Chapter 139: A Letter

Stars filled the sky.

Qiao Mian and the Dragon Girl walked side by side along the path, chatting about various occurrences both inside and outside the park.

Most of the time, it was the Dragon Girl doing the talking.

"Last time, Sadako went to look for that Li Miao, but she took the wrong turn and crawled out from a chubby young man's computer. The chubby guy was playing a video game at the time and passed out from fright right on the spot," she said with a laugh. "Later, Sadako came to find me, saying she didn't mean to do it and was worried you would punish her."

"And what did you say?" Qiao Mian asked.

"I originally wanted to look for you, but you weren't around," the Dragon Girl said. "So I told her to go and apologize to that chubby guy."

"Apologize?" Qiao Mian was taken aback.

"That's right," the Dragon Girl said. "If you accidentally scare someone, shouldn't you apologize?"

That made sense, didn't it?

Qiao Mian nodded, though he still found the whole thing rather peculiar.

"And then?" he asked.

"The chubby guy passed out from fright again." The Dragon Girl smiled mischievously.

Qiao Mian gave her a speechless look.

He really found it hard to connect this occasionally playful young woman with the aloof Dragon Girl of legend.

Aside from sharing the same name, they were practically two entirely different people.

Noticing Qiao Mian's expression, the Dragon Girl unhappily muttered, "It's his own fault for talking nonsense."

"Talking nonsense?" Qiao Mian asked, puzzled.

"The chubby guy is an author. He wrote a book online called *Mr. Qiao's Harem*." The Dragon Girl lowered her head, her tone carrying a faint hint of displeasure.

*Mr. Qiao's Harem*?

Qiao Mian did not know whether to laugh or cry.

His curiosity toward that chubby author was suddenly piqued.

"In the book, it says Sadako is also part of the harem," she added softly.

Sadako?!

Qiao Mian shivered involuntarily.

If he really were to establish a harem, would he have to castrate this chubby author and bring him in to serve as the grand eunuch of the inner court?

Seeing that Qiao Mian remained silent, the Dragon Girl suddenly felt a wave of anxiety.

Was it possible he actually harbored such thoughts?

Granny Sun had taught her since childhood that people of the martial world should seek swift vengeance and dispense with grievances, and had never mentioned anything about the Three Obediences and Four Virtues or helping a husband find concubines.

She was well aware that quite a few women were eyeing the man beside her just as she was.

Her good friend, who had been giving her the cold shoulder recently, was a prime example.

This realization filled her with a strong sense of crisis.

"Mr. Qiao!"

A voice suddenly called out from behind them.

***

Qiao Mian stopped and turned around to see that the speaker was Zhao Gang.

The man was wearing a camouflage short-sleeved shirt and jogged up toward him.

"I'll take my leave first," the Dragon Girl said upon seeing him, realizing she needed to depart.

Qiao Mian waved at her and then turned his attention to Zhao Gang.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

Zhao Gang stepped forward and handed an envelope to Qiao Mian.

"Mr. Qiao, a female volunteer asked me to hand this over to you this morning," Zhao Gang said.

A female volunteer?

Qiao Mian frowned slightly.

He tore open the envelope.

After a moment, Qiao Mian folded the letter with a gloomy expression and slipped it back into the envelope.

"Zero," he called out.

A ball of light materialized directly before him.

"Are these matters true?" Qiao Mian asked.

Since Zero was bound to him, it naturally knew the contents of the letter the moment he read them.

"Yes," Zero replied coldly.

A light screen suddenly popped up, displaying a man dressed in historical costume who was helping a female tourist practice sword movements.

However, the man's hands kept wandering over the woman's thighs and buttocks...

Zhao Gang quietly averted his gaze.

Qiao Mian waved his hand, dismissing the unbearable scene.

To think there was such a scoundrel in the park!

The situation was quite simple.

