A person sacrifices himself to become a saint in a chaotic world of martial arts.

Su Bai reached out and pressed his palm down, gesturing for him to sit down.

Sun Hou then seemed to wake from a dream, and quickly sat back down, his buttocks barely touching the edge of the bench, his body leaning forward, his hands tightly gripping his knees, afraid of missing a single word Su Bai would say next.

"Of course it's true." Su Bai's voice was steady, carrying a reassuring certainty.

"You should do exactly the same thing Chen Dongquan did to get here."

He didn't go into details about how Chen Dongquan got his position, but everyone in the room understood—money paved the way, merit built the bridge, and someone in higher up was willing to lend a hand.

That's how Chen Dongquan got his official position as a constable.

Now the wheel of fortune has turned, and it's Sun Quan's turn.

Su Bai changed the subject, looking at Lao Wang and Zheng Shijie: "But only one can be on for now, I can't do anything about more. So Lao Wang and Xiao Zheng will probably have to wait quite a while."

Old Wang and Zheng Shijie exchanged a glance and spoke almost simultaneously.

Old Wang's voice was deep and resonant: "Officer Su, we'll do whatever you say. We firmly support your decision!"

Zheng Shijie quickly nodded in agreement, unusually abandoning his lazy demeanor and becoming serious: "Yes, Officer Su, we'll listen to you!"

The two of them do possess this much wisdom.

Sun Hou and Su Bai used to be the closest of friends, a fact that everyone in the yamen could see.

Now that Su Bai has taken on a job, giving Sun Hou his first opportunity is both out of consideration for their past relationship and a matter of course.

Although Lao Wang and Zheng Shijie were somewhat envious, they had no complaints—envy is human nature, and dissatisfaction would be foolish.

Besides, the two of them are now Su Bai's most important remaining confidants. As long as they work diligently with Su Bai, they are not afraid of not having the opportunity for promotion in the future.

The fact that Su Bai was willing to lay this matter out in person shows that he considers them as one of his own.

"Okay, I'm glad you understand." Su Bai nodded, his gaze sweeping over the three faces one by one, his expression turning serious. "However, you all need to live up to my expectations. Whether it's cultivation or handling affairs, you have to do your job well, understand?"

He said this to the three of them, but his eyes were fixed on Sun Hou.

Sun Hou's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly straightened his back, solemnly replying, "Yes, Your Majesty, I guarantee I will not disappoint Officer Su!"

Old Wang and Zheng Shijie responded in unison, their voices overlapping in the cramped officer's room: "Yes!"

"Okay, that's settled then. You guys go ahead and get back to work."

"Yes, Officer Su!"

The three of them stood up, clasped their hands in a fist salute to Su Bai, and showed more genuine respect than when they entered.

Sun Hou walked last, and before leaving, he looked back at Su Bai one last time. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something to express his gratitude, but in the end, he didn't say it. He just nodded heavily, turned around, and stepped out the door.

The sound of three people's footsteps gradually receding into the distance could be heard from outside the corridor, along with Sun Hou's voice, which he was deliberately lowering to suppress his excitement.

Su Bai leaned back in his chair, his shoulders relaxed, and stared intently at the old curtain hanging slightly swaying by the door.

He is now a high-ranking official, in charge of dozens of people. He must give benefits to his three trusted confidants. This is both to show favor to his subordinates and let them know that he, Su Bai, values ​​old friendships and is good at promoting people; it is also a necessary gesture to show his other subordinates.

Su Bai wasn't the kind of heartless person who would turn his back on people once he gained power. He would remember those who followed him as long as they were loyal and hardworking, and he would reward them.

But having trusted confidants alone is far from enough.

He took a sip of the tea, which had long since gone cold, and the slightly bitter taste melted on his tongue.

A leader needs trusted confidants to whom he can rely, as well as capable subordinates who can step up in critical moments.

Sun Hou is clever and resourceful, but his martial arts talent is limited; Lao Wang is steady and has real skills, but his age is catching up with him; Zheng Shijie... still needs further refinement.

He needs to carefully consider which of his dozen or so subordinates are worth recruiting and cultivating, which are only good for running errands and doing odd jobs, and which... might be spies planted by others.

He gently put down the teacup, his fingertips slowly tracing the cool rim.

Being a courier is much harder than being a regular servant.

Just as Su Bai lowered his head in contemplation, his fingertips gently tracing the rim of the cold teacup, weighing the character and strengths of his dozen or so subordinates—

"Knock knock knock".

Three knocks, neither too loud nor too soft, came from outside the door. The rhythm was regular, a common practice in government offices for delivering messages.

"Officer Su, Chief Constable Xing has called a meeting." The constable's voice came through the curtain outside the door, not loud, but clear.

Su Bai's thoughts suddenly snapped back to reality, and his fingertips, which had been resting on the rim of the cup, paused.

He raised his eyes, and the thoughtful look he had just had quickly disappeared, replaced by the focused concentration typical of someone in public office.

He replied with a "Got it," then stood up, straightened his belt, took the dark blue official coat hanging on the back of the chair, unfolded it, and put it on.

When he hurried through the corridor and arrived at Xing Huai'an's office in the north courtyard, which had two pomegranate trees in front of the door, he found that someone had already arrived.

Officer Li was standing sideways beside the desk, one hand lightly resting on the edge, whispering something to Officer Wang.

Wang Cha stood with his hands behind his back, his back straight, but the vertical line between his eyebrows was deeper than usual, clearly indicating that he was not at ease.

Hearing footsteps, the two turned around at the same time.

"Officer Su is here." Officer Li greeted him, forcing a smile as he stepped aside to make room for Su Bai.

Su Bai took a few steps closer and asked in a low voice:

"Officer Li, what happened? Why did you gather everyone so quickly?"

Li Cha turned his head slightly, his lips almost touching Su Bai's earlobe, his voice barely audible:

"I don't know the specifics yet. But I heard... it seems to be related to the Cycle of Reincarnation."

"Rotationalism?"

Su Bai's brows furrowed suddenly.

Rotation of teaching.

Those people from last time left a very strong impression on him.

At that time, he was still at the first level of martial arts.

Faced with a powerful and cunning member of the Reincarnation Cult who could inflict serious injury with a single blow, they could only avoid him.

Even now, with his martial arts having reached the Yi Jin realm, his blood and qi are abundant, and his fists and feet possess the strength of a thousand jin.

But what if we really encounter the "demon" from the last Reincarnation Cult...?

Su Bai didn't continue thinking about it.

Just then, the door to the inner room creaked open.

Xing Huai'an walked out from inside.

He was dressed impeccably in his dark ochre uniform. His expression was somber, his chin slightly raised, and his gaze slowly swept over the faces of the three constables.

There were no pleasantries, and the three weren't even offered a seat.

Xing Huai'an then spoke directly, his voice low and deep:

"Gentlemen, this matter must be handled well. Not only is Lord Wei watching us, but the Prefectural Governor is also waiting for our reply."

He paused, his gaze lingering on Su Bai's face for a fleeting moment, a moment that seemed to contain a deeper meaning that Su Bai couldn't decipher, yet also appeared to be just a casual glance.

Su Bai straightened his back unconsciously.