Chapter Thirteen: County Magistrate X's Swordsmanship

  Although this time, Mingjian was indeed a bit embarrassing and almost capsized in the gutter, his strength was witnessed by everyone. The sword light that filled the sky almost flattened an area of hundreds of acres.

  If it weren't for carelessness, being hit by that evil cultivator's sinister plot, probably wouldn't have lost such a big person.

  It's clear that this is a monk with a strong heritage, and being taken under the wing of such a person would naturally provide an opportunity to obtain that powerful heritage.

  This is where the killing power of the phrase "Ming Jian" lies.

  "You're young, with a good figure and a kind heart. Most importantly, you saved my life. I have nothing to repay you with except for the skills I've learned!!"

  Ming Jian took a sip of wine and said leisurely, "Tie Jun, however, felt a chill run down his spine. This remark somehow carried a hint of romantic connotation!"

  "My skills, 95% of which are in that sword, now that I've lost an arm and can't bear to practice with my left hand, these skills are almost useless. The things Master left behind can't be lost, so I'll take you as a disciple, first to pass on what I've learned, second to repay the kindness of saving my life, killing two birds with one stone, why not? Do you have any opinions?"

  "No, no!" Iron Gong's head shook like a rattle drum.

  Only fools have opinions!!

  He was also a clever person, and at this time he didn't care about the broken cup anymore. He knelt down and said, "Disciple Tie Jun, paying respects to Master!"

  "Alright, get up!" Ming Jian was startled by his sudden move and lifted his head, letting him get up.

  After going through the rituals of master and apprentice, Tie Jian's attitude naturally changed, he didn't dare to sit face-to-face with him, but instead stood by his side, serving Mingjian wine.

  Chen Sheng was also a man of discerning taste and wouldn't spoil the atmosphere at this time. He mentioned that he still had something to attend to at home, stood up and bid farewell. As he was leaving, the waiter happened to bring over the wine and dishes, and upon seeing this scene, Chen Sheng found it somewhat strange. Without another word, he handed him a handful of loose silver coins as payment for the meal, took his leave of the two men, and left the tavern with an odd feeling in his heart.

  "Don't be so formal with me, sit down and have some food first. We can discuss the details later!"

  "Yes!" Iron Cauldron replied, sitting down on the stool with half his buttocks, attentively serving Ming Jian's food and drink.

  Rumors always spread quickly.

  The two had not finished their wine when news that Tie Jian had accepted Ming Jian as his disciple spread throughout Dongling County.

  Tie Dan received the news from Chen Sheng at the first time, and hurried to the small wine house, invited Ming Jian back home, and added a ceremony of worshiping the teacher with wine. This ceremony was more grand than before, not only did they invite all the famous people in Dongling County, but also invited the county magistrate.

  What was most unexpected was that, taking advantage of the wine, County Magistrate Taigong personally announced the imperial reward for Tie Jian at the banquet. Tie Jian was granted the title of Dongling County Wei due to his meritorious service in killing the bandits, and suddenly, the banquet reached a climax. Even Tie Dan was so excited that he downed several cups of wine in one go.

  County Magistrate Dongling!!

  What is a county lieutenant?

  According to the official system of the Tang Dynasty, the county lieutenant and county adjutant were both subordinate officials of the county magistrate, ranking eighth grade, in charge of the county's security and catching thieves. In short, they were the head of the public security bureau.

  But the weight of this public security chief and that of his father's catcher back then are completely different.

  The county lieutenant is an official appointed by the imperial court, while the capture head is a clerk appointed by the county government.

  The most important thing is that the county lieutenant and county lieutenant are not term-based, unlike the county order, which is evaluated every five years, and can stay in a county for up to ten years, either by changing places or being promoted.

  In terms of real influence in a region, the county magistrate is actually inferior to the county lieutenant and county captain.

  Dongling is a lower county, with not many people. According to the Tang system, if the area is less than 50 miles, there will be no county lieutenant or county commander. Although Dongling's area exceeds 50 miles, four-fifths of it is mountainous, and the actual inhabited area is less than 20 miles. Therefore, in the past, only one county magistrate was set up, and the position of county commander was often taken by the capture head, while the county lieutenant was the county magistrate's teacher who took charge. Now, Tie Jian suddenly became the county commander, and instantly became the second person in Dongling County. The Tie family also became one of the top two wealthy families in Dongling County. Such a family is not much different from the county magistrate. The county magistrate is an official, and can serve for at most ten years in this position. However, the county commander is not an official, but a local official. As long as Tie Jian is willing and does not make any major mistakes, even the county magistrate cannot dismiss him. Moreover, he has a background of six doors, with a master who is his teacher. In this small county of Dongling, his status can be said to be as stable as Mount Tai. Therefore, the atmosphere of the banquet became more lively.

  On the second day, more news came out.

  Liu Shanmen's meritorious service in killing bandits has been recognized, and he is promoted to the position of Zhenwei Deputy Captain from the sixth rank. Due to his injuries, he is allowed to resign and return to his hometown to rest and recover.

  To put it bluntly, Ming Jian has been working hard in the Sixth Gate for many years and is now injured and unable to work. He was given a position and allowed to return home, but although he is retired, he was wounded while fighting bandits, so his retirement is still considered honorable. As a sixth-grade official, even though he no longer manages affairs, his status remains, and no one dares to look down on him.

