The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

As soon as he left the garrison, Chen Jue's phone went into vibrate mode.

Three groups of seniors sent him private messages, filled with amazement and praise, like snowflakes falling on him. Only his uncle asked him if he was injured.

After replying to each message, Chen Jue turned off his phone and followed Uncle Lin to Wutong Street.

The autumn sun was already high in the sky. There weren't many vehicles on Wutong Street, but many trucks were unloading goods.

Inside the small workshops along the street, laborers came out one after another to carry boxes of goods.

The goods included newly harvested mountain delicacies and herbs, local chickens, ducks, fish, turtles, and even salted fish cured with heavy salt, the salt frost so thick that it turned the whole fish into a snow-white dagger.

When Lin Shoucheng saw the cart of salted fish, his eyes immediately lit up.

He led Chen Jue over, tapped the truck's cab with the scabbard to make the driver turn off the engine and get out, and checked the tokens and documents.

Upon seeing this, the grocery store clerk, who was moving salted fish, hurriedly went inside and called the owner out.

He was a middle-aged, balding businessman, dressed in a suit and black trousers that were just becoming popular in the Ming Dynasty, and approached the two men with a beaming smile.

"Oh dear! It's Brother Lin's turn to be on duty today. You've worked hard, you've worked hard."

He took out an oil paper envelope from his pocket and skillfully slipped it into Lin Shoucheng's side pocket.

Meanwhile, the businessman was already cursing under his breath.

These lazybones usually wouldn't show up on the street before 11 a.m., but today they're quite diligent; they arrived as soon as the salt truck came...

Upon hearing this, the merchant was startled and turned around to look at his shop assistant with suspicion, wondering if there was a mole in the shop.

Lin Shoucheng took out the envelope, weighed it in his hand, and then sneered, "Boss Mi, you only send gifts to me? Do you look down on the fresh blood in our garrison?"

"Tsk, a twenty-year-old True Qi Realm martial artist, I wonder how far he'll go in the future..."

Upon hearing this, Mi Mang's expression froze, and he looked at the young man behind Lin Shoucheng with an incredulous gaze.

The young man was tall and imposing, with striking features and a bright, intelligent gaze; one could tell at a glance that he was destined for greatness.

Bitter!

Those who achieve early success are the most vengeful, especially those who are in public service.

"Brother Lin, what makes you say that!"

"This young man is handsome and has an extraordinary temperament. I was captivated by him at first sight and would never dare to treat him with disrespect."

"A little local specialty, nothing special." Mi Mang magically produced two envelopes and stuffed them into Chen Jue's pocket.

Chen Jue was somewhat stunned. He had no idea that patrol inspectors could make money like this.

Having accepted the tribute, Lin Shoucheng stopped inspecting the half-hanging salted fish and continued patrolling along Wutong Street with Chen Jue.

"Uncle Lin, this envelope contains at least two thousand dollars. Won't the merchant lose money?"

Chen Jue felt somewhat nervous and uncomfortable, as this was his first time engaging in illegal activities.

Lin Shoucheng laughed. "Why are you suddenly empathizing with a businessman?"

"Tell me, what is the current market price of government-manufactured salt?"

"Fifteen coins per pound."

"Do you know how much salt that semi-trailer can carry? 100,000 jin (50,000 kg)!"

"That bald scoundrel, after pulling off this heist and paying bribes, will easily make at least 100,000 yuan... Do you still sympathize with him?"

Upon hearing this, the slight sense of guilt that had just arisen in Chen Jue's heart vanished instantly.

The saying that wandering knights often uttered was indeed true.

The most profitable businesses in the Divine Dynasty were all written in the "Great Ming Code".

After finishing my shift today, I insisted on taking out the "Great Ming Code" that I use to prop up the corners of the table and looking at it several times.

Wutong Street is only two kilometers long, but it has a lot of intersecting alleys.

These alleys were also the targets of the garrison patrols, and it took the two of them two hours to walk through them.

