Xiaoxue, Xiaofeng — the cold was bone-chilling.
Lu Qian and Old He had changed into casual clothes and were strolling slowly down Youlouzi Street.
Next door, Jiangtanzi Street was still bustling with a flood of people—restaurants, wine houses, brothels, gambling dens, all sorts of places for entertainment.
It was the liveliest time of day.
Youlouzi Street, on the other hand, was filled mostly with workshops and residences.
Some workshops doubled as shops, and even now, a few customers were still visiting.
Other special workshops were halfway shut, and through the half-open doors, you could see waiters setting up tables and chairs, busily eating their evening meals.
A squad of patrolling Wuhou officers with two fierce dogs strode by across the street.
Their footsteps rumbled heavily, the clinking sounds of weapons and armor clear to ear.
Old He glanced toward the squad with a smile, then suddenly asked, “Little Lu, why on earth do you want to join the Shougong Jian? Honestly, our Shougong Jian doesn’t have a good reputation. You’re young—why pick that path?”
Lu Qian, clad in an ordinary light blue long silk shirt with a big red fox-fur coat layered over — a coat Old He didn’t know where he had gotten — had his hands tucked inside his sleeves as he studied the street scene of Youlouzi Street.
Hearing Old He’s question, Lu Qian smiled knowingly.
“Old He, do you want me to tell you the truth or just lie?”
Old He blinked curiously. “How does the lie go?”
Lu Qian squinted, walking steadily. “The lie? It’s like being loyal to the ruler and serving the country. The Shougong Jian are close attendants of the Son of Heaven. Joining them means you can better shed blood and sacrifice yourself for the emperor.”
Old He spat on the ground.
“‘Loyal to ruler and country,’ huh? Bah. Look at those three scoundrel brothers — what do they know about loyalty?”
Within the Shougong Jian, aside from those little eunuchs who’d been taken into the palace since childhood, ninety-nine out of a hundred guards were desperate outlaws — a bunch of damned scoundrels and ruffians.
Expect them to be ‘loyal to ruler and country’?
“Well then, what’s the truth?” Old He grinned and asked.
He patted his chest and chuckled lowly. “If I’m honest with you, Old He here also once got into trouble, slaughtered twenty-three members of an enemy family, and was wanted all over by the Sikuotai’s sea patrol notices. I was forced to join the Shougong Jian.”
Old He sighed deeply. “Once you enter the Shougong Jian, it’s like signing your soul away—this life, you’re trapped.”
Lu Qian looked at Old He in surprise. “I wouldn’t have guessed, Old He, you with those thick brows and deep eyes, actually wiped out a whole family? But past is past.”
“If you want to hear the truth, it’s this: the Shougong Jian is a shortcut to Zhongnan Mountain!”
“You don’t know what a ‘Zhongnan shortcut’ is? Well, it means a fast track to promotion and wealth, to rising straight up to high rank.”
Lu Qian spoke softly. “Me? I’m not ambitious. This life, I just want to live a little better, treat myself a little better.”
“A man who wants a better life usually wants these few things.”
“One, don’t get pushed around—you gotta have some fists, some power.”
“Two, live comfortably—you need gold, you need money.”
“Three, live long. Live long enough. Like a thousand years?”
Old He chuckled, shaking his head.
Old He agreed with Lu Qian’s first two points.
With power and money, a man could live well.
But a thousand years of life?
Legend said that when the Dayin Wuchao dynasty was founded, the old ancestors of the martial families could live a bit past six hundred years.
But that was it.
Now, the martial arts cultivation of each generation was declining.
Peiyuan level was eighty years, Tuomai one hundred and twenty, Kaijing added half a cycle of Yang lifespan, totaling about one hundred fifty years at most.
Today’s Dayin dynasty considered Peiyuan realm the backbone, Tuomai the experts, Kaijing the trump card every family uses to show off.
Above Kaijing realm, there was the legend of Master Yu Changle, an old eunuch of the Shougong Jian rumored to have reached beyond Kaijing realm through forbidden arts like ‘Yin gathering to supplement Yang’ plus ‘heart-eating’ evil techniques.
But that was just legend.
Lu Qian looked seriously at Old He and said in a low voice, “My background isn’t hard to find out. My surname is Lu, but I’m from an unimportant branch line. The hereditary office my grandfather left was taken over by relatives. In my lifetime, I won’t get it back.”
“As for those government shortcuts like being recommended for filial talent, or recommended for scholars and erudition, there are so many genuine sons from the main families waiting for those few yearly ‘recommendations.’ Obviously, I’m not one of those.”
“Kowtowing to the imperial exams? Whether it’s for scholars or erudition, unless you come from the education system or have a great master, forget it. Especially surnamed Lu — the examiners would never let a Lu, even branch family, pass, unless their brains were broken.”
“Other easier roads aren’t much better.”
“To join the palace guards? I fear the pain.”
