Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Reward
Guo Chong stood to the side, holding a writing brush, and watched Jiang Ran.
Seeing the joyous expression plastered all over his face, he was momentarily speechless.
"Steward Liu was right. Your eyes really do light up at the sight of money."
Jiang Ran glanced at him.
"Who in this world *doesn’t* get excited about money?"
"That’s true. Besides fools and madmen, who doesn’t love money?"
"Those who claim they don’t love money are mostly hypocrites."
Guo Chong nodded repeatedly.
"A gentleman loves wealth, but he acquires it through proper means. As long as the money is earned legitimately, what’s wrong with that?"
"Your Lordship is truly a reasonable man."
Jiang Ran smiled, took out the thick stack of silver notes, and stuffed them into his bundle. He then pulled out two gourds from the bundle and tossed them to Guo Chong.
Guo Chong casually caught them. He opened one of the lids, took a sniff, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"Twenty-year-old vintage?"
"Your Lordship was so generous. I naturally had to show my appreciation."
"Hmph. I gave you over ten thousand taels, and you give me two gourds of wine in return?"
Guo Chong snorted, then said,
"Come, come. I happen to have some food here. Join me for a drink."
"No."
Jiang Ran waved his hand.
"My business in Cangzhou Prefecture is finished. I’m going back to the inn to pack. I plan to leave this place now."
"Leaving so soon?"
Guo Chong was surprised, but he nodded.
"That’s right. The life of a lone wanderer in the martial world means you’re free to come and go as you please."
"Seeing you so free and unrestrained makes me quite envious."
"A pity... being an official, one is rarely the master of one’s own fate."
"Wait a moment."
As he spoke, he reached out and rummaged through the things on his desk, quickly grabbing a booklet.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it to Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran caught it and saw two large words written on the booklet: Celestial Palace.
"What is this?"
Jiang Ran glanced at Guo Chong.
"Everything we’ve managed to investigate on the Celestial Palace so far is in here."
Guo Chong looked at Jiang Ran, a faint smile on his face.
Jiang Ran was rather speechless.
"I’m not a government official. You previously stated that no one from the Celestial Palace has ever been a wanted criminal..."
"It’s true they’ve never been on a public wanted list, but they are on the Sword Holding Department’s list."
"The Sword Holding Department?"
Jiang Ran was slightly taken aback.
"What’s that?"
"A newly established government department, proposed by the current Left Prime Minister, Lord Lian Ziqian. It’s gradually coming to the forefront now."
"This department deals specifically with Assassins."
"And since you accepted an Assassin’s Order, you are now qualified to accept arrest warrants from the Sword Holding Department that ordinary people cannot."
"For example... the Celestial Palace!"
Guo Chong glanced at Jiang Ran and said with a smile,
"The Celestial Palace? They are not to be trifled with. And besides the Celestial Palace, there are far too many things in this world that can’t be dealt with out in the open."
"For instance, the Demon Sect, which ran rampant for centuries in the past. If you were to post a public bounty for them, and some people who don’t know any better went after them, you can imagine what would happen."
"These are not tasks for ordinary people. They can only be handled by an expert like you."
Jiang Ran was lost in thought.
’So your backing... is them?’
"Stay out of my business."
Guo Chong shot Jiang Ran a look, then said, "But you’re not far off. My backing is indeed from them."
"But the waters here run too deep. It’s not good for you to know too much."
"Alright, you can go now."
"Farewell."
Jiang Ran cupped his fist, glanced at the folding screen behind Guo Chong, and then turned to leave.
After Jiang Ran had stepped out of the small courtyard, a figure emerged from behind the screen... Luo Qingyi!
Luo Qingyi watched the direction in which Jiang Ran had left, his brow slightly furrowed.
"My Lord, Jiang Ran’s martial arts are formidable. He would have discovered me hiding behind the screen like this."
"He... he probably already knows who I am."
"Do you take him for an idiot?"
Guo Chong glanced at Luo Qingyi and shook his head.
"He’s not just powerful, he’s also plenty smart."
"Even if he didn’t know you were hiding behind the screen today, he would inevitably find out you’re my man sooner or later."
"It’s better to be somewhat open about it now than to have an ugly scene when he finds out later."
"It seems you trust him a great deal, My Lord."
Luo Qingyi gave a slight smile.
Guo Chong, however, furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and said,
"You know, it’s strange, but I really felt an inexplicable sense of kinship with him from the moment we met."
"Alright, enough of this nonsense. The old grudge has been avenged. You may go."
"Whatever he wants to know, you can tell him."
"If he doesn’t want to know, you don’t have to say anything."
"Yes, sir."
Luo Qingyi gave a slight bow with his fist cupped, his figure disappearing behind the screen. A moment later, the sound of a window shutting could be heard.
...
...
He walked out of the small courtyard and followed the path of the Government Office toward the exit.
Just as he was approaching the main gate, he saw Steward Liu rushing back inside.
The man must have been exhausted to the point of confusion.
His eyes were open but held a dazed look. He stared at Jiang Ran for a good while before suddenly slapping his forehead.
"Young Hero Jiang!!!"
The shout was jarringly loud.
It made the surrounding government constables turn to look in his direction.
The corner of Jiang Ran’s mouth twitched. He gave a slight bow with his fist cupped.
"Steward Liu."
"When I saw you just now, I felt like I’d forgotten something," Steward Liu said.
"Seeing you again, I’ve finally remembered."
"Young Hero Jiang, I’ve found news about the person you asked me to look into."
Jiang Ran’s eyes lit up.
"Where is he?"
"I don’t know."
Steward Liu shook his head.
"Over half a month ago, this person stayed in Cangzhou Prefecture for a time. Afterward, he left through the south gate, traveled through Benma County, and then headed northwest."
"My men followed the trail all the way to Benma County to gather information before they returned."
"That’s why I’ve kept you waiting, Young Master Jiang."
Hearing Steward Liu’s definitive answer, Jiang Ran finally let out a huge sigh of relief.
’The old drunkard managed to leave through the south gate on his own. He really has left Cangzhou Prefecture.’
After asking Steward Liu for directions to Benma County, Jiang Ran cupped his fist in thanks.
Steward Liu, still in a daze, waved his hand dismissively and went back to his work...
Jiang Ran found the sight hard to watch. He had a feeling that if this kept up, he probably wouldn’t be seeing Steward Liu again in the future.
The journey back to the inn was uneventful.
He sat on the bed in his room at the inn.
Jiang Ran opened his reward list.
[Reward Received: Three Years of Inner Strength!]
[Reward Received: Five Years of Inner Strength!]
[Reward Received: Three Years of Inner Strength!]
[Reward Received: Four Years of Inner Strength!]
[Reward Received: Hand of Heavenly Ingenuity (Fifty-three Years)!]
[Reward Received: Barbaric Dragon Strength (Thirty-one Years)!]
[Reward Received: Blood Cauldron Scripture (Two Years)!]
Jiang Ran looked them over one by one. The others were fine, but the last one left him completely stunned.
’Blood Cauldron Scripture!?’
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