Chapter 202: Stealing Half a Day's Idleness from a Fleeting Life

"That brat Heifu, son of a house with broken-jar windows and rope hinges — he gets his way once and immediately runs this wild, daring to insult me to my face in the hall!"

The moment he got home, Left Commandant Yun Man, who had been holding it in the whole time, finally exploded! He snatched up a lacquer vessel and hurled it hard at the doorway, sending two green-robed maidservants fleeing with shrieks of fright, and nearly crashing into his nephew Yun Xiong, who had rushed over at the news.

Yun Xiong wore black clothes and a head-wrap, and had a pair of small, narrow eyes. Though he was only a Hundred-Bushel petty clerk in one of the county bureaus, he was quite scheming, often offering advice and strategies, and was highly valued by Yun Man.

"Uncle, why let a little brat make you so angry you harm yourself?" Yun Xiong picked up the lacquer vase, blew the dust off it, walked into the room, and put it back in its original place.

Seeing it was his own nephew, Yun Man's anger flared even hotter. He pointed at him and scolded, "It was you who advised me back then, saying that when winter came, I should assign Heifu to escort convicts who had grudges against him north. If even one or two escaped on the road, Heifu would be punished. But now, he's returned safe and sound, and even gained a noble rank — now he can stand against me as an equal!"

Not only had they failed to kill off this little brat, they'd let him seize every chance to climb higher and higher, and now he was back right under their noses, hopping around — it truly made Yun Man choke with rage.

Beyond the fury, Yun Man also felt a sense of crisis he had never known before.

The Yun clan were descendants of the ancient Yun kingdom. In Chu times, they served as grand masters under the Ruo'ao clan, managing the chariot stables. When Qin rule came, the Yun clan actively cooperated and joined the ranks of Qin officials, becoming the preeminent great clan in the region.

Yet even so, their family's noble rank had not risen too quickly. In fifty years since entering Qin, over three generations, they had stalled at Grand Master. Only in Yun Man's time, through one term of military service where he took heads in formation battle, did he rise to Official Grand Master. Averaging two ranks per generation — it was truly hard-won.

But Heifu, in just two years, had sat down in the seat across from Yun Man as an equal...

Yun Man felt deeply shamed by this, and Yun Man also felt dread.

For over a decade, several Right Commandants had come and gone, none able to shake his hold on the Left Commandant post. But now, because of Heifu's return, a crack had appeared.

The current Right Commandant, Zheng Shou, had no local roots whatsoever — conscripting troops or suppressing bandits, he always had to consult Yun Man. Yet today he had suddenly turned assertive, using his authority as chief officer to place all eight of Heifu's subordinates in key posts in one breath — as Commandant Clerks, Platoon Chiefs, or township Patrol Officers, plus several Village Chiefs.

The Anlu County Commandant's office system had always been filled entirely with old followers and sons of the Yun clan. Suddenly, a batch of "Heifu faction" petty officers had squeezed in. Though their proportion was not large, it made Yun Man's heart jump.

This was a sign that the Right Commandant was trying to borrow Heifu's momentum to counterattack and seize power!

A hall a hundred spans tall can be burned by a spark through a crack — and Heifu's partisans were those few kindling sparks, stinging Yun Man's eyes raw, yet he had no pretext to block these appointments.

After hearing this, Yun Xiong poured his uncle a cup of wine, offered it with both hands, and smiled. "I've also heard that Heifu was summoned by the County Magistrate, who intends to recruit him as a clerk in the county office, but Heifu declined."

Yun Man sighed. "Why do you think Heifu politely refused the County Magistrate's recruitment?"

Yun Xiong said, "He thinks the authority of the vacant posts currently available in Anlu County is too small."

"Then what post do you think Heifu wants?"

Yun Xiong narrowed his eyes. "If your nephew is not mistaken, he is eyeing Uncle's post of Left Commandant, eager to seize it as soon as possible..."

"If that is truly the case, what can be done?"

Yun Man looked to his nephew, seeking his counsel.

Heifu's wings were fully grown — he could no longer be sent packing with some casual excuse as before. Not only was his noble rank equal to Yun Man's, but county gossip said that during the campaign against Chu, Heifu had saved the son of the Commandant of Justice and son-in-law of the King of Qin — Li You, the "hero" of that war. His brazen provocations were probably because he felt he now had someone at court, and could act without restraint.

