"I'll take this bounty!"
The moment those seven words left his mouth, every martial artist still in the courtyard who had not yet had time to leave turned to look at Su Chen.
Their eyes held scrutiny, curiosity, and even mockery.
They seemed unable to understand why someone would still boldly claim this bounty after hearing Tian Boguang's name.
Did he truly have the skills, or did he simply not know how the word "death" was written?
Everyone instinctively placed Su Chen in the second category.
After all, an expert capable of dealing with Tian Boguang would most likely disdain ten thousand taels of silver.
Master Zhao, however, seemed to have grasped a lifeline. He immediately sprang up from his chair and hurried over to Su Chen.
"Young Hero, my daughter's chastity depends entirely on you."
Su Chen nodded. "As long as the money is in place, everything can be discussed."
Master Zhao nodded repeatedly. "Please rest assured, Young Hero. So long as you can protect my daughter's chastity, those ten thousand taels of silver will be yours."
As he spoke, he cast a few sidelong glances at the other martial artists in the courtyard and muttered resentfully, "These people boast every day about how formidable they are, but now that they've heard a single name, they're scared out of their wits. Young Hero, you truly are promising despite your youth."
Though he spoke quietly, everyone else in the courtyard possessed martial arts and had sharp hearing.
Thus, they heard every word Master Zhao said perfectly clearly.
At once, the dozen or so martial artists still present felt their faces burn, unable to save face.
If everyone had chosen to run away, no one would have been embarrassed.
But this brat just had to show off.
By comparison, did that not make them seem cowardly?
When traveling the martial world, regardless of one's martial arts level, one of the things people valued most was face.
Now that they felt Su Chen had caused them to lose face, the looks they gave him carried a trace of resentment.
The bare-chested man from earlier directly began mocking him.
"Master Zhao, I advise you to carefully consider my proposal."
"If you casually hire some nobody, and he fails to deal with Tian Boguang but instead enrages him, your entire family may end up buried alongside him."
The moment the bare-chested man said this, the others seemed to find an outlet for their frustration and began mocking him as well.
"Exactly. Some fledgling brat doesn't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth, nor does he understand the dangers of the martial world. It doesn't matter if he throws away his own life, but if he drags someone else's whole family down with him, he'll be cursed for all eternity."
"If you ask me, the most important thing when traveling the martial world is knowing your own limits—knowing who you can provoke and who you cannot provoke..."
Hearing the uniform mockery around him, Master Zhao began to waver as well.
He secretly glanced at Su Chen and muttered inwardly.
"This young man looks thin and weak. Even the stronger servants in my household look like they can fight better than him. Does he really have the ability to deal with that flower-picking thief?"
"If things turn out as they say, and this Young Hero cannot deal with Tian Boguang but instead enrages him, causing my whole family to be buried with him, that would be terrible."
The more Master Zhao thought about it, the more frightened he became. He could not help wanting to abandon the idea of hiring Su Chen to deal with Tian Boguang.
Su Chen naturally noticed Master Zhao's hesitation, and a flash of cold light passed through his eyes.
Ever since transmigrating three years ago, he had followed only one principle: money came first.
As long as there was silver, they were gods.
But if anyone dared prevent him from earning silver, then sorry—those who caused trouble had only one ending: going down to meet the King of Hell.
These jumping clowns dared bark wildly here. They were simply courting death.
Killing intent rose in Su Chen's heart. His right hand pressed against his sword hilt, his aura stirring slightly as he prepared to draw his blade.
But at that moment, a lazy voice came from the courtyard gate.
"What's going on, Old Zhao? You've gathered such a large group of martial-world killers in your home. Are you planning a rebellion?"
Upon hearing that voice, Master Zhao and the others instinctively looked toward the courtyard gate.
With just one glance, their expressions changed, and their attitudes became exceedingly respectful.
That was because the several men standing at the gate all wore flying fish uniforms and Chunxiu sabres at their waists.
They were Imperial Guards.
Within the Great Ming court, the Factory Guards and Imperial Guardsmen were as infamous as living Kings of Hell.
The men who had arrived were precisely the Imperial Guards stationed in Hengnan County.
In an instant, the dozen or so martial artists who had just been mocking Su Chen all fell silent, not daring to say another word for fear of drawing the attention of these living Kings of Hell.
"Captain Xing, you mustn't say that. How could I possibly dare rebel? That is a crime that exterminates nine generations." Master Zhao abandoned Su Chen and hurried over to Captain Xing, speaking ingratiatingly.
Captain Xing reached out and patted Master Zhao's face. "If you aren't rebelling, then explain to me why so many martial-world people have gathered in your home. Are you planning to put on an opera?"
Though his face was being patted in a somewhat humiliating manner, Master Zhao did not dare show the slightest dissatisfaction. Instead, he continued explaining, "Sir, sir, you know this. I was preparing to find someone to deal with that lecherous thief Tian Boguang..."
Hearing this, Captain Xing's expression darkened. "So you're saying I deliberately framed you?"
Master Zhao's expression shifted, and he felt his heart tremble.
He hurriedly took out a banknote from his robes and slipped it into Captain Xing's sleeve.
"Sir, please show mercy, please show mercy. Don't make things difficult for me..."
With the banknote in hand, Captain Xing finally smiled. Chuckling, he said, "Old Zhao, look at you, getting so worked up. I was only joking with you, yet you took it seriously."
Master Zhao did not dare show any dissatisfaction. Carefully wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he said, "Haha, as long as you're happy, sir. As long as you're happy..."
Captain Xing nodded. Having extorted silver, he naturally would not continue making things difficult for Master Zhao.
He barked at the martial artists in the courtyard, who were all quiet as quails, "Behave yourselves on my turf. If I find out any of you are committing crimes, then hmph..."
After flaunting his authority, Captain Xing prepared to leave with his men.
Before leaving, he caught a glimpse of Su Chen's back.
"This man looks familiar..."
Captain Xing could not help stopping and carefully studying Su Chen.
After looking for a few moments, excitement suddenly appeared on his face. He quickly stepped forward and came before Su Chen.
He called out warmly, "Su, it really is you. I thought I was seeing things."
Su Chen glanced at Captain Xing, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes.
"Su, it's me, Xing Daorong. Three months ago, we hunted down Zhao Huai'an together beyond the border."
At the mention of Zhao Huai'an's name, recognition finally flashed through Su Chen's eyes.
As a reasonably capable blade-for-hire, Su Chen had naturally taken official jobs before.
His most recent job had been helping the Factory Guards hunt down the wandering knight Zhao Huai'an three months ago.
Xing Daorong seemed to have been present in that battle.
"So it was you. Long time no see." Su Chen replied with a smile.
On the other side, the martial artists who had just been mocking Su Chen had all turned pale, each of them utterly horrified.
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