Su Chen carried the still-dripping head and headless corpse, followed by Xing Baihu and more than a dozen Imperial Guardsmen, as they headed for the Zhao Residence in the eastern part of the city.
Fortunately, it was already late at night, and there were no pedestrians on the streets. Otherwise, Su Chen and the others would surely have terrified innocent passersby in such a state.
Before long, the group returned to the gates of the Zhao Residence.
Two servants were still standing guard outside the gate, one of them being the same servant who had led Su Chen inside earlier.
When they saw Su Chen and the others return, the sleepy servants immediately snapped awake.
"Hero, you're back." The servant had only just spoken when he saw the head and corpse in Su Chen's hands. He was so frightened that he did not dare say another word.
"Cut the nonsense. Go get Old Zhao and tell him that brother Su has already killed that lecherous thief Tian Boguang," Xing Baihu urged from the side.
"Yes, yes." Feeling as though he had been granted a pardon, the servant immediately turned and ran toward the inner courtyard.
Before long, Master Zhao came out together with the servant.
The moment he stepped through the gates, Master Zhao saw the head in Su Chen's hand.
Blood still dripped from it, and it retained the savage expression it had worn before being severed.
Master Zhao jumped in fright and instinctively staggered back several steps.
But he quickly steadied himself and cautiously stepped forward. "Young Hero Su, is this that lecherous thief Tian Boguang?"
"It is," Su Chen replied.
Xing Baihu, standing nearby, looked somewhat impatient. "Old Zhao, I saw brother Su kill Tian Boguang with my own eyes. How could it be fake? Do you think brother Su would lie to you?"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Master Zhao waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he would not dare.
Then a smile spread across his face. "Good, good, good! Young Hero Su has killed that lecherous thief. My daughter's purity can finally be preserved."
Before this, although Xing Baihu had vouched for him and Master Zhao believed Su Chen to be an extraordinary expert, the words of those wandering martial artists had still affected him.
During the time Su Chen had gone to the brothel to hunt down Tian Boguang, Master Zhao had been on edge the entire time, terrified that Su Chen might suffer some mishap and fail to kill Tian Boguang.
If things had truly reached that point, his entire family would have been in danger.
Now that he had seen Tian Boguang's head with his own eyes, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Master Zhao then raised a hand in invitation. "Young Hero Su, Xing Baihu, I have prepared a banquet at my home. Please come inside with me and allow me to properly entertain you both."
Whether it was Su Chen, whose martial arts were formidable, or Xing Baihu, who held the power of life and death, both were important figures Master Zhao needed to curry favor with. As a merchant accustomed to calculation, he naturally wanted to use this opportunity to befriend them.
During the banquet, I can have my daughter come out and thank Young Hero Su in person. If Young Hero Su takes a liking to her and they become a match, wouldn't my Zhao family be able to swagger through Hengnan County from then on? Even the county magistrate would have to treat me with respect...
As Master Zhao fantasized about such pleasant prospects, the smile on his face grew increasingly warm.
However, Su Chen's thoughts were entirely occupied by the ten-thousand-tael reward. Naturally, he had no interest in attending a banquet.
He waved his hand. "Forget the banquet. Just give me the ten thousand taels of silver."
"This..." Master Zhao's plans had fallen through, but he still wanted to struggle a little.
"Do as you're told. Why are you talking so much nonsense?" Xing Baihu snapped.
"Yes, yes, I was presumptuous." Master Zhao forced a smile, then ordered his people to enter the residence and bring out all ten thousand taels of silver.
Su Chen examined it for a while and confirmed that not even a penny was missing. He then said to Master Zhao, "The money and goods are settled. If you need anything in the future, you can still come find me."
With that, he turned to Xing Baihu beside him. "Old Xing, arrange for someone to move the silver to your Hundred-Household Office first. I'll stay at your place tonight."
If he did not stay at the Hundred-Household Office, he would have to find a room himself.
With a chance to stay for free, why bother spending his own money?
"No problem, brother Su." Xing Baihu beamed. "Quick, quick, quick! Hurry and help brother Su move the silver back."
After giving the order, he raised a hand in invitation. "brother Su, this way. I'll lead you."
Afterward, Su Chen and his group headed once more toward the Imperial Guards' Hundred-Household Office in Hengnan County.
Master Zhao stood at the gate, watching Su Chen and the others depart. He could not help but sigh. "Alas, in the end, I still couldn't latch onto that high branch."
Inside the room Xing Baihu had arranged for Su Chen at the Hundred-Household Office.
Ten large chests sat in the center of the room, all of them already open. The small room was filled with silver light.
Looking at the ten chests brimming with silver, Su Chen's grin was harder to suppress than an AK.
"I earned ten thousand taels of silver in one night. This deal was worth it. Good thing I came to Hengnan County first tonight, or I would have missed out on these ten thousand taels of silver." Su Chen muttered to himself, immensely pleased with his choice.
System, top up ten thousand taels of silver.
The next second, all the silver before him vanished.
Immediately afterward, the system's voice rang out in his mind.
Ding. Host has topped up ten thousand taels and obtained Martial Arts Points: 1,000. Current total Martial Arts Points: 1,000.
Looking at the dazzling thousand Martial Arts Points on the system panel, Su Chen felt extremely satisfied.
However, this time, he was in no hurry to use the Martial Arts Points to improve his cultivation.
Instead, he turned to look at the headless corpse by the door.
The traditional craft of killing people and looting their corpses naturally could not be neglected.
A wandering martial artist like Tian Boguang differed from someone like Yu Canghai, who came from a major sect.
The latter had a sect and a school. Martial arts manuals would naturally not be carried around, but stored within the sect.
The former, however, was all alone. Whatever valuable things he possessed were safest kept on his person.
Sure enough, after rummaging through the corpse, Su Chen eventually found an oilcloth bundle about a foot long.
Su Chen untied the oilcloth bundle, revealing three small booklets that had already yellowed somewhat.
The first booklet had four large characters written across its cover—Gale Saber Technique.
"Gale Saber Technique, also called the Thirteen Forms of Flying Sand and Rolling Stones. Tian Boguang's signature skill. Its defining trait is speed, but it isn't any particularly profound saber technique. I already have the Unique Saber Technique, so there's no need for me to cultivate another saber art. I'll keep it for now and consider whether to cultivate it later if the chance arises."
After muttering a few words, Su Chen put away the Gale Saber Technique and turned his attention to the second manual.
"Three Stacks of Clouds." Su Chen looked at the three words on the cover. "Tian Boguang's lightness skill. Another useless one."
Su Chen already possessed Tread Snow Without Trace at Grand Completion, so naturally, he had no regard for the lightness skill Three Stacks of Clouds.
He likewise tucked the manual into his robes before turning to the last one.
The final manual was only half a volume, and there was no title written on its cover.
"Interesting. I like opening blind boxes the most." Su Chen thought to himself, then opened the nameless manual.
After hastily scanning it a few times, his expression became strange.
"Th-this is actually an Imperial Book?"
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