Provincial Governor's Office

The next morning, Zhou Yi hurried to the entrance of the Provincial Governor's Office. The guards at the entrance were the same two from yesterday. They recognized Zhou Yi now and didn't stop him, letting him in directly and telling him Du Wei's location.

Following the guards' directions and taking several detours, Zhou Yi finally found the East Courtyard of the Provincial Governor's Office. Upon entering, he saw Du Wei.

Seeing Du Wei, Zhou Yi complained, "Uncle Du, this Provincial Governor's Office is too big! And why is it divided into East and West Courtyards..."

Before he could finish, Du Wei covered Zhou Yi's mouth and, after taking him to a secluded spot, released his hand.

Du Wei then whispered to Zhou Yi, "Shh, this Provincial Governor's Office is divided into four courtyards: East, South, West, and North. Each corresponds to a region to be guarded. As for why it's divided, that was the City Lord's order."

As Du Wei spoke, he pointed to the sky. Zhou Yi instantly understood. It was a strategy of division, fearing the Provincial Governor's Office would become another "Four Great Families," causing headaches if they only obeyed orders but not commands.

After understanding, Zhou Yi asked, "Uncle Du, I'm supposed to join the Provincial Governor's Office today, aren't I? Don't I need a test?"

Du Wei shook his head at Zhou Yi and said, "With your Uncle Du here, why worry about that? However, I can only arrange for you to enter the Provincial Governor's Office, so you'll have to start from the very basics."

"In the Provincial Governor's Office, we don't determine official positions based on strength."

Zhou Yi looked confused. Du Wei saw the expression on his face and said, "Don't rush, I'll explain slowly."

Du Wei paused and then said, "In the Provincial Governor's Office, promotion is based on Weirdness Points."

"Weirdness Points?"

"Yes, Weirdness Points. They are points calculated from the Weirdness you kill. There's a saying in the Provincial Governor's Office: those with few Weirdness Points aren't necessarily weak, but those with many Weirdness Points are definitely strong, because Weirdness Points are earned through killing."

Zhou Yi understood at this point and asked Du Wei, "Uncle Du, how many Weirdness Points is your captain position worth?"

Du Wei held up one finger to Zhou Yi.

"A thousand?" Zhou Yi guessed.

"Ten thousand!" Du Wei almost choked on Zhou Yi's guess.

Zhou Yi's face fell. "How long would that take to kill?"

"It took me nearly ten years," Du Wei said with a sigh.

Zhou Yi's face gradually became numb. Du Wei looked at Zhou Yi's state with pity, but he himself had gone through the same grueling process back then.

"Next, I'll tell you about the four courtyard masters of our Provincial Governor's Office. East Courtyard Master Xie Yun, South Courtyard Master Wang Qi, West Courtyard Master Di Feiyun, and North Courtyard Master Luo Han. The courtyard masters are all in the Embrace Dan realm, and their strength is quite similar."

"You and I belong to the East Courtyard, and my immediate superior is Xie Yun. Each courtyard master has five captains like me under them."

Hearing this, Zhou Yi suddenly asked Du Wei, "Uncle Du, how many Weirdness Points does it take to become a courtyard master?"

Du Wei shook his head. "Becoming a courtyard master doesn't require accumulating Weirdness Points."

Zhou Yi's eyes suddenly lit up at this. He then asked, "Then what is required?"

"First, you must be an expert in the Embrace Dan realm. Second, you must kill a specific type of Weirdness."

Zhou Yi thought about it and felt it was still quite simple. With his system panel, his cultivation realm wouldn't be a problem, at least he wouldn't have to painstakingly kill Weirdness.

At this moment, Du Wei added, "The Strength Channeling Realm is one in a hundred among ordinary people. The Vitality Realm is one in a thousand among those who break through the Strength Channeling Realm. As for the Embrace Dan realm, it's one in a hundred thousand among those who break through the Vitality Realm. So, do you understand?"

Zhou Yi could only nod in agreement, deciding to surprise Du Wei with his "talent" later.

Seeing Zhou Yi nod, Du Wei then whispered, "Our East Courtyard and North Courtyard have a good relationship. The West Courtyard and South Courtyard have a good relationship."

Before he could finish, Zhou Yi interrupted him.

"Uncle Du, besides improving one's official position, what else can Weirdness Points be used for?"

Du Wei slapped his forehead. "Right, good thing you reminded me. Weirdness Points can be used to exchange for various things in the Provincial Governor's Office. Materials for breaking through to the Vitality Realm, Spiritual Skills, cultivation methods, Talisman Spells – anything the Provincial Governor's Office has can be exchanged."

"For things they don't have, you can spend money to buy them at the Treasure Pavilion."

Zhou Yi silently noted the name "Treasure Pavilion" in his mind.

Currently, Zhou Yi had no Weirdness Points. He planned to visit the Treasure Pavilion after joining today.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

Soon, Uncle Du finished explaining the matters Zhou Yi needed to pay attention to. He took Zhou Yi to get his entry permit and a set of the Provincial Governor's Office's brocade uniforms. He had to admit, these clothes were much better looking than the patrol uniforms of Green Bamboo Village. At the same time, the Provincial Governor's Office uniforms had an animal embroidered on the shoulder.

The lowest-ranking personnel in the Provincial Governor's Office, like Zhou Yi, had a Lian Que embroidered on their brocade uniform, which looked very elegant. The next rank up, like his Uncle Du, had a Bai Xian embroidered on their brocade uniform. As for the courtyard masters, their uniforms had a Crane embroidered on them.

