The second scripture scroll, Perish with the Sun!

[Spirit Wandering Temple]

Chen Haoyan had already shed his official robes from the county office and changed into close-fitting martial attire. A black cloth masked his face, leaving only a pair of eyes as sharp as a hawk's exposed.

Figures flashed around him, gleaming brilliantly, reflecting sunlight in dazzling golden rays that blurred his vision. Each carried a weapon—sabers, spears, staffs, or clubs—and as they wheeled and shifted, rolling killing intent surrounded Chen Haoyan.

"What a fine [Bronze Man Formation]."

Chen Haoyan murmured in admiration, "I've long heard that the bronze guardians of [Spirit Wandering Temple] are extraordinarily wondrous. Once they form their array, they can fight a hundred men, and even a Martial Master would struggle to break through."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just then, the wind abruptly rose. Together with the sunlight reflected off the bronze men, it made Chen Haoyan's vision flicker, and his eyes involuntarily narrowed.

Yet in that very instant, the previously motionless bronze men erupted into action. Their weapons struck viciously from every direction, smashing toward Chen Haoyan with force no weaker than a martial artist at external arts perfection like Xie Shi. They truly had the might to split stone and shatter steles.

Facing this attack, Chen Haoyan neither dodged nor retreated.

He tensed his muscles and bones, and strands of blood-red force immediately seeped from his pores, weaving together into a protective layer around him.

Boom!

The bronze men's weapons smashed into the blood-red force, only to rebound like eggs striking stone. They flew backward on the spot, failing to harm so much as a hair on Chen Haoyan.

The next second, Chen Haoyan took the huge bow from his back and grasped nine arrows. In the flash of a spark, he fired nine consecutive shots in every direction!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With each arrow fired, a visible white ripple exploded as the bowstring snapped back. With nine arrows loosed together, the successive ripples overlapped.

At a glance, it looked as though a towering wave had risen from level ground. These were shock waves born from the ruptured air barrier, making the arrows themselves impossible to see. By the time the bronze men heard the explosive crack of arrows tearing through the air, the shafts had already struck their chests!

In the blink of an eye, the [Bronze Man Formation] was broken!

Chen Haoyan possessed tremendous strength, enhanced by inner force, and had used Black-Iron Armor-Piercing Arrows besides. Even though each bronze man weighed over a thousand jin, they were sent flying backward.

Seizing this opportunity, Chen Haoyan immediately sprang forward and sprinted.

The bronze men are impervious to blades and spears. Those nine arrows could drive them back, but couldn't hurt them. Once they recover, they'll immediately reform the array.

Then he would be surrounded again.

Those nine shots had looked effortless, but he had actually poured everything into them. He could not sustain such explosive bursts for long.

"Now!"

Chen Haoyan moved like lightning, charging toward a direction he had selected long before. He passed through streaks of dazzling golden light without encountering a single bronze man blocking his path.

His view suddenly opened up, and his spirits rose.

As expected, I wasn't mistaken. This [Bronze Man Formation] isn't flawless. It has an enormous opening—there are no bronze men guarding this direction!

After escaping the [Bronze Man Formation], Chen Haoyan dared not delay. He immediately looked around, surveying the [Spirit Wandering Temple] before him.

The secret medicine of eternal youth... where is it?

Everyone knew that the Transcendents and occult practitioners entrenched throughout the prefectures, commanderies, and counties received such favorable treatment from the court because they could refine medicines of eternal youth.

This was no absurd claim.

The reigning emperor was already over a hundred and twenty years old. Even a legend of the martial world would have become decrepit at such an age.

Yet the emperor remained vigorous, able to bed ten women in a night without flagging.

This was the work of those Transcendents and occult practitioners. Their secret life-extending medicines had allowed the reigning emperor to repeatedly surpass his allotted lifespan and live to this day.

That was precisely why Chen Haoyan had come.

Which building is the alchemy chamber?

Chen Haoyan's piercing gaze swept rapidly over the many rooms within [Spirit Wandering Temple]. His nose twitched, and in an instant, he identified the room with the strongest medicinal fragrance.

Bang!

Smashing the door open, Chen Haoyan charged straight inside. An enormous alchemical furnace greeted his eyes, surrounded by row after row of wooden shelves laden with porcelain bottles of every description. Small written labels marked the bottles, and a powerful medicinal fragrance struck him full in the face.

Which one is the medicine of eternal youth?

Forget it... take them all!

The bronze guardians were pursuing him from behind after reforming their array. With no time to think, Chen Haoyan stripped off his martial attire and swept every porcelain bottle into it.

Immediately afterward, he leaped into the air.

With a tremendous crash, he broke through the alchemy chamber's ceiling. Unleashing his inner force, he stepped through the air as though walking on solid ground, about to escape to safety.

But just then—

"Pity the people of this world, so burdened with suffering."

