Martial Dao Bureau Mission

On the way, Little Beggar had already told him what had happened.

It turned out that ever since news of the Black Tiger Gang's destruction had spread yesterday, the two little thugs had sensed the danger closing in on them.

They had not even dared leave Tofu Lane to eat.

Then, when news from Clear Lotus Pond reached Tongzi Ward that afternoon, they learned that even the Black Tiger Gang's backer had been wiped out, with a Lu Family steward implicated in the matter.

How could they possibly stay calm after that?

The two thugs hid in their house and spent the night discussing an escape plan. One suggested informing on the survivors of Fierce Tiger Martial Hall, while the other wanted to tip off the Lu Family.

They had even discussed whether they should report the matter to the Public Security Office.

Their reason was one sentence Su Xinghe had quietly said to them the day before yesterday:

"Go back and eat something good. Don't sleep too deeply tonight."

During the day, they had been ordered by the Black Tiger Gang to bully the Su Family and offend White Ape Martial Academy. That night, both the Black Tiger Gang and Fierce Tiger Martial Hall had been wiped out.

Even Steward Liu of the Lu Family had lost his head.

That Head-Chopping Bandit wanted by the Bandit Suppression Bureau was hiding either in White Ape Martial Academy or the Su Family!

And all of this...

Had been overheard by Little Beggar, who had been secretly monitoring the pair from nearby, using the Listening to Tides Art.

By the time he realized they intended to flee, it was already late last night. Little Beggar had hurried to the Su Family courtyard on Narcissus Street, but unfortunately, he had not heard any movement from inside the second-floor room facing the street.

And he had not dared make the decision himself to notify White Ape Martial Academy.

Helpless, he could only return and continue watching them.

Who would have thought that before dawn, the two would actually try to flee under cover of the darkness?

In his panic, Little Beggar had grabbed a brick and hidden outside the door to launch a sneak attack. He knocked one of them down first, then seized the initiative while the other thug was flustered.

But the other party was, after all, an adult man.

Once he realized there was only one attacker, and that it was merely a half-grown boy, he began fighting back desperately.

In the end, this was the scene Su Xinghe saw now.

One was dead, one unconscious, and the other had nearly escaped.

In his fury, Little Beggar had lost all restraint.

That kick had nearly kicked straight through the man.

Seeing that both targets were here and that he had not botched the job.

The tension in Little Beggar's nerves suddenly drained away.

But once he came back to himself, he realized he seemed to have caused a huge disaster.

"Boss... we... I think we killed someone..."

"We need to leave quickly!"

"Don't panic. Watch how I handle this."

If it had been anyone else, Su Xinghe could not be bothered to teach them.

He set Little Beggar down and searched the small courtyard first.

There was no one inside and no silver either, but he did find a place to dispose of the bodies.

Like the other small courtyards in Tongzi Ward, there was a well in the corner. He lifted the well cover, only to find it pitch-black inside and completely dry.

Perhaps it had not been dredged in a long time, and rubbish had clogged the spring outlet.

Time was short, so he could not worry about that. After giving each corpse another kick, he threw them all inside.

Then he moved over the two men's bedding and stuffed it into the well opening. Finally, he put the cover back on and piled miscellaneous junk over it.

After finishing all this, he bolted the courtyard gate from the inside with a wooden bar. Then, carrying Little Beggar, he leaped out.

Lying on Su Xinghe's back, Little Beggar looked thoughtful.

"Boss, will we really be fine if we do this?"

"If someone else had done this, it wouldn't be enough. But those two are thugs their fathers don't care for and their mothers don't love..."

The west wing of Huichun Hall.

After prescribing the medicine, Doctor Hong gave several instructions to the boy beside him.

Only after the medicine apprentice left did he turn toward the two with a beaming smile.

"Blackie, you've really made something of yourself now."

Su Xinghe shook his head, his face full of helplessness.

"Sigh..."

"You saw it too, Doctor Hong."

"Even after joining a martial arts school, I still have to fight and kill, and I still have to trouble you."

Doctor Hong narrowed his eyes slightly and swept his gaze over the Golden Ape Robe of White Ape Martial Academy on Su Xinghe.

"That's different. Before, you brat were cannon fodder. Now, it's been nearly two months since I last saw you."

Su Xinghe had no answer to that. To save money, he usually just endured his injuries.

Fortunately, the light footsteps of the medicine apprentice came from outside.

He hurriedly rose and cupped his fists in salute.

"Doctor Hong, sorry for the trouble this time."

Doctor Hong had once been the dedicated physician of the Great River Gang. Though his fees were many times higher, he would never reveal the nature of their injuries.

For example, when Su Xinghe had been shot in the abdomen last time and came to have the bullet removed. If he had gone to another physician for something like that, the first to arrive would have been the constables from the Public Security Office.

"You're welcome. Go back and rest properly for a few days. Remember to take your medicine on time."

After leaving Huichun Hall, Su Xinghe stood in the street.

