[Xue Yishu]: Daughter of the Changping County Magistrate [Quest]: Help the County Magistrate's Daughter Escape an Arranged Marriage [Requirement]: Help the County Magistrate's Daughter escape the County Yamen and avoid being captured and dragged back by the household servants sent by Xue Shan within seven days. [Tip]: Bringing her back to the yamen will certainly earn the favor of the County Magistrate's wife, but whether the County Magistrate himself will develop any goodwill remains unknown. [Reward]: Xue Yishu's Favorability +20% [Reward]: Pending
Su Mo clicked the yellow exclamation mark.
The quest panel immediately updated.
A favorability bar also appeared above Xue Yishu's head.
Unlike Lin Moyin's hellish starting point,
Xue Yishu's favorability began at 5%! A positive number!
Su Mo guessed it was because he was handsome.
He stared fixedly at the quest panel, so excited that his body began to tremble.
The reward was nothing special, just a 20% increase in favorability.
Increasing the County Magistrate's daughter's favorability was useless. It was not as if he would become the County Magistrate's son-in-law because of it.
It would have been more useful if it were Xue Shan's favorability increasing.
But that was not the key!
The key was that Su Mo had finally encountered a second NPC whose quest could be farmed!
All this time, Su Mo had been worried that his Golden Finger was bound to Lin Moyin!
What if he could not increase Lin Moyin's favorability, or she simply died?
Wouldn't that render his Golden Finger useless?
He had never expected that when Heaven closed one door, it would open another.
Another NPC had suddenly appeared!
This meant there should be even more "NPCs" in the future.
He no longer had to tie himself to Lin Moyin alone!
But before Su Mo could examine the quest details closely,
a shout suddenly came from inside the wall: "The Young Miss is on the wall!"
"Quick!"
"Catch her!"
The disguised scholar Xue Yishu's heart jolted, and she instinctively flipped outward.
A cry escaped her as she lost her footing and fell.
Su Mo sensed something was wrong the moment her body tipped outward.
He hurried forward.
He actually shot to the wall like lightning, thrust out a large hand, and barely managed to catch the falling County Magistrate's daughter around the waist!
She was soft and supple, and the sensation in his hand was quite pleasant.
His thumb was even pressed twice by something of considerable size, with astonishing elasticity!
Seeing that he had crossed two or three zhang in a single stride,
Su Mo was astonished as well.
That definitely was not his normal level of performance!
"Is this the strength and speed brought by the Yang Tian Jue?"
The County Magistrate's daughter did not notice in the slightest that someone had taken advantage of her.
Once her terror had subsided, she hitched up the hem of her robe and ran.
After only a few steps, she stopped again and looked back at Su Mo, her face filled with anxiety. "Run!"
"It'll be trouble if they catch you!"
She was naturally worried that once the household servants caught up and saw Su Mo, they would suspect he had come to assist her. Then he would be doomed!
He had kindly caught her. She could not drag him into trouble!
Before she could finish speaking,
whoosh—a black figure shot directly out of the inner yamen.
It was unmistakably a middle-aged man dressed as a household servant.
Upon seeing Xue Yishu, he said in a low voice, "Young Miss, you can't get away!"
"Please come back with me to see the First Madam. Don't make things difficult for this lowly servant!"
Xue Yishu snorted. "I'm not going back!"
Then she added, "I ran away of my own accord. It has nothing to do with him!"
She ran off at her greatest speed!
Su Mo...
Wasn't that practically shouting, There's no silver hidden here?
The household servant sighed helplessly.
He was just about to chase after the Young Miss and seize her
when a figure suddenly appeared before him and blocked his way.
The man was even looking at him with a broad grin.
"Big Brother, as the saying goes, a melon twisted off the vine isn't sweet, but it does quench your thirst... No, forget that last part."
Su Mo said seriously to the household servant, "She wants to leave, so let her."
"After a few days... well, seven days, I suppose—once she realizes her mistake, she'll naturally return home and admit it!"
Yan Dahu stared blankly at this fool who had appeared out of nowhere.
But seeing that the other man stood six chi tall, with handsome, refined features and fair, tender skin, Yan Dahu did not dare offend him lightly, despite his wearing only an ordinary cotton jacket.
In this day and age, anyone with such height, looks, and bearing had to come from a wealthy family.