Having relaxed for a moment at his apparent success, Chen Haoyan's pupils abruptly contracted. All he could see was a lotus blossoming before his eyes.

No!

The next second, Chen Haoyan's gaze suddenly became dazed.

The lotus descended to deliver all living beings. Amid the scattering lotus blossoms, Chen Haoyan seemed to see a compassionate, holy woman walking toward him.

The rich scent of incense filled his nostrils.

He had never experienced this before, but had read of it in the files of the Capital Divine Constables' Bureau. At the time, he had considered it nonsense fabricated by local officials to evade responsibility.

Only now did he understand.

Those weren't invented ghosts and gods, but real beings?

[Liansheng Bodhisattva]... alive!?

[Morgue].

Wang Ping appeared once more, his gaze immediately falling on the towering book before him. He watched as the golden, radiant volume turned another page.

[Scroll three: Empty]

[Awaiting inclusion].

At the sight, Wang Ping's face lit up with delight. Soon, however, he noticed something amiss. The [Lotus Blade] plus the Dragonrise County Seal, and only one page had turned?

Or could it be...

The next second, the pages flipped backward, revealing a sight that astonished Wang Ping. The second page of the [Peace Scripture] had changed.

Countless words had appeared on the formerly empty page.

In a daze, Wang Ping seemed to see a scene.

It was a village much like the Former Village of his past, but now it was rather chaotic. Constables from the county office were going from household to household, asking questions.

Soon, he learned the answer.

These county constables were checking household registrations, measuring farmland, and reassessing taxes. They claimed this was a tremendous blessing that benefited the state above and the common people below.

Then he saw a constable being led by a farming family to a small plot of farmland, only about one mu from end to end. The head of this farming household was a gray-haired old man, who said with an ingratiating smile, "Sir, this is the land the court allotted us."

"About a mu and a half."

"A mu and a half?"

Hearing this, the constable glanced at the farmland before him, then shook his head. "That must be wrong. The official register I have says there should be eight mu here."

"Huh? Eight mu?"

The old man froze at those words, then hurriedly asked, "Could there be a mistake? You can see for yourself, sir. This is all the land my family has."

"That's none of my concern."

The constable's tone was calm. "It's written in black and white in the official register, so it certainly can't be wrong. Your family must be concealing farmland. Did you think you could hide it from us?"

"How could we possibly! Sir..."

Ignoring the old man's wails, the constable said indifferently, "Enough. Hurry up and fetch the grain. Remember, the autumn tax for eight mu of land must be paid in full!"

After speaking, he glanced at the old man, then at the young man and boy behind him, and continued, "Also, by order of the court, each household may contain only a father and son from now on. You have three generations here, don't you? Your grandson will have to be separated out and counted as a new household."

The old man still looked bewildered. "Wh-what does that mean?"

The next second, the constable rested his hand on the Ox-Tail Saber at his waist and said softly, "It means that for this autumn's tax, you must pay for two households."

"What!?"

"Sir! Have mercy, sir..."

"This is the last little bit we have! You can't take it!"

The scene cut off abruptly. When Wang Ping looked again, he saw wagon after wagon loaded to the brim with grain being transported into Longxing County.

Then the scene changed again.

This time, Wang Ping finally arrived somewhere familiar. It was the county office's inner courtyard, where two men sat facing each other, drinking tea and talking.

One of them was Chen Haoyan.

At that moment, he was respectfully bowing to the other man, saying quietly, "My lord, this autumn's tax collection was a great success. It even exceeded our expectations!"

"Oh? Truly?"

The other man sounded pleasantly surprised. He raised his head, and only then did Wang Ping see his face. He was a refined-looking middle-aged man.

"How successful? Tell me."

Chen Haoyan immediately recited the details as though counting his own treasures. "This time, we personally visited the countryside and uncovered a hundred thousand mu of concealed farmland and over thirty-eight hundred unregistered households. All have been entered into the new registers."

Having said this, Chen Haoyan looked rather pleased with himself.

"As a result, this year's autumn tax multiplied several times over. To be frank, my lord, we almost ran out of space for the grain wagons brought into town. Every warehouse was packed full. I even had to get the constables under me to work together building several temporary granaries. Only then did we barely manage to store it all."

"Good, good, good! Excellent!"

Hearing this, the refined man clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Entrusting this matter to you was indeed the right choice, Haoyan. Now I can give the court a satisfactory account."

"However..."

At this point, the refined man seemed to remember something else and frowned. "The autumn tax is important, but we mustn't pressure the respectable families in town too harshly."

"Rest assured, my lord."

Chen Haoyan hurriedly explained, "The Lin Household, Chen Household, Liu Household... I've reached agreements with all seventeen respectable families in town. They need only declare a tenth of their farmland."

