Su Qing had his eye on the 500 taels.
If he found and killed the Demon Fiend, the Wang Family would surely make it worth his while.
Not that they could afford to do otherwise.
Worst-case scenario, he'd just flip the table.
'Five hundred taels. Should I do it or not?'
Su Qing was quite hesitant.
After all, there was no guarantee the Demon Fiend would even show up.
And staying guard at the Wang Family estate would inevitably mean having to eat and drink with them.
'I'll do it.'
'It's five hundred taels, after all.'
'A Demon Fiend that the Wang Family in the County City encountered probably won't be too strong.'
Su Qing left without another word.
There was no need to take down the bounty notice. He just had to go to the Wang Family and ask about it.
「The Prince's Mansion.」
He gazed at the large, gold-bordered plaque overhead and the spacious main gate.
Su Qing couldn't help but feel a wave of complex emotions.
'Back again.'
The main gate of the Prince's Mansion was open.
Usually, it was kept closed.
A clear sign that these were unusual times.
Two servants stood at the gate.
"Young Master, who have you come to visit? I can announce you."
When one of the servants saw Su Qing's fine clothes and distinguished air, his demeanor became even more humble.
"I'm here about the bounty. Take me to the person in charge."
'An expert for the bounty?'
The Wang Family servant noted how young Su Qing was, but he didn't dare say more.
It wasn't a servant's place to question him.
"I'll go inform Steward Wang at once."
Su Qing waited in silence, not speaking to the other servant.
In no time at all.
A familiar face appeared before Su Qing.
Wang Bing.
He was the very Steward Wang who had originally bought Su Qing.
But Wang Bing didn't recognize Su Qing. Even Wang Li wouldn't have recognized him if she were standing right in front of him.
Wang Bing's expression remained unchanged; for a steward, controlling one's emotions was the most basic of skills.
He smiled at the man before him, who seemed almost excessively young.
"Might you be the expert who has come to deal with the Demon Fiend?"
"What particular skills do you possess?"
Su Qing stated quietly, "You could say I'm a good fighter."
"Oh?"
Wang Bing looked at the young man, puzzled. 'Honestly, his well-fitted clothes don't reveal any significant muscle. Is he really a good fighter?'
Nearly everyone in their Wang Family practiced Martial Arts.
"May I ask for your name, honored guest, and how I should address you?"
"You may dispense with the formalities. My name is Su Qing—Su as in Liu Su, Qing as in the word for 'green.' Just Su Qing will do."
"Su Qing. A fine-sounding name, just as handsome as its owner," Wang Bing said with a chuckle. "Are you aware that our Wang Family is a Martial Arts Family?"
Su Qing nodded slightly. "Of course."
'I more than just know you're a Martial Arts Family; I'm even using your Martial Arts for my own Cultivation.'
"You say you're a good fighter, Mr. Su. Could you be more specific?"
"I've killed a Demon Fiend before. I'm here for the 500 taels," Su Qing said with a laugh.
Seeing Su Qing act this way, Wang Bing couldn't help but grumble inwardly, 'Another charlatan from the streets, just trying to scam some silver.'
Outwardly, however, he said, "Mr. Su, the Wang Family will need to verify your background and abilities."
"How about we go to my family's training grounds and you have a friendly match with one of our clan's disciples?"
"Of course."
Su Qing nodded.
Wang Bing breathed a sigh of relief. This was usually the point where most charlatans could no longer keep up their pretense. They would either try to flee or be unceremoniously kicked out by Wang Bing himself.
Some would even shout their supposed title in the martial world and loudly demand to know why Wang Bing dared to question their strength.
Su Qing's casual, confident demeanor, however, showed that he had real substance.
「The Training Grounds.」
Many of the clan's disciples were in the middle of training or sparring.
Su Qing's arrival drew many eyes, particularly from the women.
Such is the advantage of being handsome; men and women alike would normally take a liking to Su Qing on sight.
