[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-985":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338190,4570,"Chapter 985","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-985",985,"\u003Cp>Xue Shao planned to visit the county government office; he would travel southward on inspection, then head north through Jiangnan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I forgot to ask you last night—how did you end up here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: “I grew bored in the capital; my cultivation stagnated for two months, so I left to undergo trials, experience the people’s lives, and find a place of spiritual beauty to enter seclusion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aren’t you cultivating merit?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After she reclaimed the late emperor’s body, her merit surged; after the imperial campaign ended and she returned to the capital, it surged again. After becoming State Preceptor, she shattered two seals on her spiritual realm, and since then, her merit bar has shrunk to the size of a fingernail, while the progress bar stretches the full length of a finger—the longest one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant that over a decade of accumulated merit now amounted to only a fingernail’s worth before the next seal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after shattering two seals, her spiritual realm had changed utterly; she felt certain that breaking one more would let her touch the secret of soul-body separation—soul leaving the body yet remaining unextinguished. Wasn’t that half-immortality?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And such vast merit could only come from the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing she did not answer, Xue Shao did not press for an answer, and instead invited: “Since you’re experiencing the people’s lives, will you join me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking it over, Pan Yun nodded: “All right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two returned to Xu’s home, fetched Xi Jin, and took their leave from the Xu family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Xu sighed repeatedly: “I didn’t know you were a high official from above—I’ve been terribly disrespectful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao apologized: “As long as you don’t hold it against me for concealing my identity, I’m grateful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Xu hesitated, seeing them off to the crossroads, then couldn’t help asking: “My lord, will our newly reclaimed land need back taxes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By law, no back taxes are due; this year’s taxes are waived entirely, and regular taxation begins next year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Xu exhaled in relief, then remembered something and tensed again. He whispered: “What about the land we’ve entrusted to the Gu family…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Gu family will return your land deeds. The government office will send someone to register the land tomorrow or the day after—you must no longer entrust your land under the Gu family’s name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Xu’s face twisted in distress. He wanted to curse, but Xue Shao was a good man—this high official had spent the whole day since yesterday working alongside him in the fields, cutting rice. Clearly, he was a good official. He couldn’t bring himself to curse, yet felt a pang of guilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But thinking of the sudden, heavy burden ahead, his heart ached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Man Xu sighed as he watched the three of them depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao led them straight to the county government office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had already visited once, spending half a day reviewing the household records of land taxes paid over the past two years and the land registers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always possessed a photographic memory; since cultivating, his martial skills hadn’t improved much, but this ability had grown sharper—he could glance once and imprint the contents into his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun envied this skill of his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao chuckled bitterly: “It’s painful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun made an “hmm” sound and looked at him in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao said: “Remembering too much can be painful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Jin immediately added: “Miss Pan… you’re a physician, aren’t you? Could you take a look at my young master? He sleeps only two hours a day and can’t sleep at night.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun sized him up: “You look energetic—you don’t seem like someone with insomnia.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao smiled: “When I can’t sleep or wake too early, I sit in meditation. Even without cultivating, just calming my breath restores my body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun waved her hand: “Then there’s no problem—your body won’t collapse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just haven’t felt truly rested in a long time. It’s rather regrettable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun thought a moment and said: “I might try acupuncture on you. You can’t sleep because your mind is overactive from remembering too much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sleeping needles?” Xue Shao said: “I’ve stuck myself with them before. They worked at first, but now they’re useless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a ruthless man—stabbing himself with needles just to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun thought again and said: “There’s another way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She raised her palm and brought it down sharply: “Let me knock you out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao turned and walked away: “Let’s go. After meeting the county magistrate, we’ll set out—we have many places to inspect; we can’t linger here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun tugged at her horse’s reins to catch up, calling out: “Xue Official, I’m accompanying you on inspection—won’t you cover my travel expenses?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao glanced at her horse, which barely shuffled forward after three whacks, and asked: “You want me to rent you a horse?