in for a shake-up!"
Xia Chen mused. Whether they nabbed the Daqing spies or not, the map was lost—possibly already in Daqing's capital.
"There had to be at least one go-between for the clerk and blacksmith, but the file mentions none. Oversight—or deliberate omission?"
Xia Chen spotted a snag. A clerk slipping into the Ministry's core to steal the map single-handedly? Improbable.
He noted the clerk lived near North City's inner ring, the blacksmith at West City's edge—over twenty li apart. No way the clerk handed it off himself.
"Curfew locks down inner and outer cities at night. Without a special pass, no one moves—and the map vanished after dark…"
Lying in bed, Xia Chen pondered. Only the Imperial Guard and Lamplighters roamed freely then—suspects both. Worse, they might be infiltrated.
Peeling back layers, he unearthed much, but his intel was too thin—case files alone yielded this, and he suspected they were incomplete.
The Lamplighters surely held more—professionals at investigation.
"Pity I can't pull files from them. Even asking, we're just 'assisting'—in their eyes, probably mere muscle."
The Feathered Forest Guard wasn't case-savvy—common knowledge. They rarely bothered, waiting for bigwigs to unravel things before tagging along to nab suspects or raid homes.
Mulling this, Xia Chen drifted to sleep.
…
Next day!
Xia Chen arrived early at the Feathered Forest Guard Office.
"Commander, morning!"
Stepping into the rear barracks, he spotted Li Xi, yesterday's guide.
Li Xi beamed, trotting over, hefting a bag.
"Commander, buns? I grabbed these from Goubuli Steamed Buns—best in the capital. Try them…"
Xia Chen squinted at Li Xi's wrinkled grin—barely twenty yet looking forty. This kid had led him straight to the barracks yesterday—was it a setup or just for kicks?
"Commander, they're divine—top-notch! Goubuli's tough to snag; you've got to book ahead!"
Li Xi, oblivious to Xia Chen's shift, kept smiling, nearly shoving the buns into his hands.
Warm as a loyal pup.
Xia Chen glanced at him, then the buns—fragrance wafting.
"These perfectly good buns—why name them Goubuli? It's an odd choice. Dogs are our faithful companions, never turning traitor. If they did, they'd likely wind up as dog meat stuffing!"
Xia Chen pinched a bun, inspecting it. Yep, meaty and thin-skinned—tasty. No wonder capital elites loved them. He nibbled, remarking casually.
Li Xi's eyes flickered. That line hit—his little ploy yesterday was seen through.
This commander had thrashed a marquis's son day one—no pushover. A grudge could ruin him.
"They're great! Bring me a batch daily!"
As Li Xi fretted, Xia Chen's voice cut through. Looking up, he saw Xia Chen striding off. Li Xi's face lit with relief.
"You got it, Commander—I'll fetch breakfast every day!"
Li Xi shouted excitedly.
Xia Chen's leg, poised to enter the tent, halted abruptly, a strange look crossing his face.
Daily breakfast? Outsiders might think Li Xi was courting him!
That quip yanked Xia Chen back to high school and college—days of playing lapdog to campus queens!
He eyed the bun he was savoring. Damn, Goubuli's name really was off!