Chapter 1: Constable

A sliver of dawn light pierced the darkness, illuminating the majestic and imposing walls of the ancient city. The Great Xuan Dynasty, nearly a millennium old, was plagued by corrupt officials and a decaying bureaucracy. The faint golden light illuminated the county seat, casting its glow upon each structure, whether grand or dilapidated, yet failing to penetrate the darkness and decay within the hearts of men.

Chen Mu, clad in the standard constable uniform, a broad-bladed saber hanging at his waist, walked through the narrow alleyways. The pungent stench of blood permeated the air, causing him to wrinkle his brow slightly.

He continued forward for a stretch.

On either side of the slightly wider road lay seven or eight corpses, strewn haphazardly. Their state was gruesome, seemingly hacked by random blades, rendering them almost unrecognizable. The adjacent wall was even splattered with bits of flesh and blood.

"Ah, it's the Black Sand Gang. Looks like they've been wiped out."

Another constable standing beside Chen Mu sighed and said, "A year ago, no one dared to provoke the Black Sand Gang in this area. But after their leader fell, they declined steadily. Now, even a few small fries have been completely eradicated."

"Shh, stop talking. It's none of our business. Sweep, sweep!"

A third constable gestured for silence, then picked up his tools and stepped forward, preparing to clean the street.

Chen Mu, frowning at the ghastly scene, ultimately just shook his head.

Having been in this world for two years, he had witnessed such sights more than once. This seemingly magnificent and vast county seat was actually a chaotic land filled with strife and slaughter.

Gang fights like this, with entire families being annihilated, were commonplace. Even from the seemingly dignified and majestic "Inner City," corpses were thrown out daily. They, the constables, were said to be on duty, but in reality, they were only responsible for cleaning up afterward.

Chen Mu had seen a colleague who, after drinking too much and speaking a few words too many, ended up with his corpse mysteriously appearing in a ditch the next day. The higher-ups didn't bother to investigate, not even asking a single question.

Sweep!

Chen Mu raised his sleeve and fanned the air, dispelling the pungent smell of blood, then followed his colleagues.

In this chaotic county seat, the job of a constable was actually considered quite good. As long as one didn't speak out of turn, mind their own business, avoid antagonizing superiors, and honestly stayed within their bounds, they were basically safe. This was unlike the anxious and fearful commoners.

He had to thank his seldom-seen father for getting this job as a constable. His father had been an old constable who knew a few people. When he fell seriously ill, he managed to arrange for Chen Mu to become a constable, and then passed away.

However, the job of a constable ultimately didn't allow "Chen Mu" to live much longer. He later succumbed to a serious illness and passed away. The current Chen Mu was no longer the original, but a soul from Earth, also named Chen Mu, who inherited this identity.

The Chen Mu of the previous life was just a small fry, but having navigated the bottom rungs of society for many years, he at least possessed the ability to observe words and expressions and understand their meaning. So, even though he suddenly arrived in this unfamiliar world, he quickly stabilized and lived peacefully for two years.

The group went forward and busied themselves, dividing up the bodies to handle.

Chen Mu, like the others, pretended to sweep while casually searching the bodies... This kind of corpse-robbing was basically an unspoken understanding among the constables. Although they rarely found anything, as any silver would have already been taken, with some luck, they might occasionally find something overlooked.

For these low-ranking constables, even finding a few scattered copper coins was something to be happy about.

Chen Mu searched the clothes of the body he was handling, but found nothing. At the same time, he caught a glimpse of his colleague, Liu San, not far away, pocketing something.

"How come it's never me?"

Chen Mu felt a bit puzzled. He had handled no less than two hundred corpses in the past two years, but never once had he found any silver. Even copper coins were scarce, only found two or three times, and in small amounts, just a few scattered coins.

They all had a tacit understanding, so he wouldn't ask Liu San what he had found, but it was obvious he had something.

Feeling a bit skeptical, Chen Mu continued searching the corpse he was handling, reaching further down. He suddenly felt a strange sensation, and actually found something – a small paper booklet.

Chen Mu's heart skipped a beat.

Silver and such were fine to take, and even valuable jade pendants or similar trinkets were fair game, but strange things shouldn't be taken lightly, especially paper items. There was no way of knowing if they would bring trouble.

However, after hesitating for a moment, Chen Mu lifted it slightly and peeked through the gap at the booklet he had found. He saw a slightly worn yellow paper booklet, with the words "...Wind Blade Technique" faintly visible.

"Hmm."

Chen Mu's heart stirred, but his hands discreetly covered his actions as he quietly tucked the booklet away.

