Chapter 1 Corvée Duty

A wisp of dawn broke through the night, casting its light upon the walls of an ancient city, majestic in its bearing.

Nearly a thousand years since the Da Xuan Dynasty was founded, the administration had become corrupt, the bureaucrats decayed. A pale golden light illuminated this Prefecture City, its every glorious or dilapidated building, but it could not brighten the dark and rotten hearts of its people.

Chen Mu, clad in the standard attire of a lower-ranking law enforcement officer, a wide-bladed saber hanging from his waist, walked through the narrow lanes, the pungent scent of blood pervading the air, causing him to frown slightly.

He walked on a bit further.

Opening onto a somewhat wider road, he saw seven or eight bodies lying haphazardly on both sides, their state quite ghastly. It seemed they had been hacked by indiscriminate blades, almost beyond recognition as human, with chunks of flesh and blood even plastered against the wall of a house.

"Sigh, it's the Black Sand Gang's men; looks like they've been wiped out this time," another lower-ranking officer standing beside Chen Mu sighed and said, "A year ago, no one in these parts dared to mess with the Black Sand Gang. But ever since their boss fell, they've been declining day by day, and now even a few small cats have managed to wipe them out completely."

"Shh, don't talk about it, it's none of our business. Just sweep!"

A third officer gestured for silence and then picked up his tools, ready to clean the street.

Chen Mu looked at the horrific scene, his brow furrowed, but in the end, he just shook his head.

Having been in this world for two years, he had seen such scenes more than once. This seemingly magnificent Prefecture City was in reality a chaotic land, rife with strife and slaughter.

Gang conflicts that resulted in annihilating entire clans were common occurrences, even in the seemingly dignified and solemn 'Inner City'. Every day bodies were thrown out from there, and these officers, who were said to be on duty, were actually just in charge of cleaning up afterward.

Chen Mu had seen a colleague who spoke a few too many words while drunk, and the next day, his body mysteriously appeared in a roadside ditch, with the authorities above not bothering to intervene or even ask a question.

Clean up!

Chen Mu rolled up his sleeves to fan away some of the nauseating stench of blood and followed his colleagues.

In the chaotic Prefecture City, the work of a lower-ranking officer was actually quite good. As long as one didn't speak out of turn, mind one's own business, didn't talk back to superiors, and stayed honest and compliant, one could basically remain safe. Not like those poor commoners who lived in constant fear.

Chen Mu could thank his scarcely-seen old father for securing this job as an officer for him; his father was an old enforcer who knew a bit of the right people. On his deathbed, he went to great lengths to arrange this job for him, and then he passed away.

But.

This job as an officer didn't allow 'Chen Mu' to live much longer, either; he later fell ill and died, and the current Chen Mu was no longer the original person, but a soul also named Chen Mu from Earth, who had inherited this identity.

The Chen Mu of his previous life was also a nobody, but after years of struggling at the bottom, he at least possessed the ability to read people and know what to say, which allowed him to quickly stabilize, even after suddenly arriving in this unfamiliar world, and safely get through two years.

The officers quickly got to work, each attending to the corpses.

Chen Mu, like his colleagues, pretended to sweep while casually searching the bodies... This form of body-searching was an unspoken agreement among them. Although they hardly ever found anything valuable, for the most part, any silver would have been taken long before, but with some luck, they might occasionally find something overlooked.

For those bottom-ranking officers, even finding a few copper coins was a reason to be happy.

Fumbling through the clothing of the body he was dealing with, Chen Mu found nothing. At the same time, he noticed his colleague Liu San not far away, seemingly pocketing something into his own clothes.

"Why is it always me who finds nothing?"

Chen Mu felt somewhat puzzled. In these two years, he must have dealt with nearly three hundred bodies, if not two hundred, but he had not once found any silver. Silver coins were also nearly non-existent, amounting to only two or three times, and then only a few scattered copper coins.

Since everyone had an understanding, he wouldn't ask Liu San what he found, but it was clear that Liu San had found something of value.

Chen Mu, somewhat incredulous, continued to search the body he was working on and felt something unusual. It turned out to be some sort of item, seemingly a small, paper booklet.

Chen Mu immediately tensed.

Taking silver coins was acceptable, and if there were valuables like jade pendants, those were fair game as well, but one should be cautious with strange items, particularly those made of paper—it was impossible to know if they might bring trouble.

Still, after hesitating for a moment, Chen Mu slightly lifted the cover to peek into the booklet through the crack, and saw it was a somewhat tattered yellow paper booklet with the words '...Wind Blade Technique' faintly visible.

"Hmm."

Chen Mu's heart stirred, but he kept his movements discreet, covertly tucking the small booklet away.

