Mortal Saint

Chapter 71: Chapter 69: The Instructor’s Past, Great Xuan Government, The Wine Trade, Lord Zhao the County Magistrate

Anning, Martial Arts Hall Inner Street.

Dozens of Boxing Halls and Martial Arts Halls of all sizes were neatly arranged along a ten-li stretch from north to south.

And at the very end of this ten-li long street,

stood four towering mansions, each marked with a single character hanging on a plaque above its rafters: ’Fist,’ ’Spear,’ ’Saber,’ and ’Sword.’

The Divine Fist Sect, the Overlord Spear, the Whale-Slaying Saber, and the Profound Bird Sword!

These represented the most dominant Fist and Foot establishments in the five-hundred-li Anning County.

Whether it was the Fire Kiln, the Chai Market, the Tiger and Leopard Hall, or the Lion Hall... they were all ultimately just powers that operated in the outer city or even the wild Mountain Dao.

Their foundations were inherently inferior to these gilded signboards that had come down from Jiangyin Prefecture, riding on established influence.

In this day and age, anyone who could survive and claw their way up in the Prefecture City, no matter how insignificant they were there, would become someone else entirely once they crossed the vast East Canghai and made the rough, bumpy journey to the docks of Anning County.

They transformed from a small shrimp into an Overseas Dragon overnight!

A respectable Qi Cultivation Grandmaster from Jiangyin Prefecture, a powerhouse at the peak of external refinement who had mastered the Power Barrier.

Where could you find someone like that in the five-hundred-li Anning County—a place nestled between mountains and sea, isolated from the Prefecture and County, connected to the outside world only by its sea-faring docks?

That was why these four, under the title of Instructor, could not only open halls, teach disciples, and rake in Silver, but also accept commissions from the County Yamen to command the Armored County Soldiers.

Moreover, the majority of these County Soldiers were composed of men from the Four Great Halls, as well as the County Magistrate’s own trusted confidants and disciples.

No matter how turbulent the outside world became, in this little patch of land, whoever had soldiers was the boss!

"Old Liao, how on earth did you get so beaten up the other day? And why are you keeping your lips sealed so tight?"

Hex Shouyi, the Sect Leader of the Divine Fist Sect, strolled over for a visit, attended by his trusted disciples. Arriving at the Whale Slaying Hall, he looked at Liao Yuanhua, whose face still bore the traces of a bruise, and asked with some curiosity.

"I heard it was because the Wind and Cloud Association found a promising young talent who had perfected the Golden Muscle and Jade Veins. You wanted to recruit him before their Prefecture City leader, Jiang Fengyun, took notice."

"You old fox, you’ve always got your ear to the ground. A talent like that might even catch the eye of the big boss at your Jade Shop, get sent to a Mansion Courtyard, and secure a bright future."

"But... you went to the Tiger and Leopard Hall and came back without a peep. What happened to that promising talent?"

Seeing Liao Yuanhua sitting there silently, just shaking his head,

Hex Shouyi frowned.

"Don’t tell me Yang Daohan intercepted you."

"What’s he worth? His Pile Skill and Bone Tempering Technique are both Lower Grade, and he only knows some superficial Martial Arts. You, on the other hand, are a Martial Artist who has gone through Tempering Silver Bone and learned some of the subtleties of the ’Nourishing Stance.’ Dealing with him should be child’s play for you, shouldn’t it?"

"If it really was him, this score... I’ll settle it for you!"

Liao Yuanhua opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but a complicated look filled his eyes.

"Old Hex, some things are better left unknown."

This only made Hex Shouyi even more curious. Just as he was about to press for more details, a disciple rushed in from outside to report:

"Master Liao, Yang Yan, the legitimate son of the Tiger and Leopard Hall—one of the Three Great Gangs—was beaten to death right in the street."

Yang Yan?

Beaten to death in the street...

Liao Yuanhua stood up, his white brows furrowed.

"Who would be so brazen as to break the rules?"

"In the County, even Martial Artists are forbidden from killing in the streets. That would lead to chaos! If the common County Households are thrown into a panic, how can they carry on with their livelihoods?"

"To be able to kill Yang Yan... was it a fierce Swordsman on the run from the mountains, or someone smuggled over from Jiangyin?"

’Why is there so much trouble on my watch...’

"Go inform your Third Senior Brother. Tell him to take a squad of Armored County Soldiers with Powerful Crossbows. I will go personally. I want to see just who is so audacious!"

"This rule has been in place for so long, a rule upheld by generations of County Magistrates and Martial Arts Hall Instructors..."

"Even the Three Great Dragons, the three top leaders of the Wind and Cloud Association, can’t touch it. Anyone who violates it is thrown in jail!"

Upon hearing this, the disciple quickly lowered his head and spoke:

"I heard... it was because he provoked Ji Xiu, the Medicine Hall Master of the Wind and Cloud Association. He was cornered in a gambling den and killed with a single slash!"

"And a rumor is spreading, though no one knows from where, that... this Master Ji learned his saber techniques and all his skills from an Armless Martial Artist in Jiangyin Prefecture named Duan Chenzhou."

"Master, who is this Duan Chenzhou...?"

CLANG.

Liao Yuanhua had just stood up and hoisted his War Body Saber, about to rest it on his shoulder. But upon hearing that name, he instantly transformed from a state of ’Can a ninety-year-old still eat?’ to ’a doddery old man with failing eyes.’

