Li Xin, Lin Fei, and little Xueyin left the house they'd lived in for six years.
The place had been small and worn, but within those limited walls, Lin Fei had arranged everything with meticulous care.
The layout was clean and orderly, and even in hardship, she maintained a certain dignity in their lives.
When it came time to leave, Lin Fei showed no hesitation.
Xueyin, still at an age where city life sparkled like a dream, didn’t feel much attachment either.
They entrusted the house to Qi Eight-Blades to watch over.
Mostly it was in case Aunt Fei forgot anything and needed to come back, but it also gave Qi Eight-Blades something to do — a thin excuse to keep a thread of connection open.
This time, they didn’t sneak through the Underground City tunnels.
Instead, they put on their best clothes and entered the city through the main avenue.
The gate guards, seeing the Night Watchmen insignia, immediately became respectful.
It wasn’t Li Xin’s first time coming into Tianjing, but for Xueyin, this was different — she was practically bursting with excitement.
From now on, there would be no more hiding, no more slinking in shadows.
She could live in the city, out in the open.
Their new residence was on Triumph Street, 5-17 East District — not exactly downtown, but still a good neighborhood.
The apartment Li Xin was assigned covered about 120 square meters across two floors, with a small courtyard attached.
As long as Li Xin stayed with the Night Watchmen, the place would be theirs, rent-free.
Li Xin didn’t believe in anything being free in this world — not where human life was so cheap.
To get housing this decent meant only one thing: Captain Luo Jin was the real deal.
The house wasn’t new, but compared to their old place in Blackwater, it was heaven.
The courtyard fence was rusty, weeds had run wild — clearly no one had tended it for ages.
But even the rust felt alive here, not sad.
Lin Fei, who always kept a straight face, couldn’t help smiling.
Xueyin had already bolted inside, racing to claim her room.
"Captain said the furniture’s all new," Li Xin said with a grin. "It’s just dumb luck we got the timing right."
Honestly, it was probably less about Luo Jin being dependable, and more about Big Sister Casey having pulled some strings.
A sister’s child is always treated like gold.
"Axin, go buy some beef," Lin Fei said cheerfully. "Today, I’ll make you all steak. Xueyin and I will start cleaning up!"
Moving into a new home was a big deal — it deserved a celebration.
Lin Fei wasn’t about to let a good mood go to waste.
"Yay, yay! Mommy, I want a pink room!" Xueyin squealed.
They had Captain Luo Jin’s advance to thank for this.
Before, even dreaming about beef — much less steaks — had been a luxury.
"Got it. Leave it to me," Li Xin replied.
He knew this was the first time in years that Lin Fei was letting herself indulge in a little ceremony.
Triumph Street was lively — almost like a sub-center of the East District.
The locals had decent spending power, and there were all kinds of quality shops.
Li Xin spotted a dress Xueyin had been dreaming about in a shop window.
He asked about the size and price, but didn’t buy it yet — food first.
If he showed up carrying a boutique bag, he’d get robbed blind.
He shopped smart, haggled hard, applied every trick he knew, and finally came striding out with his arms full of bags.
When he was younger, Aunt Fei always did the shopping.
But even when she tried her best, Li Xin thought her bargaining skills were... lacking.
Good haggling wasn’t just about throwing yourself into it — it was about strategy, reading the market.
He bought eggs, tomatoes, carrots, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar — and beef.
The steak was for Lin Fei and Xueyin; he also grabbed a nice beef rib for himself.
He even found some potatoes.
Blanch the ribs, chop them into pieces, simmer them low and slow with a secret marinade —
the first meal would be pure meat, rich and tender, melting on the tongue.
By the second day, once the flavors deepened, he’d add carrots and potatoes — perfection.
Li Xin also grabbed a bottle of Tianjing’s specialty fruit wine — just a little to go with dinner.
On the way back, he stopped by that clothing shop again.
The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up seeing him return — then dimmed when he saw the bags and the patched clothes Li Xin wore.
Still, after a round of intense haggling, Li Xin bought the dress at 60% of the original price.
The shopkeeper wasn’t mad — just a little bitter he didn’t make a bigger profit.
Li Xin had paid without flinching — 86 lira, not cheap at all.
The same dress would've cost over 200 lira downtown.
All said and done, he'd spent 137 lira in a blur.
Underground City money and surface city money felt like they came from two different worlds.
When Li Xin got back, the courtyard had been swept clean, the rooms aired out.
From the second-floor window, Xueyin waved at him, her face glowing like a little lark.
The moment she saw him, she whooshed down the stairs with a thunder of footsteps and launched herself at him, full of joy.
