Translator: Lordbluefire
âDonât worry and wait for me at home. Donât go running around!â
Sun Mo instructed Mei Niang and then went off with the constables.
If Sun Mo was an ordinary person, the constables would have chained him up and then thrown him into prison, only interrogating him when the magistrate remembered him.
However, they couldnât do this to Sun Mo. It was because he had earned the meritorious title of a recommended-candidate. Moreover, he was also planning to beat the drums and file a lawsuit.
The constables had no choice. Moreover, Sun Mo had given them money. Therefore, they brought him to the back hall of the government office.
The magistrate had just bedded his concubine and was yawning as he called for Sun Mo listlessly. Before Sun Mo could say anything, he gave him a lashing.
To sum it up, Sun Moâs recent work performance had been very bad and if the county school continued like this, itâd be a goner. Therefore, Sun Mo would have to assume responsibility for it.
âOld parents, I want to file a lawsuit!â
Sun Mo submitted his complaint letter.
âOld parentsâ was the respectful address for the local magistrate.
The magistrateâs goldfish-like puffy eyes squinted as he stared at Sun Mo, not taking the complaint letter.
The two of them froze like that.
Sun Mo frowned. He was in the posture with both hands reaching out, handing the complaint letter over. Therefore, if this continued, itâd be more tiring for him.
(F*ck your mom!)
Sun Mo cursed in his heart and looked at the magistrate. âIâd like to seek the old parentsâ guidance!â
âSun Mo, youâre a recommended-candidate and should know the power of authority!â
The magistrate took a sip of tea. âPutting aside if I have the ability to ensure justice for you, even if I were to play the role of a just magistrate once, what if Pang Jili continues to sue up to higher authorities? Imperial Tutor Pang doesnât even have to do anything. He has countless students and if any one of them makes a move, itâll be over for me as well, let alone you.â
Sun Mo fell silent and clenched his fists tightly. This must be what it felt like to experience an injustice that couldnât be raised up.
âIf I were to accept this complaint letter, your relationship with the Pang Clan will be to the bitter end. Therefore, before things blow up, try to appease it!â
The magistrate persuaded.
Although he seemed as if he was having a heart-to-heart talk with Sun Mo, he was just trying to have fewer troubles on his plate. If he were to let a scholar who didnât know any better like Sun Mo make a fuss, his performance assessment would be affected, but nothing would happen to Pang Jili.
This was why heâd try to persuade Sun Mo.
âHow do I appease things?â Sun Mo smiled coldly. âHe wants my wife. Should I wash her up and send her over to him?â
âYouâre a recommended-candidate! You shouldnât just be looking at the things right before your eyes!â
After the magistrate said this, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.
This action was done with the intention of sending off the guest. The old servant who was waiting by the side immediately gestured that Sun Mo should be leaving.
Sun Moâs countenance was grim.
He understood the hidden meaning behind the magistrateâs words.
Recommended-candidates didnât have to do corvée and could also receive a portion of government-issued rice. Moreover, they didnât have to pay taxes for their fields either. Why would one go crazy from happiness when Fan Jin[1] passed the provincial examinations?
It was because he had crossed this tier.
If Sun Mo were to go up against Pang Jili, heâd lose his status as a recommended-candidate and return to being a commoner. In worst cases, one might get exiled or be banished to penal servitude.
âTeacher Sun, youâre a recommended-candidate after all. If you wish to have some concubines, women will come rushing over to get married to you. Why donât you understand?â
The old servant persuaded him.
Sun Mo didnât pay this guy any heed. His brain was moving quickly, thinking of various possibilities to break out from this situation. At the same time, he inevitably thought of Lin Chong[2].
In terms of status, Lin Chong was the instructor of 800,000 imperial guards, so it should be higher than Sun Moâs, right? However, he still had his family ruined because of the higher authorities and eventually was forced to go to Mount Liang.
âIn the worst case, Iâll revolt too!â
Sun Mo left the government office, and his path was blocked by a group of people when he had just taken a few steps.
The person in the lead was a young master dressed in embroidered clothing and holding a fan, looking wicked. To put it in simple terms, he looked like a bum and was clearly not a good person.
âHey, Iâm Pang Jili!â
The young master went straight to the point and reported his name, his tone filled with arrogance.
âAre you asking for a beating?â
The young masterâs entourage immediately shouted out upon seeing Sun Moâs cold attitude. âOur young master is giving you face by talking to you. Hurry up and greet him!â
Sun Mo threw a glance at these people, already having a plan in his heart. Therefore, he shouted angrily, âPang Jili, donât forget that law still exists in this world. Iâm going to the capital and file an imperial lawsuit!â
Sun Mo was trying to numb Pang Jili and conceal his true intentions.
âHaha!â
Pang Jili laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke. âFile an imperial lawsuit? If your complaint letter can reach His Majesty, Iâll take your surname!
âI canât be bothered to talk crap with you. Wash up your wife quickly and send her to my house. If she were to serve me well, I might let you be a 7th rank official.
