Too Many Wolves, Too Little Meat

The burly men all sighed, staring at one another in dismay as a crushing pressure suddenly settled over them. Until today, out of the twelve brigades, only Chen Chong and two other brigade captains had held the power of recommending candidates. The higher-ups generally gave them face regarding these recommendations. Out of three nominated candidates, they could always get at least two accepted—or at the very least, one. In other words, they had originally felt fairly confident: *I hold a recommendation spot.* Now it seemed... this was far more serious than just losing their recommendation privileges. What in the world had happened this year to bring about such a sudden reform? "The population has grown too fast over recent years." Li Keshi spread his hands, his face full of bitterness. "Recruitment runs on a three-year cycle. Three years ago, across the three states and seven counties of our entire prefecture, there were seventy-six thousand applicants. Six years ago, there were just over fifty thousand. This year, it suddenly shot up to three hundred thousand—nearly a fivefold increase compared to three years ago!" "How could that be?" The dozen or so captains were dumbfounded. "It was never like this in previous years!" "First of all, ever since Lord Gu and the others risked life and limb all those years ago to bring back those grain seeds, Great Qin has steadily expanded the cultivation of high-yield crops nationwide. They spread across the realm over a decade ago. Add to that all kinds of welfare measures, and the common people's lives improved. Once their bellies were full, they could afford to raise children... The population exploded like a snowball rolling downhill." "This year is basically when that first wave of children has come of age," Li Keshi explained. "Wait, that doesn't add up! If they only started having babies back then, those kids would only be thirteen or fourteen this year, wouldn't they?" Chen Chong stared wide-eyed. "Do you have a hole in your head!?" Li Keshi cursed at him bluntly. "What about the children who were already three, four, five, six, or seven back then? They happened to reach the age where they had enough food to fill their bellies and be properly trained! Did you just not count them? Did you dig a pit and bury them alive?" Chen Chong and the other brigade captains froze in shock. "Doesn't that mean this population boom has only just begun?" Li Keshi sighed. "That's why... I expect even more next year and the year after, and the numbers will only keep climbing from here on out." "Yet for now, our Demon Suppression Bureau's annual recruitment quota hasn't increased at all." "Too many wolves, too little meat!" Li Keshi rolled his eyes. He wanted to sigh again, only to find he didn't even have the energy for it. Tapping his fingers against the table, he said, "On top of that, work in the Demon Suppression Bureau is stable, long-lasting, offers authority and future prospects, and gives you a path in martial arts. And comparatively speaking, it's safe." "The War of the Seven Nations has grown fiercer by the day over that business with the Heavenly Stele of Recorded Names, throwing every trade and profession into turmoil. If you talk about danger, nowhere is truly safe." "The border armies are severely undermanned. Any martial artist who reaches the Physical Cultivation Realm automatically becomes eligible for conscription... If you get drafted into the military... heh." "Meanwhile, the Mountain and River Prison is, in a sense, an internal posting. The casualty rate isn't small, but it's far better than the army. Besides, the Mountain and River Prison isn't just stationed in remote borderlands. The major state, county, and prefectural seats need even more people. It's stable, enduring, and as long as you don't commit a crime, it's an iron rice bowl for life." Another brigade captain asked in confusion, "Our Great Qin has plenty of soldiers. Surely they wouldn't resort to forced conscription?" "Fart!" Li Keshi rolled his eyes and snapped, "Are you stupid? Of course it's all voluntary on paper. But the question is, when the summons lands on your head, do you dare not volunteer?" Everyone chuckled. They truly wouldn't dare. "All in all, for countless reasons, whenever the Demon Suppression Bureau opens recruitment, crowds swarm in and everyone scrambles tooth and nail to get a spot." Li Keshi continued, "But I must state the ugly truth upfront. Word came down from Lord Bai: the Demon Domain has grown restless lately. Demon clouds billow incessantly, and demonic qi continues to spread. The situation the Demon Suppression Bureau faces going forward will only grow more severe. More people will die—that much is certain!" "You Mountain Protection Brigades will also have far more to face in the days ahead." "That is just the way of the world." Li Keshi gave a faint sigh. "Gentlemen, you all understand." They did. Chen Chong and the others nodded heavily. Yes, they understood. Demons, monsters, humans, the jianghu, the imperial court, the ways of the world, human nature, vested interests. None of it had changed since ancient times. Mountain demons and wood demons lurked in the wilderness, but were there no demons in the cities? Once demonic creatures took shape, they required human vitality to nourish themselves! In the wilds, dealing with mountain and wood demons only took locating them, setting out ahead of time, and waiting for the right moment to deliver a strike—even ordinary men could manage that. But the demons