Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

"Tiger Power Grass is a mid-grade Yellow Rank spiritual medicine. My illness is congenital, so taking it will not be of much use. Aunt thanks Ah Xian."

After saying this, the aunt bowed to Zhao Xian, who quickly stood up to avoid her, saying, "Auntie, you flatter me. It's just a yellow-grade spiritual herb, not worth a few spirit stones."

"Ah Xian, take that tiger-strength grass back with you!"

Uncle Zhao Li, standing beside him, also smiled and said.

"It's alright, I have three more here, that's enough."

Zhao Xian naturally wouldn't take the Tiger Power Grass with him anymore. This spiritual herb was less effective than a bottle of Essence Pills for Zhao Xian, but it was very useful for his father, uncles, and others who cultivated martial arts.

"Ah Xian, if you want to use this Tiger Power Grass to lay a solid foundation for Ah Hong, Ah Duan, and the others, you'll need a few more auxiliary herbs." Aunt looked at Zhao Xian and chuckled. "Tomorrow, I'll have your uncle go to the main market in the village to see if he can gather those auxiliary herbs."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian paused slightly, then looked at his aunt with a meaningful gaze.

"Aunt, do you mean to make it into a medicinal dish?"

"Adding the tiger meat we have left at home, it should be enough to get the three of them onto the path of cultivation within ten days or so." The aunt didn't answer whether it was medicinal food or not. After pondering for a few moments, she looked at Zhao Xian, "Xian, you crush the tiger bones, mix them into millet, and cook porridge for the children of the tribe to eat their fill. You also teach the children martial arts. Is there anything you wish to ask for?"

"Aunt, I have no requests, but I feel that now that I have some small amount of strength, I should support my clansmen."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian replied without hesitation that this was exactly what he had been thinking.

The aunt nodded slightly. As the autumn wind began to blow, she couldn't help but cough a few times before returning inside.

Zhao Xian looked at his uncle Zhao Li, only to see Zhao Li scratch his head, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

Zhao Xian didn't want to ask any more questions, so he turned around and walked out of the courtyard, secretly pondering to himself.

"Could my aunt be from a prominent family in Xiao County?"

Decades ago, in that great war that affected Qingzhou and Nanzhou, the powerful families of Xiao County suffered heavy losses, and many were wiped out.

Seeing Zhao Xian leave, Zhao Li sighed, returned to the house, and closed the door.

"Ah Xian has always been a perceptive boy; why are you telling him all this!"

"Ah Xian is mature beyond his years. He probably already suspected that you gave him those two scrolls of skin-strengthening and tendon-strengthening secret techniques. You couldn't hide it from him."

......

After leaving his uncle's house, Zhao Xian headed towards the threshing ground.

Upon arriving at the threshing ground, they saw a bonfire already lit, with a clay pot on top, steaming and emitting a faint aroma of millet throughout the threshing ground.

A dozen or so teenagers were practicing their boxing techniques, while Zhao Hong and his two companions patrolled the crowd, offering occasional pointers.

The three men feigned seriousness, and did indeed possess some of the air of boxers.

Not far away, a dozen or so even younger children were playing and laughing, their eyes occasionally glancing at the fragrant pottery jar.

The millet cooked with tiger bones was topped with a thick layer of oil, making it quite delicious.

In one corner of the threshing ground stood several elderly people with white hair, watching the scene with great interest.

Zhao Xian caught sight of these elderly men and quickly went forward to greet them.

"Greetings to my great-uncle, grandfather, and great-uncle!"

Zhao Xian was very respectful and bowed to each of them.

"Jiulang, well done! With the bones of this possessed tiger demon used to make rice porridge, the children of the clan will surely grow stronger!" The great-uncle looked at Zhao Xian with a kind smile. "Have Ah Hong go to my house later and bring several dozen catties of millet so that these children can have a good meal!"

"Me too!"

"I'm just wasting my days, but if I help Jiulang with some practical things, I can die with a clear conscience and meet my ancestors."

"Ah Xian thanks the elders!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian respectfully bowed and then accompanied the others to continue watching.

A moment later, a figure suddenly came running up, shouting loudly, "Ah Xian, people from the village have arrived!"

Upon seeing Zhao Xian standing with a group of elders, the man immediately ran over, panting heavily.

