First Mission

After signing the affiliation contract, Yan San Niang immediately arranged a place for the Gu Mo siblings to stay—a small courtyard not far from Unique Villa. It was free of charge, since the courtyard belonged to Yan San Niang to begin with, and it came fully furnished with all the furniture and kitchenware they could need.

That night, the two siblings moved in.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Gu Chundong bought back firewood, rice, oil, salt, and other necessities. By the time Gu Mo got out of bed, the meal was already prepared, her timing perfectly calculated.

This was the tacit understanding the siblings had developed over many years.

Ever since Gu Chundong was seven, Gu Mo had taken her to wander the jianghu. The siblings had traveled far and wide, from north to south, and their duties had been clearly divided even then. Gu Mo earned money, while Gu Chundong handled all the domestic matters—food, clothing, shelter, and travel.

Gu Chundong knew Gu Mo's daily routine like the palm of her hand, so she could always save him a great deal of time. The reason she guarded his time so carefully was that Gu Mo not only had to earn money, but also had to practice martial arts. Through winter's cold and summer's heat, he had never once slackened. That was the main reason he had managed to train his Mystic Void Saber Technique to the forty-eighth form without anyone to guide him: diligence and perseverance.

After breakfast,

Gu Mo began instructing Gu Chundong in saber techniques.

Gu Chundong found it utterly astonishing. Gu Mo clearly could not see, yet he could always spot the flaws in her saber work. Even the tiniest, most subtle mistakes did not escape him.

Gu Chundong could not help complaining, "Brother, if you'd been this formidable earlier, I'd have become a great hero long ago!"

"Then my eyes would have had to go blind earlier."

Gu Chundong pursed her lips. "Forget it, then. I'd rather you weren't so strong. But seriously, Brother, just looking at your martial arts, it feels like you've become a different person."

"And if you look at me as a person?"

"Hmm, your personality hasn't changed, and neither have your habits. It's just that your bearing has changed somewhat. You have quite the air of someone who has attained enlightenment!"

Gu Mo smiled faintly.

It truly could be considered a kind of enlightenment.

The Buddhists said that Between Life and Death lay great terror, while within reincarnation lay great confusion.

He had suffered a tremendous upheaval and awakened his Awakened Past Life Memories.

To say he had changed was indeed true. To say he had not changed was also true—he was still the same person.

Yet in terms of martial arts attainment, it was indeed because the Nine Yang Divine Skill had raised him to a realm that most people could pursue for a lifetime without reaching. He was only one step short of a Grandmaster who had returned to simplicity, yet far surpassed ordinary First-rate Masters of the Jianghu.

Of course, that was merely martial arts attainment, not combat strength.

Combat strength was not something easily assessed.

Take Old Saber Handle, whom he had dealt with last night. In his youth, he had been a renowned First-rate Master. After decades of immersion, his martial arts attainment should have far exceeded that of an ordinary First-rate Master, yet Gu Mo's exquisite internal-energy technique had frightened him so badly that he had not dared make a move.

Combat strength and martial arts attainment did not completely correspond to one another.

As Gu Mo guided Gu Chundong's saber practice, he heard footsteps beyond the courtyard. Though no voices had reached him yet, he could tell that it was Yan San Niang, along with the swordsman named A Qi who had always remained at her side as her personal guard.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door.

Gu Chundong opened it. Sure enough, Yan San Niang entered with the black-clad swordsman named A Qi.

"Young Hero Gu," Yan San Niang asked as she entered, "do you plan to rest for a while before taking on missions, or would you like to accept one now?"

"I can do so anytime." Gu Mo asked, "Do you have many missions on hand?"

"Of course I do," Yan San Niang said. "However, I would like to ask Young Hero Gu to capture a great thief. As you know, my Wind Chasing Tower has just opened. This is exactly when I need to make a name for it, and the best way is naturally to complete a few impressive Blade Catcher missions."

"Tell me about it," Gu Mo said.

Gu Chundong came out carrying a teapot and poured tea. Casually, she said, "Boss Yan, don't give us some impossible mission like capturing the Sect Master of the demonic cult. We're here to be Blade Catchers, not corpses."

