Entering the Mountain

In his previous life, Fang Ming had only been an ordinary liberal arts student. He knew little more than the barest smattering about the way of controlling subordinates, remembering only phrases like "rewards and punishments must be clearly distinguished" and "give a stick, then a sweet date." Now that he had been forced into the position, he could only feel his way forward himself. He had not used Earth Escape to go far, instead hiding nearby to observe the results. Seeing his subordinates gradually become one cohesive group filled him with delight, and he knew his crude methods had some use after all.

At that moment, he suddenly felt something. Following a line of faith, he saw a scene.

After laboring all day, He Song returned home. Looking at the house with scarcely any furnishings, he recalled his former days of hardship and could not help shuddering. He thought, I have always considered myself talented, yet I was never given an opportunity. Now that an opportunity has fallen from the sky, just as Su Hu said, how could I be willing to accept it if I did not give it a try?

Then he thought, When it comes to learning and talent, I fear no one. Unfortunately, in this matter, the words of He Uncle's family carry the most weight. As for kinship, though, I am far down the line. The only plan now is to pray for divine protection to aid my Fortune!

Without further hesitation, he went to the corner of the wall and dug out the money he had painstakingly saved. He spent it all on incense and offerings, arranged them in his home, lit the incense, and bowed reverently as he prayed, "This believer, He Song, offers a sincere bow. I beg the Land God to help me obtain the post of Court Clerk. If this matter succeeds, I shall never forget Your Divinity's great grace!" The god statue atop the offering table looked solemn and imposing, as if it were watching him. Fang Ming was startled, and when he looked again at He Song's Fortune, he found something else astonishing.

He Song's innate aura was still white tinged with red, the highest among his current believers. Yet when Fang Ming had seen him before, there had only been a strand of innate aura above his head, with no Fortune to speak of. That was why he had been trapped in a small village, unable to put the talents in his heart to use.

In Fang Ming's view, innate aura determined the highest point a person could reach in the future, while Fortune determined one's current standing. The two complemented one another; neither could be lacking.

He Song possessed an innate aura white suffused with red, meaning that at his highest, he could attain an official post of Principal Eighth Rank. But without Fortune, he was like a fish without water. Hardship was the least of it—if he happened to hit a low tide in Fortune and then encountered disaster, he would meet Xie Jin's fate.

But now, there was already a small cluster of white aura above his head, gently rippling. It had reached the level of Fortune for a minor clerk, and his complexion had improved greatly. His rise was right before his eyes. Fang Ming knew that this time, he had a twenty to thirty percent chance of becoming a Court Clerk, and even if he failed to get his wish, he could still enter officialdom by other means.

As the worship continued, a stream of Incense and Fire Prayer Power was absorbed by the divine office talisman, refining three threads of white Divine Power. With a wave of his hand, Fang Ming injected one thread of Divine Power into He Song's body, forming a defense. Looking carefully now, he discovered that the Divine Power protecting He Song's body was already brimming to the fullest, turning into a circle of white light that shielded him. As this thread of Divine Power entered him, the white light brightened by a fraction, while the Fortune above He Song's head also increased by a fraction. Fang Ming suddenly understood. What was Fortune? Fortune was power! So long as one could grasp power, one had Fortune. The greater the power, the stronger the Fortune. That was why money brought Fortune, official rank brought Fortune, military authority brought Fortune, and Divine Power protecting the body also brought Fortune.

He Song could be considered his major client, producing the most Divine Power each day. Fang Ming had already returned more than sixty threads of Divine Power to him. The Divine Power had turned into a halo that protected his body, and with so much Divine Power guarding him, He Song had indirectly grasped power. Thus Fortune was born. Combined with his innate aura, it could better retain that Fortune and keep it from dissipating, saving it for future use.

For example, if He Song went out with the villagers and encountered an attack by a large group of ghosts, he could survive by relying on the Divine Power protecting his body. Compared to the villagers who died, who had greater Fortune? Naturally, it was he! Thus, those protected by Divine Power would naturally generate Fortune. In Fang Ming's previous life, those who sincerely worshipped Orthodox Gods would see their luck improve; that was the growth of Fortune. Otherwise, why would there be a saying that when luck turned bad, one should go worship the gods? Of course, worshipping evil gods would instead cause one's Fortune to drain away.

