Chapter 15: Strange New Cases in the Capital, the Mysterious Cultivator of Profound Heaven

It was just one top-grade result on the exam, yet Zhao Xing noticed his colleagues' attitudes had grown noticeably warmer; the moment he stepped out of the back courtyard, quite a few people started trying to get close to him.

Zhang San said there was a cockfighting show over there and wanted to invite him to watch. Li Si said some friends had put together a drinking party—care to have a few cups later?

There was even an older fellow who invited Zhao Xing to go listen to music, but, embarrassed… what was your name again?

"Younger brother Huang Siping, from Huang Family Bay." A man with unusually high cheekbones and a somewhat balding head cupped his hands and said, a touch melancholy: "Brother Zhao, please don't use honorifics with me—I'm actually a year younger than you."

"Uh, Brother Huang, pardon my slip of the tongue." Zhao Xing glanced at the top of his head—your hairline doesn't exactly make you look younger than me.

"Brother Zhao is a busy man with much to remember; it's only normal you'd forget me." Huang Siping smiled. "I wonder if Brother Zhao would be willing to come with me to Brother Li's music gathering?"

"Which Brother Li?" Zhao Xing was a bit puzzled.

"Of course, it's Li Chengfeng, the one known for his 'gentlemanly bearing.'" Huang Siping said. "Brother Zong and the others who made the top grade on this Lesser Heat examination will be there too."

The so-called music gathering was just a dressed-up way of saying prostitution. Li Chengfeng and Zong Shichang had plenty of family money and often invited people over, hiring singing girls to play music and dance—and then sleeping with them on the side.

"All expenses, including the singing girls' fees, will be covered by Young Master Li or the other young masters…" Huang Siping put it very delicately.

Zhao Xing understood perfectly—they were just inviting him to a brothel, weren't they?

"Please convey my thanks to Brother Li for his kind offer, but I have other arrangements; I can only take you up on it next time."

It wasn't that he was being prudish—if it had been Chen Ziyu or Qian Dong inviting him, he'd have gone without hesitation.

But Li Chengfeng and Zong Shichang were competitors! How could he possibly go?

Get you drunk, then arrange a singing girl for you—but that singing girl is actually a decent woman (one who's been released from the brothel register), and then turn around and report you at the county office… Zhao Xing immediately thought of the scamming tactics he'd seen as a player in his previous life.

"What a shame, then—I'll invite Brother Zhao again next time." Huang Siping was quite regretful; seeing that Zhao Xing's expression seemed equally so, he took his measure, cupped his hands in farewell, and left.

"How did it go?"

"He turned it down, said he happened to have something on."

"Hmph, so many people on the top grade accepted the invitation, yet he puts on airs—does he expect Brother Li and Brother Zong to invite him personally?"

"You can't really say that either; after all, they're not that familiar with each other."

Huang Siping delivered the news to Li Chengfeng, and before the man in question could say anything, plenty of others were already gossiping about Zhao Xing.

Li Chengfeng was also a little annoyed inside, but on the surface he still smiled: "I meant to make friends with like-minded people, but feared being too abrupt, so I asked Brother Huang to invite him—I didn't expect I still couldn't get him to come… No matter, invite him a few more times; perhaps he'll come then."

After Li Chengfeng finished speaking, those below once again praised his magnanimity and broad-mindedness, which by contrast made Zhao Xing look rather stuck-up.

But the topic quickly moved on; Li Chengfeng and Zong Shichang didn't take it too much to heart either.

After all, it was only one top grade; he wasn't much of a threat yet.

"Big Brother only got one top grade and already has so many new friends—congratulations, congratulations." Qian Dong watched Zhao Xing emerge from the crowd, his tone a touch sour.

"Exactly. A few more times and Xiao Dong and I will probably be forgotten by you, Brother." Chen Ziyu chimed in with a passive-aggressive jab.

Zhao Xing smiled; he understood the feeling the two of them had—it's like when you thought you and someone were each other's best friend, only to discover your bro suddenly has a bunch more close buddies…

"Don't worry, the two of you being all passive-aggressive like this—I'd remember it even as a ghost."

