Chapter Twelve: The Hand of Five Elements

The Execution Staff in the Six Gates Bureau is a special item bestowed upon constables by the imperial court, and though it can barely serve as a weapon, its basic attribute is formidable: it scales with 30% of the constable player’s strength. Yet its additional properties are truly fearsome—a 15% chance to stun criminals for two seconds, and an extra 10% damage.

In essence, it rivals a precious-grade weapon, but the stronger the constable, the less likely they are to rely on it. This particular strike caught Yue Silent and the others completely off guard. Firstly, Brother Chun exploited his superior level to overpower the opponent; secondly, the move unfolded too swiftly for anyone to react. It was almost as if he had anticipated the enemy would use the spear to intercept, although this was not exactly foresight—Zhang He, watching from the sidelines, had given just the right reminder. If Brother Chun had truly intended to kill Sword Speechless, it would not have been difficult, but such an action would have risked injury and left the enemy formation unshaken.

The Execution Staff struck Yue Silent, eliciting a muffled grunt, and before he could finish, Brother Chun brought the staff down hard on his head. The sickening thud echoed, and a surge of crimson blood seeped from Yue Silent’s nostrils, testament to the sheer force of those two blows.

Two critical yellow damage values flashed up:
“—202!”
“—244!”

With a clatter, a long spear fell to the ground, followed by Yue Silent’s corpse. The display stunned the group of red-named players. Constables live off government service and are ruthless towards criminals—regardless of beauty. If you’re marked in red, they strike with lethal intent.

The moment Yue Silent fell, Zhang He called out, “Cuff him!”

No sooner had the words faded than a shower of icy starlight appeared overhead; Ice Ruthless, eyes reddened with rage, unleashed a skill powered by internal energy. The “Pin” formation of flying needles looked impressive, but proved useless—Ice Ruthless had yet to grasp the true essence of projectiles.

The secret to hidden weapons lies in two points: striking when the opponent is unaware, or when the enemy is cornered and unable to evade. Neither condition applied here, so the chance of landing a hit was slim—especially given that their opponent was a silver-ranked constable.

Brother Chun calmly retreated two steps, and all three needles missed. At that moment, Water Soaring leapt from the rear, his palms glowing ominously as he targeted Brother Chun’s chest.

Two more dull thuds sounded; Brother Chun retreated several steps, but unlike before, this time he withstood the double palm strike head-on. Water Soaring, upon flipping back, turned ghastly pale—for his wrists were shackled in heavy, pitch-black handcuffs: the Demon-Dispelling Rings of the Six Gates Bureau. Anyone bound by them suffers greatly reduced mobility and a 25% drop in all attributes, unless a constable unlocks them.

Of course, upright leaders with high honor or reputation cannot be cuffed; the Demon-Dispelling Rings affect only those with high evil points or red names.

Brother Chun’s actions were executed flawlessly, the timing impeccable, utterly dismantling the enemy team. Even another silver-ranked constable would have struggled to achieve this. Yet Brother Chun knew well—this was not an extraordinary performance, but rather guidance from the young man atop the earthen slope, whose insight into the overall situation had been invaluable.

“Medicine!” Brother Chun shouted, sharp as ever, planting himself firmly as he called out.

Zhang He instantly understood. He tossed a Ginger Monarch pill behind Brother Chun, and with the medicine in hand, Brother Chun truly had the upper hand against these red-named players. Wielding the Execution Staff, he howled and lunged at Sword Speechless and Flower Deficiency.

Staff, sword, and spear whirled together in a chaotic melee, blades clashing in a symphony of steel. Brother Chun, one against two, showed no sign of faltering—after all, a fourth-transition player facing two second-transition opponents should not be outmatched; otherwise, he’d have no business being a silver-ranked constable.

In the chaos, Flower Deficiency took three heavy blows and collapsed. Sword Speechless was left under even greater pressure, but Brother Chun shifted his focus, abandoning Sword Speechless to deal with Ice Ruthless, the one who threw hidden weapons.

Relying on potent medicine, Brother Chun endured the projectiles and managed to club Ice Ruthless to death as well.

Zhang He exhaled in relief. Water Soaring, shackled and unable to fight effectively, together with Sword Speechless, were powerless against Brother Chun.

From the start, Zhang He had noticed Water Soaring’s moves—if Water Soaring was neutralized, Brother Chun could handle the other four alone. Water Soaring had the highest attack power and acted with the most cunning, always lurking at the rear—clearly the team’s leader. With him subdued, everything else was manageable.

Still lost in thought, Zhang He watched as the last, Water Soaring, fell with a scream. The earthen slope was littered with five red-named corpses.

AI System: “Esteemed player, congratulations on assisting the Six Gates Bureau in capturing the criminals. Experience +450 points, Chivalry +1 point.”

Brother Chun gazed at the bodies on the ground, smirking coldly. “Hmph, this is the price for resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. Don’t think you can escape; I’ve already sent carrier pigeons. The constables of Return Horse Town have laid a net around the Three Lives Stone. You’ll rot in prison before you ever get out.”

