Chapter 17: Yuan Di Pearl!

"Enlightenment Time has now ended."

When the system's alert tone sounded, Shen Zhui's hands faltered, and the harmonious mood he had been in suddenly disappeared. The rhythm of his actions became disorderly once again.

Weeds and dust were no longer neatly organized, instead, they were flying about chaotically.

"Cough, cough... cough, cough." Shen Zhui clutched his nose and hacked, his face covered in dust.

"This Enlightenment Time is truly magical." Shen Zhui couldn't help but sigh. Once Enlightenment Time ended, it felt as if he was thrown back into the sea.

He is now panting heavily, sweating profusely, and feeling extremely tired, as if he had just fought a great battle.

No matter how he trained afterwards, he found it difficult to reach the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man for a time.

However, Shen Zhui understood that this was normal. He had found his direction and successfully entered the Unity of Heaven and Man. With more practice, regaining control wouldn't be a challenge.

Once it happened for the first time, it would happen again and again. All he needed to do next was to keep practicing.

Just as Shen Zhui was lost in thought, a sudden shout came:

"What... what are you doing?!"

Shen Zhui looked up and saw a grim, terrified face highlighted by the fire. There was a guard with a scar on his face, wielding a long sword and torch, pointing at him.

This sudden yell startled Shen Zhui, who quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"What are you doing—"

"Ah!" Upon seeing Shen Zhui raise his hand, Scarface, whose mind was already strained, brandished his sword on impulse.

"What the hell are you doing!" Shen Zhui exclaimed in disbelief. He had been quietly in his cell when a disgruntled guard suddenly ran in to slash at him.

Luckily, the guard was only a Seventh Rank fighter. Although he slashed at Shen Zhui, Shen dodged easily. He then struck the guard's wrist, took the long sword, and caught him by the neck with his other hand.

HIs movements were natural and fluid, and he managed to subdue his opponent in a blink of an eye.

"Scarface, what are you doing barging into my cell, have you gone mad..."

At this point, Shen Zhui also froze.

Something was off. Where was the door?

It was only then that he noticed that the iron door had collapsed and that the wooden bars had been broken into more than ten pieces, as if they had been cut down.

As for himself, his hair was disheveled and his clothes were a mess.

Realizing something, Shen Zhui's face turned awkward. He immediately let go of Scarface.

Scarface retreated back in shock. Shen Zhui reluctantly moved the torch to his side and raised his hair.

"Shen... Shen Zhui?" The man known as Scarface seemed unsure.

"It's me." Shen Zhui smiled, trying to appear as friendly as possible to avoid any misunderstanding.

However, to Scarface's eyes, his smile was rather eerie.

"Are you a human or a ghost!"

"..." Shen Zhui was rendered speechless.

After a while, it occurred to Scarface that he had just asked a foolish question, and he awkwardly asked, "Brother Shen, what happened to the door..."

"Just now..."

Just as Shen Zhui was about to answer, two shadows suddenly appeared outside.

Wang Long exuded a faint white light and said to Scarface, "He Jiu, you step aside. There's nothing for you to do here, go and pacify the prisoners."

"Sir, Captain Wang. Yes, I shall do as instructed." Scarface left, full of perplexities.

Just as he was leaving, the magistrate who was shrouded in blue light suddenly spoke, "He Jiu, there were some minor issues with the prison's array. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Scarface obediently listened. He knew deep down that it was not that simple and it definitely had something to do with Shen Zhui. But having been in his position for so long, he knew when to speak and when to remain silent.

The magistrate set the tone, so even if there were other hidden details, the issue would only be attributed to the prison's array.

"Shen Zhui greets sir and Captain Wang." Shen Zhui quickly bowed.

Wang Long nodded, took a look at Shen Zhui, and said, "Ninth Rank, not bad."

The blue light dissipated, revealing Wei Wenhe's face. Shen Zhui was slightly surprised when he saw him.

It was the first time he had seen the magistrate's true face. He didn't expect him to be so young and there was an air of a scholar about him.

Wei Wenhe looked at the disarray of sticks and twigs on the ground, and thought, 'I knew it.'

"Shen Zhui, you were sentenced to ten strokes of the cane and one month of detention for your conflict with Yang Wu. Do you have any complaints?" Rather than asking what had happened, Wei Wenhe suddenly brought up the quarrel between Shen Zhui and Yang Wu.

Shen Zhui quickly shook his head: "While it was Yang Wu who provoked my foster father first, it was, admittedly, unjust of me to seriously injure several people in the street. Sir is just in the execution of the law, and I don't hold any grudges. However, there is something I don't understand, and I'm not sure if I should ask."

"Speak."

"Yang Wu has ulterior motives and has a close relationship with the Li Family. I suspect that the misfortune we encountered outside the city has something to do with him. I'm curious about why you kept him around?"

This was a question that had been bothering Shen Zhui. The Martial Law Officers often had to leave the city to investigate cases and their movements were unpredictable.

