All You Know Is How to Smash

With a puzzled look, Qiao Zhi said, "Did I say forty-eight years? You must have misheard." Continuing from before, he added, "In any case, you need to prepare early. Peace across the realm won't last much longer. The best approach is to enter the imperial court through the martial examinations first—as the saying goes, it's good to enjoy the shade of a big tree. "With your talent as a banished immortal, you'll surely rise through the ranks in no time, and only then will you be able to protect yourself in the coming troubled times." Chu Qiguang could tell Qiao Zhi did not want to dwell on the previous topic, so he went along with the conversation and asked about various intelligence regarding the imperial court. "Does the court collect many texts and intelligence on Daoist arts and martial arts?" Chu Qiguang asked. He reasoned that since this world possessed supernatural forces like martial arts and Daoist arts, state organs would inevitably collect and even control the dissemination of such materials, and perhaps information on the Secret Register of the Purple Mansion could be found among them. Qiao Zhi replied, "Of course. The imperial court has been deliberately collecting them since two hundred years ago. When it comes to texts, intelligence, and all kinds of materials on Daoist and martial arts, if the court claims second place, no one dares claim first." Chu Qiguang's eyes lit up slightly. He thought to himself, 'Then it really seems necessary to join the court. On one hand, in a feudal dynasty like this, entering officialdom is the only way to get the best conditions for advancement; on the other hand, it's also a way to find the Secret Register of the Purple Mansion. Even if the court doesn't have records on it, I could mobilize the power of the state to search among the common people.' For the time being, Chu Qiguang inquired further about the civil and martial tracks of the examinations, planning how to join the court and climb to high office. The night passed. Having agreed to begin martial arts instruction the following evening and continue learning to read and write, Chu Qiguang headed down the mountain toward home. Walking down the stone steps as a cool breeze blew over him, Chu Qiguang couldn't help shivering. Looking back on the past night—climbing the mountain to seek a demon, being taught Daoist cultivation and literacy by a cat—it felt wondrously bizarre, like a grand dream. Chu Qiguang couldn't help letting out a faint smile. Recalling the differences between Earth in his past life and this place, he thought to himself, 'This world is actually rather interesting.' As for the Wang family, with these animals and demons in the mountains as helpers, he had far more ways to deal with them, so some of the plans he had previously considered could be set aside for now. *** Thanks to yesterday's practice of entering tranquility, Chu Qiguang remained energetic throughout the day despite having gone without a night's sleep. Yet throughout the day, he stayed busy with farm chores as usual and listened to the old men by the village entrance brag, showing not the slightest sign of anything unusual. On his way home, however, four or five men surrounded him and blocked his path. The leader was tall and thin, wearing a slightly worn azure gown. With a touch of malice on his face, he eyed Chu Qiguang with ill intent. This man was named Zhang Da. In earlier years, his family had been reasonably well-off, owning cattle, mules, and several dozen mu of farmland. Later, he became obsessed with pai gow and madiao, going to the county seat every day to gamble until he had squandered every bit of his family's land. Fortunately for him, he had dabbled in martial skills in the past and had acquaintances in the county yamen, so he ended up as a thug and hanger-on for the Wang family. Zhang Da eyed Chu Qiguang sidelong and drawled, "Well now, Ergou, your family owes taxes to the court, yet you dare challenge the Wang family's steward. You've got quite some nerve." Beside him was a somewhat slight youth named Chen Gang, wearing a dusty short jacket and clutching a large stone in his hands. He was the eldest son of Auntie Chen next door. Because Chen Gang's family was better off and he had grown up sturdier, he had bullied Ergou constantly since childhood. Chen Gang chimed in, "If he didn't have nerve, how would he dare mouth off to Steward Wang? That goes without saying!" Zhang Da couldn't help glaring at Chen Gang. Oblivious to Zhang Da's annoyance, Chen Gang hefted the stone in his arms and said, "Why not just smash him over the head with a rock and knock him out? What's the point of all this chatter?" Seeing Zhang Da and Chen Gang confronting him with their men, Chu Qiguang inwardly muttered that this was trouble. When he saw Chen Gang pull out a stone, he scoped out escape routes in advance—he had no interest in getting into a messy brawl with these rural ruffians. Recalling the intelligence Qiao Zhi had shared the previous night about the Wang family and the county, he shouted directly, "Don't get ahead of yourselves! A regional inspector is coming any moment to investigate the Wang family for colluding with the county yamen to conceal land and evade taxes!" Zhang Da froze for a second, having never expected that Ergou, normally so dull-witted, would say such a thing. The few men beside them were merely ordinary village loafers; bullying peasants was fine, but hearing the words "regional inspector" took them aback, though none truly believed it. Chu Qiguang knew that in the Great Han of this world, the administrative hierarchy went from county to prefecture, and then to province—a zhou was equivalent to a province. Although a regional inspector over a province was only a seventh-rank official, he was responsible for overseeing all officials throughout the entire province—akin to the leader of an inspection team dispatched by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to local areas. His authority was immense, something even the common folk in rural hamlets knew about. Zhang Da knitted his brows and sneered, "Cut the nonsense! You don't know a single word, so how could you write a petition to file a complaint? Besides, you don't even know where the inspector's yamen is. A regional inspector oversees the whole province—why would he bother with you?" There was another thought Zhang Da kept to himself: getting anything done at the inspector's yamen cost silver at every turn, inside and out. Where would Ergou get the silver to fight a lawsuit? Chen Gang couldn't help interjecting, "Inspector this, inspector that! I told you, if you just listen to me and knock him cold with a stone, then press his hand onto the land deed to make his mark, isn't the land sold? Why waste all this breath?" Chen Gang simply couldn't understand. Ever since they were kids, hadn't Ergou always been pinned to the ground and beaten by him? Why make things so complicated? As he spoke, he raised the stone once more. Zhang Da spun around and smacked Chen Gang across the head. "Shut your mouth!" Then he turned back to Chu Qiguang. Chu Qiguang glanced at the dropped stone and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Keeping a solemn face, he said, "Decent folk already came to question me and drafted the petition themselves; there's no need for me to lodge the complaint in person. As for the inspector's yamen, His Excellency the Inspector must tour the entire province, so yamen offices are set up in every prefecture and county. Our Qingyang County naturally has an inspector's yamen where they conduct business and receive civilian lawsuits." Chu Qiguang paused, cupped his hands toward the county seat, and continued, "Though lawsuits in our Great Han must usually be appealed level by level, His Excellency the Inspector tours on behalf of Heaven to uphold justice for the people. Filing a complaint directly with the surveillance inspectorate doesn't count as bypassing proper channels." Seeing Ergou speak with such plausible fluency, Zhang Da grew increasingly astonished. How could an ordinary peasant know all this? Yet Ergou laid it out with such clear logic that it sounded completely genuine. 'Where did Ergou get such knowledge? Could the Hao family in the county have made a move?' A high-ranking court official from the county's Hao family had retired and returned home. At this thought, Ergou instantly became trivial in Zhang Da's eyes. When it involved the rivalry between the Wang and Hao families, rushing back to deliver the news was what truly mattered. Seeing Zhang Da about to lead the men away, Chen Gang couldn't help saying, "That's it? It's just over like that? "If this is how it's gonna go, why didn't we just do what I said? Smash him cold with a stone! Dammit, why waste all this effort—" Zhang Da could no longer hold back. He charged forward, pounding his fists into Chen Gang's head blow after blow, cursing, "Dammit! Did I tell you to open your mouth? All you know is how to smash! All you know is how to smash! I told you to use your brain for once..."