Chapter 49: Buying a House, the Yellow Register

"What a hassle." Zhao Xing muttered.

The Xuantian Sect is like psoriasis—pulling out one or two strongholds is useless, it doesn't even hurt or itch.

Even though the Great Zhou later quelled the chaos in Guangling Prefecture, the Xuantian Sect behind it wasn't hurt at all; it hasn't truly entered the world yet.

"This bit of information on the Evil-Avoiding Almanac isn't enough to report upward, and it's easy for the Xuantian Sect to sense something's off—they might think I'm some kind of peerless genius and watch me even more closely."

"If I can't provoke them, can't I at least avoid them?"

Zhao Xing put away the Evil-Avoiding Almanac and decided to keep his distance.

He couldn't gauge when this band of Xuantian Sect would make their move—maybe in a few years, maybe next month. In any case, he'd be careful, not give them an opening, and once this storm passed, it would be over.

What if he really couldn't avoid it?

"Don't push me—if you corner me, I'll even dig up your mountain gate…"

The Hall Master of Sanwan Hall was reading intelligence reports.

Because the Protector had raised Zhao Xing's arrest priority, he also took this target very seriously, spending more effort observing him, summarizing Zhao Xing's living habits, personality, travel patterns, and so on.

But for half a month straight, there was barely any progress.

He simply wouldn't give them an opening!

"This person is really strange. Everyone else follows a three-point routine—the Agricultural Bureau, home, and the public fields under their jurisdiction. But him? Every day he wanders here, sits there—there's never a chance to catch him alone. Either he's home all day with the doors shut."

"He's too idle—doesn't he need to go out of the city for his public duties?"

The Hall Master of Sanwan Hall was quite puzzled, because just looking at these paper records, he couldn't find any pattern at all.

The woman playing the role of the Hall Master's wife walked over, took the paper slip, looked at it, and smiled: "His teacher is Xue Wenzhong, so miscellaneous duties don't fall to him. It's normal he doesn't leave the city—he's naturally more idle than the other clerks."

"He doesn't leave the city, so we can't learn more. Our hidden agents operating within the city are quite inconvenienced."

"Take it slow. But at least in this half month, we can see one thing."

"What thing?"

"He likes visiting people, that's all."

"…"

The Hall Master of Sanwan Hall was speechless—what kind of trait was that?

"At least it proves he's someone who loves joining in the fun. Since we can't find an opportunity now, we can take it slow. The Protector also said there's no need to rush." The woman comforted him.

"Fair enough. We'll report truthfully to the Protector. Anyway, the Autumn Equinox mountain-opening is coming soon, so let's stop keeping him under surveillance in the city. Focus on the outskirts instead, and pull our forces in, so we don't end up giving the government something to grab onto."

Zhao Xing wanted to buy a house—and one outside the city at that.

"Why do you want to buy a house? Don't want to live at home anymore?" Zhao Ruide was somewhat puzzled. "Even if you want to move out, you should buy one in the city. Why outside?"

"Houses outside the city aren't expensive, and I don't plan to renovate. I just need a place to stay." Zhao Xing said, "Agricultural officials have the duty of encouraging farming. If I sometimes need to stay overnight outside the city, having my own house and plot of land would be better."

"Then why buy so many?"

Seeing Zhao Xing fall silent, Zhao Ruide asked no more. He knew his adopted son always had his own ideas. "I'll handle it for you."

"Foster father, you must make sure the government's Yellow Register has my name on it." Zhao Xing reminded him.

"Don't worry." Zhao Ruide nodded.

The government's Yellow Almanac and the Yellow Register are hailed as the "Twin Yellow Treasures" of the Qi Fortune Dynasty.

When the Zhou Ancestral Emperor transmitted the Ten Thousand Laws, he also established the Ten Thousand Laws—such as "Those who are not subjects of my dynasty shall not cultivate."

If you don't register your household, you're not a subject of the Zhou dynasty, and you can't even cultivate.

