[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Constable (Official)]
[Points: 80]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Adept), Archery (Beginner)]
...
Su Mu stared at the panel, his feelings somewhat complex.
In just one day, his Identity Points had increased by a full ten points.
His identity had only changed from a commoner to an official, yet the rate at which he gained Points had undergone a qualitative change.
'What if I had an even higher status?'
'What is class?'
'This is class!'
'Although Xing Zhao Fu kept his promise and gave me the position of constable, his desire to kill me hasn't vanished. In fact, he probably wants me dead even more now,' Su Mu mused.
Joining the South City Bureau now wasn't his original intention. He had planned to wait until his saber technique reached Perfection before showing his skills and joining.
But the appearance of the Black Dragon Stronghold's third-in-command had triggered a chain reaction, exposing him before his martial arts were fully developed.
What was even more terrifying was that he was now on the hit list of a constable from the South City Bureau.
Fortunately, Xing Zhao Fu still had some reservations and didn't dare to move against him openly within the city.
But it was easy to imagine that as soon as Xing Zhao Fu found an opportunity, he definitely wouldn't let him go.
And all he could rely on was his own strength and effort.
'One month. I just need one month for my Submerging Wave Saber Technique to reach Great Accomplishment. Then I'll have much more room to maneuver. But… will he give me a month?' Su Mu sighed internally.
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
Just then, a knock came from the outer gate.
'Who could it be this late?'
Puzzled, Su Mu hid his saber behind his back and cautiously pulled the courtyard gate open a crack.
"You?"
Through the crack, Su Mu saw a slender figure standing outside. "What is it?"
"Yes," Liu Hongyu nodded and said in a low voice, "Can I come in and talk?"
Su Mu hesitated for a moment, but still opened the gate and let Liu Hongyu into the courtyard.
"Whatever you have to say, say it here." Su Mu stopped in the courtyard, not inviting her into the house.
"I know it was you," Liu Hongyu said suddenly, her large eyes staring straight at Su Mu.
"What was me?" Su Mu feigned a look of confusion.
"Nothing." Liu Hongyu studied Su Mu for a moment, then shook her head. "Su Mu, do you want to marry me?"
Even with Liu Hongyu's fiery personality, her face flushed as she said this.
But thinking of a certain possibility, she suppressed her shyness and kept her gaze fixed on Su Mu.
"My parents passed away, and my aunt and uncle were murdered. I'm the only one left in the Liu Family now."
Liu Hongyu continued, "My parents' inheritance, and my uncle's... under my name, I now have a total of five residences in the Outer City of Wuling City, thirty acres of fertile land, and savings of two hundred taels of silver."
Gradually, she calmed down, a touch of confidence returning to her face.
"Marry me, and all of this will be yours."
Liu Hongyu said, "This is more than you could earn in a lifetime as a Hunter."
Su Mu was silent. 'She's not wrong. Five residences in Wuling City are worth at least three or four hundred taels, and thirty acres of good farmland would be another one or two hundred. A quick calculation shows Liu Hongyu is a little heiress worth nearly one thousand taels.'
For an ordinary Hunter, it was indeed an unattainable fortune.
"Why me?" Su Mu asked slowly after a long silence.
'Liu Hongyu is reasonably attractive and wealthy. If she wanted to marry, the suitors would probably beat a path to the Liu Family's door.' Su Mu thought.
'Although I know my own situation, to outsiders, I'm just an ordinary Hunter with no silver and no house. Besides being a little handsome, I have no other merits.'
"I heard from my uncle that you are a skilled archer."
Liu Hongyu said seriously, "As long as you're willing to work hard, you can definitely join the South City Bureau and become a constable.
Once you become a constable, I'll marry you. Then, with my money, I can pull some strings for you. In three to five years, I can definitely help you become a constable of the South City Bureau."
Liu Hongyu calculated aloud with a serious expression.
Su Mu was a little speechless.
She was like one of those wives who constantly push their husbands to climb the ladder, as if they weren't worthy of them without achieving a certain status.
"So, I have to be a constable to be worthy of marrying you?" Su Mu said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"It might sound a bit cold, but yes."
Liu Hongyu nodded firmly. "Su Mu, are you really content to be a Hunter for the rest of your life?
You just need to work a little harder, and you can surely become a constable. When that time comes, we'll be a power couple, and we'll build a life that everyone will envy."
"I'm sorry." Su Mu looked at Liu Hongyu calmly, respecting a girl's wish to pursue a better life, and then politely declined.
"I can't become a constable. It's impossible in this lifetime.
So, Miss Liu, you should find another good match."
Liu Hongyu stared blankly at Su Mu, her eyes filled with deep disappointment.
'A man, no matter how capable, is destined for a life of mediocrity if he has no ambition.'
"When you're old, you'll definitely regret this," Liu Hongyu said before she left.
Su Mu shrugged. 'Maybe,' he thought. 'But I really can't become a constable. I'm already a constable in the South City Bureau. Am I supposed to demote myself?
You want to marry a constable, but I'm a constable, so we're just not meant to be.'
Just as Liu Hongyu left and Su Mu was about to close the gate, a hand suddenly reached in, blocking the wooden gate.
"Yang Jin?" Su Mu's brow furrowed slightly when he saw the arm's owner.
"I'm not here for revenge." With his shoulder wrapped in thick bandages, Yang Jin's face was a little pale. He spoke in a low voice, "I want to talk to you."
"There doesn't seem to be anything for us to talk about," Su Mu said.
He had no prior grievances with Yang Jin, but during the competition at the South City Bureau, Yang Jin had shown no mercy. Those three arrows had been aimed to kill.
It was already a show of great magnanimity that Su Mu hadn't killed him.
But Su Mu couldn't just pretend nothing had happened.
Treating Yang Jin as a stranger was the greatest mercy he could offer.
"Xing Zhao Fu will make you the vanguard in the attack on Black Dragon Stronghold. He told me to shoot and kill you during the chaos," Yang Jin said in a grim voice, not moving from the doorway.
Su Mu watched him, silent for a long moment. Finally, he moved aside. "Come in."
Yang Jin entered the courtyard. Su Mu closed and bolted the gate before leading him into the house.
The two sat down opposite each other. Only then did Su Mu speak. "Why are you telling me this? If I'm not mistaken, you're one of Xing Zhao Fu's men, right?"
"I'm not his man. He's just using me," Yang Jin shook his head. "I came to you because I know him. He's narrow-minded, vicious, and ruthless. If I follow his orders and kill you, he'll definitely kill me afterward to silence me."
"Then what do you mean by coming to me?" Su Mu asked, puzzled. "You don't really think I have the ability to deal with him, do you?"
"Xing Zhao Fu is a Martial Artist at the Second Stage of Body Tempering. The two of us together are no match for him," Yang Jin said. "I came to you because I want to cooperate."
"You just said that even if we team up, we're no match for Xing Zhao Fu. So what's the point of cooperating with me?" Su Mu asked.
"There's something you don't know," Yang Jin said. "The Black Dragon Stronghold attacked South City this time because South City previously sent troops to suppress them. And the reason South City sent troops to suppress Black Dragon Stronghold was because they received orders from the Inner City."
Su Mu's brow furrowed. He didn't understand what any of this had to do with what Yang Jin had said before.
"You are now a constable officially registered with the South City Bureau. As long as you can achieve great merit during the campaign against the Black Dragon Stronghold, you'll be able to attract the attention of the Sima, and even the major figures in the Inner City," Yang Jin continued. "If you do that, Xing Zhao Fu won't dare to kill you.
But with your strength alone, it will be very difficult to achieve great merit. That's why you need to cooperate with me!"