Buy a House, Yellow Register

What a hassle, Zhao Xing thought.

The Profound Heaven Sect was like psoriasis. Uprooting one or two strongholds was useless; it did not hurt them in the slightest.

Even when Great Zhou later crushed the chaos in Guangling Province, the Profound Heaven Sect behind it had not been harmed at all. It had not truly entered the world yet.

The little information in the Evil Aversion Almanac isn't enough to report, and it could easily alert the Profound Heaven Sect. For all I know, they might think I'm some peerless genius and watch me even more closely.

I can't afford to provoke them, but can't I hide from them?

Zhao Xing put away the Evil Aversion Almanac and decided to keep his distance.

He could not tell when this group from the Profound Heaven Sect would act. It might be years from now, or it might be next month. In any case, he needed to be careful, give them no opportunity, and let this storm pass.

What if he truly could not avoid it?

Don't push me. Push me too far, and I'll dig up even your sect gates...

The Three Bays Hall Master was reviewing intelligence reports.

Since the Protector had raised the priority of capturing Zhao Xing, he attached great importance to this target as well. He had spent more effort observing him, analyzing Zhao Xing's habits, personality, travel patterns, and so on.

Yet after half a month, he had achieved remarkably little.

The man gave them absolutely no opportunity!

"This man is so strange. Everyone else follows the same three-point routine: the Ministry of Agriculture, home, and the public farmland under their jurisdiction. But he wanders around here, visits someone there every day. There's never a chance for him to be alone. Or else he stays home all day with his doors shut."

"He's far too idle. Doesn't he need to leave the city for official duties?"

The Three Bays Hall Master was deeply puzzled. From these written reports alone, he could not find any pattern at all.

The woman playing the Three Bays Hall Master's wife came over, took the slip of paper, and smiled. "His teacher is Xue Wenzhong. The miscellaneous work does not fall to him, so it is normal for him not to leave the city. Naturally, he has more free time than the other minor clerks."

"If he doesn't leave the city, we have no way to learn more. It is quite inconvenient for our hidden agents to operate within the city."

"Take it slowly. Still, we can at least see one thing from the past half month."

"What thing?"

"He likes visiting people, of course."

"..."

The Three Bays Hall Master was speechless. What kind of trait was that?

"At least it proves that he enjoys lively company. We may not have an opportunity now, but we can take our time. The Protector also said there was no need to rush," the woman comforted him.

"That's true. Report the facts to the Protector. The mountain-opening ceremony at Autumn Equinox is coming soon anyway. Stop focusing on him in the city and shift our attention to the outskirts. Draw in our forces a little, lest the authorities catch us by the tail instead."

Zhao Xing wanted to buy a house, and one outside the city at that.

"What do you need to buy a house for? You don't want to live at home anymore?" Zhao Ruide did not understand. "Even if you want to move out, you should buy one in the city. Why buy one outside?"

"Houses outside the city are cheap, and I do not plan to renovate one. I only need a place to stay," Zhao Xing said. "An Agriculture Official has the duty of encouraging farming. If I ever need to stay outside the city overnight, it would be better to have my own house and plot of land."

"Then why buy so many?"

When Zhao Xing fell silent, Zhao Ruide did not ask further. He knew his adoptive son had always had his own ideas. "I'll handle it for you."

"Adoptive Father, make sure the Official Almanac lists my name," Zhao Xing reminded him.

"Don't worry." Zhao Ruide nodded.

The Official Almanac and the Yellow Register were known as the "two supreme yellow treasures" of the Dynasty of Fate.

While Great Zhou's Grand Ancestor passed down myriad methods, he also established myriad laws, such as: "Those who are not citizens of our dynasty may not cultivate."

If one did not register their household, they were not a citizen of the Zhou Dynasty. They could not even cultivate.

For another example: "Do not enter owned land without permission."

What did that mean?

The Yellow Registers held by local authorities—the deed version—recorded the ownership of all kinds of houses.