"…"

"Don't you two have anything to do this afternoon?" Zhao Xing asked.

"We do. Ziyu and I plan to go to the eastern suburbs to retake the exam," Qian Dong said. "Where are you headed, Big Brother?"

"To the temple."

"Brother, you can receive another spell already?" Chen Ziyu's eyes held a hint of admiration. How long had it been since he learned to summon wind and thunder?

"Just going to give it a try." Zhao Xing nodded slightly. Although only a week had passed, the Dao Embryo Pill's effect on him was very evident—his Qi Gathering efficiency was a whole tier faster than before.

Of course, the improved food at home had also played a part.

So, although he hadn't yet reached the third stage of Qi Gathering, the 【Moving Clouds】 spell was already at five revolutions, and the 【Thunder Strike】 spell at three revolutions. On this basis, he could attempt to master 【Rain Summoning】.

"Then we won't take up any more of Big Brother's time. Come on, Ziyu—we can't just sit around either. Let's head to the eastern suburbs!"

"Mm!" Chen Ziyu nodded heavily. He seemed to have been fired up by Zhao Xing's progress.

Watching the two of them leave together, Zhao Xing headed toward the county office as well.

"Moving Clouds, Wind Summoning, Thunder Strike, Rain Summoning—these are a series of spells, and also the core skills of the Si Nong profession. Right now I'm still missing the 【Rain Summoning】 spell; I hope Cao Zhenjun comes through this time."

Knowing one more spell meant a better chance of handling the examination, and a better chance of being made a permanent official.

In the short term, it helped with becoming permanent; Zhao Xing's main focus right now was to be officially appointed as a From Ninth Rank Si Nong.

Why was he so set on this? Because Zhao Xing's long-term goal was immortality, but to achieve that, he first had to endure through the Dynasty of Destiny version and wait for the Revival version.

And the Dynasty of Qi Fortune could extend an official's lifespan! Otherwise, he'd have long since gone off to be a 'freelancer.'

Entering the office's processing hall, a familiar voice rang out.

"Brother Zhao, you again?"

"Brother Pang, yes, it's me." Zhao Xing looked at Pang Fei—the last document approval had been handled by him.

"You're here again for…" Pang Fei looked at Zhao Xing's application document and couldn't help being stunned. "It's been so short a time—can you receive another spell already?"

"Just want to try my luck." Zhao Xing said modestly.

"Not at all—Brother Zhao is sure to succeed." Pang Fei offered his congratulations. "The my lord at the Si Nong Bureau doesn't approve spell-granting documents lightly; I'll go right ahead and…"

"Make way, urgent dispatch from the Martial Section—make way!"

Suddenly a high-pitched voice came from outside the door, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps passing by.

Zhao Xing looked over in puzzlement and only caught sight of a squad of armed soldiers' backs.

"Brother Pang, what's going on? Why are so many brothers from the Martial Section being deployed?"

"Cooperating with the commandery's investigation, that's all."

Pang Fei suddenly lowered his voice, a bit mysteriously: "Speaking of which, this matter is actually related to the Si Nong Bureau. I don't know what's going on either, but recently in the twelve counties of Nanyang Commandery, a lot of Si Nong clerks have mysteriously gone missing. Wouldn't you say that's strange?"

"Si Nong clerks going missing?" Zhao Xing was stunned for a moment. "Has the cause been figured out?"

Pang Fei shrugged: "Isn't that exactly what they're investigating? I don't know anything else. Brother Zhao, please rest for a moment—I'll go submit your application right away."

"Thank you." Zhao Xing sat in the chair, frowning deeply, carefully recalling his experiences from his previous life. He had lived through the reign of Emperor Jing, but he had never been to Gucheng, nor even to Nanyang Commandery; however, that didn't stop him from recalling some key events.

"During Emperor Jing's reign, there was a strange case in which many officials of the Court of the National Granaries were abducted by a band of demons who called themselves the Xuantian Sect... but shouldn't that have been during the Great Peace era? Why is it dated to the Jingxin era? Did I remember wrong? Or was this affair being plotted from the very start of the Jingxin calendar?"