Beware Of Chicken

Chapter Volume 3 ss2: Sidestory: The Man Who Would Be Called Hong Xian (2)

It started off innocently enough, Lin Bao reflected.

“These will be good jobs to get to know your superiors and to have them think favourably of you. I know you’re both competent men, Lin Bao, Hong San, else I would not have made the recommendation.” Their kindly Senior smiled at them, but Bao knew it was strained. The man looked like he hadn’t been getting much sleep and, well, there were rumors that he had been caught up in a cultivator attack, of all things.

Poor fellow. There was a shakiness to his hands that wasn’t there before.

Bao looked down at the slips and considered the job description. It boiled down to being minor clerks who would be called on to do anything from filing paperwork to auditing account books. Little better than servants with slightly higher status with access to restricted areas.

Disappointing, he had hoped for better but their Senior was probably right. The man had had some of the best scores in centuries until they suddenly dropped off. Bao was smart enough not to pry into the reasons, lest offense be taken.

“Thank you for your assistance, Senior,” San replied simply. Bao smiled slightly at his dutiful and serious friend. His own experiences of life in a little village always made what Bao considered hard work not too hard at all—and Bao certainly wasn’t going to let his friend think he was soft! Well, it was better than stumbling around.

“Thank you for your assistance,” Bao said as they took the slips. “Now… what do we owe for this favour?”

It was the nature of Pale Moon Lake City that one did not give without receiving in turn.

San got that mildly surprised look on his face, while their Senior smiled.

“You’ll go far, Lin Bao. As for the favour… I need some hands organising these with me. It won’t take too long.” Their Senior gestured to a pile of maps and what looked to be information on the various Commandaries and Magisterial positions in the Azure Hills.

Oh? Their Senior was looking to make it big. Where did he want to be assigned? Something like the Dueling Peaks? Or perhaps Grass Sea City? It was an amusing thought exercise as he worked, his attention split between it and the easy task of organization. It was strange that others struggled, but that was just his gift. It was barely an hour gone, with their Senior looking pleased at their work, when Xian spoke up.

“All of these are missing Verdant Hill,” he said, sounding confused as he leafed through the pages of paper.

“… I beg your pardon?” Their Senior turned his head to look at San, who was frowning at the map.

“Yes, Senior. Itʼs marked as being filled in the most recent maps, but the Magistrate has been dead for years now,” San replied. “Was there a paperwork error? They’ve been waiting for a new Magistrate to be dispatched, but none have appeared. I suppose this is why.”

“Truly?” The man suddenly seemed interested. “What sort of town is Verdant Hill?”

“Itʼs a boring, sleepy place, where nothing much of anything happens,” San said with a shrug.

“Oh? No cultivators to deal with?” He said it like it was some grand jape, but Bao could feel the intent in his words. The underlying terror.

“Not in centuries, I would say. The Sects of the South stay in the south, and there aren’t really even bandits.”

Their Senior’s eyes went far away for a moment before he shook his head. “I’ll make sure everything gets fixed,” he promised, suddenly seeming a bit happier. “I’ll have the post filled within the year, mark my words.”

San blinked, and then smiled tentatively as the man went about his business.

And then Bao and San started their first day, and got their first real job—

Weeding a garden in the palace.

Bao had been extremely angry about the assignment, barely managing to keep it under wraps. They were highly educated men! They shouldnʼt be weeding!

When he arrived and found out it was a garden of medicinal herbs he was mollified. It ended up being less of a chore than Bao thought, requiring someone with knowledge to do the work. San started up a conversation with the elderly caretaker, who was extremely pleased to talk to Bao’s friend about medicine. It was always interesting learning new things, and the old man was a fountain of information and juicy gossip.