Chapter 117: Paying to Work

Li Lin began pondering the Stealth Technique.

He now felt that the Stealth Technique had fallen behind his growth.

It was easy for skilled martial artists or experienced Spirit Hunters to sense him.

Even if they couldn’t see him, they could tell roughly which direction he was in.

So, the Stealth Technique had to be put back on the training schedule.

He tried many things, like going outside the county town and lying in wait.

He waited all night, sensing the Wicked Spirits drifting nearby, yet his proficiency didn’t increase at all.

He guessed it was because the Wicked Spirits were too weak, so he waited near the Tree Immortal Lady’s altar.

The Tree Immortal Lady looked at him with a strange expression.

This made Li Lin feel embarrassed.

Finally, he thought for a moment and went to wait behind the True Lord Temple in the county town.

This actually worked.

His proficiency increased at a decent pace.

Although it paled compared to before, he understood that the stronger a skill became, the slower its growth.

Still, overall, it was improving.

He could feel it.

So during the day, he spent half his time crouching behind the True Lord Temple’s rear wall—luckily, the thick grass made it easy to vanish into Stealth without being noticed.

Why not wait at night…? At night, he had to be intimate with Hong Luan.

After about ten days like this, he felt his Stealth Technique had reached a higher realm.

His stealth ability had grown stronger, making him harder to detect, and a new ability seemed to have emerged.

But he had no way to test it yet.

With his ability improved, Li Lin was naturally delighted, yet he didn’t slack off—he trained his other martial arts even harder.

He halved the time spent on fist techniques and greatly increased his spear practice.

He also occasionally practiced with his short sword.

A month passed quickly.

Then, he assumed office as County Constable.

It was just a single appointment document, stamped by the Central Secretariat.

Holding the document, Li Lin felt… oddly frivolous.

Although County Constable was a minor post, it was still an official position.

An official!

When Huang Yan handed him the appointment, he said no words of encouragement, for in his view, this post was beneath Li Lin’s talents.

Once Li Lin had stabilized himself in Jincheng and built a foundation, he would consider transferring him to Jincheng.

The day after receiving the document, Li Lin went to the Military Office and saw Fan Shan there.

Seeing Li Lin, Fan Shan immediately ran over, clasped his fists, and smiled: “Congratulations, County Constable Li—rising steadily.”

Li Lin waved his hand: “Why are you here, Brother Fan?”

“The County Magistrate sent me,” Fan Shan said cheerfully. “I’m now a Company Captain.”

Li Lin remembered—Shi Captain had perished.

Fan Shan had served as an undercover agent for over a decade; giving him the position of Company Captain was perfectly reasonable.

“Company Captain Fan, rising steadily.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Fan Shan beamed.

Returning from a border village to Yulin County, now promoted to Company Captain—a minor official—he felt he had reached the peak of his life.

Li Lin sat in the main seat and opened the roster.

The entire county office had fifty-three government office runners; ten handled guard duty and miscellaneous tasks, while the remaining forty-three fell under his command.

He could also mobilize about five hundred village soldiers, but each deployment required the County Magistrate’s written order.

Each village soldier received three hundred wen per month.

Wait… Li Lin flipped back to the government office runners’ roster. He searched for a while but found no mention of their monthly pay.

He frowned and asked: “Company Captain Fan, what’s the monthly pay for government office runners? Why isn’t it listed?”

“government office runners don’t get monthly pay.”

Li Lin froze.

“No monthly pay?”

Fan Shan chuckled: “You never understood government office runners before, did you? You didn’t need to. The imperial court doesn’t pay them.”

“Then how do they live?”

“That’s another matter entirely.”

Fan Shan explained the current state of the "corvée."

Under the Great Qi system of “officials,” “clerks,” “soldiers,” and “servants,” servants were the lowest class.

Not only did they receive no monthly pay, they even had to pay out of pocket for their own uniforms—truly paying to work.

So how did government office runners earn money?

The answer was simple.

Collecting “protection fees.”

With their official “skin,” they had secret income streams—though modest, enough to live on.

After hearing this, Li Lin’s face twisted into a bitter gourd.

No wonder government office runners had such a bad reputation—no salary, forced to rob commoners; their name could only be worse.

Li Lin checked the roster of county office officials and found the County Magistrate’s monthly salary was thirty guan—about thirty taels of silver, fluctuating slightly with market rates.

But the County Magistrate didn’t rely on that small sum; the court also provided annual in-kind stipends.

Things like silk, rice wine, and seasonal subsidies like ice money and charcoal money.

Overall, a formal seventh- or eighth-rank official like the County Magistrate had a high salary.

Below him were the Assistant County Magistrate and County Constable—both ninth-rank petty officials.

Each received five guan—about five taels of silver—with smaller ice and charcoal subsidies.

Then came Company Captains, Registrars, Constables… one guan each.

Spirit Hunters received no monthly pay either, but they got blood rice—currently seventy jin.

At the black market exchange rate, Spirit Hunters earned the equivalent of seventy taels of silver per month—more than the County Magistrate’s official income.

That’s why most Spirit Hunters willingly worked for the government.

They were truly generous.

Village soldiers received thirty wen per month.

In Great Qi, copper cash had strong purchasing power.

Especially since village soldiers were fed and housed.

But government office runners were truly pitiful.

Li Lin sighed deeply as he read this.

He walked outside the Military Office, where several government office runners were chatting and joking.

Seeing Li Lin emerge, they lined up and stood at attention.

When Huang Qi was County Constable, they resented him—only his father’s position as County Magistrate kept them obedient.

But Li Lin… was a Spirit Hunter.

He possessed martial strength.

Even if they resented him inwardly, none dared show it openly.

“Who is Fang Constable?”

“I am!” A middle-aged man stepped forward.

“Come in. I need to speak with you.”

The two returned to the Military Office.

Fan Shan wisely left and closed the door behind them.

Fang Constable was nervous.

Li Lin smiled: “Fang Constable, how much do your men make?”

“My men don’t… have…”

“I mean the money you collect from the people.”

Fang Constable broke into sweat: “County Constable, this has always been permitted.”

“I know…” Li Lin nodded. “I’m just curious—how much do you actually collect? Don’t try to hide it. As a Spirit Hunter, I have many ways to uncover the real numbers—if I want to.”

In truth, Li Lin had no such methods, but that didn’t stop him from bluffing.

Fang Constable, filled with dread, finally said: “About two guan per month, all together…”

“So little!” Li Lin exclaimed.

Fang Constable explained: “The County Magistrate is upright—our men dare not overstep.”

(End of Chapter)