Yun Xiong, however, thought little of it. "Even if he truly became Li You's trusted man, so what? Uncle is neither under the Commandant of Justice's jurisdiction nor Li You's. No matter how high and powerful those two are, they would find it hard to meddle in Anlu's affairs."

This was the advantage of Qin's strict and clear laws, which forbade overstepping one's authority.

"Your nephew has two strategies that might eliminate Heifu's momentum in one stroke."

Yun Man said urgently, "Speak quickly!"

"First, turn his own tactic against him — start with those garrison soldiers Heifu brought back!"

"How so?"

"I've inquired. Before they rose up, these men were all poor, lowly soldiers. Now that they've suddenly gained official posts, they're bound to get drunk on success. Is there any corner of this county without Uncle's old friends and trusted men? First send people to probe their weaknesses — tempt the drinkers and gluttons with wine and meat, beguile the greedy with coin and silk. The moment they make the slightest mistake in their posts, the slightest violation of the law, have someone report and investigate them at once! For every one confirmed, punish one severely. In less than half a year, we can sweep them all clean! We failed to root out that vile sprout Heifu in time back then — we cannot miss this chance now! Then use this to accuse Zheng Shou of appointing men poorly, and make him lose the Right Commandant post as well."

"Excellent!"

Yun Man clapped his hands, but then frowned with worry. "Yet that scoundrel Heifu is cunning and slippery, and deeply trusted by his subordinates. With him in the county, these schemes will likely be hard to carry out."

"That brings me to the second strategy your nephew was about to mention."

Yun Xiong gave a dark chuckle. "There's a saying that fits well — the distant is no match for the near. Heifu thinks he has backing at court, but has our Yun clan, standing firm in Anlu for fifty years since entering Qin, been without our own support? And our support is in Jiangling City in Nan Commandery — far closer than his!"

"You mean..." Yun Man sank into thought.

Yun Xiong said in a sinister tone, "Uncle can petition the commandery to find a reason to transfer Heifu to some interior county with no military action, into a county bureau chief post with high rank but no real authority. Once Heifu has been transferred away, Uncle can then mow down all his partisans one by one, root and branch!"

"Good. This strategy is worth a try."

Yun Man hesitated a moment, then finally steeled his resolve and said to Yun Xiong, "Go fetch brush and ink, and prepare generous gifts. I will write to the Commandery Merit Evaluator at once!"

Heifu woke from dreams of horn-calls and linked encampments to find the sky already bright outside.

"Not good!"

On reflex, he jolted upright, threw clothes over his scar-laced body, hung his sword on his belt, and was about to tidy the bedding when he stared blankly at the new kudzu-cloth quilt and a warm deerskin blanket for a long moment — then it came back to him...

"I'm not in the army camp anymore. I'm home!"

Even so, he still folded the bedding neat and square before pushing the door open and stepping out.

What greeted him was the merry laughter of two children.

Heifu's nephew and niece were swinging under the eaves. Seeing Heifu emerge with his hair a mess, Yang, who'd recently had his head shaved bald because of a fierce lice outbreak, called out first: "Uncle slept till late afternoon today — you woke earlier than yesterday!"

His seven-year-old niece Yue, her hair tied in loops, sat on the swing. She covered her gap-toothed little mouth, fingers tracing her cheeks in a mocking face. "Uncle was the one telling everyone to sleep early and rise early, but he sleeps right through breakfast himself — shame, shame..."

Heifu laughed heartily too and stretched with a huge yawn. Yes, he'd been home three days now — the first day he'd slept till late afternoon, the second day till midday, and today was already earlier, but he'd still missed breakfast.

He couldn't help it — he was utterly exhausted. Since leaving Anlu last year, he'd been on the move for over a year, fighting amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, threading through enemy territory in the bitter winter wind, with hardly a single night of peaceful sleep. Now that he was home, he'd slept his fill for three days straight.

Only home could let a person drop every guard like this.

"Yang, Yue — your uncle has traveled thousands of li in a year, he's worn to the bone. You two must play with some restraint, don't disturb him..."

Zhong came over carrying an iron woodcutting axe. After more than a year apart, the eldest brother hadn't changed much, except his clothes were new, no longer covered in patches, and he carried himself with more confidence. Though Field Clerk was a petty post beneath official rank, he was still a clerk, overseeing the fields of an entire ward. When he went out, the neighbors all had to bow to Zhong and address him respectfully as "Field Clerk" or "Master Zhong."

