Upon returning to Changshan County, everything within sight began to slowly overlap with the dust-sealed memories in his mind.
The initial sense of unfamiliarity gradually faded. More of the original owner’s delicate yet tangled fragments of memory, like thawing streams, surged uncontrollably back into his heart.
The bleak neglect outside the city and the bustling prosperity within were separated by only a single gate, yet they seemed like two utterly different worlds.
On one side were sallow, emaciated refugees and indifferent guards; on the other, streets and marketplaces crowded with carriages, horses, and clamoring voices. This jarring sense of division felt out of place, and yet here, it seemed entirely natural.
Chen Sheng had originally thought that the local magnates and county yamen’s attempt to put them in their place would not be limited to the cold treatment at the city gate. Perhaps when they reached the county yamen, there would be further obstruction, or even a deliberate attempt to humiliate Wu Kuang.
Yet, to his surprise, when their party arrived at the county yamen, several dozen people were already waiting before the gate to welcome them.
The man at their head was none other than Lin Shou, the county magistrate of Changshan County. He was plump and fair, with a round, doughy face set with a pair of narrow smiling eyes, and a ring of beard around his cheeks. Before he even spoke, he was already smiling as he hurried forward and cupped his hands toward Wu Kuang with an apologetic air.
“Ah, truly, official duties have kept me entangled, and I nearly missed the important matter of welcoming County Lieutenant Wu! It was all my negligence. I hope Brother Wu will be magnanimous and absolutely not take offense!”
“Haha, County Magistrate Lin, you are too serious!”
Wu Kuang nimbly dismounted, and a warm, spring-breeze-like smile instantly spread across his face, as though the unpleasantness at the city gate had never happened.
“As the parent official of this region, County Magistrate Lin attends to countless affairs each day. That is a blessing for the people of our Changshan County. How could I, Wu, be someone so ignorant of the greater picture? We all serve the court and seek blessings for the people. A bit of empty ceremony is not worth mentioning.”
Chen Sheng stood quietly to the side, silently observing, his expression unchanged. He knew full well that although Wu Kuang was greedy for wealth, he was extremely shrewd and capable. Such face-changing skill in official circles was nothing more than a basic operation.
“Haha, since County Lieutenant Wu is so understanding, I can be at ease!”
Hearing this, Lin Shou’s smile grew even more sincere, as though everything that had happened before truly had been nothing but a misunderstanding. He immediately said with enthusiasm,
“County Lieutenant Wu’s office has long since been cleaned and prepared, and all necessary items have been replaced with new ones. In addition, the various local worthies, elders, and highly respected gentlemen of this county have specially prepared a modest banquet at the Juxian Tower to welcome Brother Wu and wash away the dust of your journey. I hope Brother Wu will by no means refuse.”
“Oh? Since the local worthies are so generous in their hospitality, then I, Wu, will respectfully accept.” Wu Kuang pondered briefly, then readily agreed.
“Good! Good! Excellent!”
Lin Shou clapped his hands and laughed, appearing extremely pleased.
After that, Lin Shou introduced the officials behind him to Wu Kuang one by one, including the county assistant magistrate, registrar, police chief, the various constable heads, and the yamen clerks of some standing within the county office.
Although both sides might secretly harbor grudges, Wu Kuang’s official rank as a regular seventh-rank county lieutenant was there for all to see, and everyone was exceedingly respectful on the surface.
Wu Kuang also took the opportunity to solemnly introduce Chen Sheng, his trusted deputy.
Lin Shou had already noticed this young man behind Wu Kuang, whose bearing was calm and composed, and whose presence was heroic and uncommon. Now, hearing the introduction, he looked Chen Sheng up and down carefully a few more times, then praised him with a smile.
“Indeed, a fine-looking talent with extraordinary bearing. For County Lieutenant Wu to have such an outstanding young man under his command is truly enviable!”
“My lord overpraises me. This subordinate is unworthy of such praise.” Chen Sheng hurriedly bowed, his attitude modest.
Lin Shou, however, did not seem to think so. He smiled and praised him a few more times, his gaze lingering on Chen Sheng for a moment longer.
Yet it was precisely this added bit of attention that made a faint strangeness arise in Chen Sheng’s heart. He always felt that deep in this county magistrate’s eyes, there seemed to be something thought-provoking hidden there, not merely simple appreciation.
“Could it be... that my identity has been exposed?” A thought flashed through his mind, but he immediately rejected it himself. “That shouldn’t be the case. Even if the original body’s identity has certain entanglements, there should be no direct connection to this Lin Shou, not to mention...”
He secretly sensed inwardly. The Heavenly Book of Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity in his sea of consciousness remained completely still and had not issued any warning. “It seems perhaps I am only overthinking.”
