Chapter 120: Guan Chenghuang Position (Added for Alliance Leader 'Loli Destroyer Controller')

Seeing that she was stubborn, the Daoist acolyte Qingsong didn't intend to continue persuading her.

He placed the Investiture of the Gods on the table, pressed his right hand on it, and said: "Do you know that Marquis Lieyang once issued a wide-ranging arrest warrant in the Western Sha Domain, offering a reward for Western Human Immortals who firmly opposed Great Qin, such as Kong Zan, Song Zhong, and Dou Yilin?

Among them, the reward for Song Zhong was the highest. Whoever kills Song Zhong can be enfeoffed as the Guan Chenghuang of Jin Yang Ducheng.

Killing Human Immortals like Kong Zan, Dou Yilin, and Zhou Lang also comes with positions like Western Prefecture Guan Chenghuang or Ducheng Guan Chenghuang."

Xiao Yu pointed at her own nose in surprise and asked: "Are you going to use the Investiture of the Gods to enfeoff me as a Guan Chenghuang?"

Hearing this, the Daoist acolyte Qingsong also showed a look of surprise and doubt, saying: "You know about the Investiture of the Gods?"

If she knew nothing about the Investiture of the Gods, she wouldn't have said anything about using it to enfeoff a Guan Chenghuang.

Xiao Yu nodded and said: "I have heard Dou Gengyan tell some myths and legends from the Middle and Near Ancient eras.

It is said that at the end of the Middle Ancient era, Jiang Taigong of Xiqi used the Investiture of the Gods to enfeoff many gods on behalf of Heaven.

Nowadays, most of the gods in the Tiangong come from the Investiture of the Gods."

The Daoist acolyte Qingsong shook his head, "It has been hundreds of thousands of years since the Middle Ancient Investiture of the Gods.

In hundreds of thousands of years in the mortal world, how many Heavenly Immortals and Gods have ascended?

The gods of the Investiture of the Gods era can no longer be considered the 'majority' of the gods in the Tiangong.

It can only be said that a portion of them still occupy the most core positions in the Tiangong."

Then he tapped the Investiture of the Gods lightly and said: "Since you have heard of the Investiture of the Gods, then I will speak directly.

After Marquis Lieyang returned to Xianyang, he has already reported your war merits. Beheading Kong Zan is the first merit of the Flying Immortal Ferry battle.

Now His Majesty the Emperor... uh, the Imperial Envoy Dongfang represents His Majesty the Emperor, and I represent the Imperial Envoy Dongfang. I will give you two choices.

Either fill in your name on the Investiture of the Gods and directly enfeoff you as a Guan Chenghuang.

Or you transfer your war merits to someone else, let someone else be enfeoffed as a god, and you exchange for huge benefits from the other party—there might even be 'Immortal Fate'."

Xiao Yu probed: "Does the Marquis have any arrangements?"

"What do you mean?" The Daoist acolyte Qingsong asked in confusion.

Xiao Yu's eyes flickered as she said: "If Marquis Lieyang has a relative who is also seeking a Guan Chenghuang position, I am willing to sell the war merit of beheading Kong Zan. Uh, the price is negotiable."

The Daoist acolyte Qingsong sneered: "You underestimate Marquis Lieyang, and you underestimate my Great Qin.

Great Qin values military merit above all else and will never fake military merit.

Marquis Lieyang reporting your war merits is his duty as a military marquis; there is no private affection, no seeking of private gain, seeking truth from facts, and being meticulous.

He has no favor for you, nor will he expect you to have the slightest intention of repaying him."

Xiao Yu laughed awkwardly: "Guan Laozu, I misunderstood. I thought the second option—transferring war merits to someone else—was your sincere teach(hint)ing to me, teaching me to make the right choice."

A flash of unnaturalness quickly crossed the Daoist acolyte Qingsong's eyes as he said: "Do you want to write your own name?"

Xiao Yu said: "Can you let me ask a few questions first?"

Qingsong leaned back in his chair, holding his teacup and shaking it lightly, saying: "I've already chatted with you for so long; it doesn't matter if I take a few more questions."

"Thank you, Guan Laozu, for your fulfillment!"

Xiao Yu bowed gracefully, then sat down again and asked: "Regarding my military merits, have they reached the ears of Heaven? Has His Majesty the Emperor... the new His Majesty the Emperor ascended the throne?

Does he know about my deeds? How should I express my gratitude?"

Qingsong said lightly: "Don't be sentimental. You didn't behead a Golden Immortal; you only beheaded a small Western Human Immortal!

Your achievements will of course be recorded in the Great Qin Archives.

The Grand Marshal knows about you, and General Meng and General Wang have confirmed and signed off on your achievements, but they will not report it to the Empress Dowager.

