“That's right, it's Drilling Rat Pei Er, number ten on the Black Rank.”
Zhao Kongfang said with interest.
“The reason it's caused such a stir is because Liu Tianci has been searching for this Pei Er for some time now, and after so long, he still hasn't found him. This Pei Er is truly someone.”
“And unlike Yu Mian Ren Kong Qi, although this Pei Er is also on the Black Rank, he hasn't actually committed any major evil deeds. What he does is basically robbing the rich to help the poor. The reason he's on the Black Rank is because he has repeatedly assassinated Imperial Court officials. It's said that the county magistrate of Ping County was killed by him twice.”
Speaking of this, Zhao Kongfang sighed with emotion.
“Daring to directly assassinate Imperial Court officials, I have to say this Pei Er is truly a tough guy.”
“Killed two county magistrates?”
Hearing Zhao Kongfang's words, Lin Sheng's face showed a hint of surprise.
He hadn't expected that this Pei Er was truly audacious, daring to assassinate county magistrates, and twice at that. This kind of behavior was undoubtedly a provocation to the Imperial Court.
One must know that although the strength of county magistrates is basically that of Blood Transportation Warriors, they are always people of the Imperial Court. In Linjiang Prefecture, or rather, the entire Great Yan Kingdom, the Imperial Court is the true overlord.
Daring to provoke the Imperial Court like this, it's no wonder he was listed in the top ten of the Black Rank.
He also knew that the bounties for the top ten on the Black Rank were quite generous. Taking this Pei Er as an example, the Imperial Court's wanted reward had already reached fifty thousand taels of silver.
Besides these, one could also directly join the Dragon Demon Army.
The Dragon Demon Army, in the entire Linjiang Prefecture or even the Great Yan Kingdom, was synonymous with strength and dominance.
Being able to join the Dragon Demon Army meant enjoying extremely generous resources, and most importantly, there was Peerless True Art that could be cultivated, and their status was incomparable.
“No wonder that Liu Tianci is relentlessly pursuing him.”
Lin Sheng couldn't help but sigh.
“Not so, not so.”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing Lin Sheng's sigh, Zhao Kongfang shook his head repeatedly.
“Who is that Liu Tianci? He is the youngest Silver Badge Constable, the most popular Genius in the Prefecture Yamen. Although Pei Er is quite strong and is in the top ten of the Black Rank, it's not enough to make him relentlessly pursue him.”
Speaking of this, Zhao Kongfang didn't continue. Instead, he picked up a piece of pastry from the table with his chopsticks, put it into his mouth, and ate it slowly, seemingly not intending to say anything further.
Seeing this, Lin Sheng's expression remained unchanged, his gaze fixed on the opposite side without moving.
After a long while like this, after chewing that mouthful of pastry countless times in his mouth, Zhao Kongfang finally couldn't hold back first. He directly spat out the pastry in his mouth, accidentally choking. He quickly picked up the wine pot on the table and took a big gulp, only then letting out a sigh of relief.
“Cough cough cough... Where were we? Oh right, Liu Tianci's relentless pursuit...”
“Speaking of which, the reason Liu Tianci is relentlessly pursuing that Drill Ground Rat is related to the number one on the Black Rank.”
“Number one on the Black Rank? Reverse Sword Wan Yanbei?”
Lin Sheng raised an eyebrow and spoke with some surprise.
He didn't know many of the fifty people on the Black Rank, but he was clear about the Reverse Sword ranked first. After all, Huang Quan had said that the Reverse Sword, number one on the Black Rank, had a wanted bounty of as much as 100,000 taels of silver.
“That's right, it's Wan Yanbei, known as the Reverse Sword.”
Seeing Lin Sheng's interest, Zhao Kongfang also said with a smile.
“Although I haven't met this Wan Yanbei, being ranked number one on the Black Rank means his strength is naturally very formidable. So, I, your Senior Brother, know quite a bit about his information.”
“The reason this person is called the Reverse Sword is because he is a master of the sword dao. His swordsmanship is ghostly and traceless, truly very strange, hence the title Reverse Sword. Furthermore, there's a little rumor.”
Zhao Kongfang's face showed a mysterious smile. He paused before continuing.
“It is said that this Wan Yanbei is not from our Northern Yan Kingdom, but from Southern Qi Country. It seems he came from a renowned great sect of the sword dao in Southern Qi. However, unfortunately, that great sword dao sect seems to have been annihilated more than ten years ago, and he also has many enemies, which is why this Wan Yanbei traveled thousands of miles to Northern Yan.”
