"That clearance... I'm reading this right, aren't I?"
"Could be a system error."
Both sentries stared wide-eyed at Rover's Pangu Terminal, their expressions cycling through an impressive range of disbelief. Maximum security clearance. Not only did it grant unrestricted passage anywhere within Jinzhou's jurisdiction, it meant that if Rover decided he wanted to march out of the city with an entire Midnight Rangers battalion at his back, these two would be obligated to comply. Immediately. Without question.
That level of authority was on par with the Magistrate herself.
"Sir!" they barked in unison, snapping to attention and saluting the moment they'd triple-checked the credentials.
Danjin gaped at him.
"Big bro, are you some VIP from Jinzhou City Hall?"
"Ha, I only arrived in Jinzhou yesterday."
"Yesterday? Then you're... the Magistrate's honored guest?"
"Smart girl."
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. Before she could press further, a girl in Taoist robes hurried over from the other checkpoint, pressed her fists together in a formal salute, and spoke.
"Fellow warriors, my name is Jianxin. I have a favor to ask."
The young woman wore a flowing black-and-white robe embroidered with drifting cloud patterns. Her features were striking, and her smile carried a clarity that reminded Rover of mountain spring water, the kind that made you feel calmer for having seen it.
Her long hair, black on the outside and white underneath, was gathered into twin tails behind her.
But the real showstopper was the single tuft of hair standing straight up from the crown of her head.
The ahoge was magnificent. Long, buoyant, swaying in the breeze with a life of its own, so animated it looked like you could pluck it off and play a tune on it like a reed. A certain fellow ahoge-bearer would have tipped their hat in solemn respect.
Oblivious to the fact that both Rover and Danjin were staring transfixed at the gravity-defying strand, Jianxin continued.
"I've been entrusted with an urgent errand beyond the walls, but I lack clearance to leave. If it wouldn't trouble you, might I accompany you through the gate?"
"Well..."
Her sincerity was obvious. Under normal circumstances, lending a hand would have cost him nothing. But this particular Taoist nun was a special case. Knowing what he knew about the story, he hesitated.
Jianxin was, to put it plainly, a living saint.
Kind. Overwhelmingly kind. Kind to a fault.
Fresh off the mountain where she'd spent her entire life cultivating mind and body, she possessed the untouched innocence of someone who had never once been burned by the world. Her combat prowess was formidable, but her life experience might as well have been a blank page.
Pure white paper, waiting for the world to write on it.
While Rover wrestled with how to respond, Danjin sized Jianxin up and cut straight to the point.
"Listen, miss, you really shouldn't go out there."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"I can tell you're a good person. But out in the wilds, someone with a heart like yours is prey. Exiles and outlaws will take one look at you and see an easy mark. You'll get eaten alive."
Danjin spoke with absolute certainty. It felt a little blunt, but something about Jianxin reminded her of her own sister. Both of them were genuinely good people.
And the world was never gentle enough with good people.
"But I gave my word to an old gentleman," Jianxin insisted. "I promised to help find his grandson. He hasn't heard from the boy in a long time."
Their expressions grew complicated. They both recognized the type: kind and stubborn in equal measure. If they refused, she'd likely stand at this gate until someone else agreed to take her, even though her skill level meant she could walk past these sentries whenever she pleased.
Kind. Stubborn. Lawful to a fault.
Powerful, but far too reasonable for her own good.
In other words, a prime target. And given Jianxin's looks, if the wrong sort of person dangled clearance as bait, she'd walk straight into a trap without a second thought.
"Alright, Jianxin. Promise me two things." Rover held up two fingers, his expression serious. "Do that, and I'll message a companion of mine who's also heading outside the walls. She can take you with her."
"Please, name them! I'll do everything I can!"
"See, that's exactly the problem. Zero suspicion." He sighed. "First, deliver these to a woman who looks like me."
He reached into his Tacet Mark and produced the ten Swords he'd bought, a bundle of healing salves, and a large bag radiating warmth.