In this world, changes in energy were easier to manifest. Yet the Fortune increased by Divine Power worked silently and imperceptibly, in the most minute fashion. He Song had accumulated it for nearly two months before it was noticed. After all, Fang Ming had so many matters to handle every day—how could he carefully watch every single person's Fortune?

Having understood the causes and effects of Fortune, Fang Ming began considering He Song's matter again.

He Song still had fifty-six threads of Divine Power remaining in his account, but that was nowhere near enough to handle this matter. The Fortune of a minor clerk was two levels below that of a Court Clerk, a difference of roughly four or five times in quantity. In other words, Fang Ming would need to grant He Song around three hundred threads of Divine Power before the Fortune above his head matched that of a Court Clerk. Then the matter would be more or less settled.

That meant lending He Song over two hundred threads of Divine Power, no small sum indeed. Fang Ming had spent only about that much when taking in Xie Jin's group. They were also entering the mountain tomorrow to suppress bandits, and Divine Power was precious; he had to save it in case of emergencies. By the previous rules, this matter could not be done. But on second thought, there seemed to be a turn for the better.

He summoned He Dong, explained the matter, and asked, "You were previously the county's Court Clerk and know the situation well. Do you think He Song has a good chance this time?"

The moment He Dong entered and heard the question, bitterness filled his heart. It had originally been his own family's position, but alas, his descendants had been unfilial. Still, since his superior had asked, he had to force a smile and say, "Forgive this subordinate for speaking plainly. My wife has always disliked He Song and will not speak for him. He Song also has no money to grease the wheels. Only County Magistrate Wei Zhun values talent, so there is still a ten or twenty percent chance!"

After speaking, he looked at Fang Ming again and said, "Of course, if my lord is willing to favor him, then this matter will be ten chances out of ten, without the slightest doubt!"

Fang Ming smiled, his voice crisp as he said, "That will not do. You manage the accounts as well, so you should know that He Song's incense offerings are insufficient for such a wish. Once we open this precedent, it will be difficult to manage matters later!"

He Dong nodded repeatedly, knowing that his lord was exceptionally shrewd and attentive to rules. He kept detailed records of the villagers' incense offerings, and if their incense was insufficient, their wishes would not be granted.

Then Fang Ming said, "However, little incense has its own little-incense method. Tonight, I will send him a dream. You will enter it as well, instruct him directly, and point out the connections to him. Also, there is that piece of ancient jade buried west of the village. You said it was quite good and worth one hundred taels of silver—point that out to him too! In that case, how certain will it be?"

He Dong considered it and said, "With that, there will be a fifty to sixty percent chance."

Fang Ming nodded and said, "Then we shall do it that way. Remember to enter it in the accounts: spend one hundred incense offerings, let He Song owe it for now, and make him repay it later!"

He Dong answered with a bitter smile.

As soon as the words fell, Fang Ming saw a great mass of cloud aura appear above He Song's head. This cloud aura was white tinged with red. It did not merge with He Song's own Fortune, but was instead connected to Fang Ming himself. He understood that although he had not directly made the matter succeed, he had intended to lend He Song a helping hand. He Song had borrowed Fang Ming's power, and borrowed power was still power, so it showed within his Fortune.

He Song's current Fortune was not far from that of a Court Clerk, and there was a strong chance that this matter would succeed. If He Song became the Court Clerk of Anchang County, it would naturally benefit Fang Ming. Besides, Fang Ming had asked He Dong to point out the connections to He Song with another meaning in mind: to let him see that even after the former Court Clerk died, he still had to serve under the Land God. That way, once He Song became Court Clerk, he would not grow so smug that he forgot gratitude and betrayed kindness.

That night, after sending He Song a dream, Fang Ming put the matter aside. He returned to the main hall, gathered his subordinates, and discussed the plans for entering the mountain tomorrow to suppress the bandits.

In the main hall, Fang Ming sat firmly in the center, his bearing solemn and imposing, with several subordinates standing on either side.

On the left stood Clerk He Dong and runner Zheng Kuan. Over the past few months, He Dong had handled matters with wholehearted diligence. Fang Ming had seen it all, so he promoted him one rank to Clerk and promised that in the future, he could help him send dreams to his family so they could meet in their dreams. He Dong was immediately moved to tears of gratitude.

