Blocking the Road

In the governor's office in Luoyang Province, Tianzhong Province.

A middle-aged man sat in the main hall. His features were dignified and imposing, with thick eyebrows slanting up toward his temples. He commanded respect without needing to show anger, and his deep-set eyes were bright and clear.

He stood tall and straight, broad-backed and powerfully built, wearing a crimson round-collared robe and a black gauze hat.

His appearance alone conveyed a righteous, noble bearing. This man was Commander-in-Chief Li, Li Baisheng.

He held a second-rank post, yet was still very young, only thirty-six years old.

"What? Meng Zijiu is dead?" When Li Baisheng heard the news, he could hardly believe it.

"When I arrived, Meng Zijiu's body was mangled beyond recognition. There wasn't a single living person around, and Zhao Chengde was nowhere to be seen."

Zhao Chengde had only one foot in the Martial Saint realm. Even badly wounded, it seemed unlikely that he could kill an old Martial Saint like Meng Zijiu.

"There are still experts among the Righteous Army!" Li Baisheng sighed. He had thought that defeating the Roaming Bandits and surrounding Zhao Chengde would bring this massive rebellion to an end. He hadn't expected Zhao Chengde not only to survive, but to kill one of the imperial court's Martial Saints.

"Commander, should we keep searching for him?"

Li Baisheng shook his head. If Zhao Chengde could kill one Martial Saint, he could kill another. Right now, only he and Commander-in-Chief Hong were Martial Saints in the area. Sending one of them alone would be too dangerous, but if both went, no one would be left in charge here. The remnants of the Roaming Bandits lying low might take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Besides, Martial Saints weren't easy to cultivate. Every one who died was one fewer, and no one could immediately take their place.

"Hold off for now. I'll report this to the court and ask them to send some reinforcements. You may leave; I still have official business to attend to."

To be safe, they would avoid rash action for the time being.

If three more Martial Saints were sent, they could wipe out Zhao Chengde with certainty.

"This subordinate takes his leave."

Li Baisheng leafed through a stack of reports and detailed documents. He'd had so much official business lately—suppressing bandits, restoring order among the people, and everything in between—that his head was beginning to ache.

Just then, he turned to a report from the Commander of the Wuqu Guard.

"Report from the Commander of the Wuqu Guard:

"Having discovered that one of my subordinate Flag Commanders possesses peerless martial talent, I hereby submit the facts for your review..."

After reading the report, Li Baisheng's eyes lit up. It mentioned a heroic young man named Lin Xuan, not yet sixteen, with outstanding martial talent who could already match Hundred-Household and Thousand-Household Commanders in strength.

This talent... why does it sound so much like mine did back then?

"Great Jin has produced another martial prodigy. What a blessing for the nation."

Emperor Chongyan had always regarded the Roaming Bandits as a minor ailment, believing that the foreign enemy, the Qiangqu People, posed the real threat. The reason was that the Roaming Bandits had few Martial Saints, while the Qiangqu had more than Great Jin. That was why Great Jin was at a disadvantage.

The Qiangqu homeland was such a remote, impoverished place; it shouldn't have been able to produce more Martial Saints than Great Jin. Li Baisheng had always wondered how the Qiangqu People managed to raise so many.

Great Jin needed talent badly, especially martial prodigies. Each one meant a greater chance of victory in a war against the Qiangqu People.

Martial Saints were powerful, but they could still be killed. A thousand Bone Binding and Breath-Connecting martial artists forming a battle formation could trap a Martial Saint to death if they were willing to suffer casualties, though the formation would likely lose more than half its fighters.

He picked up his brush and wrote a reply:

"According to the report submitted by the Commander of the Wuqu Guard, a young subordinate Flag Commander possesses exceptional talent and martial potential far beyond the ordinary, making him a rare prodigy in the army. This office has read and acknowledged the report.

"The Commander is hereby instructed to make immediate arrangements and bring the young Flag Commander to the governor's office, where this office will personally examine his martial foundation..."

Two days after setting out, Lin Xuan finally reached Wuqu Province in Thousand-Household Commander Su's covered carriage.

The walls of Wuqu City stretched ten li around, stood ten zhang high, and were ten zhang thick. They looked astonishingly imposing.

They were far taller and thicker than the ancient city walls from his previous life. After all, this was a world of martial arts. The ordinary, thin, low walls of those cities would be utterly defenseless against the charge of martial artists.

Wuqu City was a hub connecting the southern and northern provinces directly under the central government, as well as a military stronghold. It was far grander than Liang City, rivaling the capital cities of some provinces.

"Flag Commander Lin, this is Wuqu Provincial City. It's getting late, so let's hurry inside," Zhang Xiu, Thousand-Household Commander Su's mounted guard, explained to Lin Xuan.

He took out his travel permit and handed it to the archers at the gate.

When Thousand-Household Commander Su had people prepare a carriage for him, he'd also arranged for someone to get a travel permit from the county magistrate. Ordinary merchants and commoners had to offer bribes—"show their respect"—to obtain one.

By now, it was practically impossible to get a travel permit without paying.

This had led to a market in "fake permits." Local officials and clerks would take blank official permits, fill in names and reasons without recording or filing them, stamp them with genuine seals, then secretly sell them at high prices to merchants, salt smugglers, and people who had fled their registered homes.

Though expensive, they were still a bargain compared with "genuine permits"—good quality at a low price.

But Lin Xuan's application had Thousand-Household Commander Su's personal endorsement, so he could get his permit processed immediately without paying anything.

After all, county magistrates came and went, but powerful local families stood firm.

And Thousand-Household Commander Su wasn't just any local strongman. He controlled the armed forces, so the county magistrate had to show him some respect.

With the travel permit in hand, the archers didn't give him any trouble and let Lin Xuan pass straight through.

As soon as he entered the city, Lin Xuan saw plenty of beggars along the street, pleading for alms.

When they spotted his carriage, they hurried over, only to be lashed by Zhang Xiu as soon as they approached.

"Get lost, you blind fools!" Zhang Xiu roared.

The beggars yelped in pain from the whipping.

"There's no need for that. They're just poor people trying to scrape together a meal," Lin Xuan said, hearing the commotion and advising Zhang Xiu.

At his words, the beggars lost their fear; some even came closer.

Zhang Xiu's tone softened. "Flag Commander Lin, you don't know the whole story. These beggars belong to the Beggar Sect. They look strong and healthy, so they're most likely not starving beggars, but wicked members of the Beggar Sect.

"They band together to seize busy places like markets and docks, monopolize begging spots, and beat up outsiders."

"Some even bully small-time merchants and common folk, forcibly taking their food and goods."

When the beggars heard the words "Flag Commander," those who had been thinking of approaching backed away a few paces. He was a junior officer in the army; crippling or killing them would be as easy as breathing. Better not to provoke him.

Hearing this, Lin Xuan couldn't help being surprised. "Oh? Is that really so?"

Zhang Xiu was entirely confident in his judgment. "Of course."

Lin Xuan gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, I was wrong to blame you. You went too easy on them. Next time, use this."

As he spoke, he pulled out his military baton.

Thousand-Household Commander Su had given it to him for self-defense. It was half a zhang long, made of wrought iron, and had a raised knob at each end. It struck no less heavily than an iron hammer.

The beggars who had been gathering to beg saw Lin Xuan tell Zhang Xiu to beat them with such a thick metal baton and scattered like startled birds.