Changing Status, Martial Graduate Dan (Seeking Collection, Seeking Follow-up Reads)

The next day.

Wei Tu got up early and headed to the county yamen's entrance with his luggage, waiting.

It wasn't until close to noon that the yamen's main gate was pushed open by a few strong runners.

The front part of the yamen was for official business, and the back for residences. The front, having not been repaired for years, looked quite dilapidated. However, after Wei Tu bypassed the screen wall, passed through the ceremonial gate, and arrived behind the stone tablet pavilion, he saw a three-story wooden structure towering within the courtyard walls.

The pavilion was exquisitely built, with eaves sharply upturned and the mythical beast finials on the roof ridges slightly raised. The structure was also adorned with auspicious patterns of carp transforming into dragons and flying cranes.

Wei Tu looked on in amazement. He had by then reached the side of the hall labeled "Household Registry Office." Seeing no one around except for a clerk in black robes writing official documents at a desk inside, who was too engrossed to notice him, Wei Tu boldly stood on tiptoe on the platform and glanced inside the courtyard.

Stone slabs paved the ground, white walls and dark tiles...

Pavilions and towers...

The architectural style of the inner residence was vastly different from that of the front yamen.

"A true man should be like this," Wei Tu thought to himself.

Although the Li and Huang families were wealthy households, he had been in a humble position then and dared not look too much. Now, having bought his freedom, his mindset was different. Seeing these ancient and elegant buildings, he felt no annoyance or disgust, but rather a sense of admiration and longing.

In his previous life, despite the distinction between high-rise buildings and ordinary houses, the difference in status between people was not that significant, and it didn't evoke any peculiar feelings.

In this life, status differs, and so do residences, which must conform to propriety. Naturally, the experience is different.

After observing, Wei Tu composed himself, took out the deed of indenture and letter of recommendation from his bosom, and then gently knocked on the door of the Household Registry Office.

"What is it?" The clerk in black robes stopped writing, looked up at Wei Tu outside the door, and asked.

Wei Tu spoke concisely, explaining that he had bought his freedom from slave status.

"Bought freedom from slave status?" The clerk exclaimed in surprise. He slanted his writing brush on the brush rest and took a good look at Wei Tu.

Although the Household Registry Office managed household registration and handled the business of slaves buying their freedom, ever since he inherited his father's profession and became a clerk, he had never once seen a slave come to the office to buy their freedom.

"Do you have the deed of indenture? A letter from your master?" The clerk's tone softened slightly.

Although he didn't recognize Wei Tu, seeing that Wei Tu could buy his freedom at this age, he seemed like someone worth paying attention to.

"Yes!" Wei Tu cut to the chase. He walked into the office, bowed slightly, and presented the deed of indenture and letter together with both hands to the clerk before him.

"Hmm... nineteen years old?" The clerk raised his eyebrows slightly.

The first time he saw Wei Tu, he thought he was a burly man in his thirties, but he didn't expect him to be a youth not yet twenty.

The clerk mentally noted Wei Tu's name and place of origin, then opened the deed of indenture and letter, carefully comparing the handwriting and seals with the office's archives.

Once everything was confirmed, the clerk took out a booklet with the words "Civilian Status" written in large characters on the cover and added Wei Tu's name to the last page.

"After becoming a civilian, you will have to pay a fixed poll tax each year. If you own land, you will also need to pay land tax... Additionally, if you wish to avoid the annual corvée labor, you will need to pay Substitute Service Silver."

The clerk stated each point.

Hearing this.

Wei Tu nodded, indicating he understood.

Becoming a civilian was only temporary.

As long as he passed the Martial Arts Examination in this session and achieved official status, he would move from "Civilian Status" to "Martial Status," or even "Official Status."

At that time.

He would no longer need to pay the poll tax or Substitute Service Silver.

"Three years after becoming a civilian, if you have no outstanding poll tax or Substitute Service Silver, and no land in your household, the yamen will, at its discretion, grant you hereditary land. You must remember this."

