Chen Huijie had never thought highly of the Guard Department's original training system or several of its emergency protocols.
When he first became a Superintendent, he had already proposed reforms to his uncle.
Then his uncle had called in Uncle Lin, and the two elders plus one brat had huddled together for two or three days, hammering out every improvement they could think of.
Thinking back on it now, though, his uncle and Uncle Lin had really only been indulging him and letting him take the lead in that little project. With their abilities, they would never have needed that long on their own.
Those really had been carefree days.
Chen Huijie drifted in that memory for a moment before focusing again.
Since he had already ended up back at the Guard Department, then by happy coincidence, these future reform plans had to be handed over too.
If the Guard Department as a whole became stronger, then it would be able to handle some matters without his personal intervention. That would free his hands to deal with bigger problems elsewhere.
And if he remembered correctly, while the current Chief of the Guard Department was technically one of Old Master Swire's people, the man had always cooperated well with Governor Wei. So these reforms should face little resistance.
Which meant Chen Huijie wouldn't need to actually re-enter the Guard Department in person to push them through.
Mm. Another small objective complete. This little stint in the station has paid for itself.
On the other side—
Go the hell where?!
That was what Chen Huijie wanted to shout.
But looking at the notes in the book, she just couldn't.
They really were useful.
Though Yuanyan had written them in a very short amount of time, he had written a lot—dense, packed with diagrams, and surprisingly detailed. If she hadn't seen him write it with her own eyes, she would have thought he had prepared it in advance and only pulled it out now to escape punishment.
And not only that—
Hoshiguma, Chen Huijie, and Swire could all tell that if these recommendations were actually adopted, the overall combat capability of the Guard Department officers would rise sharply.
Only then did they fully remember:
This man was an exceptional swordsman.
Because of all his outrageous claims, they had nearly forgotten that.
Chen Huijie fell silent for a moment, then finally looked at him and asked:
"Tell me the truth. What exactly is your relationship with Wei Yenwu?"
Chen Huijie glanced at the "other him."
He didn't need to think much to understand what she suspected—that he had been sent by Wei Yenwu to test her.
To that, he could only say: this person really did spend all day thinking about herself.
"…No relationship. I know what you want to ask. I stole the Chi Xiao Sword Arts. Learned it just by watching once."
"Yuanyan! Do you take me for an idiot?!"
Chen Huijie slapped the table and glared at him.
With a blank expression, Chen Huijie replied:
"In terms of swordsmanship, you might genuinely be an idiot. You've practiced sword for this many years and still can't draw Chi Xiao. Why don't you sell it to me cheap? Hanging it at your waist is embarrassing."
"You—!"
"What?"
Chen Huijie cast her a brief sideways glance.
"Thinking of using extrajudicial force? Then turn off the camera first. Otherwise tomorrow I'll go file a report."
"…"
Silently, Chen Huijie drew her fist back.
Because she knew perfectly well that if the camera did go off, the one getting beaten up would be her.
As unwilling as she was to admit it, his strength truly surpassed hers.
"So? Can I go now?"
Chen Huijie turned back to Hoshiguma.
"You don't have evidence for any other charges against me…"
"I do!"
Chen Huijie cut in, finally sounding like she had caught the handle of the matter.
"You illegally entered a private residence! And where did you get the key to my room?"
"That night I had a bit too much to drink and my consciousness was somewhat blurred, so I accidentally entered your room. My sincere apologies. As for the key—at my level of skill, I don't need a key to get into your room."
"You bastard, just you wait!"
As she spoke, Chen Huijie began searching his person, found the keychain, and quickly picked out the familiar key. She thrust it up in his face.
"Then explain this!"
"Similar, but not identical."
Chen Huijie remained utterly composed.
"Look closely. Are the cuts the same?"
…?!
Chen Huijie hastily took out her own key to compare.
A heartbeat later, realization dawned.
"You altered it with sword qi just now!"
"Evidence. Evidence." Chen Huijie looked at her with tired patience. "You're a Guard Department officer. You have to deal in evidence."
He had already reminded her over and over again about understanding her role, understanding her identity, understanding that she was the executor of Lungmen's law.
But seeing that none of it was sinking in, he could only let out a quiet inner sigh.
"Forget it. Is there anything else?"
"No."
Hoshiguma and Swire exchanged a look and gave that answer together.
The two of them had already done a quick assessment. Right now they really didn't have sufficient grounds to keep this man here any longer.
And Yuanyan clearly had no intention of continuing to cooperate indefinitely.
If they forced the issue and things turned violent, the one who would lose face would probably be the Guard Department.
Hearing that, Chen Huijie moved to lift the restraint on his body.
Naturally, because the Guard Department often dealt with suspects of wildly varying races and physical capabilities, its interrogation chairs were far more robust than anything on Earth. In addition to hand and leg restraints, there was also a kind of iron vest that locked a suspect against the back of the chair—necessary when some races were simply born monstrously strong.
Because Chen Huijie had rescued A Shui, the officers had not put him in handcuffs or shackles.
Only the iron vest.
And not even locked.
Still, for the current Chen Huijie, that weight was unexpectedly burdensome.
Back in the past, with his old physical condition, this much weight would have been little more than a toy.
But after his Oripathy had healed, his body's natural strength had declined rapidly, as if he had reverted all the way back to his first life and become an ordinary human again. His combat capacity had dropped accordingly.
