Yinshan Record

Chapter 2 County Lieutenant
County Commandant.

The dark-faced man was momentarily intimidated.

According to the system of Daliang, the county lieutenant was subordinate to the county magistrate and served as an assistant along with the county clerk and the chief clerk. They were in charge of catching adulterers and thieves, and investigating ghosts and slaying demons.

In other words, the county constable was the head of the county's security forces and the county magistrate's number one enforcer.

The number of county constables varied depending on the size of the county.

Shanyin County is a superior county, and according to custom, it should have two county lieutenants, but both of them have been vacant for a long time.

"This humble citizen, Zhou Si from Shanyin, pays his respects to Your Excellency, the County Magistrate."

The flames had returned to their original color, and the heat had warmed the remaining main hall once more. However, the pageboy and the other herb gatherers by the fire still had expressions of terror on their faces, and had not yet recovered.

"Since I haven't inspected the seals in front of the yamen, I haven't officially taken office. Brother Zhou, there's no need for formalities."

Su Che waved his hand, lost in thought.

Before taking office, he read through the relevant case files of Shanyin County in the Ministry of Justice's archives.

The smuggled salt and the vanished escort team were merely clues found in the case files.

Twenty bushels of smuggled salt, which translates to 1,200 catties. The imperial court dispatched a team to escort the bandits, including many highly skilled individuals.

The former refers to supplies that are hard to part with, while the latter refers to a team with formidable combat power.

The whole thing started at Kulin Zen Monastery; it's impossible to say there wasn't a problem there.

So I came here, but what exactly was that thing outside?
Su Che gently placed the sword box on the ground, walked to the pageboy's side, and reached into the bamboo box to search for it.

"Your Honor, these brothers of mine..."

"It's alright, he's just been possessed by a nightmare. He'll be fine in a little while."

Su Che paused for a moment, then explained, "The human body has three souls and seven spirits. The three souls are the gods of longevity, while the seven spirits are the turbid ghosts within the body. Normally, the souls govern the spirits, making one agile and clear-headed. When demons cause trouble, the souls and spirits are reversed, and the turbid spirits take over from the divine souls, naturally rendering the person unable to move or speak."

Su Che looked at the suspicious look on the dark-faced man's face and continued to explain.

"This is a statement from the Taoist Shangqing lineage's 'Ling Shu Zi Wen Shang Jing,' so I'm just making a wild guess."

Su Che took out a book from the bamboo box, flipped through a few more pages, and frowned slightly.

This Kulin Zen Temple is indeed extraordinary.

"Your Majesty's divine might is unparalleled; you slay demons and vanquish monsters. Even a celestial master would be no match for you."

The dark-faced man exclaimed in sincere admiration.

Awe-inspiring divine power?

Su Che knows his own affairs best.

It's just a case of a fox borrowing the tiger's power.

Inside the sword box was a sword once used by a previous swordsman. It was of extraordinary origin and had been following that swordsman to slay demons and monsters for many years, thus developing a formidable aura.

Normally, these divine objects remain hidden, kept in their boxes, revealing nothing of their true nature. But once they encounter demons or monsters, they must be drawn to test their frosty blades.

For this sword, slaying demons and monsters is almost an instinct.

Without this sword, I wouldn't have come straight to this withered forest monastery.

There was no need to tell these things to the dark-skinned man in front of me.

"A century-old owl has become a wood spirit, its laughter rising from its nest ablaze with green flames."

Su Che slowly closed the booklet in his hand, never expecting that such a thing would be raised in this withered forest temple.

"What is the young master reciting?"

The clever young boy put his hand to his forehead and slowly got up from the ground.

"Did you slay that monster, young master? I wonder what it was?"

The pageboy was muttering to himself.

"Sleep now, it won't happen again tonight."

He's not dead, so what's with all this talk about not coming back tonight? It's like he's meeting a beautiful woman.

The young page looked at his young master, rubbed his temples, and turned over to sleep.

Su Che gazed at the moonlight outside the window, momentarily lost in thought.

It's been three months.

Even today, I still have the illusion that I'm in a dream.

In my previous life, I was an honest office worker with a nine-to-five job. I had no hobbies other than reading and raising cats.

Who knew that when I woke up from my dream, I would find myself in another world. A world that looked very similar to my previous life, yet was completely different.

It's said to resemble the Northern and Southern Dynasties period of ancient China, a time of confrontation and continuous warfare between the North and South.

The reason it is so different is because here, ghosts roam in broad daylight and demons run rampant.

He himself was the third son of the Su family of Duling.

