At Lin Lang's shout, Wang Wu, who was guarding the doorway, whipped out his Xiuchun Blade and slashed at Li Fei's neck.
Had he not lost his true qi, Li Fei would have had nine ways to dodge that strike, seven ways to counterattack, and five moves that could kill Wang Wu in a single blow.
But now, he had no way out. His mind could react, but his body could not dodge. He could only watch helplessly as the blade swept toward him.
"Spare-"
Before he could finish, Li Fei's head flew into the air.
His eyes stared at Lin Lang as he emerged from the courtyard, refusing to close for a long time.
Wang Wu froze for a moment too. He remembered Li Fei being very powerful and had only intended to hold him off until his superior came to capture him. How had Li Fei become so utterly defenseless?
Lin Lang walked over to Li Fei's head. His word was worth a thousand pieces of gold. He had promised to let Li Fei go, and he had. Surely he could not be blamed if Li Fei died under Wang Wu's blade?
"Wang Wu, well done. You've earned merit by killing a fugitive. Once we return, you'll be a Probationary Hundred-household."
"Preserve his head with medicinal powder and send someone to the Capital City with it to claim the reward. Just burn the body."
Once the corpse was reduced to ashes, who could tell that he had used the Star-Sucking Great Skill?
Wang Wu clasped his fists in salute. "Thank you, sir."
His superior had deliberately handed him this achievement so he could get promoted! Otherwise, how could Li Fei have escaped? How could he have been incapable of fighting back?
Following Lord Lin really did mean promotions and riches!
Back in his room, Lin Lang leafed through Li Fei's martial arts legacy. There were two more Wulin Secret Arts: a sword technique and a concealed-weapon technique.
He merely skimmed the sword technique. Like the Pine Wind Sword Technique, it could serve as a minor reference, since neither could compare to his Reverse Evil-Warding Sword Technique.
But he thought the Flowers Filling the Sky concealed-weapon technique was quite good. Originally created by the Shu Region Tang Clan, it was very powerful.
The Evil-Warding Sword Manual also contained a concealed-weapon technique. Its main strengths were speed and surprise, leaving opponents no time to dodge.
Flowers Filling the Sky was completely different. It launched more concealed weapons at once, leaving opponents no room to dodge.
If I can combine these two concealed-weapon techniques, I'll be able to launch multiple weapons at once while keeping their speed incredibly high. Their power will surely rise to another level.
Perhaps I can also ask little sister Phoenix to coat them in poison. The Shu Region Tang Clan relied on poison-coated concealed weapons to make even those prestigious sects afraid to provoke them.
Lin Lang had never felt that using concealed weapons made anyone inferior. Li Xunhuan used concealed weapons too. Who in the world dared underestimate him?
He would soon be going to Blackwood Cliff with Ren Woxing, and Dongfang Bubai's embroidery needles were terrifying.
Lin Lang knew that even if he mastered the concealed-weapon technique in the Evil-Warding Sword Manual to perfection, it would still fall short of Dongfang Bubai's embroidery needles.
But what he lacked in quality, he could make up for in quantity!
Once mastered to perfection, Flowers Filling the Sky could launch sixty-four concealed weapons at once. Coupled with the technique from the Evil-Warding Sword Manual to increase their speed, he refused to believe Dongfang Bubai could dodge them all!
After reaching the beginner level in Flowers Filling the Sky, Lin Lang burned the secret manual. He had already memorized its contents anyway.
He rested at the Hundred-household Office for a day, and Hundred-household Sun of the local office entertained him with great enthusiasm.
Seeing that Lin Lang seemed unhappy when he left, Hundred-household Sun was utterly baffled.
He had entertained him well enough: the biggest restaurant, the best wine, and he had even handed over the office's annual payment ahead of time.
He had heard that Deputy Thousand-household Lin practiced the Golden Body Child Skill. Though he usually drank with a woman tucked under each arm, this time he had not invited a single woman.
What exactly had displeased Deputy Thousand-household Lin?
Inside the carriage on the way back, Lin Lang silently marked a black mark against Hundred-household Sun.
