The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 115 - 79 Demon Tracks

Chapter 115: Chapter 79 Demon Tracks

Study Room, Xu Qing carefully examined the letter Yan Shan sent over, filled with recent investigations of Li Feng.

It had to be said, Yan Shan had now developed some talent in assessing and utilizing people, the information was very detailed. And he didn’t just investigate Li Feng alone, it also included Li Feng’s family members, hobbies, and personality traits, all described with concise and refined language.

"Yan Shan, this kid, is really talented." Xu Qing thought to himself.

Then, he pondered over Li Feng’s issues.

Starting with his calligraphy and paintings.

Apart from delivering the letter, Yan Shan also brought over the calligraphy and paintings of Li Feng, one of Wuzhong’s eight great hermit painters.

The works of a living artist aren’t worth much, as they are not out of print.

Unless the person holds significant power.

But a literati making his debut with literature, his calligraphy and paintings are bound to have merits, and famous pieces often reveal their spirit.

Li Feng’s landscape paintings are particularly exceptional.

The content often revolves around solitary, steep peaks or lone pines on cliffs.

This seems related to Li Feng’s personality.

Lofty and arrogant.

Even with a top scorer student, few people are aware.

Such a personality applied to the eight-legged essays inevitably leads to an overzealous pen, somewhat like the earlier Feng Xifeng. Li Feng has suffered from his older age, by the time his era arrived, he was already old, and his ambitions long worn away.

Li Feng’s son died young, and his daughter-in-law remarried, now he only has a grandson, Li You, dependent on each other.

But not made for scholarly pursuits, instead he is prone to gambling.

A man in his twenties, still without proper demeanor.

Li Feng moved to the Prefecture City to avoid the high-interest debt his grandson had incurred.

Interesting.

After giving it thorough thought, Xu Qing immediately ordered the newly recruited maidservant Qiu Xiang to come in, "Go to the County Government and invite the arrest officer Guo Zhuang over, I have matters to discuss with him."

After hearing the order, Qiu Xiang was stunned, "Young Master, do you really want me to go?"

Xu Qing: "Are you afraid?"

Qiu Xiang: "It’s not that I’m afraid, but as a mere maidservant, can I really invite arrest officer Guo?"

Xu Qing: "Take my calling card with you."

With no choice but to obey her master’s orders, Qiu Xiang went to the County Government with Xu Qing’s calling card.

At this time, South Zhili’s economy was thriving, the atmosphere was liberal, and there was no taboo against women going out, let alone a maidservant.

Even many women entering the city looked for work actively, with textile labor being the most common.

A textile female worker in Yingtian Prefecture could earn up to twenty strings of cash a year.

Therefore, some skilled female textile workers chose not to marry, staying with their natal families for life. Or, the earnings of one could support an entire family.

Similar cases could be found in literature that Xu Qing had read in his previous life, like Camel Xiangzi.

The drivers in the book ate better than some landlords.

In the first ten years of the Republic of China, due to unclear land deeds, the value of land plummeted, and one mu of land sold for as low as about five silver dollars.

Meanwhile, a city cart driver could earn several silver dollars a month without spending on food or drink.

Thus theoretically, a cart driver could save for a few years and return to the countryside to become a wealthy farmer.

In reality, unmarried drivers indulged in brothels, gambling, and opium, rapidly declining in health, soon penniless, one severe illness and they were gone.

Therefore, the practice of setting up a household before establishing a career had its rationale in ancient times.

Once you have a family, life has direction, spending becomes restrained, preventing from drowning in external desires.

However, as time progresses, such examples of men working outside and women working inside, jointly managing a household, become less frequent.

Love is celebrated precisely for its scarcity.

Xu Qing couldn’t help but think of his female master.

To date, it couldn’t be said to be true love.

But he did indirectly live off a woman.

Favor is still an emotion.

And it must be repaid.

Assuming the other party is willing.

No matter what Feng Wu thinks, whether they eventually marry according to their elders’ wishes, Xu Qing is willing to respect her own thoughts and protect her to the best of his ability.

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Guo Zhuang was in the Government Office when he heard that the young master had sent a maidservant to find him, which surprised him.

Normally, it was Xu Qing’s confidant, Xu Fu, who looked for him.

However, after learning she was the young master’s newly acquired personal maid, Guo Zhuang dared not treat her lightly and took the initiative to address her as "Sister Qiu Xiang."

This caused Qiu Xiang to feel a strange emotion.

An arrest officer from the County Government, such a prestigious figure in the county, was warmly calling her "Sister Qiu Xiang" with enthusiasm just because she was the young master’s personal maid.

Could the young master hold such great authority?

After all, she was aware that Mr. Li was a riverway inspector and only a Ninth Grade official, not in charge of the County Government’s affairs. Even if he used to be an Archivist, that was in the past.

Therefore, Guo Zhuang’s respect could only be directed toward the young master.

Common folk fear authority but don’t harbor gratitude.

As Xu Qing’s maidservant, with Xu Qing consistently being kind, especially to those close to him, there’s no need to be harsh, yet it’s necessary for them to understand Xu Qing’s authority to prevent inappropriate behavior during daily interactions.

Therefore, through the simple act of delivering a message, Xu Qing managed to convey his point without saying anything, and the maidservant naturally understood.

Further, it served to give Guo Zhuang a reminder.

To make Guo Zhuang understand where everything he had came from.

Even my maidservant must be treated with respect, without neglect.

Put simply, no matter what, Xu Qing was just a Scholar; without some tactics, it’s easy for subordinates to unconsciously lose their fear and respect.

This demonstrates the importance of status.

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...

"Guo Zhuang pays respects to the young master."

Xu Qing nodded. He had also imparted some Bull Demon Strength Kung Fu to Guo Zhuang, who was quite capable of enduring hardship, and was now seeing some results.

For example, his strength had definitely increased compared to before.

Overall, though, his performance couldn’t match Guard Wang, Guard Ma, and definitely not Xu Qing’s.