Chapter 15: Chapter 13: Change of Registry, Shan Wuju
「The next day.」
Wei Tu woke early, shouldered his luggage, and went to the gates of the County Yamen to wait.
It was nearly noon before a few Strongmen pushed open the main gates of the County Yamen.
The County Yamen was divided into a front office and a rear residence. The front office, unrepaired for years, looked quite dilapidated. However, after Wei Tu bypassed the spirit screen, passed through the ceremonial gate, and arrived at the Illumination Stone Pavilion, he caught sight of a tall, three-story wooden pavilion towering over the courtyard wall of the inner residence.
The pavilion was exquisitely built. Its eaves curved upward like teeth, and the decorative beasts on its roof ridge were slightly upturned. Auspicious designs, such as a carp undergoing Dragon Transformation and cranes in flight, were embedded in the structure.
Wei Tu was amazed. By now, he had reached the office with the sign "Household Office" hanging over the door. He saw no one around, only a single Black Clerk inside, busy writing official documents at his desk, too preoccupied to look his way. Emboldened, Wei Tu stood on his tiptoes on the platform base and peered over the courtyard wall.
Stone slab pavement, white walls, and black tiles...
Pavilions, terraces, and towers...
The architectural style of the inner residence was a world apart from that of the front office.
’A great man should live like this,’ Wei Tu thought, the phrase coming to his mind.
Although the Li Family and the Huang Family were wealthy households, his lowly status at the time meant he never dared to stare. But now, having bought his freedom, his state of mind was different. Seeing this quaint, classical architecture, he felt no annoyance or disgust. Instead, he felt a sense of appreciation and yearning.
In his past life, despite the difference between skyscrapers and ordinary houses, the disparity in status between people wasn’t so vast as to stir such unusual feelings.
In this life, status was everything. Different stations meant different residences, all needing to conform to ritual propriety. The feeling was naturally different.
After taking it all in, Wei Tu composed himself. He took his indenture contract and letter of proof from his robes, then gently knocked on the door of the Household Office.
"What is it?" The Black Clerk in the Household Office stopped writing, looked up at Wei Tu outside the door, and asked.
Wei Tu stated his purpose concisely, explaining that he was here to be removed from the slave registry.
"Leaving the slave registry?" the Black Clerk exclaimed in surprise. He placed his goat-hair brush askew on the brush rest and gave Wei Tu a thorough look.
Although the Household Office managed household registrations and handled the process for Servants buying their freedom, he had never once, since inheriting his father’s position and becoming a clerk, seen a Servant come to the office on their own to be removed from the slave registry.
"Do you have your indenture contract? A letter from your master?" The Black Clerk’s tone softened slightly.
He didn’t recognize Wei Tu, but for someone to buy their freedom at this age, he had to be a person of some note, worthy of a little more respect.
"Yes!" Wei Tu wasted no words. He walked into the Household Office, bowed slightly, and presented both the indenture contract and the letter to the Black Clerk with both hands.
"Hmm... nineteen years old?" The Black Clerk’s eyebrows twitched.
His first impression of Wei Tu was that of a robust man in his thirties. He never expected him to be a youth not yet twenty.
The Black Clerk silently memorized Wei Tu’s name and place of origin. He then opened the indenture contract and the letter, carefully comparing the handwriting and seals with the archives in the Household Office.
Once he confirmed there were no errors, the Black Clerk took out a book with "Civil Registry" written in large characters on its cover and added Wei Tu’s name to the last page.
"Now that you are on the Civil Registry, you will have to pay a fixed household tax every year. If you own land, you must also pay the land tax... Also, regarding the annual corvée labor, if you do not wish to serve, you must pay the substitute silver."
The Black Clerk explained point by point.
Hearing this, Wei Tu nodded to show he understood.
Becoming a commoner was only temporary.
As long as he succeeded in this year’s Military Examination and obtained an official rank, he could move from the Civil Registry to the Martial Registry, or even the Official Registry.
Then, he would no longer have to pay the household tax or the substitute silver.
