The next day, early morning.
The first rays of dawn peeked through, scattering countless streaks of rosy light. As the veil of night gradually retreated, the horizon grew bright.
Squad Leader Mr. Sun got up early. Served by his wife, he donned his Official's Uniform and strode toward the County Government Office.
"Lou Wei, Liang Fan, and those other master thieves roaming the Commandery still haven't been caught. Now there's this Five Organ Skill... Why are there so many troubles these days?"
Walking along the road, Squad Leader Sun felt a headache coming on.
"These orders came down from the County Government Office," he thought. "The County Magistrate tossed the matter to the Historian, the head of the Officials, and the Historian dumped it onto me, the Squad Leader of the Fast Shift. It's just getting passed down the chain of command. And right now, I don't even have any capable subordinates.
"The previous batch of Blood Refining veterans all went up Black Mountain and were eaten clean by that Demon Fiend.
"Now, there are very few Blood Refining Martial Artists left in the Fast Shift. Even I, the Squad Leader, am forced to helplessly patrol the streets. Where is the justice in that?
"If I were to run into those thieves..."
Squad Leader Sun sighed deeply, his headache worsening.
When the sky was just barely lit, he arrived at the Government Office.
He was suddenly taken aback to see a group of early-arriving constables gathered in the Three Squad courtyard.
"What are you all gathering here for? Why haven't you gone into the duty room?" Squad Leader Sun asked as he walked inside. However, just as he pushed his way through the Black Officials and constables, he froze in his tracks.
A figure, completely drenched in blood that soaked through his Official's Uniform, was sitting on a bench in front of the duty room.
A bloodstained Broken Blade rested casually beside him. The Master himself was unhurriedly sipping tea, and right by his feet sat a bloody severed head!
The head's eyes were wide open, filled with an unspeakable terror.
Blood dripped from its neck, seeping into the dirt and giving off a metallic stench.
Seeing this scene, Squad Leader Sun couldn't help but shudder. He instinctively gripped his saber hilt and shouted, "Zheng San, what are you doing?!"
Seeing Squad Leader Sun arrive, Zheng Jun chuckled lightly. He casually set his tea bowl aside and slowly stood up.
As he rose, the surrounding constables unconsciously panicked. Even Squad Leader Sun grew a bit tense.
Just as the squad leader was about to draw his blade, Zheng Jun cupped his hands in greeting. "Squad Leader, this bastard came to assassinate me last night, but I killed him instead! After slashing this thief, I brought his head straight here to report the crime. I ask you and Historian Xu to handle the matter."
"You..." Hearing Zheng Jun's explanation, Squad Leader Sun couldn't recover his wits for a long while. He held his breath for ages but couldn't squeeze out a single sentence.
He thought, "Even so, did you really have to carry a severed head into the County Government Office? The County Magistrate's residence is right behind this place. Aren't you afraid of alarming the County Magistrate?"
Feeling utterly helpless, Squad Leader Sun forced out a breath of stale air and told Zheng Jun, "Do you have any evidence? Empty words are no proof."
There still needed to be evidence. Otherwise, if you casually hacked someone to death on the street and claimed they attacked first and you were forced to defend yourself, would the Court have any order left? If you were some noble or aristocrat, you could indeed get away with that. But Zheng Jun was clearly no scion of nobility, nor did his family have spare money to throw around. Naturally, proof was required.
"People should have heard the fight last night, and the traces left behind cannot be faked," Zheng Jun said calmly. "Furthermore, this man wielded a Wide-Backed Saber, and he used the Wave-Treading Saber technique when trying to hack at me. Looking at his face, he should be Lou Wei's head disciple, Liang Fan, who is wanted on the notice boards.
"The notices stated clearly that whoever slashes Liang Fan will be rewarded with five taels of silver."
Hearing Zheng Jun's resolute words, Squad Leader Sun was immediately stunned.
He then looked closely at the severed head on the ground.
After identifying it for a moment, he realized that apart from the extra blood and grime on its face, it looked exactly like Liang Fan.
Squad Leader Sun was instantly overjoyed. "It's Liang Fan, alright!"
Filled with delight, he looked at Zheng Jun and repeatedly praised, "Sanlang, what brilliant skills! Of all the people Thief Liang could pick, he just had to try and murder you! By slashing Thief Liang this time, you've truly eliminated a great menace for our Black Mountain County!
"Thief Liang was Lou Wei's proudest disciple, and the only Blood Refining Martial Artist among his apprentices. Now that he's met his end here, the Government Office will reward you heavily!"
Squad Leader Sun beamed with joy, no longer caring about anything else as he continued, "I will go report to the Historian right now and request your merits! These five taels of silver will be granted to you by tomorrow at the latest!"
Just as he was about to take a few steps, he suddenly remembered that they hadn't even done the morning roll call yet, prompting him to slap his forehead.
Since the one killed was Liang Fan, there wouldn't be any problems.
