Where Immortals Once Walked

Since even the monarch had sent gifts, the capital’s political elite, at least those who could not attend in person, had all dispatched representatives.

Likewise, everyone present at the Baoshu King’s birthday celebration was a political figure from one region or another.

He Lingchuan scratched his head. The number of “political figures” in the State of Baoshu was staggering. He thought of his father’s provincial government: from top to bottom, officials and clerks combined numbered fewer than thirty, every one of them working at full capacity.

There was no helping it. They were poor.

Of course, expansion would come sooner or later.

But here, officials alone already exceeded nine thousand. He did not even dare imagine how many personnel each provincial office in the State of Baoshu had, then there were still the commanderies, the counties, and the townships.

One thing that had to be noted, however, was that most of the people here were human, each dressed in impeccable formal attire.

Clearly, when it came to governing territory and handling affairs, humans still had the edge over monsters.

Once seated, Second Boss Shi immediately struck up conversations with the guests around them.

Anyone who could enter this place belonged either to officialdom or the world of commerce. Make one more acquaintance today, and tomorrow you will have one more path open to you.

He Lingchuan raised his teacup and took a sip. The flavor blossomed on his tongue, fresh and fragrant, good enough to rival the jasmine dragon pearls the Marquis of Songyang had gifted him. The price had to be steep.

However, those jasmine dragon pearls were a private treasure tea that the Marquis of Songyang gave away sparingly, yet this tea was being served to all guests.

Two officials nearby were chatting.

“This is tea from our Wuqing. It’s called Mist Tea[1].”

“Mm, I know it. I’m from the Gan Provincial Office. Millions of kilograms of Mist Tea are sold to other regions every year, though of course not at this grade.”

“What a coincidence, I’m from the Gan Provincial Office too!”

They exchanged pleasantries and then drifted into idle talk about their superiors.

He Lingchuan popped a crunchy broad bean into his mouth and asked, “You’re from the same province, yet you don’t know each other?”

One of the officials looked at him. “From the way you’re asking, I take it you’re not from the State of Baoshu?”

He Lingchuan smiled. “That’s right.”

“I’m from the northern office of Gan Province.”

The other said, “And I’m from the southern office. Our offices are twenty-five kilometers apart. We don’t work together day to day, so how would we know each other?”

“A single province’s governance is split into northern and southern offices?” He Lingchuan was surprised. “May I ask how many people each has?”

“Our northern office has a fixed staff of 3,320.”

“The southern office has fewer, around 2,800.”

So the Gan Provincial Office alone has over 6,100 officials? Lacking experience with such scales, He Lingchuan could not help but gape. “How many commanderies fall under Gan Province?”

“8 commanderies and 102 counties,” the official sighed. “The miscellaneous work piles up like mountains. There’s never a day when it’s all finished.”

He Lingchuan did the math. Xia Province had 6 commanderies and 98 counties in total, yet the entire staff count of the Xia Provincial Office did not even amount to one percent of that of the Gan Provincial Office in the Kingdom of Baoshu!

Seeing his shock, another official coughed lightly and said, “Gan Province is considered small. Zi Province even has eastern and western offices.”

A single prefecture split into eastern, western, southern, and northern offices? “So Zizhou has over ten thousand officials?”

“Of course,” the official said with a smile. “When annual provisions are distributed, Zi Province is always the liveliest. If you line up late, you’ll be waiting from morning till night.”

He Lingchuan’s eyes flickered. “With so much work, do the provinces arrange for external assignments?”

By “external assignments,” he meant outsourcing.

Xia Province had barely over thirty officials. Even if He Chunhua forced his younger son to work without pay, they still could not keep up with the paperwork, so non-sensitive tasks were typically outsourced. Those tasks were paid for by the provincial government to be handled by hired workers.

These people drew no official salaries, just extra pay from the government. Even runners and stablehands were paid this way.

This was not He Chunhua’s invention; it had existed long before.

Naturally, outsourced work paid far less than formal posts.

The official nodded and said, “Of course. Without them, nothing would ever get done.”

If so much work was outsourced, why does the provincial office still need to support over six thousand officials? As He Lingchuan marveled, the man glanced sideways at him. “Brother, do you have some insight to share?”

He Lingchuan smiled and said, “I’m just struck by how rich and resource-abundant your state is. Running such a vast state isn’t easy, yet the people remain so prosperous.”

The State of Baoshu must be thriving. Otherwise, how could it afford so many officials?

An official was not a lone laborer. Each needed subordinates, provisions, and transport.

There were also still things like winter fuel allowances and summer ice rations. If those were not provided in kind, then they were typically converted to money.

An entire retinue, expenses at every turn.

The two officials resumed chatting. Second Boss Shi tugged at He Lingchuan’s sleeve and whispered, “I once went to Gan Province on business—something trivial—and had to get twelve seals stamped before it was done. Ha! That’s the State of Baoshu for you. Routine matters move fast, but anything out of the ordinary? Slow as a snail!”

He Lingchuan asked, “Other monster states aren’t like this?”

“I’ve been to nine monster states,” Second Boss Shi shook his head. “None has as many officials as the State of Baoshu. But they can afford it, so there’s no need for outsiders to fret.”

With his keen eyesight, He Lingchuan spotted Grand Tutor Sha standing in the main hall, his expression solemn as he spoke with someone.

The lakeside corridor was built right over the water. Once seated, He Lingchuan only needed to lean slightly to feel as though he were suspended above the lake.

From his vantage point, the water below was clear and cold. He could almost see the tangled roots at the bottom, fish and shrimp living among them in peaceful harmony.

