Yamen Mission

Inside the Jiang Family courtyard.

The wooden stick fell halfway, then suddenly stopped.

"Can this really work...?"

Jiang Che held the stick, hesitation written across his face.

Training had been exhausting in the past, but at least he had not gotten hurt.

But this meant actively taking a beating.

No one in their right mind wanted to be beaten.

"Whatever. Brother Sun definitely won't lie to me!"

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Che raised the stick and smashed it viciously against his own thigh.

Smack!

"Hiss—"

Jiang Che sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

Though he was in the Ox-Hide Realm and his skin had thickened, that did not mean he could not feel pain.

Hit a cow with a stick, and even the cow would cry out—let alone a person.

But having made up his mind, Jiang Che hesitated no longer and brought the stick down on himself again.

Before long, Jiang Che had beaten himself black and blue all over, looking utterly miserable.

Even the slightest movement tugged at his injured muscles, making his face twitch with pain.

"This should be enough, right...?"

"I wonder how many beatings Brother Sun took before he formed calluses... ah, no, before he mastered that hard-body martial art."

Jiang Che smiled bitterly to himself.

He set down the stick, put on his clothes, then took out a Gold Injury Pill and swallowed it.

Before long, Jiang Che felt his injured muscles grow warm, as though his body were recovering at an accelerated pace.

Ten days passed like this.

Smack!

Jiang Che slammed the wooden stick hard against his chest, and it snapped apart on impact.

[Body Tempering Entry Realm (1/100)]

A new skill, "Body Tempering," had appeared prominently on the system panel.

At the same time, Jiang Che felt that when his muscles were struck, they no longer hurt nearly as much.

When his muscles tensed, his skin even faintly reddened, somewhat resembling Sun Yong when he used his hard-body martial art.

"I finally mastered it!"

Jiang Che was so moved he nearly cried.

The beatings he had taken these past days outnumbered all the beatings from both his lives combined!

"Wooden sticks aren't enough anymore. It's time to try bricks and stones..."

Jiang Che tossed aside the stick and went to a corner, where he picked up a green brick he had prepared earlier.

Having proven that it worked, he no longer hesitated.

He drew a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and smashed it brutally against his own body.

Government Front Street.

Hou's Noodle Shop.

A handsome young man dressed in fitted white martial attire was wolfing down a bowl of beef noodles.

The noodle broth was rich and fragrant, topped with several large chunks of braised beef, while the noodles were springy and chewy.

The young man ate until sweat streamed down his face, enjoying himself immensely.

After finishing one bowl, he ordered another.

Then he lowered his head and continued eating with gusto.

This person was Jiang Che.

This was a noodle shop that had recently opened diagonally across from Jiang Che's home.

A wealthy family had originally lived there.

For some reason, they had moved away some time ago. The current owners had taken over the place and turned it into a noodle shop.

The owner was surnamed Hou, a man in his thirties with a kind-looking face.

He had hired no assistants; he and his wife ran the small shop themselves.

Jiang Che had heard that the man had once been a cook at a large restaurant in the Inner City.

After saving up some money, he had come here and opened his own noodle shop.

Jiang Che had become hooked after eating there once.

The noodles were truly quite good.

Though this era had no MSG, the broth, simmered with beef bones, chicken frames, ham, dried scallops, and the like, was bursting with umami.

Before long, two people who looked like Martial Artists came over and sat nearby.

They each ordered a bowl of beef noodles as well.

"Did you hear? The Thunderbolt Gang in the south of the city is gone!"

"Oh? How did it disappear?" the other asked curiously.

"The strongest one in their gang, that Brother Blade—they say he's dead! They found him in Rag Alley. His head had exploded, his belly had been sliced open, and all his organs were gone!"

"That gruesome?! Wasn't Brother Blade at the peak of the Ox-Hide Realm? Who dealt such a ruthless blow?"

"No idea. They say..." The man looked around, then lowered his voice. "They say something evil is haunting the place!"