After a round of formal pleasantries, Lin Shou personally led Wu Kuang into the county yamen to familiarize him with the surroundings and settle him in. Chen Sheng naturally was not qualified to accompany them inside. After paying his respects outside the gate, he received orders to lead the troops under him to the Martial Defense Camp’s station and settle them there.
According to the adjustments the court had made in recent years to the duties and authority of local officials in response to regional unrest, the county lieutenant’s power had greatly increased. He was in charge of the entire county’s arrest of thieves, suppression of banditry, maintenance of stability and peace, and even the quelling of rebellions.
Logically speaking, among the yamen’s three classes of runners and six offices of clerks, the parts involving public order, criminal law, and prisons also fell under his jurisdiction.
And the most core force directly subordinate to him was Changshan County’s Martial Defense Camp—a sizable local armed force directly commanded by the county lieutenant.
The position of Grand Commander of this Martial Defense Camp was precisely Chen Sheng’s next target.
To command the military defenses of a county was to hold real power. In terms of influence within Changshan County, it was enough to rank among the top five, and it was a proper official post of the regular eighth rank.
However, he also knew very well how difficult this would be. Strictly speaking, his current title of “deputy commander” was only a temporary military appointment and carried no formal court rank. It did not even count as lower ninth rank.
Even if Wu Kuang intended to promote him, it was impossible to insert him out of thin air into such an important position as Grand Commander of the Martial Defense Camp. Merit, seniority, and even his cultivation on the surface were all factors that had to be considered.
Back on the road here, Wu Kuang had already laid things out for him: first, he would arrange for Chen Sheng to serve as the commander of one of the four major city passes under the county’s jurisdiction, holding an official post of regular ninth rank and independently guarding one side.
After he accumulated sufficient achievements and raised his cultivation to a level capable of convincing the masses, they would then plan for the position of Grand Commander of the Martial Defense Camp.
Without a doubt, there was an element of “painting a big picture” in this.
But the sliver of the future Chen Sheng had glimpsed through the Heavenly Book of Seeking Fortune showed that Wu Kuang’s words this time did not seem to be entirely false.
Huang Ren was dead, and he had become the only trusted military subordinate Wu Kuang had brought into Changshan County. As long as he displayed sufficient value and loyalty, Wu Kuang truly did need to support a capable general he could fully control in order to grasp military power.
That night, the Juxian Tower was brightly lit, with cups and goblets crossing back and forth.
Nearly all the county officials, prominent local magnates, and gentry were present. In name, it was a welcoming banquet for the newly appointed county lieutenant; in truth, it was a test and confrontation with undercurrents surging beneath. Although the banquet did not go so far as to be utterly fawning, words of praise and flattery were ceaseless.
However, beneath the appearance of harmony, Chen Sheng clearly heard the implications in everyone’s words: they hoped Wu Kuang would choose cooperation and seek mutual profit with the local powers.
The so-called “iron-forged noble families and flowing-water officials” was a hint for Wu Kuang to recognize the situation and not block everyone’s path to wealth.
There were even some who, after learning that Chen Sheng was Wu Kuang’s trusted subordinate, had a family head use the cover of drunkenness to vaguely suggest that he was willing to arrange a marriage with a woman of his clan in order to win him over.
Sugar-coated bullets were nothing more than this.
The cold treatment at the city gate during the day had been a display of force. The warm and lively banquet at Juxian Tower by night was the “sincerity” they were showing.
Whether they became enemies or friends all depended on a single thought from Wu Kuang.
Chen Sheng watched coldly from the side, knowing in his heart that if strict orders had not already come from the prefectural city before their arrival, requiring them to rectify local affairs, then with Wu Kuang’s personality of “wealth above all,” he would most likely have gone with the flow, mingled with these people, and made money together.
Unfortunately, his superior had transferred him here precisely because he valued Wu Kuang’s military background and shallow ties to the local powers, hoping he could act swiftly and decisively to open up the situation.
If he joined them in corruption and accomplished nothing, then what awaited him would very likely be that his superior would easily abandon him and replace him with someone capable of getting things done.
At this moment, Chen Sheng could faintly sense the hard-to-detect conflict and weighing hidden beneath Wu Kuang’s smile.
Halfway through the banquet, Chen Sheng found an excuse and quietly withdrew from the noisy Juxian Tower. He did not return to the Martial Defense Camp, but instead identified the direction and walked toward the northern district of the city from his memories.
That place was the original body’s former home.
His purpose in going there was not merely to reminisce about the past or be moved by familiar sights.
It was also because the Heavenly Book of Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity, which had been silent for so long, had given a new prompt long before he entered the city.
[My name is Chen Sheng. When you see these words, I will be filled with regret...]