Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

As dawn broke, the Taoist priests who had been cleaning up the battlefield gradually returned to their pavilions.

In the front courtyard of the pavilion, rows of headless corpses were neatly displayed.

Next to it was a small pile of dozens of mangled, disheveled heads.

Finally, there was a pile of confiscated bandit weapons, haphazardly stacked.

Fortunately, it was winter, the weather was cold and the mosquitoes disappeared, so the corpses decomposed slowly and there was not much of a stench.

Zhao Xian dragged his weary body out of the right wing of the front yard and let out a long sigh of relief.

Father, uncle and others rushed into the pavilion first. The few people who were stunned by the explosion have now woken up and are resting on the bed.

Chen Yuancheng has already summoned the physicians from the pavilion to treat those who were injured last night.

With his heart finally at ease, Zhao Xian couldn't help but feel a strong wave of dizziness, and his vision went black.

He could only lean against the door frame to barely steady himself, and it took him a long time to recover.

After a night of fierce fighting, with my mind on edge and dozens of arrows fired, coupled with great surprise and joy, it's perfectly normal to feel dizzy.

After resting for a while, Zhao Xian struggled to get up, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the pile of disheveled hair and bloodied, mangled heads.

Immediately, his stomach churned violently, and he bent over, dry heaving uncontrollably.

Upon hearing Zhao Xian dry heaving, the doctor inside immediately went to Zhao Xian's side, took off the water pouch from his waist, and handed it to Zhao Xian.

Before Zhao Xian could even express his gratitude, he opened the water pouch and drank several mouthfuls, after which his complexion improved somewhat.

The water in the water bag was quite bitter and had a strong herbal smell, which must have been the medicine that the doctor had brewed and poured into the water bag.

After thanking the doctor, Zhao Xian got up again and walked out of the room.

A burst of laughter came from behind him, and he knew without a doubt that it was his father and uncles.

"Second brother, after this year, Jiulang should be settling down!"

Uncle Zhao Ren's voice came intermittently from inside the house.

......

No longer looking at the pile of severed heads, Zhao Xian glanced to the other side and looked at the pile of bandit weapons.

"How could this be!"

Zhao Xian let out a soft exclamation, his face showing considerable surprise.

Before my eyes lay a pile of rusty, chipped scrap metal, mixed with quite a few crudely made bamboo spears and bows!

"Don't bother looking, everything's already packed up!"

Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Zhao Xian and whispered something in his ear.

"Brother, this~"

Zhao Xian pointed at the pile of rubble, full of doubts.

"The slightly better weapons have already been quietly taken back by each family." Zhao Zheng smiled helplessly, but lowered his voice even further. "We must rush to the aid of the outposts and defeat the bandits. We can't let our people take this risk for nothing."

"It can be like this!" Zhao Xian was so surprised he almost lost his voice.

"What valuable items could bandits possibly have! The most valuable things they have, besides their heads, are their weapons!" Another person approached; it was none other than Uncle Zhao Ze, the Twelfth.

Zhao Ze, his arms wrapped in burlap and his robes stained with blood, whispered, "Ninth Brother, look closely, they've even stripped them naked from their tattered clothes!"

"Uncle Twelfth, how are your injuries?"

Zhao Xianli immediately asked with concern.

"It's nothing serious, just a cut!"

Zhao Ze waved his hand dismissively and said.

"Jiulang, you did a great job last night!"

"Your arrows never miss, each shot hitting its mark. Do you know how many bandits died by your hand last night?"

At this point, Zhao Ze could not hide his excitement.

"Not counting the bandit leader, you alone have shot and killed twelve bandits!"

Zhao Zheng, who was standing to the side, chimed in.

"How come there are so many!"

Zhao Xian was also somewhat incredulous upon hearing this, as he did not recall having shot and killed so many people.

"The inventory was personally checked by Tingjun; there is absolutely no falsehood!"

"Jiulang, when you achieve great success in the future, don't forget your clan!"

Zhao Ze sighed, then patted Zhao Xian on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"The thief Wang Jia has rushed to the county town to report this overnight!"

"A high-ranking official from the county will surely arrive soon. Jiulang, go and rest for a while, and don't be impolite in front of him!"

Zhao Ze gave one more instruction before turning around and continuing his work.

Of the four guards at the outpost, only Zhao Ze survived, so he naturally had to shoulder the heavy responsibility.

