Vow of Silver Dawn Chapter 36

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PDF Link: https://mega.nz/file/SdcERDLC#pZO4lUiFG8ijwQgR9yZw6S7Z9bKVgNihehXxq6md2cs
You know, I don't actually know if the footnotes survive in this format. I know the end notes do, but that's because I'm adding them manually.
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Chapter 36: Cold-Blooded Murder
By 国王陛下, Translated by 74translations

	Zhang's eyes met An Ping's languid ones, and after a pregnant pause, finally let out a cold chuckle, "After all these years and still you delight in playing with fire."

	An Ping suddenly gave him a look, "You're the one playing with fire! If it were someone else, then maybe I'd have attributed it to coincidence. But since the Warden is you, I'd expect that you'd have insider information, and have already told them what was out of bounds and what wasn't!"

	Pausing for breath, An Ping continued, "But now that our property's been stolen, you still played dumb, to the point of trying to pass us off to one of your underlings. But if that's how you want to play, sure. We're already *done with* the Warden of District Seven, who shall we have a discussion with next? The Warden of District Nine, whom you've always had grievance with? Or maybe the Warden of District Six, who eyes your throne with predatory eyes? Or maybe we could even start with the Warden of District One, and then one by one, go down the list..."

	"Alright lay off!" Zhang shouted, angrily banging his desk, "This isn't your wasteland, you want to act with abandon here then there'll be hell to pay, and that's not a price you lot can afford!"

	"And?" An Ping replied dismissively, "Worst come to worst, I'll just die. The Boss sent us here, he knows what we're in for. Did you think you could intimidate us? That the Warden of Tianxuan was more worrisome than a Qiankun Corporation Tycoon?"

	"Are you so determined to burn this bridge, Mister Zhang? If you were the you from twenty years ago, I wouldn't have dreamt of acting like this, but seeing as you've gone from the indomitable Jincheng to the Mister Zhang who sits atop his throne at the top of the Jade House, I see no reason to fear you."

	As Zhang's expression changed to one of surprise, An Ping just sighed, "Do you remember when we could stamp our feet on the heads of those who thought they were better than us, and laugh at the absolute pant-wetting terror of those so-called "apex predators?" Look at you now, a predator at the peak eh?"

	This made Zhang let out a small chuckle, "Apex predator? You don't know what you're talking about. Where I am, I'm not even halfway there. An Ping, being willing to risk your life gives you an edge, but that kind of person will never climb to the top."

	"So we should all cherish life the way you do?"

	Zhang shook  his head, "Whether or not you can climb is preordained at birth. You and I are ants, but ants willing to climb will always be different from ants who are content to be at home in the dust. Whatever, talking to you about this is all pointless, you want to know who stole from you, and I have one condition."

	An Ping thought it over, "Go on."

	“I want you to go deal with the Warden of District Nine."

	"Alright." An Ping answered, and before Zhang could react, he reached over and pressed the button on the communicator in his desk.

	Signaling for the Warden of District Nine to come immediately.

	It was clear that this was not the ideal timing to meet with the Warden for Zhang. He was an obstacle he wanted swept aside for sure, but that required preparation, his death was meant to be subtle, or at the very least, not connected to himself.

	And now An Ping had made all of that impossible!

	Zhang was furious, and he wanted to rescind the call, but An Ping extended a hand and put it on his shoulder, and he found himself all but unable to move.

	"Mister Zhang, oh how the mighty have fallen. Five years I haven't seen you, and even then you weren't this negligent."

	Zhang neither struggled nor replied, becoming as stone where he stood.

	After a moment, the elevator at the end of the hallway opened, and out on unsteady feet walked quite an obese man, who had clothed himself in quite flowery clothing.

	"Chief, why the urgency? I heard you'd let in some ruffians, so I wasn't too keen on coming-"

	But before he could finish, a red blaster bolt streaked over, striking the man in the forehead.

Shawn's eyes widened in shock as all his hairs stood on end.

	Shocked, he look to where the bolt had come from, only to see Lü Nan holstering her blaster pistol without even so much as sparing a glance, as though having blind-fired and hitting a target behind her was beneath notice, or that the target had been a mere holographic target and not a real living person.

	Even though he knew that the Hongxing Squad were unscrupulous to varying degrees, and that they were likely to approach killing with an unblinking coldness, to see it for himself was another thing entirely.

	Shawn was completely unable to accept the idea that these people could approach murder with such indifference, and although he knew it was ridiculous, still he stepped forwards, wanting to do something about it.

	But after a moment, the incredible serenity that filled the space made him feel as though he had quite misunderstood something.

	Of those present, it was like he was the only one to have a normal reaction to the murder. To everyone else, it was as though this was routine, and the tranquility felt otherworldly.

