Chapter 55: The Yamen of the Daoist Official

Xu Jia stood motionless, his expression unchanged; having just faced the Nine-Layer Dharma Platform without feeling any terror, how could he be afraid of the likes of them?

He cast his gaze to observe their Qi, checking the foundation of these three men.

This Daoist Official possessed clear Qi and a thin layer of Merit, but his level of cultivation was indiscernible.

In truth, very few people who study the Dao can directly perceive the cultivation realm of another.

After all, cultivation is a highly private matter; only when one manifests in the Dharma Realm can one distinguish whether a person has cultivated into a Yin Spirit or a Yang Spirit.

Or perhaps by opening an altar to engage in magical combat, clashing with one another to know the other's background and strength...

However, Xu Jia was quite interested in this Daoist Official; to become a Daoist Official, one must be appointed by the imperial court, which in a sense makes him an "Orthodox Cultivator," not a practitioner of a heterodox path.

Xu Jia wished to gain access to the authentic Daoist cultivation methods of this world, and this person might be a breakthrough point he could engage with.

Of course, true Hidden Immortal Sects do not concern themselves with worldly affairs; those who descend the mountain to accept a position as a Daoist Official are very likely to be "adept at maneuvering."

Yet, one cannot generalize; the past life is the past life, and this life is this life. Xu Jia must cultivate to become more like an innocent infant, not more sophisticated and worldly; he must not be biased, judge by appearances, or dismiss everyone with a single stroke.

As for the two Yamen Runners, they carried an obscure aura, their Yang fire was flickering and weak, and their physical condition was quite mediocre.

The "Official Malice" carried on their uniforms was not their own; they were merely borrowing power and prestige.

There was some Resentment Qi circling them, but not much in the way of great karmic debt.

After all, when the sky falls, the tall ones bear the weight; if they committed errors, their superiors would bear the brunt, and they could still manage.

"Are you the one presiding over the Licentious Sacrifice here?" The Yamen Runner looked him up and down, seeing Xu Jia wearing the long robes of a scholar. His tone was not loud, but filled with suspicion, as if to say: Why aren't you studying properly instead of doing these crooked, evil things? Xu Jia was neither humble nor arrogant: "I am not presiding over a Licentious Offering. I am a scholar, a scholar who is going to take the County Examination."

Niu Congcong seemed to recognize these two Yamen Runners and said, "My great-uncle is in charge of the criminal division! Don't you recognize me? We've eaten together!"

The Yamen Runner looked closely and laughed, "Isn't this a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple?"

He immediately found a way to step down: "This group of unruly commoners filed a false report, making us run here for nothing!"

However, he noticed the square tables stacked nine layers high and asked in surprise, "You stacked these? How did you stack them?"

The other Yamen Runner saw the ladder made of wood-chopping knives: "And what is this?"

Xu Jia explained, "This is a Knife Ladder, used for ascending to heaven!"

"That's a fine torture device! Stepping on this really is like ascending to heaven!" The Yamen Runner touched it; it was indeed very sharp.

"Kid, if you become an official and enter the Ministry of Justice in the future, you'll surely be a living Yama."

They also did not see any signs of this being a religious activity or a place of worship.

But since they had been dispatched, they still had to take a good look to at least fulfill their duty. They entered the inner room and only saw a Hall Genealogy.

But this was normal; every household in the village enshrined deities in their main hall, some with ancestral tablets, others with Guanyin Bodhisattva.

As for the few characters written on it, they could neither see them clearly nor understand them.

Although they wanted to make some money, there were several types of people they dared not offend: the local snakes of large clans, scholars, and those who could perform sorcery, for fear of being cursed. Especially since someone had reported a Licentious Offering and wild sacrifice, they hadn't wanted to deal with it in the first place—where are there no Licentious Offerings, and where can they ever be completely banned?

But since their superiors had taken bribes, they were the ones who suffered. They had originally wanted to extort some money, but they still had a discerning eye. Xiaopangdun and Xu Jia were both scions of local gentry; they had looked familiar earlier, and after the reminder from Xiao Pang, they realized which family and household they belonged to.