"After all, most of our county constables come from these respectable families. How could we go too far? For many things, we can simply keep one eye open and the other shut. There's plenty of land outside town. This doesn't violate any laws, either. Relatives shielding relatives isn't a crime under the law!"

Only then did the refined man's expression brighten. "That is for the best."

"You must understand that only by putting the people first in all things can peace prevail beneath heaven."

"Besides, most of these respectable families have practiced martial arts for generations and possess some ability. If trouble broke out, it would only damage the harmony within the county town."

"By contrast, the Blackheads outside town know no martial arts and have no need to eat so much grain. Leaving it with them would be a waste. And they can't even stir up a splash."

"Let them suffer a little more."

Chen Haoyan immediately nodded. "You are absolutely right, my lord. I will be sure to instruct my men properly. We will never commit cruel acts that harm the people and tarnish your upright reputation."

Only then did the refined man smile and nod.

"I can always rest easy when you handle things... As it happens, a position has opened up at the Capital Divine Constables' Bureau. I've already recommended you to fill it."

Chen Haoyan was instantly overjoyed. "Thank you, County Magistrate!"

At this point, the scene shattered completely.

Wang Ping opened his eyes and discovered that he had returned to the space within the [Peace Scripture]. Every word in the towering book before him glowed blood-red.

The county magistrate... so that's it.

He had been wondering why the [Peace Scripture], which should only produce [scripture scrolls] after taking in corpses, had suddenly begun operating.

The answer is simple. It did take in a "corpse."

Only this time, the corpse was not a person, but all of Longxing County.

The Dragonrise County Seal—that precious treasure of the court which, according to Shouchong, contained the incense offerings of the entire county town and the tens of thousands living within and beyond its walls—was Longxing County's corpse.

And what it had produced was [the event that caused Longxing County's death].

The Hundred Officials Seal was the blood of the myriad people.

Within the town, song and dance celebrated peace; beyond its walls, corpses littered the wilderness. The place called Longxing County had died during that autumn tax collection. It simply had yet to breathe its last.

For a moment, Wang Ping suddenly recalled his life two incarnations ago.

Back then, he had just transmigrated and was still an infant. Yet the money his family had saved over most of their lives could not even buy refined rice, and he had nearly been abandoned.

Why had it been like that?

There had clearly been farmland everywhere in the village, with crops growing in every field. When harvest season arrived, gold stretched as far as the eye could see. Why had there still been a grain shortage?

Why couldn't they even afford rice? When hunger became unbearable, they could only dig up wild greens to eat, or have a little unpolished rice. Even that had to be stretched into porridge over three days, with grit added to make them feel fuller... feel fuller, not actually eat their fill.

Why had it been like this?

Walking up to the [Peace Scripture], Wang Ping gently brushed his palm across the page, carefully touching every blood-red word before letting out a deep sigh.

[Scroll two: Perish with the Sun]

[No matter how loudly the weeds cry, they can never shake the sun in the heavens. An oath to burn jade and stone alike is merely one final wail before death.]

So this was why.

The effect of the second scripture scroll, [Perish with the Sun], was simple. In a word, it inflicted a thousand wounds on oneself to deal eight hundred to the enemy, much like a curse.

When I fight a target, every injury they cause me can be recorded by [Perish with the Sun]. Once I feel I've accumulated enough, I can enter the [Peace Scripture]'s space, activate [Perish with the Sun], and bring retribution upon them according to the severity of my injuries.

The strength of that retribution will depend on the gap between me and the target.

At the same level, injuries and retribution will be equal. If I'm stronger, light injuries will bring heavy retribution. If I'm weaker, severe injuries will bring light retribution.

The next second, heaven and earth spun.

The ritual refinement complete, Wang Ping emerged from the [Morgue]. After a moment of silence, he resolutely grasped the Black Chi Bow and Ox-Tail Saber beside him.

Tonight, another downpour fell.

Wang Ping rose and silently left the carriage. His figure vanished into the rain, but his gaze remained fixed on the distant [Spirit Wandering Temple].

"That damned Chen Haoyan actually condemned me to a miserable death..."

But since he had survived, he might as well do something. Besides, this was a life he had already decided to spend. Now that things had come to this, he could follow his heart instead.

"...Consider it repayment."

Wang Ping lowered his eyelids, letting his gaze linger on the record of the [Perish with the Sun] scripture scroll. Then he slowly straightened and let out a long breath.

Judging by its effect, this scripture scroll had a very promising future. It could even become a decisive trump card. He had truly reaped a windfall this time.

So, in repayment for receiving this scripture scroll—

And to vent his anger along the way—

"Chen Haoyan, one of Longxing County's suns. With this life... I'll shoot him down for you!"

Boom!

Beneath the night sky, Wang Ping's figure seemed to overlap with a sudden flash of lightning. Tearing through the torrential rain with a roar like rolling thunder, he swiftly disappeared into the distance.