Fortunately, the foundation of true qi he had cultivated remained. Rebuilding wasn't too difficult. Though he had not yet returned to his peak, his fighting strength was still far from negligible.
And perhaps it really was a case of breaking and remaking—through retraining, he had finally begun to hammer out a sword path that truly belonged to him.
"Mm!"
Now, though, to move this iron vest gracefully, he did have to engage some true qi.
And the moment he did, the pain in his chest made his strength falter.
Clang.
The iron vest dropped back onto the chair with an ugly crash.
"What's wrong? Not feeling well?"
Hoshiguma was sharp enough to catch the subtle change in his expression and asked with concern.
Chen Huijie merely shook his head, steadied his breathing for a moment, and then calmly removed the iron vest as if nothing had happened.
Looks like I really do need to find a reliable doctor. This 'old friend' has been showing up too often lately…
At that moment, his eyes happened to drift toward the "other him" nearby—the dragon woman he had just been mercilessly needling until her face was red.
Thinking back over the life he himself had lived, he couldn't help sighing inwardly.
She won't be able to endure the calamities of the future.
Calling her a mantis trying to stop a chariot would almost be a compliment.
So weak…
How did she even manage to get to this point?
Then again, his own situation had been special.
Though his first life lasted only fifteen years, that had still been fifteen years of proper awakening, education, and maturity. After reincarnating the second time, that meant that in many ways he had begun from a far higher starting point.
This female version of himself had probably fallen behind him from that very foundation onward.
So…
I'll help her a little.
With that thought, Chen Huijie looked at the dragon woman and said:
"Chen Huijie, right?"
"W-what?!"
She eyed him warily.
"I'm warning you, I'm a police officer and you're the criminal, so don't start trying to turn the heavens upside down here!"
So that's the identity lesson you took from all that?!
Chen Huijie shut his eyes, took a slow breath through his nose, then opened them again and said evenly:
"If you have doubts about swordsmanship, I can teach you. Your talent isn't poor—you shouldn't be stuck at a bottleneck like this, wasting your years. I have a sword art here. It isn't complete, but I think—"
"Hmph. Just because you can draw Chi Xiao, you think you're some grandmaster? Don't make me laugh. If the sword art isn't even complete, then don't take it out and embarrass yourself."
The more Chen Huijie looked at the man before her, the more uncomfortable she felt.
He was like her natural enemy.
So she instinctively snapped back:
"You can leave now. But Yuanyan, I'm warning you—I'll be watching you. The moment you dare to—!!!"
Before she could finish, she saw the man stop paying attention to her entirely. Instead, he merely crooked a finger toward the doorway.
That alone was enough to make her bristle again.
Then she felt it.
Instinctively, she turned.
A red gleam shot in from outside the room, circling her several times in nimble loops before hovering in front of Yuanyan.
It was the sword he had turned in earlier.
Chen Huijie watched as he gave a light tap with one finger. The blade slid neatly back to his waist.
She instantly glanced toward the instrument panel in the interrogation room.
No Originium Arts fluctuation.
Which meant…
Her throat bobbed.
A term leapt straight into her mind.
This—
This was sword control, wasn't it?
This was absolutely the sword control from martial arts fiction, wasn't it?!
And the sword art you mentioned… don't tell me it was this?
Though no longer a child, Chen Huijie still loved reading wuxia novels. All the miraculous, transcendent martial techniques in them had once made her chuunibyou heart burn fiercely—especially sword control.
She had even tried to recreate it herself.
But no matter how she experimented, it had never felt right.
In the end, she had reluctantly shelved the idea.
And yet now, with only one look, she knew—
This was exactly the sword art she had once wanted to pursue.
Only…
Why is the one who knows it you?!
Ignoring the dragon woman whose face had twisted into an adorably conflicted knot, Chen Huijie silently tore the insignia and epaulets from the uniform he was wearing. He lightly rubbed his fingers across the embroidery before handing them to Hoshiguma beside him.
He knew this subordinate of his too well.
The moment Hoshiguma started rubbing her hands together like that, he knew she was hoping to get those from him.
"All right. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. Farewell."
"You…"
Chen Huijie instinctively wanted to call him back.
But her pride forced the words back down her throat.
It's just sword control. I… I'll figure it out myself someday!
"Old Chen, what's with you?"
Once Chen Huijie's figure had vanished entirely, Hoshiguma carefully put away the insignia and shoulder badges, then turned to her partner in confusion.
"Don't you think you got unusually emotional around this Yuanyan? It's like he pushes your buttons too easily. That wasn't like you at all."
"That's only because that person is especially irritating."
Forcing her eyes away from the doorway, Chen Huijie answered darkly.
After Hoshiguma pointed it out, she had to admit it herself—her attitude around Yuanyan really was off.
The moment she saw him, she felt inexplicably agitated.
Unwilling to lose to him.
What exactly was wrong with her?
"Oh my, oh my. Don't tell me this is the legendary tsundere?"
Swire poked her from the side, giggling.
"Oh wow, our great Officer Chen actually likes playing that game…"
"Get away from me, you brain-rotted romance addict!"
"T-two of you, don't forget there's still a report to write."
Seeing Chen Huijie and Swire about to go at it again, Hoshiguma hurriedly cut between them and changed the subject.
Swire huffed and left with a snort.
But she didn't head back to her office.
Instead, she walked straight toward the exit of the Guard Department.
Clearly, her target was Chen Huijie, who had only just left.
-------
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