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why rent? Just buy one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao: …\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Jin immediately glared: “Miss Pan, do you know how expensive a horse is? Our horses are all rented from the post stations.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So they’re official horses? Then rent me one too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao held an official post and was a touring inspector; whenever he entered an official post station, his food and lodging were free, and he could exchange horses without paying—just show his official seal and documents to rent a horse, then swap it at the next station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he didn’t have to swap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two horses Xue Shao and Xi Jin rode were rented from the Nanjing post station—they were excellent, so they hadn’t changed them since.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun was curious about the Great Ming’s horse system and asked: “Can any official rent a horse from the post station?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao: “Ordinary officials can’t. Only touring inspectors, the Five Military Directorates, the Northern Town Surveillance Office, and local garrisons transmitting urgent military intelligence may rent horses from the post stations.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun nodded: “That makes sense—if anyone could rent horses, the post stations’ mounts would be stripped bare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao couldn’t rent a horse for Pan Yun at the post station; as a touring inspector, he was entitled to only one horse for his attendant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he went to the horse market and bought Pan Yun a good one, spending nearly all his money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun sold her nag and handed the coins to Xi Jin, telling him to handle their food and lodging along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Jin accompanied Pan Yun to the market to buy dried rations and medicinal herbs, while Xue Shao went alone to the county office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun cared only for the people’s livelihood and for acts of merit that could be earned through saving lives; she had no interest in dealing with officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Jin didn’t either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Xue Shao went alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed out to the county magistrate that in some counties, certain officials were trying to pass barren land as cultivated land to deceive the imperial court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao said: “Land surveying aims to increase state revenue without burdening the people. If anyone dares to pass barren land as cultivated and force land quotas onto commoners, I will punish them severely if I uncover it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate broke into a cold sweat and bowed deeply in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was uncanny—just before Xue Shao entered, his private secretary had just suggested this very method. Hearing his tone, someone below must already be doing it. He hadn’t even verified it yet—how did Xue Shao already know? Who was the real local expert here, him or Xue Shao?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did it feel like this touring inspector from the capital knew this place better than he, the county magistrate who’d served here for four years?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao didn’t care what he thought. After the warning, he offered a sweetener: “I’ve met Gu Qingyan. He’s willing to return the land to the people. Tomorrow, send men to register it—remember, act fairly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate nodded vigorously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Gu family was the most prestigious in this county—their patriarch served as prefect, and his son, young as he was, had passed the provincial examination. His future was limitless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Gu family led by returning the entrusted land, the county’s work would proceed smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate’s eyes gleamed. For the first time, he felt the inspector’s visit wasn’t a bad thing—here he was, gaining credit for the very reforms the inspector initiated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate smiled broadly, and as Xue Shao left, he nearly ordered his secretary to bring a tray of silver as a farewell gift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he dared not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao was a touring inspector—here to investigate corruption—and his reputation for incorruptibility in the south was too loud. He wanted to, but he lacked the courage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate could only sigh as he saw Xue Shao off at the office gate, watching him go with lingering eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Xue Shao was far enough, the magistrate’s lingering expression vanished, replaced by envy and jealousy: “So young—he’ll go far.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He touched his hat, feeling the thinning hair beneath, the frost of gray at his temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He feared he’d never reach Xue Shao’s position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate shook his head and turned back to the office, summoning all the clerks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether assistant magistrate, registrar, scribe, or government office runner—even the yard laborer with his broom was called to stand at the back row for a reprimand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate repeated Xue Shao’s demands verbatim, stern-faced: “Though the touring inspector has left, he can turn back! If we erred before he came, we might be excused. But now that he’s come and given clear orders, and we still fail to comply, that’s willful disobedience—grave crime!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate shouted: “I’m old—I don’t expect promotion. But if anyone makes me lose this hat, I’ll kill him first! Understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!” Everyone shouted in unison. The magistrate waved his hand, and they scattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The secretary and assistant magistrate hurried after him as he turned into the main hall, whispering: “Your Honor, should we really follow his orders?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate glared at them: “What else?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But… the money we’ve taken?” the registrar whispered. “Wu Ju-ren, Old Man Ma—they all paid. We agreed it was just a formality. The Gu family didn’t pay, but we can’t touch them either.