The Martial Saint begins by collecting corpses.

"Hahaha……"

Lu Ming had just finished dinner with Ah Lang the monkey when he heard Shen Mo's laughter coming from outside.

Lu Ming quickly stood up and welcomed Shen Mo into the hall. After they sat down as host and guest, Shen Mo smiled and said:

"Brother Lu, are you feeling good today?"

Lu Ming nodded and sighed, "It's only a new moon, and it's already so lively. If it were a crescent moon or a waning moon, wouldn't it be even more..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo shook his head and said:

"It is precisely because the new moon is directly guarding the outside that it is so lively."

"If it were Emei Moon, perhaps the number of people hosting you would be greater and their status would be higher, but the feeling would be different from today."

Lu Ming nodded and said, "That's true. Brother Shen said he had something very important to tell me. May I ask what it is?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo perked up and said, "Brother Lu, have you heard of the imperial court's decree to recruit talented individuals?"

"A recruitment order?" Lu Ming pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Never heard of it."

Shen Mo said seriously:

"Then let me tell you about it."

"Do you know that His Majesty the Emperor is the restorer of the Great Sheng Dynasty!"

"He has been on the throne for forty years. The first ten years were spent pacifying the border wars. The next ten years were spent suppressing all the feudal lords within the country, bringing peace to the world."

"In the last twenty years, he has mobilized the whole country to develop new rice varieties, which has increased the yield per mu several times over, allowing the people to recuperate and the world to be at peace."

Lu Ming was silent for a while, then said, "Even so, my family's land still couldn't be saved, and we were forced to sell it to a landlord."

Shen Mo sighed, "After all, the Great Sheng Dynasty is too large. Although His Majesty is strong, he cannot control natural disasters, nor can he stop the greed of people's hearts."

Lu Ming said, "Let's not talk about that. What does this have to do with what you wanted to say?"

Shen Mo said:

"Even though the world has been at peace for twenty years, there are still constant disputes and struggles at the lowest levels, making it difficult for the people to live in peace."

"Therefore, His Majesty issued a decree to the whole country to recruit talented people, asking all regions to recommend virtuous and capable individuals to come to the capital for examination."

"Once selected, one will wield great power and become a key minister responsible for thoroughly eliminating the ills of the Great Sheng Dynasty over the next ten or twenty years."

Lu Ming's gaze sharpened: "How could the court officials possibly agree to such a power-sharing arrangement?"

Shen Mo said in a low voice:

"I heard that the Left Chancellor opposed this in court and even threatened to kill himself by crashing into the golden dragon pillar in the imperial court."

"With a wave of his hand, His Majesty caused one of the seventy-two golden dragon pillars to snap instantly, flying and crashing into the Left Prime Minister."

"The Left Chancellor died on the spot with his head shattered, and His Majesty only said one sentence: 'I grant your wish.'"

"And so, there were no more objections."

A strange light flashed in Lu Ming's eyes. This Emperor of Dasheng was quite charismatic.

He pondered for a moment and then asked, "What does Brother Shen mean?"

Shen Mo solemnly said, "Brother Lu is exceptionally talented, skilled, and renowned for his chivalry. I would like to recommend Brother Lu as a worthy talent of Blackwater County."

Lu Ming's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly asked, "If you recommend me, will I become a talented person?"

Shen Mo shook his head:

"Of course not. In a while, an inspection team will come from the prefectural city."

"They will conduct an evaluation based on the list of talented individuals proposed by the county. All I can do is try my best to add Brother Lu's name to the proposed list."

Lu Ming asked, "That might not be easy, right? Why would Brother Shen want to help me?"

Shen Mo said, "Of course, Brother Lu has the ability. Among the people I know, only Brother Lu gives me a glimmer of hope to become a worthy talent."

Lu Ming simply watched him quietly.

Shen Mo, who was originally an upright and incorruptible person, avoided his gaze for the first time. After a while, his face flushed red, and he clenched his fists and said:

"I want to be a chief judge."

A sudden realization flashed in Lu Ming's eyes. He had thought that Shen Mo's previous efforts to help him were due to his personality, but he must have had his own purpose. Sure enough, that was the case.

He immediately asked, "Brother Shen, do you have some kind of conflict with the current Minister of Justice?"

Shen Mo nodded, but did not want to say more.

Lu Ming then asked, "How was the proposed list drafted? If it was decided by Lord Si Zheng, how could I possibly be on the list?"

