Chapter Twenty-Five: What Is the Eastern Depot?

"What the hell?"

Li Wenxuan was truly stunned. He had repeatedly emphasized to himself that he was only here to work a regular job. Yet, no sooner had he finished his onboarding paperwork than his superior told him to prepare a coffin?

Was this job really that unavoidable?

Well... it was actually quite unavoidable!

"Master Centurion, once your address is confirmed, I will have someone deliver your other belongings," the bookkeeper said cautiously, fearing that Li Wenxuan, upon realizing he was in deep trouble, might use him as a punching bag.

Lou Wanxi watched the dramatic shift in Li Wenxuan’s expression and let out a strange laugh. "Follow me."

Li Wenxuan responded and hurried after her.

The two left the storehouse and arrived at the main courtyard of the office, where they immediately summoned a portly centurion.

"Fatty Sun, this is the new guy. Explain to him what the hell the Eastern Depot is!"

Hearing Lou Wanxi’s blunt language, Li Wenxuan’s eyes widened. What the hell was the Eastern Depot?

"Don't worry, Master Chiliarch, I will ensure this brother has a clear and accurate understanding of our Eastern Depot."

Lou Wanxi, however, had already walked into a room, clearly not caring a whit about what her subordinate said.

"I am Li Biao..."

"Hey, no need for such formalities!" Fatty Sun lived up to his name. His body was so rotund he looked like a giant rolling ball; it was a miracle the quality of his crimson official robe was sturdy enough, or it would have burst long ago.

Fatty Sun led Li Wenxuan to sit under the eaves. While warming themselves by the fire, he signaled for a nearby secret agent to pour tea for Li Wenxuan.

"My name is Sun Guiyun, though my colleagues call me Fatty Sun..." His bulging, greasy eyes darted over Li Wenxuan. "Brother, I see that Black Iron Saber in your hand is worth a fortune. Which noble house are you from? Why would someone like you come here to pad your resume, and why under Old Demon Lou, of all people? Who did you offend? How deep is the grudge?"

"Uh?" Li Wenxuan lifted the expensive Black Iron Saber, set it on the edge of the table, stroked the hilt, and gave a dry laugh. "I’m the illegitimate son of a high-ranking official. Let's just say it's complicated..."

"Ah, I get it, I get it!" Fatty Sun gestured as if to cover Li Wenxuan’s mouth before he could say more.

Li Wenxuan smiled bitterly. "Brother Sun, I still don't know..."

"Hey, don't rush, I'll explain everything clearly." Sun Guiyun waved his hand with a smile, clearly having pegged Li Wenxuan as a wealthy young man who had come to the Eastern Depot to pad his resume, only to be tricked.

"Our Eastern Depot, under the Commander, is divided into three Enforcement Chiliarchs. Under each Enforcement Chiliarch, there are six centurions—two responsible for enforcement and four for administration."

"The administrative centurions sit in the office, dealing with paperwork and other officials."

"As for the enforcement centurions..." Sun Guiyun looked at Li Wenxuan, letting out a wheezing laugh. "They are responsible for leading teams to apprehend criminals, investigate crime scenes, and everything from suppressing bandits to going undercover..."

"So, the mortality rate for enforcement centurions is exceptionally high. In the words of our boss, Lou, the turnover rate is quite frequent."

Li Wenxuan understood now: the administrative centurion was a desk job—comfortable and easy.

The enforcement centurion, however... was a death-defying slog!

"And may I ask, how fast is this 'turnover'?"

"Let's put it this way: the previous enforcement centurion under Boss Lou started ten days ago and was carried out in a coffin three days ago..."

"Eh? Where are you going, Brother Li?"

"I... I would like to ask the Commander for a more comfortable position..."

He suddenly understood why the Dean of the Academy had hinted for him to accept the silver badge when they met. That old man knew all along that he would be duped into coming to the Eastern Depot to do this kind of life-risking work!

Dean, you are a good man!

Unfortunately, I really need an official position.

"Hey, Brother Li, at worst, go back and apologize to your family, pull some strings, and get a transfer. It’s no big deal; you don't have to suffer here with us grunts..."

