East Twelve Wards Chief Constable

Su Xin's estimation of Third Master Hu and the other Flying Eagle Gang higher-ups proved correct. Over the following month, Su Xin did not commit any further outrageous acts, and naturally, no one came to cause him trouble.

During this month, the group of men under Su Xin made rapid progress, with each of them opening at least one to three acupuncture points in their internal energy cultivation.

Although it wasn't much, it significantly increased their physical strength. However, this also proved that very few of them possessed any real talent for the martial path.

The only ones who could be considered successful in martial arts, aside from Li Huai who had opened seventeen acupuncture points, was Li Qing.

Li Huai's ability to develop such terrifying combat power without any internal energy meant his talent went without saying, but Li Qing was a pleasant surprise; in just one month, he had managed to open nine acupuncture points.

Considering Li Qing had absolutely no martial foundation before this, reaching such a level was no small feat, so Su Xin decided to cultivate him.

After all, when gang wars broke out in the future, he couldn't rely solely on himself and Li Huai; he needed a few people capable of holding their own, and Li Qing was worth the investment.

By now, Su Xin no longer needed to spend his mornings specifically teaching them internal energy; once they had opened an acupuncture point, they could practice on their own.

The afternoons also shifted to sparring matches rather than them continuing to be brutalized by Su Xin.

Once cultivation became a habit, they no longer needed to be urged on. Su Xin simply didn't go to the hall all day, only stopping by for a look after dinner before heading out.

"Boss, you're here?" As soon as Su Xin stepped out, he saw Li Qing patrolling the street with a few brothers.

"Come, walk with me and let's take a look around. By the way, where is Old Huang?" Su Xin asked while strolling along.

Li Qing replied, "Old Huang went to deliver the silver to Third Master Hu. The bosses of all the major shops have already voluntarily handed in their dividends for this month."

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Su Xin's mouth: "Oh? They were so prompt this time?"

Li Qing chuckled: "With your prestige, Boss, would they dare be anything else? It's either pay the silver or pay with their lives; any smart person knows how to choose."

"That is to say, people are sometimes just cheap; they only know fear once they've seen blood."

Su Xin walked slowly, admiring the night view of Happy Forest.

Although the sky had only just darkened, the streets of Happy Forest were already bustling with noise, ten times livelier than during the day.

Only now could Happy Forest truly live up to its name; at the very least, in this Changning Prefecture, whenever anyone heard of a fun place to go, their first reaction was to come to Happy Forest.

Just then, a commotion erupted behind Su Xin and his group. When they turned to look, they saw a young man dressed like a wealthy scion running at full speed while brandishing a short blade, causing the crowd on the street to scramble to both sides in terror.

Su Xin could tell that this young scion didn't practice internal energy, but he was definitely a trained fighter, especially since his movement techniques were quite impressive. If Su Xin didn't use his internal energy, he certainly wouldn't be able to outrun him.

Seeing Su Xin and his men standing motionless in the middle of the road, the young scion roared, "Get out of the way, all of you!"

Before the shout had even faded, the young scion was already in front of Su Xin's group. Seeing them still unmoved, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he swung his blade down.

Li Qing let out a cold snort and stepped forward immediately.

If he had to let the Boss handle such a small fry, wouldn't it make them look useless?

The spiked short club hanging at his waist was in Li Qing's hand in an instant. With a block, a parry, and a strike, the young scion let out a miserable howl; the short blade was knocked flying, and his right hand was instantly drenched in blood.

The other gang members following Li Qing moved immediately, kicking the young scion to his knees and pressing the tips of their spears firmly against his throat.

Seeing Li Qing's performance, Su Xin nodded to himself. Not bad; Li Huai's teaching over the past month hadn't gone to waste.

Li Qing's movements were crisp and decisive, his combat experience was rich, and having practiced internal energy, his strength was not lacking. Compared to the elites of the War Hall, the only thing he was missing was that lingering aura of bloodlust.

Behind the young scion, Boss Liu from the Drunken Moon Pavilion came running up, panting, followed by several employees wielding wooden clubs. Seeing the young scion pinned to the ground by Su Xin's men, he burst into loud laughter.

"Damn! Keep running, you little brat! Why aren't you running anymore? I, Old Liu, have seen plenty of people dine and dash in my life, but damn it, this is the first time I've seen someone 'service and dash' at a brothel!"

The expressions of Su Xin and his men turned strange. Going to a brothel and trying to get a freebie? This guy was quite the talent.

"Boss Liu, what's going on?" Su Xin asked.

Boss Liu looked rather disheveled at the moment.

This old pimp usually had a refined and handsome appearance, but now his face was flushed red and his hair was a mess, whether from anger or exhaustion, it was hard to tell.

Boss Liu pointed at the young scion, who was still clutching his right hand and wailing on the ground, and gritted his teeth: "It's this bastard! He booked out my entire Drunken Moon Pavilion this afternoon, demanded the prettiest girls, ordered the most expensive wine and food, and then tried to run away after he was done!"

