Su Family's Request for Help

Lin Xiao's move rendered the entire small courtyard utterly silent.

Xue Shan was still staring at his palm, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

Chang Le, who was watching from a distance, swallowed hard, his whole body trembling.

Too strong, just too strong.

Was this their new superior?

He must be an Innate Realm expert, right?

"Sir, what realm are you at now?"

Chang Le thought he would be the one to ask, but unexpectedly, it was Xue Shan who came back to his senses and asked the question.

"Innate Seventh Stage, Grandmaster Realm level."

"Grandmaster Realm level?"

Whoa!!!

The two could accept Innate Seventh Stage.

But the "Grandmaster Realm level" that followed truly frightened them.

"Sir, you're not joking, are you? You're only at the Innate Seventh Stage, yet you can fight a Grandmaster?"

Chang Le asked quickly.

Lin Xiao smiled faintly, "Grandmasters are nothing much. If it's just an ordinary Grandmaster without too many trump cards, this official can even kill him."

"So, are you two willing to work for this official now?"

Chang Le didn't hesitate and said quickly, "Sir, rest assured, even if you ask me to climb a mountain of knives or jump into a pot of boiling oil, I won't hesitate."

Xue Shan directly knelt on one knee.

"Sir, from now on, Xue Shan will follow your lead."

"Mm, no need for those empty words. This official only looks at performance."

"As long as you two do your best to work for this official, you will definitely get your rewards in the future."

"Wealth and glory are just ordinary things. Soaring to great heights and holding high positions are not impossible."

"Sir, this old Chang is yours for life."

A boss with Grandmaster Realm combat power, if he didn't pledge his loyalty now, when would he?

Those Grandmasters were all extremely arrogant. With their status, it would be impossible for another Grandmaster to value them in this lifetime.

"Alright, Chang Le, tell me about the current situation in Ding Province."

"Tell me everything you know, so I can know where to start."

Chang Le quickly began to tell Lin Xiao about it.

"Sir, to be honest, the situation in Ding Province is very complicated right now."

"Let's start with our Pacification Office."

"The Pacification Envoy seems to be the highest authority, but in reality, the four Thousand-Household Commanders under him all have backgrounds."

"They are all waiting for the Pacification Envoy to leave so they can take over the position."

"It is said that the four Thousand-Household Commanders are all involved with the four great families of Ding Province."

"Moreover, the imperial court's power in Ding Province is not very strong. Its prestige among the people may not even be as high as One Sect, Four Gates."

"Many industries are controlled by One Sect, Four Gates, such as some mines or docks."

"Every year, One Sect, Four Gates just casually hands over some taxes to the imperial court as a formality."

"The taxes of Ding Province are exploited by One Sect, Four Gates, then exploited a bit more by those officials, and finally, the people below drink some soup, and the rest is sent to Kyoto."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao knew that the corruption in Ding Province had rotted to the core.

"Then what is the Ding Province Martial Meet?"

Lin Xiao then asked.

Hearing about the Ding Province Martial Meet, Chang Le began to get excited.

"Sir, speaking of this Ding Province Martial Meet, it is definitely the biggest event in Ding Province in the last ten years."

"The Ding Province Martial Meet, to put it bluntly, is a competition for the distribution of benefits among the major forces in the Ding Province martial world."

"The higher the ranking of the force, the greater the benefits allocated. It is also a way for the major forces to show off their strength."

"Every ten years, Ding Province will redistribute the benefits once."

"In the past, the top experts from the major martial arts forces would sit together and discuss it, but this year, the major forces have decided to use the geniuses of their sects to compete for victory."

"Then doesn't the imperial court participate?"

Lin Xiao asked in confusion.

Speaking of this, Chang Le sighed.

"Of course, the imperial court is qualified to participate, but the imperial court in Ding Province has been infiltrated by various forces. Even if they participate and get a ranking, the benefits are secretly divided up by those forces."