I came all this way to inspect your Hundred-household Office, and your hospitality was just food and drink? Where was the fun afterward?
If you can't even get such a little thing right, forget about ever getting promoted!
The Number One Manor.
After reading the message brought by a carrier pigeon, Shangguan Haitang immediately went to Zhu Wushi's residence.
"Father, didn't you ask me last time to keep an eye on that Jinyiwei officer, Lin Lang, and see whether we could bring him into our service?"
"I don't think he's suited to joining the Dragon Guard Manor. He's not only greedy, but completely lawless in his conduct. His audacity knows no bounds."
Zhu Wushi rarely heard First Haitang judge someone like this. Curious, he asked, "What did he do?"
"He arrested Li Fei of the Golden Coin Gang at the Silver Hook Gambling House in Baihui County."
Zhu Wushi was somewhat surprised. "He managed to capture Li Fei? Li Fei is a Martial Arts Master who's been famous for years. It seems I've been underestimating Lin Lang all along. No wonder Cao Zhengchun keeps promoting him."
That meant Lin Lang was at least at the martial arts master peak. He was so young and had no notable master or lineage. That alone spoke volumes about his talent. He was precisely the sort of man the Dragon Guard Manor should recruit.
They could also plant a nail in the Jinyiwei, perhaps even drive it into the Eastern Depot, and stab Cao Zhengchun in the back at a critical moment.
Seeing the admiration in Zhu Wushi's eyes, Shangguan Haitang immediately said, "Father, arresting Li Fei is one thing, but he also extorted over ten thousand taels of silver from the Silver Hook Gambling House."
Hearing that, Zhu Wushi was displeased as well.
To accomplish great things, he needed silver to win over certain powerful figures.
Maintaining all those martial arts experts at the Dragon Guard Manor and the Number One Manor also required enormous sums of silver.
Lin Lang had indeed gone too far!
"Send the Li Family's Four Brothers to speak with Lin Lang and ask whether he's willing to join the Dragon Guard Manor."
"If he agrees, have him submit a pledge of allegiance. If he refuses, there's no need to keep him alive. Otherwise, he'll join Cao Zhengchun in framing even more loyal and upright men!"
If he could not use him, he certainly could not leave him to that eunuch Cao Zhengchun.
"Yes, Father." Shangguan Haitang saluted and left.
The Golden Coin Gang.
Shangguan Jinhong was studying a map of Great Ming.
Many martial-world factions were marked on the map, some of which he had already crossed out with a vermilion brush.
Other factions had been circled, such as Northern Shaolin, the Wudang Sect, the Moving Flower Palace, the Northern Beggars' Gang, and the Sun Moon Holy Cult.
As he pondered which faction to cross out next, his ears twitched slightly. "Come in," he said casually.
Jing Wuming entered through the doorway. "Gang Leader, Li Fei, a skilled fighter we recently recruited, has been killed."
Shangguan Jinhong looked at Jing Wuming. "You can't deal with the person who killed him?"
Did something like this even need to be reported to him?
Anyone who dared kill a member of his Golden Coin Gang would have their entire household wiped out!
Jing Wuming remained expressionless. "I can, but it would cause trouble for you, Gang Leader."
"The man who killed Li Fei is a Deputy Thousand-household of the Jinyiwei named Lin Lang. He's reportedly someone Cao Zhengchun of the Eastern Depot values."
"We've always avoided dealings with the authorities. I'm concerned that killing him would draw their attention and ruin your plans."
"Besides, he arrested Li Fei at the Silver Hook Gambling House and extorted a large sum of silver from them."
"The Silver Hook Gambling House?" Shangguan Jinhong smiled faintly. "It seems we won't need to act. Someone else will see to his death."
If someone else could accomplish his goal for him, why should he send his own men?
The battle between the Sun Moon Holy Cult and the Five Mountains Sword Alliance was now raging like a wildfire. Those flames might well engulf Northern Shaolin, the Wudang Sect, and others too. This was the perfect opportunity for his Golden Coin Gang to grow stronger. He could not afford to offend the imperial court over a single Li Fei.
Once the Golden Coin Gang became the greatest gang under heaven, even the imperial court would have to yield to it!
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