Not to mention the Empress Dowager, even the Imperial Envoy Dongfang doesn't know you.

Of course, Western affairs are now fully handled by the Imperial Envoy Dongfang.

His staff will strictly abide by Great Qin law and reward you according to your achievements.

The whole process is being carried out according to convention; there is no need to specifically thank anyone.

If you have a heart of gratitude, just continue to serve Great Qin when you encounter opportunities in the future."

"Uh, my flesh and blood belong to the Sha barbarians, but my soul has long belonged to Great Qin."

Xiao Yu expressed her stance with a sincere face first, then asked: "Can the reward only be a Guan Chenghuang position? Can you enfeoff me as a Great Qin military officer and let me go to Xianyang to serve Great Qin?"

"No!" Qingsong refused decisively first, paused, and then slowed his tone to explain: "First of all, you are not a Great Qin soldier. Strictly speaking, your merit in killing Kong Zan is not Great Qin military merit, but a bounty.

I said earlier that Marquis Lieyang issued an arrest warrant, using the Guan Chenghuang position as a bounty to offer a reward for the heads of Human Immortals.

The Imperial Envoy Dongfang, who acts according to orders, must give you whatever the bounty promised.

Secondly, the Flying Immortal Ferry battle belongs to Western affairs and is managed by the Imperial Envoy Dongfang.

But appointing Great Qin military officers belongs to the current Grand Marshal.

Do you know what a 'Grand Marshal' is?"

Without waiting for Xiao Yu to nod, Qingsong continued: "In short, the Great Qin military belongs to the Grand Marshal, not the Imperial Envoy Dongfang.

Your situation is also quite special.

You raised a Dragon Vein, and you can make the Sha barbarians a threat to the Shu Kingdom.

I'll tell you the truth: I was at the Luodu Imperial Observatory at the time, divining the celestial phenomena of the Sand Dunes and the Shu Kingdom.

The Luodu Imperial Observatory, the King of Shu, and the Qinghe Commandery Prince were all watching on the scene.

They all know that if you stay in the Northern Wilderness or the Shu Kingdom, they will sooner or later be destroyed by the Sand Dune Empire."

Xiao Yu quickly expressed her loyalty: "I am loyal to Great Qin and willing to be an Chen Chen Laoqin person!"

Qingsong stared into her eyes and said: "Little Phoenix Fairy, this is not a question of trust; it is procedure, it is law, it is rules.

Life has too many accidents and helplessness.

Who you are today cannot determine what you do or think tomorrow.

I understand your heart for the Dao. If you were an ordinary person, it wouldn't matter if I took you to Great Qin.

But you threaten the destiny of the Shu Kingdom, and you make the Li family of Western Shu feel like they have a fishbone in their throat.

So when I was in the Sand Dunes, I handed you directly to the Shu Kingdom General Guan Huchen."

He avoided her gaze, lowered his head to take a sip of tea, and said lightly: "Your nephew Sha Dan has already crossed the Liushahe and is taking a carriage with a group of 'Hidden Dragons' to Xianyang.

It's not aimed at anyone; the rules are like this.

Even if I am very impatient and want to return to Xianyang immediately, I must patiently take them across the Shu Kingdom and cross the Liushahe.

To say how much contribution they can make to Great Qin in the future... anyway, I have never counted on it.

But it must be done; Great Qin's system is like this, and the rules are like this.

Great Qin values military merit, but also values law and rules.

Sigh, if one day in the future you go to Great Qin and see Great Qin's laws, perhaps you will understand my words better..."

Directly beheading the Hidden Dragons or the leaders of alien races with innate wisdom is simple and straightforward, but the side effects are too great.

He suspected that the sudden death of the Emperor might also be related to the radical national policies of recent years.

Suffered a backlash.

Heavens, it really exists!

The Hidden Dragons are all "Sons of Heaven."

Those with innate wisdom are even more favored by Heaven.

Raising them, raising them to death, although it takes effort and time, has the lowest side effects and can even turn waste into treasure, reaping certain benefits.

Making the choice most beneficial to Great Qin is the rule.

As time passes, the rules gradually evolve into iron-like laws.

Great Qin's laws, even he and Marquis Lieyang cannot violate them, even now that the Emperor has passed away.

Xiao Yu was silent for a moment and asked: "If I write my name on the Investiture of the Gods, what will happen?"

The Daoist acolyte Qingsong said: "After you write your name, there will be underworld ghost officials to assess your life.

If you are a wicked person, you will not be able to become a Guan Chenghuang.

Of course, with the Investiture of the Gods escorting you, the assessment will not be too strict.

As long as it is determined that you are not a maniac and have normal intelligence and can handle Guan Chenghuang affairs, you are considered qualified.

