“Really a hassle,” Zhao Xing thought to himself.
The Mysterious Heaven Sect was like a stubborn wart; removing a few strongholds was of no use, it was completely unaffected.
Even though the Great Zhou had quelled the chaos in Guangling Prefecture later on, the Mysterious Heaven Sect behind it had not suffered any real damage; it had yet to truly enter the world.
“The information on the Bixiong Huangli is insufficient for a report, and it might easily alert the Mysterious Heaven Sect, making them think I’m some kind of unparalleled genius, which would only draw more attention to me.”
“I can’t afford to provoke them, but can I really hide?”
Zhao Xing put away the Bixiong Huangli and decided to keep his distance.
He couldn’t gauge when this group from the Mysterious Heaven Sect would make a move; it could be a few years or just next month. In any case, he needed to be cautious, not giving them any opportunity. If he could evade this storm, it would be over.
What if he couldn’t avoid it?
“Don’t push me; if you force me, I might even dig up your mountain gate…”
The hall master of Sanwan Hall was reviewing intelligence reports.
Because the protector had raised Zhao Xing’s capture priority, he took this target quite seriously, spending more effort to observe and summarize Zhao Xing’s habits, personality, travel patterns, and so on.
However, after half a month, the results were surprisingly minimal.
He was completely not giving any opportunities!
“This person is quite strange; others have a routine of going between the Agricultural Affairs Bureau, home, and the public fields, but he’s different. Every day he wanders here and there, visiting various places, leaving no chance to catch him alone. Either he stays at home all day, shutting himself in.”
“He’s too idle; doesn’t he have to go out to work?”
The hall master of Sanwan Hall was puzzled because just looking at these paper records, he couldn’t find any patterns.
A woman pretending to be the hall master’s wife came over, took a look at the notes, and smiled, “His teacher is Xue Wenzhong; he’s not responsible for trivial matters. It’s normal for him not to go out of the city; naturally, he’s more idle than the other minor officials.”
“If he doesn’t go out of the city, we can’t learn more. Our spies in the city are quite inconvenienced.”
“Take it slow; at least we can see a little from this half month.”
“What point?”
“He likes to visit others.”
“…”
The hall master of Sanwan Hall was speechless; how is that a characteristic?
“At least it proves he’s someone who enjoys socializing. Since we can’t find an opportunity now, we can take our time. The protector also said there’s no need to rush.” The woman reassured him.
“That’s true; report honestly to the protector. Anyway, the autumn equinox is approaching, so let’s not keep an eye on him in the city for now. We should focus on the outskirts, retract our forces a bit to avoid being caught by the authorities.”
Zhao Xing wanted to buy a house, and it was a house outside the city.
“Why do you want to buy a house? Don’t you want to live at home anymore?” Zhao Ruide asked, somewhat confused. “Even if you want to move out, you should buy in the city; why buy outside?”
“The houses outside the city are inexpensive, and I don’t plan to renovate; I just need a place to stay,” Zhao Xing replied. “The Agricultural Official has the duty to advise farmers, and if I sometimes need to stay outside the city, having my own house and land is certainly better.”
“Then why buy so many?”
Seeing Zhao Xing fall silent, Zhao Ruide didn’t press further; he knew his adopted son always had his own ideas. “I’ll take care of it for you.”
“Foster father, make sure my name is on the official Huangce,” Zhao Xing instructed.
“Rest assured,” Zhao Ruide nodded.
The official Huangli and Huangce were known as the ‘Double Huang Treasures’ of the Fortune Dynasty.
When Emperor Zhou Taizu established myriad laws, he also set many rules, such as ‘non-citizens of our dynasty are not allowed to cultivate.’
If one did not have household registration, they were not citizens of the Zhou Dynasty, and one could not even cultivate.
Another example: ‘land with an owner, entry only by invitation.’
What does this mean?
The Huangce (land deed version) of various local governments would register various property rights.
As long as it was on the Huangce, cultivators with spells could not intrude into others’ homes without an invitation, and would be protected by the great power of the law.
No matter how powerful your spells were, as long as the Fortune Dynasty system had not declined, a law-abiding citizen at home would be difficult to harm with spells.
The premise is that they are law-abiding citizens.
There are a few situations where one could enter with spells uninvited.
First, the owner invited you in.
Second, the authorities suspect you of committing a crime and have formal search and arrest documents.
Third, there is a property dispute, and the property on the treasure ‘Huangce’ would be in a ‘temporarily invalid state.’
Fourth, ‘beneficial law,’ spells that benefit the homeowner can take effect inside.
Thus, the Mysterious Heaven Sect’s followers had limited actions within the city and could not simply abduct people.
“Reducing the number of times I go out of the city, and if I must go out, I’ll find a place where the property rights belong to me to stay, which will lower the chances of being abducted,” Zhao Xing thought.
Dealing with the Mysterious Heaven Sect? It was difficult for him now, and he didn’t want to stir up trouble. But he had plenty of ways to hide.
Because in his previous life, he had briefly joined the Mysterious Heaven Sect, he was quite familiar with their operations.
However, there’s no such thing as a thousand-day defense against thieves; even with the Bixiong Huangli and the Thousand-Mile Transmission Token, and having made many preparations, it was not completely foolproof.
“I can’t rely on the authorities to eliminate these people; I still need to become stronger myself.”
In the days leading up to the Bai Lu assessment, Zhao Xing reached the Gathered Essence Third Level.
After that, he took a Tianyuan Pear every two days, and his vital Qi grew rapidly.
The ten Gathered Essence Pills gifted by the young master of the sect had a balanced effect and could be used alongside the Tianyuan Pear, so in less than half a month, Zhao Xing was already close to the Gathered Essence Fourth Level.
In the eyes of the hall master of Sanwan Hall, Zhao Xing was someone who loved socializing, visiting various places, but in reality, he was following Chen Shijie’s advice, seeking out colleagues for sparring, enhancing the digestion of vital Qi treasures, and speeding up his Gathered Essence.
However, over these past few days, Zhao Xing found that the vast majority of minor officials in the Agricultural Affairs Bureau could not provide him with any pressure to counter.
In terms of Agricultural Spells, there were indeed few officials capable of providing Zhao Xing with strong intensity.
He originally wanted to find the old Agricultural Official for practice, but after considering the old Agricultural Official’s age, the need to guide so many students, and handle official duties, he abandoned that idea.
In the end, it was still Chen Shijie who offered a suggestion: “If you want to promote the digestion of treasures through spell confrontation, you don’t necessarily have to find someone from the Agricultural Affairs Bureau. How about this, I’ll go to the county office and see if there are suitable personnel.”
Martial artists? That’s a good idea.
The martial forces directly managed by the county office consist of three types: the Martial Class, the Inspection Office, and the Criminal Guard, which the common people generally refer to collectively as the Martial Officials.
The catchers and martial apprentices of the Martial Class, like the minor officials of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau, are considered external officials, not ranked, with only a few Martial Officials being formal officials of rank.
The Inspection Office consists entirely of ranked martial artists, and their numbers are limited, with a full complement ranging from thirty to one hundred, depending on the county’s specifications.
The Criminal Guard manages prisons and also possesses considerable combat strength, as catchers and martial apprentices from the Martial Class can choose to enter the Criminal Guard or the Inspection Office upon promotion.
Additionally, there are stationed troops in East Lake, which, while not under the jurisdiction of civil officials, the county magistrate can request assistance if necessary.
That afternoon, Chen Shijie found the Martial Official Wang Long and borrowed someone from his subordinates.
When they met, Zhao Xing discovered that he actually recognized this person.
“Brother Shen?”
(End of Chapter)