A hapless fellow who was severely punished by a young swordsman for bullying and harassing women.

The first thing I saw after I transmigrated was a middle-aged woman being stripped of her clothes inside the carriage of the wife of a high-ranking official in the Ministry of War.

According to the memories of their predecessors, they would peel off a piece of clothing and then offer the person a sip of wine.

Heaven have mercy, the wife of a certain junior official in the Ministry of War is already forty-nine years old.

If I remember correctly, the one I am in this world should still be a virgin.

What kind of weird hobby is this? Driving a big truck is a sign of good driving skills, but driving an old car is a peculiar hobby.

Then he encountered a group of dashing young heroes, dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses.

A major tendon is torn, and the meridians are injured.

The currently popular Confucian martial arts path is something I can forget about for now.

After much painful reflection, the Third Young Master Su decided to have his family pull some strings to secure a position in another region, partly to build up their strength and partly to avoid trouble.

In front of his own family, this third young master had countless flaws.

Changes in temperament and personality, alterations in eating habits, and even subtle differences in every movement—whether walking, sitting, or lying down—are all readily apparent.

Rather than arousing suspicion, it's better to leave quickly and go far away. If there are any inconsistencies in lifestyle habits in the future, they can be attributed to the results of experience abroad.

This was an idea that Su Che came up with in a hurry.

Fortunately, although the Su family of Duling was not the most prestigious family in the Great Liang Dynasty, they could still handle these matters without any problems.

Under the arrangement of that elder in the palace, the Ministry of Personnel quickly completed the formalities, and he was appointed as the county magistrate of Shanyin County through family connections, becoming a ninth-rank official in the Great Liang Dynasty.

Of course, that person would inevitably give some earnest advice, impart some life experience, and casually bestow a few secret treasures upon him.

That sword case was one of them.

Inside the main hall, the fire still burned. After what had just happened, even the men who dared to venture deep into the mountains to gather herbs couldn't sleep.

A group of people sat around the firelight, listening to Su Che and the dark-faced man in the lead talking.

“That thing is injured but not dead, and it will cause trouble sooner or later. Mr. Zhou, let’s set off at dawn tomorrow. I will send a message to the surrounding counties, telling them to be extra careful and to prohibit people from approaching this withered forest monastery.”

In the Liang Dynasty's official system, within a county, the county magistrate was the head, followed by the county assistant, the chief clerk, and the county commandant. According to custom, the county assistant and the chief clerk were both local people, while the county magistrate and the county commandant were appointed by the Ministry of Personnel.

This is the principle of mutual restraint between internal and external factors.

The appointment of county magistrates and county lieutenants by the imperial court prevented local powerful families from wreaking havoc and monopolizing the area. Meanwhile, the appointment of county assistants and registrars from the local area prevented county magistrates from exploiting the people for personal gain.

Of course, this is only a theoretical ideal; in reality, county magistrates colluded with their assistant magistrates.

As the one to be preyed upon, the dark-faced man had initially had some expectations for the county constable who carried the sword case.

But hearing this, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

What am I really expecting?

The dark-faced man looked at Su Che. This county magistrate knew that sending a document to notify the neighboring counties was already considered fulfilling his duty.

Do you really expect him to copy this?

They destroyed mountains and temples, and vanquished all evil spirits.

The things the imperial court did back then are no longer being done.

"Everyone, please rest. That blue light just now should have been a wood spirit."

Even plants and trees, imbued with the essence of the sun and moon, can transform into spirits and monsters. An ancient book says, "A thousand-year-old tree's spirit becomes a blue sheep. A ten-thousand-year-old tree's spirit becomes a blue ox."

Among the treasures Su Che brought from the capital this time was a secret record called "Xuanzhong Ji," which was a handwritten record by the Imperial Guards of all kinds of strange and monster-like shapes and characteristics, written very clearly in it.

"...All plants and trees, when imbued with the six desires of humankind, become spirits, called wood spirits. They are blue in color, gleaming like a wheel, and dislike blood offerings. They possess the virtue of the Yin and are also known as the Green Emperor's Child... Their nature is not afraid of fire but fears metal. According to the changes of the Five Elements, wood is the father of fire, and metal is the thief of wood. When the metal wind arrives, the wood rots. If one encounters a wood spirit with weapons arrayed, one can avoid it..."

In general, this is a demon that loves moonlight and doesn't have a fixed appearance. It doesn't crave blood or the flesh of living beings.

It must be a kind of monster that desires peace.

Su Che looked around at the palaces and buildings: "After I take office and complete the handover, I will order this place to be demolished."

(End of this chapter)