Lu Xingshi headed to Jiangnan alone.
It had to be said, Jiangnan was indeed prosperous. Good thing Langya Pavilion had vast family wealth and only one Young Pavilion Master—otherwise, with prices this high, Lu Xingshi could only have relied on his legs.
"Tut, tut, listening to music in the pleasure quarters..." Lu Xingshi glanced at the brothel from afar, but did not go in.
This was not something a country bumpkin from the wilderness like him could appreciate. They recited poetry, composed couplets, and sang songs, while he wanted to see long pale legs and suggestive displays. It was simply vulgar beyond measure. Mainly, he could not see any of it. They sold their art; selling their bodies... that required either spending money or having talent.
After looking at his genderless Martial Arts Game Character body, Lu Xingshi decisively gave up on the idea.
In the end, he could only curse, "Trashy half-finished game."
Only after Lu Xingshi arrived in Jiangnan did he learn that the Prince of Wu had already conquered the whole of Jiangnan. What came next was... extricating himself from Jiangnan's chaotic mess.
To put it simply, everything Lu Xingshi saw along the way felt deeply fractured. War and prosperity existed side by side, creating a rather absurd sensation.
At the same time, the Prince of Wu's entire faction had been dragged into a quagmire, leaving it without enough strength to expand outward.
When the Prince of Wu first raised his army, his original intention had naturally been to march north from Jiangnan all the way to the Capital and Purge the Emperor's Entourage. It was a fine plan, but there was one problem: he wanted everything.
He wanted to Purge the Emperor's Entourage, but he also wanted to absorb Jiangnan's scholars, laying the groundwork for ascending the throne and controlling the Imperial Court in the future.
Thus, he naturally took in a great number of Jiangnan scholars as administrators. Ordinary commoners could not even read, and training them would take far too long, so he could only make do.
This measure swiftly caused the Prince of Wu's power to swell, and he even took control of Jiangnan. Yet the problem was equally obvious: Jiangnan and the Capital mirrored one another from afar, directly blocking the Prince of Wu's path toward the Capital.
He could carve out a domain for himself, but he could not Purge the Emperor's Entourage.
As for the solution, Lu Xingshi knew it as well. Nothing more than turning the current Emperor into the Late Emperor, deposing the Crown Prince, then welcoming the Prince of Wu into the palace to ascend the throne.
He would transition directly from a regional prince into a puppet Emperor, the entire process flowing as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water.
The Prince of Wu had discovered this situation too. When greed took hold, he felt he could turn the tables and kill his opponent instead. In truth, that was only an illusion.
Now, however, he was entangled too deeply. If he tried to cut away the rot, he might sever a major artery.
It would not necessarily kill him, but weakness was inevitable. The Prince of Wu did not dare do so at this point, and so the situation continued to be gradually devoured.
After learning these matters, Lu Xingshi headed straight for the Prince of Wu's Estate.
He was not here for political struggles. He was here purely to fight and kill. Once he obtained Kunlun, he would put in an appearance without putting in any effort and coast along.
As for helping the Prince of Wu enter the Capital, if the man made no move within a year, Lu Xingshi intended to run.
The other man could not stay still for the rest of his life and expect Lu Xingshi to work for him forever. He did need Kunlun, but now that he had the North Sea, he did not necessarily need Kunlun.
After submitting his calling card, Lu Xingshi did not get to meet the Prince of Wu directly. He noticed that quite a few people from the martial world had come here.
"Another one here to pledge allegiance to the Prince of Wu?" The steward sized Lu Xingshi up, then said, "The accounts office is short one accountant. Would you be willing to lower yourself to the position?"
"Huh? Me, in the accounts office?" Lu Xingshi was somewhat dumbfounded. He had heard that army cooks could be formidable fighters, but he had never heard that accountants could fight well too.
Not everyone who did accounts was Lu Qinghou, capable of becoming the Guanzhong Hero.
"If you are dissatisfied, there are no other suitable positions in the estate for you to lower yourself to." Believing Lu Xingshi was unhappy, the steward explained.
"I can do it. I know quite a bit about keeping accounts too." Lu Xingshi did not question it and agreed outright.
Keeping accounts was no great problem. It was far better than fighting and killing.
In any case, it was their arrangement, not his own choice.
Lu Xingshi understood that they did not consider him a martial artist. Mainly because once he concealed himself, after Return to Simplicity, he bore no traces of martial training and looked more like a scholar.
Recently, it was not only martial artists who had come to seek refuge with the Prince of Wu. Large numbers of scholars had come as well.
In their eyes, Lu Xingshi belonged to a poor scholarly family.
"Then may I ask when I will be able to meet the Prince of Wu?" Lu Xingshi asked.
He was still waiting to obtain Kunlun. He did not want to truly waste a year here, only to meet the man when he was about to leave.
"I fear it will take some time yet." Even the steward did not know. The Prince of Wu was very busy now, and meeting him was not so easy.
In his eyes, Lu Xingshi was merely an ordinary person. It would not be easy for him to rise through the ranks.
"Alright, then." Lu Xingshi did not press further. He could not possibly take the initiative—why create work for himself for no reason?
He wanted Kunlun, but he did not want to work. If the Emperor truly had sincerity, he should have the Inner Guard send Kunlun directly to Langya Pavilion. Then, without saying anything else, Lu Xingshi could guarantee that within ten days, the Prince of Wu would fight his way from Jiangnan to the Capital and sit upon the Emperor's throne.
He would not even mind serving as an executioner. Whoever objected would be killed, ensuring that the Imperial Court became a place where the Prince of Wu's word was law.
Unfortunately, the Emperor had first tried moral coercion, then temptation with benefits, and had not even offered a deposit. Going by this pattern, he would probably make Lu Xingshi help the Prince of Wu fight all the way to the Capital before giving him Kunlun. How could Lu Xingshi possibly have any motivation then?
Not to mention that Kunlun had originally been Langya Pavilion's Divine Weapon, paired with "Eternal Life."
Of course, Lu Xingshi had not insisted upon getting it back after it was lost. But using Kunlun as both a threat and bait to make him work was truly disgusting, especially when he had previously helped Great Song hold Tiange Pass and repel the Barbarians.
Lu Xingshi had his own likes and dislikes. He was not a real player who would go scampering off just because he was given a quest.
"The salary is one tael of silver per month, with food and lodging included. You will have seven rest days every month. If you have a wife and children, you may bring them to live at the estate as well." The steward explained the terms to Lu Xingshi.
"I am alone. I have no wife or children." After hearing it, Lu Xingshi found it to be a well-paid job, with seven days off each month.
However, because this was the Prince of Wu's Estate, it only paid one tael per month.
Afterward, the steward brought Lu Xingshi to the accounts office and arranged his meals and lodging. In this regard, there was no arrogance or deliberate suppression.
To become a steward at the Prince of Wu's Estate, one still needed the corresponding professional standards. Vile servants were, after all, a minority. Otherwise, if wicked people were everywhere, even the Prince of Wu would not be able to stand it.
After all, reputation was still useful.
"If there is anything else you are lacking, you may go to the front residence and find me or another steward. If it can be provided for you, we will not withhold it." The steward added this final instruction.