"Awakening Time has ended."
When the system's notification sounded, the movement of Shen Zhui's hands froze. That trace of perfect harmony vanished without a trace, and the notes of Momentum became chaotic once more.
The weeds and dust were no longer orderly either, but flew about in every direction.
"Cough, cough... cough, cough." Shen Zhui covered his nose and began coughing, his face and clothes covered in dust.
"This Awakening Time is truly miraculous." Shen Zhui could not help sighing. The moment his Enlightenment Time ended, it was as though someone had thrown him back into the sea.
He was now panting all over, sweat pouring down like rain, his mind utterly exhausted, as if he had just fought a fierce battle against a powerful enemy.
No matter how he trained afterward, he found it difficult to reach the state of Unity of Heaven and Man again for the time being.
However, Shen Zhui knew this was normal. He had found the direction and successfully entered the state of Unity of Heaven and Man. With more practice afterward, regaining control would not be difficult.
Once there was a first time, there would be a second time, and countless more. From then on, all he had to do was practice diligently.
Just as Shen Zhui stood there in a daze, a sudden shout came from outside:
"You! What are you doing?!"
Shen Zhui looked up and saw a terrified, ferocious face illuminated by the firelight. A constable with a scar on his face was pointing a long saber and torch at him.
The sudden shout startled Shen Zhui as well, and he hurriedly waved his hands.
"What are you—"
"Ah!" When Scarface saw him raise his hand, his already-taut nerves were instantly jolted. He raised his saber and hacked down.
"What are you doing!" Shen Zhui was speechless. I was staying perfectly well in my cell. Why did you suddenly charge in with an enraged look and start hacking at me?
Fortunately, the other man was only at the Seventh Stage of Acquired Realm. Although he brought his saber down, Shen Zhui easily sidestepped it, then struck the man's wrist with one palm, snatched away the long saber, and seized his neck with his other hand.
The entire movement flowed as naturally as water. In a single exchange, the other man was subdued.
"Scarface, why did you barge into my cell? Have you gone mad..."
At this point, Shen Zhui froze.
Wait. Where was the door?
Only then did he realize that the iron door had long since collapsed, while the hardwood bars had been broken into more than a dozen pieces, as if they had been sliced apart.
And he himself was disheveled, with his hair hanging loose and his clothes in disarray.
Realizing what had happened, Shen Zhui's face turned awkward. He hurriedly released Scarface.
Scarface retreated several steps in horror. Helplessly, Shen Zhui brought the torch over beside himself and swept his hair back.
"Shen... Shen Zhui?" Scarface asked uncertainly.
"It's me." Shen Zhui smiled, doing his best to look amiable so he would not be misunderstood again.
Unexpectedly, that smile looked rather bone-chilling in Scarface's eyes.
"Are you human or a ghost?"
"..." Shen Zhui was rendered speechless.
After a long while, Scarface finally realized he had asked a foolish question and awkwardly said, "Brother Shen, what happened to this door...?"
"Just now..."
Shen Zhui had just begun to answer when two figures suddenly appeared outside.
Wang Long radiated a faint white glow as he said to Scarface, "He Jiu, withdraw for now. There's nothing for you to do here. Go calm the prisoners in the cells."
"County Governor, Captain Wang. Yes, I'll take my leave." Scarface left with a belly full of doubts.
Just as he was about to withdraw, the County Governor, shrouded in azure light, suddenly spoke. "He Jiu, there was a minor problem with the prison formation today. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand." Scarface obediently listened. He knew that matters were certainly not so simple and that they must have something to do with Shen Zhui. But anyone who had risen to become a prison warden naturally knew what should and should not be said.
The County Governor had set the tone. Thus, even if there were other hidden circumstances, this matter could only be attributed to a problem with the prison formation.
"Shen Zhui greets Your Excellency the County Governor and Captain Wang." Shen Zhui hurriedly bowed.
Wang Long nodded and sized Shen Zhui up. "Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm already. Not bad."
The azure light dissipated, revealing Wei Wenhe's true appearance. Shen Zhui was slightly surprised when he saw him.
This was the first time Shen Zhui had clearly seen the County Governor's true appearance, yet he had not expected him to be so young, with the air of a scholar.
Wei Wenhe looked at the ground covered in stalks of grass and thought, Just as I expected.
"Shen Zhui, I sentence you to ten strokes of the cane and one month in confinement. Do you have any objections?" Wei Wenhe did not ask what had happened. Instead, he suddenly brought up the matter of Shen Zhui's conflict with Yang Wu.
Shen Zhui hurriedly shook his head. "Although Yang Wu was the one who bullied my adoptive father first, I did seriously injure several people in the street, which was excessive as well. Sir is enforcing the law impartially, so I have no objections. However, there is one matter I do not understand. I do not know whether I should speak of it."
"Speak."
"Yang Wu harbors ulterior motives and has a close relationship with the Li Family. The misfortune we encountered outside the city earlier was probably inseparable from him. Why, then, did Your Excellency spare him?"
This was a knot in Shen Zhui's heart. The Martial Arts Department's constables frequently had to leave the city to handle cases, and their movements were difficult to determine.
Both the Arrest Order and the Execution Token Dao Plaque had the effect of concealing the workings of Heaven. Unless the Li Family invested great effort into watching him, they could not have known. But that was clearly impossible. The news must have leaked from within.