"Three years after joining the Civil Registry, if you have no overdue household tax or substitute silver, and your family owns no land, the Government Office will consider allotting you inheritable land. You must remember this," the Black Clerk added as a reminder.
"Thank you, sir."
Wei Tu bowed in thanks.
...
After leaving the County Yamen, Wei Tu didn’t linger in the County Town. He ate a flatbread that Xinghua had made the day before, then followed the flow of people out of the town.
For safety’s sake, Wei Tu didn’t push his luck by traveling day and night. Instead, he found an inn to rest midway and only continued his journey the next day.
The next day, he walked for another half-day.
After rounding a knoll, Wei Tu finally spotted a village near the river at the bottom of the slope with a sign that read "Shan Family Stronghold."
After asking a villager for directions, Wei Tu arrived at the only green-brick mansion in the Shan Family Stronghold that had three hitching posts outside.
"Li Yaozu? What a surprise." Shan Wuju was sitting on a Stone Grinder in front of the house. He had a gaunt, long face and was wearing a brownish-purple summer robe of processed silk-cotton. Tucked into his waist was a brass water pipe.
After reading the letter, Shan Wuju flicked the ash from his water pipe, said "Come in" to Wei Tu, and walked into the mansion with his hands behind his back.
The Shan Mansion was a three-courtyard residence. The first courtyard housed several fine horses, which craned their necks and neighed upon seeing Shan Wuju enter.
Upon reaching the main hall of the second courtyard, Shan Wuju sat down and said, "I’ll take you on as a long-term laborer. As for teaching you fisticuffs and martial arts, that will depend on my mood, and whether you’ve got the right stuff."
"Also, after you participate in the Military Examination and obtain an official rank, you must pay me respects annually and bring gifts on festival days. Can you do that?" Shan Wuju asked.
"If I succeed, Master Shan will be my respected mentor. It is only right and proper for a disciple to show respect to his master," Wei Tu considered for a moment before giving this somewhat tactful reply.
"Good enough."
Hearing this, Shan Wuju didn’t object. A slight smile appeared on his face.
"There are Stone Locks for strength training and a stiff bow outside. Go try them both. Let’s see if you’re really cut out for this."
Shan Wuju pointed outside.
Wei Tu nodded and walked out.
As he had entered just now, he had noticed the equipment in Shan Wuju’s second courtyard. All eighteen kinds of weapons were there, along with a bronze dummy and a wooden dummy.
A moment later, Wei Tu went to a corner of the courtyard, flexed his right arm, and lifted a Stone Lock marked "300 jin."
After more than a year of practice, his progress in the Health Cultivation Technique had improved again. Although he hadn’t yet reached Great Success, he was well past Minor Success.
His strength had also increased from two hundred jin with a single arm to three hundred jin.
"Not bad aptitude." Shan Wuju nodded slightly, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
In martial arts, aptitude has always been paramount.
Without aptitude, no amount of practice will get you through the door.
In Shan Wuju’s opinion, being able to lift a three-hundred-jin Stone Lock with one arm made Wei Tu an exceptionally gifted individual among ordinary people.
However, when it came to drawing the stiff bow, Wei Tu shook his head and honestly admitted that his archery skills were poor.
"Your archery is no good?" Shan Wuju frowned. In the Military Examination, strength alone was far from enough to achieve an official rank.
But Shan Wuju wasn’t too concerned about it. If he couldn’t pass this year’s examination, he could just try again next time.
Archery skills could be practiced.
Besides, Wei Tu wasn’t old.
"What kind of fisticuffs have you learned? Any Blade Technique?" Shan Wuju asked after a moment of thought.
The fisticuffs he spoke of weren’t just for show. He was referring to a proper Inheritance of unarmed combat, complete with various Pile Skills, which formed the foundation of external Martial Arts.
These techniques could be practiced for a lifetime.
Most of the various Blade Techniques used by Martial Artists were also derived from these unarmed combat skills.
"Only... the Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique," Wei Tu answered truthfully.
"The Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique? That Nourishing Body Skill? What kind of garbage is that?"
Shan Wuju had obviously heard of the famous "Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique" and quickly showed his disdain for the health-focused Cultivation Technique.