“You also know that our Northern Yan and Southern Qi are not far apart, and there were many conflicts and wars years ago. It's only in the past few decades that things have calmed down. As a Genius from a great sect in Southern Qi Country, it's natural that many experts here would want to compete with him upon his arrival.”
“But in my opinion, the most important reason is not these. It's that as an orphan of that great sect, Wan Yanbei is very likely to still possess the foundation of that great sword dao sect. After all, in terms of scale, that great sword dao sect seemed to be quite a bit larger than our Tianxiang Sword Sect in Linjiang Prefecture.”
“So that's how it is. Then Liu Tianci has been tracking that Drill Ground Rat Pei Er because he knows Wan Yanbei's whereabouts.”
After hearing Zhao Kongfang's words, Lin Sheng finally understood now and asked.
“Uh... well, I'm not sure either. But this Drill Ground Rat seems to be a good friend of that Wan Yanbei. After all, that Wan Yanbei hasn't shown any trace for more than half a year. To find him, they naturally wouldn't let go of Pei Er as a Breakthrough point.”
Zhao Kongfang thought for a moment before giving his answer.
After a casual chat with Zhao Kongfang, Lin Sheng felt quite enlightened. He really hadn't expected that these fierce criminals on the Black Rank had such particular backgrounds.
However, he just treated it as hearing something rare.
His target was Yu Mian Ren Kong Qi. He had no interest in this Drill Ground Rat or that Wan Yanbei.
These two were currently being watched by who knows how many experts in Linjiang Prefecture, undoubtedly at the center of a vortex. He didn't want to get involved in too much trouble. It was better to earn enough money and improve his strength as quickly as possible.
...
That night.
On a nameless low mountain.
Several strange beasts resembling antelopes were lowering their heads to eat weeds. From time to time, they would lift their heads, revealing two pupils that reflected a faint yellow light under the moonlight. After confirming there was no danger around, they would lower their heads to feed again.
Suddenly, dozens of feet away, the ground slightly bulged. Silently, a human head emerged from the ground.
And this was just the beginning. The head rose upwards, and soon hands also broke out of the ground. Before long, a living person drilled out from the ground.
This movement immediately caught the attention of the feeding antelope-like strange beasts, which fled in the opposite direction.
The living person who emerged from the ground glanced at the antelopes and paid them no further attention.
Instead, he opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood with a 'wah' sound.
He quickly fumbled in his Pregnant and took out a porcelain bottle, poured out several pills, and threw them into his mouth. His pale complexion only slightly improved.
This was a short, thin man, looking to be in his early 30s. Although he had emerged from the ground, he wasn't stained with any dirt. However, his clothes were stained with quite a bit of blood.
He lay on the ground, panting heavily. After a while, he finally cursed.
“Damn Liu Tianci, truly a persistent ghost. Don't let Pei Grandpa find a chance, otherwise I'll definitely let you know what the hell 'the Jianghu is dangerous' means...”
After cursing fiercely, he finally stopped and began to circulate his energy to regulate his breathing.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the restless qi and blood in his body calmed down, and his injuries were brought under control.
Just then, his ears suddenly twitched, and then he opened his eyes and looked in one direction. As if sensing something, he couldn't help but curse again.
“Still coming? Bastard...”
While cursing, his hands weren't slow. He hurriedly stood up, fumbled in his Pregnant for a map, unfolded it, and quickly scanned it.
“The closest place is Qing Ping County, but I can't go there. Those lackeys will definitely search it thoroughly.”
He mumbled to himself, looked at the map again, and his eyes lit up.
“This Zhoushan County is good. The geographical location is excellent, surrounded by mountains on one side and water on the other. This is it...”
Having made up his mind, he immediately put the map away and into his Pregnant, then raised his arms.
A faint yellow light appeared on his two arms. The next moment, a layer of fine, dark yellow scales actually grew on them.
Then he leaped up and quickly submerged into the pit he had just emerged from. As his body entered, the soil on both sides of the pit surged, quickly burying the pit and restoring it to its original appearance, while his figure also disappeared into the mountain forest.
After he left, within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, two figures appeared in the mountain forest.
The two were dressed in Prefecture Yamen black clothes, clearly Prefecture Yamen constables.
The appearances of these two constables were different from ordinary people. One of them had dense body hair and coarse features, especially his nose, which was at least three or four times larger than a normal person's.
The other person wasn't much better. He had no hair on his head, not to mention hair or beard, even his eyebrows were bare, without a single strand.
His two ears were one large and one small, the large one the size of a child's palm, while the small one was like an infant's.
The two strange constables scanned the mountain forest with their eyes, but found nothing.
However, they still didn't give up and squatted down to search the ground.
