Chapter 155

"So gangs are really just small-time tricks?" Bai Lang thought to himself as he listened. In teahouses and restaurants, even in theaters, the gangs' reputation and influence were indeed great, but actually it was only because these ordinary people most often came into contact with such people. Bai Lang naturally also encountered quite a few gang members — when imperial authority didn't reach the countryside, the basic grassroots order was basically all sorts of gangs.

Those who can survive on the fringes are almost all small gangs, small gangs attached to big gangs; the nicknames of these gang members who look after venues are quite impressive. Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, these gang members have no influence on ordinary people, especially customers who come to spend money eating, drinking, and listening to storytelling — they don't collect protection money from these people, otherwise crossing the line would get them killed by the higher-ups.

The rules of the marketplaces, Bai Lang had no need to worry about — anyway, what he needed now was to practice martial arts and gather information. Modern people's minds tell him that most information is actually public; the key is knowing how to gather it. The media transmission ability of this world is terrible — no newspapers, no radio, relying entirely on word of mouth. Bai Lang, who proudly possesses the "ahead-of-its-time talent for gathering information," can only listen to storytellers spouting nonsense.

Then let's go to the bookstore and see if there are any martial arts secret manuals for sale? Bai Lang knows one thing: bookstores are in the city or near it, and those places are where the big gangs are entrenched. "Would I have run into assassins in the past?" Bai Lang had no intention of disguising himself; indeed he lacked that ability. But there is a way: first familiarize himself with the area of activity of the Six-and-a-Half Hall and its affiliated gangs, then go check out the territory controlled by the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion.

This was relatively simple, and Bai Lang figured it out not long after. However, the bookstore disappointed him — there really weren't any decent martial arts secret manuals for sale; the generic stuff was useless to him. True profound martial arts, given the flourishing martial spirit in Ji City, likely none of the various martial arts schools there possessed. These martial arts schools, like the original Everjoy Gang, merely teach some introductory kung fu; being able to approach the Great Circulation martial arts is already quite good, as for martial arts after achieving Innate Expert, there are none.

And one day, while Bai Lang was practicing martial arts inside the Mountain God Temple, someone came to the door. The visitor was quite polite — even though the two front doors of the Mountain God Temple's front half had already collapsed, he still knocked and asked, "Is Mister Bai in?" At that moment Bai Lang was practicing martial arts in the overgrown garden behind the Mountain God Temple — just a flat area of fifty or sixty square meters, with a well. If there weren't mountain springs flowing nearby, this well would originally have had no water — although Bai Lang thought digging a well when there was already running water was pointless, but who let this world also have feng shui?

He heard the sound — he had already sensed the person's qi, and when this person had climbed up two-thirds of the mountain, Bai Lang noticed. Bai Lang came out and saw a man wearing official robes, with two attendants behind him, also dressed in official robes. The official robe and hat looked like those of a high-ranking constable, except do constables have rank patches on their chest and back? This man did, indicating he was a high-ranking constable, and his hat even had special feather plumes inserted at the ears; the two attendants were of one uniform style and color, while the man who spoke was of a completely different style and color.

Bai Lang's upper body was bare, his lower body wore a pair of middle trousers, barefoot, his whole body drenched in rising sweat from training, and he still had a bit of fat... so his abdominal muscle lines weren't very distinct, but he was indeed a fine big man. Especially, living in the mountains and wilderness let this fellow grow a lot of facial hair — the length, however short, was about an inch, and with his short hair and drooping eyebrows, he really was a shaggy-headed big guy.

His long hair had been suddenly shaved off the last time Yu Yu brought him across...... Now Bai Lang also couldn't be bothered to keep it; he felt this short hair was rather refreshing, yet he didn't realize that this outfit made him look increasingly fierce. "Indeed a fine fellow, heroic and deadly — truly a look fit for an official! How about it, Mister Bai, would you like to take an official post in the court?" The man's appearance was also archaic, though he wasn't tall, his aura was full, and he directly said this to Bai Lang.

"An official post?" Bai Lang asked like that, while inviting these few people to sit down — unfortunately the front half of the Mountain God Temple had never been fixed up, Bai Lang had merely blown away the dust, those offering tables and chairs were still broken, so he just moved a few large stones, flattened their surfaces, and used them as stools. The man also sat down without concern, saying, "I am Wang Dao of the Golden-Winged Bird King, serving as a fifth-rank Guard Commander of the Great Yan... oh, Mister Bai, the common folk usually call us the Six Gates, but actually our official title is Guard Commander."

While saying this, Wang Dao also showed a bit of a dejected look, but Bai Lang thought he was mostly putting it on. "Guard Commander Wang, are you coming to find me for an official post, or specifically to be this kind of Guard Commander? In the Great Yan state, is the duty of the Guard Commander based on the recommendation and nomination system? Can someone become one just by being recommended and nominated?" Bai Lang didn't rush to agree or refuse; he first asked curiously.

That Wang Dao wasn't in a hurry, answering Bai Lang's questions leisurely, "Well, the duties of the Guard Commander, to be frank with Mister Bai, the recommendation and nomination system is also one of the recruitment channels, but it's also considered a proper background. The Guard Commander can reach as high as third rank, which counts as a high official of our Great Yan..." Bai Lang also knew that officials of the first and second rank in the court are either honorary titles or positions like chancellors; reaching third rank already places one among the top six officials of the court.

Bai Lang also couldn't figure out the Great Yan's official system — it seemed to be a blend of Song and Ming, anyway it's quite complex. However, third rank carries real authority, definitely placing one among the top six without doubt.

"Mister Bai, as an Innate Expert with a clean background, you are exactly the talent the court needs; I hope you will join the court for the sake of all under heaven, mastering both civil and martial arts to serve the imperial family." Wang Dao narrowed his eyes, "What they said above is just recruitment talk; the real benefits are below — Mister Bai, joining the court brings great advantages!" He began counting on his fingers, listing the benefits: "First, there's money — this isn't a big issue, we'll set it aside for now. Then there are various secret medicinal materials for cultivation; these aren't just supplied by the court, they can also be exchanged and purchased..."

Bai Lang listened with a smile, "Of course there are also the secret martial arts and divine weapons collected in the court's armory — all of these can be learned and exchanged — of course, to put it bluntly, this also requires Mister Bai to put in more effort to complete tasks. The court has plenty of experts; an Innate Expert can point out martial arts, which also counts as a major benefit. And..." Wang Dao revealed a smile, "Just wanting to do something of his own — isn't the court still well-informed? The place where the world's information is most timely is none other than the courts of all nations."