"Really?" The other man was somewhat shocked.

"That's what everyone's saying, anyway. In short, it's damned strange." The man took a sip of noodle soup and continued,

"Once Brother Blade died, the Thunderbolt Gang had no one left who could fight. The Azure Dragon Gang soon came knocking, and even their gang leader was hacked to death!

"In the end, all of the Thunderbolt Gang's territory went to the Azure Dragon Gang!"

"Boss, the bill!" Jiang Che finished his noodles and handed over sixty copper coins.

The noodles were thirty coins per bowl, and there were several chunks of beef in each, so it was not expensive.

"So Brother Blade died too... It was that Green-Eyed Monster."

Jiang Che thought to himself.

Because of what had happened with Zhao Hu and Skinny Monkey, he had once worried that Brother Blade would come looking for trouble.

Though those three had not been killed by him, their deaths had more or less been connected to him.

Yet now, even Brother Blade was gone.

But Jiang Che did not feel relieved because of it.

Brother Blade had been only a hair's breadth away from breaking through into the Stone Skin Realm.

Yet he had still died such a miserable death at that Monster's hands.

Jiang Che felt that if he went all out and revealed every trump card he had, he could defeat Brother Blade.

But when he recalled the palpitations he had felt upon encountering that Monster, he still felt he was no match for it.

With a Monster like that in the city, no one could live in peace.

Who knew whether it stayed only in the south of the city or roamed everywhere?

What if it came to the East District one day...

"No. I absolutely can't wander around at night!"

Jiang Che thought secretly.

That day, Jiang Che was practicing his punches at the Martial Arts Hall when his master, Luo Kun, suddenly called him over.

"What are your instructions, Master?"

Luo Kun was meditating on a cushion. At his words, he glanced at him.

"Our Martial Arts Hall has received a mission. We are to assist the Yamen in capturing a wanted criminal. The others are all rather busy, so you go."

"Yes, Master!"

Jiang Che knew that he always left early and appeared more idle and unoccupied than the others, which was why he had been sent to handle such miscellaneous errands.

But he could not exactly argue, and he did indeed have an obligation to carry out the Martial Arts Hall's missions.

After taking his leave of Luo Kun, Jiang Che headed toward the Yamen.

As he left the Martial Arts Hall's main gate, Jiang Che unconsciously looked back.

He saw Luo Kun patting Gong Yulei on the shoulder with a smile on his face, though Jiang Che had no idea what he was saying.

Jiang Che could understand it too. What master would not like a genius disciple?

Still, being neglected left him somewhat disappointed.

He shook his head, cast aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, and strode toward the Yamen.

The Yamen was on Government Front Street in the East District, not far from his home.

It did not take Jiang Che long to arrive.

Looking up, he saw two heavy black-lacquered gates directly before him, densely studded with bronze nails the size of eggs.

The door knockers were carved into the heads of unknown beasts, their eyes wide with fury and their expressions rather ferocious.

To the right of the gates stood a massive Grievance Drum. Its drumhead had yellowed somewhat, yet bore few marks of being struck.

On the left stood a stone stele, carved with the large words: "False accusations punished three degrees more severely."

A Yamen soldier stood on each side of the entrance.

They wore fitted blue uniforms and carried long sabers at their waists.

The muscles beneath their clothing bulged, and their breaths were deep and steady. At a glance, they were clearly Martial Artists who had entered the Blood-Qi Realm.

At the moment, however, they looked somewhat exhausted, as if they had not slept all night.

When they saw Jiang Che approaching the Yamen, one of them shouted in a deep voice:

"Stop! Who goes there?"

Jiang Che cupped his fists and said, "I am Jiang Che, a disciple of White Cloud Martial Hall. I have come to assist Chief Constable Liu in apprehending an escaped criminal."

"So it is Young Hero Jiang. Chief Constable Liu has been awaiting you for quite some time. Come with me!" The man nodded and led Jiang Che into the Yamen.