Chapter 49: The Diagram of Internal Alchemy and Organ Refinement (Please Bookmark and Continue Reading!)

Captain Ma’s shock had come a little too soon.

What the county magistrate said next made his hands and feet turn cold.

“Captain Ma, from today onward, assign more of your duties to Shang Lu. Young men need to shoulder more responsibilities in order to grow. Your cultivation has stagnated for two years now; you should take this opportunity to focus on improving it. Don’t let it affect your performance review next year!”

The magistrate spoke in earnest, wearing a look that said, “I’m only doing this for your own good.”

But Captain Ma was not moved at all. Instead, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Glancing at Shang Lu beside him, realization struck him like lightning. Hadn’t he himself once told Shang Lu to go home and wait for the performance review, using almost these exact words?

Back then, Captain Ma’s intention in sending Shang Lu home was to have Sun Ying take over his duties, so that after the review, Sun Ying could smoothly replace Shang Lu as a regular constable.

Now, the magistrate was promoting Shang Lu to vice-captain and having him take over his own tasks. Wasn’t this, too, grooming Shang Lu to replace him?

Captain Ma grew more agitated, feeling as if his situation and Shang Lu’s had been reversed in an instant.

It was now his turn to worry about keeping his position.

Truly, as the saying goes, “the river flows east for thirty years, and then west for thirty years”—fortune’s wheel forever turns.

Shang Lu had changed his fate by relying on the secret realm of Mount Yunhua—not only healing his internal organs, but also making a rapid breakthrough in cultivation, reaching the peak of Bone Refinement.

But what about him? Could he, too, rely on the secret realm of Mount Yunhua for a second spring, to hold onto his post as captain? Or even go further—enter the Academy of Shamans and pursue the path to immortality?

The very thought of the secret realm made Captain Ma’s breathing quicken.

At this moment, Shang Lu also realized that not only had he been promoted to vice-captain, but he had also become the acting one.

He bowed at once and accepted the appointment, thanking the magistrate for his promotion.

To his surprise, the magistrate picked up a scroll from his desk, smiling as he asked, “Can you read?”

“I know a little.”

To become a regular constable, one needed more than just to reach the Bone Refinement stage; the ability to read and write was necessary too, at least to read wanted notices and draft simple case files.

“As long as you can read.”

The magistrate handed him the scroll and explained, “This is a cultivation technique for refining the five viscera with blood energy, called the ‘Illustrated Inner Classic of Viscera Refinement.’ I received it from a friend while studying in Wushan. Now that you’ve reached the peak of Bone Refinement and are ready to open your meridians, this technique will be very helpful to you. Take it home and study it well. If there are any words you don’t recognize or things you don’t understand, you’re welcome to ask me.”

Upon hearing this, Shang Lu was overjoyed. What he needed most right now was just such a technique.

The Five-Beast Health Technique mainly strengthened bone and muscle; it wasn’t particularly effective for circulating blood energy.

He had originally planned to visit several martial halls in the county, hoping to pay and learn a blood energy cultivation method to improve his chances of opening his meridians.

He hadn’t expected the magistrate to teach him one himself.

Surely, a technique given by the magistrate would be far superior to the common ones in martial halls.

Under Captain Ma’s envious gaze, Shang Lu once again bowed in gratitude, nearly uttering, “Having wandered half my life without meeting a true patron, if you do not mind, I would gladly call you my foster father.”

The magistrate accepted his bow with composure and encouraged him: “Cultivate well, and strive to enter the Meridian-Penetration stage as soon as possible. If you can go further and reach the Marrow-Washing stage, entering the Academy of Shamans, all the better. If a student from my jurisdiction passes into the Academy, it will reflect well on my governance.”

Shang Lu immediately replied, “I will work hard to cultivate and strive to enter the Academy, so as not to disappoint your grace and expectations!”

The magistrate was satisfied with his attitude, offered a few more words of encouragement, and finally dismissed both him and Captain Ma.

Compared to Shang Lu, who had been promoted and received a new technique, Captain Ma had gained nothing on this visit, and had even lost a good deal of his authority.

By the time they left the courtroom, Captain Ma’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, his mood foul.

Looking at Shang Lu, he was filled with jealousy, already planning to go to the registrar and stir up trouble—he must not let Shang Lu have an easy time.

Just as he was plotting, a clerk approached.

Captain Ma recognized him immediately—it was Xu Kui, the registrar's chief assistant.

Xu Kui was not only the registrar's right-hand man but also his confidant.

Was Xu Kui waiting for him? Was the registrar summoning him? It must be that the registrar had learned of Shang Lu’s promotion and was calling him over to discuss countermeasures.

Captain Ma was elated. He looked at Shang Lu and couldn’t help but sneer inwardly: So what if you have the magistrate’s favor? In Luoshui County, it’s not the magistrate who has the final say!

He hurried forward, saluted with clasped hands, and said with a flattering smile, “Greetings, Chief Xu.”

“Ah, Captain Ma, you’re here too.”

Xu Kui nodded, acknowledging him, then turned to Shang Lu with a cheerful expression. “Constable Shang—no, I should call you Captain Shang now. Please come with me, the registrar wishes to see you.”

After saluting, Shang Lu waved his hand modestly, saying, “Only vice-captain, still vice-captain.”

Xu Kui replied with a smile, “Constable Shang, with your outstanding talent and the spiritual fat rewarded to you by the court, I’m sure it won’t be long before you break through to the Meridian-Penetration stage and become full captain.”

Beside them, Captain Ma’s expression grew even more awkward at these words. If Shang Lu were to become captain, where would that leave him?

When Xu Kui led Shang Lu away, Captain Ma hurried to follow, but Xu Kui turned and waved him off.

“Captain Ma, there’s no need for you to come. The registrar didn’t ask for you. You’d best hurry and recover the loot stolen by the Black Wind Gang’s demon accomplices. The registrar is quite displeased with that matter.”

Captain Ma opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, not a word came out. He gazed at Shang Lu with eyes filled not only with jealousy, but also with panic and despair.

The strange, stifling heat of the day made Captain Ma even more irritable. The murderous intention he had been suppressing resurfaced and could no longer be held back.

The registrar’s hall was bustling with activity, numerous clerks from various departments reporting in—a stark contrast to the cold emptiness of the courtroom.

When Shang Lu arrived, the registrar also offered him some encouragement, made a few grand promises, telling him to cultivate diligently and that once he broke through to the Meridian-Penetration stage, he’d help him become full captain, and so on.

Perhaps feeling that empty promises weren’t enough, the registrar finally rewarded Shang Lu with fifty taels of silver.

The reward, he said, was for achieving top marks in the performance review and bringing honor to Luoshui County, and for slaying the Black Wind Gang’s bandits and protecting the local people.

But compared to the Illustrated Inner Classic of Viscera Refinement, fifty taels of silver was rather stingy.

Though Shang Lu grumbled inwardly, on the surface he put on an expression of utter gratitude.

Leaving the registrar’s hall and returning to the third patrol station, he learned that news of his promotion had already spread among the constables.

As soon as he arrived, the constables hurried to gather around him, saluting and addressing him as “Captain Shang.”

All of them were old hands at surviving in the yamen—no one was foolish enough to add the word “vice” in front.

Captain Ma and Sun Ying remained in the duty room, watching coldly and not joining the crowd.

Sun Ying’s eyes were full of jealousy and resentment. He muttered in a low voice, “Brother-in-law, are you just going to stand by and watch Shang Lu become vice-captain? This time he’s sharing your power, next time he’ll be taking your place!”