The Fisherman and the Transmigrator

"Hey! Did you get the Plum Blossom Thief case files?"

"Don't rush me. It's only been three days. There are so many files at the Ministry of Justice—I need time to look through them."

"Hey, hey, hey! It's been seven days! Where are the case files?"

"Don't rush, don't rush. The Ministry of Justice isn't easy to deal with. I'll give them to you in a few days."

"A few days, a few days—another seven or eight days have passed! Where are the files you promised me?"

"Look at you, getting impatient again! Haven't I been busy? Blame yourself for not helping me persuade Hua Manlou earlier. Now I have to revise the character setup of an important supporting character in my novel..."

"Then revise it already!"

Lu Xiaofeng snatched the fishing rod from Zhou Ming's hand and smashed it viciously onto the ground. Furious, he said, "The first time I came looking for you, you were fishing. The second time I came looking for you, you were still fishing. Today is the third time I've come looking for you, and you're fucking fishing again! Can't you do something productive for once?"

"Don't be angry..."

Zhou Ming picked up the bait and slowly put it back on the hook. "It's not like I haven't revised it. It's just that every time you come by, I happen to be fishing. Sigh, in weather this freezing, revising is no easy task. My hands are freezing! It's all Hua Manlou's fault! If he'd agreed earlier, wouldn't all this trouble have been avoided?"

"Old Hua was never going to agree to that! Wealth should not be flaunted! The Hua family has already been rather conspicuous these past few years. The character in your book keeps showing off his wealth too. Of course Hua Manlou wouldn't agree."

Lu Xiaofeng said, "Come to think of it, I've finished reading your novel. The role you assigned Hua Manlou only appeared a few times. Does revising it really need to take this long?"

"You only read the first few chapters. He has plenty of appearances later on!"

"Fine, I'll believe you one more time. But honestly, while your writing is somewhat crude, the mysteries behind your cases are quite ingenious. I didn't expect you to have such clever ideas."

"Haha, Brother Lu overestimates me. Those case mysteries weren't actually my own ideas. I found them in the Ministry of Justice's case files... If you have power and don't use it, it expires. You know what I mean."

"Damn it!"

Lu Xiaofeng's lips twitched. He might have wanted to curse, but considering that he was in someone else's home and insulting the host would be quite impolite, he let it go.

It had absolutely nothing to do with the faintly dangerous aura radiating from the middle-aged man standing beside them like an iron tower, or from the four beautiful maidservants nearby.

"Forget it. I'm leaving in a couple of days anyway. Do whatever you want."

"Leaving? Where to?"

"The Plum Blossom Thief! I'm going to investigate!"

Zhou Ming cast his line and turned around. "As far as I know, the Plum Blossom Thief hasn't shown himself for months. There isn't a single clue. How are you going to investigate? Where are you going to look?"

"Then your information is outdated. These past few months, the martial world has been in turmoil. Especially recently, Little Li Flying Dagger Li Xunhuan, who disappeared ten years ago, has returned to the Central Plains for some reason. Many people now believe that the so-called Plum Blossom Thief is actually Li Xunhuan. Isn't that a clue?"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "I've already decided. I'll head out the day after tomorrow to join the excitement."

"Fine."

Zhou Ming nodded. "Safe travels."

Lu Xiaofeng left.

Zhou Ming set his fishing rod aside and watched the rippling lake water. Li Xunhuan has returned. Then the story of Little Li Flying Dagger should be about to begin...

Zhou Ming, courtesy name Changping, was twenty years old. He was the adopted son of Grand Secretary Pei Ju, had studied under the Quanzhen Sect since childhood, and was now a martial artist of the Innate True Qi Realm.

At the same time, he was a transmigrator.

In his previous life, he had merely been an ordinary person with no particular hobbies except fishing. One day, while fishing by a river, he struck it lucky and transmigrated into this seemingly familiar yet different martial world.

In this world, King Wu's campaign against Zhou established Great Zhou and enfeoffed the various lords. A thousand years had passed since then. Now, the Son of Heaven was weak and incompetent, while the states rose one after another.

In Qin State, the Hundred Schools of Thought flourished, and Sword Saint Gai Nie was renowned throughout the land.

In Sui State, the powerful clans prospered, and the fame of the Three Grandmasters spread far and wide.

In Song State, the Beggar's Sect and Shaolin stood strong, while North Qiao Feng and South Murong were both well-known.

And there was also Ming State, where he lived...

Throughout the realm and the martial world, one familiar name after another, one familiar story after another, had once left Zhou Ming with deeply complicated feelings.