"If that were possible, I wouldn't be here," Li Wenxuan coughed drily. Go back and beg for help? That would be worse than choosing to live through death.

"Then... let me continue with the introduction!" Fatty Sun gave a dry laugh, his chubby face revealing an odd sense of humor.

"As an enforcement centurion, you sit at the office during the day. When cases are reported from outside or orders come from above, you have to mobilize and head out."

"Of course, you should know that this is just the surface-level work of an enforcement centurion."

Li Wenxuan smiled bitterly in response. Damn it, this was a massive trap, wasn't it?

"As a centurion, you are nominally allowed to have up to one hundred agents under your command. But if a case is particularly thorny, you can exceed that number, provided you report it to the Chiliarch."

"Furthermore, when we are out on duty and encounter emergencies, we can directly conscript street patrollers, yamen runners, civilians, or even local garrisons to work for us. But the same rule applies: you cannot exceed one hundred without reporting it upward."

"And if there's no time to report it?"

Li Wenxuan realized this was a job full of challenges.

Fatty Sun pulled a tobacco pouch from his waist and looked at Li Wenxuan with a grin. "Brother Li really knows the ropes... want a smoke?"

"I don't smoke," Li Wenxuan shook his head.

Fatty Sun struck a fire-starter, lit his pipe, and puffed away for a moment before squinting. "If a situation truly arises where you have to forcibly conscript people without time to report, it’s usually a life-or-death job. How you are dealt with afterward depends entirely on how big of a mess you made."

"So, that means there is a lot of room for interpretation regarding the penalties?" Li Wenxuan grasped the key point in Fatty Sun’s words.

"Heh! You little rascal... exactly!"

Fatty Sun tapped his pipe, realizing he was dealing with a clever man. He turned to the agent serving tea. "Go, call everyone over. It's time they met our new enforcement centurion. From now on, when you go out, keep your eyes peeled. Damn it, I've been so broke from paying for funeral contributions over the past six months!"

The agent nodded cautiously and hurried off to call the others.

Listening to this, Li Wenxuan could only manage a bitter smile. If Fatty Sun was broke from paying funeral contributions, just how many enforcement centurions had died?

In the blink of an eye, the entire courtyard was filled with people.

"Greetings, Master Enforcement Centurion!"

The loud, resounding voice echoed through the air, quite impressive. Li Wenxuan took a rough look; there were about two hundred, maybe not quite three hundred.

Feeling slightly strange, he looked back at Fatty Sun.

Fatty Sun waved his hand. "Burn the face of Centurion Li into your memories! It’s no big deal if you forget your own parents, but if any of you dare forget what Centurion Li looks like, watch your hides! Dismissed!"

"Yes!"

The two hundred men shouted in unison, then dispersed like birds and beasts, returning to their duties.

"You’ve got a sharp eye, brother. You noticed there were fewer than three hundred, didn't you?"

"I did," Li Wenxuan nodded. This was just embezzlement of military pay, plain and simple!

"Heh, keep it to yourself," Fatty Sun rubbed his fingers together. "That’s how we get our usual benefits."

"Then... what do we do if we run out of men in the field?"

Li Wenxuan was truly impressed. They were embezzling pay so blatantly! But fortunately, since he was one of the people benefiting from it, he suddenly felt it wasn't such an unacceptable problem after all.

"Old Li, don't you find it strange? Our boss, Lou, is a Chiliarch, so why are there only six centurions under her?"

"Oh? Is there a story behind that?" Li Wenxuan asked. Since he was on this wild path, he might as well get the full picture.

"The story is that, under normal circumstances, a Chiliarch should have ten centurions, but we only have six."

Fatty Sun said with a grin, "Normally, a centurion should have one hundred subordinates, but even counting everyone in our yard, we can't scrape together three hundred agents."

"Hmm... Old Sun, then besides our salary, how much money do we actually get in our pockets each month?"

Li Wenxuan felt this was the real key to the issue.

Just how much money were they embezzling in total?

"Also, if we do this, won't the people above..."

Li Wenxuan made a throat-slitting gesture.