The scholars, recruited by order of the Deputy Magistrate, finally arrived in the strange and otherworldly realm that was Jin Cheon-hee’s domain.
“Senior, what on earth is this?”
“Ah, do you not know? This is called a chart. The Deputy Magistrate sometimes refers to it as a ‘graph.’ With this, we can increase the speed and efficiency of our work.”
“Heavens, to think such a thing exists. A graph…”
“If you cannot master it, I will be forced to issue you a dedicated field shovel. Rookie.”
“A dedicated field shovel?”
“Indeed. A tool designed to be driven into the earth, stepped upon, and dug with force. Depending on how it is assembled, it can even function as a pickaxe.”
“Why would I use such a shovel, Senior?”
“To move mountains. If you fail to master the graph, you will understand the meaning of that phrase soon enough.”
The rookie scholar scoffed, his pride stung. “What is this indignity? Me? A genius of the Central Plains who mastered the Thousand Character Classic at five, and the Lesser Learning, the Four Books and Three Classics, and Etiquette by the age of eight?”
“Congratulations, Rookie. You are the weakest among us.”
The senior offered a weary smile. He had mastered the Thousand Character Classic at four and the Lesser Learning at seven. The senior at the next desk boasted similar credentials, as did the men currently digging up the mountain behind them with field shovels.
Anyone receiving this salary had been hailed as a prodigy in their home village since childhood.
KA-BOOM!
A thunderous roar echoed from the mountain behind the office. The rookie jumped, eyes wide with shock, but the senior merely glanced out the window and spoke calmly.
“The Deputy Magistrate is piercing the mountain with Sword Aura. Now, the seniors in the Civil Engineering Department will have to clean up the debris.”
The senior turned back to the pale-faced newcomer.
“Welcome to the otherworld of One Light. Rookie.”
Does that mean if I master this ‘graph’ thing, I won’t have to do… that? The rookie’s thoughts raced.
“By the way, Rookie. Did you learn arithmetic?”
“Isn’t that a lowly study reserved for marketplace merchants?”
At those words, for reasons the rookie could not fathom, the seniors in the room burst into raucous laughter.
“…Congratulations. The Civil Engineering Department is getting a new friend.”
The rookie could not comprehend their meaning. But then, the earth shook again.
RUMBLE! CRASH!
“The Deputy Magistrate is smashing everything refreshingly today.”
“I heard One Light has reached the Realm of Transformation, but why use such profound martial arts just to break rocks?”
“……”
BANG! KABOOM!
The seniors offered a final piece of advice to the confused scholar.
“One Light is simply that kind of man. Get used to it.”
“Even though you mastered the Thousand Character Classic at five and the Confucian classics at eight, if you don’t know arithmetic, One Light will hand you a field shovel and roll you into the mud of the Civil Engineering Department.”
“No… what… this is madness… Why me, a precious talent? Why?”
RUMBLE-DOOOOM!
Again, the sound of One Light pushing back the mountain rang out from afar.
Suddenly, an old grandmother working nearby stopped her chores, pressed her palms together, and bowed reverently toward the source of the noise.
“No, why pray to One Light? He is just smashing a rocky mountain with martial arts, so why does everyone respect him?”
“Talent for civil engineering found. Definitely found. Since you’re going there anyway, memorize the contour lines before you go.”
“What are contour lines?”
This was the reality of One Light’s domain. Those with rigid minds could not survive. The seniors looked at this rookie with eyes full of pity.
“Eat a hearty meal beforehand.”
“…?”
“You prepared comfortable shoes, right? If not, I’ll lend you some.”
“…?”
“They sell bamboo rice balls right out front, so make sure to take some. You will need the energy.”
***
In a world devoid of television or internet streaming, magistrate trials and the executioner’s sword dance were the pinnacle of entertainment.
Of course, the Hua Empire lacked the thrill of the executioner dancing and teasing the crowd—debating whether to cut or not—as was common in Joseon. Here, they simply chopped with a large axe in a single, brutal stroke. In that sense, the atmosphere of the Hua Empire leaned slightly toward the medieval European style.
