“What a hassle,” Zhao Xing thought to himself.
The Xuan Tian Cult was like a persistent skin disease; removing a few strongholds was useless, barely scratching the surface.
Even when the Great Zhou Dynasty later quelled the chaos in Guangling Prefecture, the Xuan Tian Sect behind it was not fundamentally harmed; it hadn't truly entered the world yet.
“The information in the Evil-Averting Almanac isn't enough to report, and it might easily alert the Xuan Tian Cult to an anomaly, making them think I’m some peerless Genius and focus on me even more.”
“If I can’t provoke them, can’t I at least avoid them?”
Zhao Xing put away the Evil-Averting Almanac, deciding to keep his distance.
He couldn’t pinpoint when the Xuan Tian Cult would make their move—it could be a few years, or as early as next month. In any case, being careful, not giving them an opportunity, and avoiding this storm would be enough.
What if he really couldn’t avoid it?
“Don’t push me, if you push me too hard, I’ll even dig up your sect’s mountain gate…”
The head of the Three Bays Hall was reviewing intelligence.
Because the Protector had raised Zhao Xing’s capture priority, he also paid considerable attention to this target, spending more effort to observe and summarize Zhao Xing’s daily habits, personality, travel patterns, and so on.
However, for half a month straight, the results were minimal.
He simply didn’t give them any opportunities!
“This person is so strange. Everyone else follows a three-point-one-line routine: the Directorate of Agriculture, home, and the public land jurisdiction. But he, on the other hand, spends his days wandering here and sitting there, never giving a chance to be alone. Or he’ll stay home all day, not leaving the house.”
“He’s too idle. Doesn’t he need to go out of the city for official duties?”
The head of the Three Bays Hall was very puzzled, because just looking at the paper data, he couldn't find any patterns.
The woman playing the wife of the Three Bays Hall head walked over, took a look at the note, and smiled: “His teacher is Xue Wen Zhong. Miscellaneous tasks don’t fall to him, so it’s normal for him not to leave the city. Naturally, he’s more idle than other minor officials.”
“If he doesn’t leave the city, we can’t learn more. Our hidden spies have great difficulty operating within the city.”
“Let’s take it slow, but at least we can discern one thing from this half-month.”
“What’s that?”
“He likes to visit others, that’s all.”
…”
The head of the Three Bays Hall was speechless. What kind of characteristic was that?
“At least it proves he likes a lively atmosphere. If we can’t find an opportunity now, we can take our time. The Protector also said there’s no need to rush,” the woman comforted him.
“You’re right. We’ll report truthfully to the Protector. Anyway, the mountain will open soon for the autumn equinox. We won’t keep an eye on him in the city for now; we’ll try to focus on the outskirts and consolidate our strength 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 was a little confused, “Even if you want to move out, you should buy in the city. Why buy outside the city?”
“Houses outside the city aren’t expensive, and I don’t plan to renovate it. Just a place to stay will do,” Zhao Xing said, “A Directorate of Agriculture official has the duty of encouraging agriculture. If there’s ever a need to stay overnight outside the city, having my own house and land is always better.”
“Then why buy so many?”
Seeing Zhao Xing silent, Zhao Ruide stopped asking. He knew his adopted son always had his own ideas. “I’ll arrange it for you.”
“Godfather, make sure my name is on the government’s Yellow Register,” Zhao Xing instructed.
“Don’t worry,” Zhao Ruide nodded.
The government’s Yellow Almanac and Yellow Register were known as the ‘Twin Yellow Treasures’ of the Luck Dynasty.
Emperor Taizu of Zhou, while spreading all methods, also established all laws, such as ‘those who are not citizens of my Dynasty may not Cultivate.’
If you are not registered, you are not a citizen of the Zhou Dynasty, and you cannot even Cultivate.
Another example: ‘For owned land, do not enter without an invitation.’
What does that mean?
The Yellow Register (land deed version) of various local governments records various property rights.