	The incredible discrepancy made the Jedi Apprentice feel quite unwell, but managed to calm himself, and avoid starting any kind of squad internal conflict.

	This was not a great time to be asking questions.

	Meanwhile, Zhang watched as though he were an uninvolved observer, and it was only after the Warden of District Nine loudly collapsed to the ground after swaying back and forth that his eyebrows came down.

	"Satisfied?"

	"I should be asking you that," An Ping said, releasing him, "I've taken care of your problem, now it's your turn."

	Zhang rubbed his neck, "The thieves call themselves the Jade Rats. There's twenty of them, and fly around all over in a smuggler's ship instead of having a permanent base... though recently they've taken up residence in the Qunxing Building in District Nine."

	An Ping clicked his tongue, "District Nine? Even in death, fatty over there haunts us."

	"Who at the top of the Tianxuan Jade House," Zhang began, "could have their crimes erased by merely dying? Though, the new Warden of District Seven, Liang Yucheng, does seem to be a fool with a shred of conscience. A shame that fools don't live long."

	An Ping smiled, and raised his communicator again, "Uncle Xu, did you get that?"

	"Me and Liang heard that just fine. A shred of conscience huh? He's got quite a high opinion of you."

	"ugh..."

	The groan came from the Warden of District Seven, who was supposed to have died.

	At this, Zhang put his head into his hands as his speech filled with his rage.

	"Are you toying with me!?"

	An Ping put away his communicator, "I didn't think you trusted me so much. I said we killed someone, and you really believed that we killed someone. The bond that we old friends share is really quite touching."

	At that, An Ping turned around and began to walk off, "But time is short, and I can't spend much longer here reminiscing. The Qunxing Building awaits, and in a moment there might be quite a commotion. Sorry about that, Warden."

	——

	Taking the same path back to the lobby, Uncle Xu was there waiting for them, who waved on seeing the three of them.

	From his relaxed appearance, it didn't seem like he had single handedly carried out the substantial undertaking of breaking into the office of the Warden of District Seven and holding his life in his hands.

	For one dubbed a medic, Uncle Xu's individual combat ability was quite surprising.

	Seeing Shawn's curious eyes, Uncle Xu laughed, "It's no big deal. We've infiltrated the Tianxuan Jade House into a sieve, half the Tianxuan Ward's like our base of operations anyways. Getting in's pretty easy, especially compared with that year we were stealing from Xiarun Pharmaceutical...."

	Lü Nan cut him off with a kick to the back of his knee, "Less chatter."

	"Vice Captain..." struggled out Uncle Xu, kneeling.

	But as a doctor, there was little he was more skilled at than forgetting pains once the wound had healed, and before he even reached the door Uncle Xu was once again in high spirits, "If it isn't my champion of justice, I see you wearing that dark expression, but what is there to say about the Vice Captain shooting the fat man? Lemme tell you, he was dead already. If we hadn't done anything, then Zhang Chengjin would've, and compared to what Zheng Chengjin does to make people disappear, being shot on the spot isn't so bad. Really, in a way, this is the Vice Captain's mercy..."

	Lü Nan kicked him again, "Shut it!"

	While Uncle Xu shouted in pain, An Ping had already flagged down a cab that now awaited them.

	"Qunxing Building, fast as you can."

	When the driver heard the name "Qunxing Building," there was some hesitation. But upon seeing Lü Nan's baleful glowering from the backseat, thought escaped him and he could only nod.

	"Yes sir, fast as I can!"

	In a planned and developed city like Li Station, at maximum speed, an airspeeder only needed one standard hour to make a loop around the whole thing. When the driver is frightened, this time can be further shortened.

	Traveling from the first district's Tianxuan Jade House to the ninth's Qunxing Building only took five minutes.

	Five minutes later, the facade of a sinister, threatening-looking two storey building came into view.



Translation Notes
No end notes, only footnotes. Feetnotes.

肖恩 - xiāo'ēn - Shawn, Jedi Apprentice
莫斯提马 - mòsītímǎ - Mastema, Jedi Master
李钰 - lǐ yù - Li Yu, Commander of the Silver Knights
白 - bái - Bai, Li Yu’s droid
安平 - ānpíng - An Ping, Captain of the Hongxing Squad
吕楠 - lǚnán - Lü Nan, Hongxing Squad Sniper
许伯 - xǔbó - Uncle Xu, Hongxing Squad Medic
庄原瑛 - zhuāngyuányīng - Zhuang Yuanying, Hongxing Squad Engineer
田路遥 - tiánlùyáo - Silver Knights something-or-other, the one who lost the Xuanming
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