Jianxin gathered them in her arms without the slightest difficulty and nodded. "Understood. And the second thing?"
His tone shifted. Every trace of levity vanished.
"Memorize these words: If you're going to trust someone, make yourself doubt them first. And if you're going to be a good person, you need to be sharper and fiercer than any bad one."
He held her gaze, letting each word land.
Then he patted her shoulder and told her that whenever she wanted to help someone, or whenever someone came to her asking for help, she should recite those lines to herself before doing anything else.
Beside him, Danjin nodded with wholehearted approval. In her mind, truer words had never been spoken, especially for a sheltered young nun stepping into the real world for the first time.
Jianxin nodded slowly, not quite grasping the full meaning.
She was naive, yes, but not foolish. One of her best qualities was humility. She knew how little she understood about the world beyond her mountain. When she encountered wisdom she couldn't yet parse, she didn't argue. She filed it away and thought it over.
Rover noticed her taking the words seriously and gave a quiet nod of his own. Naive, but not stupid. Give her some time living in Jinzhou and she'll figure out how to be good without being a doormat.
For now, though, the two of them would handle the filth that preyed on people like her. Every exile and outlaw who mistook someone's kindness for weakness was about to have a reckoning.
Outside Jinzhou's walls, at a Midnight Rangers forward camp.
"I need a map of known exile hideouts in this area."
"And a map of Tacet Discord activity nearby."
"Uh... right, sure. One moment, please."
The Ranger on duty glanced between the two visitors flashing credentials and opened his mouth to remind them that a war was on. Then he recognized the red-haired girl as the exile-slaying terror the entire corps swapped stories about, and the other one...
What in the... what kind of insane clearance level is THAT?!
Cooperate. Cooperate immediately. Whatever they need, give it to them.
Watching the Ranger snap to attention and salute, Rover felt a small, undeniable thrill. Nothing in his previous life had ever come close to this. It was like being the protagonist of his own world, someone who mattered. The feeling reminded him of a certain masked rider who pointed one finger at the sky and declared himself the arbiter of all things, the ultimate smug overpowered hero.
"Oh, one more thing," the Ranger added. "If you happen to pass through the area, could you check on two recon towers for us? They're detection devices that track approaching Tacet Discords, but both went dark a few minutes ago. We're stretched too thin to send anyone."
"No problem. Leave it to us."
"We'll take a look."
Danjin and Rover accepted the request, following the same trajectory that fate had always intended. The only difference was who stood at Rover's side. Originally, his companion for this stretch would have been Jianxin, the kindhearted little nun.
Instead, it was Danjin.
Now this is going to be fun.
Meanwhile, the female Rover had left the city with Yangyang and found Jianxin waiting at the gate. From the Taoist girl's arms, she received the ten throwing Swords, the emergency healing salves, and a bag still warm to the touch, packed to the brim with Jinzhou soup dumplings.
"Yes! Dumplings!" Abby squealed. "I've been dying for these!"
"Oh, right," Jianxin added, "that young man also said to tell you: Abby, don't eat them all. Save some for Rover and Yangyang."
"Ugh! I... I know that already!"
Rover stared at the carefully prepared supplies for a long moment: the medicine, the blades, the still-warm dumplings. A smile spread across her face, soft and unguarded. It felt like having family, the kind that worried about whether you'd eaten.
She checked the time on her Pangu Terminal. Setting aside the incident in the virtual space, they'd only been apart for three hours.
"It feels like so much longer. I should hurry up and find him."
What she didn't know was that if the people from her forgotten past could have heard those words, they'd have choked on their own disbelief. Particularly a certain woman wreathed in Spider Lilies, trailing unseen in Rover's wake.
Three hours, Phrolova seethed. Only. Three. Hours!
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Note: Today's reset day, so I hope you'll add it to your library so we can show up in the collection rankings!
Also, 50 PS for an extra chapter!