The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 35 - 31 The Old Mother

Chapter 35: Chapter 31 The Old Mother

After Zhao Bao left, Zhao Xiong shook his head and then returned to his bedroom, activated a mechanism, and revealed a passageway. He went down the passage to find a secret chamber.

This secret chamber was the culmination of generations of the Zhao family’s painstaking efforts and had now been converted into a small Buddhist shrine. He lit a pine-resin lamp, and in the center of the altar, there was a divine portrait enshrined.

The deity in the painting was the image of a kind and compassionate elderly mother. She held a lotus flower and a jewel, wore a fairy jade crown on her head, and was draped in a white robe, emanating an inexplicable mysterious power.

Zhao Xiong devoutly offered incense and prayed, whispering the eight characters lǎomǔ, jiāxiāng", feeling as if his body and mind were purified through them.

He had been a follower of the Old Mother for a year.

In the past, he had done many evil deeds, and as he grew older, he frequently had nightmares.

Since he started believing in the Old Mother, his sins had been washed away, and the fierce and evil aura on his person had gradually transformed to align with the Old Mother’s mercy.

Now, when he went outside without deliberately emphasizing his status, others would think he was just an ordinary wealthy man. They would believe he was a good Samaritan who had never harmed anyone!

With this in mind, he wasn’t afraid to commit more wrongdoings in the future.

With the Old Mother backing him, even if he committed many evils, his heart was still good, and he remained a kind person. In the next life, he had the chance to be blessed by the Old Mother and be born into a good life.

Therefore, he used to be somewhat afraid of retribution for his past evil deeds.

Not anymore. Now he slept soundly.

Moreover, there were worldly benefits to worshipping the Old Mother.

His smooth transfer to the Government Office to become an arrest officer this time was not only due to the credit of silver but also thanks to the help of a sister from the sect.

The sect had extensive divine skills, and its network extended to all aspects, even having informants inside the Imperial Palace.

The Lotus Sect that caused a great uproar in Lingnan previously was just one major branch of this sect.

The futures of families like his, those of Clerks, had already been sealed.

The treatment by County Magistrate Wu only made him see the pitiful situation of Clerk families more clearly.

Clerks without a path to ascension were seen as less than a Military Man, even in the eyes of Civil Servants.

Generally, for Clerk families to take the orthodox route of the Imperial Examination, it would take three generations to escape the status of Clerk. If actually pursued, not to mention in three generations, the family would fall into ruin within one generation.

Thus, unless a family was already in decay and could no longer rely on Government Office work, there were no channels for ascension.

Moreover, Zhao Xiong’s greatest aspiration was to become an Archivist.

An Archivist, although appointed from among the clerks without rank, was considered an official in the eyes of other clerks, because the appointment of an Archivist was still through the form of an Imperial Officer commission, which—in strict terms—is the same as the form employed by the County Magistrate’s appointment.

Even for this modest wish, County Magistrate Wu, upon taking office, wouldn’t grant it, let alone expecting him to cooperate—how could that be possible?

Fortunately, there is a ray of hope even in the most hopeless situations; Zhao Xiong had found the way forward for his family.

As a convert, he believed that even his ancestors would feel proud of him.

Unknown to him, were his ancestors in the Netherworld, able to sense the fortune he, a descendant of the Zhao family, had brought to them?

A smile of "compassion" appeared on the corners of Zhao Xiong’s lips.

After his devout prayers and once the incense burned out, he extinguished the pine lamp and left the secret chamber, which was stuffy despite having ventilation holes. Zhao Xiong changed into his official uniform.

He preferred to not confront Li Gongpu’s nephew directly for another reason—because the higher-ups in the sect had ordered him to procure a defense layout map of Jiangning Prefecture.

He felt excited about this.

For after the sect brothers took action, even if Xu Qing officially became a scholar, he would only be a lamb waiting for slaughter.

However, without lifting a hand, causing the opponent trouble in public opinion was also something he could conveniently do.

After all, there was no possibility of mending relations with this uncle and nephew.

...

...

The time for the Prefecture Examination was drawing near.

Upon hearing the rumors outside, the Guo brothers specially came to inform Xu Qing.

Xu Qing listened with a very calm expression.

