Practice starts with skill points.

Chapter 32: The government office remains unchanged, but officials are constantly changing

Little Stone carefully crawled out of the cave with a look of fear on his face.

Zhong Lin reached out and grabbed him under the armpit, picked up Xiao Shitou and patted the dirt off his body.

"It's okay, the thief is dead."

The purpose of digging a hole in the bedroom is to provide Xiao Shitou with a hiding place when thieves come. One reason is for safety, and the other is because they are worried that someone will hold him hostage and threaten Zhong Lin.

After all, he is my biological brother in this physical body.

"Brother, I also want to learn martial arts and fight the bad guys with you."

Little Stone raised his head and looked at Zhong Lin, his face full of determination.

Zhong Lin smiled and reached out to touch his head: "Okay, second brother will teach you martial arts."

"Ah."

……

Early the next morning, after Zhong Lin sent Xiao Shitou to Master Liu, he turned around and went to the yamen to report for duty.

Compared to yesterday and today, the atmosphere in the yamen was indeed somewhat different. Although those "colleagues" still greeted Zhong Lin and looked very enthusiastic, there was a hint of alienation in their eyes.

Zhong Lin sighed inwardly, and without saying much, walked towards the "office" led by the chief constable.

Boom boom boom!
"Come in."

Pushing the door open, he saw Chief Constable Xue sitting on a throne, holding a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Zhong Lin's arrival did not make him put down the book in his hand.

"Meet the Chief Constable."

Xue Zheng looked up at Zhong Lin and said, "I know what happened last night. You did nothing wrong. Breaking into a house and killing a colleague are both capital crimes. It's only natural that I died at your hands. Although you're not a constable, you're still a member of the government."

"Zhong Lin understands. Thank you, Chief Constable." Zhong Lin bowed.

"How long have you been practicing martial arts?"

Zhong Lin's heart moved, knowing that Xue Zheng knew that he had already entered the rank.

"To the Chief Constable, it has been twenty-one days."

Zhong Lin had no intention of hiding it. In fact, he had planned to report it the day after he was certified, but was delayed because Xue Zheng was not there.

Zhong Lin intends to portray himself as a martial arts genius. Only in this way can he increase his weight in the eyes of the chief constable and the county lieutenant.

Zhong Lin did not forget that there was a seventh-grade martial arts master who might be hiding in the dark. Although he didn't know whether this master would really target him, he had to be on guard!
Currently, the only person he knew who could protect him was Xue Zheng, the head of the headquarters.

Xue Zheng's eyes were slightly blurred as he looked at Zhong Lin deeply. "You have reached the rank of rank in just 21 days. It seems that your aptitude for martial arts is indeed good."

"Thank you for your compliment, Chief Constable."

"Okay, let's go down!"

Hey! This script is wrong!

Shouldn't you then praise yourself and give some pointers?

Although he was confused, Zhong Lin responded and slowly left the room.

The chief constable slowly put down the book in his hand and chuckled, "He's a good martial arts talent, but he's a little too clever."

After leaving the chief constable's "office", Zhong Lin turned and walked towards the "strong squad" room where Lao Zhou was.

The entire county government has three shifts and six rooms. The six rooms correspond to the clerks, who are responsible for managing the land, household registration, finance, imperial examinations, and judicial affairs of the entire county. In simple terms, they are responsible for the people's livelihood issues of the entire county.

The three squads correspond to the yamen runners and constables, namely the fast squad, the strong squad, and the soap squad. The fast squad is responsible for scouting and arresting criminals, the strong squad is responsible for guarding the warehouse and criminals, and the soap squad is responsible for standing guard and carrying out executions.

The three teams each have their own responsibilities and compromise with each other. The three teams are managed by Chief Constable Xue Zhenglai.

Lao Zhou used to belong to the fast team, but when he got older, he was transferred to the strong team, responsible for guarding the warehouse and the criminals in the prison.

"Don't blame them. After all, they have worked with Chi Yan for many years. Some of them even watched him grow up. Besides, Chi Yan's father also retired from the county government."

Old Zhou poured Zhong Lin a cup of tea and explained the reason.

Zhong Lin nodded. There is a saying among the people that "the government office is permanent, but the officials are transient." This government office does not only refer to the institution, but also includes other county lieutenants, chief clerks, constables, and clerks besides the county magistrate.

After all, the county magistrate never knew when he would be promoted or dismissed, but the positions of constables and clerks could be passed down from father to son and from son to grandson, and had long been woven into a huge network in this county.

Chi Yan is a knot in this web.

Zhong Lin cut a knot with a knife, how could the whole net not tremble!

Zhong Lin nodded and said, "I understand, but I'm also trying to protect myself. After all, it's either him or me."

"Everyone understands this truth, but sometimes human feelings and reason are contradictory. I've seen a lot of things like this in the government office. Forget it, I won't say anymore. I know what you want to ask me about, but that place is full of good and bad people. Are you sure you want to go?"

"Don't keep me in suspense, just tell me! I'll take you to Nuanxiang Tower in a few days when I'm free."

"You really understand me, kid. There's a valley ten miles west of Heishan County. You can enter it at the beginning of every month at midnight for seven days. But I still want to remind you, be careful."

When saying the last sentence, Lao Zhou's face was extremely solemn, and he even strongly advised Zhong Lin not to go.

"Thanks."

Zhong Lin drank the tea in the cup and turned to leave the room.

It's already the 27th of the month, and there are still three days left, so there's no rush.

Zhong Lin went to the Wu Pavilion again and picked out two secret books.

There is no need to worry about the main technique, as the "Iron Mountain Kung Fu" can be practiced all the way to the Bone Tempering Realm. Zhong Lin selected a body technique, a sword technique, and two secret books in the martial arts pavilion.

The name of the movement is "Willow Catkins", which means willow catkins swaying in the wind.

The sword technique is called "Wind-breaking Sword Technique", which is a sword technique that combines strength and speed. It is said that when it is practiced to the extreme, the sword will be as fast as a flash, and the enemy's head will be removed before he can react.

It would take years of practice for others to read these two secret manuals, but for Zhong Lin, all he had to do was learn how to condense them on the system panel.

Add points through the system and reach the maximum level directly.

Although it still requires practice to fully adapt, it is much faster than the average person if you have a bird's-eye view.

Three days passed in a flash. Apart from reporting in the morning every day, he spent the rest of the time at home practicing martial arts or preparing some delicious food.

The first day of October.

Evening, at the hour of Xu.

Zhong Lin was dressed in gray clothes, with a black scarf covering his face, a bow and arrow hanging around his waist, and a bulging cowhide bag on his left waist. He quickly shuttled through the mountains and forests, and after half an hour he arrived at the location pointed by Lao Zhou.

From afar, in the dense forest in the valley, you can vaguely see tiny lights of fire.

This is a "black market", a place that specializes in selling shady things, and it is also a place where good and bad people mix together.

Without stopping for long, Zhong Lin walked in quickly.

(End of this chapter)