Watching Zhao Ze leave, his elder brother Zhao Zheng, standing beside him, also smiled and said, "The officials of the pavilion held off more than a hundred bandits for half the night; they have done a good job and have no faults."

"Since Father didn't participate in the battle, only Uncle Twelve remains of the four soldiers. It won't be long before Uncle Twelve is promoted!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian nodded slightly.

All the officials in the pavilion have rendered meritorious service; the dead need no further explanation, and the living will certainly be promoted.

Tingjun Chen Yuancheng may return to his post in the county, Qiudao Wang Jia may be promoted to the position of Waiting Tingzhang, and as for Uncle Shier, he may be able to take over the position of Qiudao at Shanghuting.

However, if Chen Yuancheng leaves, who will teach me the Dao?

Upon thinking of this, Zhao Xian couldn't help but feel a little lost.

"Hiss—!"

A clear neighing broke the silence of the early morning, followed by the clatter of hooves. Zhao Xian looked in the direction of the sound.

But then several figures leaped off their horses and strode towards the pavilion.

The two leading figures, wearing silver crowns and blue sashes around their waists, must be high-ranking officials in the county.

"Where is the head of Shanghu Pavilion?"

One of them, with a long sword at his waist and his hand on the hilt, stepped forward and shouted in a stern voice.

"Chen Yuancheng, the magistrate and head of Shanghu Pavilion, greets Your Majesty!"

Chen Yuancheng hurried out from the backyard, his hair disheveled and his blue robe stained with blood.

Upon seeing this, the two high-ranking officials' expressions softened slightly.

"I am Liu Yu, a patrol officer in the county, and this is Chen Sheng, a thief under the jurisdiction of the county's government!"

The person who spoke first then introduced the situation.

Both the patrol officers and the underlings of the bandits were officials of the county with a salary of 100 shi (a unit of grain), with the underlings of the bandits holding a slightly higher position.

"Yuancheng," Chen Sheng, the bandit chieftain, stared sharply at Chen Yuancheng and asked in a deep voice, "When did the bandits attack last night? How many of them were there?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, last night around midnight, bandits suddenly attacked our outpost. There were many figures, roughly estimated to be no less than a hundred."

"How many heads were cut off?"

"Forty-three were beheaded; the bandit leader and all his subordinates, along with all the fierce and valiant bandits, were executed!"

"How many were captured alive?"

"Sixteen people were captured alive and all were bound in the pavilion!"

"The rest scattered and fled into the mountains and forests."

Chen Yuancheng's face was solemn as he calmly replied.

"Excellent!" Upon hearing this, the patrolling officer Liu Yu couldn't help but clap and cheer, "A resounding victory!"

He was a patrol officer responsible for inspecting the villages and towns, and Shanghuting was within his patrol area.

Now that a large group of bandits has attacked the pavilion, they cannot escape blame.

Now that more than half have been beheaded and captured alive, it can be considered a great victory, enough to allow him to retain his official position in front of the county magistrate.

"How many officials and clerks were injured or killed?"

Chen Sheng continued to press for answers.

"Three soldiers were killed in battle, and the rest were all wounded!"

"I heard that the Daoist people of Tingbu rushed to the rescue overnight. How many Daoist people were injured or killed?"

After a moment's thought, Chen Sheng asked again.

"All the people from the six li under Tingbu's jurisdiction came to the rescue; sixteen civilians died and more than twenty were injured!"

Yangpingli, Dawangli, and Fanrongli fared slightly better, with no deaths reported, while Wenmaoli, Changgongli, and Chunpingli suffered heavy casualties.

This was because the villagers of Chunpingli collapsed first, and the bandits took the opportunity to attack and kill them.

However, Chen Yuancheng was too ashamed to speak about the matter in front of the two high-ranking officials.

"Although more than half of the bandits have been defeated and their leader captured or killed, the casualties among the people under our jurisdiction have been heavy. The merits and demerits cannot outweigh the losses. You must report this truthfully to the county magistrate!"

Chen Sheng pondered for a few moments, then sighed and said.

"Lord Chen, the bandits launched a night attack, and to achieve such a victory in such a short time is a great achievement even in the army!"

Upon hearing Chen Sheng's words, the patrol officer Liu Yu, who was standing nearby, also spoke up urgently.