Chapter 34
Han Zhao brought the heads to the foot of Black Wind Mountain.
Before entering the Saber Hunter stronghold, he hid the caged bird in the forest to prevent his identity from being exposed.
He walked into the underground hall.
Behind the counter, the official was sleeping soundly on a chair, drool flowing down the corner of his mouth.
Han Zhao walked forward and put down the cloth bag that was wrapped around the human head. She coughed lightly.
“Huh? It’s so late at night. Who the…” The official woke up from his deep sleep and cursed. However, when he saw the blood-stained cloth bag on the counter and the familiar figure in front of him, he immediately swallowed the word “f*ck” in his throat.
It was none other than Song Que, dressed in white and wearing a fox mask.
To be able to do a job like a Saber Hunter and wear white clothes, one had to be a ruthless person to not dirty their clothes.
The most famous of them all was Song Que.
“So it’s Lord Song!” The official wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and stood up. “Lord Song is really righteous. It’s so late and you’re still arresting a wanted criminal. I wonder who it is this time?”
Han Zhao took out a warrant and handed it to the officer.
The official took it with both hands and opened it.
“Heretic martial artist, bounty… 500 taels! Blood Tempering Realm!!!” The official exclaimed. The remaining drowsiness instantly disappeared. He widened his eyes and looked at the description on the wanted poster.
“Lord Song, this mission is not something I can settle. Please wait a moment. I’ll invite Lord Wu over!” The official bowed with an extremely respectful expression.
To be able to kill a quasi-Martial Master in the Blood Tempering Realm, it could only mean that Lord Song was also in the Blood Tempering Realm.
Even in the inner city of Blackrock City, such a figure would be treated as an honored guest by the various large families.
“Mm.” Han Zhao nodded.
The official opened the iron door behind the counter and called another person to greet Han Zhao. He walked through the underground corridor and arrived at the door of a secret room. He bowed respectfully inside.
“Lord Wu.”
“It’s late. What is it?” A deep voice came from the chamber.
“The wanted Blood Tempering martial artist has already been executed. Lord Song personally delivered the head,” the official explained.
Step! Step!
Hurried footsteps could be heard.
A sinister-looking middle-aged man in a lake-blue martial arts suit pulled open the iron door and walked out. “Lord Song? Which Lord Song?”
“Lord Wu, it’s Lord Song Que.” The official bowed respectfully.
“The famous Saber Hunter in the vicinity? Isn’t he in the Bone Tempering Realm? He can actually kill a quasi-Martial Master in the Blood Tempering Realm?” The middle-aged man frowned and said in a deep voice, “Follow me to the hall.”
“Yes!” The official followed closely behind.
When the middle-aged man arrived at the hall, he first looked at the cloth bag on the counter and then sized up Han Zhao.
He smiled and cupped his fists at Han Zhao. “I’m the chief constable of the county office, Wu Feiyi. You must be Brother Song Que. I’ve heard a lot about you!”
“So it’s Constable Wu. Sorry for the disrespect.” Han Zhao returned the greeting with a solemn expression under his mask.
Constable Wu’s heartbeat was strong and his blood qi was vigorous. He was an expert!
“I heard that Brother Song killed a heretic martial artist who was causing trouble in the nearby area. According to the usual practice, I have to check it out first,” Wu Feiyi said seriously. He did not know Song Que’s current level, but since he could kill a Blood Tempering Realm martial artist, he would treat him as someone of the same level first.
“Go ahead,” Han Zhao said lightly.
Wu Feiyi stepped forward and opened the blood-stained bag. Facing the pungent smell of blood, his expression did not change at all. He picked up the head and examined it carefully.
There had once been a martial artist who was good at disguising himself. Although that martial artist was dismembered in the end, he still embarrassed the county office, so they had already formed a special inspection process.
Of course, under normal circumstances, there was no need for him, the chief constable, to personally check.
The main reason was that the heretic Blood Tempering martial artist who had recently appeared was an outsider. He had actually attacked the Xu family’s merchant group and even escaped under the siege of two Blood Tempering martial artists and many Bone Tempering martial artists. Clearly, it was very troublesome.
To be safe, he, the chief constable of the county office, personally guarded the stronghold to prevent any accidents.
However, he did not expect this Blood Tempering Realm martial artist to be killed less than half a month after the mission was issued.
“The blood qi is rich and dense like mercury! He’s indeed a Blood Tempering Realm martial artist.” Wu Feiyi checked his blood and nodded to himself.
There were no signs of disguise on the head or face. This person was the wanted heretic martial artist.
“Brother Song, please…” Wu Feiyi put down the head and looked at Han Zhao. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt dizzy and his limbs were slightly numb.
There was poison in his blood!
Wu Feiyi hurriedly circulated his blood qi.
As his blood qi circulated throughout his body, he felt his body return to normal.
“What a terrifying ability to use poison!” Wu Feiyi was shocked.
He was already dead, but the residual toxins in his blood could actually affect a Blood Tempering Realm martial artist like him. It was truly inconceivable.
In a battle between experts, even if one’s hands and feet were numb for a short period of time, it was still possible to determine the outcome and affect life and death.
If many Bone Tempering Realm martial artists had laid an ambush in advance, they would have had a chance to kill a heavily injured Blood Tempering Realm martial artist.
Wu Feiyi originally thought that Song Que might have been lucky enough to kill the other party, but now it seemed that he was definitely not.
With this ability to use poison, he was not confident in killing the other party.
From the looks of it, Song Que was completely unharmed.
However, he did not make a move. He did not know what level of martial artist Song Que was.
Did he just break through to the first Blood Qi Breakthrough, or was he a Blood Tempering Realm expert who deliberately hid his strength?