If anything like a ledger or a map was found on the corpse, it would be best to pretend ignorance. Firstly, it would be of no use to him; secondly, it might attract trouble. However, if it was a damaged Blade Technique, it likely wouldn't pose much of a problem. After all, if it had any value, it would have been taken by the killer long ago during the night.

Liu Song and others also noticed Chen Mu's actions, but after exchanging glances, they tacitly chose not to come over and inquire.

"Let's go!"

The group bustled for a while, moving the corpse onto a small wooden cart and then pushing the cart towards the city outskirts.

Not far north of the city lay the Mass Burial Mound.

Chen Mu, Liu Song, Li Liu, and others transported the corpse all the way there and simply threw it on the ground; there was no need for burial. At night, wild wolves roamed the area—feeding them with the corpse was convenient. If there was time the next day, hunting a few wolves and selling their pelts for some wine money was an option.

Of course, the truth was that none of them wanted to linger outside the city. Inside, their status as servants still held some weight, but once they stepped outside, where chaos reigned, no one cared who was who. Staying any longer than necessary only increased the danger.

The group hurriedly dumped the corpse and made their way back to the city, only exhaling in relief after they had entered its gates.

"Chen Er, how about it, shall we go for a drink together today?"

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

He wasn't actually called Liu San; his family name was Liu, with the given name 'Song', but being the third child at home, that was the nickname he went by. Chen Mu had an older brother who had passed away early, so he was the second child, hence others occasionally called him Chen Er.

"No, thanks."

Chen Mu waved his hand.

Drinking and feasting, visiting brothels, listening to music—he certainly desired these things, but he was simply too embarrassed by the emptiness of his purse.

Being a servant was supposedly a stable job, but in reality, he hardly earned any Silver. Most of it was skimmed off by the officials above him, and what little he received was barely enough for daily food and drink. If he wanted to indulge in a bit more luxury, like enjoying fine liquor, the money was far from sufficient.

Moreover, at Chen Mu's house, there was his sister, seven years his junior, who had to stay hidden at home and couldn't go out to work, which meant another mouth to feed. This made his situation much more difficult than that of people like Liu Song, whose families were relatively well-off.

Seeing Chen Mu about to leave, Liu Song laughed and said, "Chen Er, your sister is reaching marriageable age. How about I find a way for her to marry into a wealthy family? Then she would be well-cared for, and you would receive a sum of Silver to make your life much more comfortable. What do you think?"

Having worked with Chen Mu for several years, he knew Chen Mu's circumstances well. Chen Mu's father had spent the family's entire savings on medical expenses during his severe illness. Now, working as a servant and earning so little, Chen Mu needed to support a sister who wasn't able to work outside. Compared to even lower-class citizens, they weren't going hungry, but in every other respect, life was far from satisfactory.

Upon hearing Liu Song's words, an image of a bubbly and innocent young girl surfaced in Chen Mu's mind. He cracked a slight smile and said, "Let's wait another two years. She's still too young."

When he arrived in this world, he was suffering from a serious illness, and the only person by his side was his twelve-year-old sister, Chen Yue, who took care of him. Her diligent care allowed his ailing body to slowly recover.

Although he did not have the emotional connection from the previous twelve years, after two years of living together, he had long accepted her as his sister. Moreover, as a newcomer to this world, he could not contemplate trading her for silver—it was an act no different from that of a beast.

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

Liu Song didn't press the matter further, slapping Chen Mu's shoulder with a chuckle before taking Li Liu to enjoy a drink.

Having temporarily parted ways with Liu Song and the others, Chen Mu walked down the alley, first reaching the main street. At the corner, he took out ten Xuan Money to buy two coarse pancakes, and then he headed home.

"These prices…"

Chen Mu weighed the few Xuan Money left in his pocket and shook his head slightly.

From what he could remember, more than a decade ago, one Xuan Money could buy a pancake, but now the price had risen to five per cake. It was not that the pancakes had gotten more expensive; rather, the value of Xuan Money had diminished due to various private and chaotic minting, gradually becoming less valuable.

This directly impacted the lowest-ranking servants like him, because the Silver they were paid was always calculated in Xuan Money. Although there had been a nominal increase in his wages over recent years, it did not compensate for the devaluation of Xuan Money.

He wondered whose pockets the missing difference had ended up in.

Soon.

Chen Mu returned to his home in this world.

Located on the outskirts of the South City District in an area akin to a slum, it was made up of a row of somewhat rundown tile and mud houses. Calling it a row was a stretch; there were only two rooms—one for storing firewood, cooking, and piling up miscellaneous items, and the other was a bedroom for living.