Once registered in the Yellow Register, Spell Cultivators, who can use Spells, cannot trespass into someone else’s home without an invitation and will be protected by the mighty force of the law.
No matter how powerful your Spells are, as long as the Luck Dynasty system has not declined, a law-abiding citizen staying at home is very difficult to harm with Spells.
The premise is a law-abiding citizen.
There are several situations where one can enter uninvited with Spells.
First, the owner invited you in.
Second, the government suspects you have committed a crime and has official search and arrest warrants.
Third, if a property or land parcel has a property dispute, it will be in a ‘temporarily invalid state’ on the treasure ‘Yellow Register.’
Fourth, ‘good Spells’—Spells beneficial to the homeowner—can take effect inside.
Therefore, the Xuan Tian Cult followers can do limited things within the city, and it’s impossible for them to abduct someone in the city.
“Reduce the number of times I leave the city. If I must leave, I must find a place to stay where the property rights belong to me, which will reduce the possibility of being abducted,” Zhao Xing thought to himself.
Dealing with the Xuan Tian Cult? He finds it very difficult now and doesn’t want to cause trouble. But he has too many ways to hide.
Because in his previous life, he had briefly joined the Xuan Tian Cult’s faction and was well aware of their operations.
However, there’s no logic in guarding against thieves for a thousand days. Even with the Evil-Averting Almanac and the Thousand-Mile Communication Token, and having made many preparations, it’s not completely foolproof.
“I can’t rely on the government to eliminate all these people; I still need to become stronger myself.”
A few days before the White Dew assessment, Zhao Xing reached Gathering Origin Stage Three.
After that, he took one Heavenly Origin Pear every two days, and his Origin Qi grew very quickly.
The 10 Gathering Origin Pills given by Young Master Zong had a moderate and gentle effect and could be used in conjunction with the Heavenly Origin Pears. So, in less than half a month, Zhao Xing was already close to Gathering Origin Stage Four.
In the eyes of the head of the Three Bays Hall, Zhao Xing loved lively places and visited everywhere, but in reality, he was following Chen Shijie’s advice to spar with colleagues, enhance the digestion of Origin Qi treasures, and accelerate his Gathering Origin speed.
However, after a few days, Zhao Xing found that most of the minor officials in the Directorate of Agriculture could not provide him with sufficient resistance.
In terms of Directorate of Agriculture Spells, very few officials could provide Zhao Xing with the intensity he needed.
He originally wanted to ask the old Directorate of Agriculture official to spar, but considering the old official’s age, the many students he had to mentor, and his official duties, he abandoned the idea.
Finally, Chen Shijie gave a suggestion: “If you want to promote treasure digestion through Spell combat, you don’t necessarily have to find someone from the Directorate of Agriculture. How about this, I’ll go to the county yamen and see if there are suitable people.”
Martial Artists? That’s a good idea.
There are three types of military agencies directly managed by the county yamen: first, the Martial Class Office; second, the Patrol Inspection Division; and third, the Chief Justice Guard. The common people generally refer to these three as the Martial Office.
The constables and Martial Apprentices of the Martial Class Office, like the minor officials of the Directorate of Agriculture, were unranked, unofficial officers. Only a few Martial Officers were ranked, official officers.
The Patrol Inspection Division, on the other hand, consisted entirely of ranked Martial Artists. Their numbers were not large, ranging from thirty to one hundred people depending on the size of the county town.
The Chief Justice Guard was responsible for criminal justice and also possessed considerable combat power, as constables and Martial Apprentices from the Martial Class Office could choose to join either the Chief Justice Guard or the Patrol Inspection Division after promotion.
Additionally, Donghu also had a garrison, which, although not under civilian administration, the County Magistrate could request assistance if necessary.
That afternoon, Chen Shijie found Martial Officer Wang Long and borrowed someone from him.
When they met, Zhao Xing realized he actually knew this person.
“Brother Shen?”