Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

A cold wind howled, and dark clouds covered the sky.

In Wohu Township, at the pavilion on the east bank of the river, the official road was deserted, with withered branches and fallen leaves swirling and whistling past.

Old He, the father of the pavilion, was wrapped in a faded, patched cotton robe, his body hunched over, squatting in the corner.

A gust of wind blew, and Lao He shrank his neck into his cotton-padded coat, but it still couldn't keep out the bone-chilling cold.

"Look at this wind, I wonder how many people will freeze to death this year!" Old He muttered, squinting, and leaned back. "Huang Liu died a quick death, but how will his two younger siblings survive this winter?"

Suddenly, several dark figures appeared on the official road. Old He squinted. Although he was old and his eyesight was failing, he could only see things up close clearly, but he could see these dark figures clearly.

"Why is this dog slave back?"

Muttering something, Lao He shrank back, closed his eyes slightly, and looked like he didn't want to see it and be bothered.

The sound of horses' hooves clattered, and before long, the dark figures arrived in front of the pavilion. There was a lone rider with a servant on each side.

"Old He~"

The scholar, seated high on his saddle, glanced at the old soldier in the corner, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and shouted.

"Oh my, it's Lord Huang! This old man greets Lord Huang!"

The old soldier seemed to wake up from a dream, rubbing his eyes with his hands. Only after recognizing the person did he hurriedly get up and bow.

"Haha, Old He, this pavilion-keeper's life is truly comfortable! I'm so envious!" The scholar laughed heartily, jokingly adding, "When I'm old, I'll find a pavilion-keeper to be too!"

"Huang Jun will be a high-ranking official with an official seal in the future, so he cannot do such a lowly job as Tingfu."

Upon hearing this, the old soldier revealed a fawning smile and leaned closer to say something.

"Haha, Lao He, you should continue to rest."

Upon hearing this, the scholar chuckled, lightly tapped his mount, and continued on his way.

Once the three riders had disappeared down the official road, the old soldier finally wiped the smile off his face: "Bah! You lowly bastards, worse than dogs and pigs, dare to dream of wearing official seals!"

"That bastard Huang Liang, returning without a trace, can't be anything good. I wonder which family will be ruined by this scoundrel this time!" Lost in thought, the old soldier retreated to the corner, huddled in a ball, humming a rural folk song: "Hair like chives, cut and it grows back; head like a chicken, cut and it crows again!"

After a while, just as he was about to fall asleep, the sound of horses' hooves came again. The old soldier barely opened his eyes and saw two riders, one in front and one behind, and two young men walking with knives.

The young knight at the head of the group had a precious sword at his waist and a powerful bow on his horse; he was quite heroic.

"Old He, it's windy today, why sleep outside? Go back inside and rest."

The knight held the reins, and his mount stopped. He then called out to the old soldier.

"Oh dear, it's Lord Zhao here! It's windy, hurry inside!" The old soldier scrambled to his feet and greeted him with a smile.

"Old He, I'm not here on official business, but for personal matters." Zhao Xian dismounted and approached the old soldier, smiling as he asked, "Old He, there was a Daoist named Huang Jia in Hedong Pavilion. A few days ago, while hunting tigers in the village, he accidentally fell into a valley and died. May I ask where he lived?"

"There was such a person. That child was very capable, a real expert in the fields. It's a pity he died like that, leaving behind two younger siblings."

At this point, Old He sighed deeply, then looked at Zhao Xian with a puzzled expression: "What is Zhao Jun doing at his house?"

"Old He, to be honest, Huang Jia accidentally fell into the valley and died. I feel very guilty, so I prepared some talisman money to send to his family!"

Upon hearing this, the old soldier's face showed a hint of astonishment. After a few moments of silence, he tugged at his robes and bowed deeply to Zhao Xian: "Lord Zhao is kind. Huang Jia and I live in the same pavilion and are from the same hometown. I thank Lord Zhao on his behalf!"

"Old He, you're too kind. Get up quickly!" Zhao Xian hurriedly reached out to help the old soldier up. Seeing that his cotton robe was very worn, he took out a small handful of talisman coins from his sleeve and stuffed them into the old soldier's hand. "It's freezing cold. Stuff more cotton into your robe."

"This, this, I can't accept it!"

Old He naturally waved his hand repeatedly in refusal.

Unable to dissuade him, Zhao Xian secretly slipped the talisman into his robe, then asked with a smile, "Old He, where does he live?"

"Beihuangli!" Old He had no choice but to clutch the talisman, point in the direction, and then see the young men behind Zhao Xian standing there with swords in hand, looking very proud and arrogant. "Who are these young gentlemen?"

"My brother and my uncle's two cousins!"

Zhao Xian leaped onto his horse and replied with a smile.

"Wow, what an extraordinary bearing! He's destined for high office and great achievements!"

"Haha, thank you for your kind words, Lao He!"

The four riders continued onward.

"Lord Zhao is truly kind; the Huang family will be able to survive this winter!"

Watching the group depart, Lao He couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"Zhao Jun is young and promising, and his younger relatives are so valiant. This family is truly enviable!" Turning back to the corner, Old He carefully counted the talisman coins in his palm, his eyes narrowing into slits. "This tattered cotton robe will keep out the wind. I'll save these talisman coins for New Year's Day to buy some meat for my grandchildren and give them a treat!"

Huddled in the corner, Lao He wore a satisfied smile, yet he seemed to have forgotten something.

After an unknown amount of time, Old He suddenly stood up, muttering to himself, "Disaster!"

"That bastard Huang Liang is from Beihuangli!"

"Tingjun!" Old He shouted, running towards the house. "Something terrible has happened!"

......

Hedong Pavilion, Beihuangli.

The village has seventy or eighty households and a population of over three hundred, which is neither particularly large nor small compared to other villages in Wohu Township.

The wind was biting cold, and the sky was overcast. The place was usually quite deserted, but today it was rather noisy.

Dozens of villagers surrounded a dilapidated courtyard, craning their necks to look inside.

A strong horse stood outside the courtyard, grazing on the green seedlings at the base of the wall, which distressed many of the villagers, but no one dared to step forward to stop it.

Inside the courtyard, a blond-haired boy, holding an iron fork, glared angrily at several people opposite him, protecting a thin girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old behind him.

The onlookers clenched their fists and looked on with concern.

"Yellow-haired boy, your elder brother owes our family a thousand coins, secured by ten acres of our land. Now that he's dead, this debt cannot be settled so easily!" The scholar in the green robe sat upright on a wooden stool, looking at the yellow-haired boy, and said with a smile, "Although we are of the same clan, and are supposed to be brothers, we should keep clear accounts. This debt, however, cannot be left unresolved!"

"If you can't repay the debt, I'll have no choice but to take over your land!"

"When did my elder brother ever owe your family money!" the blond-haired youth retorted angrily. "It's clearly your family who's after our land!"

"Hey blondie, don't talk nonsense!"

Upon hearing this, the scholar's face immediately darkened, and he shouted sternly. However, he quickly smiled again, looked at the thin girl behind the blond-haired boy, and said with a smile, "My family, out of consideration for our clan, will grant your family a year's grace, in exchange for your sister. How about it?"

"Don't even think about it!"

Upon hearing this, the blond-haired youth roared and thrust his iron fork at the scholar!