From the looks of it, Song Que was also an outsider.
Thinking of this, Wu Feiyi cupped his fists and bowed. He smiled and said, “I didn’t expect this heretic martial artist’s poison to be so powerful. I almost fell for it! Brother Song is really amazing to be able to kill him.”
“I also prepared the antidote in advance, which was why I was lucky enough to get it.” Han Zhao laughed.
Although he could tell that Song Que was being perfunctory, Wu Feiyi’s smile didn’t diminish. He continued, “There isn’t a Blood Tempering Realm martial artist in Blackrock City that I don’t know. May I know where Brother Song is from? Is it convenient for you to show your true face? Of course, I won’t force you.”
“I don’t have any background. I’m just from a small place. I’m afraid Constable Wu won’t know me even if I tell you. As for showing my true face, it’s nothing,” Han Zhao said calmly.
In any case, Song Que was already famous. It didn’t matter if he wore a mask or not.
With that, he took off the fox mask on his face.
Wu Feiyi’s eyes lit up.
This Song Que looked to be in his early thirties. His eyebrows were sharp and his eyes were like cold stars. His outline was as tough as a knife.
What a cold and handsome man!
Originally, Han Zhao had planned to disguise himself in an ordinary way. However, since he was using the alias ‘Song Que’, it didn’t seem good if he was too ugly. Hence, he changed his appearance according to his impression.
Although there was a certain gap between his appearance and his, he was still worthy of being called the Heavenly Saber.
“Brother Song has such good skills and doesn’t belong to any local faction. I wonder if you’re willing to join the county office? County Magistrate Wu has always treated Blood Tempering experts like you with respect!” Wu Feiyi came back to his senses and knew that the other party didn’t belong to any faction. He immediately started to rope him in.
Han Zhao shook his head. “Constable Wu, I appreciate your kindness. It’s just that I’m used to being unrestrained and can’t stand being held down.”
Wu Feiyi was not surprised to hear this. It was not easy to rope in a Blood Tempering Realm martial artist.
“However, if there are such money-making missions in the future, I’m willing to accept them.” Han Zhao changed the topic and didn’t say anything definite.
After all, he was going to continue catching criminals in the future, and the intelligence system here was also very useful to him.
“Then I look forward to working with Brother Song one day.” Wu Feiyi was delighted. As long as the other party did not reject him outright, it meant that there was still a chance. He was not in a hurry, but he had to inform County Magistrate Wu as soon as possible.
Han Zhao nodded and put on his mask again. He pointed at the wanted poster on the counter. “Brother Wu, shouldn’t you give me my bounty reward?”
“Look at me… I hit it off with Brother Song at first sight. I almost forgot about this.” Wu Feiyi slapped his head and lied through his teeth.
At this moment, the official at the side leaned over to Wu Feiyi and whispered something.
Wu Feiyi looked surprised. He looked up and asked, “Brother Song, do you want to exchange the bounty for gold? If you want it to be easy to carry, why don’t you exchange it for banknotes?”
“It’s just a hobby. I like gold,” Han Zhao said calmly.
Wu Feiyi was stunned. He smiled and said, “Brother Song is really a wonderful person! But I also like gold.”
“Half of it can be exchanged for gold,” Han Zhao added.
“No problem. Please wait a moment, Brother Song.” Wu Feiyi smiled and went to collect the money himself.
After a while, Wu Feiyi returned to the hall with a tray covered with red silk.
He placed the tray on the counter and pushed it toward Han Zhao.
Han Zhao lifted the red silk and glanced at it. It was filled with silver and gold.
There were 30 silver ingots and three gold ingots.
“Constable Wu, isn’t there too much money here?” Han Zhao looked up at Wu Feiyi.
“It’s not much. 300 taels of silver and 30 taels of gold, a total of 600 taels! Previously, the reward of 500 taels was because I felt that no martial artist would accept the mission. Now that Brother Song has completed the mission, the extra 100 taels of silver can be considered a meeting gift from the government office.” Wu Feiyi explained with a smile, “The head of a Blood Tempering Realm martial artist is worth this price.”
“In that case, it would be impolite for me to refuse.” Han Zhao nodded calmly, his intestines turning green with regret.
Because the exchange ratio of gold and silver here was 1:11, the ratio in the inner city was even lower. In order to befriend him, Wu Feiyi gave him an additional 100 taels of silver and also exchanged gold for him at a ratio of 1:10.
If he had known earlier, he would have exchanged all of them for gold. This was equivalent to earning dozens of taels of silver.
Who would have thought that he, a Blood Tempering Realm expert, was actually so poor?
However, for the sake of Song Que’s image, he definitely could not go back on his word.
“I’ll take my leave first.” Han Zhao cupped his hands at Wu Feiyi, picked up the tray, and left.
“Brother Song, take care!” Wu Feiyi was all smiles.
After Han Zhao left the stronghold, he didn’t directly take the package and rooster hidden in the forest. Instead, he circled around a few times.
After confirming that no one was following him, he retrieved the package.
“System, charge.”
Han Zhao put the silver into his bag, then chanted in his heart and charged 30 taels of gold into the system.
[Current Balance: 31 taels of gold]
For the first time, the balance was in double digits. Han Zhao was greatly satisfied.
Indeed, wealth came from danger!
With the [Life Simulation] Trait, he could minimize the risk.
Now, he just had to wait for the Essence Soul Bead to accumulate enough Yin energy to obtain the Notification Fragments and simulate it again.
Of the remaining 300 taels of silver, he had to return 200 taels to Xu Ling according to the market price of the Breeze Powder.
He still had 100 taels of silver and 120 taels worth of banknotes left. He did not have to worry about the cost of simulation and cultivation for the time being.