Yamen Runner

A ray of morning light pierced through the darkness, spilling over the magnificent ancient city walls.

The Great Xuan Dynasty had been established for nearly a thousand years, but the bureaucracy was corrupt, and officials were decadent. The faint golden light illuminated this county city, shining on every building, whether grand or dilapidated, but it could not illuminate the dark and decaying hearts of the people.

Chen Mu wore a standard constable uniform, a wide-bladed saber at his waist, walking through the narrow alleys. The pungent smell of blood permeated the air, causing him to frown slightly.

He walked a little further.

He saw seven or eight corpses lying scattered on both sides of the slightly wider road, their conditions extremely tragic. They seemed to have been hacked by random blades, almost unrecognizable. Some blood and flesh were even splattered on the wall of a house on one side.

"Ah, it's the Black Sand Gang. It looks like they've been wiped out this time."

Another constable standing next to Chen Mu sighed and said, "A year ago, no one dared to provoke the Black Sand Gang in this area, but after their boss fell, they declined steadily. Now, even a few kittens have wiped them out."

"Shh, don't talk about it. It's none of our business. Sweep, sweep!"

The third constable made a gesture to silence them, then picked up his tools and stepped forward, preparing to clean the street.

Chen Mu looked at the tragic scene, frowned, but ultimately just shook his head.

Having been in this world for two years, he had seen such scenes more than once. This seemingly magnificent county city was actually a chaotic place filled with turmoil, strife, and slaughter.

Gang fights like this, where entire families are exterminated, were common. Even in the seemingly solemn and majestic 'Inner City', bodies were thrown out every day. They, the constables, were said to be on duty, but in reality, they were only responsible for cleaning up afterward.

Chen Mu had seen a colleague say a few extra words while drunk, and the next day his body mysteriously appeared in a roadside ditch. The superiors didn't care at all, not even asking a single question.

Sweep!

Chen Mu raised his sleeve and fanned it, trying to dispel some of the pungent smell of blood, then followed his colleagues.

In fact, in this chaotic county city, the job of a constable was already considered very good. As long as you didn't talk nonsense, didn't meddle in other people's business, didn't contradict your superiors, and were honest and kept to yourself, you were basically safe, unlike those poor people who lived in fear.

He had to thank his old man, whom he hadn't seen much, for getting him this job as a constable. His father was an old constable and knew some people. When he was seriously ill, he tried to arrange a constable job for him, and then he died.

However.

This constable job ultimately didn't allow 'Chen Mu' to live much longer. Later, he died of a serious illness. The current Chen Mu was no longer the original one, but a soul from Earth, also named Chen Mu, who had inherited this identity.

Although Chen Mu in his previous life was just a small person, he had been struggling at the bottom for many years, so he at least had the ability to observe people's expressions and understand their words. Therefore, even though he had suddenly come to this strange world, he quickly stabilized and spent two years peacefully.

The group went forward and busied themselves, dealing with the corpses separately.

Like the others, Chen Mu pretended to be cleaning while casually groping the corpses... This corpse-searching was basically an unspoken understanding among them constables. Although it was generally difficult to find anything, as any silver would have been taken long ago, if you were lucky, you could occasionally pick up a little something.

For them, the bottom-level constables, even finding a few scattered copper coins was something to be happy about.

Chen Mu groped through the clothes of the corpse he was handling, but it was empty. At the same time, he glanced at his colleague Liu San not far away, who was stuffing something into his pocket.

"How come I never get anything?"

Chen Mu was a little puzzled. He had handled no less than two or three hundred corpses in the past two years, but he had never found any silver. There was almost no money, only two or three times, and the amount was very small, just a few scattered copper coins.

Everyone had an understanding, so he wouldn't ask Liu San what he had found, but it was obvious that he had something.

A little unwilling to accept his bad luck, Chen Mu continued to search his corpse, feeling something strange to the touch, and actually found something, seemingly a small paper booklet.

Chen Mu's heart immediately tightened.

Silver and money could be taken, and valuable pendants like jade pendants could also be taken, but strange things could not be taken casually, especially paper items, as you never knew if they would cause trouble.

But after hesitating for a moment, Chen Mu still lifted it slightly, glancing along the gap at the booklet he had touched. He saw that it was a somewhat tattered yellow paper booklet, and he could vaguely make out the words '...Wind Blade Technique'.

"Hmm."

Chen Mu's heart stirred slightly, but his hands remained still, subtly concealing his movements, and quietly put the booklet away.