"Wang Zhongping, Wang Zhongxin, Wang Zhongde! You three, over here!"
"Steward Wang, what do you need us for?"
'The direct descendants all share a generational name,' Su Qing noted. 'From the sound of it, they must be from the 'Zhong' generation.'
Steward Wang looked at the disciple who had spoken. "Zhong Ping, this is the expert who's come to deal with the Demon Fiend. He says he's a good fighter. You test him."
'Wang Zhongping?' Su Qing thought, looking at the man who stood over two meters tall. Such height was rare in this era, to say nothing of his bare, muscle-bound torso.
"Him?" Wang Zhongping scoffed. "Steward Wang, you've got to be kidding me. He's so scrawny, I'm afraid I'll kill him."
"That's right, hahaha! We don't need Zhong Ping for this; I feel like even I could take him," the young woman, Wang Zhongxin, laughed from the side, though she kept sneaking glances at Su Qing.
Su Qing met her gaze, and she provocatively raised an eyebrow at him.
The woman wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but at over 1.8 meters tall, she was nearly the same height as Su Qing.
'The Wang Family's genes are really something else,' Su Qing thought.
'I never noticed when I was a servant here.'
"Hahaha, exactly! 'Expert,' you're not trying to swindle a salary out of our family, are you?" Wang Zhongde added with a surprised laugh.
'A good fighter? With a build like that?'
"Nonsense! Have you never seen a true expert before?" Wang Bing snapped, his face suddenly stern. Within the Wang Family, his authority was considerable.
Having followed the Patriarch for years, he had met all sorts of people.
True experts really did exist.
Wang Bing's stern rebuke had its intended effect; all three of them stopped smiling.
Their mockery was aimed at an ordinary person, but if this man was a true expert, they would have just made a grave offense.
Wang Zhongping turned to Su Qing and said, "My apologies. I have never met a true expert before. My name is Wang Zhongping. Allow me to see for myself whether you can fight."
"If my words were offensive, please do not hold back during our match."
Wang Zhongping's meaning was simple: as long as Su Qing had the skill to back up his words, he, Wang Zhongping, would take full responsibility for any injuries he might receive.
The disciples of a great family generally have good manners, but those manners are reserved for their peers.
"Su Qing. Just an ordinary man," Su Qing said with a faint smile. Their earlier mockery had been rather crude.
"Make your move," Su Qing said to Wang Zhongping.
Wang Zhongping nodded.
His eyes flashed fiercely as he took several short steps and rushed Su Qing, his right arm quickly swinging back.
"Mountain Opening Fist!"
An ordinary person would never have been able to react to such a swift, compact movement.
It shot straight for Su Qing's face.
'Is he scared stiff?' Seeing Su Qing remain motionless in the face of Wang Zhongping's fist, Wang Bing felt as if he had completely misjudged the man.
Wang Zhongping didn't care whether he injured Su Qing. If this one punch killed him, it would be the price for trying to swindle the Wang Family.
The fist whistled through the air.
Su Qing, however, simply watched Wang Zhongping's slow-motion attack. 'Is this really supposed to be powerful?' he wondered.
Before Wang Zhongping could even blink, Su Qing's palm was there, stopping his massive fist dead in its tracks.
To Su Qing, it seemed the power in that punch was a complete joke.
'How is that possible? My strength is enough to lift a boulder weighing over a thousand jin!'
The thought had barely formed in his mind when Su Qing's palm struck him in the abdomen.
SMACK!
Then, a massive body went flying backward, right out of the training grounds.
"Zhong Ping!" Steward Wang cried out, startled. 'This man isn't just a "good fighter"!'
'To send Wang Zhongping flying more than ten meters with a single blow... that's terrifying strength!'
Steward Wang quickly ran over to check on Wang Zhongping.
"With his vitality, he'll recover after half a month of rest," Su Qing stated calmly.
'I didn't use lethal force just now,' he thought.
That palm strike to Wang Zhongping's abdomen had been more of a push than a strike.