However, Jin Cheon-hee had chosen a different path. Instead of executing the corrupt former Assistant Magistrate, he had sentenced him to hard labor, parading him around the village bound in ropes as a public ceremony.
Naturally, the Deputy Magistrate’s approval rating pierced the sky.
Deciding to make a proper show of it, Jin Cheon-hee had raided the warehouse, causing rice and gold to pour out like a waterfall. In short, it was money earned through illegal usury. To pay the harsh taxes, commoners had been forced to borrow money from the Assistant Magistrate; strangely, the amount of tax the Imperial Court demanded and the tax actually collected had been vastly different.
It was definitive evidence that not only the Assistant Magistrate but also the former Magistrate had embezzled a fortune. Jin Cheon-hee had located the Assistant Magistrate’s secret ledger, appended the testimonies of the commoners who had been extorted, and fired the entire package off toward the Imperial Palace.
For the commoners who had already committed suicide due to the debt, leaving no family behind, neighbors had stepped in to testify on their behalf.
The Emperor? No.
Sending the evidence directly to the Emperor would be troublesome. Instead, Jin Cheon-hee had sent it to the Minister of Revenue, Han Yi-jeong. He hoped the small ball he launched would explode effectively, creating a bright fireworks display in the capital.
Thinking of the fireworks festival at the dream-and-hope-filled Leverland back home, I sent it off.
After all, would only the Assistant Magistrate and Magistrate have been involved? The Inspector who passed through the region must have taken a cut, and the official who appointed the Magistrate likely sold the position. If the fuse was lit properly, they would all ride the express train to the afterlife in a single line.
Originally, the land in Jiangsu Province was decent. Although the territory itself was small, the sediment deposited by the Yangtze River made most of Jiangsu fertile. That rich soil produced tremendous rice yields. It was adjacent to the sea, making it excellent for maritime trade, and bordered the river, allowing for fluid logistics. The tidal flats provided plenty of clams and crabs.
In such a land, even with only two thousand households near the White Qilin Medical Pavilion, the income that could be gathered was substantial.
His master had moved to the mountain hot spring area to kill fewer people and protect his health, but he must have chosen Jiangsu because he still had to function as a Medical Pavilion. Leaving such prime land undeveloped was truly a sin for a transmigrator.
I came all the way to another world, so why not develop it?
Pierce the roads! Reshape the land!
KA-BOOM!
He shook the Magistrate’s Staff at the officials who looked at him as if he were insane.
CRASH! RUMBLE!
“Hiek, One Light… I only heard rumors. To think he really cuts mountains with a sword?!”
“No, but why use precious Sword Aura to break rocks?”
“He says it’s to build a road, but with the Yangtze River right there, why bother…?”
Listen, you foolish officials, Jin Cheon-hee thought as he swung his blade. Roads are ‘the more, the better.’
Furthermore, the Yangtze River overflowed every summer, causing severe flood damage. Flood control work was mandatory. The limestone and granite he was breaking now would be used for that very purpose.
He wasn’t trying to leave behind some legendary achievement like the Sage Emperors Yao and Shun. He simply wanted to stop people, cows, and horses from being swept away in the floods.
Jin Cheon-hee had studied modern construction methods in his previous life. Grinding this limestone and mixing it with sand made excellent cement. And if one mixed in volcanic ash? That was the ancient Greco-Roman method. It just so happened that the White Qilin Medical Pavilion headquarters was located in a volcanic area, so volcanic ash was easy to acquire.
“Why is One Light dicing the cliff into cubes?”
“He says it’s good for transport.”
“Is cutting trees and arranging them horizontally for that purpose, too?”
“He says using cut trees as rollers to send the heavy rocks down requires less manpower.”
RUMBLE-CRASH!
Flood Control! Civil Engineering!
“Why wear a yellow wooden helmet on your head?”