The five, now in ghost mode, were gnashing their teeth in frustration—but there was nothing they could do. Facing a silver-ranked constable, anyone below third transition was bound to suffer injustice.

Fifteen minutes later, the corpses dissolved into light and drifted away, leaving behind a heap of loot on the ground. Brother Chun glanced at it and cursed silently—these bumpkins left mostly medicine and barely any equipment. The extra rewards from this mission were meager.

He really should have expected it; most red-named players don’t carry good gear unless they’re famous. Besides, as a fourth-transition player, he had little use for low-level equipment. He picked out two extraordinary-grade items and handed them to Zhang He.

Zhang He accepted without hesitation. These were just what he needed:

Canvas Cloak (Extraordinary Grade)
Requirements: Level 20;
Defense: 10 + 5, Bonus: Agility +5;

Light Leg Guards (Extraordinary Grade)
Requirements: Level 15;
Defense: 6 + 3, Bonus: Agility +3;

With the cloak draped and guards worn, Zhang He now looked rather like a woodcutter uncle.

“Ugly, yes, but at least it’s an ugly with personality,” Brother Chun joked, his spirits high after a successful mission. Back at the bureau, he’d collect a reward of 300 taels of silver. Equipment of this caliber, not even fit for first-transition, was beneath his notice.

After descending to Rainflower Village with Brother Chun, Zhang He’s level had risen to twenty-five, thanks to the experience gained from assisting the constable. Upon allocating his stat points from levels eighteen to twenty-five, his attributes saw a significant boost:

Level: 25, School: None, Title: None,
Constitution: 130, Foundation: 40, Strength: 20, Internal Energy: 20, Agility: 21, Mind Technique: 0, Courage: 10, Fortune: 0, Defense: 36, Chivalry: 1, Evil: 0…

With these stats, he had finally shed the status of a novice, barely entering the first-transition era.

“Brother, I see you’re quite familiar with our Six Gates Bureau’s martial arts. Interested in joining? I can be your sponsor, since you don’t belong to any school yet.” Brother Chun sounded sincere. If not for Zhang He’s keen eye today, he might well have been caught off guard himself.

“Thanks for the offer, Brother Chun, but I’d like to solidify my basics first,” Zhang He politely declined, pulling out five Ginger Monarch pills. “As we part ways, please accept these tokens. Thank you for guiding me today—if you don’t mind my friendship, you must accept them.”

Seeing Zhang He’s earnestness, Brother Chun was touched. Though Ginger Monarch pills were not the top-tier medicine in Yizhou City, their actual effect far surpassed anything sold in stores.

Zhang He’s gesture was not mere impulse or chivalry; for him, obtaining the ingredients for these five pills had been an arduous task, the price steep. Yet he gave them away without hesitation.

As they chatted on the way down, Zhang He learned that Cheng Jisi Chun was a silver-ranked constable stationed in the Dongling District under Yizhou’s jurisdiction. In this rural novice village, a silver-ranked constable was almost an invincible presence. But in the big cities, constables like Cheng Jisi Chun were plentiful—players did not need to curry favor with them.

Zhang He, however, thought differently. In games, one need not always make friends, but should always make connections. That way, one can gather more information, build a vast network, accumulate strong social resources, and make accurate decisions—this is the essence of survival in “Dynasty.”

If you’re a novice, you befriend fellow novices; if you’re an expert, you naturally encounter other experts by chance; and if you’re a grandmaster or sect leader, you will inevitably cross paths with the martial alliance chief or demon cult leader. Now, with the chance to connect with a silver-ranked constable, as long as he kept playing, this relationship would sooner or later prove valuable.

As for those lone wolves who pride themselves on solo mastery, how many in “Dynasty” have ever reached the pinnacle of the martial world? They’re either beaten to death in group fights or overwhelmed by numbers. Though they shout threats—“I’ll remember you, just you wait!”—in the end, they flee with tails between their legs.

The Chinese player’s martial world, too, is inseparable from millennia of ancestral tradition. It’s a society of interactions, and likewise, a game of relationships.

People are the martial world—how can you escape or withdraw?

After accepting the Ginger Monarch pills, Cheng Jisi Chun was moved. “Brother, with your shrewd eye, you won’t stay in this backwater forever. When you reach Dongling District, be sure to send word by carrier pigeon. I can’t guarantee everything, but if any villain bothers you, I’ll make sure they regret it. This ‘Five Element Hands’ manual was dropped by a second-transition red-named player I caught the other day. As a member of a school, I have no use for wild manuals—don’t refuse, let’s part ways here, and hopefully meet in Yizhou someday. By then, I might be a gold-ranked constable! Ha ha ha…”

With that, Cheng Jisi Chun strode proudly toward the village gate, leaving Zhang He nodding thoughtfully, lost in contemplation.