If he found ledgers or maps on the corpse, it would be best to pretend he didn't know. Firstly, they would be useless to him, and secondly, they might attract trouble. But if it was a damaged blade technique, it shouldn't be a big problem. It was likely something others didn't want, otherwise the killers would have taken it long ago.

Liu San and the others also noticed Chen Mu's actions, but after exchanging glances, they tacitly refrained from asking.

"Let's go!"

The group busied themselves, moving the corpse onto a small wooden cart, and then pushed the cart towards the outside of the city.

Not far from the north of the city was the burial ground.

Chen Mu, Liu San, Li Liu, and the others transported the corpse all the way to the place, then threw it on the ground. There was no need to bury it. Wild wolves roamed here at night, perfect for feeding the wolves. When they had time, they could hunt a few more and sell the wolf skins for wine.

Of course, the truth was that none of them wanted to stay outside the city for long. Inside the city, their status as constables was somewhat useful, but outside the city, in the chaos of war, no one cared who was who. Staying for an extra quarter of an hour meant an extra bit of danger.

The group hurriedly threw the corpse and returned to the city. Only after entering the city did they all breathe a sigh of relief.

"Chen Er, what do you say, shall we go for a drink together?"

Liu San asked Chen Mu with a smile.

He wasn't actually called Liu San, but his surname was Liu, and his given name was 'Song'. However, he was the third child in his family, so everyone called him that. Chen Mu had an older brother who died young, and he was the second child in the family, so others also called him Chen Er.

"No, thanks."

Chen Mu waved his hand.

Drinking wine, eating meat, and listening to music in brothels were things he certainly wanted to do, but he was really short on money.

The job of a constable was said to be relatively stable, but in reality, they didn't get much money. Most of it was deducted by the officials above, and what they received was barely enough for daily food and drink. If they wanted to splurge a little on a fancy night out, it wouldn't be enough at all.

Moreover, Chen Mu now had a sister who was seven years younger than him, who had to hide at home all day and couldn't go out, which was equivalent to having another person to support, far less comfortable than Liu San and the others, who had relatively good family circumstances.

Liu Song looked at Chen Mu, who was about to leave, and said with a smile, "Chen Er, your sister is almost of marriageable age. How about I help you find a way to marry her off to a wealthy family? At least she'll have no worries about food and clothing in the future, and you'll get a sum of money, and your life will be much more comfortable. What do you think?"

Having been colleagues with Chen Mu for several years, he knew Chen Mu's situation. Back then, Chen Mu's father was seriously ill, and they had spent all their savings to treat him. Now, as a constable, he couldn't get much money, and he had to support a sister who couldn't go out to work. It could only be said that compared to the lower-class poor, he didn't lack food and wouldn't starve, but in other aspects, he was not as well off.

When Chen Mu heard Liu Song's words, a smiling face of an innocent little girl appeared in his mind. He smiled slightly and said, "Let's wait two more years, she's still too young."

When he came to this world, his body was still seriously ill, and only the twelve-year-old Chen Yue was by his side, busy with him, pouring water and feeding him, so that his body slowly recovered.

Although he didn't have the feelings of the previous twelve years, he had already recognized this sister in the two years of getting along. Moreover, even if he had just arrived, it was impossible for him to do something like using her to exchange for money. That kind of behavior was really no different from that of a beast.

"Okay, if you have any ideas, just tell your brother."

Liu Song didn't force it, patted Chen Mu's shoulder with a smile, and then went to drink with Li Liu.

Temporarily separated from Liu Song and the others, Chen Mu walked along the alley, first to the main street, took out ten Xuan coins at the street corner, bought two coarse flour buns, and then went home.

"These prices..."

Chen Mu weighed the few Xuan coins left in his pocket and shook his head slightly.

According to past memories, more than ten years ago, one Xuan coin could buy a bun, but now it had risen to five. It wasn't that the buns had increased in price, but that the Xuan coins were being privately minted and randomly minted, and gradually became worthless.

This directly affected the lowest-level runners like him, because the silver distributed was always calculated according to Xuan coins. Although it had symbolically increased by one string in recent years, it couldn't compensate for the drop in the value of Xuan coins at all.

He didn't know who got the missing portion in the middle.

Soon.

Chen Mu returned to his home in this world.

It was a row of somewhat dilapidated tile and wood houses located on the outskirts of the South District, considered a slum area. Saying it was a row, there were actually only two rooms in total: one was a woodshed for cooking and storing sundries, and the other was a bedroom for living.