As the big-nosed constable searched the ground, his nostrils twitched slightly, as if smelling something. His body flickered and he had already crossed dozens of feet. He reached out his hand and plunged it directly into the ground, digging. A meter-square area of ground soil cracked and turned over.
He reached out his hand again and grabbed from the upturned soil. There were clearly specks of blood on it.
Seeing this scene, he showed a cold smile on his face.
“We tracked correctly. That guy is in this direction, and he stayed here, and he just left here not long ago.”
“Very good, I'll notify Constable Liu immediately.”
Seeing this, the other constable with the large and small ears immediately took out a red bamboo tube from his Pregnant. With a gentle twist, it fired a signal flare. The flare shot up into the air, scattering balls of light, which were quite conspicuous in the dark night.
Before the light of the signal flare could dissipate, a strong wind had already swept through the mountain forest, and a figure had already arrived here.
“Greetings, Constable Liu!!”
Seeing the figure appear, the two constables immediately knelt on one knee and saluted with cupped fists.
“Where is he?”
The figure turned around, revealing his facial features under the moonlight. It was Liu Tianci.
“Reporting to Constable Liu, the aura we confirmed earlier is correct, it's that villain's. That villain stayed here for a while. If we continue to track the aura, we should be able to capture him.”
The two constables said respectfully.
“What are you waiting for? Chase.”
Liu Tianci crossed his arms and spoke lightly.
“Yes!”
The two constables immediately responded and quickly ran in one direction. However, after walking for a while, they would stop and reconfirm the direction.
...
Two days later.
In a spacious courtyard, on a red wooden rocking chair, Lin Sheng squinted his eyes, gently rocking the chair and basking in the sun, as if in a nap.
On the stone table next to him were several pieces of smoked dried meat. Although they had been air-dried for a long time, a slight breeze still carried a trace of tempting aroma from them.
Lin Sheng reached out and picked up a piece of dried meat, putting it into his mouth and chewing it carefully.
He chewed very carefully, but his speed was not slow. In just a few breaths, the palm-sized dried meat was all eaten. Then came the second piece, the third piece...
At this time, in the courtyard, a few meters away from Lin Sheng, Big Yellow was squatting, its eyes fixed on the dried meat on the stone table. Its gaze followed the hand that picked up the dried meat, and then watched the dried meat disappear before its eyes. Its mouth was wide open, saliva flowing down in a stream, and the ground was already soaked over a large area.
Watching the dried meat on the stone table getting less and less, Big Yellow's paws kept scratching the ground, and its eyes widened. If it hadn't suffered before, it probably would have started barking wildly long ago.
Fortunately, when only the last piece of dried meat was left on the table, that wicked hand finally stopped moving and didn't continue to grab.
At this moment, Lin Sheng squinted his eyes, the fluctuation of qi and blood in his body was almost still, and his whole person was like a sculpture.
Compared to his appearance, his thoughts had also entered a state of almost complete tranquility.
In his mind, there were no distracting thoughts at all, he was in a state of ancient well without ripples.
At this time, the sense of urgency that had been lingering in his heart also seemed to be completely erased, and his resentment towards the Phantom Demon Beast that had been staring at him and relentlessly pursuing him like a maggot attached to bone also disappeared.
He only felt his mind constantly expanding, concentrating, expanding again... concentrating, constantly, repeatedly like a heartbeat.
This was a strange and mysterious state that he had never experienced before.
He didn't know how he had entered this state, whether it was from napping in the courtyard under the warm sun, enjoying the rare ease and comfort, or because he had swallowed a lot of Star Dew Grass in the quiet room two hours ago and experienced the Heart Monkey Talent.
He didn't know the exact reason, and at this time, he had no intention of investigating, but was quietly enjoying this strange feeling.
It was as if the many problems that had troubled him for a long time were now just trivial matters not worth his worry and confusion.
In the courtyard, Big Yellow looked at Lin Sheng on the reclining chair, a look of confusion in its brown-yellow eyes. It tilted its head slightly and finally couldn't help but approach.
It sniffed at Lin Sheng's body, but there was no trace of the aura that had made it fearful in the past. No, there was no aura at all.
It didn't understand what was happening, but this didn't prevent it from turning around and biting the dried meat on the stone table. However, it seemed a little uneasy and turned its head, carefully looking at the still motionless Lin Sheng.
Did it think of something? It put the dried meat back on the plate, but greedily stuck out its tongue and licked it.
Then it approached Lin Sheng and stuck out its tongue to lick his cheek.
At this time, Lin Sheng was still immersed in that state, completely unaware of everything in the outside world, until he felt a sticky sensation surge over him.
He suddenly opened his eyes, only to see a dark red tongue licking towards his face.
