County Lieutenant Qin Ganghu, Black Tiger Gang's Invitation

Seeing this, Su Ye turned to the two behind him and asked, "What's going on with this wanted poster?"

"This matter,"

Song Ren urged his horse to Su Ye's side and explained, "I heard there were Demonic Beasts causing trouble a couple of days ago, and Patriarch Qin happened to run into it."

"He tracked the Demonic Beasts and discovered that these beasts were hiding in Zhou Tao's mansion."

"Patriarch Qin immediately reported the matter. After the county magistrate and several constables searched, not only were there traces of many Demonic Beasts in Zhou Tao's mansion, but dozens of corpses and remains were also found hidden in the backyard."

"Dozens of skeletal remains, have they been released to the public?"

Su Ye's eyes held a strange look. Logically, Zhou Tao wouldn't be so foolish as to hide so many hidden dangers in his own home.

"No, the County Lord said the matter was too horrific and detrimental to the city's peace."

Song Ren continued, "Afterward, this obituary was issued."

Zhou Tao's incident caused Su Ye's plans to fall through abruptly. He couldn't help but frown and ask, "Who is the County Lieutenant now?"

"It's the second master of the Qin family."

Qin Hao's father, Qin Ganghu. Su Ye's thoughts raced. The situation had developed beyond his expectations. Being in the county town now, he had no intention of turning back and fleeing.

Although the Qin family was powerful, he wasn't a pushover. It would just be a fight.

Su Ye's expression was calm. The three of them continued walking towards the yamen. Merchants with bamboo baskets occasionally passed by, and the shops on both sides displayed a dazzling array of goods.

There were even vendors on the roadside shouting their wares with all their might.

"Sharpening knives and scissors!"

"Buns, just out of the steamer!"

"Repairing fans, mending umbrellas!"

Interspersed with the sounds of bargaining, the scene was lively.

Unknowingly, the three arrived at a four-way intersection, where five figures suddenly appeared and blocked their path.

The leader, a man in his early thirties wearing black short clothes, spoke with a slightly nasal voice, "Are you Su Ye, Constable Su?"

Su Ye looked down at the men who had surrounded him and asked, "Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

"I am Li Ming of the Black Tiger Gang. Our Hall Master wishes to invite Lord Su for a chat to resolve some misunderstandings," Li Ming replied with a smile.

Su Ye knew in his heart that this matter was definitely related to Huang Qianqing. He replied verbally, "Although I don't know your Hall Master, since there are misunderstandings, I will naturally go."

"Tell me the time and place."

Su Ye's answer clearly stunned Li Ming. The prepared speech he had brought was completely unused.

A moment later, Li Ming reacted and hurriedly said, "It's on our East Ward Street... Our gang's headquarters is there. Tonight at the hour of Hai, we will respectfully welcome Lord Su."

Looking at the departing figures of the Black Tiger Gang members, Su Ye pondered. The Black Tiger Gang, as one of the three major gangs in Linshan County, naturally had Martial Artists at the Meridian Opening realm guarding it.

There must be Meridian Opening realm Martial Arts within the gang. Perhaps the Internal Cultivation methods he had been longing for could be found there.

"Constable Su, do you have a history with the Black Tiger Gang?" Song Ren asked doubtfully.

Su Ye casually brushed it off, "Just some misunderstandings."

He gestured for Song Ren and the other to continue towards the yamen.

Outside the main hall of the yamen, Su Ye entered slowly after receiving permission. The hall was unchanged from when he had left a few days ago. However, the person sitting in the main seat had been replaced by an old man.

This person was about fifty years old, with a square face. His eyes seemed to flash with sharp light as he looked up.

"Greetings, County Lieutenant," Su Ye said. Although he knew this person's identity and knew that Song Ren had informed the old man about the matter in Kaoshan Town, his expression remained unchanged.

Qin Ganghu's gaze swept over the young man below. This young man was handsome, and most importantly, as Song Ren had said, he was very strong, at least at the Late Body Tempering stage, and had killed over a dozen Demonic Beasts in one night.

