In the Name of the People: Fan Xian Enters Handong and Stops Captain Qi from Signing

When Fan Xian opened his eyes again, he had become a grassroots clerk in a drafty office, without even a desk of his own.

He had no black-clad guards or hidden agents, only an official seal he had to use with care and a report on a major accident waiting for his confirmation.

The report stated in black and white: Everyone was evacuated, and the full amount of compensation was paid.

But the list he had just checked included an elderly person living alone who had died the previous month. Outside, a young police officer, caked in mud, was about to sign the documents establishing the official account of the disaster.

Fan Xian knew that this man, who still dared to rush into a collapsing building to save people, would one day be driven by desire and despair onto the dead-end road to Lone Eagle Ridge.

This time, he reached out and stopped the pen. "Captain Qi, before you sign, let's find everyone still beneath the rubble."

From that night on, a pillar of stability stood amid the undercurrents of Handong. Years later, as a storm raged and cut to the bone, someone asked what he wanted.

Fan Xian closed the case file and smiled. "Let those who ought to live stay alive, and make sure those who do dirty work can't get away."