At this point, Shen Mo revealed a confident smile and said:

"The proposed list was jointly decided by the county government, the patrol office, the town's night watchman's office, and the major households in the city."

"Over the years, I've built up a network of connections, so getting you on the list shouldn't be a problem."

Lu Ming said, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, Brother Shen."

Shen Mo was delighted: "Don't worry, I'll take my brother to meet them in a few days."

Lu Ming watched his departing figure and fell into deep thought.

A recruitment order? I never knew there was such a thing as a recruitment order.

The undercurrents in Heishui County are making him feel uneasy.

If he can be selected as a virtuous and talented person, he will not only gain the support of the imperial court, but also be able to leave Heishui County and go to the prefectural city.

If the Great Sheng Emperor is as prestigious as Shen Mo said, then as long as he can select virtuous and capable officials, no one should dare to easily take action against him.

His safety will be greatly improved.

Of course, he would secretly inquire about the matter to see if it was as Shen Mo had said.

Furthermore, even if things were to develop in that direction, it certainly wouldn't be as simple as Shen Mo described, but there's no harm in giving it a try.

What if it works?

"Haha, I didn't expect Brother Lu to be assigned to Dongcheng District. It just so happens that he's next to me. We can keep in touch more often in the future."

At this moment, Ah Lang led someone in, who turned out to be Yan Pengfei.

He walked in laughing, carrying some food and drinks, and placed them directly on the table, inviting Lu Ming to eat.

Lu Ming had just finished dinner, but martial artists are all big eaters, so he had only eaten a little with Ah Lang the monkey.

Seeing Yan Pengfei's warm invitation, I had a few drinks with him.

During the meal, Yan Pengfei drank and ate heartily, talking about how many gifts he had received during the day, and occasionally cursing those wealthy merchants who preyed on the common people.

He also said that Master Wuling was not far away, but he refused to sit down with him to eat, drink and chat. How boring.

Lu Ming shook his head inwardly. He was a monk, and a master at that, so of course he wouldn't break his vows so easily.

Yan Pengfei is being far too enthusiastic. On his first day in office, there must be just as many people coming and going in front of his residence as there are now, yet he still has the mind to come and drink with him.

After a hearty meal, Lu Ming saw him off and turned to look at the day's harvest—gifts filling the yard—and couldn't help but smile.

With today's harvest plus the harvest from collecting corpses a while ago, not counting the hundred taels given to Ah Lang, he can now come up with more than two hundred taels of silver on his own, so he should not be short of money for the time being.

……

County government office.

In the main hall, County Magistrate Chu Sanfeng, seated in the highest position, frowned slightly and said, "So Lu Ming has become a night patrolman?"

Li Xiu said somewhat nervously, "That's right. Today is the day he takes office, and I even sent him a congratulatory letter."

Chu Sanfeng was silent for a moment, then sneered:

"Very well, that's settled then. There's no need to tell Da Hu about this."

"Lu Ming probably doesn't know that the reason why the Zhenye Division is always short of people is because the mortality rate is very high."

"Even if he's very good at dealing with ghosts and monsters, it's a pity that he was brought in by Shen Mo, while the current Si Zheng is Lin Yuanrong."

"He won't have a good time. Shen Mo may have other plans, but unfortunately his plans won't succeed."

"With Lin Yuanrong around, Lu Ming can never become a capable person."

As he spoke, Chen Yihui, his square face beaming with surprise, walked into the hall and said:

"Lord Chu, Da Hu has broken through to the Flesh Refining stage."

Chu Sanfeng's eyes lit up, and he nodded in satisfaction, saying, "Not bad, now we can give him even better tonics."

Chen Yihui said:

"Yes, yes, I've already started making arrangements. Once you reach the Muscle Refining stage, Qi-Replenishing Powder won't be very effective anymore."

"Hehe, I didn't expect Da Hu's talent to be even more outstanding than I imagined."

"He actually grasped the true meaning in such a short time. That's why he was able to break through to the Body Refinement stage so quickly."

"Oh? You've grasped the true meaning of Canglang? Excellent, excellent." Chu Sanfeng laughed heartily, a rare occurrence. "This is truly a seed of talent."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yihui asked in confusion, "Lord Chu wants Da Hu to win the recruitment order? Didn't you say...?"

Chu Sanfeng's laughter stopped abruptly, his face darkened, and he said coldly, "The imperial court's recruitment order? It's utterly worthless."

Upon hearing this, both Chen Yihui and Li Xiu's expressions changed slightly, cold sweat beaded on their foreheads, and they dared not speak again.