Chapter 278: The Inn

“Annihilation!”

Wu Ming’s face was cold as he watched a female Privilege Holder before him instantly lose focus in her eyes, slump down limply, and become a corpse.

“Brutality against women and children! Heaven will not allow such crimes to go unpunished! May you surely meet a bad end!”

In his hand, another man who looked like a scholar spat out a curse with bloodshot eyes and suddenly bit his tongue to commit suicide.

Puh!

A mist of blood spewed from his mouth, tinged with a bluish-green hue, like a flying sword stabbing toward Wu Ming.

“Hmm? The Confucian ‘Cyan Blood and Verdant Painting’ technique?”

A clear light flashed from Wu Ming’s hand, shattering the greenish blood arrows. “She should be your enemy, right? I avenged you, so why this reaction?”

As he spoke, a powerful force abruptly shoved the scholar away.

“Wu wu…”

Biting off one’s tongue is an excruciating way to die. Fortunately, the scholar evidently possessed some cultivation, enabling him to barely move slightly on the ground. Twisting his body, he dipped his finger in blood and wrote seven characters of “hate.” Suddenly, his body stiffened, and blood streamed from both his eyes.

“Boring… Could there be some cheesy plot hidden here, something like the Butterfly Lovers?”

Wu Ming touched his chin, unmoved and showing no curiosity, indifferently watching the scholar’s breath cease.

[Ding! Your privileges have been upgraded! For specific information, please explore on your own!]

A prompt from the Temple of the Main God appeared.

Killing Privilege Holders inevitably involves power transfers, subtly encouraging combat. This further allowed Wu Ming to grasp the Temple of the Main God’s hidden intentions.

In these past days, he had been fighting in all directions, following information from the Blood Oath Alliance, eliminating at least a dozen Reincarnators.

Among so many targets, even if half were innocent and another half had no privileges at all, the accumulated effect of small streams eventually forming a mighty river brought a terrifying increase.

At this point, Wu Ming himself no longer knew exactly how much his privileges had improved, only aware that some secret powers of the Temple of the Main God had also been opened to him—this was merely what he had discovered on his own!

“Murder! Murder!”

Following the rule that constables always arrive last, despite Wu Ming’s extremely brazen act of killing in a public market, only now did the sound of approaching law enforcement arrive.

“Has the Great Zhou Dynasty decayed to this extent?”

Sighing, Wu Ming casually leapt over the city wall, carrying the Blood Oath Alliance Leader’s flesh talisman.

This lightness skill that leapt several zhang forward left the pursuing constables staring in disbelief, too frightened to chase.

After all, they were merely minor officials in a small county, just trying to make a living. When it came to such vicious outlaws, they were terrified at the sight.

“If this were during the founding of the dynasty or its period of growth, no matter how notorious the bandits or powerful the warlords, they would never dare openly kill government officers. Back then, the public officers had courage; a single shout from them would make ghosts and monsters lose heart by a third. But now…”

Observing one leaf to know autumn, this single aspect made Wu Ming realize the dire situation not only in this county but also in nearby prefectures.

“Unexpectedly… The once fertile Shengjing Plain, stretching for thousands of miles with rich land, has now declined to such a state…”

Looking at the nearby wasteland and the crisscrossing gullies, Wu Ming sighed again.

Exactly!

This place was Shangzhou, even more specifically, a small county near Shengjing, within the former capital territory of the Shang Dynasty’s Ten Unique Passes.

Wu Ming had visited once before; returning three hundred years later, he only saw a landscape of devastation.

The once lush green trees and flourishing vegetation had completely vanished, replaced only by deep loess ravines, like scars on the earth, devoid of any sign of life.

A slight breeze would kick up flying sand and stones, blotting out the sky and sun.

Undoubtedly, this place had become a desolate, cursed land!

“Back then, the Great Shang acted against Heaven’s will, wounding the Dragon of the Earth, damaging the land’s vitality—that was the first calamity! The fall of the Twelve Golden Men in Shengjing spread malevolent energy, rendering a hundred-mile radius barren for three centuries—that was the second!”

“With these two disasters, Shangzhou’s status plummeted after the end of the Shang Dynasty. The total annual grain output of the entire prefecture now doesn’t even match that of two or three counties in other prefectures! It has truly become a barren and impoverished region!”

“The Great Zhou naturally abandoned Shengjing, establishing a new capital elsewhere, treating this area as a plague-ridden land. For the past few decades, even officials who were demoted preferred to go to the southern frontiers or northern wilderness rather than come here, gradually turning it into a place of exile…”

“The county we just passed is far inferior to any major town in Chufeng Prefecture…”

“But also thanks to its terrible reputation, bandits knew there was little profit here, and armies didn’t come to forage, resulting in relatively fewer wars—perhaps a kind of blessing in disguise?”

…

Reflecting on these changes, Wu Ming’s face showed deep sighs.

“But… Why has the Imperial Bureau of Curious Affairs deployed elite troops here?”

This information was obtained from a secret tip by Commander Li Zongyi. Moreover, Li was certain he had discovered some clues, decided to retreat, and was willing to offend the Xie family to capture Xie Baoyu and Xie Ling’er as leverage for withdrawing from this mission.

Unfortunately, although his plan seemed good, once discovered by Wu Ming, he could only leave the stage in defeat.

