Chapter 41 - 42: Please Show Yourself, Your Excellency

Chapter 41: Chapter 42: Please Show Yourself, Your Excellency

An incense stick’s worth of time later, Su Chen walked out of the County Magistrate’s Office, followed closely by the advisor.

"Take care, Yang the Warrior," the advisor said respectfully.

Su Chen nodded and turned to leave. His silhouette quickly vanished at the end of the street.

After leaving the County Magistrate’s Office, Su Chen did not immediately set out to complete the bounty mission. He went home first before heading to the blacksmith’s shop.

The old blacksmith recognized Su Chen and immediately approached him.

"Is my weapon ready?" Su Chen asked.

"It’s done." The old blacksmith brought out a modified Yanling Saber and handed it to Su Chen. "I modified the scabbard while I was at it, too."

Without another word, Su Chen took the weapon. After inspecting it briefly, he unsheathed the modified Yanling Saber.

SHING.

A crisp sound rang out the moment he drew the blade. Looking at the smooth, sharp steel, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Here is twenty taels of silver." He pulled the silver from his inner pocket and handed it to the old blacksmith, who happily accepted the silver taels.

Leaving the beaming blacksmith behind, Su Chen departed the shop with his new blade.

After the time it takes to finish a meal, Su Chen returned home and changed into a black overcoat, making his figure look instantly more burly. He placed the modified Yanling Saber into the sleeve of his "severed" arm, tucking it close to his hidden limb. After a careful inspection, he found no visible difference from his usual appearance, which finally put his mind at ease.

Next, he tested its accessibility. His movements were a bit sluggish at first, but after drawing and swinging the blade several times, he gradually grew accustomed to it. However, looking at the black overcoat that had torn when he drew the saber, Su Chen smiled wryly. "The effect is pretty good, but it sure goes through clothes fast."

Fortunately, he had bought plenty of black overcoats, so he didn’t mind the loss.

After practicing for a while, Su Chen stopped his movements. "I don’t know if it’s because it’s a new blade, but my movements are still a bit flawed. I’ll practice hard at home for the next two days to make sure I don’t fall short in a real fight."

The mission entrusted to him by the County Magistrate was set for three days later, so he still had time. He planned to use these two days to practice extensively, ensuring that when the time came to act, he could secure a one-strike kill.

Three days flowed by like a stream, passing in the blink of an eye.

By evening on the third day, Su Chen changed his clothes, equipped himself with his Sleeve Saber and steel blade, and left White Stone City.

According to the information provided by the County Magistrate’s Office, his target tonight was Zhu Ming. On the surface, Zhu Ming was a merchant, but in reality, he secretly colluded with the Rebirth Sect. He supplied them with various pieces of intelligence, which the Rebirth Sect used to continuously expand their influence. The Government Office had repeatedly attempted to exterminate the Rebirth Sect rebels, but all efforts had ended in failure due to leaked information.

Tonight at midnight, Zhu Ming would meet with the Rebirth Sect rebels in the West Suburban Wilderness. The best time to strike would be right after their meeting concluded.

Su Chen didn’t care about their transaction. His only mission was to kill Zhu Ming. Although Zhu Ming was a merchant, he only cared about profit. His intelligence peddling had led to the deaths of many innocent people. Some philanthropic families had even been entirely wiped out due to his collusion with the Rebirth Sect.

Soon, Su Chen arrived at the West Suburban Wilderness. He concealed himself and waited.

Time ticked by. Suddenly, Su Chen heard faint footsteps approaching from a short distance away. Under the dim moonlight, he spotted a blurry figure. It wasn’t until the person drew closer that he recognized him as Zhu Ming.

Seeing that Zhu Ming was alone, Su Chen didn’t act rashly. Instead, he held his breath and hid himself even deeper.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before three men leaped down from the trees. Their agile movements made Su Chen’s eyes narrow.

"Did you bring the stuff?" The three men were dressed in black with their faces masked. Upon seeing Zhu Ming, they asked in hushed voices.

Su Chen couldn’t hear their voices at all. In the pitch-black darkness, he couldn’t read their lips to figure out what they were saying either.

Zhu Ming nodded without speaking. He took an item from his pocket and handed it to the leader. After inspecting the item, the leader looked at Zhu Ming. Zhu Ming nodded back, then abruptly turned around, his gaze scanning the surroundings.

Suddenly, Su Chen heard Zhu Ming call out loudly, "May I ask which good fellow is spying on us from the shadows? Please, show yourself!"

Hearing this, Su Chen instinctively wanted to stand up but abruptly stopped himself. He kept his composure and made no sound. His eyes darted around, trying to spot whoever Zhu Ming had discovered.

"I’ve been lying in ambush here for so long without noticing anyone else show up. How did this guy spot someone?"

After looking around for a while, Su Chen still didn’t see anyone else, which made him suspicious.

"Did he spot me? But that’s impossible. I’m dozens of meters away from him, and I’ve been holding my breath and concealing my presence the whole time. How could he have found me? And when did he notice me?"

As he was thinking this, Zhu Ming’s voice rang out again. "If you refuse to show yourself, then don’t blame me for taking action personally."

Su Chen still didn’t move. He continued to lie prone, keeping a close eye on Zhu Ming, waiting for the man to make a move. His plan was to kill Zhu Ming in one strike the moment he attacked, then retreat before the other three could react.

But as he waited, Su Chen realized something was wrong. After saying those words, Zhu Ming merely paced around in a circle without taking any action. Furthermore, Su Chen noticed the other three men were doing the same.

Seeing this, Su Chen immediately understood that he had almost been played.

"What a bluff! That ’I’ve already found you’ line is just a trick for children, and I almost fell for it!"

Su Chen was somewhat speechless. Fortunately, he was cautious enough not to expose himself immediately upon hearing the bluff. Otherwise, he would have been besieged by the four of them by now.

Shaking his head, he calmed himself down. Su Chen remained hidden until Zhu Ming finally left.

"Damn it, these guys are even more insidious than I am!"

Because he had almost been fooled earlier, Su Chen deliberately kept his guard up and didn’t reveal himself even after they left. Sure enough, it didn’t take long before he saw the three men return. They hid in the trees, silently observing their surroundings for any movement. If Su Chen had stood up just then, he would have definitely been spotted by the trio.

After waiting a while longer, Su Chen watched the three figures completely vanish before finally sighing in relief. Even though he hadn’t actually fought Zhu Ming yet, this encounter felt more exhausting than a full-blown battle. These guys were truly paranoid to the bone!

Su Chen stood up and brushed the weeds off his clothes, his expression fluctuating uncertainly. After a long while, his eyes flickered with resolve.

"This Zhu Ming is much more cautious than I imagined.

"If I had blindly followed the information provided by the Government Office and attacked Zhu Ming directly, I probably would have fallen right into his trap.

"I should abort tonight’s operation. It won’t be too late to strike after I investigate Zhu Ming’s routes myself. Tao Wenxuan didn’t give me a strict deadline anyway!"

With this thought in mind, Su Chen didn’t follow the direction Zhu Ming had taken. Instead, he headed off in the opposite direction.