But by now, he had grown accustomed to it.

As a transmigrator, Zhou Ming also possessed a cheat ability: a spherical space that had been with him since birth and grew on its own over time.

Moreover, once this space fulfilled certain conditions, it would awaken a new ability or upgrade an existing one.

But there were two problems.

First, he could not control the awakening or upgrading of abilities. It was completely random.

Second, he had no idea what those so-called conditions were.

Although, by fortunate coincidence, he had triggered the conditions three times and gained one level-two ability and one level-one ability.

He still had no clue what those conditions actually were.

Half a year ago, after completing his studies at the Quanzhen Sect and returning to the capital, he had begun conducting all sorts of experiments in an attempt to discover the trigger conditions for this cheat ability.

The title of Four Young Heroes of the Capital was an experiment he had conducted based on the hypothesis of "reputation."

He had also tested many other possibilities.

But none of them had triggered anything.

At that thought, Zhou Ming suddenly raised his head and asked, "Uncle Qiang, is the matter I asked you to handle done?"

The iron-tower-like man beside him replied, "Young Master, it's finished."

"It doesn't look fake, does it?"

A smile tugged at Uncle Qiang's lips. "Young Master, you jest. The paper is from the Ministry of Justice, the ink is from the Ministry of Justice, the officials of the Ministry of Justice wrote it by hand, and the seal of the Ministry of Justice has been stamped on it nice and firmly. How could it be called fake?"

"Good."

Zhou Ming nodded. This forged case file can alter the plot. If I make the trip myself, I'll personally experience the plot as well... If neither of these guesses can trigger the conditions, then I truly can't think of any other possibilities for the moment...

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

At the gates of the capital.

Lu Xiaofeng mounted a fast horse and was about to crack his whip when he heard the sound of a carriage behind him. Curious, he turned around and saw an unusually distinctive carriage. The two horses in front were one thing, but the carriage compartment behind them looked anything but ordinary.

The person driving the carriage was a woman who looked vaguely familiar.

Thinking carefully, wasn't she the maid who was always following that bastard Zhou Ming around?

Could it be...

He waited a while. When the carriage caught up, Zhou Ming indeed poked his head out and tossed over a booklet.

Lu Xiaofeng hurriedly caught it and smiled. "This is... the Plum Blossom Thief case file?"

"Of course!"

"Hahaha, you could have simply sent someone to deliver the case file. Why come personally?"

Zhou Ming stepped down from the carriage. "I'm not here to see you off. I'm going with you to investigate the Plum Blossom Thief!"

Lu Xiaofeng froze. "You're interested in this sort of thing too?"

Zhou Ming said, "The matter of the Plum Blossom Thief has been spreading far and wide. Perhaps it can serve as material for my novel. Besides, I want to meet that Little Li Flying Dagger myself!"

"Oh?" Lu Xiaofeng smiled. "You're interested in this famous hero?"

Zhou Ming sneered. "I just want to see what kind of beast casually handed his family's legacy over to someone else and made his ancestors lose face in their graves!"

The smile on Lu Xiaofeng's face stiffened.

"Ahem! Well... it's fine to think such things privately, but you mustn't say them carelessly in public! Ten years ago, Li Xunhuan had already killed an expert of the Innate Perfected Realm. His sworn brother Long Xiaoyun is now an expert of the Innate Gang Qi Realm as well. You're only in the True Qi Realm, so you must not rashly offend them."

There were three Innate realms: True Qi, Gang Qi, and Perfected!

Zhou Ming was only in the first realm, True Qi.

Long Xiaoyun was in the second realm, Gang Qi.

As for Li Xunhuan, ten years ago, he had already been able to kill someone in the third realm, Perfected.

"Don't worry. I may not be capable enough, but I brought four maidservants who serve as guards. They're all Innate experts, and together they can fight a Grandmaster!"

As he spoke, the four beautiful maidservants had somehow already stepped down from the carriage and taken up positions around Zhou Ming.

"Young Master Lu." The four women saluted him.

"No, no! Just call me Lu Xiaofeng..."

Lu Xiaofeng quickly waved his hands. As expected of the Grand Secretary. He considered himself somewhat talented in martial arts, yet he was only at the Innate Gang Qi Realm. These four women did not appear older than him—perhaps they were even younger—yet their cultivation was no weaker than his.

"Right, I haven't asked for the names of these four ladies."

Zhou Ming smiled. "Let me introduce them. This is Qinqin, this is Qiqin, and these are Qaqin and Qingqing."