“To be a patrolling Wuhou? Lifelong patrol with no chance to rise.”
“To join Sikuotai? Rough living aside, that place is ruled by police families; unless you’re their legit kin, you won’t get anywhere.”
“Only the Shougong Jian.”
Lu Qian sighed, “Old He, only the Shougong Jian leaves us a path to rise. No matter your background, no matter your past, even if you can’t read a single word, even if you’re a damned scoundrel at heart, if you perform meritorious service, you can be promoted!”
“If someday you get close to the Son of Heaven and gain his favor, tsk tsk, the Son of Heaven’s golden word will grant you a noble title. This kind of glory and wealth will just fall on your head.”
Old He blinked rapidly.
He stared at Lu Qian blankly and muttered, “That really makes sense. Tsk, but before, even the captains and generals above never explained things so clearly.”
“Little Lu, didn’t expect you to be this insightful. Lu, you’re from Jingyang Lu?”
Lu Qian smiled but didn’t answer Old He’s question, continuing, “Compared to other offices, rising and getting rich in the Shougong Jian is actually easier, and there’s a way to make it through.”
“But the Shougong Jian isn’t only about promotion and money.”
Old He widened his eyes, confused.
Lu Qian didn’t explain more.
He looked up to the sky and murmured, “Originally, I planned to come join the Shougong Jian in two years when my survival skills improved a bit more.”
“But circumstances pushed me. Forced me to join two years early.”
“Old He, I’m only sixteen. Sixteen! Yet I already follow you all over the city chasing those ruthless killers. Don’t you think that’s cruel?”
Old He chuckled nervously and quickly said, “Go on, go on. What other benefits does the Shougong Jian have?”
Lu Qian thought for a moment, then lowered his voice.
“Shougong Jian has direct access to the imperial city. That brings countless advantages—too many to say all at once.”
“Take just one: Shougong Jian controls the Sibao Jian. Sibao Jian stores countless rare treasures tribute from the various princes and lords. Among those, some are precious medicines.”
Lu Qian’s tone turned subtle and he smiled at Old He, speaking softly, “Maybe there’s one or two types that, when taken, can increase Yang lifespan. Boom. That’s where my third point comes from—living longer.”
Old He paused, then quietly chuckled, “Little Lu, you’re really something... If something like that longevity treasure existed in Sibao Jian, how many nobles would there be in the palace? How could any of it trickle down to us? You—well, maybe you actually could. Hey, hey.”
Old He blinked, murmuring, “Maybe… if you make enough merit, and that treasure’s magic goes unnoticed... a lucky find, yes, not unheard of.”
“Legend says thirty years ago, one of our current Nine-Star Generals made a great merit and was rewarded a ‘White Jade Ink-Patterned Ginseng.’ He was badly injured, with his blood and Qi root damaged, so the ginseng was to restore his foundation.”
“No one expected that within that ginseng hid a drop of rare spiritual ointment. Overnight, the general opened three meridians and six channels, leaping straight to late Kaijing realm. His foundation became incredibly solid, and he gained a body with ‘heavenly divine strength.’”
“Now he’s the head guard by the emperor’s side, one of the top under the Jian Gong.”
Lu Qian smiled and nodded. “That’s why I want to live longer this lifetime. How long I can live, I’ll live. The Sibao Jian is the place with the most rare treasures in the world. No matter what, I want to be closer... closer still.”
“So tell me, with my background, if I want to live better, is there any better way than joining the Shougong Jian?”
“No!”
“So that’s my blunt truth.”
“Everything I said is the truth. No lies at all!”
Lu Qian exhaled deeply toward the sky.
Those were his true feelings.
Originally, he planned to join the Shougong Jian at eighteen.
The Shougong Jian, or rather the imperial city behind it, had benefits far beyond just the Sibao Jian.
But the Bai Changkong family truly pushed him too hard, forcing him to decide two years early.
“Sixteen years old, I’m not yet an adult—does this count as child labor?” Lu Qian sighed quietly in his heart.
Ahead, the light dimmed.
On both sides of the street, two faint red lanterns glowed softly like ghostly fires, casting a faint red glow along the stretch of road.
On the street’s left side was a coffin shop, its antique golden-brushed signboard reading four big characters: ‘Safe Journey.’
On the right was another coffin shop, with a similarly aged golden-brushed sign, inscribed with four characters: ‘Blessings for Descendants.’
Both coffin shops had large storefronts—five door bays each on left and right.
By Dayin custom, coffin shops always hung a red lantern in front of their door all year round.
Each shop had its red lantern gently swaying in the night breeze, sending a chill down one’s spine.
Old He shivered from the cold.
Lu Qian, on the other hand, walked steadily to stand beneath the ‘Blessings for Descendants’ sign.
At that moment, he heard a voice from inside the shop: “Boss, three of your cheapest thin-skinned coffins, please.”
(End of Chapter)