Becoming a saint begins with the infinite accumulation of destiny.

Upon arriving at the clothing store, Chen Shisheng and the other apprentices began their work for the day.

Cutting fabric, tidying up the warehouse, and moving goods kept me busy all morning before I could finally rest.

As soon as it ended, Chen Shisheng asked Liu Ergou about what he had said the day before about leaving the military household.

He didn't want to fall into the hands of that bald man.

"It's Wang, the registrar of the county government. He can get rid of our military household status for just three taels of silver."

Liu Ergou sighed slowly, a hint of indignation appearing on his face.

"Without military household status, we can do things more freely. Unlike now, we are restricted in every way, unable to do this or that. We have no ancestral titles to pass down, so we are probably destined to be slaves for the rest of our lives."

Chen Shisheng remained silent, but in his heart he had gained a new understanding of the world.

In this world, status is highly valued. Those without titles are basically divided into two categories: slaves and commoners.

Military households were, in fact, a type of slave.

The treatment of these people reveals that slaves are the lowest class of people. They cannot engage in ordinary professions and can only work as apprentices, do odd jobs, and be at someone's beck and call at any time.

Ordinary people have it better; they have no restrictions on various matters and have many more choices.

"You sold Sister Yun out?"

When Liu Ergou saw Chen Shisheng ask, his expression changed, and he lowered his voice to ask.

Chen Shisheng grew up with them and knew their family situation better than anyone.

They weren't exactly destitute, but they weren't much better off either; they simply didn't have enough money to help him escape his lowly status.

The only possibility is that he sold his sister for money, just like he did.

"no."

Chen Shisheng shook his head in denial, unwilling to continue the topic.

He then asked, "Is Young Master Wen from Wenyangfang reliable?"

"I heard it from someone else. They hire retainers and provide them with three meals a day, plus five qian of silver a month."

Liu Ergou laughed.

"Hehe... These noble gentlemen are really strange, eating and drinking for free, and even giving away money."

"Is there anything else?"

"It seems... they also teach martial arts. I heard they were a martial arts graduate before. What, Shisheng, are you interested too? We can go and try it out together sometime."

Liu Ergou continued, starting to fantasize.

"If I get elected, I won't have to worry about food from now on. I'll have meat at every meal and get paid for nothing. Tsk tsk..."

"I see."

Chen Shisheng nodded thoughtfully.

He knew that the world was not as simple as it seemed.

As far as he knew, this world possessed extraordinary powers, and martial arts were one of them.

When martial arts power is cultivated to a high level, it is easy to fly over rooftops and scale walls, split stone tablets and shatter rocks. Some can even split mountains with a single punch.

cough cough...

Of course, this is the content of a vernacular novel that Chen Shisheng read in a bookstore.

However, martial arts do exist, and one can indeed achieve great things through practice. Once mastered, one's status will be different.

The Blackwater Gang is said to have such experts, which is why no one dares to resist them; they are simply no match for them.

This demonstrates the value of martial arts methods.

The law should not be passed on lightly.

This is not just a casual remark.

Even tailors in clothing stores don't just take on apprentices and pass on their skills.

After all, their skills are their livelihood, and the more people who have those skills, the worse their situation becomes.

Moreover, martial arts techniques are definitely closely guarded and not easily passed down; they are mostly passed down from generation to generation.

The night was pitch black, and the roads were deserted.

The lights on both sides of the street were off early in the morning, with only a few shops packing up and closing up.

Occasionally, amidst the solitude, the barking of dogs from wealthy households could be heard.

When Chen Shisheng returned home, he saw a figure moving around in the alley.

He felt a chill run down his spine, knowing that those were members of the Blackwater Gang, specifically assigned to guard against anyone escaping.

After a quick glance, Chen Shisheng pushed open the wooden door and went inside. His sister-in-law, Liu Yun, had already prepared the meal and was anxiously waiting for him to return.

"Shisheng, are you alright today?"

Liu Yun asked worriedly.

"fine."

Chen Shisheng shook his head.

"It's good that you're alright. Be careful when you go out lately; people keep disappearing. Old Liu's kid next door has gone missing; he's probably been kidnapped..."

"Um."

Chen Shisheng nodded, his heart sinking slightly.

When the world is in chaos, all sorts of demons and monsters emerge, including beggars and robbers, who will seize any opportunity to speak out.

