Chapter 432

The recruitment schedule, frequency, and number of people will be adjusted according to the overall population and strength distribution within the Qing Si.

At its most desperate, they even recruited people once a month.

At the time, it even sparked discussions among surrounding villages, and Lin Ling from Gu Yue Cun heard something about it.

Yet during that frantic hiring period, it was also the most dangerous time for Qingsi County, with public officer death rates shockingly high—fewer people went, even though benefits improved significantly.

Lin Ling, who had just become Captain and been rejected by his sect, felt tempted again.

Unfortunately, Gu Yue Cun was an extremely remote place.

By the time the news reached them, the situation in Qingsi County had already been resolved, so it had nothing to do with him.

During off-seasons when manpower wasn't lacking, they might not recruit anyone for years.

Naturally, under normal circumstances, Qing Si maintained an annual recruitment frequency to ensure personnel turnover and a constant influx of fresh blood.

In short, Qing Si had operated to this point as a highly healthy and self-consistent institution, with regulations and systems that were relatively reasonable and easy to accept.

"So you could go become a Gray Robe in Qingsi now?" Fang Yue asked curiously.

"Am I crazy? Why would I give up being Chief Captain of Gu Yue Cun to become a lowly Gray Robe?"

Lin Ling grumbled: "As for accepting Qing Si's reassignment to other villages as Captain or Deputy Captain, that's not my goal right now. I only want to grow stronger—either join Qing Si as a high-ranking officer, or enter a sect to train further, and the latter path is easier to walk."

When a village is destroyed and reported to Qing Si, its survivors are reassigned to other villages.

But Qing Si doesn't care whether you're from the same village or not—they only look at individual records and abilities.

If you fully accept Qing Si's reassignment, these survivors from Gu Yue Cun would be scattered and placed into nearby small villages.

For example, if a village needs a Third-rate Realm Captain, they'd assign Lin Ling there.

Then if another small village needs a Hunter, they'd assign Jing Yan there.

This is unavoidable—you either accept Qing Si's reassignment, or find your own way to survive, treated as a regular outsider.

In a sense, Qing Si's reassignment is still a kind of benefit for locals in the Heiqing Shanmai.

As Fang Yue and the others discussed this, the long line finally neared them.

The time was nearing noon; some wiped sweat and took out Ganliang to eat on the spot.

In the hot, crowded queue, everyone's mood was subtly agitated.

"Didn't Qingsi County used to set up two or even three lines to inspect people entering the city? Why is there only one today?"

"Exactly! One line means slow waiting, slow checking, slow everything—it's infuriating!"

"I did hear something about this. Apparently, a Qing Robe from Qingsi County chased the Night Thief 【Duan Long Tou】, taking away the group originally stationed at the North Gate. With the county's affairs piling up, the North Gate entrance has been limited to one line these past few days for easier screening."

Fang Yue hadn't paid much attention to the earlier chatter, but the mention of 【Duan Long Tou】 instantly caught his attention.

Qing Robe? Duan Long Tou?

Fang Yue suddenly remembered—during his fight with Duan Long Tou, the man had mentioned someone.

【Thousand-Silk Sword - You Sisi】.

Could this You Sisi be the Qing Robe they're talking about?

Gray Robes are low-ranking clerks.

Black Robes are higher-ranking clerks who have risen through the ranks and can lead teams.

The guards at the gate wore Black Robe uniforms, adorned with faint, sketchy Qingsi patterns resembling lion motifs. On the left chest, near the shoulder, was a small circular emblem with a single Qing character, like a logo.

This was essentially the standard Qing Si uniform template.

Supposedly, Gray Robe uniforms had even fainter and fewer patterns.

White Robes had clearer, more detailed patterns.

Qing Robes were even more elaborate.

Of the four uniforms, only the Qing character remained unchanged throughout—all other details varied slightly.

The uniform was ancient and elegant; even from afar, it looked high-quality, and when worn, it gave off a swift, decisive, Jin Yi Wei vibe.

Besides the two Black Robes, everyone else wore Gray Robe uniforms.

And the official who had stopped them earlier—Dou Daren—wore a White Robe!

White Robe already meant very high status.

After all, inside Qingsi County, only Qing Robes ranked higher than them.

Of course, above Qing Robe were even higher positions—but Qingsi County's ceiling was Qing Robe; promotion beyond that meant transfer to the Capital's Qing Si for other duties.

Fang Yue asked Lin Ling what the Qing Si in a major city was like. Lin Ling glared: "I'd like to know too!"

His knowledge was no better than Fang Yue's.

Lord Han had traveled outside and seen the world, but he only shook his head: "Other cities are just bigger Qingsi Counties—nothing different. If you get the chance, go to the Capital of Qing Guo. The scenery there is a bit different—worth seeing."

The Capital of Qing Guo was Qing Cheng, also called Qing Capital.

As a country boy from a backwater, Fang Yue only knew the name—he knew nothing else.

When he asked Lord Han, the man smiled mysteriously: "Some sights are only meaningful when you see them yourself. If I describe them, you lose the anticipation—it loses its beauty."

Fang Yue stopped asking about Qing Capital and instead asked: "Lord Han, what level of strength does a Qing Robe usually have?"

"Qing Robe? Theoretically, according to Qingsi County's standard, you need at least Innate Third-rate Realm to become a Qing Robe. But in practice, this standard can vary."

"What's the upper limit?"

"Who knows… maybe Innate First-rate, or even Human Grade?"

Lord Han wasn't sure.

After all, Qing Robe is just a position—actual strength depends on the individual.

Fang Yue muttered to himself.

So Qingsi County's strength ceiling is just Innate First-rate, at most barely Human Grade?

That ceiling is too low—our Gu Yue Cun's Lord Han alone is already Half-Step Rain Grade.

Counting his own reckless feeding of the parchment with metal and stone, the upper limit had directly reached Rain-tier.

A dimensionality-reduction strike!

Fang Yue chuckled, inexplicably feeling much more at ease.

But very quickly, his smile stiffened.

Because Lord Han was already crippled, and if he used the parchment's power again, he would also become a strange-entity.

When the time came, forget the game—even in reality he'd lose his life.

So his upper limit here was a fake upper limit, just looking pretty.

"Next!"

Just as Fang Yue was thinking this, the guard ahead roared at their group.

(End of this chapter)