If the County Governor kept a traitor like Yang Wu in the team to report to the two great lineages, would that not be inviting disaster?
"In Qingzhou, there was a farmer," Wei Wenhe said instead of answering Shen Zhui's question, launching into a story.
"After sowing wheat and waiting for the seedlings to sprout, he discovered that many castor grasses had grown among them. He wanted to remove them, but feared damaging the wheat seedlings. Just as he was wavering indecisively, a neighbor told him, 'Wait a little longer. Once the castor grasses have grown large enough to be removed on their own, you won't have to worry about harming the wheat seedlings.'"
After hearing the story, Shen Zhui fell silently into thought.
"Do you understand what it means?" Wei Wenhe asked with a smile.
"I understand." Shen Zhui nodded.
The County Governor had only been in office for three years. Three years earlier, Heyuan County had been a complete mess.
From the county magistrate above to the constables below, nearly everyone had ties to the various lineages in the city.
Some were utterly depraved, colluding with the great clans and wealthy houses to oppress the people.
Others were guilty of lesser offenses. At most, they had turned a blind eye and done nothing practical.
These people had not wholeheartedly sold their lives to the two great lineages. The environment had simply been like this at the time. Everyone was manipulated by the two great lineages and could only drift with the current.
If the standards had been set too high and everyone below them had been beaten to death with a single stroke, then when Wei Wenhe took office, he probably would have had no one left to use.
Furthermore, Shen Zhui guessed that the County Governor's decision to keep Yang Wu in the county office's ranks might also have been intended to spread false information and mislead the enemy.
As for any deeper purpose, Shen Zhui could not guess it.
"The ambush you encountered outside the city earlier was not reported by Yang Wu," Wei Wenhe said after pondering.
Shen Zhui's expression remained unchanged, and he did not ask any questions.
Now he knew that the superior he followed was not some ignorant fool, but someone with his own schemes. That was enough.
As for anything else, if his superior did not say it, he should not ask further.
Shen Zhui understood his own position perfectly.
Seeing that Shen Zhui could actually remain composed, a trace of admiration flashed through Wei Wenhe's eyes.
"Having courage without wisdom makes one merely a brute! Only those with both wisdom and courage are worth the effort I, Wei Wenhe, would invest in cultivating."
Moreover, Shen Zhui had joined the Martial Arts Department in the same year as Wei Wenhe. After three years of observation, Wei Wenhe knew Shen Zhui's past and whom he had associated with like the back of his hand. Shen Zhui was definitely not one of the two great lineages' people!
"The Martial Arts Department uses strength and merit as the standards for promotion. Now that you have broken through to the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm, you can advance another step. However, you already receive the treatment of a ninth-rank official, and the next step would be a Xiantian Martial Artist. I'm afraid that would provoke gossip."
After pondering for a moment, Wei Wenhe flipped his hand and produced an object. When he opened his palm, a crystalline, plump white pearl appeared in it.
"This object is called the Yuanpin Pearl. Carrying it with you can aid the refinement and cultivation of your techniques. Once the period has passed, you may go to the Personnel Office and choose any Xiantian technique. As for the Blood Burning Art, it still has certain limitations."
Shen Zhui noticed that when the County Governor took out the pearl, Wang Long, who had remained calm beside him, clearly showed an unusual expression. He immediately understood that this reward was no ordinary one, and without asking more, hurriedly bowed and accepted it.
The egg-sized pearl felt warm to the touch. A stream of heat continuously traveled into his body, and after only a few breaths, Shen Zhui felt the qi within him grow slightly more active. He immediately said solemnly, "Thank you, Sir."
Wei Wenhe nodded, and he and Wang Long left.
After leaving the prison, Wang Long could not help asking, "Junior Brother, the Yuanpin Pearl is no ordinary object. It is a rare treasure even to you and me. You just gave it to Shen Zhui like that?"
Wei Wenhe chuckled. "The Yuanpin Pearl is merely a dead object. No matter how precious it is, it cannot change the current situation. On the contrary, if Shen Zhui can use it to advance further, I will gain another Xiantian Master. Why wouldn't I?"
"But he has only just entered the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm. Xiantian Martial Artist is still far too distant for him."
Wei Wenhe looked completely at ease. "I only said I would gain a Xiantian Master. I never said Shen Zhui would become one."
Wang Long smiled helplessly. "Junior Brother, you're speaking in riddles to me again."
After the County Governor and Wang Long left, Shen Zhui sat cross-legged on the bed.
Wei Wenhe had come because of what had happened in the prison, yet had not asked about it at all. Shen Zhui guessed that at the very least, the County Governor must already know that he had reached the state of Unity of Heaven and Man.
I knew it. The more potential I show, the more resources I'll receive for cultivation. But the person who informed the Li Family about the ambush earlier wasn't Yang Wu. Who was it, then?
Shen Zhui felt more and more that the situation in Heyuan County was unfathomable. Unfortunately, he knew far too little. Even after racking his brains, he could not make sense of it at all, so he could only set the question aside for the time being.
"The Yuanpin Pearl. Even Captain Wang seemed envious of it. Let's test its effects."
Shen Zhui regulated his breathing and began circulating the Bloodburn Art.