Zhang Cheng was in high spirits, with one foot planted on a stool.
He thrust out his chest, straightened his back, pointed, and began to sing:
"Back then, with a horse and a spear, I left my lovely bride, left Shangyang behind, and swore to make my way in the Capital..."
Zhou Yi had lived in Luo Capital for nearly a year and had visited plenty of pleasure houses and brothels. He had not wanted to go, but his colleagues kept extending such earnest invitations.
Social obligations were an unavoidable part of working life.
After hearing and watching so much, he had gained some understanding of Great Qian's opera. A cultivator's ability to remember everything he saw and heard was a miraculous gift for any kind of learning.
Zhang Cheng was singing a local Luo Capital opera. His voice flowed melodiously, rich with lingering flavor, and his skill rivaled the famed performers in the pleasure houses.
The passage came from an opera called "Youthful Journey," supposedly adapted from the founding emperor's youthful adventures: venturing alone into the Capital, fighting corrupt officials and slaying demons, rising from a nameless nobody to a figure whose might shook the Fengyang Kingdom.
Back then, Luo Capital had not belonged to Great Qian. It had been the Capital of the Fengyang Kingdom, one of the many kingdoms on Cloud Continent.
Unexpectedly, as Zhang Cheng's voice faded, Clerk Chen stepped forward, placed his feet in a T-shaped stance, and leaned back slightly.
Clerk Chen struck the pose with practiced precision. He was clearly a regular at the pleasure houses.
"Speak not of those golden halls a hundred feet high, tell not of demons without end. Once I drain the wine within my cup, until the traitor's head is severed-I shall not rest..."
His rendition was no less impressive than Zhang Cheng's, carrying the bearing of a scholarly general.
Their colleagues cheered. Clerk Chen, who had earned his degree through the proper imperial examinations and could discuss poetry and prose, could actually sing pleasure-house opera as well.
As the Ministry of Works' chief merrymaker, Zhang Cheng soon spread the festive mood. Many storehouse clerks and mortuary clerks, unable to resist the aroma of tea, happened to pass by and joined in.
Only now did Zhou Yi realize that the Ministry of Works had over a hundred people-and not everyone had even come.
Most were Qi Refining cultivators between the sixth and fourth grades. The few lower third grade Body Refining cultivators all had powerful connections.
Happy times always passed swiftly and ended all too soon.
By the time everyone dispersed, it was already noon.
Seeing Clerk Chen about to leave, Zhou Yi hurried forward. "Sir, I'd like to take today and tomorrow off."
Clerk Chen nodded his approval. "Understood. Make sure you brief Old Zhang properly, so he doesn't submit chicken scratches again."
Duty at the Ministry of Works continued year-round. Only on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day did they rotate through a single day off; any other leave had to be requested.
Zhou Yi also informed Zhang Cheng, then left the Ministry of Works.
Same Fortune Inn.
Hu Jiuying stood behind the counter. Because she was short, she had a stool beneath her feet.
She held the white fox Feng Ling'er in her arms. With the fox immortal's fur masking her aura, even a Spirit Refining cultivator standing before her would take her for an ordinary pet fox.
The inn was packed with customers. Strangely, none spoke; all were wolfing down fried chicken.
"Granny, what do you think? Here on this little patch of the Capital, my word counts!"
Whatever miraculous medicine Xu Ye had taken, the injuries on his face and right leg had healed overnight.
Hu Jiuying was smiling and about to speak when she spotted Zhou Yi outside the door. Her expression changed, and she waved impatiently.
"Scram, scram, scram! Stop bothering me, or I'll break all three of your legs!"
Xu Ye had no idea how he had offended Hu Jiuying again. Hearing that she would break all three legs, he gave a frightened whistle and ran outside.
The diners rose in a clattering rush, silently filed out of the inn, and formed orderly ranks outside.
"Come back! I'm leaving soon. Since you've served me reasonably well, I'll give you a keepsake."
Hu Jiuying called Xu Ye back and felt around the back of her head. A tuft of silvery-white fox fur appeared in her hand.
Xu Ye took the fur and frowned. "Granny, why are you going gray so young..."
"Scram!"
Hu Jiuying waved her hand. Xu Ye flew backward, knocking over several rows of diners waiting outside.
Xu Ye clambered up with a cry of pain. Seeing Zhou Yi smiling in the doorway, he called out flippantly, "What are you looking at? I'm practicing my lightness skill, understand?"
Zhou Yi shook his head and entered the inn. Hu Jiuying, remarkably quick on the uptake, helped him clear away the bowls and chopsticks.
"Have you found out?"
"Yes. He's been in Fuzhou County all along."
Through Xu Ye's connections, Hu Jiuying had quickly discovered where Feng Zhen held office.
Fuzhou County.
It lay on the eastern edge of Luo Prefecture, beside Yangping Great Lake, whose misty waters stretched for eight hundred li.
County magistrates served three-year terms, after which their performance in the court's assessments determined whether they were promoted, transferred at the same rank, or demoted.
Feng Zhen had passed the provincial examinations, and county magistrate was already the limit of his prospects. With no hope of promotion, he had remained in Fuzhou County through arrangements made by his wife's family.
Fuzhou County was mountainous, with scarcely three feet of level ground. Yangping Lake abounded in water, marshes, and miasma.
The area was sparsely populated and its people poor, placing it among the very lowest class of county seats.
Everyone was happy that Feng Zhen wished to remain in office.
Two streaks of light crossed the sky like meteors in broad daylight.
