A Way

"It really was sealed off."

Chen Luo observed in secret for a long time before finally locating the person who had struck.

A withered old man. Like Chen Luo, he was concealed atop a tree, hiding with the color of his clothes. An ordinary person would never have noticed him. Although Chen Luo was still in the Bone Forging Realm, after absorbing the Pale Blue Power, his strength was already comparable to that of an ordinary Grandmaster. The old man had yet to reach the Grandmaster realm, so naturally he could not escape Chen Luo's senses.

After confirming someone was guarding the entrance, Chen Luo changed directions.

The result was the same. This place was also guarded, with troops blocking the way and experts concealed in the shadows.

This was only the valley mouth. What lay within was even more unclear, and barging in rashly would be unwise indeed.

After observing for an entire night, Chen Luo discovered more than a dozen secret posts.

All of them were Jianghu experts, powerful figures who had mastered Internal Qi. Three were even in the Bone Forging Realm. Those were only the ones he had sensed; there might well have been even stronger Grandmaster experts hidden in the dark.

This was the power of the Imperial Court. The number of experts it possessed was far beyond anything the common folk could compare to.

Experts who had once been rare sights in Qingya County were now scattered throughout the valley like dogs.

After confirming that there was no way to sneak into the valley, Chen Luo could only turn back home.

What a pity about those heads.

Before leaving, Chen Luo looked back. The corpses of the Jianghu Wanderers below had already been cleared away, leaving him without even a chance to pick up leaks.

He returned to the village.

Dawn was nearly upon them. As usual, Chen Luo carried out a round of cultivation at sunrise.

Another wisp of Formless Energy accumulated inside his body. After so many days of Qi Circulation, the tiny gains brought by this method had already vanished. The Pale Blue Power was also being digested more and more slowly, to the point that it now had congested inside his body, blocking many of his meridians.

"This can't go on."

Chen Luo pondered a way out. It was obvious that a Royal Family Brain could not run over here. It could only be used for the time it took to drink a cup of tea each day, and if used too much, the brain would grow weary and automatically fall asleep.

This pathetic attribute seriously hindered Chen Luo's grand plan of cultivating immortality.

"I need to find a way."

After pondering for a moment, Chen Luo turned his gaze toward Qingya County.

If he could not go in secretly, then he would go openly.

An idea took shape in Chen Luo's mind.

The sun had risen high in the sky.

Outside Qingya County's County Yamen, Jiang Danian yawned sleepily. No matter how the people above changed, there would not be much change for bottom-rung people like them. Rotating county magistrates did not stop those below from slacking off. Whoever came, the work would still have to be done by people like them.

Jiang Danian was in exactly that state. He only earned that little bit of money each month, so there was no need to work himself to the bone. He muddled through whenever he could.

When Qingya County had suffered disaster before, he had nearly died. Fortunately, fate favored him, and he survived by hiding in a widow's cellar. Later, the new official sent by the Imperial Court took office, and the surviving yamen runners returned to work. Now that troops were stationed here, Qingya County's public order had finally stabilized completely.

His only regret was that there were far fewer familiar faces. Even Little Peach Red, whom he had often visited, was gone. He had heard she died that night, killed by the "rebels." Jiang Danian had even shed a few tears over it.

It would not be so easy to find such a cheap whore again. The newly emerged girls were far too expensive. He had gone only once, and now even his meals had to be watered down with soup.

"Uncle Jiang! I came to see you."

A voice suddenly rang out, startling Jiang Danian so badly that he jolted.

"The Old Chen Family's eldest nephew?!" Jiang Danian remembered Chen Luo's identity.

He did not have many drinking buddies, but Chen Laosan was one of them. Back when Jiang Danian went out drinking with courtesans, he had often called Chen Laosan along. The two had carried guns together, worked together, and had a grand old time.

After what happened in Qingya County, Chen Laosan disappeared. Now when Jiang Danian went drinking with courtesans alone, even the wine tasted bland and flavorless. He did not even have a friend left to settle the bill with.

Friends who stank alike were not so easy to find.

"Why did you come back alone? Where's your third uncle?"

As he spoke, Jiang Danian deliberately looked behind Chen Luo, but did not see Chen Laosan.

"My third uncle went to Yanhu County. I came back alone today to have a look."

Chen Luo explained with a smile.

His purpose in seeking out Jiang Danian was simple: he wanted to apply to become Qingya County's corpse burier through him.

If he could not get through in secret, why not go openly? In another place, he might have needed to rack his brains, but this was Qingya County. He and his uncle were local insiders here.

When he came over that morning, he had already inquired about it. The Corpse Buriers working in the sealed-off area had also been transferred over from Qingya County.

"Yanhu County? Why didn't he return to Qingya County? There are troops stationed here now, so it's perfectly safe." Jiang Danian was somewhat dissatisfied.

If Chen Laosan had gone to Yanhu County, did that not mean he would never have a drinking buddy again?

"My third uncle is getting old. He was frightened by what happened last time, so he retired early." Chen Luo casually made up an excuse for Chen Laosan. In any case, with so much silver in hand, Chen Laosan would never return to being a corpse burier in the future.

"Retired? What a pity."

Jiang Danian felt somewhat regretful, but he could understand. Corpse Buriers were different from yamen runners like them; the risks were far too great. He still remembered when Prefect Lou had ordered him to notify Chen Laosan to collect the corpses of Wang Laoshuan's family.

At the time, he had thought Chen Laosan would not survive that ordeal either. He never expected the fellow to have such great fortune and pull through.

"What do you need from me?"

"It's like this. My third uncle used to have an opening at the County Yamen, right? Since that position is sitting vacant anyway, I thought I might as well fill it, rather than let an outsider benefit from it." As he spoke, Chen Luo took out two pieces of broken silver from his pocket and handed them to Jiang Danian.

"How could I take your money?"

Jiang Danian pushed the silver back. After sizing Chen Luo up, he left behind a sentence.

"Wait here for a while. I'll go inside and put in a word for you. The County Yamen is short of Corpse Buriers right now, so there shouldn't be any problem."

Jiang Danian did not think much of the matter. No matter how miserable the work of a corpse burier was, it was still a government job. For many people at the bottom, such an opening was highly sought after. As the nephew of an old friend, he would help if he could.

Jiang Danian was highly efficient. Before long, he came out of the government office holding an appointment document written by the new Secretary. A lowly occupation like corpse burier did not require a Handwritten Note from an important figure like the county magistrate; the Secretary could arrange it.

"It's done."

Jiang Danian handed over the new document.

With this thing, Chen Luo officially had a position on the rolls and became an officially employed member of Qingya County.

It was only because his identity and origins were clean, and because he had records in Qingya County, that he could get into the County Yamen at this time. Otherwise, it would have been somewhat difficult.

"Thank you, Uncle Jiang!"

Chen Luo hurriedly thanked him.

With his identity issue settled, he could now openly go "borrow brains." Sure enough, methods were dead, but people were alive.

As long as one was willing to use one's brain, there were always more methods than difficulties!

"Since you call me Uncle Jiang, it's only natural that I help you. If you get the chance later, remember to tell your third uncle to come back and drink with me."

Jiang Danian patted Chen Luo on the shoulder, then turned and went back into the County Yamen.

He was not actually a yamen runner guarding the gate, but a constable chief.

His yawning at the entrance earlier had merely been slacking off. Now that a junior had come by, he naturally had to straighten up his image.