Can I Be the One to Cut Him Down?

After getting the medicinal herbs for Shen Zhui, Wu Gu had been restless the entire time.

He had paid special attention to Shen Zhui, but afterward, Shen Zhui showed no abnormalities at all.

Yet before long, after Shen Zhui left, Wu Gu, who had been sitting cross-legged and circulating his energy, once again felt a surge of heart-pounding unease, as if someone were peering at him.

The feeling vanished in the blink of an eye, as though it had never happened.

"There's something sinister about this place." Wu Gu looked somewhat tense.

"I've occasionally hidden in county towns before, but I've never felt anything like this."

Pacing irritably, Wu Gu glanced out the window.

"No. It's time to leave."

Wu Gu immediately made up his mind. Having escaped death countless times, he still trusted his instincts.

One bout of unease could be explained as him overthinking things, but twice or three times—there was no way it could be a coincidence!

A Qi Cultivation True Person's Spiritual Sense was stronger than a martial artist's, and they were born with an instinct for danger far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Creak~" The door opened. Wu Gu still wore the appearance of a wealthy merchant as he slowly headed toward the main entrance.

The instant he stepped outside, Wu Gu saw Shen Zhui walking toward him from the end of the street, with two people following beside him.

Wu Gu instantly recognized one of the people beside Shen Zhui. It was Wang Long!

"What?!" Wu Gu's scalp nearly exploded. At that moment, he finally understood where the sense of danger in his heart had come from.

With not a shred of hope remaining, Wu Gu shouted angrily and immediately returned to his original appearance. He shot into the sky, intending to flee!

"Bind!"

Wei Wenhe, standing beside Shen Zhui, waved his hand lightly. Wu Gu had just taken flight, but his speed immediately became as slow as a snail.

"No, no, no!" Wu Gu's eyes were filled with terror. He felt as though his body had sunk into a quagmire, and even his thoughts seemed to have grown sluggish. He immediately understood that only the supreme ruler of a county could possess such an ability!

"Break!" A skull suddenly emerged from Wu Gu's body. Immediately afterward, a cloud of black mist violently burst open. Wu Gu's immobilized body regained its movement, transforming into a fiery-red streak of light that shot away.

"Hmph! Heretical evil cultivators, courting death!" Green light flashed across Wei Wenhe's body. At the same time, in the distant City God Temple, the statue of Earl of Heyuan seated in the main position suddenly flashed with wisps of green light, echoing him from afar.

"Come back here!"

Wei Wenhe extended one hand and suddenly pulled it back toward himself. Wu Gu had already fled a thousand meters, but blue-green shackles instantly appeared around his body.

Behind the shackles, an iron chain seemed to connect to the void, binding him tightly.

"Ahhh!" Faint black smoke continuously poured from Wu Gu's body. His face twisted viciously as the flames around him completely shrank back inside.

Once the black smoke was exhausted, Wu Gu no longer had the strength to struggle, and his body was dragged backward.

The next moment, Wu Gu, bound by invisible restraints, dropped to both knees and appeared before Wei Wenhe and the others.

"That was close." Seeing that Wu Gu had actually held out for so long under the county magistrate's hand, and had even possessed a means to break free of the county magistrate's restraints in an instant, Shen Zhui was secretly shaken.

"Fortunately, I didn't act rashly and try to deal with him alone. Otherwise, the consequences would have been impossible to predict."

A High-stage Xiantian Qi Cultivation True Person was worth sixty thousand Merit Points if killed!

According to Lin Ze, this man had also been heavily wounded by him earlier.

For one brief moment, Shen Zhui had even considered acting alone.

But now, it seemed he had still underestimated his opponent. Even a severely wounded Qi Cultivation True Person was not someone a Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm martial artist like him could easily kill.

If he had really done that, he would have been courting death.

"So it really is you, you bandit." Wang Long cast a cold glance at Wu Gu.

He had murdered his comrades in the army, stolen a treasure and fled, and cultivated the evil arts of the Outer Sects. No one knew how many lives stained his hands. A man like that deserved to die.

Wu Gu could not speak at this moment, but his eyes remained fixed fiercely on Shen Zhui.

At that moment, his heart was filled with boundless regret!

Why had he greeted Shen Zhui back then?!

To think he had ended up in the hands of a mere Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm martial artist. Wu Gu was filled with a thousand grievances.

"Swish~"

Lin Ze appeared beside Wei Wenhe. From far away, he had already seen that the person kneeling on the ground was Wu Gu!

"Haha, Wu Gu, you actually hid in the city. You truly brought this upon yourself!" Lin Ze could not contain his delight.

"That makes sense, too. You were heavily wounded by me and your strength was diminished, so only inside the city could you buy the things you needed."

Seeing that Wu Gu could not speak, Lin Ze realized that he had lost his composure. He turned around, bowed deeply, clasped his hands, and saluted Wei Wenhe.

"Lord Wei, thank you. If you hadn't acted, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to complete this year-long mission. I won't try to thank you with words. If there's anything you need, just say the word. Lin Ze will do everything in his power!"

Wei Wenhe smiled faintly. "Lord Lin, you're too kind. Assisting the Wu'an Army in capturing criminals is precisely our duty."

"Besides, I wasn't the one who discovered him. It was Shen Zhui. If you want to thank someone, you should thank him."

