Buy a Dog! A Big, Fierce Dog That Bites!

Su Mo watched the Female Captain leave in fury.

His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but in the end, he did not remind the Female Captain that she seemed to have used the word "scram" rather inappropriately.

Fortunately, her favorability was at 8%, a positive value. It had not changed, so the problem was not serious. There would still be opportunities to court death in the future.

Only after Lin Moyin had completely disappeared did Su Mo relax.

The pressure radiating from the head of the Imperial Guard was truly no ordinary thing. She casually talked about killing people, and yet he did not dare doubt her.

Because killing people was one of the Imperial Guard's primary lines of business.

They did not merely talk. They truly did it!

Especially since the head of the Imperial Guard never showed her emotions. No one had any idea what she was thinking. How could he not be afraid?

Fortunately, Su Mo could see the head of the Imperial Guard's favorability.

Otherwise, how would he have dared to court death again and again, frantically testing the head of the Imperial Guard's bottom line?

Only now did Su Mo realize it.

The Golden Finger's missions were important, but favorability was just as important!

Unfortunately, to this day, he could only see the favorability of Lin Moyin and Xue Yishu.

There were too few samples, making it difficult to summarize any common traits.

The head of the Imperial Guard and the magistrate's daughter were truly difficult to link together.

They had only two things in common.

First, they were both women.

Second, they were both beautiful women.

Perhaps one could add half a point more: both had some connection to the immortal path.

One cultivated immortality herself.

The other had a relative cultivating immortality!

The Female Captain had not touched even half a cup of tea before leaving.

With the mindset of not wasting anything, Su Mo downed the Rock Mountain Tea in one gulp. It indeed tasted somewhat better than the coarse tea he had drunk before.

He then looked at the little booklet Lin Moyin had thrown over—the Imperial Guard Military Regulations and Procedures.

The contents were very simple.

They could be summarized in two points.

First, obey the orders of one's superiors!

Second, uphold the honor of the Imperial Guard!

To put it bluntly, you had to listen to your leaders, and you could not cower before outsiders!

Su Mo was quite satisfied with such regulations and procedures.

If he could rise to become a high-ranking leader of the Imperial Guard, he would be even more satisfied.

He still had to continue patting the Female Captain's pert backside... Mm, slip of the tongue. He had to continue flattering the Female Captain and work hard to climb upward.

At the very least, before he could ride on the Female Captain's neck and openly go head-to-head with her, he could not casually offend her.

However, something left Su Mo rather depressed.

His salary was already pitifully small at three taels, yet he only actually received two.

Twenty-four taels of silver a year was merely four taels more than a Fast Squad constable earned. It completely failed to match the prestige of the Imperial Guard in Su Mo's mind.

Let us not forget that constables had plenty of opportunities for under-the-table income!

Yet from Lin Moyin's character, she did not seem like someone who pocketed military pay or bled her subordinates dry.

Could the Imperial Guard also be poor?

The imperial court was certainly poor.

It had fought the Baogan for the realm in a battle of utter devastation. Countless civilians had died or been wounded, thousands of miles had been reduced to barren wastelands, and the people had been left unable to make a living.

Although fifty years of recuperation had passed, with troubles both inside and outside, the court still could not grow wealthy. One could judge this from the officials' salaries alone.

But did the Imperial Guard not often confiscate entire families' property and exterminate clans?

Their under-the-table income ought to be enormous, should it not?

With three taels of salary but only two actually paid, were they not afraid their subordinates would rebel?

No wonder his Third Uncle often told him to bring silver over and grease a few palms.

It seemed the Imperial Guard really was poor.

Should he take the God of Wealth route and prove his value to the Female Captain?

That was far safer than fighting and killing.

Financial management was not Su Mo's strong suit. He could not make glass, and he did not dare manufacture salt.

But with knowledge from who knew how many hundreds or thousands of years in the future, he did not dare claim that his intelligence crushed the ancients, but his commercial concepts definitely did!

For example, if he offered the Female Captain the secret method of distilling liquor and brewed and sold alcohol himself, he could absolutely make a fortune!

Even if the Female Captain wanted to kill him, she would have to consider whether the other Imperial Guards, or even her superiors, agreed!

Before that, he had to find someone to inquire into the Imperial Guard's true circumstances.

That Gao Xin was warm and extremely talkative. He would be a good person to question.

Su Mo returned to the bedroom.

The little widow was completely fast asleep and could not be roused no matter how he called her.

Su Mo had originally planned to check on Xue Yishu and Heroine Chen as well, but in the end, he abandoned the thought.

He was not that kind of despicable person.

If he wanted to look, he would do so openly and honorably. What sort of gentleman took advantage of someone's helplessness?