Besides the uniform, Zhou Yi received nothing else, not even a weapon. It seemed he would have to buy one himself or exchange for it with Weirdness Points. However, Zhou Yi had neither, and he couldn't help but miss his Han Guang.

Although his physical strength was his trump card, the thought of an enemy painstakingly disarming him only to be unable to break his defense made him happy.

With that thought, Zhou Yi decided to spend some money to buy a lower-quality saber, just to "decorate" himself.

Zhou Yi walked out of the Provincial Governor's Office with the uniform he received. Since Uncle Du had given him two days off to get accustomed to Luoshi City's environment, Zhou Yi wasn't in a hurry after leaving the Provincial Governor's Office. He first returned to the inn, changed into his Provincial Governor's Office uniform, and prepared to find a real estate agent to rent a small room.

Otherwise, living in an inn every day would eventually bankrupt him and leave him on the streets.

After asking passersby, Zhou Yi arrived at the famous "Commerce Street" in the outer city. It was said that anything could be bought here as long as you had money. This was naturally an exaggeration; even the Treasure Pavilion wouldn't dare to boast so much. However, in the outer city, most things could be bought, and the prices were cheap, making it the most suitable place for Zhou Yi.

After wandering around the street for a while, the people nearby looked at Zhou Yi's uniform with a trace of fear on their faces.

Seeing the expressions on people's faces, Zhou Yi lost interest in browsing further. He casually found a real estate agency by the roadside and walked in.

The people in the real estate agency showed a trace of fear when they saw someone from the Provincial Governor's Office. Their hearts only relaxed when they learned Zhou Yi was there to rent a place. They rushed forward to greet him.

"If the deal is made, righteousness remains; if not, righteousness is lost." If this deal was made, they could count on this official for help in the future. Thinking this, the young man was extremely diligent.

The young man said softly to Zhou Yi, "Sir, my name is Huang Wei. You can just call me Ah Wei."

"Ah Wei? Do you know Brother Jie then?"

Ah Wei shook his head and said to Zhou Yi, "No, I don't. Who is this Brother Jie?"

Zhou Yi said sternly to Ah Wei, "Brother Jie is a good person. He often helps the poor and gives them bread and wine to drink."

Hearing this, Ah Wei couldn't help but sigh, "This Brother Jie is truly a good person!"

Zhou Yi suppressed a smile and said to Ah Wei, "Don't be afraid. You'll know when you meet him."

Seeing that the topic had veered off course, Ah Wei shook his head and asked Zhou Yi, "Sir, do you have any requirements for the house?"

Zhou Yi looked at Ah Wei and said, "Preferably somewhere secluded, with a small courtyard."

Ah Wei nodded upon hearing this, and then began showing Zhou Yi houses. The first house they looked at had a very nice environment and a sufficiently large courtyard, but its only drawback was that it was too expensive.

Then Zhou Yi said to Ah Wei, "It doesn't have to be such a good house. A slightly smaller one will do."

Ah Wei seemed to understand but also not understand, nodding as he led Zhou Yi to see a second house. This house was located in the southern part of Luoshi City, too far from where Zhou Yi would be patrolling in the future.

Zhou Yi then shook his head at Ah Wei and asked, "Are there any houses on the east side of Luoshi City?"

"Yes, yes."

After looking at three houses in a row on the east side of Luoshi City, Zhou Yi finally settled down. Looking at the courtyard before him, although it wasn't large, it gave him a sense of peace. On one side of the courtyard, there was a stone table and stone stools. Next to the stone table, a peach tree was planted. It was already winter, so the peach tree had few leaves, just bare branches. However, in the summer, when the leaves grew, one could sit underneath and enjoy the shade.

On the other side of the courtyard, there was also a small well, so he wouldn't have to go out to fetch water every day. As for the rooms inside the courtyard, there were only two. One was the master bedroom, and the other was a storeroom, which could also be converted into a second bedroom.

After viewing the house, Zhou Yi paid a full year's rent upfront. Then, Zhou Yi also gave Ah Wei a fifty tael silver commission fee. However, Ah Wei adamantly refused to accept it, only hoping that Zhou Yi would help him if he encountered trouble in the future. Zhou Yi nodded at him but still stuffed the silver into Ah Wei's hands, as the man had followed him around all day.

After paying the rent, Zhou Yi was practically penniless. Fortunately, he finally had a home in Luoshi City.

Zhou Yi returned to the inn and moved his belongings back. As for the horse that had followed Zhou Yi for three days, Zhou Yi led it to a stable and asked the stable hands to look after it. Although this black horse wasn't expensive, Zhou Yi had grown fond of it. Gritting his teeth, Zhou Yi paid a large sum for its upkeep, almost ten times the horse's value.

However, he wouldn't have to worry about it in the coming days. At the same time, he could still take it out for a ride whenever he wanted.

So, after a period of heartache, Zhou Yi felt at ease.

At this moment, Zhou Yi remembered that the courtyard hadn't been cleaned yet, and various furniture also needed to be purchased. Zhou Yi had no choice but to find Ah Wei again and ask him to help furnish his place. Ah Wei readily agreed and quickly set up Zhou Yi's new home.

Finally, after a flurry of activity, Zhou Yi's "new" home was finally complete.