“Brother Yan, you look different today,” said the man, tall and wide-shouldered. He seemed to carry himself—or tried to—with a certain heaviness to instill some sense of fear in the other party, though he fell awfully short of delivering on that promise. It could’ve worked on mortals, but to Sun Hu, he was little more than a child.
“Today is a different day, Brother Hao. Now, if you don’t mind, I want to speak with my men.” Sun Hu gave him a little smile as he trudged past him into the hall proper, where his taxmen waited in a strict line.
They looked up at him, shuffling nervously under his gaze. They were clearly disturbed by this new arrangement. Why should taxmen stand in line like soldiers? They were officers of the Governor’s Office, weren’t they?
Sun Hu weighed them down as he paced around the hall. He had twelve men for a town of this size. The brown robes they wore looked simple enough, save for the pockets sewn in, which were hard to see at first glance. They were deep—deep enough to hold a pouch of coins.
Already, some of them were filled to the brim, coppers glinting dimly from inside. How much had they stolen? How much had they taken from the honest folk of Jiangzhen? The math said that the amount of tax collected was, as always, dissapointing. The excuse for that was simple. The populace was in decline, times were hard, and the people had barely enough to keep themselves fed.
But not these taxmen. Oh, they were plump like a score of chickens fattened to perfection. Sun Hu could almost taste the greed in their gazes, that insatiable glint masked by a false fear directed at their senior. If it were up to him, he would’ve hanged them from the doors for all to see, to show the folk that the filth in this city was being taken care of.
“Dismissed,” he said instead, waving a hand toward them.
The men filed out of the hall in quick steps.
With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and peered out toward the city that sprawled beyond the terrace of the hall.
Jiangzhen was odd. Sun Hu couldn’t quite shake off the constant feeling that something was missing. The air was lighter. Unreliable. Lacking. To live here would be terrible, so he could understand why the people rarely smiled in the streets. A part of it had gone missing, destroyed in what many thought was a Demonic Cultivator assault. The other parts hardly recognized the fact that at any moment now, it could be their turn.
There was nothing in this city to stop another attack of that caliber.
Sighing deeply, Sun Hu stared down at this delicately manufactured body. Everything was in place where it should be. He had longer arms now, and tanned skin. His hair was this awful color that seemed to be a mix between brown and black. The man he was masquerading as, Ding Yan, hadn’t even bothered to fix the tips of it either, so however it nagged him to walk around like this, he let it be to play the part.
You are supposedly in charge of the taxes here. Officer, my ass...
So much for the local governance. They had it good here, having established their little kingdom without any outside intervention. Not like anyone would give a damn even if this whole city vanished in a day. Almost like an afterthought, this place was given to mortals to live their miserable lives away from their betters.
Perhaps I should’ve left with the Master.
That would’ve been easy if not for the Oath he’d sworn that he would pursue what was just in the path of the Grand Dao. He’d figured that rather than letting his inner demons devour his heart, bearing a couple of weeks—hopefully days—in a mortal city was nothing.
He had his regrets, of course.
Fooling his Master hadn’t been hard either. The Great Master Ren, an esteemed Auditor of the Emperor’s Own, might’ve had keen eyes some centuries prior, but nowadays he scarcely spared a glance at his company, preferring the comfort of empty flattery from the towns he’d been tasked to inspect. He was probably glad to be rid of the annoying disciple he’d taken on a whim for some time, especially after the long talk they’d had before the Great Master decided to leave him alone.
The old fool had a thing for wine, and Jiangzhen’s Governor knew how to play the game as well as anyone. He poured whatever he had to keep Master Ren in good spirits, offering him delicacies of local stock in the hopes of delivering something fresh to this otherwise highly experienced Auditor.
It worked, as it always did. As an Auditor, one that was deep in the Core Formation Stage, there wasn’t anything mortal in Master Ren’s life. Therefore, he liked the novelty of a mortal town and the things it had to offer, even though many lacked the grandeur he’d grown accustomed to.
That was why he’d never bothered to ask a question. Though, Sun Hu knew it was just the way this Empire worked. If people started asking questions, this whole farce would’ve long crumbled into pieces, revealing the true side of things.