After Heifu came home bearing the rank of Official Grand Master, it was even more so. Their household had seemingly become the wealthiest and most honored in all of Cloud Dream Township — even the Township Overseer and the Township Three Elders made special trips to pay visits...

Those township officials whom Zhong regarded as "high and powerful" now all treated Heifu with deference and respect, because Heifu's noble rank was higher than theirs.

Looking across the whole township, the only person to whom Heifu had to bow humbly was old man Yan Zheng, who held the title of his teacher.

"My second brother is truly a man of ability. I never dreamed our family would see a day like this," Zhong had sighed when their doorstep was nearly worn down by visitors.

"Elder Brother, let me do it."

Outside, Heifu was awe-inspiring in all directions, but at home he hadn't changed a bit — still that diligent younger brother. Without waiting for a reply, he took the axe from Zhong's hands and went behind the kitchen to split firewood, calling out loudly, "Sister-in-law, I'm awake. Sorry to trouble you to heat a bowl of millet for me — just add a little fish broth..."

"It's been warming for a while already."

Mother emerged from the kitchen. The old lady kept a stern face and gave her second son, who had been lazing in bed, a thorough scolding. But in truth, the moment Heifu woke, Mother had personally gone to the kitchen to cook for him. All the unspoken concern was right there in the steaming broth.

Heifu grinned and nodded in assent, and when Mother's topic shifted to when he would take a wife, he hastily ran off to chop firewood.

Breathing in a gulp of the late-winter chill, Heifu raised his hand high and brought the axe down, splitting the dry log — far easier than lopping off an enemy's head with a sword on the battlefield.

No glaring blood, no flying bone splinters, and none of that faint disgust in his heart.

Blue sky, white clouds, a peaceful little village, a life so easy you could sleep until you woke naturally, and upon waking, eat the familiar food your mother made. In idle moments, bask in the sun, tease the little ones, scratch the old yellow dog in the yard…

How comfortable is this kind of life? A young man filled with dreams of roaming the world with a sword wouldn't understand. But office workers who've stepped into society, grinding nine-to-five without a day's rest all year — they should know it deep in their bones.

No war drums or cold horns urging Heifu to don his armor, no burden of hundreds or thousands of lives weighing on his shoulders.

Heifu felt he was almost about to lose himself in this easy life, too lazy to ever leave.

He really wanted to say: to hell with grand ambitions, to hell with all the scheming and deceit, to hell with rivers of blood, to hell with a name that echoes through the ages, to hell with "a golden-scaled dragon is no creature of the pond"…

When you are weary to the very marrow of your bones, none of that can compare to the warm, comfortable bed at home.

But in the end, he could not forget. Heifu knew this life was beautiful yet fragile. These were chaotic times; he needed to keep climbing higher to protect everything before his eyes. The tree yearns for stillness, but the wind will not cease. With old foes still lurking beside his couch, how could he sleep soundly?

Life, ah, is just that helpless. You know you cannot afford to stand still.

Besides, given his temperament, after a few days of ease, he would start itching for action again. It couldn't be helped — a transmigrator is fated by nature to be unable to endure dullness. This warm home was merely a brief inn, a place to rest a moment during this long, arduous struggle.

Half a shichen later, Heifu had eaten his fill and was sitting in the yard, playing with his nephew and niece and the family's big yellow dog, when Zhong's voice sounded again from the gate.

"Zhongdi, the item you ordered from the county town workshop a few days ago has been delivered!"

Catching a stranger's scent, the big yellow dog bolted out the gate in one bound, barking fiercely. Heifu ran out after it and saw, beyond the small mulberry grove by the house, a horse cart stopped at the crossroads. Several men were straining to unload an object from the cart — it clearly had some weight to it.

"Officer of the Grand Master rank, Craftsman Yue sent us to deliver this."

The cart driver hurried over, his face wreathed in smiles, and bowed deeply to Heifu. To deliver something to Officer of the Grand Master Heifu, who was famous across the county and at the height of his influence, was an honor.

"You've worked hard."

Heifu looked at the object that had been moved before him: two large stone rollers, threaded with wood and set into a sturdy wooden frame…

Yang and Yue ran out and stared curiously at the thing in front of them.

"Zhongshu, what is this thing?"

"It's for pressing sugar."

Watching the two little ones' eyes light up at the word "sugar," Heifu revealed a satisfied smile. He thought to himself, "Years from now, people on the internet might describe this day like so… The era of the Sweet Faction begins here!"

(End of chapter)