Martial Saint with Passives

The next day, Jiang Che found Zhang Wei first thing in the morning. He said that after thinking it over, he still wanted to find a job in the Work Hall.

Zhang Wei was stunned for a moment, suspecting he had misheard.

Jiang Che could only repeat himself.

”Fine, come with me.” Zhang Wei said no more.

Upon arriving at the Work Hall, Zhang Wei had a word with the steward and then left.

The Work Hall’s steward was a man named Liu, a scholarly-looking, middle-aged man with a long beard.

He was somewhat surprised to see that Jiang Che, who had vigorous Qi Blood and was clearly at the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm, had come to the Work Hall looking for administrative work.

He then asked Jiang Che questions, such as whether he could read or do arithmetic.

In response, Jiang Che immediately demonstrated his Calligraphy and proficient arithmetic Ability, leaving the steward even more shocked.

Jiang Che then stated that he wanted a position managing the carpenters, explaining that he had done woodworking as a child and was quite knowledgeable in that area.

The steward didn’t overthink it. The carpentry division was indeed quite large, so it was a reasonable choice. He agreed.

And so, Jiang Che got his wish, obtaining a position overseeing the carpenters.

The steward then familiarized him with the specific job duties and took him to the carpenters’ work area.

Jiang Che’s heart pounded with excitement. ’Maybe I’ll be able to see my parents soon!’

But when he arrived at the carpenters’ location, his parents were nowhere to be found.

”Brother Liu, are these all the carpenters?” Jiang Che asked.

”No, some of the carpenters have been deployed with the army,” Steward Liu said.

Jiang Che froze.

’So I came to the Work Hall for nothing!’

”That said, some of the former carpenters were transferred to the mines in the mountains. They’re a bit short-handed over there,” Steward Liu added.

”Right, is there a roster? I’d like to familiarize myself with it ahead of time,” Jiang Che said.

Steward Liu simply assumed he was being proactive and ambitious, so he handed over the artisan roster without any suspicion.

Jiang Che inquired and learned that this was the roster for artisans remaining in the encampment; those deployed with the army were not listed.

After getting the roster, he didn’t rush to read it. He chatted idly with Steward Liu for a while longer and only began to look through it after the steward went off to attend to other matters.

Jiang Che’s father was named Jiang Dawu, and his mother was Mrs. Zhou.

When he flipped to the third page, he was startled to find Jiang Dawu’s name!

However, Mrs. Zhou’s name was nowhere to be found.

He thought he might have overlooked it and scanned the list several more times, but he still couldn’t find her name.

’Could Mother have been deployed with the army? Never mind. I’ll find Father first...’

Jiang Che took a deep breath and pushed the thought aside.

That night, he didn’t return to his room to rest. Instead, he quietly used the Shadow Tracing Step to move through the darkness.

He was on duty at the Work Hall during the day, so it was inconvenient for him to leave.

But at night, the carpenters who worked in the mines would return to rest.

Therefore, as long as he could get to their living quarters and carefully check everyone, he would be able to find him!

Jiang Che was very confident in his Body Technique.

Putting aside basic Martial Arts for the moment, he currently possessed two Qi Blood Level Qinggong techniques.

Namely, the Flying Swallow Step and the Shadow Tracing Step.

The Flying Swallow Step was a Cultivation Technique purely for increasing speed, while the Shadow Tracing Step focused more on the Body Technique aspect, allowing one to move in complete silence.

Combined with his [Invisibility] Talent, he could become completely invisible just by standing still in the dark.

As a result, Jiang Che was like a fish in water at night; an ordinary person would never be able to spot him.

Before long, Jiang Che found his way to the carpenters’ quarters.

Unlike Senior Gang Members such as Jiang Che, who had independent residences, these carpenters all slept in a large bunkhouse.

When someone got up in the middle of the night, he seized the opportunity to slip inside. Then, like a ghost, he moved from person to person, examining each face.

But after searching the entire dormitory, he still hadn’t found his father.

’Could he be in another dormitory?’

If there wasn’t enough space here, it was possible they were sleeping somewhere else.

So, Jiang Che slipped into the other dormitories.

The entire night passed. Jiang Che had searched every last dormitory, but there was no sign of his father anywhere!

’Could he have been deployed with the army as well, and they just haven’t crossed his name off the list yet?’ Jiang Che was unsure.

But in this era without computer management systems, it was perfectly normal for manual records to contain errors.

If that was truly the case, then he had to find a way to leave the stronghold!

