The annual assessment for the Chief Constables of the Lishui Sub-Department was a comprehensive evaluation. The main criteria were the state of public order in a Chief Constable’s jurisdiction, their resolution of various cases, and the timely collection of all dues.

Typically, as long as a district’s public security was good, most cases were handled properly, and all the necessary dues were collected, a Chief Constable would almost certainly pass the assessment and be considered competent.

Upon passing the assessment, a Chief Constable would be rewarded with a Low Grade Muscle Strengthening Pill. Even if they ranked last, Chief Constable Ji Jingbei would have no grounds to transfer them.

If all the Chief Constables performed well—maintaining good public order, handling cases properly, and collecting all dues—then their daily attendance rate became the key factor in determining their final ranking.

Previously, Chen Cheng had always been diligent in his duties. His attendance rate was the highest among all Chief Constables in the Lishui Sub-Department, which gave him a significant advantage in the year-end assessment. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

If public order in his jurisdiction remained good and no major, high-profile cases occurred, he was very likely to rank first in the assessment and earn an additional Low Grade Muscle Strengthening Pill.

This was likely the main reason why the other Chief Constables in the Lishui Sub-Department secretly schemed against Chen Cheng. After all, Low Grade Muscle Strengthening Pills were incredibly precious—who wouldn’t want an extra one?

Chen Cheng was a newcomer and, on the surface, merely a Perfect Martial Artist of the Skin Grinding Realm—the weakest among all the Chief Constables. If he managed to secure first place and the extra Low Grade Muscle Strengthening Pill simply because of his high attendance rate, how could the other Chief Constables possibly accept it?

Thus, they secretly spread unfavorable rumors about him. With enough voices speaking against him, even if Chen Cheng ranked first due to his attendance, the other Chief Constables would have grounds to challenge the result and make his victory vanish into thin air.

And if any troublesome cases were to arise in the Qingshui Pier district under his jurisdiction, the other Chief Constables would surely seize the opportunity to fan the flames. They would ensure Chen Cheng failed the assessment, causing him to lose even the guaranteed Low Grade Muscle Strengthening Pill.

As for Chief Constable Ji Jingbei, he would likely use this as a pretext to transfer Chen Cheng and arrange for his own nephew, Yang Xingyao, to take over the jurisdiction and be promoted to Chief Constable.

After Yang Xingyao was assigned to work under Chen Cheng, he appeared to be doing his utmost, seemingly improving public order at Qingshui Pier and helping Chen Cheng a great deal.

But Chen Cheng knew perfectly well that the man was actually causing more harm than good, as if he feared the world wasn’t chaotic enough.

Within three days of his new post, Yang Xingyao solved several street thefts. This seemed to prove he had a discerning eye and was incredibly perceptive, cracking cases that Chen Cheng, the Street Patrol Chief Constable, had supposedly been unable to solve. It made it look as if his abilities far surpassed Chen Cheng’s.

At least, that’s what the common folk in the district would think.

But to think it was that simple would be a grave mistake. How could Chen Cheng possibly be unaware of those small-fry thieves on the streets?

The reason he didn’t touch them was that there’s a certain order to the underworld. These thieves made their living by stealing, and they weren’t about to change their ways.

If he cut off their livelihood of petty street theft, they would likely resort to desperate measures and commit far worse crimes, plunging Chen Cheng’s jurisdiction into even greater chaos.

As for rounding up every single thief in the district to create a perfectly clean slate—that was impossible. In these chaotic times, how could one possibly catch them all?

Furthermore, there were the Thief Gangs in the Jianghu. While the various Thief Gangs weren’t united, they communicated privately and had already carved out their own territories for thieving.

If Chen Cheng arrested one batch of thieves, another would quickly take their place. And once the arrested thieves were released, they would just go right back to their old trade.

So, as long as these thieves weren’t too outrageous, didn’t resort to murder, and left the poor alone, Chen Cheng would turn a blind eye.

It was just as the proverb says: water that is too clear will have no fish.

Any experienced Official in the City Guard Department understood this principle.

Yang Xingyao had previously led Wang Li’s squad of constables, so he couldn’t possibly be ignorant of this. Therefore, his actions were undoubtedly malicious.

Demanding that the Tiger and Leopard Gang lower their dues from the commoners by twenty percent, and that the Celestial Dog Gang reduce their pier tolls by ten percent—this was also a way of making enemies for Chen Cheng.

All Jianghu Gangs had powerful backers to whom they had to pay monthly dues.

Beyond that, the Jianghu Gangs had an even bigger boss: the City Guard Department itself. The Department permitted the gangs to collect dues from the civilians in their territory, and in return, the Department naturally collected dues from the gangs.

The City Guard Department and the Jianghu Gangs were fundamentally part of the same system.

Yang Xingyao had demanded the Tiger and Leopard Gang lower their dues and the Celestial Dog Gang reduce their tolls, but he hadn’t reduced the dues the City Guard Department collected from *them*. With their income suddenly cut, how could the Tiger and Leopard Gang and the Celestial Dog Gang not look for ways to cause trouble?

As for lowering the gangs’ dues to the Department, Yang Xingyao obviously didn’t have the authority. The only one who could make that call was Chen Cheng, the Chief Constable.

Of course, Chen Cheng wouldn’t do that. Collecting dues from the Jianghu Gangs was part of his official duties, and the established rates couldn’t be changed lightly. Any such change would create a ripple effect, leading to a host of other problems.

The most immediate consequence would be on his own assessment. If the amount of dues collected in his jurisdiction suddenly dropped, Chen Cheng would naturally be deemed an incompetent Chief Constable.

One could say that this entire series of actions by Yang Xingyao was designed to set a trap for Chen Cheng. He was just waiting for Chen Cheng to clean up the mess, and a single misstep would cause chaos to erupt at Qingshui Pier.

The only reason a mere constable like him could go this far was because he was backed by the authority of Chief Constable Ji Jingbei. Whether it was the constables under Chen Cheng’s command, the Tiger and Leopard Gang, or the Celestial Dog Gang, none of them dared to disrespect Ji Jingbei.