Graceful Young Master

"Yes!"

Everyone answered in unison, their voices carrying a trace of excitement.

At first, they had all taken this for an ordinary assignment, but once the Qi-Replenishing Pills were brought out, everyone grew eager to try!

Some of those with especially vigorous Qi-Blood even wore expressions of certain victory.

After everyone left.

"Brother Liu, what can these wet-behind-the-ears boys and girls possibly do?! It'll be good enough if they don't drag us down!

"Especially that Jiang Che. His Qi-Blood is pathetically weak! No wonder that girl Yin Yingying didn't want to team up with him! I wouldn't have agreed either!" one constable complained.

"Exactly! I think these Martial Arts Halls simply don't want to put in any effort! I never said anything back when the city was peaceful.

"Now the city is getting more chaotic by the day, and us brothers are working ourselves to the bone! Yet those Martial Arts Halls still want to keep themselves clean and untouched—how shameless!" another constable chimed in.

"Enough. Let's get to work."

Liu Hai sighed and spoke in a low voice.

At that moment, he no longer wore his previous smiling expression. His face was stern, even somewhat gloomy.

"Alright, Brother Liu, we're off!"

The constables took their leave one after another.

Once Liu Hai was the only one left in the room, he walked to the table and pulled out a file from a thick stack of case records.

Upon opening it, he saw several faintly written lines:

[...the Blood Spirit Cult wreaked havoc, using living people to feed Blood Beasts...]

[...joined forces with the Seven Star Gang to destroy a branch altar, but failed to locate the Blood Beast...]

[...Blood Beasts are skilled at hiding and enjoy hunting at night...]

[...many died tragic deaths, their bellies cut open...]

[...the more people it eats, the stronger the Blood Beast becomes...]

Liu Hai could not help sighing.

Although the higher-ups had put immense pressure on him over the Flower-Plucking Thief case,

what truly gave him a headache was the Blood Beast case.

In just a few short months, that beast had already hunted hundreds of people.

Rumors of evil spirits had begun circulating through the city as well, leaving everyone in a state of panic.

Yet the Blood Beast was exceedingly cautious, impossible to capture.

"No. This Blood Beast is growing too quickly. We can't delay any longer!"

Inner City, Fireworks Street.

This was one of the Inner City's four main streets. The shops primarily sold rouge, cosmetics, jewelry, and cloth—places women loved to visit.

Compared to the desolation of the Outer City, this place was clearly far more prosperous.

Not only were there more passersby on the streets, but the clothes they wore were also made from fine materials.

Every now and then, one could even see young ladies of noble families shopping with guards in tow.

As they passed by, a fragrant breeze wafted over, making it obvious they had used expensive perfume.

Jiang Che and Yin Yingying walked down the street, their gazes constantly sweeping over the shops and pedestrians.

Their Martial Arts Hall disciple attire stood out in the Outer City, but here in the Inner City, it seemed rather ordinary.

When they passed a jewelry shop, Yin Yingying's large eyes kept peering inside.

Though she came from a decent family, they were merely a wealthy household in the Outer City.

Although she never lacked food or clothing in her daily life, where could she have seen such exquisite and luxurious jewelry? Her steps involuntarily slowed.

As Jiang Che walked on, he suddenly realized Yin Yingying had disappeared.

Turning around, he found her standing at the entrance of a jewelry shop, staring fixedly at the ornaments displayed inside.

Jiang Che shook his head. Just as he was about to go over and tell her to keep moving, he suddenly noticed that a young lady from a noble family he had seen earlier, accompanied by guards, had also entered this jewelry shop.

This young lady wore a magnificent blue gown and a glittering pearl necklace around her neck.

Her features were breathtakingly beautiful, like a beauty who had stepped out of a painting, utterly out of place among those around her.

Yin Yingying was quite pretty too, but when that woman brushed past her, Yin Yingying was instantly made to look like her maidservant.

