Recruitment

Zhang Yuan stopped at the sound.

He turned around and saw a man in a fitted martial outfit hurrying after him.

The man looked to be in his twenties, not yet thirty. Dark-skinned and leanly built, his eyes shone with vigor.

He cupped his fists in greeting. "Brother Zhang Yuan, I am Chen Zhize. There is something I would like to discuss with you. Would this be convenient?"

Zhang Yuan asked curiously, "You know me?"

"Only just met you."

Chen Zhize smiled. "I also came for the Patrol Enforcer Examination. Like you, I didn't make it into the third round!"

Understanding dawned on Zhang Yuan. "Then what do you need?"

Chen Zhize gestured invitingly. "Let us sit down and talk at that teahouse over there."

After giving it some thought, Zhang Yuan agreed.

He sensed not the slightest hostility from Chen Zhize, and he guessed that the man had approached him because of his elimination from this Patrol Enforcer Examination.

A large teahouse stood barely a hundred paces from the county yamen. Chen Zhize led Zhang Yuan inside as if he knew the place well, requested a private room, then told the waiter to bring tea.

Only after steaming fragrant tea and four varieties of pastries had been served did Chen Zhize get straight to the point. "Brother Zhang Yuan, since you failed to pass the Patrol Enforcer Examination, what are your plans?"

Zhang Yuan countered, "What advice do you have?"

Rather than answer directly, Chen Zhize asked, "Do you know why you were eliminated even after earning a first-class rating in the strength test?"

Zhang Yuan fell silent for a moment before answering, "Probably because I came from humble origins."

When he had been eliminated during the second-round interview, Zhang Yuan had initially been quite bewildered. He could not understand how his performance in the second round could have been so absurdly poor.

But once he came out, he understood.

The three Patrol Enforcer positions released by the county yamen this time were probably carrot pits reserved for specific carrots!

He was not one of the carrots they had picked, so being eliminated was perfectly normal.

"You knew that too?"

Chen Zhize was quite surprised. Clearly, he had not expected Zhang Yuan, so young and from the bottom rung of society, to understand the mystery behind it.

"I guessed."

Zhang Yuan gave a bitter smile. "But what I don't understand is this: they could have simply recruited people directly into the yamen. Why go through all this trouble?"

"That is a long story."

Chen Zhize picked up the teapot and poured Zhang Yuan a cup of hot tea, then spoke with easy confidence. "Simply put, this is a rule of the Great Qian Dynasty that has existed for a very long time..."

Through his explanation, Zhang Yuan learned that under normal circumstances, any recruitment involving lower-ranking officials, including Martial Positions, had to be carried out through this kind of public recruitment and multiple rounds of assessment.

It had continued for nearly two hundred years now.

It was truly a rule with a long history!

Yet while the original intention behind this rule had been good, when it was actually put into practice, there were plenty of loopholes to exploit.

Cases like Zhang Yuan's, where someone earned first-class marks in the first round only to be eliminated in the second, were everywhere.

There was nothing strange about it at all!

"Those who understand, understand. Most people who come for the examination know what is going on."

Chen Zhize lifted his teacup and took a sip before continuing, "It is nothing more than everyone displaying their own tricks, though there are also some..."

There were also some clueless greenhorns who paid one or two taels of silver to buy themselves a lesson!

Zhang Yuan silently completed the words Chen Zhize had left unfinished.

According to Chen Zhize, these three Patrol Enforcer positions would basically fall into the hands of the legitimate and illegitimate descendants of several major local families, and the final winners would not be lacking in strength.

Someone in Zhang Yuan's circumstances could only first muddle along as a Yamen Runner.

Only after struggling for several years and earning merit, or receiving the favor of some important personage, would he have any hope of becoming a constable!

"Forget it."

Zhang Yuan listened with dwindling interest and shook his head. "This path does not suit me."

A question suddenly occurred to him.

If he truly became a Patrol Enforcer, he would have another shackle placed upon him. Then, whether he wanted to search for extraordinary genetic entities or hunt for Source Essence, it would no longer be as convenient as it was now.

Thinking of it this way, he naturally felt much more at ease.

Chen Zhize keenly noticed the change in Zhang Yuan's expression and suddenly asked, "Brother Zhang Yuan, you know the Raging Whale Gang, don't you?"

Zhang Yuan laughed. "How could I not?"

The Fierce Tiger Gang and the Raging Whale Gang, Linhe County's two great martial underworld powers, were famous to all!

Zhang Yuan even knew that the Raging Whale Gang in Linhe was actually a branch hall. Though it was an outside force, it controlled the county's water and land dock businesses.

Most of those who ran boats and traded goods, fished and dredged sand, or labored at the docks could not escape some connection with the Raging Whale Gang.

The Raging Whale Gang's influence was immense. Even a small branch hall stationed in Linhe County could not be underestimated.

The Fierce Tiger Gang and the Raging Whale Gang were the local serpent and the dragon crossing the river!

In fact, the Raging Whale Gang had a better reputation than the Fierce Tiger Gang, and the former's forces never entered the city, minimizing conflicts with the Fierce Tiger Gang as much as possible.

All along, the two had kept to their own waters and lived in peace.

As for what went on in the shadows, that was beyond the knowledge of a mountain village boy like Zhang Yuan.

His heart stirred. "Could it be that you are from the Raging Whale Gang?"

"That's right!"

Chen Zhize smiled. "Brother Zhang Yuan, you truly are clever. Those old masters at the county yamen must be blind as dogs, unable to recognize jade inlaid with gold!"

Zhang Yuan was almost embarrassed by the praise. "You flatter me."

"Just call me Brother Chen. There is no need to be so formal."

Chen Zhize shook his head. "Brother Zhang Yuan, I will speak frankly. The purpose of my taking part in the Patrol Enforcer Examination today was to recruit talent for the Raging Whale Gang, so that gold would not be buried in dust."

"With your talent and strength, what you lack is merely an opportunity to rise above the rest. And an opportunity like that..."

He forcefully patted his chest. "I can guarantee that our Raging Whale Gang can provide it!"

Zhang Yuan had to admit that this unremarkable-looking Raging Whale Gang member possessed quite impressive eloquence.

If it had been some other teenager, his blood would probably have been boiling by now.

To be honest, Zhang Yuan was a little tempted as well.

Of the four paths for learning martial arts—Military Camp, the yamen, gangs, and martial arts schools—three had already been cut off, leaving only the gangs.

Now that someone from the Raging Whale Gang had come knocking on his door, this counted as an unexpected stroke of fortune.

But having lived two lives, Zhang Yuan would not be easily taken in no matter how brilliantly Chen Zhize spun his tale.

After thinking it over, Zhang Yuan asked, "If I join the Raging Whale Gang, what would I need to do, and what would I gain?"

He did not mind becoming part of a martial underworld gang.

But he had to ask clearly about his rights and obligations!

Chen Zhize immediately perked up.

He had not deceived Zhang Yuan. His reason for participating in the Patrol Enforcer Examination had indeed been to recruit fresh blood for his gang.

And Zhang Yuan, who had earned a first-class rating in the strength test, was undoubtedly the person Chen Zhize thought most highly of!

Seeing that Zhang Yuan was interested, this Raging Whale Gang member carefully explained the benefits and responsibilities of joining the gang, including its rules, in great detail.

He neither embellished nor exaggerated anything. In short, he came across as utterly sincere!