The Arrest Order and the Decapitation Order both have the ability to conceal one's movements except when the Li family puts a great amount of effort in tracking. But this is clearly impossible, so the information must have been leaked from within.

Isn't keeping Yang Wu, a traitor in the team who sends messages to the two major families, a disaster waiting to happen?

"In Qingzhou, there's a farmer," Wei Wenhe didn't answer Shen Zhui's question, instead he began to tell a story.

"After the farmer sowed and transplanted the wheat, he found many kinds of weeds growing amongst his crops. He wanted to remove the weeds but was afraid of hurting the wheat. At the time, a neighbor suggested he wait until the weeds were big enough to be removed without damaging the wheat."

Shen Zhui listened to the story and then pondered it in silence.

"Do you understand the meaning?" Wei Wenhe asked with a smile.

"Subordinate comprehends." Shen Zhui nodded.

Wei Wenhe had taken office as the county authority three years ago, and at that time, Heyuan County was in a mess.

From the County Magistrate to the lower level guards, almost everyone had a connection with the various major and minor families in the city.

Some were extremely corrupt, colluding with noble clans and exploiting the people.

Others were just a bit more complicit, at most turning a blind eye to actual work.

These people were not completely loyal to the two major families, it was only that the circumstances at the time were such and everyone were controlled by the two families, they could only go with the flow.

If everyone below a certain moral standard were to be eliminated, Wei Wenhe probably wouldn't have had anyone to work with when he first took office.

Moreover, Shen Zhui speculated that the county magistrate kept Yang Wu in the county government team might also be a strategy of passing false information to confuse the enemy.

Shen Zhui couldn't guess what other purposes there might be.

"The attack on outside of the city was not leaked by Yang Wu." said Wei Wenhe.

Shen Zhui kept a calm demeanor and chose not to ask any further questions.

He now knew Niubei was not an ignorant fool, but a man with schemes, and this was enough.

He stayed firm on his position not to overstep his boundaries unless necessary.

Wei Wenhe was somewhat impressed at seeing Shen Zhui's calmness.

A brave but thoughtless man is merely a commoner. Only the one who possesses both courage and wit is worth his Wei Wenhe's effort to cultivate!

Moreover, since Shen Zhui joined the Martial Law Department the same year he took office, Wei Wenhe observed and understood all his actions and contacts. There was no way he could be someone from the two major families!

"The Martial Law Department promotes its members based on skills and achievements. Now that you've reached the ninth rank, you can take another step up. However, as you're already receiving the treatment of the ninth rank, and the next step up is the Innate Martial Arts level, I'm afraid it might cause some controversy."

Wei Wenhe hesitated for a moment, then he took out an object, opening his palm to reveal a gleaming, plump, white pearl lying in his hand.

"This is called the Yuan Di Pearl. It can be carried with you to assist in enhancing your martial practice. Once the time limit has expired, you may choose an Innate Technique from the Officials Department. The Blood Burning Technique has some limitations."

Shen Zhui noticed that when Wei Wenhe took out this pearl, Wang Long, who had been silent at his side, had a clear reaction. He immediately understood that this reward was not ordinary, and thanked him as he hastily bowed down to receive the pearl.

This egg-sized pearl felt warm to the touch and was sending a steady heat into his body. Just with one breath, Shen Zhui felt the energy in his body become more active. "Subordinate thanks you, sir."

Nodding, Wei Wenhe and Wang Long left.

When they left the prison, Wang Long couldn't help but ask: "Junior brother, this Yuan Di Pearl is not an ordinary object, even to us, it is a rare treasure. Are you just giving it to Shen Zhui?"

Wei Wenhe chuckled lightly: "The Yuan Di Pearl is just an object. Regardless of its value, it makes no difference in the current situation. On the contrary, if Shen Zhui could advance further with its help, then I would gain another Innate Martial Artist, so why wouldn't I do it?"

"But he has just reached the ninth rank, there is still a long way off from becoming an Innate Martial artist."

Wei Wenhe seemed unfazed: "I only said I would gain another Innate Martial Artist; I didn't say Shen Zhui will become one."

Wang Long was left with a helpless smile: "Brother, you're playing riddles with me again."

.........

After the county magistrate and Wang Long left, Shen Zhui sat crossed-legged on his bed.

Wei Wenhe came to the prison for what happened within, but didn't ask about the actual events. Shen Zhui presumed the magistrate should know about his achievement in reaching the 'Unity of Heaven and Man' level.

"As I suspected, the higher potential I show, the more resources I get for cultivation. However, the leaker of the previous assassination attempt was not Yang Wu. Then who could it be?"

Shen Zhui felt more and more that the situation in Heyuan county was unpredictable, but he had limited information, and his speculations could not form any conclusion. So, he decided to set aside his question for now.

"This Yuan Di Pearl, even Captain Wang seemed envious of. Let's test its power."

Shen Zhui adjusted his breathing and began to activate the 'Blood Burning' technique.