Jiang Che's heart stirred. If he were the Flower-Plucking Thief, his targets would certainly grow more ambitious.

Since he had already harmed someone from the Chen Family, perhaps he would continue seeking daughters from other noble families.

The woman before him was an excellent target!

Thoughts flashed through Jiang Che's mind as he walked to Yin Yingying's side and said,

"Miss Yin, since you like it, why not go in and take a look?"

"Hmph, I... I don't like it! I just wanted to see whether there's a Flower-Plucking Thief inside!" Yin Yingying said stubbornly.

"That was what I meant too. Let's go in." With that, Jiang Che entered first.

Yin Yingying opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, then followed him inside.

"Wow, this jewelry is so beautiful!" Yin Yingying stared at a bracelet made of gold and jade, her eyes shining brightly.

"This bracelet is set with ice-grade jade. There is only one like it in all of Abyss-Facing City, and it sells for one thousand taels of silver."

Behind the wooden counter, a middle-aged woman glanced at Yin Yingying and spoke indifferently.

"O-one thousand taels?" Yin Yingying was stunned.

Even though she usually spent money freely, she spent at most a few dozen taels.

One thousand taels had already exceeded the limits of her understanding.

Jiang Che also glanced sideways. One thousand taels could buy two houses like his family's. The Inner City truly was a place of extravagant excess.

Seeing Yin Yingying's shocked expression, the middle-aged woman looked utterly unsurprised. She ignored her and instead greeted the noble young lady with a beaming smile.

"Oh, Miss Shao, what wind has blown you here? We've made a new necklace, and I guarantee it will satisfy you!"

Miss Shao smiled faintly. "Oh? Bring it out and let me see. Let me say this first: I won't even look at anything ordinary. That jade-set bracelet last time was far too vulgar."

"Rest assured! This one is absolutely not vulgar!"

The woman carefully took a box out from beneath the counter.

When she opened it, they saw a necklace strung together from dozens of gold beads, each the size of a longan pit.

Every gold bead was densely set with tiny pearls, making the whole thing sparkle brilliantly.

The clasp was crafted from gold inlaid with turquoise.

At the very bottom of the necklace was a huge round ruby.

Beneath the ruby hung a teardrop-shaped sapphire.

The middle-aged woman carefully lifted the necklace. The gold beads knocked against one another, immediately producing a soft, pleasing chime.

Miss Shao's eyes lit up. "Not bad. How much?"

"Only two thousand taels!" the woman said with a smile.

Miss Shao nodded. "Fine. The usual arrangement. Wrap it up and send it to the Shao Estate. Have the steward settle the bill."

"Of course, of course! I'll wrap it right away!" The woman was overjoyed.

Yin Yingying stared fixedly at that necklace and murmured,

"This necklace is far too beautiful. If someone gave it to me, that would be wonderful. I'd even be willing to marry him..."

"But what if he were old and ugly?" Jiang Che could not help replying.

"Of course that wouldn't do! What do you take me for?" Yin Yingying glared at Jiang Che, somewhat annoyed.

Jiang Che smiled without saying anything.

Suddenly, another refined young master entered the shop.

His eyes shone like stars, his face was like flawless jade, and he held a folding fan painted with a landscape in his hand. He was the very picture of elegance and grace.

Jiang Che's heart stirred. He looked more closely, only to discover that although this man was equally handsome, his appearance was completely different from the person Chief Constable Liu had shown them.

Could it be that it wasn't him?

But the portrait might not have been accurate, and the Flower-Plucking Thief might even know how to disguise himself. Thus, Jiang Che did not give up.

The man walked straight toward Miss Shao and said with a smile, "Miss Shao, we meet again."

Miss Shao's eyes lit up when she saw him. "It's you!"

Seeing that the two knew each other, Jiang Che dismissed the thought again and decided to take a look outside instead.

However, as that young master passed him, the Omen suddenly issued a warning!

Jiang Che was instantly startled.

"There's something wrong with this man!"