The door closed, and Wang Wu thoughtfully took everyone away. They must not delay the lord's interrogation.
Although his lordship could not lose his virginity because of his Virgin Boy Skill, surely he could still enjoy a little hands-on fun?
Lin Lang glanced at the female thief, who was bound with ropes from head to toe. "Old Liu's rope work is no good. Next time, I'll have to teach him properly what Tortoise Shell Bondage is."
The female thief shot Lin Lang a glance. "You corrupt official! Kill me or carve me up, do as you please. Everyone I killed deserved to die!"
Lin Lang said with a broad smile, "From the look of you, you still think you're a hero? Who taught you your martial arts?"
Not yet thirty, and already a late-stage Martial Arts Master. Even among the famous orthodox sects, that was quite impressive.
"Those people committed all sorts of evil deeds. I killed them to carry out Heaven's justice. I belong to the Great Song Demon Cult. Do you dare lay a hand on me?"
She had killed plenty of scum like them back in Great Song, too. Had the Four Great Constables of Great Song's Divine Constabulary dared arrest her?
Understanding dawned on Lin Lang. "The Great Song Demon Cult. No wonder you're still so arrogant after being caught."
"But this is Great Ming. The name of your Great Song Demon Cult won't scare me."
"Besides, your Great Song Demon Cult was besieged by the eight great sects back then, and even your cult leader was knocked into a deep gorge by Sword God Xie Xiaofeng. Oh, right-if I kill you, will anyone come avenge you?"
The female thief looked at Lin Lang in confusion. Why had his face filled with anticipation when he mentioned someone coming to avenge her?
"No one?" Disappointment spread across Lin Lang's face. "You don't even have a friend in the Great Song Demon Cult who would live and die by your side?"
"So if you die, I'll even have to pay for your coffin? How about this: tell me your martial arts inheritance, and I'll buy you a pretty coffin."
The female thief sneered. "You corrupt official! If you're going to kill me, get on with it. You want my martial arts, too? Dream on!"
Lin Lang smiled faintly. "Do you know where you are? This is the Thousand-household Office. There are eleven hundred and twenty strong, vigorous men here. Normally, all they do is train in martial arts and learn skills like gathering intelligence. Never mind visiting women-they don't even get to see a hen in this office."
"Tell me, if I offered you as a reward, would they train harder and be more willing to risk their lives for me?"
"Or perhaps all thousand-plus of them could have a turn. That would be a spectacle without precedent, never to be surpassed."
The female thief's eyes widened. "Just try it! See whether I have a way to kill them!"
A bunch of Jinyiwei who were not even third-rate fighters-she could find a way to kill them even with her hands and feet bound.
"Oh, right. You still have your martial arts. If you break free, or have some sinister skill or secret technique, my men would suffer heavy casualties. Then I'll cripple your martial arts first."
As he spoke, he used Black Tiger Digs Out Heart. Once his hand struck its target, he activated Reverse Star-Sucking Great Skill.
The female thief trembled all over for a while, then collapsed on the floor as though utterly drained.
After Lin Lang felt that he had sucked out all her true qi, he kept his hand there a little longer to ensure none remained.
"What martial art is that? Where's my true qi?" Terror filled the female thief's face. Now she would become a helpless woman without the slightest ability to resist. How could she fend off those burly men at the Thousand-household Office?
Lin Lang reluctantly withdrew his palm. "Are you willing to tell me your entire martial arts inheritance now? Or would you rather have burly men all over you?"
"Even biting your tongue off won't help. As far as they're concerned, you only need to be warm."
The female thief was furious. "You're despicable! I'll talk, but you must kill me. You can't defile my corpse."
Half an hour later, Lin Lang shattered the female thief's heart with a palm strike.
"After tempering and purifying this female thief's true qi, it only increased my total reserves by ten years' worth. I thought I could gain twenty or thirty years' worth in one go."
"But little drops make an ocean. If I can get a few more, I can still make my true qi incomparably deep, surpassing other Grandmasters and even Great Grandmasters."
Lin Lang walked out of the Thousand-household's office. "Someone come here! This female thief tried to ambush me, so I killed her. Send her head to the Capital City along with Sun Yu. Cremate her body, find a reasonably pretty little wooden box for the ashes, and bury it."
"Liu Zhengfeng, these are the martial arts the female thief specialized in. They might be of some help to you."