If you are really a maniac and do evil, I will suggest you give up the Guan Chenghuang position in advance.

Because becoming a Guan Chenghuang is just the beginning.

You will be supervised by underworld ghost officials, and once you make a mistake, the Guan Chenghuang enfeoffed by the Investiture of the Gods will still be deposed."

"Does the Investiture of the Gods have any constraints on me?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Of course there are constraints, otherwise how do you think these Guan Chenghuang vacancies came about?"

The Daoist acolyte Qingsong smiled mockingly, "Eat the monarch's salary, be loyal to the monarch's affairs. Eat my Great Qin's divine salary, and you must be loyal to my Great Qin forever."

Xiao Yu's eyes flashed, and she asked curiously: "Will the underworld allow qualified City Gods to be deposed at will?"

"Don't talk about the City Gods on the Investiture of the Gods; even the City Gods enfeoffed by the Tiangong and the Underworld will still be deposed by a decree if they dare to offend the majesty of the Emperor." Qingsong's voice was sonorous and powerful, his face full of pride and arrogance.

The Emperor cannot control Heaven, but he can control the Earth and the people.

Any god or Buddha who wants to spread the Dharma, the Dao, or faith in the mortal world will be constrained.

Xiao Yu said: "I don't want to be a Guan Chenghuang. Can I wait until I die of old age and arrange for me to go to Heaven to be a god? Even being a Horse-Keeper is fine."

The Daoist acolyte Qingsong rolled his eyes and said angrily: "Sure enough, you are a barbarian, knowing nothing about imperial court affairs.

A Horse-Keeper is at least a chief official of a department.

Even for a Heavenly Immortal recorded in the Heavenly Register, if they don't have the bearing of a Golden Immortal, being able to obtain a real position is thanks to the Jade Emperor's grace and the protection of the Three Pure Ones."

"Alright, I am ignorant. I won't be a Horse-Keeper; being a small Heavenly General is fine, right?" Xiao Yu said.

The Daoist acolyte Qingsong pondered: "This Investiture of the Gods can only enfeoff underworld ghosts and gods, not Heavenly Gods... it's not that it can't be enfeoffed, but if you are forcibly enfeoffed, you might be pushed onto the God-Beheading Platform and sliced up by a high god just two days after arriving at the Tiangong."

"Sliced up directly?" Xiao Yu exclaimed, "Is the relationship between the Heavenly Dynasty and the Heavenly Court so bad?"

"This is not something you should know!" Qingsong glanced at her and added: "Don't think of the Tiangong as too beautiful; even a County Guan Chenghuang is more free and at ease than many gods."

—It can only enfeoff ghosts and gods; what kind of Investiture of the Gods is that!

Xiao Yu lowered her opinion of the "Great Qin Investiture of the Gods" a few notches in her heart and asked: "If I live too long, will it affect the Guan Chenghuang's work? I see the Guan Guan Chenghuang of Heaven Gate Town seems very busy on weekdays."

The Daoist acolyte Qingsong glared at her, "What stupid things are you saying? You are just a tiny Guan Chenghuang; you dare to let the underworld wait for you? Is your face that big?

Once your name is written on the Investiture of the Gods, ghost gods will come to hook your soul tonight.

Tomorrow morning, the Red Sleeve Academy will hold a funeral for you, and the day after tomorrow, the ghost gods will teach you the basic skills and functions of a Guan Chenghuang.

After a few days, when the Imperial Envoy Dongfang crosses west and ascends the platform in Western Shu's Luodu to enfeoff gods, you can take office."

"Ah, die directly?" Xiao Yu was greatly disappointed.

If the Guan Chenghuang position could be retained, as a small guarantee, even if constrained by the "Investiture of the Gods," it would be barely acceptable.

But giving up this life directly... she is full of hope for the future!

Qingsong said: "I said earlier that I would give you a great future and help you get out of the brothel; it won't be in vain that we have an acquaintance.

If you don't die immediately, how can you get rid of this filthy place?

As a living person, no matter what, the Shu Kingdom will not let you leave.

Once you die and are enfeoffed as a Guan Chenghuang, constrained in a foreign land, even if your heart is set on the Sand Dunes and you try to lead the Sha barbarians to make a comeback, it will be useless."

"I am an Chen Chen Laoqin soul! I would rather love a handful of Great Qin soil than ten thousand taels of gold in the Sand Dunes, but I don't want to die!" Xiao Yu shouted.

"Mortals all have to die."

"I haven't lived enough yet! When I was in the Sand Dunes, I was always thinking about the prosperous world outside. Now that I have finally come out, I don't want to commit suicide at all." Xiao Yu said.

"Ghost gods can also continue to live." The Daoist acolyte Qingsong said.