Perhaps it was because of the Rock Mountain Tea.

Su Mo was completely free of drowsiness.

He simply sat cross-legged and breathed in and out, cultivating the Yang Tian Jue!

The feeling of having one's life and death controlled by someone else was truly unpleasant!

He might win one gamble, but that did not mean he could win a second.

In the cultivation of the immortal path, he absolutely could not slack off!

After cultivating for the entire night, he completed three Great Celestial Circuits.

Su Mo felt that the warm current within his body seemed to have grown just a tiny bit. It seemed he truly possessed the aptitude for immortal cultivation.

At this rate, the warm current would double in size within half a month at most!

Su Mo felt that reaching the realm of a Mortal Immortal was just around the corner!

After finishing his cultivation, he was brimming with energy.

He glanced at the petite widow beside him. She was completely naked, with a graceful figure and a delicate, exquisite build that was nonetheless quite ample.

Su Mo could not help himself again.

But she was sleeping soundly and offered no cooperation, making it dreadfully dull, so he had no choice but to give up.

He went and took a cold-water bath.

Yet after returning to the room, he unexpectedly discovered that the little widow had woken up.

She blinked her bleary eyes and looked at him sleepily. "Su Lang, you're up so early?"

After saying that, she suddenly remembered something and cried out, "Dian Dian!"

"Where's Dian Dian?"

Su Mo smiled. "You're here with me!"

"Your aunt is looking after Dian Dian."

The little widow cried out in self-reproach. "How did I sleep until now!"

"No, I have to go back and check on Dian Dian!"

She paused, then explained, "When Dian Dian wakes up, she'll be frightened if she can't see me!"

Su Mo nodded with a smile. "Go back for now. From now on, let Dian Dian come live here too."

"Mm, the residence is a little small. Once your husband earns some money, I'll buy a larger house!"

The little widow's pretty face flushed slightly. She shot Su Mo an aggrieved look. "You haven't even married me yet, and you already call yourself my husband. Aren't you ashamed?"

As she spoke, she hesitated before twisting her fingers and saying, "Actually... actually, Su Lang, you don't need to waste your money... I... my residence... is quite large too."

Unable to resist, Su Mo reached out and pinched her flushed cheek. Then his hand moved downward and lifted one of her jade bowls to weigh it.

It was satisfyingly heavy, with an excellent feel and a size and shape that were just right. It was impossible to tire of playing with.

He then smiled and said, "How could I covet your residence? Of course I have to buy a house!"

The little widow hurriedly pushed away Su Mo's large hand. "Su Lang, stop fooling around. I really have to go. Dian Dian will be waking up soon."

After saying that, she hurriedly put on her clothes, gave Su Mo a slight curtsy, and quickly left.

Su Mo felt his stomach rumbling with hunger.

He simply made breakfast himself.

He even picked some greens from the courtyard, stir-fried them with cured meat, and used plenty of lard. The fragrance was rich and intense.

"What smells so good!"

Heroine Chen had woken up at some point and was following the scent, sniffing as she came.

Then she stared wide-eyed at the busy Su Mo, her face filled with disbelief. "You?"

"You know how to cook?"

Su Mo glanced sideways at Heroine Chen. "Obviously!"

"I used to live alone. If I didn't cook, was I supposed to starve? Eating at restaurants every day doesn't cost money?"

He waved dismissively. "Go wait in the inner hall."

"And wake up that tomboy who calls herself Xue Yuan while you're at it."

Chen Qianyu could not help asking curiously, "Who exactly is she?"

"Why has she come to live here?"

The female knight-errant had flexible moral standards and was innocent but not foolish. She felt it necessary to learn more about her rival.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you could win every battle.

A man with power and influence, an extremely handsome face, and, most importantly, excellent cooking skills—she absolutely could not let someone else snatch him first!

Sister Qin was one thing.

That tomboy had clearly arrived after her. What right did she have to get there first despite coming later?

As Su Mo stir-fried the greens, he casually said, "The daughter of Magistrate Xue!"

"She ran away from an arranged marriage and came here."

Su Mo was actually puzzled as well. Xue Shan had truly not sent anyone to drag her back. He had not even asked about her.

Could his reputation really carry that much weight?

But he could not be bothered to waste brainpower investigating the matter.

"After breakfast, I'll take you to stroll around the Eastern Market and familiarize yourself with the situation."

"We'll also see if there are any suitable storefronts."

After a pause, he added, "We'll have to take a look at the dog market too!"

Heroine Chen could not help asking curiously, "What are we going to the dog market for?"

Su Mo gritted his teeth. "To buy a dog!"

"A big, fierce dog that bites!"