Chief Constable of the East Twelve Wards

Third Master Hu and the Flying Eagle Gang's other higher-ups had been just as Su Xin expected. Over the next month, Su Xin didn't do anything out of line, so naturally, nobody came looking for trouble.

During that month, the men under Su Xin's command made rapid progress. Each of them had opened at least one to three acupoints through internal cultivation.

It wasn't much, but it still considerably increased their strength. At the same time, it proved that hardly any of them had good martial arts talent.

The only ones with any real potential in martial arts were Li Huai, who had opened seventeen acupoints, and Li Qing.

Li Huai had developed such terrifying combat strength without any internal cultivation, so his talent spoke for itself. Li Qing was another pleasant surprise. In just one month, he had opened nine acupoints.

Li Qing had never had any foundation in martial arts before. To reach this level was already quite impressive, so Su Xin decided to put some effort into cultivating him as well.

After all, when they ran into a gang war, he couldn't rely on himself and Li Huai alone. They needed at least a few men who could stand on their own, and Li Qing was worth developing.

Su Xin no longer needed to spend every morning teaching them internal cultivation. Once they had opened an acupoint, they could practice on their own.

Their afternoons had also become sparring sessions instead of getting beaten up by Su Xin.

Once training became a habit, there was no need for anyone to keep pushing them. Su Xin simply didn't go to the gang's headquarters all day. He only stopped by after dinner to take a look, then headed back out.

"Boss, you're here?" Su Xin had just stepped out when he saw Li Qing patrolling with several brothers.

"Come on, take a walk with me. By the way, where's Old Huang?" Su Xin asked as they strolled.

Li Qing replied, "Master Huang went to deliver the silver to Third Master Hu. All the shopkeepers have already paid this month's share without being asked."

A faint smile touched Su Xin's lips. "Oh? They're being so prompt this time?"

Li Qing chuckled. "With your might, Boss, how could they drag their feet? Pay up or pay with their lives. Any smart man knows which to choose."

"That's people for you. Sometimes they're just asking for it. They have to see blood before they learn to be afraid."

Su Xin strolled along, taking in the night view of Happy Forest.

It had only just grown dark, but Happy Forest's streets were already packed with people, more than ten times as busy as they'd been during the day.

Only now did Happy Forest live up to its name. At least in Changning Prefecture, whenever people heard there was somewhere fun to go, their first thought was Happy Forest.

Just then, a commotion rose behind Su Xin and the others. They turned to see a young man dressed like a young master sprinting toward them with a short blade in hand. The crowd scattered to either side in alarm.

Su Xin could tell the young master didn't practice internal cultivation, but he was certainly trained. His light-footed movement was especially impressive. If Su Xin didn't use his internal energy, he wouldn't be able to outrun him.

Seeing Su Xin and the others standing in the middle of the road, the young man immediately roared, "Get the hell out of my way!"

In the time it took him to shout, the young man had already reached them. When he saw that Su Xin and the others still hadn't moved, a vicious glint entered his eyes, and he swung his blade.

Li Qing snorted and immediately stepped forward.

If their boss had to deal with a minor character like this, wouldn't that make them look utterly useless?

The spiked baton hanging at Li Qing's waist was in his hand the next instant. He blocked with it, knocked the blade aside, then snapped the baton back. The young man let out a wail as his short blade flew away, and his right hand was left drenched in blood.

The other gang members with Li Qing immediately moved in. They kicked the young man down onto his knees and pressed their spearpoints hard against his throat.

Watching Li Qing in action, Su Xin gave a silent nod. Not bad. Li Huai's month of instruction hadn't gone to waste.

Li Qing's movements were crisp and decisive, and he had plenty of experience in a fight. With internal cultivation under his belt and strength to match, the only thing he lacked compared with the War Hall's elites was probably their murderous aura.

Behind the young man, Boss Liu of the Drunken Moon Pavilion came hurrying over with several workers carrying wooden clubs. He was panting hard, but when he saw the young man pinned to the ground by Su Xin's men, he burst into laughter.

"Damn it! Keep running, why don't you? What happened? I've seen men eat and run, but this is the first time in my life I've seen one sleep with a woman and run without paying!"

Su Xin and the others exchanged strange looks. A man had gone to a brothel and tried to sleep with a woman without paying? That took some nerve.

"Boss Liu, what happened?" Su Xin asked.

Boss Liu looked rather disheveled.

The old procurer had a refined, handsome face, but now his cheeks were flushed and his hair was a mess. It was hard to tell whether he was angry or out of breath.

Boss Liu pointed at the young man on the ground, who was clutching his right hand and wailing, and gritted his teeth. "That bastard! He booked out my Drunken Moon Pavilion this afternoon, asked for the prettiest girls and ordered the most expensive food and wine. Then, after he'd had his fun, he tried to run!"

