Chapter 49: Buying a House and the Yellow Register

"What a hassle," Zhao Xing muttered to himself. The Xuantian Sect was like a stubborn itch; no matter how much you scratched, it wouldn't go away, and it didn't hurt or itch. Even after the Great Zhou quelled the chaos in Guangling Prefecture, the Xuantian Sect behind it remained unscathed, not truly entering the world yet.

"The information in the Evil Dispelling Almanac isn't enough to report, and it might even alert the Xuantian Sect, making them think I'm some kind of unparalleled genius and start keeping an eye on me."

"I can't provoke them, but can't I hide?" Zhao Xing put away the Evil Dispelling Almanac, deciding to keep his distance. He couldn't predict when the Xuantian Sect would make a move; it could be in a few years or as soon as next month. The key was to be cautious and not give them any opportunity. If he could avoid this storm, it would pass.

But what if he couldn't avoid it?

"Don't push me. If you push me too hard, I'll dig up your entire mountain gate..."

The hall master of Three Bay Hall was reviewing intelligence reports. Due to the protection method, Zhao Xing's capture priority had been raised, so he paid particular attention to this target, spending more effort observing and summarizing Zhao Xing's habits, personality, and travel patterns.

Yet, after half a month, the results were minimal. He didn't give any opportunities!

"This person is strange. Others have a routine of three points and a line between the Department of Agriculture, home, and public fields. But he just wanders around here and sits there, never giving a chance. Or he stays home all day, not stepping out."

"Isn't he too idle? Doesn't he need to go out to work?" The hall master of Three Bay Hall was puzzled because just looking at these paper materials, he couldn't find any pattern.

A woman playing the role of the hall master's wife walked over, took a look at the paper, and laughed, "His teacher is a scholar, so he doesn't have to deal with trivial matters. Not going out is normal, naturally more leisurely than other young men."

"If he doesn't go out, we can't learn more, and it's inconvenient for our spies to act in the city."

"Take it slow. At least in this half month, we can see something."

"What?"

"He likes to chat at the door."

"..."

The hall master of Three Bay Hall was speechless. How was that a characteristic?

"At least it shows he's someone who likes to socialize. If there's no opportunity now, we can take it slow. The protection method also said there's no need to rush."

The woman comforted him.

"That's true. Let's report back to the protection method. Anyway, the Autumn Division Mountain Opening is about to happen. Let's not focus on him in the city for now, concentrate on the outskirts, and conserve our strength to avoid being caught by the authorities."

Zhao Xing wanted to buy a house, and it was a house outside the city.

"Why do you want to buy a house? Don't want to live at home anymore?" Zhao Rui De was puzzled. "Even if you want to move out, shouldn't you buy in the city? Why buy outside the city?"

"Houses outside the city aren't expensive, and I don't plan to renovate. Just having a place to settle is enough," Zhao Xing said. "The Sinoong official has agricultural duties. If there's a need to stay outside the city, having my own house and land is better."

"Then why buy so many?"

Seeing Zhao Xing's silence, Zhao Rui De didn't ask further. He knew his foster son always had his own ideas. "I'll handle it for you."

"Foster father, make sure the official yellow register has my name on it," Zhao Xing chuckled.

"Rest assured," Zhao Rui De nodded.

The official yellow register, along with the yellow register, was known as the 'Twin Yellow Supreme Treasures' of the Qi Yun Wang Dynasty. When the Zhou Great Ancestor transmitted all techniques, he also established the Ten Thousand Methods, such as 'Non-citizens of our dynasty cannot cultivate.'

If you don't have household registration, you're not a citizen of the Zhou Dynasty, and you can't cultivate. Another example is: 'Land with an owner, do not enter without invitation.'

What does this mean? The yellow register (land deed version) of each local government records various property rights. As long as it's on the yellow register, cultivators cannot enter others' homes without invitation, protected by the power of the method.

No matter how powerful your magic arts are, as long as the Qi Yun Wang Dynasty system hasn't collapsed, a law-abiding citizen at home is hard to harm with magic arts.

The premise is being a law-abiding citizen.

There are a few situations where you can enter with magic arts without invitation. One is if the owner invites you in. Two is if the government suspects you of a crime and has a formal search and arrest warrant. Three is if the property has a rights dispute, causing the 'yellow register' to be in a 'temporary invalid state.' Four is 'good method,' where beneficial magic arts to the owner can take effect inside.

So, the Xuantian Sect's followers have limited actions in the city and can't just abduct people.

"Reduce the number of times I leave the city. If I must go out, I must find a place where the property rights belong to me. The likelihood of being abducted decreases," Zhao Xing thought.

Dealing with the Xuantian Sect? He couldn't do it now and didn't want to cause trouble. But he had plenty of ways to hide.

Because in his previous life, he had briefly joined the Xuantian Sect's camp, he was clear about their operations.

But there's no such thing as a thousand-day defense against thieves. Even with the Evil Dispelling Almanac and the Thousand Mile Command Token, and having made many preparations, it's not completely foolproof.

"I can't rely on the government to take care of these people. I still need to become stronger myself."

A few days before Bai Lu's assessment, Zhao Xing reached the third stage of Gathering Essence.

Afterwards, he took one Tianyuan Pear every two days, and his Yuan Qi growth speed was fast.

The ten Gathering Essence Pills given by the sect's young master had a balanced effect and could be used with the Tianyuan Pear, so in less than half a month, Zhao Xing was already close to the fourth stage of Gathering Essence.

In the eyes of the Three Bay Hall master, Zhao Xing was someone who liked to socialize, going around chatting. In reality, it was based on Chen Shijie's suggestion to find colleagues to spar with, enhancing the digestion of Yuan Qi treasures and speeding up Gathering Essence.

However, over the past few days, Zhao Xing found that most of the young men in the Department of Agriculture couldn't withstand his pressure.

In terms of Sinoong magic arts, there were few who could match him.

He originally wanted to find the old Sinoong to spar with, but considering the old Sinoong's age and his responsibilities of guiding many students and handling public affairs, he gave up on the idea.

In the end, it was Chen Shijie who gave a suggestion: "If you want to use magic arts sparring to promote treasure digestion, you don't necessarily have to find someone from the Department of Agriculture. How about I go to the county magistrate and see if there's a suitable person?"

A martial artist? That was a good idea.

The county magistrate directly managed three martial organizations: the Martial Division, Inspection Division, and Sikou Guard, collectively known as the Martial Division by the common people.

The catchers and martial artists of the Martial Division, like the Sinoong young men, were external officials, not ranked, with only a few Martial Division members being formal ranked officials.

The Inspection Division was entirely composed of ranked martial artists, not many in number, ranging from thirty to a hundred people depending on the county's size.

The Sikou Guard managed prisons and also had formidable combat power, as catchers and martial artists from the Martial Division could choose to enter the Sikou Guard or Inspection Division after promotion.

Additionally, East Lake had a garrison, which, although not part of the civil official system, could be requested for assistance by the county magistrate if necessary.

That afternoon, Chen Shijie found Martial Division's Wang Long and borrowed someone from his subordinates.

When they met, Zhao Xing realized he actually knew this person.

"Brother Shen?"

(End of Chapter)