Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill

The journey from his home on Shisong Street to Lishui District was nearly an hour long. Since Chen Cheng was being transferred to work in Lishui District, the daily commute would be very inconvenient. He had originally planned to buy a house in Lishui District, but the money he had clearly wasn’t enough.

’Oh well, I’ll just have to make do for a few months.’ Muttering to himself, Chen Cheng placed the box back into the secret compartment under the floor tile.

Fortunately, he had several sources of income: a monthly tribute of thirty taels of silver from Luo’s Shop, fifty taels from the Shen Family, and a salary of ten taels from the City Guard Department. With a total monthly income of ninety taels, if he held out for a few more months, he should have enough money to purchase a house in Lishui District.

「Two days later.」

After breakfast, Chen Cheng was in his inner courtyard practicing the Bear Skin Grinding Technique. Once he finished the skin grinding, he slipped into a wooden tub filled with a Herbal Decoction.

As his Cultivation of the Bear Skin Grinding Technique neared the Perfection realm, his body absorbed the decoction’s potency at an incredible rate. In less than fifteen minutes, he had absorbed more than half of the Herbal Decoction in the tub.

Just then, Xi’Er rushed in from the front courtyard to report that Mu Song and two other constables had arrived.

Chen Cheng told her to have them wait. Only after he had finished soaking in the Herbal Decoction did he make his way to the main hall of the front courtyard.

"Mr. Chen!" Mu Song and the other two men quickly rose and bowed.

"What brings you two brothers here?" Chen Cheng asked, nodding slightly.

The other two were none other than the brothers, Li Sheng and Li Lin.

Chen Cheng’s opinion of Li Sheng had changed recently. Although the man had the typical hot-headedness of a rich young master, he wasn’t a bad person at heart. He followed the rules at the City Guard Department and was always perfectly respectful to Chen Cheng.

As for his younger brother, Li Lin, he had always wanted to join the City Guard Department but hadn’t had any luck, failing to secure a position as a Preparatory Constable.

"My brother and I heard that you’re being promoted to a post in Lishui District, Mr. Chen, so we came to offer our congratulations." Li Sheng tugged on his brother’s sleeve, and they bowed together.

Chen Cheng shot them a glare. "If you have something to say, spit it out," he said, annoyed. "Don’t bother with the false pleasantries."

"Right." Li Sheng gave a sheepish smile, then his expression turned serious. "Mr. Chen, since you’re going to Lishui District, my brother and I would like to request to follow you."

Li Lin also spoke with great sincerity. "I was blind before. I failed to recognize that you are a True Dragon among men, Mr. Chen, and I offended you greatly. I beg for your forgiveness.

"I am willing to swear my life to follow you, Mr. Chen. I will serve you faithfully and follow your every command."

Although a City Guard Chief Constable was only a Ninth Grade official, they were permitted to take two or three subordinates with them when transferred to a new post.

Originally, Chen Cheng’s top choices had been Liao San, Mu Chuan, and Mu Song.

However, Liao San was Liu Yunfeng’s trusted subordinate. With Liu Yunfeng’s recent appointment as Chief Constable, Liao San was unlikely to leave his side. As for Mu Chuan, he was doing well for himself at the Ruyi Square Sub-Department and didn’t seem interested in following Chen Cheng either.

Therefore, Chen Cheng was still mulling over his choice of subordinates.

Seeing Chen Cheng fall silent in thought, Li Sheng discreetly shot Mu Song a meaningful glance. Mu Song understood and spoke up, "Mr. Chen, I’d also like to follow you to Lishui District.

"The three of us requested permission from Mr. Liu before coming here. He said that if you agree, Mr. Chen, Li Sheng and I can be promoted to official constables, and Li Lin can become a Preparatory Constable, officially joining the City Guard Department."

"Oh?" Chen Cheng murmured, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He might not have cared about the opinions of others at the Ruyi Square Sub-Department, but Liu Yunfeng was the man who had paved his way into the City Guard Department.

His smooth-sailing career in the City Guard Department was largely thanks to Liu Yunfeng’s patronage. It was a debt of gratitude he couldn’t ignore.

Mu Song and the others had clearly banked on this by going to Liu Yunfeng for his approval first.

"Since Mr. Liu has already given his approval, then the three of you shall accompany me to Lishui District," Chen Cheng finally conceded.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen!" the three of them said in unison.

The Li brothers, in particular, looked at him with burning sincerity, on the verge of tears of gratitude.

Both brothers had offended Chen Cheng in the past, so they had been extremely anxious about making their request.

"Mr. Chen, I’ve booked a banquet at the Drunken Immortal Tower for tonight. I must insist you grace us with your presence," Li Sheng said sincerely. Fearing Chen Cheng might refuse, he quickly added, "With your promotion to Lishui District, I’m sure you were planning to invite Mr. Liu and the others for a few drinks. Why not take this opportunity to celebrate together?"

Li Lin chimed in, "That’s right, Mr. Chen. My brother and I booked Room A at the Drunken Immortal Tower. It’s spacious and can easily seat ten or twenty people."

"You two have certainly thought this through," Chen Cheng said with a smile.

Li Sheng smiled obsequiously. "Since we’ll be following you, Mr. Chen, it’s our duty to attend to your every need."

Li Lin added, "It’s just a small token of our appreciation, Mr. Chen. We insist you come."

"Alright, then. I accept your generous offer," Chen Cheng said with a nod. He then proceeded to give them detailed instructions on who else to invite.

The three men happily accepted their instructions and departed.

...

As evening fell, the setting sun painted the sky in fiery hues of red.

The Drunken Immortal Tower wasn’t far from his home on Shisong Street, just a couple of main streets away. Timing his departure carefully, Chen Cheng set off at a leisurely pace.

Halfway there, he spotted Liu Yunfeng, Liao San, and a few others approaching from the direction of the Ruyi Square Sub-Department.

"Mr. Liu."

Chen Cheng waved and called out with a smile.

"Ah Cheng, you’re the one treating us, so what are you doing lagging behind?" Liu Yunfeng let out a booming laugh and enthusiastically slapped Chen Cheng on the shoulder.

Chen Cheng chuckled. "I was waiting for you all to get off duty!"

Liao San said, "So you timed this perfectly to intercept us, Mr. Chen!"

Chen Cheng shot him a look. "Third Brother," he chided, "we’re just having a few drinks tonight. Why are you still calling me ’Mr. Chen’?"

Liao San chuckled. "We’re brothers, sure, but I still have to call you Mr. Chen. It’s about respect for your rank."

Li Ze chimed in, "That’s right, that’s right. We can’t break the rules."

Joking and laughing, the group soon arrived at the entrance of the Drunken Immortal Tower.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance, and from the sound of it, an argument had broken out among them.