Chou Ba Meets His End

Chou Ba Meets His End

"Salt!"

As he answered Sanyue's question, Ye Weiming took advantage of Chou Ba closing his eyes to avoid the salt and threw out another paper packet. With his eyes shut, Chou Ba could only rely on Sound Localization, yet he once again shattered the packet with a palm strike, sending red powder dancing through the air.

Before Sanyue could ask, Ye Weiming explained, "This time, it's Chili Powder."

Chou Ba had not dared to open his eyes against salt, much less chili powder. At this moment, Sanyue imitated Ye Weiming and hurled a paper packet at Chou Ba. When it was shattered, grayish-black granules scattered through the air. They landed on his wounds but did not inflict any additional damage.

Ye Weiming could not help asking curiously, "What's in your packet?"

Sanyue stuck out her tongue. "Cumin..."

Girl, were you craving lamb skewers or something?

With his left leg and right arm crippled, only his left hand remained to block attacks, and even that was hampered by the wound beneath his ribs. Under such circumstances, Chou Ba was already powerless to defend against their hidden weapons. Flying Locust Stones and Flying Knives rained down upon him, and the health bar above his head plummeted at a visible rate.

When Chou Ba's health had fallen below a hundred points, Ye Weiming suddenly raised a hand to stop Sanyue from attacking. He then asked Chou Ba, who had only a sliver of health left, "Did you kill Old Man Li?"

"So it was Old Man Li's death that exposed my whereabouts?" Knowing he was doomed, Chou Ba gave a miserable smile. "What goes around comes around. Retribution never fails!"

Before Ye Weiming could continue questioning him, Chou Ba said, "I was once a wandering hero of the jianghu, but there were too many villains in this world. My entire family was brutally slaughtered by a band of mountain bandits. After much investigation, I learned that the murderer of my family was Lin Zhipei, Shocking Eight Directions, chief of Lotus Stockade. His internal strength was profound and his swordsmanship peerless. I knew I was no match for him, so I could only become a bandit myself and infiltrate Lotus Mountain in search of a chance for revenge."

"Fortunately, Lin Zhipei had committed far too many evil deeds in his life to remember whom he had killed. After I joined the mountain, he never suspected me in the slightest. I submitted my pledge of allegiance at Lotus Stockade, killed innocent people, and committed countless atrocities. At last, I rose to become the stockade's Third Boss."

"At a banquet, I thought my chance had come and launched a surprise attack. But that villain was far too powerful. Even with the advantage of a sneak attack, I was still no match for him."

"Luckily, he was injured at the time as well, allowing me to carve a bloody path out. After escaping down the mountain, I sought help from an old acquaintance, Senior Jade Flute—the Old Man Li you spoke of. Senior Jade Flute treated me well. Not only did he help me find medicine for my injuries, he also found me a hiding place and brought me food every day."

"But when I learned that he possessed a swordsmanship manual capable of dominating the martial world, evil thoughts arose in my heart! I knew it was my only hope for revenge, so I secretly returned to Dukang Village. Claiming that my injuries had worsened, I ambushed Senior Jade Flute while he was using his inner strength to treat me, killed him, and staged it as suicide."

Ding! You have uncovered the truth behind Old Man Li's death and completed the quest "Suicide of Old Man Li." Quest reward obtained: 1,000 EXP, 100 cultivation, 50 silver.

Upon receiving the system prompt, Ye Weiming calmly asked Sanyue in the party channel, "Did you complete the quest?"

"I did. You're amazing!"

Ye Weiming smiled faintly, only to hear Chou Ba continue, "A wretch like me, repaying kindness with hatred, deserves such an end. I only regret that villain Lin Zhipei still... Pfft!"

Before Chou Ba could finish, the Green Peak Sword in Ye Weiming's hand had already pierced through his throat.

Ding! Successfully killed Level 25 BOSS Chou Ba. Obtained: 3,000 EXP, 300 cultivation.

Ding! You successfully slew River-Lake Bandit Chou Ba, exceeding the requirements of the quest "Hunting Chou Ba." Quest reward obtained: 5,000 EXP, 400 cultivation, 50 silver.

System Announcement: Player Ye Weiming, disciple of the Divine Constable Bureau, and novice player Sanyue have slain Level 25 BOSS Chou Ba, achieving the first kill. First-kill reward obtained: 400 Jianghu Reputation, 400 Sect Contribution Points.

System Announcement: Player Ye Weiming, disciple of the Divine Constable Bureau...

The System Announcement appeared three times in a row, leaving little Sanyue thrilled beyond words.

She was finally on the news!

But compared with being on the news or whatever, Ye Weiming was more concerned with the changes in his own strength.

The instant gain of 9,000 EXP directly raised Ye Weiming to Level 13, and he keenly sensed that he seemed to have grown stronger by several degrees.

The reward for exceeding the quest requirements came with a bonus, and such a huge one at that? But if all the other rewards had doubled, why had the money reward been cut in half instead?

Then, he quickly understood.

Besides being available within the Divine Constable Bureau, Chou Ba's Bounty Order had been posted in quite a few other places, and every player could accept it. Since the two of them had killed Chou Ba as a party, the bounty naturally had to be split evenly rather than giving each of them one gold.

The system was stingy. It would never let players exploit a loophole.

After the excitement of appearing on the news wore off, Sanyue suddenly remembered something and asked with a hint of reproach, "Come to think of it, why were you in such a hurry to kill him? I was really interested in the story he was telling."

Ye Weiming smiled calmly. "Since he had already confessed to his crimes, there was no value in his later lamentations. Better to kill him sooner, lest something unexpected happen."

"He was absolutely right." A hoarse, unpleasant voice suddenly rang out. Then, as a figure flashed before their eyes, a man dressed in black appeared in front of them.

He wore a set of black Flying Fish Robes, though judging by the workmanship, they were clearly several grades superior to Ye Weiming's. A cloak covered his head, a mask hid his face, and his entire body radiated a uniquely sinister aura. He looked like some asura or Evil Ghost crawling out of Hell, making others instinctively fear him at first sight.

Watching the suddenly appearing iron-masked man warily, Ye Weiming asked, "And you are?"

"Former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, current deputy commander of the Divine Constable Bureau, You Jin."

Ye Weiming's eyes lit up at once. He hurriedly said warmly, "So it's Lord You. Did you come all this way because I performed so well on this mission that you're here to give me an extra reward?"

You Jin snorted coldly. "Smooth talker. Haven't your rewards already been doubled?"

Ye Weiming chuckled and said no more.

You Jin continued, "With Chou Ba's strength, you should have been no match for him at your current level. I came to Dukang Village to capture this scoundrel myself. Yet I never expected you brat to use such crooked tricks to complete a mission that should have been impossible. Not bad. Our Divine Constable Bureau needs talents like you."

So the proper way to complete the quest had simply been to find Chou Ba, confront him face-to-face, make him confess to killing Old Man Li, and then let You Jin handle the rest?

If that was the case, then the three-star difficulty rating for the two quests did make sense.

He then turned his gaze to Sanyue. "Little girl, I observed from the shadows earlier. Though your performance was not as outstanding as Ye Weiming's, it was still quite good. This is an additional reward for completing the quest. If you are interested, you may report to the Divine Constable Bureau in Tokyo Bianliang City." As he spoke, he handed Sanyue an Entry Token for the Divine Constable Bureau.