"Shiyilang, how can you, as an elder, be so rude in front of a junior!"

When the uncle saw the newcomer's panicked state, he immediately became angry and shouted loudly.

"Uncle~" Upon hearing this, the man blushed but wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and looked at the group, "A new official has come to the village. Aze has been promoted by the county magistrate to be the village's chief thief hunter. Our Zhao family in Yangping Village has also produced a food-fighting official!"

"Not only Aze, but Zhao Zheng was also appointed by the county magistrate to search for thieves at Shanghu Pavilion."

"Is this true?"

Upon hearing this, the great-uncle immediately asked in a deep voice.

"Uncle, how could I lie to you? The village official, the head of the village, and my fifth brother are in the bullet room right now."

"Let's go take a look!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian immediately stepped forward to help his great-uncle up, and then called Zhao Hong and the others to help their grandfather, great-uncle, and others behind them, and headed towards the inner gate.

......

Upon reaching the inner gate's bullet room, they indeed saw several horses and an oxcart parked outside, with several guards standing on either side.

Upon seeing Zhao Xian and his group arrive, the guards immediately stepped forward and bowed.

Hearing the commotion outside, the people inside the chamber filed out.

"Liu Jun, is that you?" The village official stepped out of the bullet room, and Zhao Xian immediately showed a look of surprise, noticing that Liu Mao's black turban had been replaced with a red one. He then smiled and said, "Congratulations on your promotion, Liu Jun!"

"Haha, I'm only doing this thanks to Bo Zhang."

"Greetings, esteemed elders!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Mao stepped forward and bowed to the elders. Zhao Xian, supporting his great-uncle, could not return the bow and could only nod in acknowledgment.

"This humble countryman greets Your Majesty!"

Uncle and the others bowed slightly in return.

"Bo Zhang, Liu Jun has gained the favor of Lord Chen and has now been promoted to a minor official position in the county. His future is bright!"

Zhao Ze, who was standing to the side, also said with a smile.

"Congratulations, Mr. Liu!"

Zhao Xiankong made a move and quickly returned the greeting.

"The county magistrate was very pleased to learn that you had all slain the wicked tiger that was causing havoc." Liu Mao looked at Zhao Xian. "The rewards for you all were readily approved, and the county was ordered to distribute them as soon as possible."

At this point, Liu Mao's expression turned serious, and he took out a scroll of bamboo slips from his sleeve.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Xian quickly stood to the side and bowed in greeting, and the others also stood up respectfully.

"Zhao Ze, the thief seeking at Shanghu Pavilion, has slain a vicious tiger and rendered a great service. He is hereby promoted to the position of Thief Seeker of Wohu Township and awarded two thousand coins!"

"Zhao Xian, a local official, has slain a vicious tiger, rendering a great service. He is hereby awarded five thousand coins as a reward for this merit!"

"Zhao Zheng, a soldier of Shanghu Pavilion, has slain a vicious tiger and rendered a great service. He is hereby promoted to the position of Thief Slayer of Shanghu Pavilion and awarded a reward of one thousand coins!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian and the other two unanimously replied, "We thank the County Lady!"

Congratulations to the three of you.

Liu Mao put away the bamboo slips and looked at the three of them with a smile.

"Liu Jun, those two Daoist practitioners who died at the hands of the vicious tiger~"

Zhao Xian glanced at the basket of talisman coins, then asked again.

"The county magistrate is merciful. Each of the two will be rewarded with three thousand coins, and their families will not be required to pay land taxes for ten years."

"Those who went missing?"

Zhao Xian pressed for an answer again.

"The Taoist priests who got lost in the mountains have returned home one after another in the past few days, except for two who accidentally fell into the valley and died."

"The county also issued a thousand coins to these two Taoist households and exempted them from land tax for three years."

"Don't worry, Bozhang!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian slowly nodded, a few thoughts swirling in his mind.

After announcing the county's appointment, Liu Mao chatted with Zhao Xian and the others for a while. After politely declining Zhao Xian's invitation, he got into an oxcart and returned to his village.

After Liu Mao left, Zhao Xian didn't stand on ceremony and immediately shared the basket of bright yellow talisman coins with Zhao Ze and Zhao Zheng.