"Whenever you encounter female thieves like this in the future, send them all to me. Interrogating them is what I do best."
Lin Lang tossed two peerless martial arts manuals to Liu Zhengfeng, who was astonished.
In fact, he had tried to make the female thief reveal her martial arts inheritance on the way here, but she had refused even under threat of death. How had Lord Lin managed it?
These two martial arts were of little use to Lin Lang. Practicing them would only waste time without improving his strength much.
For Liu Zhengfeng, however, they were rare treasures. Perhaps he could draw insights from them and advance his strength another step, entering the Grandmaster realm.
Even if he could not, they would allow him to face other Martial Arts Masters with greater ease.
"Thank you, my lord." Liu Zhengfeng's face was full of excitement. "But capturing experts like this isn't easy."
After all, capturing someone alive was more than twice as difficult as killing them. He had only caught this female thief because he had the advantage of a surprise attack.
"That's why I'm passing these martial arts on to you-to give you a better chance. Or if you discover anyone's whereabouts, you can notify me, and I'll capture them myself."
Lin Lang's original plan had been to listen to songs in the pleasure houses every day, go home to enjoy the Awei Eighteen Forms he had taught Xiao He, and wait for Liu Zhengfeng to bring in martial experts so he could absorb their true qi and improve his strength in comfort.
But now it seemed that relying on Liu Zhengfeng alone was too slow.
Although Liu Zhengfeng was at the peak of the Martial Arts Master realm, capturing another Martial Arts Master alive was no easy task.
Even if he succeeded, he could bring back only one at a time. It seemed Lin Lang would still have to take action himself.
A quarter of an hour later, Jia Liu came in. "My lord, the female thief's head has been preserved with medicinal powder. In a little while, I'll send our brothers to escort Sun Yu and deliver both to the capital."
"Just as you predicted, my lord, Sun Yu committed several other crimes. In particular, he stole a large sum of your money and hid it away. Tomorrow, I'll go retrieve your money."
Sun Yu stole my money? They must have gotten him to reveal where he hid his ill-gotten silver during the interrogation.
Lin Lang smiled happily. "Jia Liu, the way you handle things really does please me."
"When you and Wang Wu have time, ask Old Liu for more pointers on martial arts. Once you return this time, you should both shoulder greater responsibilities."
"Notify the others. If they discover a fugitive on a wanted notice and can't defeat them, send a carrier pigeon back to the Thousand-household Office. I'll capture them personally."
"Our Thousand-household Office must keep the peace in this region. Within our Pingyang Prefecture, no martial-world criminal will escape the punishment of the Great Ming Code!"
Dealing with these martial-world figures would bring him both fame and fortune.
What about criminals wanted by the imperial court who were not martial-world figures? Those people had neither much internal energy nor much bounty money on their heads. He might as well leave them to the Ministry of Justice's Six Gates, so the people there would not lack merits to earn promotions.
"Yes!" Jia Liu stood straight. "My lord, you truly have worn yourself out worrying over the people of Pingyang Prefecture, and you've avenged so many families ruined by these martial-world villains."
"When the common people learn what you've done, every one of them will sing your praises. If His Majesty hears of it, even he will call you a pillar of the realm."
Lin Lang waved a hand. "Ah, I'm merely fulfilling my duties. When you have time, go inspect the Fragrant Pavilion, too. What if some notorious bandit has slipped in?"
"Thank you, my lord." Jia Liu's eyes lit up, and he left with a lecherous grin.
Lin Lang stood and stretched. "Today, I personally interrogated a female thief for more than half an hour. I really am far too diligent."
"I might have to leave on official business again in a couple of days, so I'll give myself the day off today. I'll see whether any new girls have arrived at the Fragrant Pavilion, so I can teach one of them the Awei Eighteen Forms."
Humming a little tune, he strode toward the Fragrant Pavilion.
Three days later, a carrier pigeon fluttered down at the Thousand-household Office. Wang Wu pulled out the message, glanced at it, and immediately hurried toward the Fragrant Pavilion.
"My lord, we've just received word. Li Fei, the man on the wanted notice who slaughtered all twenty-eight members of the Sun family, has appeared. Our men are carefully following him, but none of them are a match for him."
Lin Lang slammed the table and rose. "I will not tolerate such a villain under my watch! Give me his whereabouts. I'll make him confess his crimes and face execution!"
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