The next morning, Chen Shisheng went to work as usual, but this time he was not alone; Liu Ergou accompanied him.

The two got up early and went to the house of the registrar Wang that he had mentioned. The man had shifty eyes and looked at them with suspicion.

"The usual price, three taels of silver."

"well."

Liu Ergou couldn't wait to take out the silver and hand it to the man.

But a large hand suddenly pressed it down.

Are you sure you can change it?

Chen Shisheng narrowed his eyes and asked.

His gaze slowly moved to the top of the person's head, where a white phantom was clearly visible.

[Scamming and Deception (White): A silver tongue, setting traps and ensnaring hearts. Deceiving and manipulating.]

"Are you going to change it or not?!"

This person made a move to close the door, indicating that he was not going to do business.

"No, no, I'll change, I'll change."

Liu Ergou quickly stopped him and handed over the silver.

Chen Shisheng was speechless; even if he wanted to stop it, it was too late.

on the way back.

"Shi Sheng, are you really not going to change your identity?"

"No."

Chen Shisheng thought about it for a while, but ultimately didn't take out the three taels of silver.

Let's see how things go first. This person's fate is clearly problematic. It's not too late to come back later.

"Shisheng, what are your plans for the future? My second uncle used his connections to find me a job as a constable."

Liu Ergou said impatiently, his head involuntarily tilting up slightly.

Chen Shisheng felt nothing, but quickened his pace and hurried toward the clothing store.

At noon, the weather was so hot it felt like an oven.

At this point, with no more customers coming and going, everyone was able to catch their breath for a moment and start chatting enthusiastically.

"I'm quitting my job in a few days."

Zhang Qing raised his voice several octaves, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"Quit your job? Qing-ge, why did you quit? Did your father find another precious medicine?"

One person joked.

"Is it easy to find precious medicine? My father insisted that I become an apprentice at the pharmacy, earning five qian of silver a month."

Zhang Qing's words seemed reluctant, but in fact, her tone emphasized them.

"Good heavens! Five taels of silver?!"

Everyone was astonished.

They only earn one qian of silver a month, so five qian of silver would be equivalent to almost half a year's wages for them.

"Isn't that just an apprenticeship? What's the use?"

Seeing this, Liu Ergou, who was standing to the side, was displeased and couldn't help but interject.

"I'll quit my job in a few days and go work as a clerk in the county government."

"A constable?!"

"Brother Er Gou, are you going to be a lord?"

Everyone shifted their attention again.

In a chaotic world, a mere constable is the highest-ranking person an ordinary person can come into contact with.

If Liu Ergou becomes the leader, even the Blackwater Gang will treat him with respect and won't offend him excessively.

But just then, an untimely remark rang out.

"A constable? With your wretched appearance, you'd be a ghost in the underworld, even the King of Hell wouldn't want you. Forget everything else, you're just a lowly slave, what qualifications do you have..."

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and discovered it was Liu Tong, the son of the clothing store owner.

At this moment, he was looking at Liu Ergou with disdain, his eyes full of contempt.

"Nonsense! I was freed from my lowly status this morning and am now a commoner. My second uncle..."

At this moment, Liu Ergou, emboldened by some unknown source, dared to retort and recounted how he had spent money to change his social status to that of a lowly person.

"You think you can escape your lowly status with just a few taels of silver? That's wishful thinking!"

Liu Tong snorted coldly and continued.

"You ignorant fool! A lowly person only needs one hundred taels of silver; that's the rule set by the government. You..."

He didn't continue speaking, but just gave Liu Ergou a disdainful look and turned to leave.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ergou, who was in the crowd, immediately realized that something was wrong.

That person this morning was a liar!

He had no time to think, rushed out the door and headed straight for the courtyard, only to find it deserted.

"It's over!!"

Liu Ergou collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.

Those three taels of silver were the money my sister earned from selling herself; now it's all gone.

Chen Shisheng also lowered his gaze slightly, thinking to himself how close he had come to disaster.

He had always been wary of this and had inquired about the matter of the lowly status from various sources. Although he was not certain, he always felt that it was too simple.

Moreover, that person clearly has a problem.

really!

Removing one's lowly status is not as simple as it seems.

"We'll have to try Wenyangfang."

Chen Shisheng thought of the rumors about Young Master Wen; perhaps there was a glimmer of hope there.

Seeing Liu Ergou's miserable state, the others lost their previous enthusiasm and consciously distanced themselves.