Hao Xiangtong had waited by the main gate for quite a while, stepping forward to meet Chu Qiguang the instant he emerged.
She wanted to ask how he knew so much, but after parting her lips, she felt it would be improper to pry into someone else's secrets so directly.
Seeing her walk over, Chu Qiguang assumed she had come to press him for another story installment. He spoke up preemptively: "Things are going to be a bit hectic for a while, so I'll have to pause the story for a few days."
"Huh?!" Hao Xiangtong froze. Watching him turn to leave in a hurry, she sighed inwardly. She had thought she and Young Master Chu were at least friends of a sort, yet now it seemed he hardly cared about her at all.
*Telling me stories was probably just his way of getting close to me so he could talk to Father.*
At the thought, Hao Xiangtong felt a twinge of resentment as she stared at his retreating back, a feeling akin to being an abandoned pup.
She clenched her delicate fists. *I really want to give him a beating!*
Right then, as if suddenly remembering something, Chu Qiguang turned back to face her. "Think of these next few days as me taking time off. Once I'm done, I'll make it up to you with extra chapters—a whole two hours all at once."
Hao Xiangtong couldn't help but beam. "Really?"
Chu Qiguang said with a straight face, "I always say what I mean. In all my years growing up, I've never told a single lie."
Recalling how upright Chu Qiguang seemed—indifferent to silver and untouched by female charms—she nodded in agreement. "Then I'll be waiting for you."
Chu Qiguang waved his hand and set off, thinking to himself on the road, *I almost forgot to maintain my ties with Hao Xiangtong. She's a future seed for entering the Dao, after all. I have to keep our relationship in good shape.*
***
Chu Qiguang returned to his courtyard to turn over the unfolding situation in his mind.
Seeing Chen Gang just starting to scoop out the cat monsters' litter boxes, he called him over and told him to find time later to set the stray dogs on the Hao family's steward, Hao Fulai.
Hearing this, Chen Gang's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam. "Is there something wrong with this Hao Fulai? Brother Dog, should we rub him out?"
Chu Qiguang snapped irritably, "Gangzi, quit thinking about fighting and killing all day long. Learn to use your head when something comes up."
Chen Gang nodded, his eyes flashing again. "Then should we tie him up and drag him over?"
Chu Qiguang rubbed the bridge of his nose, then suddenly smacked Chen Gang across the back of the head. "When did I tell you to kidnap anyone? Do what you're told, and stop playing stupid tricks."
Chen Gang rubbed his sore head, meekly thinking, *You just told me to use my head...*
After admonishing Chen Gang not to do anything extra and simply have the dog monsters keep a close eye on Hao Fulai, Chu Qiguang watched him nod repeatedly. *This kid Chen Gang probably won't amount to more than a muscle-bound enforcer his whole life,* Chu Qiguang mused. *Still, someone this single-minded is reassuring to employ at times.*
Chu Qiguang asked, "Is there anything else you're unclear on?"
Chen Gang immediately spoke up: "Brother Dog, every day I have to clean the litter for over a dozen cat monsters, prepare food for both the dog and cat monsters, brew cat wine, tag along with you in the evenings to welcome guests and see people off, and practice martial arts on top of all that. I really can't keep up with it all."
Chu Qiguang nodded. It was indeed asking too much for Chen Gang to handle so many chores alone.
"Tell you what. Tonight I'll give you ten taels of silver. Tomorrow, take a trip back to Wang Family Village and bring your two younger brothers over to help out."
Chen Gang nodded with delight. He had always felt his two brothers would never make anything of themselves farming in the village. Following Brother Dog to do big things was where their real future lay.
Once Chen Gang had left, Chu Qiguang called Qiao Zhi over. "Master Qiao, how did the story about Grand Secretary Wu end? The one you told me last time."
Qiao Zhi rolled his eyes, pondering for a moment. "Grand Secretary Wu Siqi? He still has ten years of peak fortune ahead, during which he carries out reforms across much of the imperial administration. But in the end, ten years from now, his estate is seized, his clan wiped out, and he dies alongside his entire family."
"Why? Because the emperor wants him dead, of course. His reforms eventually encroached upon the imperial kin, aiming to slash the royal household's daily allowances. If that were all, it might have passed, but he even tried to cut back on the reigning emperor's cultivation funds."
At this point, Qiao Zhi instinctively glanced at Chu Qiguang before continuing: "A certain formidable figure once said that Grand Secretary Wu was merely a blade the emperor used to carry out his reforms. Once the blade has served its purpose, it's naturally discarded. Moreover, the emperor's goal behind the reforms was never to enrich the nation or strengthen the people. It was simply to amass wealth under the guise of reform to fund his own cultivation.