âItâs a great fortune that youâve accumulated over ten generations to be able to share such a close relationship with our Young Master!â
The entourage mocked Sun Mo.
âIâm going to sue Imperial Tutor Pang as well!â
Sun Mo shouted, looking like a useless bum who could do nothing but fly into a rage.
âNo problem! Iâll be waiting!â
Pang Jili waved his fan then got onto his tall steed. âOh right, I heard that youâre a teacher? You donât seem that capable. You can forget about being a teacher as well!â
As Pang Jili said this, he looked toward the old servant. âGo and tell the magistrate not to let such an incapable person delay the futures of the children.â
âOur Old Master also has the intention to put the countyâs school through a reorganization!â
The old servant smiled.
Although he didnât give a straightforward reply, the hidden meaning behind his words was clear. It was over for Sun Mo.
Pang Jili rode on his horse and went up to Sun Mo, looking down on him arrogantly. âNo woman can escape my grasp if I want to sleep with them. Poor scholar, remember this, itâs your fortune that I wish to sleep with your wife!â
Pang Jili left with his entourage. The old servant looked at Sun Mo, spat out some thick phlegm, and then closed the door too.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âNext time this guy comes, thereâs no need to notify the Old Master! Let him wait!â
The old servant instructed the guards.
âYoung Master, should we send someone to keep watch over that poor scholar?â the attendant asked.
âWhy? You guys are scared of a recommended-candidate?â Pang Jili said in disdain.
âOf course not!â His attendant smiled.
âYou go and keep an eye on him!â
Although Pang Jili was a second-generation profligate, he wasnât a fool. A poor scholar wouldnât be able to create any ripples if he were to head to the capital and file an imperial lawsuit. But if his grandfather were to hear of this, heâd get a scolding. That wouldnât be nice. âIf he were to leave the city and run toward the capital, then knock him out and throw him back home. If he were to flee to the countryside with his wife, hehe, then ignore him!â
âI understand!â
The attendant broke into an understanding smile. His young master enjoyed having sex in the wild.
Pang Jili hummed a song, not feeling anxious at all. He was going to let Sun Mo and his wife give in to him, letting Sun Mo see with his own eyes as he played with his wife. Thatâd feel too exhilarating.
â¦
When Sun Mo reached home, he saw that Mei Niangâs eyes were swollen from all the crying. She was also holding a pair of scissors.
âHusband, are you alright?â
Mei Niang was very concerned and she sized up Sun Mo. She only let out a sigh of relief after ascertaining that he wasnât hurt.
âMei Niang, if I were to say that Iâm going to kill an official and revolt, what would you do?â
Sun Mo said outright.
If Mei Niang didnât wish to wander with him, then he could only think of another solution.
To speak the truth, the condition for clearing the stage wasnât clear. Moreover, Sun Mo was just a recommended-candidate, and it was too difficult for him to climb up to higher ranks. Even if he were to pass the examinations in the year after the next, becoming an advanced-scholar, itâd be very long later for him to become a high-ranking official.
He must open up a new road for himself.
After hearing the words âkilling an official and revoltâ, Mei Niangâs body shook tremendously and her face turned completely pale. However, she hugged Sun Mo tightly.
âIâll go wherever you go!â
Mei Niang buried her face into Sun Moâs chest. âNo matter if itâs to become a bandit or a beggar, in this lifetime, no, even in my next lifetime, I donât wish to be apart from you.â
Sun Mo stroked Mei Niangâs head, feeling very touched.
This must be love.
âAlright, then pack up some necessities. Weâll set off in the morning the day after tomorrow!â
Sun Mo kissed Mei Niang on the forehead. âIâll head out right now to buy some stuff!â
All scholars pursued to be a master in both the pen and the sword, being able to govern the world with the pen and also to lead troops out to war. Therefore, although the original owner of this body had the battle prowess comparable to a goose, he had a longbow at home as well as a Yanling Steel Blade. To put it simply, they were just there for show.
Sun Mo tried them out. The bow wasnât bad and the blade was very sharp. He then flipped over the walls and left the house at night, heading straight for Apricot Square.
Although the name of this place sounded very elegant, the people who stayed here were in charge of forging weapons for the army.
These people worked a lot but got paid very little. If they wished for their families to lead a better life, theyâd have to accept some private jobs secretly.
The higher-level ones would have some connections and would be able to forge weapons for the guards working at important families. Those lower-level ones would forge some arrows, short blades, or other things to the hunters from the mountains.
Sun Moâs goal was their privately forged weapons. Even if the weapon was lost, they wouldnât dare to make a big fuss out of it.
This body that he had taken over was really horrible.
Sun Mo was already panting a little after running for five minutes.
âI am thinking of getting two bows.â
Sun Mo mumbled. He picked a place in the Apricot Square and flipped over the walls.
âYou horrible guy, why did you only come now?â
A voice suddenly rang out, almost scaring Sun Mo to death.
(What the hell?)
Did he encounter a couple who was supposed to meet for a secret affair?
A pair of soft arms immediately hugged Sun Mo.
