Chapter 1: Offer My Heart to the Town Martial Office!
```
The white horse galloped like lightning, the youth's clothes billowing in the wind.
On the mountain road, a young man with short black hair dressed in black tight-fitting clothes urged his horse forward.
A woodcutter standing by the roadside, hearing the horse's hooves approaching from far to near—"clopping" and "clopping"—looked up and saw a young man with a bright, peerless face riding past.
The woodcutter couldn't help but feel a surge of envy and emotion.
If only I were as handsome as him, my wife would probably pamper me every day...
I wouldn't even dare to make her carry my foot washing water every night!
Perhaps because it was daytime, people wouldn't think of ghosts and monsters; or perhaps because the white horse galloped so swiftly, the woodcutter had only a fleeting glimpse.
He did not realize that the steed under the young man was a paper horse.
He also failed to notice that on the other side of the young man, a woman with fair but bloodless skin, even her lips pale and ashen, floated half a foot off the ground, drifting along the route.
When the young man noticed the woodcutter, he was somewhat nervous, worried that the other might be a Demon Cult follower or a martial artist up to no good, disguising himself as a woodcutter to ambush him.
But seeing the other just stood there with a silly smile after looking at him, he relaxed.
Good, it's just a creep.
With that thought in his mind, the young man also inevitably worried about his own identity.
His name was Zhang San.
An Apprentice Warrior at the Town Martial Office who had transmigrated here three days ago.
The woman next to him was named Ling, a martial artist at the Town Martial Office, and a cultivator who practiced the Paper Folding Technique.
The paper horse Zhang San rode was conjured on the fly by Ling using a technique.
Zhang San awoke in an official hospital on the Chuan-Yu Road of the Great Sui.
Through Ling, he learned that he was an Apprentice Warrior of the Town Martial Office.
The Town Martial Office, as Great Sui Dynasty's tool for suppressing all the sects in the world, had been in existence for twenty-two years.
From being denounced and fought against by the Martial Path Sects initially, to now receiving calls for "daddy" and "mommy" from those same Sects.
Today's Town Martial Office may not be a retirement department, but they only really work for two or three months a year.
There is no such thing as peaceful times; it's all because the predecessors have borne the burdens and forged ahead.
It's even more idle than the departments responsible for the fishing moratorium.
Although Zhang San was only an Apprentice Warrior, even just as an apprentice, aside from his regular salary, he also had at least eight days off each month and received various kinds of silk, meat, and full benefits during the holidays.
As a transmigrator, however, Zhang San knew one truth—
You can slack off, but you can't be totally useless!
The Town Martial Office's benefits were good, but why did his predecessor die?
There was no other reason but his sheer incompetence!
Hence, Zhang San applied to return to his post just three days after arriving, not because he was devoted and diligent, but because he wanted to learn some real techniques quickly so that he didn't die in this fantasy world where one could turn paper into horses at will without knowing how he met his end.
"Sister Ling, can I ask you something?"
Ling turned her head toward Zhang San with a tender smile, lifted her hand, and pulled away the clothing on her shoulder, directly revealing her pale and delicate skin.
"Today's undergarment isn't a camisole, so there are no straps."
Zhang San looked disgusted, although his eyes were scrutinizing it quite earnestly.
"That's not it, I wanted to ask..."
"It's red. A captivating and bright red."
"I'm not asking about that, I'm..."
"Whether you ask or not, the undergarment I'm wearing today is also red."
Zhang San snorted coldly.
"Sister Ling, if you really wanted to show me, you'd pull down your clothes another half a foot. Right now, it's not even enough for a crime!"
Ling also let out a cold laugh.
```
```
Even though it had only been three days since she met Zhang San, she couldn't deny that within the entire Town Martial Office, many would blush and run away after a few jests from her, or they would take a detour when they saw her later, joking about it privately more crudely than fatty meat, but acting plainer than vegetables in her presence.
They were all a bunch of good-for-nothings, neither pleasing to the eye nor useful!
Only Zhang San was able to give as good as he got when it came to banter.
"Ask away, what is it?"
"Sister Ling, I'm just curious, why don't you ride a paper horse and let me ride instead, is it because my cultivation is too low to maintain balance on the paper cranes?"
"It's not because your cultivation is low."
A warm feeling washed over Zhang San's heart.
Although Sister Ling never strayed far from driving, she never looked down on him, a little brother who had lost his memory and hadn't even mastered the basics of Refining Qi.
"Riding a paper horse is unlucky."
Zhang San: ...
If I had the power, today I would definitely have made this sharp-tongued woman's[bleep]explode like flying milk!
But Zhang San had no power, not even a clear understanding of the basics of Refining Qi, so he could only mutter to himself: I ride your horse! I ride your horse!
...
An hour later, the two arrived at a manor that the Town Martial Office oversaw, located near Caoba Gully, south of Green Tree Town.
The manor was given a majestic and masculine name—Xiongfeng Manor!
Upon further thought, Zhang San agreed that a manor built near a gully called Caoba should have such a name for the sake of one's health.
In Great Sui, cultivators mostly take up the martial path. Having a healthy and durable body is very important.
After entering the manor, Zhang San was warmly welcomed by his superior—Officer Bai Yucheng of the Town Martial Office.
Officer Bai appeared to be just over thirty, and although there was a touch of grey at his temples, he seemed refined and dignified, with an imposing posture.
Zhang San had always thought that so-called gentlemen were just made-up by the pedantic scholars in ancient books, but upon meeting Bai Yucheng, he realized that the legendary gentlemanly demeanor really did exist.
After welcoming Zhang San with seven or eight martial artists in the manor, Officer Bai pulled Zhang San aside and whispered, "Zhang San, you were gravely injured and even lost your memory during the ambush against the Demon Cult Followers. It's my failure as an Officer."
"So, I purposely arranged for you to be at this outpost, Xiongfeng Manor, where the martial artists are all people you haven't met before, to keep you from constantly thinking about your amnesia because of old acquaintances, which would only add to your stress."
"There's no action planned around here lately, so just focus on recuperating. If you need anything, just say it directly, we're all family here, no need to be polite."
Is Bai Yucheng really a superior?
His three sentences were all concern, not a single trap!
Are the officials of Great Sui all this human!?
At that moment, Zhang San even felt ashamed of the thought he had had in the infirmary about slacking off at the Town Martial Office...
And ninety percent exhilarated!
Following such a great superior, not being a bit obsequious would be a disrespect to the welfare of the Town Martial Office.
"Rest assured, Officer, rest assured! I'll give my heart to the Town Martial Office!"
Zhang San clenched his right fist and pounded it significantly against his chest, his expression solemn, his gaze resolute.
Officer Bai laughed awkwardly, feeling as if Zhang San might literally dig out his heart and offer it up to him at any moment.
"Our Town Martial Office isn't the Demon Sect. I know your loyalty to the Office, but there's no need for such heart-wrenching words."
Officer Bai waved at Ling to take Zhang San away and familiarize him with everyone.
After Zhang San walked away, Officer Bai's gentlemanly smile gradually faded.
He pulled out a dossier and began to write something on it with his Qi.
"Soul Cleansing Technique initial subject observation record number four..."
"Initial subject Zhang San seems normal, fully embracing the identity of an Apprentice Warrior of the Town Martial Office, even showing some excitement, confirming that the Soul Cleansing Technique's memory modification is very successful. However..."
"He still retains the nature of the Demon Sect, with words like offering one's heart, indicating his intrinsic ferocity, has not been erased."
"Subsequent tests will focus on this violent nature..."
```