A Solution

"As expected, it's sealed off."

Chen Luo secretly observed for a long time and finally found the person responsible.

It was a withered old man, hidden like him in a tree, concealed by the color of his clothes, making him completely undetectable to ordinary people. Although Chen Luo's realm was still Bone Forging, after absorbing the light blue energy, his strength was already comparable to a regular Grandmaster. The old man hadn't reached the Grandmaster realm yet, so naturally, he couldn't escape his perception.

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

He found this area was also guarded, with large armies blocking the way and experts hidden in the shadows.

This was just the entrance to the valley; the situation inside was even less clear, and rushing in rashly would be unwise.

After a night of observation, Chen Luo discovered over a dozen hidden sentinels.

These were all Jianghu experts, powerful individuals who had mastered Internal Qi, including three in the Bone Forging Realm. These were just the ones he sensed; there might be even stronger Grandmaster experts hidden in the dark.

This was the power of the Imperial Court; the number of experts was far beyond what the common folk could match.

Experts who were rarely seen in Qingya County before were now everywhere in the valley, like dogs.

After confirming that the valley could not be infiltrated, Chen Luo had no choice but to return home.

What a shame about those few brains.

As he left, Chen Luo looked back. The bodies of the Jianghu wanderers below had already been cleared, leaving him no chance to pick up any scraps.

Back in the village.

It was almost dawn. Chen Luo, as usual, performed a round of cultivation at sunrise.

Another wisp of 'Formless Energy' accumulated in his body. After so many days of breathing exercises, the slight improvement brought by this method had disappeared. The digestion speed of the light blue energy was also getting slower and slower, to the point where it was now accumulating in his body, blocking many meridians.

"This can't go on."

Chen Luo pondered a way out. One Royal Family Brain was clearly not enough; he could only use it for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea each day. Using it more would tire the brain and cause it to automatically fall asleep.

This weak attribute seriously affected Chen Luo's 'Immortal Cultivation plan'.

"I need to find a way out."

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Luo's gaze turned towards the location of Qingya County.

If he couldn't go in secretly, he would go in openly.

Chen Luo had an idea.

The sun was high in the sky.

At the entrance of the Qingya County Yamen, Jiang Danian yawned sleepily. No matter how the people above changed, the people at the bottom like them wouldn't change much. The rotation of county officials didn't affect their slacking off below; whoever came, they were the ones who had to do the work.

Jiang Danian was in this state now, earning so little money each month that there was no need to work too hard; he just muddled through life.

When Qingya County was in distress before, he almost lost his life. Fortunately, he was lucky and survived by hiding in the cellar of a widow's house. Later, when the new official sent by the Imperial Court arrived, the constables who survived went back to their posts. Now that there were troops stationed, the public order in Qingya County was completely stable.

The only regret was that many familiar faces were gone, and his frequent haunt, Little Peach Red, was also gone. He heard she died that night, killed by the 'Rebels'. Jiang Danian even shed a few tears over this.

It wouldn't be so easy to find such a cheap prostitute again. The new girls who emerged were too expensive. He had only been there once, which resulted in him having to eat watery food now.

"Uncle Jiang! I've come to see you."

A voice suddenly rang out, startling Jiang Danian.

"Is it Old Chen's eldest nephew?!" Jiang Danian remembered Chen Luo's identity.

He didn't have many drinking buddies, and Chen Laosan was one of them. When Jiang Danian used to go out drinking, he often called Chen Laosan along. They carried guns together, worked together, and had a great time.

After the incident in Qingya County, Chen Laosan disappeared. Now, when he went out drinking alone, he felt the wine was bland and tasteless, and he didn't even have a friend to pay the bill.

Finding friends with similar tastes wasn't that easy.

"Why did you come back alone? Where's your Third Uncle?"

As he spoke, Jiang Danian specifically looked behind Chen Luo, but he didn't see Chen Laosan's figure.

"My Third Uncle went to Yanhu County. I just came back alone today to take a look."

Chen Luo explained with a smile.

His purpose for coming to find Jiang Danian was simple: to apply for the position of undertaker in Qingya County through him.

If he couldn't go in secretly, why not go in openly! If it were somewhere else, he might need to rack his brains, but this was Qingya County, and he and his uncle were local insiders.

When he came over in the morning, he had already inquired. The undertakers working in the sealed-off area were also transferred from Qingya County.

"Went to Yanhu County? Why didn't he come back to Qingya County? It's very safe here now with the army stationed." Jiang Danian was a little dissatisfied.

If Chen Laosan went to Yanhu County, didn't that mean he would never have a drinking buddy again?

"Third Uncle is old and was a bit frightened by the last incident, so he retired early." Chen Luo casually made up an excuse for Chen Laosan. Anyway, with a lot of silver in his hands, Chen Laosan wouldn't be coming back to be an undertaker in the future.

"Retired, huh? That's a shame."

Jiang Danian felt a little regretful, but he could understand. Undertakers were different from them as constables; the risk was too high. He still remembered the last time Prefect Lou asked him to inform Chen Laosan to collect the bodies of Wang Laoshuan's family.

That time, he almost thought Chen Laosan wouldn't survive this ordeal, but unexpectedly, the guy was lucky and made it through.

"What do you need me for?"

"It's like this, my Third Uncle used to have a vacancy at the County Yamen, didn't he? I thought since this position is empty anyway, I might as well fill it, so it doesn't go to an outsider." 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 money back, sized up Chen Luo, and then said,

"Wait here for a bit. I'll go inside and speak for you. The county yamen is currently short on undertakers, so there shouldn't be any issues."

Jiang Danian didn't think much of it. No matter how grim the job of an undertaker was, it was still a government position. For many people at the bottom, such a vacancy was quite sought after. As the nephew of an old friend, he was happy to help if he could.

Jiang Danian was very efficient. In just a moment, he came out of the yamen, holding the appointment document written by the new secretary. For a lowly profession like undertaker, the prefect, a figure of importance, didn't need to personally write the document; the secretary could arrange it.

"It's done."

Jiang Danian handed over the new document.

With this, Chen Luo was officially on the payroll and considered an employee of Qingya County.

This was only possible because his background was clean and he had a record within Qingya County. Otherwise, it would have been somewhat difficult to get a job in the county yamen at this time.

"Thank you, Uncle Jiang!"

Chen Luo quickly expressed his gratitude.

Once his identity issue was resolved, he could openly go and 'borrow brains'. Indeed, methods are static, but people are flexible.

As long as you are willing to use your brain, there are always more solutions than problems!

"Since you call me Uncle Jiang, of course I have to help you. If you have time in the future, remember to tell your Third Uncle to come back and drink with me."

Jiang Danian patted Chen Luo's shoulder and turned back into the county yamen.

He wasn't a gate-guarding constable, but a constable.

He had just been slacking off by yawning at the entrance. Now that a junior had arrived, he naturally had to straighten up his image.