The next day, Jiang Che arrived at the Work Hall for his shift.

Although he hadn’t slept all night, as an Iron Skin Realm Martial Artist, his energy was still abundant.

Yesterday was for familiarizing himself with the work and procedures; today was his first official day on the job.

Once the carpenters had assembled, Jiang Che skipped the pleasantries and went straight to roll call.

But to his surprise, Jiang Dawu’s name was on the list!

’What...’ Jiang Che’s expression faltered.

But he hadn’t seen his father among the men present!

Jiang Che steadied himself and began the roll call. Before long, he called out the name ”Jiang Dawu.”

The one who stepped forward, however, was a limping old man.

”Your name is Jiang Dawu?” Jiang Che asked.

”Replying to you, sir, I am Jiang Dawu,” the old man said, somewhat fearfully.

”Have you always gone by this name?” Jiang Che asked again.

”Sir, I’ve had this name for sixty years,” the old man replied, a little confused.

”Then is there anyone else in this stronghold named Jiang Dawu?” Jiang Che asked the crowd.

The men looked at each other, and one spoke up, ”No, just Old Jiang here.”

”Oh, it’s nothing. I have a score to settle with a certain Jiang Dawu. Since it’s not him, never mind,” Jiang Che said with a cold laugh.

Only then did everyone seem to understand.

Jiang Che had to say that. Otherwise, he’d be in trouble if word spread and he was targeted.

’Looks like he really was deployed with the army after all...’

Jiang Che thought to himself.

At the same time, he began plotting how to get transferred out of his current post and join the Siege Team.

...

「Black Wind Mountain Stronghold.」

Inside a spacious residence.

Master Wu was toying with a Curved Saber when a man suddenly entered to report.

”Speak.”

”Master Wu, we’ve investigated. There’s no doubt about Hu Bugui’s identity. He’s definitely a wanted criminal from the Government Office; both his appearance and Saber Technique match. He’s also been constantly hunted recently,” the man said.

Master Wu nodded. Since his identity checked out, he could be put to use without any reservations.

”By the way, which hall did he choose?” Master Wu asked.

”Master Wu, he chose... the Work Hall,” the man replied.

”The Work Hall?!” Master Wu was stunned. ”An expert at the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm is going to the Work Hall? Is this some kind of joke? Go, bring him to me!”

”Yes, sir!”

Before long, Jiang Che was brought over.

”Why the Work Hall?” Master Wu’s voice was tinged with anger.

”Master Wu, I want to help build a better stronghold and give everyone better houses to live in. That way, our brothers who go out to fight can return without any worries,” Jiang Che said.

”What is this nonsense? Go quit that position right now. You’ll stay by my side and serve in my Imperial Guard,” Master Wu said with a frown.

”Yes, Master Wu!”

Jiang Che didn’t want to stay in the Work Hall anyway. He just didn’t know what the Imperial Guard did, or if he’d be able to get news about the Siege Team from there.

After resigning from the Work Hall, Jiang Che became a member of Master Wu’s Imperial Guard.

Because he suitably demonstrated his ability to read and write, Master Wu put him in charge of some messenger duties.

This work included a great deal of correspondence with the Siege Teams operating outside the stronghold.

This suited Jiang Che’s intentions perfectly.

After some time spent gathering information, he discovered that there were six Siege Teams in total operating outside.

Each of these six teams had its own contingent of artisans for building encampments on the fly.

If he rashly transferred to one of the teams outside and failed to find his parents, it would become very troublesome.

He wouldn’t know the status, direction, or location of the other five teams, and getting transferred to a different team after that would be next to impossible.

In contrast, by staying put in the stronghold and handling communications, he could get a full picture of all six teams’ movements.

However, for now, his role was limited to receiving messengers from the various teams within the stronghold; he couldn’t go out to find them himself.

’What should I do...’

Jiang Che could only wait for an opportunity.

One day, after organizing the latest information, Jiang Che went to report to Master Wu.

One of the reports stated that the team led by Master Qi had multiple injured members and needed the stronghold to send a batch of medical supplies.

”Master Wu, why not let me go?” Jiang Che suddenly proposed.

”You?” Master Wu frowned. He had recently been using Jiang Che to sort through the various reports and found him very capable—much smarter than the other Horse Bandits he had before.

”Yes. The thought of our stronghold brothers suffering on the front lines pains me. Please, let me deliver the medicine!” Jiang Che declared righteously.

For a moment, Master Wu was genuinely moved.

”Alright, you can go!”