Lord Chu

Subsequently, the old precinct chief signaled Xia Qi'an to wait patiently. "You wait here quietly. I've already sent a runner to inform Lord Chu!"

After saying this, the old precinct chief no longer paid attention to Xia Qi'an and instead became fully absorbed in his busy work.

Time ticked by, and after several hours, the same runner who had been sent earlier hurried in to report, stating that Lord Chu would arrive shortly.

Not long after, a middle-aged man in Wei Dao Si official attire, with a dignified appearance, gentle demeanor, and extraordinary presence, strode into the hall with steady steps.

This person was undoubtedly Lord Chu!

Upon seeing Lord Chu arrive, the old precinct chief immediately stood up and stepped forward, greeting him respectfully.

Following that, he waved his hand, signaling the runners to withdraw from the hall with him.

At this moment, only Lord Chu and Xia Qi'an remained in the spacious and empty hall.

"Is Su Mu's letter in your possession?"

Chu Shiqing first carefully observed the young man before him, Xia Qi'an. Based on this brief inspection, he had already roughly deduced the other party's background and origin.

"Reporting to you, sir! It is absolutely true!"

Xia Qi'an respectfully presented the three tokens to Chu Shiqing.

Chu Shiqing didn't even glance at the letters and said in a deep voice, "Tell me how Su Mu died!"

"As you command!"

Immediately after, Xia Qi'an recounted the entire story of his encounter with Su Mu, from beginning to end.

After listening, Chu Shiqing was silent for a moment before saying, "It's common for Wei Dao Si personnel to die on duty, but it's a meritorious deed that you delivered the intelligence. Speak, what reward do you desire?"

"You have two choices: First, two hundred taels of silver;

Second, a martial arts manual, the one you found on Su Mu."

As for the martial arts manual, he had voluntarily confessed it to Chu Shiqing.

After all, he was unsure if Chu Shiqing was aware of its existence.

If he deliberately concealed it, it would inevitably leave a bad impression and cause him to miss the opportunity to join the Wei Dao Si.

He didn't want to take that risk, especially since the contents of the manual were already deeply ingrained in his mind.

Even if he handed over the manual, it would have no impact on him.

"My lord! I don't want any of these things. I only wish for an opportunity to join the Wei Dao Si. I hope you will grant me this!"

Seeing the rewards Chu Shiqing offered, Xia Qi'an knew this was the perfect moment to make his request.

"Join the Wei Dao Si?"

"You dared to impersonate a Wei Dao Si member at the city gate earlier, and I haven't even held you accountable yet. You still dare to make demands?"

Chu Shiqing chuckled softly, seemingly not intending to blame Xia Qi'an.

"The Wei Dao Si only accepts martial artists with extraordinary talent! You're not even a martial artist, so why do you want to join?"

Xia Qi'an appeared somewhat troubled, and after a moment of thought, he asked, "This... My lord, if I become a martial artist, will I be qualified to join the Wei Dao Si?"

"This... It depends on your talent for martial arts cultivation..."

"However... I don't have time to chat with you here. How about this! Take the manual from Su Mu's body and cultivate it at home. If you achieve some initial success and become a martial artist within half a month, I will let you become a reserve member of the Wei Dao Si. How about it?"

Seeing Chu Shiqing agree, Xia Qi'an excitedly said, "Thank you, my lord! I shall take my leave!"

With that, Xia Qi'an eagerly prepared to leave, unable to contain his excitement, wanting only to find a place to immediately begin practicing martial arts.

However, just as he stepped across the threshold, he heard Chu Shiqing's light voice from behind, "Have you read the contents of this letter?"

Xia Qi'an didn't pay much attention at first and casually replied, "No! My lord can tell by looking if the envelope has been opened!"

"Hmm...!"

However, later, Xia Qi'an suddenly came to his senses and felt a sense of dread, even breaking out in a cold sweat.

He secretly rejoiced that due to extreme hunger in the past few days, he had completely overlooked the possibility that the letter might contain important information.

If he had actually opened the letter at that time, he probably wouldn't have been able to leave the Wei Dao Si today.

But now, regardless of the letter's contents, it no longer mattered to him.

The urgent priority was to find a suitable place to practice martial arts as soon as possible, dedicate himself to improving his strength, and hopefully succeed in joining the Wei Dao Si.

He deeply understood Chu Shiqing's requirement, and achieving it would not be simple.

However, this was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change his destiny, and he truly did not want to miss it.

Xia Qi'an knew he possessed a pair of unparalleled eyes.

If they said he had no talent, how could that be possible?

It was just that he came from a poor background and had never had the opportunity to practice martial arts before.

When he was young in the village, he was often mocked and discriminated against by the villagers because of these eyes, and was jokingly called "Wei Wei Red-Eyes."

But now, Xia Qi'an gradually understood that these eyes were not a curse, but an innate extraordinary talent.

Unknown to others, Xia Qi'an had been able to see wandering spirits and mountain spirits since childhood.

He could clearly see things like the spiritual energy drifting between heaven and earth, and the Turbid Qi generated in the mortal world.

However, as Xia Qi'an gradually grew, he could already control this talent with ease, only activating it proactively when encountering danger.

Normally, Xia Qi'an's eyes were no different from those of ordinary people.

Xia Qi'an had been abandoned since birth and grew up in hardship in a small village in Lishan County.

He was born with red eyes, and at first, the villagers did not favor him. Fortunately, an old blacksmith surnamed Xia, seeing that he was a boy, took pity on him and was willing to adopt him, allowing Xia Qi'an to grow up safely.

However, that surging great flood struck like a fierce beast, submerging the entire village. The old blacksmith unfortunately contracted the plague and passed away after the floodwaters receded.

Xia Qi'an had no choice but to take Xiao Cao, another young girl who survived in the village, and join the ranks of refugees.

Xia Qi'an, in tattered clothes, led the pitiful Xiao Cao, wandering aimlessly through the streets of Jinling.

He was eager to find the location of a bank, as the fifty tael silver note in his hand needed to be exchanged for cash at a bank before it could be used.

But these two dirty little beggars were like rats crossing the street, with everyone avoiding them, and no one willing to pay them any attention.

Xia Qi'an wandered around for a long time but could not find out where the bank was.

It wasn't until he met a constable wearing official attire and a long saber at his waist that he learned the direction of the bank.

After entering the bank, Xia Qi'an had to use all his persuasive skills to convince the shopkeeper that he was not a beggar.

To this end, he spun a lie, claiming that his family did business in Lishan County, but because Lishan County had suffered a flood and he was separated from his family, he had ended up in Jinling City.

Stepping out of the bank with fifty taels of heavy silver ingots, Xia Qi'an couldn't help but sigh, realizing that the rules of big cities were indeed as rigid as iron walls.

Even exchanging a silver note for silver involved so many complex rules; it was truly not easy for ordinary people to survive here.

With money, the first priority was naturally to fill their stomachs.

Xia Qi'an immediately took Xiao Cao to a steamed bun shop and bought ten buns.

The two of them ate heartily on the street, enjoying this hard-won sense of satisfaction.

Afterward, he eagerly asked the boss where he could rent a cheap house.

With money in hand, things got done quickly.

In less than two hours, Xia Qi'an had signed a rental contract with the real estate agent.

This house was old and had been vacant for a long time, looking a bit dilapidated.

However, it was fortunate that the house was located in a quiet area and had a separate courtyard, which was convenient for Xia Qi'an's martial arts cultivation.

Late at night...

Xiao Cao, having helped Xia Qi'an tidy up the house in the afternoon, was already fast asleep from exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Xia Qi'an began preparing to cultivate the Golden Body Technique!