"Sister Chundong, you jest," Yan San Niang said. "Even if you wanted to capture those titans of the demonic path, I would not dare send you after them. My Unique Villa could not withstand the fury of such demonic giants, nor do I have the ability to obtain intelligence on people like that. Besides, I'm counting on your brother to make money for me. If I get your brother killed, I'll be taking a massive loss."

After pouring tea for Yan San Niang and A Qi, Gu Chundong sat down beside Gu Mo without another word.

Yan San Niang took out a stack of Xuan Paper. "This is the intelligence I have gathered. I wonder if Young Hero Gu has heard of the Flying Horse Gang?"

"You mean that band of Bandits that roams Mobei year-round?" Gu Mo asked.

"That's right," Yan San Niang said. "It seems Young Hero Gu does know of them."

Gu Mo nodded.

He had spent several years doing Escort Missions for the Long Wind Escort Agency, so he naturally paid close attention to organizations like bandits and horse thieves.

The Flying Horse Gang was one of the bands of Bandits most closely watched by their escort masters. They roamed the Mobei region year-round, slaughtering villages and exterminating entire families at the drop of a hat. Of the escort masters whose convoys encountered them, very few escaped alive.

This band of Bandits was utterly vicious. Ordinary bandits and brigands usually robbed for wealth. So long as their victims readily handed over their money, they could generally keep their lives—at most, if there were beautiful women among them, they might be carried off.

But the Flying Horse Gang was different.

Whenever this group struck, they always took both wealth and lives. Their favorite pastime was slaughtering villages—gathering all the villagers together, then beginning a massacre and competing over who killed more people. Their methods were extraordinarily cruel; they spared neither the elderly, children, nor infants.

The authorities had launched encirclement and suppression operations against them many times, but achieved little.

That was because the band of Bandits never remained in one place, roaming everywhere year-round. Most important of all, the Flying Horse Gang revolved around its leader, Flying Dragon. The others were unimportant. Whenever one died, another immediately took his place. Over the past decade or so, the Flying Horse Gang's members had been replaced batch after batch, but its leader Flying Dragon had always been the same man.

Yan San Niang said, "Recently, this band of Bandits has appeared in Linjiang County."

Gu Mo asked in confusion, "The Flying Horse Gang hasn't left Mobei in over ten years. Why have they suddenly come to Linjiang County?"

Yan San Niang said, "They ran into a hard opponent. A swordsman has emerged in Mobei, and recently he has become tremendously famous throughout the region. Jianghu folk call him the Flying Swordsman. He appeared out of nowhere, and no one knows his name, so some call him Nameless.

No one knows what grudge he has against the Flying Horse Gang, but he has clamped onto them like a dog refusing to let go. Without sleep or rest, he has pursued and killed the Flying Horse Gang relentlessly. His swordsmanship and lightness skill are both superb, forcing the Flying Horse Gang to flee Mobei.

In only half a month, they have already committed three village-massacre atrocities in Linjiang County. Six Doors has been hunting them with all its strength. Though they captured several Flying Horse Gang Bandits, they have never managed to catch Flying Dragon. The authorities have raised the bounty by another thousand taels."

"A thousand taels?" Gu Mo said. "Wouldn't that drive all Blade Catchers mad?"

"Yes, and not only that," Yan San Niang said. "Several Jianghu Forces and wealthy merchants have also put up bounties. Altogether, they exceed three thousand taels. Completing this job would be enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for a lifetime."

Gu Mo asked doubtfully, "You have intelligence ahead of everyone else?"

Yan San Niang nodded. "Yes. It is absolutely the freshest intelligence in the entire Jianghu at present. The Flying Horse Gang committed three atrocities in Pingze County, and all current clues and intelligence concerning them are concentrated in Pingze County and its surrounding areas. However, I know one newer piece of intelligence: Flying Dragon has already fled to the Zhushan County area. Are you interested?"

"Let's give it a try!"

Just then, the System Prompt rang out in Gu Mo's mind:

New target detected

Wanted target—Flying Dragon

Mission level—Three Stars

Mission reward—Max Level Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms