Into the Mountains

Fang Ming had only been an ordinary liberal arts student in his previous life. He knew next to nothing about the art of commanding subordinates, remembering only a few phrases like "rewards and punishments must be clear" and "a stick in one hand, a sweet date in the other." Now that he had been driven onto the rack, he could only feel his way forward. He had not gone far with Earth Escape, instead hiding nearby to observe the results. Seeing his subordinates gradually become a cohesive group, he felt great delight and knew his crude method had worked.

Just then, he suddenly sensed something. Following a Faith Line, he saw a scene.

After laboring all day, He Song returned home. Looking at his sparsely furnished house, then recalling the bitter, impoverished days of the past, he could not help shuddering. He thought, I have always believed myself talented, yet I was never granted an opportunity. Now that an opportunity has fallen from the heavens, just as Su Hu said, how could I be willing to accept it if I do not give it a try?

Then he thought, When it comes to learning and talent, I fear no one. Unfortunately, in this matter, Uncle He's family has the most say. As for kinship, I am far down the line. There is only one course left: pray for the gods' protection and let them 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, laid them out at home, lit the incense, and knelt respectfully. He prayed, "This believer, He Song, sincerely bows in worship. I beg the Land God to help me obtain the post of Court Clerk. If this matter succeeds, I will never dare forget Your Divine Grace!" The divine statue on the offering table looked imposing, as if it were watching him. Fang Ming was startled, and when he looked again at He Song's Fortune, he found something even stranger.

He Song's Life-Bound Qi 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 single strand of Life-Bound Qi above his head, with no Fortune to speak of. That was why he had been trapped in a small village, unable to put the talent in his chest to use.

In Fang Ming's view, Life-Bound Qi determined the highest point a person could reach in the future, while Fortune determined one's current position. The two complemented one another; neither could be lacking.

He Song possessed a Life-Bound Qi white suffused with red, meaning he could rise as high as a Principal Eighth Rank official. Yet without Fortune, he was like a fish without water. Mere hardship would have been the least of it; if he happened to hit a low tide in Fortune and then encountered disaster, he would have met Xie Jin's fate.

But now, a small cluster of white qi had appeared above his head, gently fluctuating. It had reached the level of Fortune befitting a minor clerk. His complexion and facial aura had greatly improved, and his rise was right before him. Fang Ming knew that this time, He Song had a twenty to thirty percent chance of becoming a Court Clerk. Even if he could not get his wish, he could still enter officialdom through 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 into He Song's body, forming a defense. Looking closely now, he made a discovery. He Song's protective Divine Power was already filled to the brim, forming a ring of white light around his body. As this thread of Divine Power entered, the white light brightened by a fraction, while the Fortune above He Song's head also increased slightly. Fang Ming suddenly understood. What was Fortune? Fortune was power! So long as one could grasp power, one possessed Fortune. The greater the power, the stronger the Fortune. Thus, wealth brought Fortune, official rank brought Fortune, command of troops 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 become a halo that protected his body, granting him vast amounts of Divine Power's protection. That counted as indirectly grasping power, and so Fortune was generated. Combined with his Life-Bound Qi, it could better retain that Fortune rather than let it scatter, saving it for later use.

For example, if He Song went out with the villagers and encountered an attack by a great swarm of ghosts, he could rely on the Divine Power protecting his body to survive. Compared with the villagers who died, who had greater Fortune? Naturally, it was he! Thus, those protected by Divine Power naturally generated Fortune. In Fang Ming's previous life, those who sincerely worshiped Orthodox Gods would see their luck improve. That was Fortune increasing. Otherwise, why would there be a saying that one should pray to the gods when luck was bad? Of course, worshiping evil gods would instead cause Fortune to drain away.

In this world, changes in energy manifested more readily. Yet the Fortune increased by Divine Power worked subtly and imperceptibly, to an extremely minute degree. He Song had accumulated it for nearly two months before it was noticed. After all, Fang Ming had so many matters to deal with each day. How could he carefully watch every single person's Fortune?

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

He Song still had fifty-six threads of Divine Power 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 nearly certain.

That meant lending He Song more than two hundred threads of Divine Power. It was no small sum. Fang Ming had spent only about that much earlier when taking in Xie Jin's group. Tomorrow, he was to enter the mountains to suppress bandits, and Divine Power was precious. He needed to keep some in reserve for unexpected emergencies. By the previous rules, this matter could not be done. But on second thought, there seemed to be room for a turn.

He summoned He Dong, explained the matter, and asked, "You were previously a county 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 welled up in his heart. It had originally been his own family's position, but his descendants had been unfilial. Still, since his superior was asking, he had to force a smile and say, "Forgive this subordinate for speaking bluntly. 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 hope!"

After speaking, he looked at Fang Ming and added, "Of course, if my lord is willing to favor him, then this matter is ten parts certain! There can be no doubt!"

Fang Ming smiled, his voice crisp as he said, "That will not do. You handle 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 things later!"

He Dong nodded repeatedly, knowing that this lord of his was exceedingly shrewd and valued rules. Fang Ming had meticulously recorded the villagers' incense offerings, and if their offerings were insufficient, he would not grant their wishes.

Then Fang Ming said, "However, small incense offerings have their own way of doing things. Tonight, I will send him a dream. You will enter it as well, personally instruct him and point out the connections he needs. There is also that piece of ancient jade buried west of the village. You said it was quite good, worth one hundred taels of silver. Point that out to him as well! With that, how certain would it be?"

He Dong considered it, then said, "If so, there would be a fifty to sixty percent chance."

Fang Ming nodded. "Then we shall do it this way. Remember to make an entry in the accounts: spend one hundred incense offerings, and let He Song owe it for now. He can make it up later!"

He Dong answered with a bitter smile.

The instant his words fell, Fang Ming discovered that a great mass of cloud qi had appeared above He Song's head. The cloud qi was white tinged with red. It did not merge with He Song's own Fortune, but was instead connected to Fang Ming. Fang Ming knew that although he had not directly made the matter succeed, he intended to lend He Song a helping hand. He Song had borrowed his power, and borrowed power was still power. That was why it showed in his Fortune.

He Song's current Fortune was not much different from that of a Court Clerk. This matter had a great chance of success. If He Song became the Court Clerk of Anchang County, it would naturally benefit Fang Ming. Besides, having He Dong point out the necessary connections to He Song carried another meaning: it would let him see that even a former Court Clerk had to serve under the Land God after death, lest He Song become smug, forget favors, and turn ungrateful after taking the post.

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

In the main hall, Fang Ming sat steadily in the center, his bearing imposing, while several subordinates stood on either side.

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

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

In this world, civil officials stood on the left and military officers on the right by custom. 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 Life-Bound Qi was nothing remarkable, both merely white qi. On the right, however, talent was gathered in abundance. Wang Liulang's Life-Bound Qi was white tinged with red, and he could hold official rank. Xie Jin was even more outstanding, with yellow in his Life-Bound Qi, possessing the talent of a military captain. The squad leaders behind them were likewise no ordinary men.

Fang Ming smiled bitterly. He had only this handful of people under him, and the civil side was weak while the military side was strong. But there was no helping it. Knowledge was severely restricted in this world, and having two civil talents was already decent. He wondered whether he ought to go out and look around more in the future, perhaps find himself a dog-headed strategist.

At that moment, the main hall was silent as a grave. Fang Ming cleared his throat and said, "My intention is to personally lead the team into Green Mountain tomorrow to suppress the bandits. Xie Jin, tell us about the situation!"

Xie Jin stepped out and saluted. There was no trace of alcohol on him now, and one could not tell that 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. Dense trees grow within, making travel extremely difficult, though it poses no obstacle to us. The bandit leader, Peng Chun, is a Vengeful Ghost. He has gathered more than a hundred Ferocious Ghosts and a thousand wandering ghosts. I have heard that he can use Yin Power to form weapons. He has more than ten trusted followers, all with blades and spears, but none have armor."

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

Wang Liulang stepped forward calmly and answered, "Reporting to my lord, I have newly formed one fire. We only await the weapons to be issued by my lord before they can be put to use. We now have thirty-two soldiers in total, ready at any time to serve my lord!"

Fang Ming nodded and asked, "In your view, how will victory and defeat go this time?"

Wang Liulang pondered briefly, then said, "If we can locate them accurately, catch them unprepared, and suddenly strike out, those thousand wandering ghosts will certainly fall into chaos and be as good as useless. We number thirty against their hundred, but they are ordinary fiends, with only a dozen or so carrying weapons. Our side has trained under military law, the soldiers are willing to risk their lives, and we have leather armor. We should win a great victory! We need only beware the bandit leader fleeing after defeat. If he hides in the deep mountains, or simply escapes into Great Green Mountain, that will be great trouble!"

Those words were practical. Guerrilla fighters and the like were the most troublesome. Fang Ming had no desire to be dragged around by a mere Vengeful Ghost, playing hide-and-seek in the deep mountain forests. He said, "This is indeed something we must watch for. Remember it well: do not let the bandit leader escape!"

The people on the right immediately answered, "Yes!"

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

Wang Liulang and Xie Jin were both overjoyed. Bows had always been lethal weapons in the army. Wang Liulang said, "My lord has bows? Then we have even greater confidence in this battle. Six men in this subordinate's ranks can use them!"

Xie Jin also said, "Four men in this subordinate's ranks can use them as well!"

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 the string. Its sound was clear and ringing, and he knew it was a fine horn bow. He picked up an arrow next. 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 had complex structures and could not be replicated with White Divine Power. Ever since he obtained Red Divine Power, he had experimented many times and finally made bows and arrows, as well as iron armor. The iron armor, however, could be kept for now and bestowed upon commanders later.