"I didn't expect my yamen to produce someone like Constable Su."

As he spoke, Su Ye knew that Qin Ganghu had not yet received the news of Qin Hao's death and was still in the dark, otherwise, he wouldn't have this expression.

"This subordinate merely did his duty," Su Ye replied neither subserviently nor arrogantly.

Hearing this, Qin Ganghu smiled, "Constable Su has worked hard recently. If you need anything, just ask."

Su Ye calmly said, "My Lord, this subordinate is obsessed with the path of martial arts. Besides the three books in the Martial Arts Library, does the county yamen have any other Martial Arts?"

"Martial Arts? Our yamen only has those three books. Constable Su, have you encountered a bottleneck in your cultivation?"

Seeing Su Ye nod, Qin Ganghu looked surprised, "Could it be that Constable Su has already touched the threshold of the Meridian Mirror realm?"

"I dare not deceive you, my Lord. This subordinate just took that step a few days ago," Su Ye said, intentionally hiding his strength and going along with him.

Hearing this, Qin Ganghu looked emotional, then said with difficulty, "My Qin family has quite a few, but you are not a member of my Qin family after all."

Then, Qin Ganghu said meaningfully, "I heard that Demonic Beasts have been causing trouble these past few nights. Several towns near Kaoshan Town have suffered calamities. Does Constable Su know about this clearly?"

Su Ye replied in a deep voice, "I know."

He then added, "This subordinate dares to ask, County Lieutenant, why aren't you sending people to slay these Demonic Beasts?"

"Constable Su only knows one part of the story, not the other. Killing these Demonic Beasts is easy, but they all have backing behind them."

"Take the Qu Mountain Demon King, for example. He is the son of the Jun of Qingya Mountain. If we rashly kill him, we might incur retaliation from the Mountain Lord."

Qin Ganghu spoke with patient guidance, "So, when you're out there making a name for yourself, you need connections and influence. Without either, you'll never succeed."

"I see you have good talent for martial arts. Your future shouldn't be ruined because of your background."

"Although you are not part of my Qin Family, I do not wish for a young hero like you to be lost in the crowd. If you join the Qin Family, I can promise you a Yellow Tier Mid-grade cultivation technique."

Yellow Tier Mid-grade is the same as the Dragon Tiger Vajra Skill. Both can be cultivated to the Meridian Opening Mid-stage. Su Ye understood this clearly.

This old fox wouldn't be this kind for no reason. If it's just joining in name, I don't mind.

Curiosity piqued, he asked tentatively, "May I ask, Lord, are there any restrictions?"

Qin Ganghu chuckled, "Cultivation techniques above Yellow Tier, Constable Su, you should know how precious they are. To prevent the techniques from leaking, a restriction must be planted within your body."

"You can rest assured, it's just a precautionary measure with no hidden dangers."

This old geezer clearly thinks I'm an idiot. Su Ye showed no outward displeasure and calmly replied, "Thank you for your appreciation, Lord. Please allow me a few days to consider."

Leaving the yamen, Su Ye visited three martial arts schools. The strongest master he met was only at Body Tempering Layer eight. He certainly wouldn't find the Meridian Mirror martial arts he was looking for there.

At Changfeng Inn, Su Ye entered his room and opened the wooden window. He connected his spiritual sense, and soon a black shadow darted into the room.

"Cough, boss, Linshan County has been quite turbulent these past few days. There have been quite a few murders."

"And, and, guess what I discovered?" Da Hei deliberately built suspense.

After a slight pause, noticing Su Ye wasn't paying attention, Da Hei, realizing it was boring, chuckled sheepishly, "Behind the county yamen, they actually hid those half-human, half-ghost things from the Corpse Demon Cult."

"Also, the Qin Family and Cai Family in the city both have the shadow of the Corpse Demon Cult."

"These two families are like emperors in Linshan County. Their businesses involve grain, oil, salt, iron, and weapons... all vital lifelines."

"What about the Black Tiger Gang?"

Su Ye pondered, This Corpse Demon Cult's infiltration is so strong, it's as if they've taken control of the entire Linshan County.