The clerk reminded him.

"Thank you, sir."

Wei Tu bowed in gratitude.

Leaving the county yamen.

Wei Tu did not linger in the county town. After eating a flatbread that Xinghua had baked the day before, he followed the flow of people out of the town.

For safety, Wei Tu did not push himself, traveling day and night. Instead, he found an inn to rest midway and continued his journey the next day.

He traveled for another half-day the following day.

After rounding a hill, Wei Tu finally spotted a village with a sign that read "Danjia Village" near a river at the foot of the slope.

After asking villagers for directions, Wei Tu arrived at the only blue-brick residence in Danjia Village that had three hitching posts.

"Li Yaozu? That's strange." Martial Graduate Dan sat on a stone roller in front of the house. He had a gaunt, long face and wore a dark purple brocade summer garment, with a brass water pipe tucked into his waist.

After reading the letter, Martial Graduate Dan flicked the ash from his water pipe and told Wei Tu, "Come in," before walking into the house with his hands behind his back.

The Dan residence was a three-courtyard house. The first courtyard housed several fine horses, which neighed long as they saw Martial Graduate Dan enter.

Upon reaching the main hall of the second courtyard, Martial Graduate Dan sat down and said, "I'll take you on as a long-term laborer. As for teaching you martial arts, that depends on my mood and whether you have the aptitude for it."

"Also, after you pass the Martial Arts Examination and achieve official status, you must give me an annual tribute and send gifts during the seasons. Can you do that?"

Martial Graduate Dan asked.

"If it works out, then Old Master Dan will be my teacher. It's only natural for a disciple to show filial respect to their master," Wei Tu mused for a moment before saying this somewhat diplomatic sentence.

"Very good."

Hearing this, Dan Wuju didn't object, a smile appearing on his face.

"Outside, there's a stone lock for practicing strength, and a strong bow. Try them both and see if you're really made of the right stuff."

Dan Wuju gestured towards the door.

Wei Tu nodded and walked outside.

When he had entered the room earlier, he had already noticed the equipment in Dan Wuju's second courtyard. All eighteen types of weapons were present, along with bronze statues and wooden dummies.

A short while later, Wei Tu arrived at the corner of the courtyard. He gathered strength in his right arm and lifted a stone lock marked "300 jin."

After over a year of practice, his Health Cultivation Technique had improved further. Although it hadn't reached mastery, it was well beyond the initial stage.

His strength had also increased from 200 jin per arm to 300 jin per arm.

"Good spiritual roots," Dan Wuju nodded slightly, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

When it came to practicing martial arts, spiritual roots had always been paramount.

Without good spiritual roots, no amount of practice would allow one to even begin.

Being able to lift a 300 jin stone lock with one arm, Dan Wuju considered Wei Tu to be exceptionally talented among ordinary people.

However.

When it came to drawing the strong bow, Wei Tu shook his head and honestly admitted his lack of skill in archery.

"Archery is no good?" Dan Wuju frowned. Relying solely on strength wouldn't be enough to achieve official status in the Martial Arts Examination.

However, Dan Wuju wasn't too concerned about this. If he didn't pass this time, he could try again later.

Archery skills could be practiced.

Besides, Wei Tu wasn't old yet.

"What kind of hand-to-hand combat or saber techniques have you learned?" Dan Wuju pondered for a moment before asking.

The hand-to-hand combat he spoke of wasn't some flashy, superficial style, but a genuine lineage of martial arts, complete with various stances, forming the foundation of external martial arts.

These hand-to-hand techniques could be practiced for a lifetime.

The various saber techniques of Martial Masters were also mostly derived from the practice of these hand-to-hand skills.

"Only... the Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique."

Wei Tu replied truthfully.

"Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique? And that Health Cultivation Technique? What is that stuff?"

Dan Wuju had clearly heard of the Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique and quickly expressed his disdain for this Health Cultivation Technique in his words.

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