"Shen Zhui?" Lin Ze was slightly taken aback, but he soon cupped his hands toward Shen Zhui. "Thank you, Brother Shen. If there's anything you need, just say the word."

"Big Brother Lin, this... I only happened to discover him. There's no need for you to be so formal." Shen Zhui waved his hand.

Lin Ze had shown him great kindness by offering guidance, and besides, he had done this for Shen Zhui's sake. It could hardly be considered that Shen Zhui had helped him much.

"Ahem... Shen Zhui, Lord Lin means well. Don't refuse him." Wang Long gave Shen Zhui a meaningful look.

The Wu'an Army indeed had the authority to demand the cooperation of local officials while carrying out missions, but afterward, they still had to offer some benefits. That was only proper.

Moreover, Lin Ze had hardly exerted himself this time. From finding the man to capturing him, the entire task had been handled by the county government. It was equivalent to Lin Ze picking up a merit for free.

That was why Lin Ze had said that in the Wu'an Army, if one was lucky, a few missions could provide enough resources and merit.

Of course, it was extremely rare for a mission to be completed by the county government alone. It was only because Wu Gu had been overly arrogant, relying on two concealment treasures to enter the county town.

And as luck would have it, he had run into Shen Zhui, who could see the Sin Value on his body.

Seeing that Shen Zhui remained silent, Lin Ze spoke first.

"Brother Shen, there's no need to decide in a hurry. Let me first see what this bandit has on him."

He smiled and searched Wu Gu from head to toe. Then, Shen Zhui actually saw Lin Ze pull out a large pile of things.

Among them were an archaic silver-gray soft armor, a pale-red robe, and a compass. All of them emitted faint light, and even Shen Zhui could tell that they were no ordinary objects.

From the expression on Lin Ze's face, Shen Zhui could tell that the things on Wu Gu were clearly worth a fortune.

"Come, Brother Shen, take a look." Lin Ze pointed at the compass. "This is called a Spirit-Connecting Compass. It's a premium detection treasure. As long as a Xiantian Master or Qi Cultivation True Person approaches within a thousand meters, it will issue an automatic warning and display them on the compass."

"By itself, that would only make it an ordinary treasure. But this Spirit-Connecting Compass can expand its warning range according to the spiritual power infused by its user. If I activate it with all my strength, its thousand-meter range can instantly reach ten thousand meters! Within ten thousand meters, unless they possess an even stronger treasure, every Xiantian Master or Qi Cultivation True Person will appear on this compass. It's worth a fortune. Even a Xiantian Master in the Wu'an Army would need to work for two or three years to buy it."

Wei Wenhe and Wang Long said nothing, while Shen Zhui merely clicked his tongue in wonder.

Lin Ze did not mind. He picked up the Daoist Robe and said with a smile, "The reason this villain dared to hide in the county town was precisely because of this Spirit-Concealing Robe."

"This Spirit-Concealing Robe can conceal one from the detection of Divine Law. Its defensive power is excellent as well. It can withstand a full-force attack from a late-stage Spiritual Inspiration Realm expert, while Daoist arts below the late Spiritual Inspiration Realm can have their power reduced by half."

Lin Ze sighed emotionally. "Even in the Wu'an Army, a Xiantian Master could work for ten years and still not necessarily be able to afford this Spirit-Concealing Robe. Who knows how much ill-gotten wealth this villain has plundered?"

Wei Wenhe and Wang Long still remained silent, while Shen Zhui nodded. This was the first time he had seen a treasure capable of concealing one from the detection of Divine Law.

The third treasure was the archaic silver-gray soft armor. According to Lin Ze, it was specially designed to defend against close-range attacks from martial artists. Even a full-force attack from a high-stage Xiantian martial artist would have difficulty breaking through its defenses. Moreover, it was engraved with runes that allowed the wearer to gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy more quickly, helping accelerate cultivation.

The fourth treasure was a heart-protecting mirror, specifically designed to accelerate the absorption of spiritual energy.

The fifth treasure was a pale-gold soft mask. It could conceal one's aura and alter one's appearance, and it was effective against both Xiantian experts and Spiritual Inspiration Realm True Persons.

As for the remaining miscellaneous odds and ends, Lin Ze did not introduce them in detail. Clearly, their combined value was not even equal to that of a single treasure.

"Brother Shen, ranked by value, these treasures are the Spirit-Connecting Compass, Flowing Gold Mask, Spirit-Concealing Robe, Bright Light Armor, and Spirit Gathering Mirror."

"Having received your great help, you may choose any two of these first."

Shen Zhui recalled that when Wang Long had been introducing the Flowing Gold Mask and Bright Light Armor earlier, his expression had clearly changed. He immediately understood that Wang Long was giving him advice.

However, Shen Zhui did not choose at once. Instead, he asked, "Big Brother Lin, may I be so bold as to ask whether you need to kill this Wu Gu personally to complete your mission, or whether you only need to bring his head back?"

Lin Ze was slightly stunned, but he still answered Shen Zhui's question.

"I don't need to kill him personally. I only need to use a special Wu'an Army token to verify that he is dead. Why do you ask?"

"This man's crimes are monstrous. He nearly caused my death at Red Leaf Manor before, and now he moved in beside my adoptive father's home, intending to harm my family. If it won't interfere with your mission, Big Brother Lin, I would like to carry out the punishment for this Wu Gu myself and cut him down with my own hands!"