47: Chapter 47 Are there still any internal cultivation techniques?

Pockmarked Face curled his lip: "Pfft, who are you trying to scare? In our rundown yamen, would the lords of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau ever bother to listen in?"

"But then again..." The fat man rubbed his hands together, his eyes darting towards Chen Mo's chest, "Chen Mo, I heard this was a lucrative assignment. You followed that lord all the way, must have lined your pockets pretty well, huh? We brothers aren't greedy. Treat us to Yichun Courtyard tonight, and we'll consider this matter closed."

"Yeah, yeah! Yichun Courtyard! I want Little Peach Blossom!"

"I want Emerald Willow!"

The whole group started egging him on.

Chen Mo saw right through them.

These guys didn't really want to go to Yichun Courtyard; they just couldn't stand to see him doing well and wanted to bleed him dry. This was the survival Law of the yamen. If you didn't fit in, if you didn't let yourself get fleeced a little, you'd have nothing but trouble down the line.

"Fine."

Without another word, Chen Mo reached into his robe and pulled out a small piece of silver.

It weighed about five taels.

This was his entire savings from several months, originally intended to buy a body strengthening decoction.

He tossed the silver onto the table with a dull thud.

"I have something to do tonight, can't make it. Take these five taels, brothers, have a drink on me. Consider it my apology."

The courtyard instantly fell silent.

Five taels of silver.

For these Runners, whose monthly salary was only two taels, this was an extravagant sum.

Pockmarked Face's eyes went wide. He snatched the silver, bit it with his teeth, and his face immediately broke into a wide grin: "Ah, Brother Chen, no need to be so formal! We're all brothers here! Since you're busy, we'll take care of it for you, hahahaha!"

The fat man also came over and clapped Chen Mo on the shoulder: "Good man! From now on, if anyone in the west district gives you trouble, just mention my name!"

And just like that, a potential storm was quelled with money.

Chen Mo's heart was bleeding, but he still had to force a smile on his face.

Spend money to avert disaster. A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall.

This bit of money, buying peace and quiet, was worth it.

...

The group took the silver and dispersed with raucous laughter, leaving only Chen Mo and Tiger Li, who had been sitting in the corner the whole time, smoking his long-stemmed pipe.

Tiger Li was the constable, in his forties. His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, fleshy and fierce-looking, but in truth, he was one of the rare sensible men in this yamen.

He tapped his pipe against the ground and glanced at Chen Mo.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

Chen Mo gave a bitter laugh and walked over to sit opposite him. "Boss, that was five taels. Enough to feed me for half a year."

"To gain something, you must first give something up," Tiger Li said, refilling his pipe, lighting it, and taking a deep drag, exhaling a plume of bluish-gray smoke. "You, kid, are smarter than them. You know when to bow your head and when to pay up."

Chen Mo didn't respond to that. Instead, he lowered his voice and leaned in a little closer.

"Boss, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Speak."

"In our yamen... is there any Mind-Cultivation Technique for internal training?"

Tiger Li's hand, holding the pipe, stilled.

He lifted his eyelids, his somewhat turbid eyes fixing intently on Chen Mo, staring for a long while.

A wind blew through the courtyard, stirring up a few dried leaves.

Tiger Li didn't speak, just puffed on his pipe, *pata pata*.

The silence was unnerving.

After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh and knocked out the ashes of his pipe against the sole of his shoe.

"Chen Mo, you're sixteen this year, right?"

"Yes."

"Been in the yamen for three years?"

"Three years and two months."

"These three years, you've been diligent, kept your head down. I've seen it," Tiger Li said, his voice somewhat hoarse. "Back then, I taught you that basic saber technique, and this uniform issued by the yamen... it's enough to let you scrape by in these troubled times. That's the limit of what I can do."

Chen Mo's heart sank. "Boss, you mean..."

"Internal training?" Tiger Li snorted, a laugh tinged with self-mockery and helplessness. "You think that's as common as cabbage?"

He pointed at the square courtyard, then at the uniform on his own body.

"What are we? We're Runners, lowly registered! Put nicely, we're government officers. Put bluntly, we're just dogs guarding the homes of those high-up masters!"

"You give a dog a bone so it has the strength to bite. Give a dog Internal Skill? What if the dog becomes too clever and bites back?"

The words were crude, but the reasoning was sound.

Chen Mo felt a chill run through him.

"Those foot soldiers in the City Defense Army, they're just like us. They only practice external martial arts. At most, they get a few more meals of meat, build a sturdier frame."

Tiger Li continued, "If you want to learn a Mind-Cultivation Technique, there are only two paths."

He held up two fingers, rough as tree bark.

"First, take the military examinations. If you can pass the preliminary exam and earn a degree, the court will naturally grant you the foundational Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique. But that thing... besides needing real skill, you also need money for bribes. Your five taels of silver, thrown in there, wouldn't even make a splash."

Chen Mo nodded.

"Second," Tiger Li pointed in the direction of the Inner City. "Go to the Inner City. Find those big martial arts schools. As long as you can afford the tuition, they'll teach you. But that tuition... heh, starts at a hundred taels. Gold."

A hundred taels of gold.

Selling Chen Mo wouldn't even cover a fraction of that.

Chen Mo felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

This was class.

An invisible wall, standing firmly before him.

On the other side of the wall: longevity, soaring through the skies, burrowing through the earth.

On this side of the wall: wallowing in the mud, a life as worthless as grass.

He had the System, potential, limitless lifespan.

But he lacked a ticket.

A ticket to cross that wall.

"There's really no other way?" Chen Mo refused to give up.

Tiger Li looked into Chen Mo's unwilling eyes and hesitated.

He actually thought quite highly of this kid. Steady, ruthless, yet not without tact. He had the makings of someone who could survive in the Jianghu.

"Actually... it's not completely impossible."

Tiger Li lowered his voice, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then leaned close to Chen Mo's ear.

"Kid, didn't you manage to get a connection with that one from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau?"

Chen Mo was taken aback. "Jiang Hongli?"

"Exactly!" Tiger Li slapped his thigh. "What does the Imperial Astronomical Bureau do? They observe the stars for the Emperor, set the calendar, slay demons and vanquish evil! The good stuff they have is far more than those martial arts schools!"

"And the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's status is transcendent, not bound by those rules. As long as that Lord Hongli is willing to nod, just a little scrap from between her fingers would be enough to last you a lifetime."

As he spoke, Tiger Li's face showed an expression of exasperation. "You kid, holding a golden bowl yet begging for food. Last night was such a perfect opportunity. Didn't you try to get closer to her?"

The corner of Chen Mo's mouth twitched.

Get closer?

That crazy woman, killed without blinking, moody and unpredictable. Getting close to her was asking for a short life.

His primary goal right now was to lay low, to live long. Getting involved with Jiang Hongli would be like stepping right into the eye of a whirlpool.

Demons, monsters, the strange and eerie, court power struggles...

Which one could his frail self withstand?

"Boss, don't tease me," Chen Mo said with a pained expression. "You know her temper. I'm trying to avoid her, not get closer."

"Then you'll just have to endure it."