Another example: "Enter not without invitation upon land that has an owner."

What does that mean?

The Yellow Registers (land deed versions) of local government offices record all kinds of property ownership.

Once registered on the Yellow Register, cultivators who practice magic cannot break into someone's home without invitation—they'll be protected by the great power of the Law.

No matter how heaven-defying your magic, as long as the Qi Fortune Dynasty system hasn't declined, a law-abiding citizen staying at home is very difficult to harm with magic.

The premise is being a law-abiding citizen.

There are several situations where one can bring a body full of magic and enter uninvited.

First, the owner has invited you in.

Second, the government suspects you've broken the law and has a formal search and arrest warrant.

Third, the property has a ownership dispute, and on the treasure "Yellow Register" it will be in a "temporarily invalid" state.

Fourth, "beneficial laws"—magic beneficial to the homeowner can take effect inside.

That's why Xuantian Sect believers can do very little within the city, and they can't just abduct someone in the city.

"Reduce the number of times I leave the city. If I must leave, I must find a place whose property belongs to me to stay. That lowers the chance of being abducted." Zhao Xing thought.

Dealing with the Xuantian Sect? He couldn't manage it right now, and didn't want to cause trouble. But ways to avoid them? He had plenty.

Because in his previous life he had briefly joined the Xuantian Sect faction, he knew all their operations inside out.

But there's no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. Even with the Evil-Avoiding Almanac and the Thousand-Mile Transmission Token, and having made many preparations, it wasn't completely safe.

"I can't count on the government to wipe out all these people. I still need to become stronger myself."

On the second day after the Bai Lu assessment ended, Zhao Xing reached the third stage of Qi Gathering.

After that, he took one Heaven Yuan Pear every two days, and his Yuan Qi grew very quickly.

The 10 Qi Gathering Pills gifted by Young Master Zong had a mild and balanced effect and could be used alongside the Heaven Yuan Pears. So in just eight days, Zhao Xing was already approaching the fourth stage of Qi Gathering.

In the eyes of the Hall Master of Sanwan Hall, Zhao Xing loved excitement and visited everywhere. In reality, following Chen Shijie's advice, he was sparring with colleagues to improve the digestion of Yuan Qi treasures and speed up his Qi Gathering.

However, over these past few days, the vast majority of clerks in Zhao Xing's Agricultural Bureau couldn't provide him with any resistance pressure.

When it came to Agricultural magic, there were truly few clerks who could push Zhao Xing to his limits.

He had originally wanted to find an old Agricultural official to spar with, but considering the old official's age, and that he had to guide so many students and handle official duties, he gave up on the idea.

In the end, Chen Shijie gave a suggestion: "If you want to use magical combat to promote treasure digestion, you don't necessarily have to find them in the Agricultural Bureau. How about this—I'll go to the county office and see if there's anyone suitable."

A martial artist? That's actually a good idea.

The county office directly oversees three types of armed forces: the Martial Squad Office, the Patrol Inspectorate, and the Minister of Justice Guard. Common folk generally refer to all three collectively as the Martial Office.

The catchers and martial apprentices of the Martial Squad Office, like the minor clerks of the Agricultural Bureau, are unofficial staff outside the official ranks; only a few Martial Officers hold proper ranked positions.

The Patrol Inspectorate, on the other hand, is staffed entirely by ranked martial artists, though not many in number—depending on the county's grade, a full complement runs from thirty to a hundred men.

The Minister of Justice Guard handles criminal cases and likewise possesses considerable combat strength, because catchers and martial apprentices of the Martial Squad Office, after being promoted, may choose between transferring to the Minister of Justice Guard or the Patrol Inspectorate.

In addition, East Lake also has a garrison stationed there. Though it does not fall under civil-official jurisdiction, the County Magistrate may request its assistance when necessary.

That very afternoon, Chen Shijie found Wang Long of the Martial Office and borrowed a man from under him.

When they met face to face, Zhao Xing discovered that he actually knew this person himself.

"Brother Shen?"