With a patient whose arms and legs were covered in bandages on his back, he did not know where to go for a moment.

If he went to the ruined temple, there would be no one to care for him.

Bringing him home would not be appropriate either.

In the end, with no other choice, he could only head toward White Ape Martial Academy.

The rear courtyard of the martial arts school.

Inside the spacious, bright steward's room.

Xie Guang held a teapot in his left hand and rubbed his forehead with his right.

He was getting old and slept lightly. He felt as though he had gotten up a little too abruptly today.

That famously impoverished fellow actually wanted to pay an apprentice's enrollment fee today. And he wanted the boy to move in that very day.

Ordinarily, this did not follow procedure.

All Xie Guang could do here was register him; he had no authority to accept disciples.

But the man before him was Su Xinghe, the standout of the inner sect and the disciple he valued most.

"Are you sure you want to register him?"

Su Xinghe nodded and presented Little Beggar, who was sitting beside him.

"Elder Xie, Little Beggar is sixteen this year, exactly the standard age for our martial arts school to accept disciples. And his talent for martial arts is excellent. He will definitely become a high-rank Martial Warrior in the future."

Xie Guang did not believe that. He wanted to examine the boy's bones.

But at the sight of the youth wrapped head to toe in bandages, he could only give up helplessly.

After thinking it over, he said:

"Fine, you meet the age requirement. Ten taels of silver for three months. Pay first; we'll discuss the rest after the headmaster returns."

He had to give this disciple some face, and besides, the martial arts school could earn some silver.

As for whether the boy truly had talent, that could wait.

Little Beggar felt as though he were dreaming.

After killing someone that morning, his mind had been filled with terror of being caught by the Public Security Office and beheaded. Yet in the blink of an eye, he had somehow become an Outer Disciple of White Ape Martial Academy.

Though there was a three-month assessment period, he believed he would certainly pass it.

With this status, he would never again be a little beggar others looked down upon.

As long as he worked hard at his fists, he could even become the Martial Warrior he had dreamed of being.

But...

If he stopped being a beggar, would Boss no longer want him? After all, many missions had only been discovered through his identity as a beggar.

He raised his head and secretly looked toward the figure taking out silver.

That was ten taels of silver. Even if he sold himself to a human trafficker, he would not be worth that much.

In an instant,

The pain of Little Beggar's injuries vanished, and his face filled with gratitude and happiness.

On the day the martial arts school opened, the headmaster had brought several sweeping hands with him. They had not left, instead becoming helpers who handled miscellaneous chores.

Su Xinghe found them in the kitchen and gave each of them a silver coin. He asked them to help look after Little Beggar from time to time.

The Martial Dao Bureau of Lin County.

This was the place where Martial Warriors were most densely gathered in the entire county.

Of the thousand or so registered Martial Warriors within and beyond the city, nearly all came here.

Carriages and horses flowed endlessly across the bluestone plaza before its gates. From time to time, fully equipped squads that had accepted missions departed, while Martial Warriors depleted of qi and blood, bedraggled all over, hurried back.

In a corner of the noisy hall, a burly man with a haggard face was dozing. Beside him stood a young disciple in his twenties.

His gaze was fixed without moving on the crowded mission windows.

Amid the clamor, a man and a woman in red robes emerged from the stairway.

At the sight of the packed mission hall, the woman's brows furrowed slightly.

Her male companion seemed to notice her impatience. With a cold snort, he thrust his inner-force pressure forward.

The crowd in the hall immediately stirred in unrest, and someone soon cried out in alarm.

"It's Chen Qi, the young master of Qingshan Escort Agency..."

"Isn't the one beside him the genius Mu Wanqing..."

"Shh... she's a martial examination seed personally selected by the prefectural government. She'll definitely enter Qingzhou Academy next year!"

The people near the stairs immediately stopped talking and consciously made way for the pair, opening a passage more than ten feet wide.

Yet even though the crowd had already cleared a path, the man's sharp gaze continued to press forward step by step. No one dared meet his eyes, and they all lowered their heads in silence.

But when his gaze landed on a corner of the hall, a hint of amused mockery suddenly appeared on his face.

"The Zhou Family has truly fallen. They actually need to scramble for missions in the main hall."

The woman beside him noticed where he was looking as well.

She followed his gaze.

When she saw Zhou Yingjun's unshaven, weary face, her expression suddenly stiffened.

But it was hidden away in the next instant, replaced by a disdainful sneer.

"Tch. If they didn't still have that old Eighth Rank, they would have been swept out beyond the city long ago."

The man withdrew his gaze and turned to his companion.

"Eighth Rank, my ass!"

"I heard this Young Master Zhou has started a martial arts school, trying to imitate those before him and rise again after his downfall."

The woman did not slow her steps, merely letting out a cold snort.

"How could Eighth Rank be so easy? He should take a look at how much he actually weighs."

"..."

In the corner, Zhou Yingjun's eyelashes trembled lightly.