Some superstitious fishermen on the lake hurriedly clasped their hands in prayer upon seeing them. In Great Qian, falling stars were usually ill omens, heralding war and natural disaster.
The sailors aboard one large vessel saw the meteors growing brighter and brighter. Only when they drew near did they make out a man and a woman.
"Immortal masters! They're immortal masters!"
Cheers erupted across the deck. Immortal masters enjoyed an excellent reputation in Great Qian, where people believed they protected ordinary folk by slaying demons and vanquishing fiends.
The man had a sallow face and frost-white temples. He wore black-scaled armor, with a golden sword-breaker at his waist. His lightning-bright eyes swept across everyone aboard, imposing even without anger.
The woman looked only in her teens, pretty and charming, with a white fox in her arms.
The newcomers were Zhou Yi and Hu Jiuying.
Zhou Yi had used the Body-Shifting Technique to alter his face and build. Both the armor he wore and the golden sword-breaker at his waist were Dharma Artifacts acquired by slaying demonic cultivators.
Hu Jiuying found nothing strange about this. Immortal experts often had eccentric temperaments. As far as she knew, the Fox Immortal Matron herself had assumed male and female identities many times to live in the mortal world.
The boatmen and sailors gathered behind the steward to welcome the immortal masters.
Zhou Yi landed at the bow and asked, "Which direction is Fuzhou County, please?"
After weighing his words, the steward said, "Immortal master, I am Shi Sinian, patrol inspector of the Fuzhou Patrol Inspectorate. May I ask what business brings you to the county offices?"
A patrol inspector was a subordinate ninth rank official, barely qualifying as an official of Great Qian.
"So I have the patrol inspector before me. Why are you dressed like this?"
Zhou Yi looked Shi Sinian up and down. His coarse, short work clothes and callused hands and feet made him look nothing like an official.
He used the Qi-Reading Technique. Purple lay within green, signifying fortune in officialdom.
Shi Sinian looked embarrassed. "You may not know, immortal master, but Magistrate Feng put me in charge of fishing. Official robes are cumbersome and inconvenient, so over time I ended up dressing like this."
Zhou Yi immediately withdrew his Qi-Reading Technique and saluted solemnly.
"I let appearances cloud my judgment. Inspector Shi, you are a good official."
Shi Sinian shook his head. "I don't deserve that praise. Lord Feng is the good official. I merely lend my strength."
Zhou Yi had intended to leave as soon as he learned the direction, but those words suddenly piqued his interest.
"Inspector Shi, you consider Magistrate Feng a good official?"
"Of course. His Honor is Fuzhou County's upright lord, clear as the blue heavens."
Shi Sinian continued, "Without Magistrate Feng, we would never dare fish on Yangping Lake. He even paid out of his own pocket to build this ship, the only large vessel reinforced with spells."
Having spent so much time with Shi Sinian, the boatmen and sailors had long since lost their fear of officials and could not help joining the discussion.
"I heard our upright lord went to the bottom of the lake and spoke with the Dragon King. That's how we got permission to fish."
"There's even a Dragon King temple on the shore, with sacrifices held every year. I say we ought to build one for our upright lord too."
"Temples are for the dead. How can you offer sacrifices to a living man? Are you cursing our upright lord?"
"Pah, pah, pah! What a foul mouth I have. It deserves a slap!"
"..."
A sharp gleam flashed through Zhou Yi's eyes. "I'm fairly well acquainted with Lord Feng. As I recall, he never embarked on cultivation. A river god would hardly grant him favors."
Great Qian's officials and divine officeholders belonged to two separate administrations that did not interfere with each other.
City Gods and earth gods were generally better. They had been virtuous humans in life and remained willing to shelter their regions after death.
Water gods and mountain gods were mostly spirits born among mountains and waters, with unpredictable temperaments. Put bluntly, they were great demons who did not commit evil, whom the court invested as mountain and water gods to pacify the regions.
Court officials and divine officeholders had no authority over one another. If mountain or water gods did not wish to involve themselves, they would not bother responding even to a prefectural governor or commandery administrator.
Of course, most officials at the prefecture and commandery levels were formidable in their own right and had the Immortal Stipend Bureau and Demon-Slaying Bureau to enforce their authority. The mountain and water deities had little choice but to obey.
Shi Sinian hesitated briefly, then, out of respect for the immortal master, spoke obliquely. "I hear the magistrate's wife's family has considerable influence in the Capital."
Zhou Yi understood at once. Back then, Feng Zhen had betrayed Feng Ling'er and her mother in order to take a new wife.
In Hu Jiu-Niang's memories, that woman was the daughter of a vice minister of rites.
Zhou Yi asked, "Inspector Shi, would Lord Feng be at the county offices now?"
Shi Sinian shook his head. "Today is the monthly fish market. His Honor will certainly be at the new market west of town, overseeing the dealings with merchants."
"Understood. Farewell."
With that, Zhou Yi and Hu Jiuying turned into streaks of light and flew toward Fuzhou County.
Shi Sinian watched the departing lights with envy. Such flight required at least middle third grade Qi Refining cultivation, something he had virtually no hope of achieving in his lifetime.
The court distributed cultivation methods suited to officials, allotted cultivation resources according to rank, and provided the support of the court's fortune.
Yet lower third grade officials were the most numerous and received the fewest resources-barely better than nothing.
Shi Sinian had spent more than a decade as patrol inspector and had reached only eighth-grade martial cultivation. As he grew older, his hopes of advancing dwindled further.
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