Let alone being killed in a failed night raid—even if they had met on the main street and Zheng Jun had drawn his blade to slash him, the Court wouldn't hold him liable for any crimes. On the contrary, they would request merits for him!
However, to be able to kill Liang Fan... Could it be that Zheng Jun had already mastered the basics of the Eagle-Hawk Force?!
Thinking of this, Squad Leader Sun suddenly looked astonished. He stared blankly at Zheng Jun, finding it somewhat unbelievable. "Have you... have you mastered the basics of the Eagle-Hawk Force?"
"Yes," Zheng Jun replied, giving a slight nod as he saw the squad leader's reaction.
Seeing Zheng Jun admit it, Squad Leader Sun was left entirely speechless, not knowing what to say.
Zheng Jun hadn't recognized Liang Fan at first. The only reason he knew of the man was because he had heard about him from Zhao Da.
After chopping off his head, Zheng Jun had carefully compared it against the wanted posters to confirm the attacker's identity before coming to claim the reward.
However, Liang Fan wasn't the only one who died last night. There were also Zhao Da, Zhao Er, and Zhang Qingyu's wife's younger brother. Having them die on the same night perfectly cleared him of suspicion. He could pin everything on the deceased Liang Fan, saving himself the trouble of hiding bodies or facing interrogations.
If he had waited a few more days to kill them, explaining it all away would have been quite difficult.
But... Zheng Jun's eagle-like gaze swept around. The surrounding constables and Quick Hands were now looking at him with what could only be described as godly reverence. They stared at Zheng Jun, who seemed like a God of Slaughter, with complex expressions and a mix of emotions in their hearts.
After all, Zheng Jun was a newcomer who had only been exposed to Martial Arts for a little over a month, yet he had managed to slash a thief from the wanted posters. Even though this thief's strength wasn't top-tier, it was still enough to prove just how formidable Zheng Jun's Martial Arts skills had become.
There were gazes of envy, jealousy, and even resentment. But when Zheng Jun's eyes swept over them, whether filled with admiration or hatred, they all quickly averted their eyes, not daring to meet his gaze. Zheng Jun had finally achieved greatness!
Realizing that Zheng Jun's current strength was vastly different from before, Squad Leader Sun's attitude improved significantly. He said to him, "Sanlang, it's far too improper for you to go see the County Magistrate and the Historian covered in blood like this! There are still newly embroidered Official's Uniforms in the duty room. Go grab a set to change into, and wash off that bloody stench while you're at it!
"Your blade is also much too crude. How can a proper man use a Broken Blade?! When I see the Historian today, I'll put in a word for you and get you a new weapon. A Treasure Saber belongs with a hero!"
Squad Leader Sun warmly attended to Zheng Jun.
Believing that only a fool would turn down a free advantage, Zheng Jun immediately cupped his fists, said, "Thank you, Squad Leader," and went off to bathe and change.
After Zheng Jun left, Squad Leader Sun didn't waste a second and headed straight for the Historian's Mansion.
The Historian was the head of all the Officials in the County Government Office, overseeing every single one of them. He was a prominent figure—the fifth-in-command of the office—and lived in a residence right nearby.
Squad Leader Sun rushed to report, entering the Historian's Mansion.
Historian Mr. Xu Heng had long since gotten out of bed and was practicing his Martial Arts in the courtyard. He wielded a staff that spun rapidly up and down, whipping up gusts of wind.
Squad Leader Sun hurriedly barged in, looking utterly ecstatic. He reported, "Sir, great news! That Liang Fan went crazy last night and actually tried to assassinate Zheng Jun, a constable of my squad, but Zheng Jun killed him instead!"
Hearing the first half, Xu Heng showed no reaction. But when he heard that Liang Fan had been killed, Historian Xu was immediately taken aback. "You're saying that Zheng Jun slashed Liang Fan to death?" he asked in astonishment.
"That's right!" Squad Leader Sun paid no mind to Xu Heng's expression and beamed with joy. "Now that Zheng Jun has slashed Liang Fan, we finally have something to report! We can pin the matter of the Demon Skill on Liang Fan, and the County Magistrate will definitely reward us!"
Historian Xu nodded, but his expression was rather sour.
"Those brothers of the Zhao family did a dogshit job!" Historian Xu cursed inwardly. Just as he was about to say something, a Quick Hand came sprinting over from the County Government Office, sweating like a Great Khan. "Historian! Squad Leader! Disaster! It's a disaster!"
"There's been a murder in the city, a major murder!"
Hearing the Quick Hand's words, Squad Leader Sun frowned. Just as he was about to speak, the Quick Hand continued, "Squad Leader Mr. Zhao of the Strong Shift and his constables Liu Yaozu, Zhao Qing, and Zhang Buhai are all dead!"
Squad Leader Sun didn't have much of a reaction to this, but Historian Xu Heng was shocked to his core. "Zhao Da and Zhao Er are dead?!"
"How can the two of them be dead?!" he thought in shock.