Chapter Five: Truly a Genius

"Knock, knock..."

The sound of someone at the door interrupted Lu Zhou’s train of thought.

Anger strode in. Lu Zhou sighed inwardly—this ‘stubborn fool’ had returned; what was he up to now?

“Captain Anger, I’d wager you followed the scent of wine here. Why not sit and share a cup with me?”

“Do you often invite people to drink?”

“I seldom invite anyone to drink.”

“But you invited your junior sister…”

Anger suddenly realized he’d misspoken and quickly changed the subject. “At today’s banquet, your junior brother Huang Dacheng insulted you. Why didn’t you kill him?”

Lu Zhou set down his cup, glanced at Anger, and replied, “No matter who it is, killing someone inevitably brings trouble. I don’t fear killing, but I do fear trouble.”

“But I killed Lin He.”

“Then you may have trouble. Of course, with your strength, small troubles hardly count—they’ll just make you draw your sword again.”

Anger lowered his head in silence. For a moment, he found Lu Zhou an interesting man. Suddenly, he caught sight of the wine jug on the table—the same one from the banquet. The ease on his face vanished, replaced with a hint of contempt.

He stepped back out of the courtyard, clearly intent on distancing himself from Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou chuckled softly to himself.

He suddenly recalled that Lin He from Liangshan Academy was about to break through to the Tribulation Realm, at least Ninth Rank of the Void Returning Realm—far superior to Li Muru’s Third Rank. Otherwise, Liangshan Academy wouldn’t possess such a grand spiritual spring; compared to it, Qingxi Academy's spring was a mere mouse hole.

Yet this master hadn’t survived even a single move against Anger.

Just one strike.

Anger was merely one of the five captains.

Well… now there were six captains.

Anger’s power in the Primordial Immortal Realm was terrifying; the strength of the other four remained unknown, not to mention the Grand Commander Chao Lu in the True Immortal Realm. Compared to those petty grubs outside, the Governor’s Office was the most perilous place of all.

It seemed prudent to convert his pills to spirit stones swiftly, buy some formation materials, and make arrangements early.

At that moment, Anger spoke: “Commander Chao asked me to inform you that from tomorrow, you’ll be in charge of the Fragrant Pavilion. After the daily intelligence is compiled, a designated person will collect it.”

Lu Zhou’s thoughts were interrupted yet again. He sighed. “No problem… Wait, did you say the Fragrant Pavilion?”

“That’s right. The Fragrant Pavilion is a Thousand Ox Guard intelligence gathering post in Shen Prefecture,” Anger replied.

Lu Zhou pressed further. “A brothel?”

“Is there a problem?” Anger’s voice grew cold.

“None at all.” Lu Zhou shook his head repeatedly, his lips twitching involuntarily.

So he’d thought he was being recruited as the leader of an assassination squad, only to find he was in charge of Heaven on Earth?

“And another thing—the scribe in the Prefect’s Office died recently. We need someone who can write; you should fill in.”

The Prefect’s Office scribe?

Lu Zhou envisioned himself, brush in hand, sporting a mustache, making a show of himself as he moved between the Prefect’s Office and the brothel. A wave of desolation swept over him.

…

…

The Prefect’s Office was a subordinate agency of the Governor’s Office.

Its responsibilities were akin to a county magistrate: handling case reviews, civic projects, overseeing finances, taxation, treasury, justice, supervision, and conscription.

The Prefect’s surname was Shen, first name Changbai, a former Zhou Dynasty official.

When Shu Kingdom seized Shen Prefecture, he immediately raised the flag, bowed in submission, and Chao Lu retained him as Prefect.

When Lu Zhou arrived at the Prefect’s Office, Shen Changbai merely glanced at the warrant and said nothing more.

The two had little to do with each other.

Lu Zhou checked in and left daily, stretching lazily at the sound of the drum, strolling out of the Prefect’s Office straight to the Fragrant Pavilion.

He was idle—a little too idle for his liking.

He spoke little at the office, having heard the previous scribe lost his life for speaking too much; so whenever he could keep his mouth shut, he made sure not to utter a single unnecessary word.

At night, his subordinates at the Fragrant Pavilion presented the intelligence.

He reviewed it all.

The headmaster of Huangshan Academy and the senior disciple of Qingfeng Academy came to blows over the courtesan.

Chief Huang of Golden Lion Escort Agency lasted only three minutes.

Abbot Kuye from Vajra Temple preached to the girl all night, making her weep bitterly.

Who would have guessed Abbot Kuye had such tastes?

Thinking of Kuye, Lu Zhou remembered the pills in his Qiankun pouch, and couldn’t decide what to do with them. In hindsight, he’d have preferred they simply sent spirit stones. It was proving far harder to convert these pills than he’d imagined.

He reminded himself not to rush—haste brings mistakes.

Each day he prepared two sets of intelligence: one for the Thousand Ox Guard sent by Anger, the other sent by raven to his uncle Gao Zhuang at Apricot Forest Apothecary.

Night was silent.

Two caws echoed in the courtyard of Apricot Forest Apothecary.

The clerk grumbled as he shut the window—ravens had been cawing at midnight lately, unnerving everyone and disrupting sleep.

A window in a nearby wing quietly opened.

A black raven fluttered inside.

"Uncle Gao Zhuang, here is today's intelligence. Please review it."

The raven loosened its claws, dropping a sheet of densely written rice paper onto the table. Gao Zhuang frowned, glanced over it, then set it aside.

“Nephew, the intelligence you bring each day seems…”

“Nothing but nonsense?” The raven ruffled its feathers atop the table. “Uncle, for you to call this nonsense, it’s no wonder the Tea Division can’t match the Thousand Ox Guard.”

Gao Zhuang wrinkled his nose, squinting even further. “Is it not?”

“Uncle, in our line of work, you must see the essence beneath the surface. The feud between Huangshan and Qingfeng Academies appears to be a rivalry over the courtesan, but in truth, the two sects have longstanding enmity. For the senior disciple of Qingfeng Academy to provoke the headmaster of Huangshan Academy, would you believe there’s no one supporting him behind the scenes?”

“You mean Qingfeng Academy has pledged itself to the Governor’s Office?”

“It’s only a supposition… And as for Abbot Kuye visiting Fragrant Pavilion daily to preach, do you think he’s truly there for meditation? Others assume it’s his way of cultivating discipline, but in reality, that girl is his informant.”

“And Chief Huang lasting three minutes—how do you explain that?” Gao Zhuang grew interested.

The raven sighed. “I’m afraid it really was just three minutes…”

“…”

“But if Uncle Gao could make those three minutes ten, Chief Huang would surely be grateful.”

Gao Zhuang was struck dumb, and after a long pause, sighed.

“It seems you truly are a genius in this trade.”