Chapter 3.2

 

Zheng Jun mulled it over silently.

If that’s how it worked, then mastering the Armored Blade Technique—while admittedly rigorous—didn’t seem too difficult after all. But… no, wait!

He was essentially cheating the system.

After all, he was performing the technique with mastery already in hand. Of course he progressed faster. A true beginner, barely scratching the surface, would need several times longer to get through a single routine. Comparing himself to them wasn’t exactly fair.

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“Good, good, good!”

At that moment, his brother-in-law Zhou Pu’s voice rang out in praise, snapping Zheng Jun out of his thoughts. Only then did he remember his sister and brother-in-law were still watching. He promptly sheathed the blade and walked over to them.

“You rascal,” Zhou Pu scolded with a grin. “Turns out you haven’t been slacking off! That bladework of yours is better than your brother-in-law’s already.”

He slapped Zheng Jun’s shoulder and added, “Didn’t I tell you? The commandery’s sending in a new County Captain. When he gets here, make sure you perform well. I’ll get you your own official blade—save you the trouble of borrowing mine all the time!”

County Captain?

Zheng Jun recalled the news vaguely.

The previous County Captain, Lin, had heard that the Commandery Lord’s daughter was gravely ill and required old snake gall as a medicinal primer. Hoping to curry favor with the lord, Lin had assembled a team to hunt snakes in the Black Mountain. But instead of snakes, they ran into a great demon—and got eaten. Many constables and fast-hands died that day, which was what opened up a position for Zheng Jun to fill.

The Commandery Lord, upon learning this, flew into a rage and reported the matter straight to the court. The court mobilized commandery troops, who marched through the mountains and supposedly slew two great demons before withdrawing. Around the same time, a new County Captain with some supposed connections was appointed—and was expected to arrive any day now.

Hmph.

When commoners get eaten in the mountains, no one bats an eye. But when the commandery lord gets angry, an entire army is deployed, mountains are cleared, and demons are slain.

Power.

Now that was a seductive thing.

Zheng Jun’s thoughts flitted by, and he took the bowl of cloudy rice wine his sister handed him. He took a casual sip—it was sour and sweet, a little like one of those probiotic mini-drinks from trendy online shops, only this one tasted even worse.

After licking his lips, Zheng Jun turned to Zhou Pu and said, “Brother-in-law, can I borrow your blade every night? If I train hard, day and night, I’ll definitely improve!”

“Sigh…”

Zhou Pu scratched his head, unsure what to say.

“This blade is government-issued, you know—not mine alone. Might still be needed for night patrols or other assignments. Can’t have it sitting at your place all the time… Tell you what—come with me to the armory later. I’ll find you a broken or discarded blade that’s scheduled for smelting. You can use that to practice at the yamen.”

Broken blades at the yamen?

Zheng Jun’s ears perked up at the thought.

He did remember that the workshop and armory had plenty of damaged weapons.

Technically, those were government property meant to be melted down and re-forged.

But…

The emperor was far, far away. Slipping a few coins to take a broken blade off the list? Not exactly unheard of at the workshop.

Just underreport it when filing the paperwork.

At that thought, a spark of joy lit up in Zheng Jun’s heart.

As he grinned from ear to ear, Zhou Pu threw an arm around him and dragged him back toward the house.

“Alright, alright, enough! Let’s go eat meat and drink wine! What’re you doing standing around freezing in the courtyard?”