A second-generation beggar whom Guo Jing had brought over from the *Return of the Condor Heroes* realm to help guide tourists in martial arts at the fitness plaza had used his position to harass and grope female tourists. A female volunteer had noticed this, secretly written a complaint letter, and handed it to Political Commissar Zhao to pass on to Qiao Mian.

"How do you think this matter should be handled?" Qiao Mian asked.

Zhao Gang did not hesitate. "It must be punished severely, otherwise it will set a very bad precedent."

"However," he added, "Master Hong Qigong is likely unaware of this. Since this person is under his command, it would be best to let him handle it personally."

"Then why didn't you go directly to him?" Qiao Mian asked with a smile.

"You ought to be the first to know about such a matter," Zhao Gang said earnestly. "Besides, I've noticed recently that the atmosphere in the park hasn't been very good."

"In what way?"

"People's minds are becoming restless," Zhao Gang said. "Even myself—sometimes I get very arrogant thoughts, feeling that things which used to be as difficult as ascending to the heavens are now seemingly nothing at all."

He looked straight into Qiao Mian's eyes. "Everyone is becoming prideful and arrogant. Even without this specific individual, I fear other incidents detrimental to the park's well-being would eventually occur."

Qiao Mian pondered the implications of his words. "Are you saying that ideological and political work needs to be strengthened?"

Zhao Gang nodded.

***

Qiao Mian suddenly felt like laughing.

He guessed this was the real reason Zhao Gang had sought him out.

While the man who groped female tourists was certainly despicable, the greatest cultural shock to Zhao Gang still stemmed from the conflicting worldviews of the various realms.

Guo Jing and the others had deeply ingrained feudal mindsets; even while spearheading a revolution, they still operated under the old paradigm of dynastic replacement.

No matter how reluctant Guo Defier was, he would inevitably be pushed onto the throne by others eager to crown a king.

The Transformers seemed easygoing, but their caste system was severe.

As for the mutants from the *X-Men* universe, their ideologies were extremely dangerous; it was already a blessing that they weren't actively trying to conquer humanity.

With his steadfast convictions, Zhao Gang naturally found all of this unpalatable.

Yet, there was nothing he could realistically do.

He couldn't very well lecture dinosaurs and giant pythons on communism, could he?

"Let's put ideological matters aside for the moment," Qiao Mian said with a smile. "I plan to establish a Discipline Inspection Department within the park. Would you be interested in heading it?"

Zhao Gang was momentarily stunned, then quickly raised his hand in a salute and spoke loudly, "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Qiao!"

"There are staff guidelines within the park. You may propose improvements, but you must not overstep your authority," Qiao Mian warned.

Zhao Gang quickly acknowledged the instruction.

"I'll give you three recruitment slots. If you lack manpower, you can enlist those volunteers; they'll be more than willing." Qiao Mian stepped forward and patted Zhao Gang on the shoulder. "I'll leave this matter in your hands. Report the results of the disciplinary action to me later."

Watching Qiao Mian walk away, Zhao Gang clenched his fists tightly.

Being entrusted with such a heavy responsibility completely exceeded his expectations.

In truth, his life in the *Drawing Sword* realm recently had not been particularly comfortable.

It wasn't that he was being ostracized; rather, he was valued to an excessive degree, to the point where everyone wanted to wrap him in layers of protection.

He wasn't the only one; the other few individuals received the exact same treatment.

Li Yunlong and Kong Jie had threatened to commit suicide just to avoid being pulled away from front-line combat units.

He certainly couldn't throw a tantrum and threaten death like those two.

Furthermore, he knew that with state aid from this side, losing the war was practically impossible.

This often left him feeling a sense of emptiness, wondering what he should do with himself going forward.

He couldn't just guard a shooting range forever, could he?

"Since Mr. Qiao thinks so highly of me, I cannot let him down."

"Although the staff guidelines don't cover certain behaviors, I can guide everyone in the right direction through disciplinary lectures and reports."

For a moment, Zhao Gang was brimming with energy.

However, before he could truly stretch his wings and show what he could do, there was one more important matter he needed to handle.