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xue Official has already secured the Gu family’s cooperation—they will return all entrusted land. You just need to register it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate knew what they were thinking and warned softly: “Xue Shao is no ordinary man. The Gu family isn’t deceitful. Put away your schemes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They fell silent. The county magistrate said: “Return the money to those men.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The registrar: “But… Your Honor, the money’s already collected. Isn’t that bad?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate glanced at him: “If you didn’t do the job, how can you keep the money?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The registrar looked miserable, his face flushed red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate pretended not to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assistant magistrate agreed immediately: “We must return it. Otherwise, those who took the money will be hamstrung in their duties.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct,” the county magistrate nodded. “Eat someone’s food, you’re soft. Take someone’s money, you’re weak. Not a single copper—return it all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He scanned the registrar, warning: “Our county is near Quanzhou. Quanzhou is changing daily. Xue Inspector will leave, but he’ll return. Don’t give me trouble—don’t make me lose my hat. Before Xue Inspector acts, I’ll act first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The registrar reluctantly agreed with the assistant magistrate and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they left, the county magistrate told his secretary: “Watch them closely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate grumbled: “Even an outsider like Xue Inspector knows about the barren-cultivated deception—and I didn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The secretary hurried to explain: “That Xue Inspector is strange. We don’t even know when he entered the county. After leaving the office, I sent men to follow him—but before he even left the city, he vanished.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The strangest part? I stationed men at every crossroad. Yet every time, he slipped past our sight. He arrived at Gu Village yesterday morning; our runners left right after him, yet he entered from the west and exited to the east. Isn’t that odd?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate stroked his beard: “Rumors say Xue Shao is close to the State Preceptor—they were acquainted before. Now it seems he has some hidden abilities. By the way, did he leave the city? Which way did he go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The secretary shook his head: “The men followed him to the market. They saw him meet his servant—and a young female attendant. But before they even left the market, he vanished again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate broke out in cold sweat and suspected, “Could it be he never left at all, but is hiding in the shadows, waiting to catch me in the act?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, that’s unlikely—he has many places to inspect. Isn’t the situation in Zhejiang, Nanzhili, and Jiangxi just as bad as ours?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Especially Zhejiang and Jiangxi—hmm, my lord, in my view, he won’t stay long here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate shot him a disdainful glance. “Do you think the problems in Minyue are minor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still…” the county magistrate stroked his beard, “Zhejiang and Jiangxi are indeed dangerous. He may have survived leaving Minyue, but he may not survive leaving Zhejiang and Jiangxi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The private secretary’s eyes gleamed. “Then…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No!” the county magistrate said. “I don’t know if he’ll live or die, but if I dare do those things after his warning, then just as he can drag me down before he dies, so too will I drag you all down before I die!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The private secretary: …\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The county magistrate ordered his lady to hand over the money collected earlier to the private secretary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The private secretary sighed, took the money, found the others, pooled it together, and sent it back to each household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the households saw this display, they were instantly panicked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even more panicked were the men from the second government office who went to Gu Family Village to survey the land—Gu Family immediately set up a standoff at the village entrance and returned all the land they had been holding for others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The imperial court has shown mercy: past taxes on held land will be forgiven, but this year’s land tax must be paid!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Gu Family returned the land deeds, the government office runners recorded them in registers; once recorded, government clerks went to the fields to measure the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the years, many households had relied on Gu Family to build up their wealth, then used that wealth to buy land or clear new fields nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of these lands had ever been registered or taxed, nor even held under Gu Family’s name—they had simply been farmed, harvested, and left untaxed year after year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was hidden land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, during the survey, they discovered even more hidden land belonging to Gu Family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Gu Qingyan was stunned, staring at the measured acreage the clerks had produced, speechless: “Weren’t all the lands returned? Where did these extra plots come from?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old steward bowed his head. “These were gradually purchased and reclaimed by the household over the past decade.”\u003C\u002Fp>",2515,"2026-06-20T22:04:01.137Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2a88ca044a6cef183f95799562e9337180beee3691bb3a7e68ad41e118cf3765","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-986","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-984",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]