that had reached the point of needing human vitality and crept into the cities were of a far higher rank, possessing spiritual intelligence. They were vastly more dangerous and difficult to handle. Just as Li Keshi said, that was the way of the world, and everyone understood it well. "Once I inspect the perimeter, I have to head back. I can't delay much longer, and we won't have many chances to meet in the future." Li Keshi looked at Chen Chong and the others. "Be careful from now on. Ideally... it's best if we don't meet again." Everyone laughed, though their smiles were bitter. They all knew what Officer Li meant: every time he came down, it was to execute one of their old brothers. It was a miserable experience indeed. It was truly better not to meet. Chen Chong's three brows twitched, and he said in an ingratiating tone, "Regarding my nephew's matter... I venture to ask you, my lord, to take some trouble on his behalf for the sake of our past camaraderie." "Third Sister, I couldn't even help my own brother-in-law, yet you still want to pry open a back door through me?" "I meant after he's accepted." Li Keshi cursed a few times in annoyance, then said with a dark expression, "Fine. If he gets admitted, I'll look into it." Chen Chong grinned cheekily. "Thank you, my lord." A trace of desolation crossed Li Keshi's face as he remarked, "This place is the only post I visit often. In a few years, when you bastards grow old, retire, die off, or can no longer move... I won't be coming back." The twelve brigade captains fell silent, an unspoken emotion swelling between them. They all knew that given Li Keshi's rank and status, a place like the Mountain Protection Brigade was worlds away from him. From the Mountain Protection Brigade to the County Demon Suppression Inspection Office, to the State Demon Suppression Department, and finally to the Prefectural Demon Suppression Office—Li Keshi was the prefectural director, separated from them by countless bureaucratic tiers! His presence here was solely for the sake of his old comrades from back then. As for the Fifth Brigade captain's earlier dispute and questioning, it had not been a confrontation so much as an opportunity created for Li Keshi to explain himself, thereby soothing the resentment in the hearts of the grieving mother and child. And when Li Keshi held this meeting with these lowest-ranking brigade captains, he had not even let the accompanying county officials attend, simply so he could spend a private moment with his old brothers. Grinning sheepishly, the men stepped forward one by one to present envelopes with honest smiles. Inside were no gifts, but their personal petitions—favors they hoped their old superior could handle for them... "Times are unstable. If anything happens, the punishment will be severe. Everyone, tread carefully." Collecting the stack of notes, Li Keshi admonished them with a stern face: "I'd rather you exhaust yourselves each time than let something like Kang Hu and Yu Sen happen again!!" Pained grief washed over the Fifth Brigade captain's face. He lowered his head deeply and nodded. "Take good care of Kang Hu and Yu Sen's families," Li Keshi instructed once more. "When it comes to explaining things, go do it in person a few times, understand? Don't let the children grow up and do something foolish." Li Keshi sighed. "If they grow up and come looking for me to avenge their fathers and butcher me, wouldn't that make me the most wronged man under heaven?" "Understood." "Come on, let's head out and take a look. Sounds like the little rascals outside have finished fighting." Li Keshi stood up and said, "Let's see who's still left standing. For this round, Lord Gu has assessment criteria, but they aren't disclosed to anyone. Do you understand?" "Understood." Everyone let out a sigh. This was a blind test: they wouldn't tell you what was being tested, yet the test was already over. The standard rested solely in Lord Gu Huo's hands. Yet Li Keshi's personal trip proved that Lord Gu's assessment criteria extended even down to the bottom tier of the Mountain Protection Brigades! Stepping outside, they saw the two officials from the county inspection office staring ahead in utter amazement. "How was it?" Li Keshi asked. "Quite an eye-opener." The two shook their heads, their expressions impossible to describe. "What happened?" "Three absolute freaks emerged..." Lord Liu looked at a loss for words. Shaking his head, he marveled, "Three... hehehe..." "Hehehe what?" the crowd asked, intrigued. "One specialized in kicking groins, one specialized in gouging eyes and yanking hair, and one specialized in hitting people from behind..." Lord Liu gave a dry chuckle, his face twisting as he said, "Their cultivation bases, combat prowess, moves, and techniques are all beneath mention, unspeakably crude... but the way they applied them was truly an eye-opener..." The onlookers' expressions turned colorful. "Such a thing happened?" They crowded over to look, only to see the entire field littered with fallen bodies. Some were clutching their eyes and groaning; some were curled up, clutching their crotches as they rolled across the ground; some arched their backs, howling at the sky with a hand clamped between their buttocks; some rolled about with twisted, grimacing faces, one hand over an eye and the other over their groin; and some had lost half their hair, their bare, blood-beaded scalps exposed as they clutched their bellies in violent spasms... "What in the..." Li Keshi's face contorted into a look of absolute horror.