Chapter 47: Chapter 47: New Reward
Scattered corpses littered the long street.
Jiang Ran glanced in the direction Wood Silang and Water Sanniang had fled.
’It’s already too late to catch them.’
He glanced at the pit in the ground, walked over, and peered inside. Only then did he realize their so-called "vanishing act" was nothing more than a tunnel dug underground.
"You crafty bastards."
Jiang Ran curled his lip, picked up Earth Wulang’s head, and walked over to Cheng Jimo.
He found Cheng Jimo pale-faced, struggling to his feet. He managed to cup his fist in respect.
"Young Master Jiang... Once again, you’ve saved my life. I... I truly don’t know how I can ever repay you."
"Let’s skip the formalities."
Jiang Ran looked at the head in his hand.
"The Five Phantoms are a rare sight. What brings them suddenly to Cangzhou Prefecture?
"Cheng Jimo, have you heard any news that they’ve returned to the Golden Cicada Dynasty?"
Cheng Jimo shook his head, his mind clearly elsewhere.
"I don’t know either."
Jiang Ran could see something was wrong with him.
"Cheng Jimo, what’s wrong?"
"I..."
Cheng Jimo looked at Jiang Ran and nodded slightly.
"Young Master Jiang, I thank you again for this immense kindness... but I have urgent matters to attend to tonight and cannot stay long.
"I’ll come to the inn tomorrow and buy you a drink."
"Is this about your business for Shopkeeper Wan?"
Jiang Ran smiled. "Did you find something? These people... don’t tell me they were hired by Li Feiyun?"
"At this point... I can’t say for certain."
Cheng Jimo shook his head. "Once I’ve investigated thoroughly, I’ll explain everything to you, Young Master Jiang."
"Very well."
Jiang Ran nodded and cupped his fist.
"Then take care, Cheng Jimo."
"Farewell."
Cheng Jimo turned and left, his movements still somewhat stiff. He had been badly injured in the recent fight.
Jiang Ran watched him leave. After a moment’s thought, he decided to follow.
’If the Five Phantoms were still lurking about, planning another ambush, wouldn’t that be a great opportunity for me to cash in?’
But he had just said his goodbyes to Cheng Jimo, so it wouldn’t do to suddenly pop out and walk with him.
One in the open, one in the shadows, the two of them soon arrived at the Wan family’s estate.
The Five Phantoms never showed up, so it seemed they had really given up.
Jiang Ran felt a pang of regret. After watching Cheng Jimo enter the Wan family’s estate, he headed back to the inn.
...
...
The rest of the night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, just as Jiang Ran finished washing his face, he heard a knock at the door.
He opened the door to see Li Tianxin standing outside, arms crossed.
"..."
Jiang Ran blinked. "Are you trying to be a door god?"
"I’m not."
Li Tianxin shook his head earnestly.
’No kidding...’
Jiang Ran rolled his eyes.
"Is there a reason you’re here?"
"I have to keep an eye on you."
Li Tianxin stared at Jiang Ran without blinking.
"You’re going to watch me when you’re not even healed yet?"
Jiang Ran was exasperated. "You’re all battered and bruised, yet you’re running around first thing in the morning to cause trouble. Aren’t you afraid you’ll just drop dead?"
"If I don’t keep you in my sights..."
As he was speaking, he noticed a human head sitting on Jiang Ran’s table.
He froze. "You killed someone again?"
Jiang Ran didn’t like the sound of that "again" and turned back into his room.
Li Tianxin was about to follow when he heard Jiang Ran speak.
"Did I say you could come in?"
"Fine, I won’t come in."
Li Tianxin simply crossed his arms and stood in the doorway, his expression screaming ’stay away’.
"Either way, I’m watching you. If it makes you uncomfortable, then cure the poison you put in me, and I’ll leave immediately."
"I see."
Jiang Ran chuckled. "Fine, do as you please. Why would I complain about having an extra attendant?"
"Who said anything about serving you...?"
Li Tianxin sneered. "I’m just making sure you don’t run off."
Jiang Ran paid him no mind. After washing his face and getting ready, he headed out.
Li Tianxin dogged his steps, following close behind.
Jiang Ran had a lot to do today.
First, he needed to buy a new saber.
His current saber had cost him two taels of silver at a blacksmith’s shop.
It was never a quality blade to begin with, and after so much use, it was badly worn.
Last night, it had even been caught in Earth Wulang’s grip.
If Jiang Ran hadn’t reinforced it with his Inner Strength, it would have shattered to pieces.
Still, he wasn’t particularly picky when it came to a new weapon.
In the end, he spent ten taels of silver on a new saber, a decent upgrade to his equipment.
With that done, he made a trip to the Government Office.
Earth Wulang’s head was worth one thousand taels.
Naturally, he had to collect the bounty.
He was once again received by Steward Liu. Jiang Ran told him about his encounter with the Five Phantoms the previous night and asked him to pass a warning to the Lord Prefect.
In return, he received a word of caution from the Lord Prefect:
"The Five Phantoms are as close as family. You killed Earth Wulang, so the other four will surely come for revenge.
"You must be careful. The Government Office will keep an eye on their movements and notify you immediately if we hear anything."
Hearing this, Jiang Ran’s eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
"I just love it when people are so loyal to each other."
Steward Liu looked completely bewildered by his comment, but Jiang Ran was already taking his leave.
Just as Steward Liu had handed him the silver notes, he had received a system notification.
[Reward Acquired: Kun’s Thirteen Mad Demon Claws (Twenty-Six Years)]
It sounded like a claw technique, but Jiang Ran didn’t quite understand what the "twenty-six years" meant.
He didn’t claim the reward in the Government Office. Based on past experience, rewards that included martial arts techniques or vast amounts of Inner Strength required time to absorb.
So, after leaving the Government Office, he took the statue-like Li Tianxin and headed straight back to the inn.
Back at the inn, Li Tianxin stood guard at the door to Jiang Ran’s room, his arms crossed.
Jiang Ran sat cross-legged, first glancing at his current lifespan, which had become [Remaining Lifespan: One year, three months, and twenty-eight days].
It had increased by about twenty-four days.
After nodding in satisfaction, he found the rewards page and selected "Claim" under the [Claim Reward?] prompt.
The next moment, the entire set of claw techniques flowed into his mind like a stream of light, the moves flashing one after another.
At the same time, Jiang Ran felt a strange sensation in his hands. A light flex of his fingers produced soft CRACKING sounds.
A moment later, he knew every move by heart.
A casual wave of his hand now held unfathomable power.
It was as if he had already practiced them diligently for more than twenty years!
"This is..."
Jiang Ran’s eyes snapped open as understanding dawned.
’Kun’s Thirteen Mad Demon Claws... This is Earth Wulang’s martial art!
’The very claw technique he spent twenty-six years mastering, the foundation of his entire career!’
’But if that’s the logic, does that mean my reward system randomly extracts something from the wanted criminals I deal with?
’But what about the Righteous Fortune Scripture and all that Inner Strength I got before?
’Did either Zhang Dongxuan or Dao Zhen practice the Righteous Fortune Scripture?
’And another thing... last night, Wood Silang recognized the origin of my Inner Energy. Why did he look like he’d seen a ghost?
’Is there some hidden secret to this technique of mine?’
