Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Famous Sword Qiushui
"Fine, it’s a bet!"
The steward, Wang Lai, gritted his teeth and said.
He knew his Second Young Master all too well. He was neither a scholar nor a warrior. Even if he could mobilize all the men of the South City Bureau, he didn’t have the leadership skills to capture the criminals on the wanted list.
The main reason was that ten Blood Exchange Pills were simply too tempting.
Even though he was highly regarded in the Wang Family, he only received one Blood Exchange Pill every six months.
Ten Blood Exchange Pills would save him at least five years of effort.
If he could use this opportunity to break through to the Blood Transformation Realm, the benefits would be self-evident.
’Since the Second Young Master is intent on promoting me, how could I refuse?’
"Heh, the Famous Sword Qiushui is mine."
Wang Guan laughed heartily.
The steward, Wang Lai, stood with his hands clasped, inwardly disdainful. ’Catch a criminal from the wanted list within ten days? It’s questionable whether such a person is even lingering in South City.’
’And even if there is, how could they be so easy to capture?’
’Even if I, Wang Lai, were to act personally, I might not succeed.’
’Is there anyone in South City who can compare to me, Wang Lai?’
’Perhaps, but certainly no one in the South City Bureau.’
Among the hundreds of constables in the South City Bureau, the one with the highest Cultivation seemed to be only at the Flesh Tempering Realm. Flesh Tempering is merely the Second Stage of Body Tempering.
’And I, Wang Lai, am at the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering!’
Just then, a figure hurried in, bowed to Wang Guan and Wang Lai, and said, "Reporting to Lord Sima, Constable Xiao Su... he’s back."
"Oh? He’s back? Quickly, bring him in!"
Wang Guan’s face lit up with joy as he spoke eagerly.
Wang Lai remained expressionless. He had looked into this so-called Constable Xiao Su before his arrival. He was said to have come from a refugee background and, by some unknown means, had won the favor of a Taiping Captain who taught him a set of saber techniques.
He had decent talent and had managed to make a name for himself with those techniques. It just so happened that a series of incidents in South City allowed him to be promoted to Chief Constable.
Wang Lai admitted that this Constable Xiao Su had some talent, but that was all. He started his Cultivation too late, so his future achievements were bound to be limited.
Even if he gained the patronage of a powerful figure for a time, sooner or later he would be knocked back down to his original station.
A Taiping Bureau White Clothes was still just a White Clothes. Whether he could ever get the word "Taiping" embroidered on it remained to be seen.
The judgment of the great figures in the Inner City was that it was impossible.
Wang Lai deeply agreed.
He himself had shown an aptitude for martial arts from a young age and was nurtured by the Wang Family. Starting at ten, he trained through the harshest days of winter and summer. He tempered his tendons at thirty and his bones at forty.
This year he was forty-two and had achieved minor success in bone tempering. This progress was already considered extremely fast.
’How could that Constable Xiao Su possibly compare to me?’
"Lord Sima—"
As Wang Lai was lost in thought, Zheng Wang spoke with a troubled expression, "I’m afraid you’ll have to go out, Lord Sima. Constable Xiao Su is waiting for you at the Government Office entrance."
"Insolence!"
Wang Lai’s face darkened as he snapped, "A mere junior constable, so audacious as to make Lord Sima go out to greet him?
"Forget being just a junior constable, even with his status as a Taiping Bureau White Clothes, he’s merely a Ninth Grade official. What right does he have to make the Sima go see him?"
Zheng Wang looked aggrieved. ’This has nothing to do with me.’
"Uncle Lai, no need for so much ceremony. Constable Xiao Su is one of our brothers."
Wang Guan said with a smile, "It’s just a matter of going to greet him. What’s the big deal?"
With that, he started walking outside.
Wang Lai’s brow furrowed. ’The Second Young Master is truly useless. You are the head of the South City Bureau, after all. To be summoned and ordered about by a mere Chief Constable... you’re not just losing your own face, but the face of our Wang Family as well!’
With a trace of anger, he also strode after him.
’So, it’s Constable Xiao Su, is it? I’ll have to make him understand just who is in charge of this South City Bureau!’
"Lord Sima, it’s not that Constable Xiao Su is being disrespectful."
Zheng Wang whispered, keeping pace with Wang Guan, "It’s just that it’s inconvenient for him to come in. On this trip out, he killed two criminals from the wanted list. Their bodies are just outside the Government Office. There’s a huge crowd of onlookers, and he’s worried about trouble, so he’s maintaining order out there."
THUD!
Hearing this, Wang Lai, who was just crossing the threshold, staggered. His foot caught on the threshold, and this great master of the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering, who had already achieved minor success in bone tempering, nearly fell flat on his face.
His eyes widened, his mouth agape enough to fit a duck’s egg.
’What the hell did you just say?’
"What did you say?"
Before he could get the question out, Wang Guan had already grabbed Zheng Wang’s arm and asked excitedly.
"Peng Li, ranked ninety-fifth on the wanted list, and Gao Yuanhua, ranked eighty-ninth, have both been apprehended by Constable Xiao Su. We are just waiting for you, Lord Sima, to go and verify their identities."
Zheng Wang added, also somewhat excited.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Wang Lai cried out involuntarily.
The Hu Family had sent so many people after Peng Li, even dispatching two Tributors at the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering, and they still couldn’t catch him.
’A junior constable, with a cultivation no higher than the Second Stage of Body Tempering? On what grounds?’
"Uncle Lai, nothing is impossible. He’s one of our brothers."
Wang Guan was overjoyed. "It’s only been one day, and he’s already brought in two criminals from the wanted list. Uncle Lai, you’ve lost the bet! A bet is a bet, so get that Autumn Water Saber ready."
As he spoke, Wang Guan hurried outside, nearly tripping on the hem of his slightly-too-large official robes.
......
「South City Bureau, Government Office Entrance.」
"Everyone, please disperse. Capturing criminals and thieves is the duty of our South City Bureau."
Su Mu stood on the steps with his hands behind his back, addressing the crowd of onlookers. "These two men are a warning to all. Committing crimes will not lead to a good end. Let this be a lesson to everyone."
All the constables looked at Su Mu with faces full of reverence.
’It really has to be Chief Su.’
’The previous Chief Constables of the South City Bureau, aside from bullying us constables, when have any of them ever handled such a major case?’
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