Why? Why do I do this?
He was in a different city, hiding in another man’s body, but the question remained the same. Why couldn’t he turn his back on this corruption? Why couldn’t he be just like his Master, who could act like he didn’t care? He probably didn’t, and that was why Sun Hu sometimes envied the man. He was happy in a sick, twisted way.
And here Sun Hu was, contemplating yet again the mission he’d taken up for himself. Virtues. Hah! Such foolishness that a man thought he could change the world all by himself. He was nothing. A speck of sand in an ocean of high waters, trying to stay his ground against the mighty tides.
Better to check that fool. I don’t want him running around while I’m here.
With a long sigh, he returned to his mansion, covering his nose with a hand.
...
Sun Hu found Ding Yan at the same place he’d left him, stuck in a gold-trimmed closet that housed a couple of ornate robes. His eyes remained distant, foggy, and the Spirit Bonding Rope around his waist was untouched—not that a Body Tempering Stage cultivator could ever hope to escape from the hold of an Earth-Tier rope.
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Just to be safe, he dragged the man near the mirror and compared their looks. They looked like identical twins, save for the slight tilt of the lips.
“Hmm, it’s a little thing, but better to be safe than sorry,” Sun Hu muttered, trailing a finger on his lips. The tilt was right at the edge of his mouth, so it shouldn’t take him more than a few seconds to fix it. “Before that, let’s get our stories straight.”
He reached with a finger and flicked it across the side of Ding Yan’s face.
The man woke with a jolt, staring around himself in shock. When his eyes fell on Sun Hu, he flinched back, stumbling a couple of steps before banging into the closet. He was shivering, a fish out of water as his eyes searched the room.
“This is your own place, Little Yan. You know every inch of it like the palm of your hand,” Sun Hu muttered, a little bored by the same reaction. The man was just about to scream when Sun Hu waved a hand at him. “You know it doesn’t work. I’ve placed a Sound-Suppressing Formation around your mansion. Took me some time, being honest. You’ve got yourself a good place here.”
With the money you’ve stolen from the local folk.
“I-I told you everything I know!” Ding Yan sputtered, drops of sweat heavy on his brow. “Please, I don’t know anything else. Let me go, I’ll leave the city right away!”
“Is this why they singled you out from the group?” Sun Hu asked. “You’ve got a loud mouth; perhaps they thought you’re not a reliable man. It took you seconds to spill everything, after all, eh?”
Ding Yan opened his mouth, only for Sun Hu to silence him with a look.
“I talk, you listen,” he said, pacing around the room. He regretted choosing this man when he could have easily gone with that Qi Tao fellow. At least he was in charge of the City Guard and thus would know more about the inner dealings of the Governor. But it was too late now. It would take at least another month if Sun Hu tried to prepare another body.
Who knew the man responsible for the city’s finances would be a useless fool? They treat him like a bastard son.
“Now, you told me an old man visited the Governor right before the assault. It was the day before it happened, right?” Sun Hu continued when Ding Yan gave him a nod. “And after the assault, this man kept visiting the Governor every week, until the Auditor came to your city. So we can expect another visit any time now. Where do they meet?”
“In his chambers,” Ding Yan said, voice still trembling. “He won’t allow anyone to come close. There’s a formation there, and once activated, Body Tempering and even Qi Condensation Stage cultivators couldn’t step inside.”
Should be a Minor Spiritual Barrier Formation. It won’t be enough to hold me back, though.
The trouble was, he couldn’t pass the formation without alerting the Governor. Only a Formation Master could do that. Though, he could always crush the formation with his Foundation Establishment cultivation base.
Then what? I couldn’t kill the man. I need solid evidence if I want to make a case out of this. The corruption alone isn’t enough. I have to find a connection that ties the Governor to that assault. And chances are, he’s working with a powerful cultivator.
There was little you could do about Demonic Cultivator attacks. A Nascent Soul cultivator, demonic or not, could easily get away with crushing a mortal city. It was then odd that a cultivator attack only crushed a quarter of the city, leaving the other parts untouched.
And I’ve got word from the Skyguard that there hasn’t been a single demonic cultivator seen around this part of the Empire for the last fifty years. Strange… This whole thing is way too strange.