Su Xin looked at the young scion in surprise. He was wearing high-quality Jiangnan silk; the clothes alone were worth dozens of taels of silver. Would a scion like this really visit a brothel and refuse to pay?

But it was likely this very attire and demeanor that had fooled even a fox like Boss Liu, who had served him like a lord all afternoon only to end up with nothing.

"Alright then, I'll leave him to you. Handle him however you see fit." Su Xin waved his hand, preparing to turn the man over to Boss Liu, but suddenly, he sensed something was wrong.

"Wait a moment."

Su Xin pressed down on the young scion's head. The man began to struggle violently, but Su Xin knocked him senseless with a single slap.

After fumbling around the man's face for a moment, Su Xin suddenly peeled something off. A human-skin mask came away, revealing the face of a wretched-looking middle-aged man in his forties.

Holding the mask, Su Xin examined it carefully and said, "Heh, this thing is quite exquisite. I almost didn't notice it."

The mask was indeed perfect, but the man's behavior had been suspicious.

An ordinary scion wouldn't have such fast movement techniques, nor would he have the ruthlessness to slash at people with a blade at a moment's notice.

"Huh!? I think I recognize this guy. Isn't he the flower-plucking thief the government has been hunting for the past few days?" Li Qing suddenly said.

"A flower-plucking thief?"

Li Qing nodded: "That's right, it's him. The government was posting his portrait all over the streets yesterday.

This bastard ruined the reputation of over a dozen young women in just one month. It's said that the daughter of the prefectural registrar was among them, which is why the whole city is hunting him. No wonder they couldn't catch him for a month; he's actually an expert in the art of disguise."

"So that's how it is."

Su Xin looked at the lecherous thief with an expression of disgust; in this life, the thing he hated most was men who forced themselves upon women. Although he had been beaten to death in his previous life for standing up for someone in a similar situation, he still loathed such people.

With the thief's lightness skills, he could have made a fortune even as a common burglar, taking his silver to live a life of leisure at the Drunken Moon Pavilion.

Yet, he chose to ruin a young woman's virtue, which made him truly deserving of death; Su Xin felt a surge of irritation.

"Boss Liu, this fellow has a criminal record, so handing him over to you would only be a hassle. I'll just take him back and chop him up to feed the dogs, keeping only his head to claim the bounty at the yamen."

"Whatever you say, Boss Su." Boss Liu cupped his hands with a chuckle, as if he hadn't heard Su Xin's remark about chopping the man up to feed the dogs.

"Wait, don't feed him to the dogs just yet. We've been running all over the city for over ten days to catch this bastard; let's take him back to let the Chief Clerk vent his anger first, then you can feed him."

Several constables in official uniforms pushed through the crowd of onlookers and walked in. The man in the lead was in his thirties, with a face as refined as jade and a faint, lingering smile always playing on his lips.

His right hand held two iron balls, which he toyed with constantly in his palm. This gesture, usually associated with the elderly, felt brimming with power when performed by him.

"This Humble One is Tie Wuqing, Chief Constable of the East Twelve Wards. Boss Su, a pleasure to meet you." Tie Wuqing cupped his hands with a smile, and a powerful pressure surged toward Su Xin.

Su Xin's expression tightened. He had long heard of this Tie Wuqing, and he was undoubtedly the strongest person Su Xin had encountered since his rebirth—so strong that he could only be described in four words: unfathomable!

Tie Wuqing was not intentionally using his aura to suppress Su Xin, but as a martial artist, Su Xin could naturally feel the oppressive sensation brought about by the powerful blood energy within Tie Wuqing's body.

"What 'Boss Su'? Lord Tie, you flatter me too much. If you don't mind, just call me Su Xin."

Facing Tie Wuqing, even Sha Feiying would not dare to call himself a boss in his presence.

Tie Wuqing did not stand on ceremony and pointed directly at the thief: "My brothers and I have been chasing this guy for over ten days, but he kept slipping away using his disguise techniques.

It's thanks to your help that we caught him this time, otherwise the Chief Clerk would have grown impatient. Hand him over to me, and there will certainly be a mention of you, Su Xin, in the merit records."

Looking at the thief, Su Xin suddenly said: "Lord Tie seems to have misspoken about something."

The expressions of the constables behind Tie Wuqing turned cold, and their hands instinctively moved to the sabers at their waists.

A mere minor leader of the Flying Eagle Gang actually dared to negotiate with their boss—he was simply courting death!

Su Xin pointed at the thief: "It is clear that Lord Tie led his men in an unremitting pursuit, relying on subtle clues to break through his disguise, and only then cornered him at the Drunken Moon Pavilion to bring him to justice. This has nothing to do with me, Su Xin; it is entirely your achievement, Lord Tie."

The constables were stunned, their hands dropping from their saber hilts involuntarily.

The faint smile on Tie Wuqing's lips began to widen: "Interesting, truly interesting!"