On the right, Wang Liulang stood first in line, with Xie Jin directly behind him. Behind them were several squad leaders they had promoted themselves.

In this world, civil officials standing on the left and military men on the right was customary. Fang Ming could not be bothered to change it, so he let them stand accordingly.

He looked to the left. There were only two men, and their innate auras were nothing remarkable, both merely white. On the right, however, talent abounded. Wang Liulang's innate aura was white tinged with red, meaning he could hold official rank. Xie Jin was even more impressive, his innate aura carrying yellow, with the talent of a commandant. The squad leaders behind them were no ordinary men either.

Fang Ming smiled bitterly. He had so few people under him, yet the civil side was weak while the military side was strong. But there was no helping it. The spread of knowledge in this world was heavily restricted; having two such men was already not bad. He wondered whether, in the future, he ought to go out and look around more, perhaps find himself a dog-headed strategist.

At this moment, the main hall was silent. Fang Ming coughed once and said, "My intention is to personally lead the troops into Green Mountain tomorrow to suppress the bandits. Xie Jin, tell us about the situation!"

Xie Jin stepped forward and bowed. There was no trace of alcohol on him now, nor could anyone tell he had ever been drunk. He said, "Reporting to my lord, Green Mountain stretches for a hundred li, winding and twisting. It is a branch of Great Green Mountain. The trees inside grow thickly, making travel extremely difficult, though it presents no obstacle to us. The bandit chief, Peng Chun, is a Vengeful Ghost. He has gathered over a hundred Ferocious Ghosts and a thousand wandering ghosts. I have heard that he can turn Yin Power into weapons. He has over a dozen trusted followers, all with blades and spears, though they have no armor."

Fang Ming nodded. Although a Vengeful Ghost possessed Yin Power, it was not inexhaustible. Being able to conjure more than ten weapons was already quite good. He dismissed Xie Jin, then asked Wang Liulang, "How many soldiers do we have at present?"

Wang Liulang calmly stepped forward and answered, "Reporting to my lord, I have newly formed one fire squad. Once my lord distributes weapons, it can be put to use. We currently have thirty-two officers and soldiers in total, ready at any time to devote our lives to my lord!"

Fang Ming nodded and asked, "In your view, how will victory and defeat fall in this battle?"

Wang Liulang pondered for a moment before saying, "If we can locate them accurately, catch them unprepared, and suddenly strike, those thousand wandering ghosts will surely fall into chaos and be as good as useless. We are thirty against one hundred, but the enemy consists of ordinary fiends, with only a dozen or so possessing weapons. Our side has trained under military law, the soldiers are willing to risk their lives, and we also have leather armor. We should win a great victory! We need only be wary of the bandit chief fleeing after defeat. If he hides in the deep mountains, or simply flees into Great Green Mountain, that will cause big trouble!"

Those words were practical. Guerrilla fighters were the most troublesome of all, and Fang Ming had no desire to be held up by a mere Vengeful Ghost, playing hide-and-seek with it in deep mountains and old forests. So he said, "This is indeed something we must watch for. Remember well: do not let the bandit chief escape!"

Everyone on the right immediately responded, "Yes!"

Fang Ming nodded and asked again, "Among you, how many can use bows?"

Wang Liulang and Xie Jin were both overjoyed. Bows had always been powerful weapons in the military. Wang Liulang said, "My lord has bows? Then we are even more certain of victory in this battle. There are six men in this subordinate's unit who can use them!"

Xie Jin said as well, "There are four in this subordinate's unit!"

Fang Ming was delighted. With a wave of his hand, red light flashed, and ten sets of bows and arrows suddenly appeared on the ground.

"Try them. Are they suitable?"

Wang Liulang stepped forward, picked up a bow, and tested its string. The sound rang clear and bright, and he knew it was a fine horn bow. He picked up an arrow as well. Seeing the gleaming arrowhead and the eagle feathers used for the fletching, he could not help saying, "This bow is excellent!"

Fang Ming laughed heartily. Bows were complex in structure and could not be replicated with white Divine Power. Ever since obtaining red Divine Power, he had experimented many times and finally made bows and arrows, as well as iron armor. However, the iron armor could be kept for now and bestowed upon his commanders later.