Chapter 743: The Beginning

Chu Li asked, “Is my Lady adjusting well to the Imperial Residence?”

Xiao Qi kept her eyes fixated on the chessboard as she replied, “Pretty well.”

“That’s good,” Chu Li said. “If there’s anything not to your liking, you can ask the scribes to make some changes.”

Xiao Qi continued to stare at the chessboard, refusing to lift her face to look at him.

Xiao Shi puckered her lips into a smile while watching them.

Chu Li went on speaking, “The Imperial Residence will have to remain wary of any assassination attempts by the Holy Church of Light. I heard from my senior brothers that the previous assassin was a High Official of the Holy Church of Light. There is a myriad of martial arts masters in the Holy Church of Light and countless more High Officials associated with them.”

Xiao Shi seemed as if she was trying not to laugh.

Chu Li fixed his eyes on Xiao Qi without saying anything else as he waited for her to speak.

After staring at the chessboard for a while, Xiao Qi finally lifted her gaze and threw him a sideways glance, repeating his words, “High Officials?”

Chu Li explained, “The Holy Church of Light has been trying to win over martial arts masters from various nations to become their High Officials, who will carry out orders from the Holy Church of Light in exchange for generous rewards. These High Officials won’t be subordinate to the Holy Church of Light. Rather, it’s just a business transaction between both parties.”

Xiao Qi raised her eyebrows slightly. “What an impressive strategy!”

Chu Li nodded. “The last time I used my Du Feng alias, I encountered a patrol who has asked me to become their High Official. I’ve been considering taking up that offer.”

Xiao Shi suppressed her urge to speak and remained silent instead while enjoying the show.

“You’re planning on becoming a High Official?” Xiao Qi frowned.

Chu Li replied, “Once a person becomes a High Official, they won’t be carrying out any tasks in their home country. They’ll go to other countries to complete tasks like delivering items or assassinating targets. Every time they complete a task, their reward will be unbelievably great. It can come in the form of a martial art secret manual, drugs, treasure swords, and knives. Whatever you can think of, they have. As long as you serve the Holy Church of Light wholeheartedly, you won’t have to worry about your livelihood… There are different rankings among the High Officials. The higher the ranking, the riskier the tasks, and the greater the reward. I heard that you might even be rewarded with an Enlightened Master’s martial art manual.”

“This is no different than serving at a High Duke’s Public House or an Imperial Residence,” Xiao Qi said with a scoff. “What a cunning way of doing things!”

“They’re trying to get all the highly-talented individuals in the world to work with them,” Chu Li said while shaking his head and sighing. “The Holy Church of Light is becoming too bold. The assassin who previously came to the Imperial Residence was a High Official from the Li Dynasty. I wonder which country the next one will come from. It might even be the Zheng Dynasty, Fu Dynasty, or Qiu Dynasty!”

Xiao Qi seemed to be deep in thought.

Chu Li went on, “On the one hand, they require absolute loyalty from their disciples. On the other hand, they’re gathering a large number of talented individuals without following a set pattern. As long as the person is a martial arts master, they can become a High Official. They’re also very generous with their rewards. It’s quite a feat that they’ve managed to make both sides work together so well. No other sect has managed to do this. That’s why I’d like to join them and gain some knowledge and experience in this area.”

Xiao Qi muttered, “The High Duke’s Public House can never achieve this.”

If the High Duke’s Public House were to gather talented individuals on such a large scale, there was no way to tell how many informants might sneak their way in. In this case, a fight would not be necessary, because the Public House would collapse without a battle. Since the other sects were also worried about this possibility, they made loyalty their top priority and did not dare to imitate the Holy Church of Light.

Chu Li slowly nodded. “What a pity.”

While it did not sound difficult, it was actually very hard to accomplish. It required an extremely precise grasp of the situation, and that was what he wished to learn.

Xiao Shi could not help asking, “So you’re going to become a High Official?”

“That was my initial plan, but there’s no need for me to do so now,” Chu Li replied and shook his head. “We found a better way.”

“I believe so too,” Xiao Shi said.

A High Official would certainly be given the most dangerous, dirty and tiresome tasks that would not be typically assigned to any of their disciples. It was truly not worth the effort to pursue this option since he did not need the rewards from the Holy Church of Light and would not be able to gather much information anyway.

Xiao Qi gave him another sideways glance before lowering her head to continue studying the chessboard.