“The Imperial Bureau of Curious Affairs…”

From Wu Ming’s investigation, this was a department established during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Great Zhou. Ostensibly, it sent officials to travel the land collecting strange tales and unusual events. In reality, however, it secretly recruited many peculiar individuals, bearing a strong resemblance to both the “Six Ministry Gates” and the “Eastern Depot,” primarily tasked with tracking and investigating information about Reincarnators.

“Unfortunately, with the Main God’s deadly weapon of erasure, all these efforts are in vain…”

Wu Ming was immediately puzzled. If this were during a time of national strength, discovering such unstable elements within the realm and dispatching personnel to investigate would be reasonable.

But now, during a time of widespread chaos across the realm, persisting in such relentless pursuit, even mobilizing elite troops from various prefectures for joint operations, everything seemed to carry an air of “unreasonableness.”

“It seems… Commander Li’s guess was quite accurate. Behind the Bureau of Curious Affairs, there are not only the imperial court but also hidden hands from various factions!”

As long as one possesses a blessed land, one can establish a thousand-year aristocratic family!

With such profound resources and guarded by great cultivators of level six or higher, naturally sufficient to contend with the imperial court.

Even more so now.

“Is it the imperial court that wants to act, or are numerous aristocratic families pushing for it?”

Although there are many factions across the realm, the Bureau of Curious Affairs officially belongs to the imperial court. Without the royal family’s approval, it couldn’t have acted so openly.

“Perhaps it’s a joint operation, with the imperial court’s approval and eager to see it succeed?”

Wu Ming pursed his lips, a playful smile playing on his lips. “Could there be something related to the Temple of the Main God in Shangzhou?”

With this thought, he immediately set off.

If nothing unexpected happened, ahead would be a liaison point designated by the Bureau of Curious Affairs.

…

Traveling dozens of miles further from the small county brought one to the former dynasty’s capital region, where a small post station remained.

Post stations were places where imperial messengers could rest and change horses, crucial nodes connecting the entire empire.

It was through this dense network of post stations spread across nineteen provinces that imperial decrees were efficiently communicated throughout the realm, forming the foundation of unity.

Unfortunately, in the later years of the dynasty, these stations easily became places for corruption and extortion by officials, causing suffering for station masters and increasing the imperial burden.

Wu Ming recalled how Emperor Chongzhen in his past life noticed these problems and decisively ordered the post stations’ abolition. However, the execution was flawed, producing a laid-off debt collector named Li Zicheng… and then there was no more…

“But… This is the last one. Beyond here lies Shengjing, truly barren land where even rats cannot survive…”

Wu Ming entered a small post station.

This station was also very small, with yellow winds howling outside, the wooden boards shaking and whistling with cold air, giving a very shaky impression.

Upon entering, the first thing visible was a small hall, with side rooms on both sides. From the backyard came the weak sounds of cattle and horses, clearly very emaciated without even needing to look.

An elderly, hunched clerk approached, his cloudy eyes glancing at Wu Ming listlessly and asking, “Which honorable official are you, and do you have credentials?”

According to imperial law, only officials were entitled to use post stations. However, by this time, abuse of power was rampant. Practically any department could issue a certificate, allowing relatives and attendants to occupy the Great Zhou’s resources, while also extorting endlessly, causing the post stations to operate at a loss.

Wu Ming naturally had no such credentials.

Even if he did, a certificate issued by the Southern Feng Army’s Governor might not be recognized by the imperial court.

Thinking for a moment, he directly threw out a token.

This token was black and unremarkable, with a snarling Yazhi creature on the front, and on the back were inscribed the words “Private Hundred House under the Great Zhou Bureau of Curious Affairs, Zheng Jun,” along with an ancient-looking seal mark.

“Oh! A Hundred House official, please come in!”

The Bureau of Curious Affairs’ Thousand Household ranked as seventh grade, while the Hundred Household was lower, still holding an official rank of the ninth grade.

Post stations also had ranks. The station masters at the prefecture level had official ranks, but at the county level and below, they were merely clerks. The old man smiled bitterly and bowed.

“Ah, prepare some food and wine for me…”

Wu Ming casually entered the door, noticing the man’s hesitant expression, he smiled, “Of course… I know you’re in a difficult position. Here, get the best you can!”

Saying so, he shoved a silver ingot into the old clerk’s arms.

“How could this be acceptable?”

Although the old clerk protested verbally, his hands tightly clutched the silver, bowing repeatedly before retreating to the back room, where soon a shout could be heard: “Da Niu, have your wife kill the chicken and heat up the stove. A master has arrived!”

It seemed he had even brought his entire family into the station’s staff.

Wu Ming smiled slightly, not minding the old clerk’s minor embezzlement.

Before long, the meal arrived: a full bowl of millet, a fat chicken, two plates of pickled vegetables, a pot of yellow wine, exuding a fragrant aroma.

Wu Ming sipped the wine slightly; the yellow wine was somewhat bitter but still tasted pure. Glancing at the old clerk rubbing his hands beside him, he smiled again: “Come, come! Sit down too!”

Inviting the man to sit, after a couple more cups, Wu Ming casually asked, “This place usually has very few visitors, right?”

“Of course, it’s been few…”

The old clerk’s face was filled with bitterness. “We usually relied on county relief to barely get by, but these past few days suddenly became busy… Yesterday, a gentleman from the capital even took away two fine horses, leaving me only two weak nags…”