—Constrained by the Investiture of the Gods, driven and manipulated at will by a thieving Daoist like you, and at the same time supervised by the underworld, and eight out of ten, the Tiangong can also drive and scold at will.

It is truly managed by Heaven, managed by Earth, and managed by people, constrained everywhere.

With my casual and lazy personality, I can disguise myself for a while, I can act, and accompany you to perform one or two big plays, but I can never be a real slave!

Sooner or later, I won't be able to hold it in, I'll want to go wild, I'll want to cause trouble, and eventually, my divine position will be abolished, which means I died in vain!

Xiao Yu considered it very clearly.

Not to mention the huge limitations of the Guan Chenghuang's Dao, with her personality, she simply couldn't be a Guan Chenghuang for long.

She is willing to hide her claws and endure, in order to be a person above people in the future, not because she is really born a slave.

Xiao Yu thought for a moment and asked: "Can I transfer the Guan Chenghuang position to someone else?"

Qingsong frowned and said: "Have you considered it clearly? Many Human Immortals are extremely eager for this kind of opportunity. If you miss it, it is almost impossible to encounter it a second time."

Xiao Yu nodded solemnly, "I am serious."

Qingsong said expressionlessly: "Alright, I have a few buyers here; you can choose one from them."

Xiao Yu asked in confusion: "What buyers?"

Qingsong said: "Aren't you going to sell the Guan Chenghuang position to someone else? There are a few Great Qin nobles whose lifespans are coming to an end and intend to switch to cultivating the ghost god path.

Don't worry, they are true nobles. Although they are not top-tier powerful, they are not down-and-outers.

They don't lack money, nor do they lack divine medicine and immortal cultivation manuals.

If it weren't for your special identity, having to be monitored by the Shu people while alive, you could even obtain a low-level title in the Great Qin imperial court through them.

Or you can seek a good position in the Xianyang Palace for your nephew Sha Dan."

Xiao Yu was stunned for a while before saying cautiously: "Guan Laozu, you speak so fluently and skillfully; does this kind of thing happen often?"

Qingsong pursed his lips and said lightly: "Water is clear and there are no fish; you are good, he is good, and Great Qin has no loss. What's wrong with that?"

—I'm just afraid that someone will fish in troubled waters!

Xiao Yu vaguely felt that Great Qin's military merit system had some problems.

But it had nothing to do with her; she didn't care, "Can I exchange it for a Nine-Turn Bone-Changing Pill?"

Xiao Yu just asked with a face full of expectation, but before Qingsong could nod, she shook her head with a conflicted face and gritted her teeth: "Forget it, I won't sell it anymore. I want to give the Guan Chenghuang position to someone else."

"Give it to someone?" Qingsong narrowed his eyes slightly, hiding the sharp light in his eyes, "You shouldn't have any relatives, right?"

—If there really is someone the Sha barbarian Yu cares about so much who hasn't been found out, then it is his dereliction of duty, a great dereliction of duty!

"It's not a relative; it's an old ghost I met at Sancha Ridge in Hengsha Pass. He is a Shu person named 'Duan Yuhan,' originally from Guangning Prefecture, Guide Commandery. He has a son named Duan Guisheng. Make sure not to find the wrong person." Xiao Yu said.

Qingsong relaxed and asked in confusion: "Why give the Guan Chenghuang position to him?

I'll tell you the truth: your war merits can at least be exchanged for two Bone-Changing Pills."

"Oh my, you'd better not tell me the truth; lie to me and make me feel better..." Xiao Yu's face was twisted in pain.

Her expression was too rich, and Qingsong was amused, saying softly: "What kind of person is Duan Yuhan? Why give him a divine position?"

"I met him at Sancha Ridge..."

Xiao Yu told the story of burying the bones on the side of the road and the old ghost repaying the kindness by leading the way in detail again.

Well, she had already told Guan Zhong and others several times before.

"If it weren't for Duan Laoshu leading me into the ghost path, I would have been beheaded by Kong Zan's Heavenly Blade. In the end, it was a coincidence that I beheaded Kong Zan, which was also thanks to Duan Laoshu."

At that time, she and Guan Zhong agreed that when they returned to Yingxiang Mansion, they would arrange for someone to go to Sancha Ridge to help Duan Laoshu and his son collect their bones and return home.

Now that she is no longer Miss Guan, Guan Zhong must have long since thrown the Duan father and son to the back of his mind.

She had been considering this matter all along.

Now it's good; she picked up a Guan Chenghuang position (ps) for nothing, which is just right for settling the Duan father and son.

ps: Xiao Yu gave away the Guan Chenghuang position, but actually gained more. I will open a separate chapter later to explain the Red Sleeve Academy matter. ===== CHAPTER 121 =====