“He took the initiative, saying ‘Safety First.’ Do you see the green cross mark?”
The Licentiates stood holding their equipment, watching the spectacle in a daze.
“Just… how strong is he?”
“I heard Gangho warriors are strong, but this level wouldn’t lose to the Imperial Family’s supernatural abilities.”
“Rather than that, I heard One Light is simply bizarrely strong.”
The Licentiates sighed deeply, etching One Light’s behavior into their eyes. These were the people who would take care of the county later.
The number of Licentiates Jin Cheon-hee had requested was twenty-two in total. He planned to call more later, but twenty-two would suffice for now. Seol Gyeon had asked why he brought so many, but that was a naive question; some of them wouldn’t endure the hardship and would leave.
A high salary and the White Qilin Medical Pavilion’s medical benefits were definite advantages. They were unemployed, after all. They had spent their time resting, writing poems about the Emperor, and lamenting the Hua Empire, claiming it was ruled by treacherous subjects whom they compared to loaches or crows. As mere Confucian scholars, they had likely written endless appeals to the throne.
As time passed while unemployed, the urge to do something would have grown. Since the Beggars’ Sect Leader, Seol Gyeon, had conducted the character test herself, they wouldn’t be shaken by ordinary hardships.
However, they now faced a mountain of new challenges: learning arithmetic they would never have touched in their lives, mastering charts, and memorizing contour lines as a prerequisite. On top of that, those with low grades were dragged to the civil engineering site for hands-on learning—watching the Deputy Magistrate push mountains and pierce roads, and even carrying stones themselves.
It was crazy stuff. But it was necessary.
If they only did desk work, they would only see civil engineering and flood control on paper. They wouldn’t recognize if the rock someone was dragging was granite or limestone, or if the timber was maple or pine. They wouldn’t know what was practical, or notice the subtle flow of corruption if someone decided to embezzle funds mid-project.
All corruption thrived in ignorance. So, someone had to learn.
About three Assistant Magistrates were needed for White Qilin Prefecture—renamed since it was a fiefdom granted to the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. The rest would assist the county administration and the Medical Pavilion.
How many of these will endure? Please, I hope even one more endures.
“Hey, our Magistrate Kid, when are you giving me food?”
It was Seol Gyeon.
“You still haven’t gone back?”
“Bullshit. Wherever a beggar goes is a beggar’s home. Kukuku.”
She laughed roughly and patted Jin Cheon-hee’s back with a heavy hand.
“In that sense, I’d like to beg for a lunch made by the Pure Virtuous Mad Physician.”
It didn’t seem like she had stopped by just to scrounge for food; there was a weight to her presence that suggested a deeper reason. Jin Cheon-hee decided to make time.
***
“Kuk, anyway, I finished my business in Jiangsu, so I should go back now.”
Seol Gyeon shook the spoon she had used to scoop the soup and rice. Seolleongtang broth splashed everywhere, but Jin Cheon-hee remained calm. Considering Seol Gyeon’s wild temper, he should be thankful she didn’t eat with her bare hands. At least in front of a physician who was terribly sensitive to cleanliness, she pretended to use utensils.
“So you came to see my face for the last time.”
“Yeah. A huge Blood Event broke out in the neighborhood down there, so I was moving.”
“Huge?”
“About five sects clashed over an elixir. It’s chaos. Two Unorthodox and three Orthodox sects engaged; it’s a total war. Kuk.”
Through Yeo Ha-ryoon, Jin Cheon-hee knew something had happened. But hearing the story from the Beggars’ Sect Leader, it seemed the situation was growing far larger than expected.
“What are the Unorthodox Alliance and Martial Righteous Alliance doing…”
“They tried to mediate but failed. Fearing it would escalate into a Great Orthodox and Unorthodox War, both the Alliance and the Union cut ties. Both sides are not intervening at all.”
“Then it will get fiercer.”
“Right. Two of the five are already practically annihilated. The lineage of the clans might be severed.”