Dual Transmigration: Starting from being captured and brought to the Hehuan Sect!

Over the next ten days or so, besides treating the illness and sharpening the spear, Lin Mo gave Xin Lu ten beauty pills and twenty golden spear pills to sell, and spent the rest of his time connecting with Long Qingxue for cultivation.

More than ten days later, Lin Mo finally received Pei Ziyu's reply.

Long Qingxue opened the seal, and the first thing that fell out was a document of appointment from the Ministry of Personnel bearing the official seal of the Hezhou Prefecture.

Pei Ziyu accepted the money, but instead of giving it to the commander, he gave it to the magistrate of Lianhai County.

The other party explained in the letter:

Military vacancy transfers involve the interests of many parties, and it is inconvenient for a civil official like him to interfere; forcing a transfer would only attract attention.

Lianhai County is a remote small town located 500 li east of Yunxi, with fewer than a thousand households. The former magistrate had just passed away, and the position was vacant.

If my sister doesn't mind, then let this young friend Lin Mo go and take up his post.

Although that place was poor, it was under the jurisdiction of his Hezhou Prefecture. As long as they didn't cause any trouble, Pei Ziyu would definitely be able to protect the two of them in the future.

Lin Mo looked at the appointment document over and over again, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

Becoming a county magistrate from a thousand households seems like a good idea.

Lianhai County may be remote, and the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, but as long as he uses some tricks, he can become the local tyrant. He can then hire more yamen runners and control both military and political affairs, which seems more comfortable than being managed by superiors in the army.

Moreover, since Lianhai County is under Pei Ziyu's jurisdiction, it's like having a prefect's umbrella over his head. As long as he doesn't go too far, this is his first backer in World Number One.

"A county magistrate is a county magistrate; he's still an official, no matter how low his rank. Lianhai County is remote, which is perfect; nobody's watching over it, so it's easier to start from scratch."

He put away the documents and nodded to Long Qingxue.

"Pack your things, let's go."

The two checked out of the Yunlai Inn, exchanged some money, and hired a long-distance carriage on the street.

The driver was an experienced man in his fifties, with a gray beard but nimble legs. Hearing that the route was to Lianhai County, he first held up five fingers to give a price, then kindly offered a reminder:

"That place is no good. It's dirt poor, the roads are terrible, and it's full of refugees. Pirates frequently raid it!"

Lin Mo added an extra tael of silver, and the old man immediately shut up and quickly loaded the luggage onto the carriage.

The carriage rumbled out of Yunxi City and headed east along the official road.

At first, you could see stretches of farmland and tea plantations along the roadside, but the further east you went, the narrower the road became, the sparser the villages became, and there were even many refugees who had starved to death along the way.

In the end, all that could be seen were desolate mountains and wilderness, and the official road had turned into a bumpy dirt road.

The old driver muttered "this godforsaken place" as he drove the carriage, while Long Qingxue leaned against the carriage with her eyes closed to rest, and Lin Mo lifted the curtain to survey the terrain along the way.

Despite its poverty, the mountainous terrain was treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. More importantly, a salty smell gradually filled the air. As we crossed the last mountain ridge, a gray-blue sea stretched out on the horizon, with a winding coastline and the outline of a natural harbor faintly visible.

From a modern perspective, nestled between mountains and the sea, it offers the potential for both maritime trade and strategic defensive positions, making it an ideal location for raising an army and establishing a power base.

After traveling for another half day, a small patch of gray rooftops finally appeared near the coast.

Smoke rose crookedly from the chimneys of several houses, scattered by the sea breeze.

There wasn't even a single soldier guarding the city gate, but the two crooked characters "Lianhai" were still faintly discernible on the gate.

The old driver stopped the carriage in front of the half-rotten city gate, turned around and shouted into the carriage:

"Sir, we have arrived at Lianhai County."

He wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and added,

"This place truly lives up to its name; there's nothing there but the sea."

Lin Mo paid an extra penny, and the old man thanked him profusely before turning his carriage around and leaving, clearly not wanting to stay a moment longer.

He Longqingxue jumped out of the car, and the smell of the sea mixed with dampness hit them in the face.

The streets were desolate beyond belief. Apart from a few naked children chasing and playing in the mud, there were no decent shops, only a teahouse with a tattered banner hanging on its door that was half-open.

Several elderly people and children, emaciated from hunger, lay sprawled against the wall by the roadside. Their chests were still rising and falling slightly, but their eyes were sunken, and they didn't even have the strength to swat away flies.

The pedestrians on the road were few and far between, and people passed by without even lifting their eyelids, clearly having become accustomed to such scenes.

The people here live by the sea, but living by the sea doesn't mean they can have enough to eat.

In ancient times, the most scarce resources were oils and carbohydrates. High-protein seafood requires the user to burn calories before it can be digested and absorbed, making it only suitable for modern people who are into fitness and health maintenance.

If you only eat fish and shrimp and not rice or noodles, you'll collapse in just a few days.

Most of the people on the street were thin and emaciated, barely clothed, and staggering as they walked.

Therefore, fishermen were nicknamed "fish flowers" in ancient times and were the least liked by relatives and friends.

Every time they visit each other, the fishermen bring a large bag of abalone and seafood in exchange for some whole grains and carbohydrates.

Lin Mo and Long Qingxue had fair skin and were dressed in gorgeous clothes. As soon as they entered the street, they became the focus of everyone's attention.

The naked children stopped chasing, the refugees huddled against the wall raised their empty eyes, and even the dozing waiter in the teahouse leaned out to look around.

Lin Mo ignored the stares and walked straight toward the county government office.

The county government office was even more dilapidated than this street.

The plaque above the door was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the stone steps in front of the yamen were pitted and uneven from the sea breeze. At the bottom of the steps, an old official in a patched black robe was squatting, dozing off in the sun against a stone lion.

Hearing footsteps, he opened his cloudy eyes, looked Lin Mo and Long Qingxue up and down, and slowly asked:

"Gentlemen, what brings you to the county government office?"

Lin Mo took out the Ministry of Personnel appointment document stamped with the official seal of Hezhou Prefecture from his pocket and handed it over.

The old official squinted and looked at it once, then again, before springing up from the ground as if struck by lightning and collapsing to his knees with a thud.

"This humble servant, Liu Si, greets the County Magistrate!"

He kowtowed on the ground, then secretly glanced at Lin Mo. This county magistrate was far too young, and the women accompanying him were as beautiful as figures in a painting. His heart began to pound.

The two men were dressed in fine clothes and looked like young masters and ladies from wealthy families. He really couldn't understand why they would come to Lianhai County, this godforsaken place, to become officials.

"Get up, let's go inside and talk."

Lin Mo pointed to the main gate of the county government office.

The interior of the county government office was more dilapidated than the exterior.

Several tiles were missing from the roof of the main hall, and sunlight leaked through the holes, casting patches of light on the ground. One of the legs of the jury table used for trials was broken, and it was barely supported by a half-tied wooden stick with hemp rope. The tabletop was covered with a thick layer of dust, indicating that it had not been used for a long time.

The only clean thing was the plaque above the main hall that read "A Bright Mirror Hangs High," not because someone had wiped it, but because the sea breeze had blown away all the dust.

Lin Mo looked around and was somewhat moved. The county government office was dilapidated, but the fact that they didn't replace the broken legs of the desk with new ones but instead used hemp rope to make do suggested that the previous magistrate was probably an honest and incorruptible official.