Golden Saber Society

Su Fei's gaze fell on his shadow-puppet box.

"Mm, it's quite large," Su Fei said softly.

"That's him."

"Keep an eye on him. See whether he does anything bad today. If he does, we'll take him down directly."

Wang Meng nodded repeatedly, his face full of excitement.

"My lord is truly formidable. You solved the case within a single day—simply godlike at solving cases. I think we'll soon crack it and earn merit."

The two ate and drank while keeping watch on the movements over there.

The lame man continued performing shadow puppetry without pause. Aside from handing out candy to children, he made no other suspicious moves.

The sky gradually dimmed. Evening arrived.

There were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the streets. The lame man packed up the puppet stage and put it into the large box.

He slung the box over his back and limped away.

Seeing that he had yet to make a move, Wang Meng felt somewhat disappointed.

He was beginning to doubt whether this man was actually a criminal.

Su Fei set down silver to pay the bill, then gave Wang Meng a look.

"Let's follow him. Keep our distance."

Night was as black as ink. The lame man deliberately chose secluded alleys. Though his steps seemed lame, they were exceptionally swift, without the slightest sluggishness.

Su Fei and Wang Meng quietly tailed him.

After leaving the west city gate and walking some distance, the man took an official road overgrown with wild grass. Far ahead, at the end of the wilderness, lay the hazy outline of a village.

"Lord Su, that's the direction of Boulder Village. There was a plague there three years ago. Folks around here see it as an unlucky place, and no one has lived there for a long time."

"What is he going there for?"

Su Fei's expression turned grave.

"This cripple has carried such a large box for so long without resting even once. I'd say he isn't crippled at all—he's a martial arts expert."

"If I'm not mistaken, the missing children are there."

"Follow him. Once we find those missing children, the truth of this case will come to light."

Hearing this, Wang Meng became deeply convinced by Su Fei.

At the entrance to Boulder Village.

The night was deep, with only the chirping of insects and the sound of wind for company.

Su Fei signaled for Wang Meng to hide near the village entrance and wait. He himself circulated his Nine Yang True Qi to conceal his presence, silently following behind the lame man.

Most of the houses in the village were decrepit and dilapidated.

The lame man arrived before the largest courtyard at the village entrance and raised his hand to knock three times on the gate—two short knocks, then one long.

A moment later, the courtyard gate creaked open a crack, revealing a pair of wary eyes.

"Old Seven? You're back? Did you get anything today?"

A coarse, hoarse voice asked from behind the gate.

"Ah, don't mention it. There were too many people today. It wasn't easy to make a move."

The lame man grinned. His formerly hunched back abruptly straightened, the limp in his gait instantly vanished, and his voice became steady and forceful. There was no trace left of that simple, honest appearance.

He turned sideways and entered the courtyard. The gate swiftly shut behind him.

Su Fei silently leaped onto the high wall, taking in the entire scene within the courtyard.

Two guards holding steel sabers stood hidden in the corners of the courtyard. Their auras were steady; both were at the eighth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Meanwhile, after entering, the "lame man" was speaking with a Bearded Man guarding the main gate.

A golden saber was embroidered on the Bearded Man's sleeve.

Su Fei's pupils contracted slightly. He recognized that symbol.

When he was young, Wan Mengchang had roamed the martial world of Qingzhou with a golden saber and a heart full of ambition.

He robbed the rich to aid the poor and made friends far and wide.

He had earned no small measure of renown.

Only after growing older did he settle down and establish the Golden Saber Society in Qingzhou.

The golden saber was their emblem.

They had several hundred members, and rumors said they had dealings with the great local clans of Qingzhou.

They were not people ordinary folk could afford to provoke.

Wan Mengchang also frequently did good deeds to help the poor, so the Golden Saber Society's reputation was considered fairly good.

No wonder the constables of the Qingzhou Prefecture Yamen had found no leads. It turned out this local tyrant, the Golden Saber Society, had been pulling strings behind the scenes.

Su Fei held his breath, circled around to a broken wall at the rear side of the courtyard, and vaulted inside.

The courtyard held a spacious open yard. Seven or eight burly men in fitted clothing were drinking and eating inside a room, each with a small golden saber embroidered on his sleeve.

"Old Seven, you've tricked seven or eight of them this month alone, haven't you? And you still dare go to Qingzhou City safe and sound. Good fellow, you really are a master swindler."

"You haven't been discovered for so long. The Qingzhou Prefecture constables really are useless."

"You envy Old Seven. If you had Old Seven's skills, you could go trick people in Qingzhou Prefecture too."

Old Seven gave a dark chuckle.

"Before I joined the Golden Saber Society, I performed shadow puppetry. This is my specialty."

"Hehe, once this batch of Qi and Blood Pills is refined and sold, we'll get a fair share of silver too."

"Keep your voice down. Don't let the hall master hear you spouting nonsense. That medicine is refined from the vital blood of boys and girls. If word gets out, there'll be hell to pay!"

Su Fei's heart sank. Keeping close to the wall, he crept to the outside of a locked woodshed.

Peering through the crack in the door, he saw more than twenty children huddled in the corner beneath the dim light of an oil lamp.

Seven of them were precisely the children listed in the case files as missing from Qingzhou Prefecture. Every one of them had frightened eyes and a pale face, yet none dared cry loudly.

Su Fei gripped the Spring Embroidered Saber at his waist, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

Refining pills from the vital blood of boys and girls—these people truly deserved to die.

Then hurried footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard. A guard rushed in and headed inside.

"Someone from the General Association has arrived. They're asking about the progress of the 'goods'!"

"Got it. Tell them to wait."

A sinister voice came from the inner room.

"Tell the people from the General Association to give me another three days. The next batch of Qi and Blood Pills will be successfully refined by then, and we'll send them over."

He quietly retreated to the corner, intending to notify Wang Meng to return to the Thousand Households Office and summon men.

But then he saw the Bearded Man give Old Seven a few instructions. Old Seven took a key and a container, heading toward the woodshed while humming a little tune.

"Little ones, don't be afraid. Grandpa's here to draw your blood."

Su Fei's heart stirred. Those children were already so weak. If they had their blood drawn again, and a few of them kicked the bucket—

His merit would be discounted.

Then he could wait no longer. Su Fei gathered his Nine Yang True Qi.

His figure flashed like lightning. Just as Old Seven pulled out the key to open the door, Su Fei lunged forward and struck a palm into the man's kidney.

How could Old Seven have expected an enemy to appear behind him at this moment?

Caught completely off guard, a sharp pain exploded at his waist. The force hurled his entire body into the woodshed door, and the key flew from his hand.

"Ah!"

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed limply to the ground.

The Golden Saber Society members in the courtyard were startled by the commotion. They drew their sabers and rushed into the yard.

"Who is it? What spy has infiltrated this place?"

"Take him down!"

In the flickering firelight, Su Fei used the key to kick open the woodshed door, then instructed the children inside.

"All of you hide to one side first. Someone will come save you soon."

The Golden Saber Society men swiftly surrounded Su Fei.

Someone demanded.

"Friend, which road are you from? Why have you broken into our Golden Saber Society in the dead of night?"