In a single second, he set down his saber, pressed a hand to his forehead, and began to cough lightly.

"Spoke too fast... choked a bit. This old body of mine just isn’t what it used to be..."

"You’re dismissed. I’m sure the County Magistrate, with his hundred County Soldiers and their Powerful Crossbows, will have his own judgment. It’s not my place to interfere..."

SWOOSH!

However, no sooner had Liao Yuanhua’s words fallen than Hex Shouyi, the Divine Fist Sect Master who had been smiling amiably at his side, suddenly stopped.

Duan Chenzhou.

He chewed on the name, and a memory from several years ago suddenly surfaced. His fists clenched involuntarily, his bones and tendons thrumming, which made Liao Yuanhua’s expression change slightly.

"Younger Brother Hex, you..."

"No wonder you didn’t tell me."

Hex Shouyi practically spat the words through clenched teeth. As he spoke, a memory associated with that name uncontrollably flooded his mind.

That year.

He had been a Leader of the Escort for the Post House, one of Jiangyin Prefecture’s Thirty-Six Professions. He had made a name for himself operating on the East Canghai, escorting shipments by sea and land.

But, on one occasion, he had accepted an escort job from the Jade Shop, guarding a shipment by sea on a round trip between the Prefecture and County...

...when he had the misfortune of running into a figure in purple silk robes, wielding a Crescent Saber, who stood at the prow of a sampan and stirred up waves even when there was no wind.

That man had single-handedly crashed into them, robbed the major shipment from the Jadeite Cai Family, and defeated everyone on his ship, causing Hex Shouyi to lose his entire fortune in compensation!

So... it was him!

"Old Liao, I know who beat you up."

"As it happens, I’ve had a recent breakthrough, reaching Refining Skin Perfection. I’d like to see..."

"...if he’s still as mighty as he was back then, now that he’s lost an arm!"

"Qin Ming, take the disciples and come with me!"

"First, we’ll go grab his disciple, then we’ll drag him to his master’s door and have a good... reckoning!"

...

The Great Xuan ruled the world, but its direct jurisdiction only extended to the State Mansions.

Below a State Mansion were the ’Counties’—clusters of mountain towns and villages—which were simply administered by the mansion itself, with ’County Officials’ appointed to govern them.

This was different from the path of entering an orthodox ’Martial Arts Institute’ of a Great Xuan State Mansion, passing the ’Martial Examination,’ and earning Merit and Fame, which could at the very least land one an official position.

Here in the five-hundred-li Anning County, even the lord known as the ’County Magistrate’...

...was almost always just a position procured for the children of their families. The patriarchs and Daoist School Masters from the Hundred Trades and Livelihoods, Daoist Schools, and various Schools within the prefecture would pull strings and offer benefits to secure these posts from the Prefecture Officials.

Although they held the title of overseeing a County’s households,

at best, they were merely unranked officials under the ’Prefecture Officials.’ Their status was higher than a County Official, but that was all. They were not part of the ’Great Xuan system.’

Even so, whenever a position became vacant, it would still attract countless people scrambling to claim it.

But compared to a Prefecture Official—who, by simply donning an official’s robes, could stand on equal footing with the patriarchs of the ’Thirty-Six Professions’ and the masters of Qi Gate Daoist Schools—the difference was still as vast as heaven and earth.

Prefecture Officials, State Officials, and the Nobles of Xuanjing!

In this great age of the Martial Dao, even Daoist Schools, various Schools, and True Sects...

...could only bow their heads to the order maintained by such a behemoth, unless your fists could reach the heavens.

And the current Lord of Anning County,

was from the Zhao Family, which ran a Wine Shop in Jiangyin Prefecture. He was of the same generation as the current Patriarch and was ranked ninth among his siblings.

The Lord of Anning County, Zhao Jiu, was dressed in a royal blue, straight-lapelled silk robe made of soft, warm fabric. Draped in a plain crane-feather cloak, he was holding a hand warmer and looking over the memorials on his desk when he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Elder Liang, tell me, how can a piss-ant place in the middle of nowhere like this have so much going on all the time?"

Beside him, an old servant with downcast eyes stood with his hands tucked in his sleeves, bowing with a smile.

"Master Jiu, the shallower the pond, the more turtles you find. After all, the environment here is different from the Prefecture City. The Patriarch went to great lengths to secure this ’County Magistrate’ position for you. It’s already the highest you can go without taking the Martial Examination."

"If you just put up with it for another two or three years and build up some merits,"

"then you’ll naturally be able to get a lateral transfer to Jiangyin Prefecture. You’ll be handling trivial matters for a superior, and even though you’ll only be an ’Official,’ how many people from other families couldn’t get that position even if they begged for it?"

Hearing this, Zhao Jiu snorted. He thought of his peers and couldn’t help but feel smug.

"That’s true. With those old geezers from the Four Great Halls around, no major trouble can break out..."

"It’s certainly better than those good-for-nothings who aren’t qualified to enter a Mansion Courtyard, idle around all day, and are too proud in their long robes to lower themselves and ask for a job in their own family’s business."

"Big Brother really does dote on me!"

Just then, however, a government constable stepped forward, kowtowed, and made a report.

Zhao Jiu’s eyelid immediately started twitching.

"What? Someone was slaughtered in the street? In a busy market, no less?"