Su Xin looked at the young man in surprise. He was wearing the finest silk from Jiangnan, and his clothes alone were worth dozens of taels of silver. What kind of young master went to a brothel and didn't pay?

But it was probably his clothes and manner that had fooled even the foxlike Boss Liu. The man had been waited on like a lord all afternoon, only to leave him with nothing to show for it.

"All right, you can deal with him. Do whatever you want with him." Su Xin waved a hand, intending to leave the man to Boss Liu, but then he suddenly sensed something was off.

"Wait."

Su Xin grabbed the young man by the head. The man immediately began struggling violently, but Su Xin slapped him so hard that he went dazed.

After feeling around his face for a moment, Su Xin gave a sudden tug and peeled off a human skin mask, revealing the face of a sleazy man in his forties.

Holding the mask, Su Xin examined it closely. "Heh, this thing's pretty well made. I almost couldn't tell."

The human skin mask was nearly flawless. It was just that the man's behavior had been suspicious.

An ordinary young master wouldn't have such swift footwork, nor would he casually slash at someone with a blade.

"Hey! I think I recognize him," Li Qing suddenly said. "He looks like the serial rapist the authorities put out a wanted notice for a few days ago."

"A rapist?"

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

"This bastard ruined the reputations of more than a dozen young women in the space of a month. I heard one of them was the prefectural clerk's daughter. That's why the whole city is hunting him. No wonder they couldn't catch him for a month. Turns out he's an expert at disguise."

"So that's what happened."

Su Xin looked at the rapist with disgust. More than anything, he hated men who forced themselves on women. In his previous life, he'd been beaten to death for standing up to someone over this very thing, but he still hated people like that.

With the rapist's light-footed skills, he could have made a fortune as a burglar, then spent the silver enjoying himself at the Drunken Moon Pavilion.

But instead, he had to ruin women's lives. He deserved to die. Su Xin was disgusted.

"Boss Liu, this man's wanted by the authorities, so keeping him would only cause you trouble. I'll take him back, chop him up, and feed him to the dogs. I'll leave his head for the authorities so we can claim the reward."

"I'll do whatever you say, Boss Su." Boss Liu cupped his hands with a grin, as if he hadn't heard Su Xin say he'd chop the man up and feed him to the dogs.

"Hold on! Don't feed him to the dogs just yet. We spent more than ten days searching the whole city for this bastard. Let's take him back so the prefectural clerk can vent his anger, then feed him to the dogs."

Several constables in official uniforms pushed through the crowd. The man in front was in his thirties, with a handsome face and a faint, ever-present smile.

He held two iron balls in his right hand, rolling them around in his palm. The gesture was usually associated with old men, but on him it gave off a sense of strength.

"I'm Tie Wuqing, Chief Constable of the East Twelve Wards. Boss Su, a pleasure to meet you." Tie Wuqing smiled and cupped his hands. A powerful pressure swept over them.

Su Xin's expression tightened. He had heard of Tie Wuqing long ago. Without a doubt, this was the strongest person he'd met since his rebirth—so formidable that only four words could describe him: unfathomably deep.

Tie Wuqing wasn't deliberately using his aura to pressure Su Xin. But as a martial artist, Su Xin could naturally sense the oppressive force of Tie Wuqing's powerful vitality.

"What Boss Su? Calling me that is too much praise, Constable Tie. If you don't mind, just call me Su Xin."

Even Sha Feiying would never dare call himself Boss in front of Tie Wuqing.

Tie Wuqing didn't stand on ceremony. He pointed straight at the rapist. "My men and I have been chasing this fellow for more than ten days, but his disguises kept helping him slip away.

"Thanks to you, we've caught him this time. Otherwise, the prefectural clerk would have run out of patience. Hand him over to me, and I'll make sure your name goes on the record for this merit."

Looking at the rapist, Su Xin suddenly said, "Constable Tie, I think you've got something wrong."

The constables behind Tie Wuqing immediately turned cold. Their hands drifted to the simple sabers at their waists.

He was nothing but a low-ranking member of the Flying Eagle Gang, yet he dared bargain with their boss? He was asking for death!

Su Xin pointed at the rapist. "This rapist was clearly captured at the Drunken Moon Pavilion after Constable Tie and your men tracked him relentlessly, followed the clues, and saw through his disguise. I had nothing to do with it. It was all your doing, Constable Tie."

The constables were dumbfounded. Their hands, which had been gripping their sword hilts, dropped of their own accord.

The faint smile at the corners of Tie Wuqing's mouth slowly widened. "Interesting. Now that's interesting!"