  As for his old home, it is impossible to investigate where it was. Choosing Dongling as the place for retirement, teaching disciples and passing on what he had learned, no one would say a word against it.

  He didn't have a fixed residence in Dongling, so he temporarily lived with the Tie family, which was also convenient for teaching Tie Jun. As for Tie Jun, he was extremely satisfied with this arrangement.

  On the second day, he went to the county government office as usual. As soon as he arrived at the county government office, he felt that the atmosphere around him was somewhat different.

  This made Tie Jun somewhat headache, but the response was quite proper, and it was thanks to his previous strange dream and Chen Jiu's memory that he had several decades of experience, which didn't make him lose face.

  Arrived at the inner courtyard, paid respects to the county magistrate, received the county lieutenant's seal, and the county magistrate couldn't help but say a few words of encouragement. He handed over some official business that had been temporarily taken care of, and this took up the whole morning.

  After the official business was clearly settled, the county magistrate seemed to have thrown off a big burden, with a relaxed face, warmly holding Tie Jian together for lunch, and then returned to his residence. Tie Jian led the seal to his own Wei Fu.

  The Wei Fu of Dongling is adjacent to the county government, in fact it is a whole, only separated by a wall, and there is a small door on this wall for mutual access. However, it has been abandoned for many years, after all, there has been no county Wei here for decades, nor has anyone come to work here, it's an abandoned house. Fortunately, when Mr. Lu was repairing the county government some time ago, he also repaired this Wei Fu, although it can't compare with the county government, at least it can barely be used for office work now.

  As soon as they arrived at the yamen, they saw Lei Dong and a group of constables waiting there. Everyone was originally colleagues, and Lei Dong was also Tie Jian's superior. Seeing each other again in such a situation made everyone feel somewhat awkward.

  But whether it's awkward or not, from now on, the entire Dongling County's security, including these eighteen captors, will be under Tie Jian's control. This is power, but also a heavy responsibility.

  However, the public security of Dongling has always been very good. In recent years, except for the sudden appearance of evil spirits, there really hasn't been anything worth paying attention to, so Tie Jian's pressure is not great.

  Sitting in the main hall, the curtains were raised at dawn, and everything was filled with freshness.

  He, as the county captain, was in charge of maintaining law and order and capturing thieves. His duties included reviewing the feathered arrows and prohibiting evil violence. Normally, he could make decisions on his own for big or small matters. Only when encountering major events or things that exceeded his authority would he need to report to the county magistrate and ask for instructions. At other times, the captain's office was independent.

  At this time, the documents related to the county and the commandant's office had already been moved here, piled up on his desk, a whole big table full of them. After going through them with his subordinates and arranging everything, he returned to the inner hall, looking at the whole big table full of documents, and couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

  "Alas, it seems like we still need to invite a sir over to handle these matters!!"

  Dealing with official documents is still a job for professionals, and he's just a 16-year-old kid, how can he have such skills? Fortunately, Tie Dan is a steady person and knows his son isn't cut out for this kind of thing. He had already arranged for a tutor to be hired, who will arrive in three days, so now he has no more worries.

  "Ugh, today is really exhausting!"

  Back in the inner courtyard, with no one around, he collapsed onto the chair, exhausted. The social interactions of the day had been a complete torment for him, more exhausting than cultivation itself. He had originally planned to visit the tomb of the King of Yue soon, but now it seemed that wouldn't be possible. Having just found a new master, he still didn't know if this master was reliable or not. There were some things that needed careful consideration, and he needed to clarify the situation before proceeding.

  That day, after returning home from the government office, he ate dinner and was then summoned by Ming Jian to the backyard. Regarding this, Tie Zhong's heart was filled with other thoughts. His master, although having lost an arm, was a skilled person. That one-handed sword technique was at least unmatched by anyone else, and his internal energy was also not weak. Clearly, he had received the legacy of a superior man. By becoming his apprentice, naturally there would be opportunities to learn this legacy, how could he not be excited?

  "Since you've made me your master, I'll naturally teach you with all my heart. However, before that, I still need to know what kind of foundation you have. I heard from your father that you're practicing the family's traditional martial art, aside from the Shaoyang Qigong, there's also a knife technique. Show it to me now!"

  "Yes!"

  Tie Kun naturally wouldn't decline, and immediately began to wield the family heirloom Wu Hu Duan Men knife in the courtyard. The knife's light flashed, covering his entire body. Sometimes it rolled, sometimes it leapt up, wherever the blade reached, anything that stood in its way was instantly severed. As he operated at maximum capacity, his Shaoyang Qi Gong was channeled to the blade's edge, emitting a series of piercing whistling sounds as it broke through the air. It truly was like trying to insert a needle into a stone or pour water into an empty vessel - impossible.

  After a period of fragrant incense, the iron fist set of five tiger broken door knives was finally practiced. His breathing was a bit uneven and he was slightly panting, but he deliberately suppressed his breath to appear more calm, staring at Ming Sword with eager eyes, waiting for his evaluation.

  Of course, he didn't expect to get any good reviews either. Just like the Shaoyang Qigong of his family, this Wu Hu Duan Men Dao is also a basic knife method, which is far inferior to Shaoyang Qigong.

  Unexpectedly, Ming Sword revealed a face full of satisfied smile, "Not bad, not bad!"