With an hour to go before noon, Lin Shoucheng led Chen Jue into a chain restaurant that didn't have many customers yet.

Seeing that the two were inspectors from the garrison, the waiter quickly cleared out a spot by the window with a good view and brought over a lot of "free" tea and pastries.

"Why do the locals seem so afraid of us?" Chen Jue was patrolling the streets for the first time, and everything seemed new and exciting.

"How can I not be afraid? Look what this is!" Lin Shoucheng patted the long sword at his waist and then patted his patrol uniform.

They possess the force to disregard human life, and they also have the power to disregard human life.

It's unreasonable for ordinary people not to be afraid of inspections.

Chen Jue was only twenty years old. The education he received at school was based on the righteous ideas of "equality for all" and "the way of heaven values ​​life".

Reality, however, has delivered a series of slaps in the face, leaving him feeling quite indigestion.

"When we were collecting cleaning fees from each shop just now, did you notice any pattern?"

While sipping his tea, Lin Shoucheng asked Chen Jue a question.

It's clear that he wanted to teach Chen Jue some real skills.

Chen Jue frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "The cleaning fees for general stores and daily necessities shops are the highest, while those for herbal medicine shops and pill shops only charge a token amount, and martial arts schools don't charge anything..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shoucheng couldn't help but give Chen Jue a thumbs up and praise him, saying, "You're incredibly observant; you're a natural-born inspector."

"Most grocery and daily necessities shops are run by local gentry from rural areas below the county level. Their roots are in the county and township. When they come to big cities to do business, they usually don't want to cause trouble, so they tacitly agree to pay a higher cleaning fee."

"Shops selling medicinal herbs and elixirs, which have high profit margins, are basically owned by powerful families and clans. A token gesture of respect is sufficient..."

"Martial arts schools, backed by their own martial arts prowess, are both poor and arrogant. If things get out of hand, they're likely to be ambushed, so they basically don't charge fees..."

Chen Jue carefully noted that the patrol inspection job was not simple and could not be done by simply walking around the city.

The two of them taught and learned, but after more than half an hour, none of the dishes they had ordered had arrived.

Chen Jue got up to urge them on, but as soon as he stood up, he realized something was wrong.

The restaurant was unusually quiet during mealtime; even the waiters who had come to serve tea and water earlier had disappeared.

Seeing the change in Chen Jue's expression, Lin Shoucheng immediately got up and observed the surroundings.

"Walk!"

As a veteran of the garrison, the experienced Lin Shoucheng immediately sensed a tremendous crisis looming over the two of them.

He led Chen Jue out of the restaurant, and just as they reached the door, a cold light slashed towards his face.

Lin Shoucheng had been patrolling the streets for twenty years and had never seen such a ruthless person kill an official in the street.

Even though he was caught off guard and unprepared, he still couldn't dodge the attack quickly enough, despite unleashing his inner energy and kicking backward.

Just as the blade was about to pass Lin Shoucheng's head and strike his chest.

At the critical moment, Chen Jue, who was half a step behind Lin Shoucheng, took the initiative to make a move.

The moment the blade flashed, he reached out and grabbed Lin Shoucheng by the back of his collar, pulling him sharply backward.

Lin Shoucheng was dragged to the ground by him, barely dodging the knife that was about to be used to kill him when the door was opened.

After pulling Uncle Lin down, Chen Jue immediately flew into a rage, stomped his foot and charged forward, drawing his knife and slashing towards the door.

This strike, with its power flowing from foot to hand, permeating Chen Jue's entire body, and further enhanced by a wisp of Five Elements True Qi, instantly slashed out from the narrow gate, the blade as swift as lightning.

"what!"

Blood splattered in an instant.

A piercing scream erupted from the doorway.

A man, whose neck had been slashed diagonally down to his waist, fell into a pool of blood.

He dragged his still-movable upper body, howling in pain as he crawled out.