Once a property was entered into the Yellow Register, cultivators capable of using spells could not break into another person's home without an invitation. They would be protected by the mighty power of the law.

No matter how heaven-defying one's spells were, so long as the Dynasty of Fate's system had not declined, it would be difficult for spells to harm a law-abiding citizen who stayed in their own home.

The prerequisite was that they were law-abiding citizens.

There were several situations in which someone could enter uninvited while carrying a body full of spells.

First, the owner invited them inside.

Second, the authorities suspected them of breaking the law and possessed formal search or arrest warrants.

Third, if a house or plot of land was involved in an ownership dispute, it would enter a "temporarily invalid" state in the treasure known as the Yellow Register.

Fourth, "benevolent spells"—spells beneficial to the homeowner—could take effect within it.

Thus, there was only so much the Profound Heaven Sect's believers could do in the city. They could not simply abduct someone within the city.

If I reduce the number of times I leave the city, and whenever I must leave, stay at a house whose ownership belongs to me, the chance of being abducted will be lower, Zhao Xing thought.

Dealing with the Profound Heaven Sect was difficult for him right now, and he did not want to invite trouble. But he had plenty of ways to hide.

Because in his previous life, he had briefly joined the Profound Heaven Sect's faction. He knew their methods inside out.

Yet there was no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. Even with the Evil Aversion Almanac and the Thousand Mile Transmission Token, and despite all his preparations, he could not be completely safe.

I can't count on the authorities to kill all these people. I still need to become stronger myself.

A few days before the White Dew assessment, Zhao Xing reached the Gathering Yuan Third Stage.

After that, he consumed a Heaven Yuan Pear every two days, and his yuan energy grew rapidly.

The ten Gathering Yuan Pills given by Young Master Zong had balanced, mild effects and could be used alongside the Heaven Yuan Pears. Thus, in less than half a month, Zhao Xing was already close to the Gathering Yuan Fourth Level.

In the Three Bays Hall Master's eyes, Zhao Xing was someone who loved excitement and visited people everywhere. In reality, following Chen Shijie's advice, he was sparring with colleagues to aid the digestion of yuan energy treasures and increase his Gathering Yuan cultivation speed.

However, over the past few days, Zhao Xing discovered that the vast majority of minor clerks in the Ministry of Agriculture could not provide him with enough pressure in combat.

When it came to Agriculture Official spells, very few clerks could truly push Zhao Xing hard.

He had initially wanted to spar with Old Sima Nong, but after considering Old Sima Nong's age, the many students he had to instruct, and the official duties he had to handle, Zhao Xing gave up on the idea.

In the end, Chen Shijie offered a suggestion. "If you want to use spell combat to aid the digestion of treasures, you do not necessarily need to look within the Ministry of Agriculture. How about this? I'll go to the County Office and see whether there are any suitable candidates."

Martial artists? That was a good idea.

There were three armed institutions directly under the County Office: the Military Office, the Patrol Office, and the Judicial Guard. Ordinary people generally referred to all three as the Martial Office.

The constables and martial apprentices of the Military Office, like the minor clerks of the Ministry of Agriculture, were unofficial officers without rank. Only several Martial Office officials were formally ranked officers.

Everyone in the Patrol Office was a Ranked Martial Artist. Their numbers were not large; depending on the size of the county seat, a full complement ranged from thirty to one hundred people.

The Judicial Guard was in charge of criminal cases and prisons, and it possessed considerable combat strength as well. After all, once the Military Office's constables and martial apprentices advanced, they could choose whether to join the Judicial Guard or the Patrol Office.

In addition, East Lake had a garrison. Though it was not under the Civil Officials' jurisdiction, the county magistrate could request its assistance when necessary.

That afternoon, Chen Shijie found Wang Long of the Martial Office and borrowed one of his men.

When they met, Zhao Xing realized that he actually knew the man.

"Brother Shen?"