"The Son of Heaven wants to gather all the wealth under heaven to break through to the realm beyond entering the Dao.
"Yet that realm is far too difficult. For over two hundred years, not a single person has attained it across the entire realm."
Qiao Zhi couldn't resist glancing at Chu Qiguang once more. "That formidable figure who appraised the emperor said... the emperor staked the entire nation's destiny on himself. If he truly breaks through to the realm beyond entering the Dao, he'll naturally be invincible and peace will reign across the four seas. But if he fails, the Great Han Dynasty is finished."
Chu Qiguang nodded. "Sounds like he failed. Still, if I were in his shoes as emperor and had a chance at cultivation, I might have taken the gamble too."
Since Hao Yongtai had already secured his leave of absence, Chu Qiguang spent the entire day cultivating at home.
Between bouts of training, he watched the cat monsters still undergoing their drills. After several days of steady feeding, rigorous training, and committing murder together, the cat monsters had grown accustomed to their new life and were gradually coming to accept Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi.
Under Qiao Zhi's commands, they formed two fairly neat rows, taking turns sitting down, shaking hands, lying down, playing dead... looking quite disciplined.
Chu Qiguang asked Qiao Zhi silently, *If you aren't around, will these cat monsters run wild?*
Qiao Zhi gave his full assurance. *Don't worry, I've trained them to be completely obedient. They won't run off!*
Chu Qiguang nodded and resumed his martial arts practice. Having killed Gu Wei after his seizure the day before, he found his training exceptionally effective today and seized the opportunity to practice his Yaksha King Fist.
It was not until evening that Steward Hao came to his door, looking at him coldly. "Follow me."
Chu Qiguang paid it no mind, trailing behind him to the rear gate of the county yamen, where someone had already left the door slightly ajar in anticipation.
Hao Fulai said coldly, "Someone has been arranged inside to take you to the yamen's storehouse to find the county gazetteer and the collected statutes.
"Remember: you may only read, not copy. And don't get caught. If anyone discovers you, neither of us has ever seen you before."
With that, the corners of his mouth curled into a lopsided sneer. "Let's see what kind of plan you can actually come up with."
Chu Qiguang nodded without reacting to Hao Fulai's hostility, merely following the guide inside toward the storehouse.
The guide did not speak a word to Chu Qiguang, showing no intention of introducing himself.
Qiao Zhi hopped onto the eaves, asking curiously, *What made you think to bring me along today?*
Chu Qiguang replied in his thoughts, *I've always felt there's something off about Hao Fulai. Having Master Qiao along is just to be safe. After all, caution is the parent of safety.*
The guide unlocked the storehouse with a key, led Chu Qiguang inside, and then stood watch outside the door, leaving Chu Qiguang to browse on his own.
Looking at the storehouse before him, Chu Qiguang exhaled softly. "The trajectory of Qingyang County's development since the founding of the dynasty is hidden right here among these dozen or so rows of shelves.
"From the data in the grain and silver ledgers I went through, Qingyang County is riddled with bad debts and loopholes..."
While reviewing those ledgers earlier, he had not only learned how severe the wealth gap and land annexation were in Qingyang County, but also uncovered chronic tax issues left behind by successive generations.
"The year I need to find is... the second year of Yong'an."
Chu Qiguang searched along the shelves labeled by year for a while before pulling out a volume of the collected statutes.
"This is the one. It looks like a recopy, so I don't know if it's recorded here..."
With the boost to his memory, comprehension, and perception granted by reaching the third stage of Daoist cultivation, his reading speed was astonishing. He scanned ten lines at a glance, committing every word to memory.
Soon, Chu Qiguang's eyes narrowed. "As expected, there's a problem."
He smiled faintly. "Once this card is played, Magistrate He won't be able to bother with the Wu and Hao families for at least a year or two."
Suddenly, Chu Qiguang lifted his head, catching the sound of commotion coming from outside the storehouse.
***
Outside the storehouse door, the man who had brought Chu Qiguang in was yawning out of sheer boredom when he suddenly heard a heavy rush of footsteps approaching.
Magistrate He strode forward with a grim, chilling expression, flanked by over twenty bailiffs brandishing clubs, their faces murderous.
"Surround the storehouse!" Magistrate He barked, and the bailiffs instantly formed a tight ring around the building.
A cold sweat broke out across the back of the man who had led Chu Qiguang in. Trembling, he stammered, "M-Magistrate..."
Magistrate He glared at him, then kicked open the half-shut door of the storehouse. "Search! Find the intruder! Today, this magistrate will thoroughly interrogate whoever dared trespass into the yamen's restricted grounds—and whoever betrayed their trust from within!"
Chapter 70