“Good,” he muttered, then flicked a hand across the man, sending him back to the closet. For good measure, he activated the spiritual rope around the man’s body.
“What was the saying?” he said out loud as he shook his head. “Oh, yes. I’m in a bit of a pickle here.”
But he couldn’t turn back from his Heavenly Oath. It had been very manly of him to swear the Oath as a new graduate. He could still remember the pride on his father’s face. A just man, a courageous man, and a fool, no doubt. But he had to keep with the tradition.
His father had said when Emperor Xia ruled, it was mandatory for all the Auditors and Judges to swear an Oath to the Heavens. This way, people could be sure justice would prevail in the end.
That changed when the new Emperor usurped the throne. To him, this practice was predatory. Justice, in his words, could prevail without an Oath to the Heavens. We should trust men, he’d said, trust their integrity. Believe the best in people.
That’s working, eh?
It was not, and people were okay with that. Just that Sun Hu thought he was different. His family was different. He should have known better when his father, the Grand Judge of the Emperor’s Court, was forced to retire under the new Emperor’s rule.
Can’t do anything about that, can we?
Back to business, now. He had to focus and find a way to get close to other cultivators in the city. During these last days, he hadn’t even managed to speak more than a few words to others. Everybody kept to themselves. He must find a place to poke a finger into this scheme.
But how? How—
A knock came on the door.
Sun Hu scowled as he made for the entrance. He’d fired all the maids to keep away from curious eyes, so he’d been tending to his own needs. When he opened the door, he found a plump man waiting with a card and a straw basket in his hands.
“Yes?” Sun Hu said with a glare. He had to act the part.
“My good sir!” the plump man said and gave him a glorious bow before flashing him a wide smile. “They call me Fatty Lou around here, and I’m glad to make acquaintances with our esteemed Commissioner. Please allow me to present this invite and a little gift from the first spiritual restaurant in Jiangzhen.”
Sun Hu was about to dismiss him when the man leaned in and waved a finger at his face.
"You’ll find the date of the opening in the card. We’re preparing a special event for our hardworking cultivators in the city. Oh, what would we do without them? They’re the keepers of our town, our saviors! And do try one of those spiritual cookies before you make your decision. I’ve been told they’re rather… heavenly.”
Taken aback, Sun Hu had to take the card and the basket when the man basically forced them into his hands and bolted off before he had a chance to refuse. With that, Sun Hu closed the door and sighed out a breath.
Spiritual cookies? Bah! The only spiritual food in this city was that awful rice in the brothels. That, and our Governor’s special diet ordered from Lanzhou.
Sun Hu shook his head as he stared at the basket. He wasn’t too thrilled by the promise of spirituality in these cookies, but the invite to that special event got his attention. If all the cultivators in the governance attend--
Why would they? A simple cookie wouldn’t be enough to pique their interest.
His shoulders slumped. He took one of the cookies from the basket. There was no way this would get those secretive bastards to gather around in a restaurant. They liked to keep away from the city except when it was time to collect their rents.
Still, Sun Hu tried one of the cookies.
It crunched between his teeth, sweet but not overly so. He wasn’t a fan of overly sweet things, but this one had the perfect balance. The flavors trickled down through his mouth. It wasn’t bad, but just like he thought, there was nothing spiritual in—
A sudden wind filled his mouth, puffing his cheeks out. He couldn’t close his lips as he stumbled back, as if slapped by an invisible hand. The flavors doubled in mere seconds, the lacking air of Jiangzhen growing still… until a wave of spiritual energy assaulted his taste buds.
“What in the Heavens is this?!” he sputtered, disoriented as he tried to right himself.
Something odd was happening around his stomach. Something strange. It felt like the start of a minor circle, the spiritual energy poking around his innards like a curious child. And just when the energy was about to round into a circle, it vanished all of a sudden, leaving a heavenly aftertaste in his mouth.
His head snapped to the basket. Fingers trembling, he took one of the cookies. Then he took another one. He devoured the dozen cookies in a rush, caring not whether it got all over his mouth and face.
It wasn’t his proudest moment, stuffing one cookie after another into his mouth. But it was definitely one of the most delicious ones.
…….