"In the past, there were experts sent by the imperial court, but either accidents happened, or they were squeezed out and left. Over time, the prestige of the imperial court in Ding Province has become weaker and weaker."

"Besides, the resources here in Ding Province are too scarce, and the imperial court doesn't pay much attention to it at all, so they are too lazy to care."

"I see."

Lin Xiao nodded, finally understanding why the imperial court didn't send a Great Grandmaster Realm expert to Ding Province to oversee things. It turned out that the gains didn't outweigh the losses.

A Great Grandmaster Realm expert has many things to do, and they are stationed in those resource-rich provinces.

"Has there been any activity from Northern Qi recently?"

Chang Le's expression faltered, surprised by Lin Xiao's sudden question.

"I haven't heard anything about that. Does sir think Northern Qi is going to make a move?"

Lin Xiao nodded and said, "I suspect it's possible, because His Majesty suddenly sent me to Ding Province, perhaps he sensed something."

"But before I came, His Majesty didn't show anything, so I can only speculate now."

"Alright, no matter what His Majesty means, whether Northern Qi is making a move, or he wants to take action against Ding Province, I need to follow my own plan first."

"You know about that Flower Plucking Bandit, right?"

"Sir, you want to catch that Flower Plucking Bandit?"

Chang Le asked with a solemn expression.

"That's right. This Flower Plucking Bandit has committed hundreds of crimes in Ding Province, and hundreds of innocent girls have been defiled. If I can capture him, it will definitely be a great achievement."

"How much do you know about this Flower Plucking Bandit?"

Lin Xiao asked, looking at Chang Le.

Chang Le thought for a moment, "Sir, to this day, no one has ever truly seen his face. It is said that this Flower Plucking Bandit has extremely high-level lightness skill. He always wears makeup when committing crimes. The girls who have been defiled by him only know that this person has lecherous eyes, a shrill voice, and a slender figure. The rest cannot be specifically described."

"The yamen and the Jinyiwei have also joined forces to encircle and suppress him, but that Flower Plucking Bandit's lightness skill is too high. Even with an inescapable net, he can easily escape. He is truly a troublesome character."

"Many Jinyiwei who took on the task of arresting the Flower Plucking Bandit ended up being disgraced and becoming the laughingstock of the people."

"If sir wants to catch this Flower Plucking Bandit, I hope you will be cautious, and don't let the people at the Pacification Office laugh at you if the mission fails in the end."

Lin Xiao smiled faintly, "Since I want to establish prestige, this Flower Plucking Bandit is naturally the most suitable candidate. I can only say he's unlucky. I'll use him as my first target."

Lin Xiao's capture of the Flower Plucking Bandit is imperative, because it is also related to the system's mission.

Once the mission is completed, relying on the max-level Heaven and Earth Intertwining Yin Yang Great Compassion Art will be enough to help him break through to the Grandmaster Realm.

Moreover, each of the seven martial arts within the Heaven and Earth Intertwining Yin Yang Great Compassion Art is very powerful.

They can give him more methods to deal with enemies in battle.

"Now, Chang Le, go and inquire to see if you can gather information on who the Flower Plucking Bandit's next target is. Report back to me as soon as you get any news."

"Yes, sir."

Although Chang Le is an old fox, he is very eager for wealth and glory. Now that he is following Lin Xiao, he sees hope, and he is full of energy.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before Chang Le sent back news that the Flower Plucking Bandit was actually going to attack the Su Family's young lady.

"The Su Family's young lady?"

Lin Xiao recalled the Su Family's merchant ship he encountered on Lingyun Lake during the day, and that peerless beauty.

"Sir, the Su Family just sent a message to the Pacification Office, saying that they want to ask the Jinyiwei of the Pacification Office to protect their daughter. If they can protect their daughter from being defiled by the Flower Plucking Bandit, they are willing to give ten thousand taels of gold."

"Good, it's really heaven helping me. Now follow me back to the Pacification Office to receive the mission."