âIâve missed you so much!â
As the woman said this, she was already unable to hold back and was kissing and touching him. âHe went out to drink today. Youâll be able to stay until 11 p.m. Huh, why are you so tall?â
The woman was clearly not a fool either and realized that this wasnât the right person.
âDonât scream. Otherwise, Iâll stab you to death!â
Sun Mo purposely spoke with a hoarse voice and covered the womanâs mouth with one hand. He held a short blade with the other hand against her waist.
Mmmmmmm!
The woman instantly panicked and her body trembled incessantly.
âIâm only here for money and not to kill. As long as you behave yourself, I wonât kill you!â
Sun Mo looked around and then dragged the woman into the room.
When he picked his target, he selected a small family like this who had some free money but couldnât afford to hire servants and maids. This meant that the owner of this place had some means of getting side hustles.
Very soon, the woman took out the savings they had at home.
âItâs so little?â
Sun Mo pretended to look dissatisfied.
âOur⦠our money has been taken by my husband to spend at the brothels!â
The woman cried, âLook, I donât even have many accessories!â
âThen what about weapons? You ought to have some short blades, crossbows, longbows, arrows, or things like that, right?â
Sun Mo smiled evilly. âYou canât possibly let me make a wasted trip, can you? At least, Iâll be able to get quite a bit of money from a crossbow!â
âCrossbows are prohibited weapons. Privately forging and selling them is subject to a death penalty.â
The woman sobbed softly.
âStop crying. Hurry up and take out whatever weapons you have. Donât try to lie to me. I know that you guys do engage in such trades all the time.â
Sun Mo thrust out strongly.
The womanâs body instantly froze up. She didnât dare to put up any resistance and went to the woodshed. She then moved away the firewood and flipped up the flooring to expose a cellar.
There were a few boxes here. Sun Mo opened them up and discovered that these were weapons that were wrapped in animal skin.
There were short blades, daggers, longbows, and even crossbows.
Of course, Sun Mo had also seen quite a lot of arrows, which were the most important things.
âIâll tell you this, if Iâm caught, Iâll definitely tell the magistrate that I got my crossbow from this place.
Sun Mo threatened.
âI wonât say anything!â
The woman cried.
âGood!â
Of course Sun Mo wouldnât be able to take away all of these weapons since there were so many of them. Therefore, he packed up some that he had urgent use for, then patted the womanâs face. âRemember, Iâm called Swallow Li San. I kill the rich and help the poor. The reason Iâve come to your place this time around is just to get some weapons. After tonight, we wonât know each other. How about that?â
âIâll remember that!â
The woman had just said this when she was hit on the head and passed out.
â¦
Sun Mo went back home and slept all the way until morning. He then started to perform maintenance on the weapons and get familiar with them.
Mei Niang was very docile, not asking anything at all.
A peaceful day passed by. That night, Sun Mo brought a sharp blade with him and flipped over the wall of his house.
The attendant who was tasked to keep an eye on Sun Mo was hiding in the alley and complaining about this job in his mind. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his head and he fainted.
When he woke up once again, he realized that he was lying in a woodshed. The scholar was standing in front of him.
âWhere would your young master usually be at this time?â
Sun Mo asked.
âWhat are you thinking of doing?â
The attendant said with a fierce expression, âThis is kidnap, youâll be beheaded⦠ahhâ¦â
The attendant let out an agonizing cry. It was because Sun Mo had cut off one of his fingers.
âYou have four more chances.â
Sun Mo smiled and pressed the dagger on the attendantâs index finger.
âIâll speak up, Iâll speak up. At this time, our young master should be at the Drunken Smoke Brothel, drinking wine with prostitutes.â
The attendant then continued to reply to all of Sun Moâs questions, including how many attendants Pang Jili had, what capabilities they had, as well as who amongst them could fight the best.
Sun Mo asked the questions three times, mixing up the order. He did so to ascertain that the attendant wasnât joking.
âOld Master Sun, please spare me. Iâm just an attendant and was just following orders!â the attendant cried.
âYou guys have done a lot of evil deeds, right?â
Sun Mo smiled coldly.
âWe have no choice!â
The attendant smiled bitterly. There was no way to get rid of their bad reputation. When the young master got to eat meat, theyâd be able to drink some soup too. He had played with women from good families as well and had also helped to deal with the corpses.
(F*ck! After the young master kills you, Iâll definitely torment your wife!)
The attendant thought to himself fiercely.
âMmm, I pity you for having such an evil master!â
Sun Mo nodded.
âThatâs right. For people like him, in their next life, his children will have noâ¦â
Before the attendant could finish his words, a dagger was thrust into his throat and stirred vigorously.
âAfter you go down to hell, donât be in a hurry on your way. Your young master will be joining you very soon.â
Sun Mo covered the attendantâs mouth, wearing a cold gaze.
The attendantâs eyes opened wide, his face filled with disbelief. That couldnât be. This guy was going to kill the young master?
Damn it!
He had rammed his toes into a steelboard. He thought that this guy was a poor scholar who was an easy pushover, and he didnât expect to encounter a ferocious beast who would choose its target to devour..
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