If he had found something like an account book or a map on the body, it would be best to pretend he hadn't seen it. Firstly, it would be useless to him, and secondly, it might attract trouble. But if it was a damaged blade technique manual, it shouldn't be a big problem. It was likely something others didn't want, otherwise, the killers would have taken it during the night.

Liu San and the others also noticed Chen Mu's actions, but after exchanging glances, they tacitly avoided asking.

"Let's go!"

After some busy work, they loaded the corpses onto a small wooden cart and pushed it towards the outskirts of the city.

Not far from the north of the city was the mass grave.

Chen Mu, Liu San, Li Liu, and the others transported the corpses all the way there and dumped them on the ground. There was no need to bury them. Wild wolves roamed here at night, so the bodies would serve as food for them. In the future, they could come back and hunt a few wolves, sell the pelts for some wine money.

Of course, the truth was that none of them wanted to stay outside the city for long. Inside the city, their constable uniforms at least offered some protection. Outside, it was chaos, and no one cared who was who. Staying an extra moment meant an extra moment of danger.

They hurriedly dumped the corpses and rushed back to the city. Only after entering the city did they all let out a sigh of relief.

"Chen Er, what do you say, let's go for a drink together today?"

Liu San looked at Chen Mu with a smile and asked.

His real name wasn't Liu San, but Liu Song. However, as the third oldest in his family, everyone called him Liu San. Chen Mu had an older brother who had died young, making him the second oldest, so others also called him Chen Er.

"No, thanks."

Chen Mu waved his hand.

Of course, he also wanted to drink, eat meat, and listen to music at the brothel, but his purse was simply too light.

The constable job was said to be relatively stable, but in reality, they received very little money. Almost all of it was deducted by the officials above, and what they got was barely enough for daily expenses. If he wanted to splurge on a drink, it wouldn't be enough.

Moreover, Chen Mu currently had a younger sister, seven years his junior, who had to stay hidden at home all day and couldn't go out. This meant he had to support one more person, which was far more difficult than for Liu San and the others, who had relatively better family situations.

Liu Song, seeing Chen Mu about to leave, smiled and said, "Chen Er, your sister is almost old enough to get married. How about I help you find a way for her to marry into a wealthy family? At least then she'll have no worries about food and clothing, and you'll also get a sum of money, making life a lot more comfortable. What do you think?"

Having been colleagues with Chen Mu for several years, he knew his situation. Back when Chen Mu's father was seriously ill, they had spent all their savings on treatment. Now, as a constable, he didn't earn much money and still had to support a sister who couldn't easily go out to work. Compared to the even lower-class commoners, it could only be said that they didn't lack food and wouldn't starve, but in other aspects, their lives were far from ideal.

Upon hearing Liu Song's words, Chen Mu's mind conjured up the smiling face of an innocent and lively little girl. He smiled faintly and said, "Let's wait a couple more years. She's still too young."

When he came to this world, his body was still seriously ill, with only his twelve-year-old sister, Chen Yue, by his side. She had taken care of him, fetching water and feeding him, allowing his body to slowly recover.

Although he didn't have the twelve years of memories and emotions of the original Chen Mu, through their two years together, he had already accepted this sister as his own. Moreover, even if he were a newcomer, he wouldn't do something like exchange her for money. That kind of behavior was truly no different from that of a beast.

"Alright, if you have any thoughts, just tell your older brother."

Liu Song didn't press the issue. He patted Chen Mu's shoulder with a smile and then went off with Li Liu to drink.

Temporarily parting ways with Liu Song and the others, Chen Mu walked along the alleyway, first reaching the main street. At the corner, he took out ten Xuan coins and bought two coarse flour buns before heading home.

"These prices..."

Chen Mu weighed the few remaining Xuan coins in his pocket and shook his head slightly.

According to his past memories, more than ten years ago, one Xuan coin could buy a steamed bun. Now, the price had risen to five coins. It wasn't that the price of buns had increased, but rather that the Xuan coins had been privately and randomly minted, gradually becoming less valuable.

This directly affected those at the bottom like him, as the money they were paid was always calculated in Xuan coins. Although it had symbolically increased by one string of coins in recent years, compared to the devaluation of the Xuan coins, it simply couldn't compensate for the loss.

He didn't know who was pocketing the difference.

Soon, Chen Mu returned to his home in this world.

It was a row of somewhat dilapidated earthen and wooden houses located on the outskirts of the South City District, essentially the slums. To call it a row was an overstatement, as there were only two rooms in total. One was a firewood room used for cooking and storing miscellaneous items, and the other was a bedroom for living.