There’s no need to guess; it must have been Zhao Xiong, Zhao Bao, and others who stirred up this trouble.

He doesn’t have any other enemies anyway.

"I understand. There’s no need to worry about this matter. Regardless, it’s impossible for me to fail the prefectural examination. This won’t affect my qualification in becoming a scholar," Xu Qing reassured his two brothers.

In fact, with his current level of writing, as long as the examination questions are not overly tricky and bizarre, there’s a possibility of passing the local examination.

But he is not yet qualified to sit for the local examination.

Otherwise, it would be quite interesting to compete directly with Mr. Feng.

His female master would definitely be especially happy at that time.

It’s been a while since Xu Qing last saw his female master, and he finds himself missing her.

There’s no helping it; being young and vigorous, it’s impossible not to think of women.

Besides, his female master is the type he gets along with very well.

Xu Qing didn’t let these distractions interfere with his main business. He continued, "Big Brother Guo, Second Brother Guo, since you’re here, why not spar with me? I’m not even clear about what level my kung fu is at."

Historian Li has recently been hurt by indulgences in wine and pleasures, even with the medicinal recipe Xu Qing provided before, his physical condition is not as good as it was before he became an Archivist.

Xu Qing quietly advised him, and Historian Li heeded the advice and decided to give up drinking.

As for giving up sensual pleasures?

He wanted to abstain, but Aunt Zhou wouldn’t agree.

Historian Li didn’t dare to refuse either.

Although, logically speaking, a couple married for many years without children, indeed can’t have children together.

Zhou Family still wants to keep trying.

Even if unsuccessful, she would only feel secure after completely draining Historian Li. Of course, Zhou Family is considering, after the chicken farm becomes profitable, buying a concubine for Historian Li.

But until then, it’s absolutely not allowed for Historian Li to bring someone home by himself.

That is a bottom line.

The Guo Brothers already knew that Xu Qing’s kung fu was not bad, so naturally, they had no burden. Besides, with bare hands, they could hold back a little force, gauge the depth of Xu Qing’s kung fu, and then exert their full strength without fear of hurting Xu Qing.

Moreover, Xu Qing being skilled in kung fu is a good thing for them.

Having a fitting body, it’s greatly beneficial for future entry into the officialdom.

Not to mention anything else, with a renowned court beating, he could endure much more than others.

Beside the rank obtained from the Imperial Examination, the number of court beatings endured is also an important reference for the potential value of a Civil Servant.

Generally speaking, a Civil Servant who has withstood forty beatings, as long as they survive, is guaranteed at least the position of Assistant Minister of Six Ministries.

There’s a rumor in the officialdom, that Third Rank Scholars who can endure thirty court beatings could transform their constitution, advancing to the level of a true disciple comparable to a Second Rank Scholar!

In the realm of Xu Qing’s previous life’s cultivation novels, this would be equivalent to an ordinary spiritual root advancing to a unique spiritual root.

Shortly after, the sound of blows exchanged in a fight could be heard from the eastern courtyard of the Li family, ending with two punches that sounded like the beating of drums.

The Guo Brothers both fell to the ground.

They were both shocked and delighted: "Young Master, you’ve achieved the Bright Strength."

Xu Qing smiled and nodded: "Thanks for going easy."

From start to finish, Xu Qing handled the Guo Brothers with ease, and even with their reluctance to injure him severely, Xu Qing simply used only fifty percent of his strength at the end.

The Guo Brothers are considered top-notch fighters within the County Government.

With Xu Qing’s current level of kung fu, not to mention charging into battle and shouldering through enemy ranks, being a match for a hundred men should be more than possible for him.

Knowing his current strength, Xu Qing felt even more grounded.

And furthermore, his "Crane Call" skill was only at the "entry" level, far from Great Success, and his physique could still see significant improvement. The only regret right now is that even with practicing Crane Call, he does not possess the so-called Inner Strength from martial arts novels of his previous life and can’t practice light kung fu skills like the Wudang Tiyunzong.

But scaling the walls of an ordinary wealthy family is still a breeze.

Xu Qing bid farewell to the Guo Brothers and continued to review in seclusion, and soon the day of the prefectural examination arrived.

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