Chu Li was now satisfied and did not try to pester her any longer, so he said goodbye and left.

…

Peace Town was a huge town surrounded by mountains. It was comprised of a cluster of more than ten small villages and was home to over ten thousand households.

Chu Li arrived at the westernmost household in Peace Town and pushed open the shabby wooden door before entering the courtyard.

There was a small path made of slabs of stone in the courtyard that stopped the path from becoming muddy during rainy days. By the wall on the west side of the courtyard was a pile of firewood while a small flower-garden lay to the east. The ground at the center of the courtyard was leveled out into a small-scale martial arts field, beside which stood a wooden table.

Chu Li scanned the entire courtyard and noticed that despite its dilapidated state, the place had been well maintained by a diligent owner. Zhao Dahe’s death was a pity.

From today onwards, he would be taking the man’s place and living here.

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Upon entering the house, he found that the bedclothes were damp and that some valuable furniture had gone missing as if there had been a burglary. Clearly, some people had heard about his disappearance and could not hold themselves back from breaking into his place.

He felt somewhat awkward being there. Would he need to cook his own meals from now on?

“Hmm?” A sudden sound of surprise came from outside. Soon after, a burly man strode in, and his eyes widened when he saw Chu Li standing in the courtyard. “Young Zhao, you’re not dead?”

At present, Chu Li had taken on Zhao Dahe’s ugly appearance and now had a flat nose, thick lips, and droopy eyelids. He looked rustic and unattractive.

“You’re the one who’s dead!” Chu Li said angrily.

The burly man seemed to be in his thirties. He had a full beard, menacing facial features, and a bright, piercing gaze. He was rather good-looking.

However, Chu Li did not know who the man was, so he went ahead and made use of his hot temper by snapping at the man immediately.

The burly man replied in a loud voice, “We’ve been searching for you for a long time after you were thrown off the cliff during the fight. We didn’t even know whether you were dead or alive. Where have you been?”

He went forward and placed a hand on Chu Li’s shoulder.

Chu Li pushed his hand aside.

“Wow, you’ve become more hot-tempered!” The burly man chuckled and reached out to pat his shoulder again.

Chu Li brushed his hand off once more.

This time, the burly man’s right hand had moved toward him with more strength, but it could hardly compare with Chu Li’s strength. Chu Li easily shrugged him off.

He warned, “Stop touching me!”

“Hey, since when have you gotten so strong?” The burly man massaged his wrist while looking at him in surprise.

Chu Li scoffed and replied, “Let me tell you that I’m no longer that old Zhao Dahe!”

“What happened to you?” The burly man asked with a chuckle. “You’re no longer your old self because you’ve fallen off a cliff?”

“I’ve gotten a fortuitous encounter!” Chu Li gave him a sideways glance and asked scornfully, “Do you even know what a fortuitous encounter is?”

“Haha…” The burly man broke into laughter. “I say, Young Zhao, I can’t believe you’re being such a daydreamer at a time like this!”

“You’re the daydreamer here!” Chu Li retorted. “What I said was true. I’ve eaten a magical fruit!”

“What magical fruit?” The burly man questioned and went on laughing.

Chu Li lunged forward and threw himself at the man.

“Bang!” The two men collided with great force. The burly man staggered backward and slammed into the wooden door.

“Crack!” The impact left a hole in the door.

Chu Li shouted, “Pay me for my door!”

The burly man widened his eyes at him.

Chu Li went forward and seized him by his collar while demanded furiously, “Pay me back!”

The burly man’s expression instantly turned serious as he reached out and clutched Chu Li’s wrists, trying to force him to let go.

Nonetheless, Chu Li’s hands were as strong as iron as he tightened his grip and abruptly lifted the man off the ground. “Pay me for my door!”

“Young Zhao, put me down first!”

“I won’t let go if you don’t promise to pay me for it!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll pay you for it!”

Chu Li finally released his grip and gave a smug scoff. “See, you’re no match for me now!”

“I, Elder Guo, admit my defeat today!” The burly man said with a huff. “What fortuitous encounter have you received?”

Chu Li read his mind and discovered his name as well as his impression of Zhao Dahe.

This man was called Guo Shan. In his mind, Zhao Dahe was a stubborn, dim-witted fool who was inflexible and did not know how to think for himself. He was an obedient and honest thug who would only follow orders and did not have a mind of his own.