He turned his gaze to the massive tree in the lake.

So its root system has already claimed the entire lake, leaving no gaps?

How does such a silent divine tree communicate with people in everyday life?

What intrigued He Lingchuan even more was how the Baoshu King fought its enemies.

Beijia’s thirteen monster kings were all famed greater monsters, each ruling by sheer strength. The Baoshu King was the eldest among them, so it must possess extraordinary methods to have kept its realm stable for so long.

At that moment, heralds were announcing the arrival of envoys. “Envoy of the State of Xuluo arrives!” then “Envoy of the State of Chiyan arrives!” He Lingchuan listened with interest.

For the Baoshu King’s birthday, the other monster states had all sent envoys to offer congratulations. It was said that the envoy from Xuluo, far to the northwest of Beijia, had set out forty days earlier just to arrive on time.

Among the envoys, some were human, others monsters, but all of them carried themselves with dignity. As representatives of their respective states, they could not afford to appear unimpressive.

This was how life was among monster states. Walk the main roads, and you could encounter every kind of beast, monster, and spirit imaginable.

As He Lingchuan turned his head, he heard the herald shout, “Envoy of the State of Shanyu arrives!” He glanced over instinctively, and his gaze froze.

Among the Shanyu delegation was a gigantic white python!

Its body was snow-white, marked with ringed patterns. It was strikingly beautiful.

Most importantly, it bore a certain resemblance to the giant python from the State of E’ling, the deputy envoy slain by Fushan.

No wonder he hesitated.

He Lingchuan could not help but find the Shanyu monster king amusing. After all, it was a state famed for birds of prey, yet it sent a snake monster as an envoy.

Naturally, this giant python looked healthy and intact. Clearly, Fu Shan had not come looking for trouble yet.

After presenting their gifts, the delegation took their seats in the rear hall. He Lingchuan noticed that noticeably more guards surrounded them.

After receiving his information, the government office had surely intensified the manhunt for Fushan while simultaneously strengthening protection for the Shanyu envoys.

If, during the Baoshu King’s eight-hundredth birthday celebration, an allied envoy were killed on the Baoshu King’s own territory, that would be an unspeakable humiliation.

Baiyun Residence looked festive and jubilant, but beneath the surface, security was airtight. Anyone daring to cause trouble here would be chopped into mince on the spot.

He Lingchuan had not seen anyone from Grand Tutor Sha’s residence all day and had no idea whether Fushan had been captured.

Still, he had a feeling the man was like a cockroach, and that he was hardly someone who would be caught so easily.

In any case, He Lingchuan’s attention was fixed on the giant tree. Matters of security were someone else’s headache.

Officials nearby continued chatting about local and bureaucratic trivia. He had not paid much attention, that was, until he caught a familiar name: Hong Chenglue.

His heart thumped. He leaned over and cupped his hands in greeting before asking, “Pardon me, are you speaking of General Hong?”

“Yes,” the two turned to look at him. Seeing a youth of seventeen or eighteen, unfamiliar, they asked, “And you are?”

He Lingchuan produced his token. “I’ve come from Grand Tutor Sha’s residence to attend the celebration.”

Their attitude immediately warmed. “Our apologies, our apologies.”

The token he displayed was a silver-character badge specially made by the grand tutor’s residence for this ceremony. It was both a pass and an invitation. Anyone who held one was a distinguished guest.

He Lingchuan said, “My family has old ties with General Hong. I heard that he returned to service after years of retirement and is now fighting in Yuan. May I ask how he’s been?”

“That’s exactly what we were talking about,” one official replied. “Hong Chenglue has been reinstated by State Preceptor Shuang Ye and sent to the northern front of Yuan to support a surrendered Yuan general. What was his name again? Xun...?”

“The Provincial Governor of Xun Province, Nian Zanli?”

“Yes, yes, Nian Zanli!” the official nodded. “I hear that battle by the river crushed the enemy completely. The Yuan army suffered over thirty thousand casualties.”

Nian Zanli’s deluge had swept away even Zhao Pan’s camp, shattering the Yuan forces’ morale. It would have been stranger if they had not lost. Even now, He Lingchuan could not understand how such a heaven-defying tactic had been carried out.

That was far beyond human capability. If wars could be fought like that, would Beijia not be unstoppable and unrivaled in the world?

His throat felt dry. He coughed lightly before asking, “And then?”

“Yuan was terrified and sent envoys to negotiate peace with Nian Zanli. However, every envoy they sent was beheaded by that man. I’ve also heard that Yuan is fighting on its western front, so they’re pressed on both sides.”

“Where has Nian Zanli advanced to now?” Thinking of the carefully arranged new home Madame Ying had prepared, He Lingchuan’s chest tightened. “How far is he from Dunyu, the capital of Xia Province?”

“Oh, you actually know Xia Province’s capital?”

“Yes.” He Lingchuan nodded. “I visited with my family before. It’s a fine place.”

After the disastrous defeat at the Han River, Zhao Pan, as the main commander, would bear responsibility. Still, He Chunhua had also been at the front, leading the elite forces of Xia Province.

Victory would excuse everything, but defeat...

Defeat meant everything turning against him.

The foundation He Chunhua had built, the hard-won authority that he had established among Xia Province’s army and people, would take a severe blow.

Conscription, grain requisitions, fundraising, practically every task would become that much harder.

And worst of all, the iron hooves of northern enemies were steadily devouring the territory of the Governor-General of Xia Province.

Under such circumstances, how could He Chunhua possibly hold the southern region of Xia Province, and hold Dunyu?

1. Note that the Wu in Wuqing literally translates to mist/fog ☜