"Axin, Axin, I love it here! Can we stay forever?"
Li Xin stood there like a human coat rack.
"This is our home now," he said, steadying her.
"No more running. Now, come down and check out your gift."
"Wahhh! So much good food... and— huh??"
Xueyin’s already big, sparkling eyes went round as saucers.
She spotted the dress — the one she’d dreamed about again and again, dancing through her dreams.
"Axin, I love you to death!"she cried, planting a kiss on him before snatching the dress and racing upstairs like a little whirlwind.
"You... just love spending money," Lin Fei said, shaking her head with a laugh.
"Aunt Fei," Li Xin said, handing her the groceries, "money’s meant to be spent.
Earn more, spend more. Earn less, spend less."
Lin Fei smiled but didn’t argue.
"Go wash up and play with Xueyin," she said warmly.
The water tank was full — unlike the Underground, here the basic utilities were maintained by city staff.
Lin Fei had lived this kind of life before, even better once.
While buying groceries, Li Xin had also scouted the neighborhood.
It was really decent.
Best of all, there was a Grace Class school nearby.
Given their new circumstances, Xueyin would absolutely be able to enroll.
And the Night Watchmen’s salary was nothing to scoff at.
After lunch, Li Xin went to officially report in at Night Watchmen HQ.
Some people in the city might think joining up wasn’t a big deal —
but for someone who came from the Underground, this felt like paradise.
The joy of those around him was infectious.
When Casey saw Li Xin arrive in full Night Watchmen uniform, she was a little surprised.
Captain Luo Jin had given him two days to settle in, but he’d shown up after half a day.
"I'll take you to get familiar with the equipment," Casey said, smiling.
They headed to the Night Watchmen’s training field.
The manager there looked to be in his forties, rough around the edges, with a bristling beard and a lingering smell of alcohol.
"Captain Mo, this is Li Xin," Casey said. "Handpicked by Captain Luo himself. He’s here to pick his gear and get familiar with the basics."
Mo Feng cracked open bleary eyes, clearly halfway drunk.
"Well, well," he slurred, grinning.
"Casey-girl’s looking prettier by the day. How about getting yourself a boyfriend?"
Casey beamed sweetly.
"Captain Mo, if I were looking, I definitely wouldn't be picking you. You’ve already pledged your life to the wine barrel. I won’t interrupt your true love."
She handed Li Xin over without missing a beat.
Casey clicked her heels smartly and strutted away, the sound of her steps echoing crisply.
Today, she was wearing knee-high leather boots — sharp and dashing.
Mo Feng waved lazily.
"Come on, kid. Follow me."
He shuffled forward with a limp, his movements slow and heavy.
He was missing a leg; the prosthetic never quite moved right.
Li Xin gave it a glance, but didn’t linger.
He simply fell into step behind him.
Inside the Night Watchmen, Luo Jin held the rank of Captain, overseeing six field squads, one logistics squad, and one training squad.
Mo Feng was the captain of the training unit.
He’d lost his right leg during a mission and had stepped back from front-line duty, taking on the task of training rookies.
Mo Feng studied Li Xin carefully.
There was a standard protocol for dealing with new recruits:
Those who were too timid needed toughening up; those too cocky needed knocking down a peg.
Being overly brave or overly fearful could get people killed.
But this one had been personally handpicked by the Captain — he had to have something.
The Captain hadn’t involved himself in recruitment for a long time.
"Li Xin, I’m Mo Feng.
You can call me Captain Mo or just Old Mo," he said, his voice sharp now, all traces of laziness gone.
"The boss has high hopes for you, so we’ll skip the usual 'welcome rituals' for newbies.
But listen carefully — don’t blame me for not giving you face."
"Once you join the Night Watchmen, we’re all brothers fighting in the same trench.
You’ll face life-and-death situations at any moment.
No matter how strong you think you are, never act reckless.
Know your duty, and never flinch, even if it means losing your head.
One mistake won’t just kill you — it’ll get everyone else killed too."
Mo Feng, who just moments ago had seemed sloppy and half-drunk, now radiated a chilling sobriety.
Aside from the lingering smell of alcohol, there was no trace of drunkenness left in him.
All the while, he was watching closely.
Since the moment they met, Li Xin hadn’t shown any noticeable reaction — no hesitation, no contempt.
Either he was unusually dense... or unusually composed.
Mo Feng had seen it before:
Rookies who let even a flicker of disdain cross their faces —
He would make sure they understood real fast why the flowers in spring bloomed so damn red.
(End of Chapter)