He frowned and said coldly, "Young brother, this is the County Magistrate's family matter. Move aside at once, and do not meddle in other people's affairs!"
Su Mo smiled. "The County Magistrate has to be reasonable too, doesn't he?"
"Why don't you go back and ask him?"
Seeing that Xue Yishu had already run far away, Yan Dahu snorted. Too lazy to waste words with Su Mo, he reached out and grabbed toward Su Mo's shoulder.
Su Mo saw him leap straight over a zhang-high wall and assumed he was some sort of Martial Arts Master.
He had never expected that not only was his attack slow, it was also limp and lacking in force.
Su Mo casually raised a hand to parry.
The Demon Subduing Pestle at his waist was as dependable as ever. With the heat supporting him, his strength doubled, then doubled again, and doubled once more!
Yan Dahu was instantly shocked.
He only felt that the other man's attack was as fast as lightning, with frightening strength.
The instant they made contact, his wrist bones hurt as though they were about to shatter!
He hurriedly dodged backward and stared intently at Su Mo, saying coldly, "I never expected you to be a trained fighter!"
"Good!"
"I, Yan, shall see what you can do!"
After speaking, he drew a deep breath. His Inner Force circulated throughout his body, and his five fingers spread wide, resembling eagle claws.
He raised both eagle claws, crossing them before his chest in a cupped-hands salute.
His expression was extremely solemn. "Tieshan County, Eagle Claw Sect, Wang Family household servant, Yan Dahu!"
Su Mo stared at the man in bewilderment.
Was that the opening line for a duel between Martial Arts Masters?
But he was not part of the martial world, nor was he a Martial Arts Master.
Also, wasn't this Xue Shan's household servant? Why was he claiming to be a Wang Family household servant?
Had being a household servant given him such pride that he had to announce it specially?
As he pondered how to respond in a suitably imposing manner,
Yan Dahu saw that Su Mo was merely staring at him with a strange look and saying nothing.
He immediately grew angry.
He could not help raising his voice!
"Tieshan County, Eagle Claw Sect, first-class Wang Family household servant! Yan Dahu!"
Su Mo...
Yan Dahu grew even angrier and said in a deep voice, "Speak!"
Su Mo felt that he really was being rather rude.
He thought that it was difficult to make one's way in the martial world without a resounding nickname, then his thoughts wandered to what Heroine Chen's nickname might be.
Unfortunately, it seemed too late to come up with one now. He could only imitate the other man, loosely cup his hands, and honestly say, "Changping County, Fast Hand of the Fast Squad, Jiazi Lane in Ping'an Ward, head of the Su family, Su Mo!"
Yan Dahu's anger +100!
"Good, you brat! Take this!"
With an angry shout, he thrust out an eagle claw.
His speed was twice as fast as before. Carrying the sound of tearing air, it struck toward Su Mo with extreme ferocity!
Su Mo's eyes lit up.
Now that was more like a Martial Arts Master!
He seemed slightly stronger than Zhong Sanyuan and Deng Tong, those two yamen squad leaders.
He should be on the same level as the Imperial Guard who had slain the dried corpse!
Su Mo could not help becoming excited.
At the Locust God Temple, he had personally witnessed the Imperial Guard display their might and cut down the dried corpse like something out of a zombie film.
He had been utterly stunned at the time!
It was just that later, after seeing Lin Moyin slice apart the Corpse Oil Lamp with a flying sword,
his target for astonishment had changed a little too quickly.
The Yang Tian Jue only strengthened his physique and increased his strength. It did not grant him the legendary immortal arts and techniques, which left him somewhat disappointed.
But now he had discovered that merely reaching Entry Level in the Yang Tian Jue allowed him to exchange blows with a Martial Arts Master.
The Yang Tian Jue suddenly seemed awesome again.
Su Mo let out a low shout.
Clenching both fists, he stepped forward half a pace and sent his wok-sized fist smashing straight toward Yan Dahu's fist.
There was no technique whatsoever.
But it was absurdly fast, and its force was outrageously great!
Yan Dahu's eagle claws had been tempered for a full twenty years. His mastery of Eagle Claw Technique was profound, so naturally he was not afraid of Su Mo.
He thought viciously that this brat was truly detestable.
At once, he no longer cared whether the other man was some official's son
or some wealthy young master!
He would definitely teach him a lesson,
and let him understand that beyond men there were other men, and beyond the heavens there were other heavens!
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