The pain made his vision go black. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
Su Fei looked at the unconscious Plum Blossom before him without the slightest shred of pity in his eyes.
For this kind of scum, crippling the root of his evil deeds was far more satisfying than killing him.
If he killed him outright, he would only be letting him off too easily.
He crouched down and began searching Plum Blossom's body.
Before long, he pulled a stack of Silver Notes from his robes. After counting them, he found there were more than thirty thousand taels.
There was also a thread-bound ancient book. The cover bore four small words: "Treading Snow Without a Trace." It was precisely the movement technique manual that Plum Blossom had relied upon to make his name.
Su Fei examined the Silver Notes, picked up the manual, and casually tucked it into his robes.
The soft sword had been struck by his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms without breaking, so its quality was fairly good. He took it as well.
Who told Plum Blossom to carry his entire fortune on him? Now it had all become Su Fei's spoils of war.
When the Imperial Guard handled cases, the spoils belonged to them. It counted as a benefit.
After finishing his looting.
Su Fei took out a specially made Imperial Guard signal arrow.
He fired it into the sky.
A dazzling pattern formed high in the air.
This was the Imperial Guard's summoning signal.
Not long afterward, a squad of Imperial Guards hurried over. By sheer coincidence, it was Wang Meng leading several Imperial Guard Strongmen.
"Lord Su."
When Wang Meng saw Su Fei, he hurried forward. Just as he was about to make his report, his gaze landed on the blood-soaked man lying unconscious on the ground. In particular, when he saw the glaring pool of blood and that thing on the ground, he shuddered.
"Boss, what's going on here? Who's this man in black? Why's he in such a miserable state? Did you... castrate him?"
Su Fei's expression remained calm.
"Nothing much. He's just Plum Blossom, the Flower Picking Bandit. I caught him, that's all."
"Plum Blossom? You caught Plum Blossom?"
Wang Meng froze at first. Then his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open wide enough to fit a fist inside as he cried out.
"Boss, you're saying he's that Flower Picking Bandit Plum Blossom—the one who's been on the run for five or six years, committed dozens of crimes, and couldn't be caught even by Grandmasters?"
He simply could not believe his ears. Looking at the man's miserable state on the ground, then at Su Fei's breezy, unruffled appearance, he felt his head buzzing.
This was Plum Blossom!
A great bandit who had left countless government offices and martial artists helpless, yet he had been caught by his own boss just like that—and reduced to this state besides.
Wang Meng rubbed his eyes hard, confirming that he had neither seen nor heard wrong. The shock on his face was practically overflowing, and for a long while, he could not form a complete sentence.
Su Fei glanced at him.
"What? Do you think I'm lying, or do you think he doesn't look like Plum Blossom?"
Wang Meng hurriedly nodded, swallowing hard. Even his voice trembled slightly.
"I just find it a little hard to believe, Boss. Your efficiency is way too high."
"You haven't gone to the Thousand Households Office during the day these past few days. I thought you'd gone off alone to listen to music somewhere without taking me."
"I never expected you'd been busy catching Plum Blossom all this time."
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have doubted you."
The way Wang Meng looked at Su Fei was practically as if he were looking at an immortal.
His eyes were filled with little stars of worship.
Su Fei was speechless. He stretched out a hand and gave Wang Meng a solid knock on the head.
"Stop thinking about useless nonsense. Take Plum Blossom to the Imperial Guard's Heavenly Prison and let him sample the Eighteen Tortures. Flower Picking Bandits like him are all weak-kneed cowards. He'll definitely confess."
"Make him confess and sign his statement."
Wang Meng nodded and hurriedly ordered his Strongmen to tie up Plum Blossom. After greeting Su Fei, he left.
Not long after Wang Meng departed.
Su Fei received a system notification.
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the Flower Thief mission! You have received the Finger Flicking Divine Ability and eighty years of cultivation. Extract now?
There was no rush for that. He had something to take care of first.
Su Fei changed into a set of ordinary clothes.
He headed to the Black Market in the northwestern corner of Qingzhou City.
The Black Market's street was lit even deep into the night, filled with the mingled smell of cheap liquor and leather.
Su Fei found a shop with a sign that read "Hundred Herbs Hall."
According to the information Su Fei knew.
This shop appeared to deal in medicinal ingredients, but was actually a purchasing point for stolen goods in the Black Market.
He pushed open the door. A middle-aged steward with a goatee behind the counter asked whether he was buying or selling.
Su Fei placed the movement technique manual and the soft sword on the counter and asked how much the two items were worth.
After inspecting them, the steward said.
"Sir, the manual is in decent condition, and the soft sword's material is acceptable. For both together, I can offer at most six thousand taels."
Su Fei smiled. The man was treating him like some greenhorn who had never seen the world.
He made as though to leave for another shop.
The steward stopped Su Fei and asked him to name his price.
"For both items together, thirteen thousand taels."
The middle-aged steward hesitated.
"Sir, this humble shop can offer at most ten thousand taels. Movement technique manuals carry great risk and are hard to sell. Though the soft sword is made of good material, it is secondhand goods. This humble shop has to earn some profit too."
Su Fei said.
"This manual belonged to a Flower Thief. Its movement technique effects are very good."
The steward considered it for a moment before finally deciding to buy both items at Su Fei's price.
Su Fei received thirteen thousand taels in Silver Notes. After confirming that everything was correct, he left.
After walking out of the Black Market, he tucked the Silver Notes close against his body. Added to the more than thirty thousand taels he had found on Plum Blossom earlier.
In just one day, he had gained over forty thousand taels of silver.
In his previous life, that would make him a multimillionaire without question.
He raised his head to look at the waning moon on the horizon and returned to the New Residence with light steps.
By the time he returned to Su Manor, the sky was already beginning to brighten.
Su Fei entered his bedroom and sat cross-legged on the bed.
Extracting reward. Obtained Finger Flicking Divine Ability (Beginner), eighty years of cultivation.
Su Fei calculated that he had been in this world for nearly a month.
With his peerless cultivation talent, it was about time for him to break through to the Grandmaster Realm.
"System, use the cultivation first to improve the Nine Yang Divine Art."
First year: You sat in the Cultivation Room day and night, cast aside distracting thoughts, and focused on Breathing Exercises. Nine Yang True Qi slowly circulated within your dantian, tempering your foundation without cease, day and night. Fifteenth year: You cultivated the Nine Yang Divine Art without sleep or rest. Your entire body was drenched in sweat, while your True Qi grew ever more condensed! Twentieth year: You cultivated without rest day and night beside scorching lava, using the extreme heat to temper your pure yang internal power. Sweat soaked your robes before being evaporated by True Qi, again and again. Thirtieth year: You assaulted the Grandmaster barrier day and night without pause. At last, near the end of the thirtieth year, you shattered the barrier with a bang. The Nine Yang Divine Art broke through to the sixth layer, and you entered the Grandmaster Realm! Fortieth year: You circulated your True Qi without sleep or rest, firmly consolidating your Grandmaster Realm First Layer foundation. Liquid True Essence surged within you like a mighty river, washing through your meridians day and night! Sixtieth year: You cultivated the Nine Yang Divine Art bitterly day and night, finally breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm Second Layer! Cultivation results being fed back...
A vast surge of True Essence erupted from his dantian, then flowed through every Meridian in Su Fei's body.
He could clearly feel that the True Essence within him had completely liquefied, circulating without rest day and night. Every cycle washed through his meridians and vital blood.
Grandmaster Realm Second Layer!
Su Fei slowly withdrew his power. Feeling the endlessly surging True Essence within him, a trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.
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