After the New Year, the release of a Wanted Poster in Sheng Tian shocked the entire imperial capital!
Wanted Poster: Whoever brought back the head of the Star-Picking Divine Thief would be rewarded one hundred thousand taels of silver; whoever captured him alive would be rewarded three hundred thousand taels of silver! Anyone providing effective clues could collect one hundred taels of silver from Prince Yu's Mansion!
This Wanted Poster also specifically noted that anyone could accept this bounty mission. Even criminals wanted for capital offenses could receive the reward from the Prince's Estate without being troubled by them.
Madness! Utter madness!
This was the first reaction of everyone in the imperial capital upon seeing this Wanted Poster. Quite a few even suspected it was a forgery.
Yet the Wanted Posters continued to be put up and spread, sent out across the entire territory of the Feng Kingdom.
Li Qing, who had been preparing to head into the mountains to hunt tigers, was also somewhat stunned when he saw this Wanted Poster.
"What exactly did this Star-Picking Divine Thief do to anger Prince Yu to such a degree?"
When Li Qing had first arrived in Sheng Tian, he only knew that the Star-Picking Divine Thief had stolen a several-hundred-year-old wild ginseng specifically requested by Prince Yu's Mansion.
But at the time, Prince Yu's Mansion had not shown much of a reaction. It had merely tacitly allowed Quanshan Herbal Shop to pursue him while providing a little assistance in secret.
Who would have thought that before even a few months had passed, Prince Yu's Mansion would put up several hundred thousand taels of silver to reward the capture of the Star-Picking Divine Thief? It seemed they intended to deal with this mysterious thief at any cost.
In an instant, all of Sheng Tian boiled over because of it.
Wealth moved the heart, especially riches of such an exaggerated amount, enough to make one's heart pound in shock. They would absolutely drive people mad.
Many people guessed that perhaps even the Star-Picking Divine Thief himself might entertain the thought of turning himself in to claim the reward.
The spring chill still cut to the bone, but it could not freeze the blazing hearts of men.
As soon as the colossal Wanted Poster was released, who knew how many people in Sheng Tian sprang into action, as though they meant to turn the imperial capital upside down.
These past few days, even Li Qing's smithy had received several rounds of inspection, with people coming in one after another to ask all sorts of questions.
From these signs alone, one could see just how resolute Prince Yu's Mansion was.
A few more days passed in an instant. Before the fervor for finding the Star-Picking Divine Thief in the imperial capital had faded much, Prince Yu's Mansion stirred up another commotion.
At Sheng Tian's execution ground, a landscape painter of considerable renown in the imperial capital was marched onto the execution platform and beheaded in public.
The elderly painter wept bitter tears, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
"This old man has been wronged! This old man has been wronged!"
Unfortunately, the executioner had heard cries of injustice more times than he could count. His heart had long since become cold and merciless.
Crack! One stroke of the blade!
The painter's head rolled to the ground, scarlet blood splattering everywhere.
Most crucially, the authorities did not disclose the crime this man had committed, keeping it secret instead.
At once, the mystery hung over the entire imperial capital like clouds and mist.
With the old painter's execution, Prince Yu's Mansion cast out another earth-shaking piece of information.
A portrait of the Star-Picking Divine Thief!
This was simply a depth charge, shaking the people of the entire imperial capital senseless.
After being wanted for so long, the Star-Picking Divine Thief finally had a real face today.
One had to know that before this, no one even knew what the fellow looked like. Even if they wished to trace the Star-Picking Divine Thief's whereabouts, it was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
"Interesting. I'd like to see what this Star-Picking Divine Thief looks like."
Even Li Qing could not help but grow a little interested. He wanted to see just what sort of figure this divine thief was, to have enraged Prince Yu's Mansion so badly.
At the end of Chiming Street, quite a few local residents had gathered here. They were all curious onlookers interested in the newly posted portrait Wanted Poster.
This portrait had clearly come from the hand of a master. Its strokes were hard and realistic, rendering its subject vividly lifelike.
On the Wanted Poster was a very handsome man, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, a wild smile often hanging at the corners of his lips.
The instant Li Qing saw the painting, his eyes narrowed slightly.
He looked familiar!
Very quickly, someone cried out in alarm.
"I've seen him! I've seen him!"
With a crash, the crowd spread apart, revealing an excited man. From his appearance, one could tell he was someone who roamed the martial world for a living.
"I saw this man before in a tavern on the next street over!"
That was right, it was him.
Li Qing also confirmed it. The man on the Wanted Poster was the very man who had often drunk in the tavern some time ago. He never used a wine cup and liked to drink straight from the jug.
Moreover, Li Qing had seen this man in the tavern more than once. What was certain was that he was a man who loved wine as dearly as life itself.
"Hahaha! I'm going to the Prince's Estate to collect my reward!" The man who recognized the figure on the Wanted Poster laughed loudly as he hurried toward Sheng Tian's inner city.
Everyone watched his retreating figure with envy. Just for the clue that he had seen the Star-Picking Divine Thief, he could probably collect fifty taels of silver.
Although Li Qing had also seen the Star-Picking Divine Thief, he believed that less trouble was better than more, so he did not intend to compete for this bit of silver.
He did not lack this little money, and the Star-Picking Divine Thief had been wanted for so long, yet the Prince's Estate had never said what level his martial arts realm had reached.
What if he was an Internal Energy expert, and one skilled in Lightness Skill at that? That would be troublesome.
With no desire to get involved in the Wanted Poster for the Star-Picking Divine Thief, before warm spring arrived, Li Qing remained in his smithy and began forging himself a new suit of armor.
"The armor should preferably have steel spikes. After all, it will be used against fierce tigers in the mountains."
"Besides that, I should also bring a sharp weapon. The Peerless Hammer is too cumbersome for hunting tigers; it may not be effective."
That was right, Li Qing had already begun preparing to hunt tigers.
His martial arts progress had slowed these past few days, and he truly could not see any sign of breaking into the Internal Energy level.
Left with no choice, he could only set his sights on the tigers at Little Cui Ridge.
Although his lifespan was long, fully enough to endure waiting slowly and tempering himself bit by bit.
With the passage of time, he would certainly be able to enter the Internal Energy level.
But recently, Sheng Tian had become increasingly chaotic due to the uproar surrounding the Star-Picking Divine Thief. Martial world experts from all over had gathered here, seeking to earn that colossal reward.
Outer Strength experts, who had originally been difficult to spot outside the major martial academies, had appeared more than once in the tavern alone over the past few days, as far as Li Qing had noticed.
"Take tiger bones and brew medicinal wine. When summer comes, I'll brew the Five Poisons Wine as well."
"Mm! The martial path holds promise!"
Just as Li Qing muttered to himself in satisfaction, an unexpected visitor arrived outside the smithy.
"Li Qing, are you the blacksmith here?"
Several constables dressed in identical uniforms, regulation longsabers hanging from their waists, walked in.
At the sight of them, his heart tightened slightly. Instinctively, he drew in his blood and qi, unwilling to reveal his martial cultivation.
"That's me. Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Li Qing asked with an ingratiating smile.
"No need to be nervous. We're only here to ask you a few questions." The constable spoke with a cold expression.