The constables outside the prefectural office hurried forward when they saw him emerge.
"Lord Su, do you need us to escort you back?"
"No need."
Su Fei waved a hand, mounted his horse, and appeared to head toward the Thousand Households Office, only to stop after turning a street corner.
He swept his gaze around before it settled on the roof of an inn west of the prefectural office.
The terrain there was higher, directly facing the small courtyard of the Household Registration Office. Its tiles were old and worn, making it unlikely to draw attention.
Su Fei tapped the horse's back with the tip of his foot and soared into the air like Fleeting Light Shadow. After several rises and falls, he landed soundlessly atop the inn's roof.
His figure melded into the shadows of the rooftop. Unless someone came close enough to inspect it carefully, they would never notice a person hiding there.
Su Fei stood watch atop the roof like a stone statue.
His eyes fixed on the movements at the Household Registration Office.
The guards at the prefectural office entrance changed shifts several times.
Every day, the old clerk came to the Household Registration Office on time to unlock the doors and do some cleaning, then shut the place again at dusk. Everything seemed utterly ordinary.
On the first day, nothing unusual happened.
On the second day, there was still no sign of anything amiss.
Su Fei grew somewhat irritated.
Keeping watch was indeed exhausting, but in order to complete the system's mission, Su Fei gritted his teeth and persevered.
It was not until late on the third night, while Su Fei kept watch and counted sheep at the same time, that something happened.
Suddenly, a black shadow darted out from the mouth of the alley like a bat. Its toes lightly touched the Household Registration Office's courtyard wall, and it silently flipped inside.
The figure made no sound and moved as swiftly as a bird in flight. Its qinggong had clearly been trained to the pinnacle.
Su Fei stared intently at the black shadow.
The shadow headed straight for the main room where the Household Registration Books were stored. The old clerk had already gone off duty, and the place was empty.
It easily opened the lock and walked inside.
A moment later, a faint firelight shone from within.
About the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he returned the household registration book to its original place and walked out. Just as he was about to vault over the wall and leave—
A clear voice suddenly rang out in the courtyard.
"Your Excellency pays a midnight visit, yet leaves without even saying hello. Isn't that a little too hasty?"
Su Fei leaped down from the roof and landed steadily before the black shadow.
The black shadow abruptly turned around. Black cloth covered his face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.
As he looked at the handsome young man before him, clad in a silver-white Flying Fish Robe,
his eyes flickered with shock and suspicion.
He had encountered people lying in wait before, but they had always been near women's residences. This was the first time someone had waited for him at the Household Registration Office.
Having one's greatest secret exposed like this really felt awful.
Plum Blossom's voice was hoarse.
"You're from the Imperial Guard. Why are you here?"
Su Fei's expression remained calm.
"I came here, naturally, to capture you. You have committed a mountain of evil deeds."
"Today, I'll settle every account with you at once."
"Plum Blossom, your good days have come to an end."
The black shadow's heart trembled at his words.
The other man actually knew his name. It seemed he had come prepared.
"Imperial Guard lackey of the court, you want to capture me for merit? It won't be that easy."
"I admit you're clever enough to discover my secret, but you're too arrogant. You're alone."
As soon as the words fell—
Plum Blossom flicked his right hand, scattering several streams of yellow smoke toward Su Fei's face. A pungent, strange scent instantly filled the air.
"Poison smoke?"
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Seeing the poison smoke rush toward him, Su Fei suddenly activated the Dragon Catching Skill.
Although he possessed the Nine Yang Divine Art and feared no poison smoke, it would dirty his clothes if it touched him.
An invisible force gathered into a swirling vortex before him, drawing every wisp of yellow smoke into it.
The smoke condensed into a ball and hung motionless in the air.
With a light shake of his wrist, he flung the poison smoke skyward like a ball with his force. It instantly scattered into the night.
"What martial art is that?"
Plum Blossom's eyes were filled with astonishment.
His poison smoke had always worked without fail. He had killed quite a few Xiantian Realm martial artists with it.
Even Grandmaster Realm martial artists would suffer greatly if they came into contact with it. Yet Su Fei had dissolved it so easily, even controlling the airflow to divert it. Such a method was unheard of.
Plum Blossom silently realized that things had gone wrong. He knew he had encountered a formidable opponent.
He no longer dared to linger in battle. Tapping the stone table with his toes, he swept backward like a great bird.
"Imperial Guard, you want to capture me? Not so easily! The person who can catch me, Plum Blossom, hasn't been born yet!"
Before his words had even faded, he had already vaulted over the high wall and raced toward the alley.
Su Fei vaulted over the wall after him. Under the moonlight, his figure streaked through the streets and alleys like a flowing ray of light.
The Perfection Realm of Fleeting Light Shadow erupted, making him so fast that afterimages nearly appeared.
Plum Blossom's qinggong had entered the Major Accomplishment Realm many years ago and had even neared Perfection. He felt that this escape had gone incomparably smoothly.
That Imperial Guard must have been flung all the way beyond the nine heavens.
He slowed slightly and glanced back.
That one glance scared the soul out of him.
Su Fei was following him like a shadow.
Horror filled his heart. He desperately circulated his true essence and pushed his speed to its limit, charging through three streets in succession, yet he still could not shake Su Fei off. He cried out in alarm.
"This is impossible! I've trained my Treading Snow Without a Trace qinggong for over twenty years, and I entered the Major Accomplishment Realm seven or eight years ago. How can you be faster than me?"
He had trained qinggong for thirty years and had never encountered an opponent, yet today he was being chased into a corner by a young Imperial Guard.
In an instant, Su Fei had caught up behind him. Seizing an opportunity,
he thrust both palms forward.
He unleashed Riding the Six Dragons.
A dragon's roar rang out.
Six streams of golden dragon-shaped force wound forward like chains, sealing off every direction in which Plum Blossom could advance.
Plum Blossom stared in dumbstruck disbelief and could only turn around to face Su Fei.
Relying on his Xiantian Realm Ninth Layer cultivation, he drew the soft sword from his waist. Its cold gleam flashed as he stabbed out.
The sword tip pointed at Su Fei's chest, seeking to force him back.
Su Fei struck out with another palm.
Dragon Appears in the Field.
A stream of dragon-shaped force collided with the sword tip, sending the soft sword flying away.
Plum Blossom only felt an enormous force surge toward him. The web between his thumb and forefinger split open, the soft sword flew from his hand, and his entire body was sent flying as though struck by a heavy hammer. He crashed into a wall, slid to the ground, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He struggled to raise his head. Seeing Su Fei approach at an unhurried pace, his eyes filled with despair.
"Who exactly are you? At such a young age, your qinggong is so formidable, and your palm techniques are this overbearing. A genius like you should have long been famous throughout the realm. Why don't you have the slightest reputation?"
"Let me go. How much can an Imperial Guard earn in monthly salary? As long as you spare me, I'll give you all the wealth I've accumulated over the years."
Su Fei looked down at him from above, his tone icy.
"Plum Blossom, you can barely save yourself, yet you still want to bargain with me. How laughable. Prepare to accept judgment. I'll collect a little interest now on behalf of those innocent women who died tragic deaths."
Su Fei could not be bothered to waste more words on him. The Dragon Catching Skill activated again.
The soft sword that had been knocked away rose from the ground, then flew back in reverse and landed steadily in his palm.
"A fine sword."
Under the moonlight, the soft sword gleamed coldly. The blade flashed.
"Why are you taking out a sword? Ah!"
An incomparably shrill scream tore through the night sky. Blood gushed from Plum Blossom's lower body, and his entire body convulsed violently several times.
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