After all, Xu Jia's father had said before that the gentry would donate a sum of money to the Yamen every year, not for anything else, but so that "you are well, I am well, and everyone is well."

If anything happened in the future, the County Magistrate would also summon the gentry to discuss how to resolve it.

One must know that these Yamen Runners and Kuaikuai in the Yamen received no salary; the entire operating cost had to be raised by the County Magistrate.

The County Magistrate's salary was less than twenty taels of silver a month; how could he maintain the system's operation? He had no choice but to find ways to scrape money together... even an honest official could not let his subordinates starve.

One could only say that perhaps a corrupt official might embezzle one hundred thousand taels a year, using twenty thousand for Yamen expenses, fifty thousand to grease palms and climb the ranks.

Ten thousand would be used to build good relations with local gentry and share dividends; with money flowing back and forth, the gentry's money was returned in full... he himself could pocket twenty thousand, and after staying for five years, he could save up one hundred thousand taels and move to another place to take office.

As for an honest official, he would not grease palms, would not keep money for himself, and would not build good relations with local gentry, only trying to provide enough for his staff to ensure they didn't starve... as a result, no one was willing to work for him... eventually, he would be ostracized, suppressed, and find it hard to get ahead.

Although the money Xu Jia's father paid each year was not much, and he was not a major member of the gentry, his ancestors had donated for a Scattered Official, and he had also greased the Yamen's palms, so they could not be the ones to start making things difficult.

Otherwise, in the future, who would pay money to the Yamen, and who would cooperate with paying taxes... the ones who would suffer would be themselves.

This was also an essential skill for Yamen Runners: judging people to decide how to treat them, which was their way of survival.

When meeting the weak, they bare their fangs; when meeting the strong, they tuck their tails. If they can't afford to offend someone, they avoid the sharp edge, and when that person falls on hard times—like a tiger stranded on the plains—they pay them back.

Thus, the two Yamen Runners exchanged glances, reached an understanding, and went outside to explain the situation to the Daoist Official.

Hearing from the two Yamen Runners that there was only a Hall Genealogy with writing on it inside, the Daoist Official already had a plan.

In fact, he had noticed something different the moment he entered, because this courtyard was "clean"—not clean in the sense of lacking dust, but "clean" in terms of thoughts, as a "Pure Altar Ritual" had been performed.

Coupled with the mountain of knives and the stacked-table Dharma Altar Xu Jia had set up, although he did not understand the Great Dharma of Lushan, he could see that this was a "cultivation ritual."

He could basically conclude—this was someone who had obtained the inheritance of a heterodox Miscellaneous School.

He scrutinized Xu Jia, observing his physiognomy, and found that while his fate had indeed been severed, a great tribulation had been overcome, and it had been continued.

The Daoist Official personally opened his mouth to ask Xu Jia: "This poor Daoist has actually been watching for a while. Fellow Daoist must be a practitioner, right? I just saw you flipping and stacking tables, one layer after another, which was extremely dangerous. I wonder if there is some significance to this?"

He was observing Xu Jia, and Xu Jia was observing him; having just looked at his Qi, he knew he had some cultivation achievement.

Now, observing his face, he saw his eyes were clear and tranquil, indicating he possessed the skill of nourishing Qi and had deep self-cultivation. His forehead was round and full, a symbol of "wisdom and enlightenment." His nose was straight with a fleshy tip, representing a heart filled with righteousness and also the possession of Quanshen. The corners of his mouth turned upward, often carrying a smile, which was the appearance of a magnanimous and compassionate person.

He also observed his skin, which was almost like that of a woman or a child, white with a rosy tint. Only the fingernail on his little finger was left long, which was a symbol of "noble birth," representing that he did not need to do any manual labor.

It couldn't possibly be because it made picking his nose convenient.

"This is indeed an orthodox Daoist method." Xu Jia also made his own judgment.

(End of chapter)