Da Xuan Martial Saint

Ninth District.

North Street.

This is the northernmost area of the Ninth District. It might not be as bustling as the streets in the center of the district, but it's closer to the Inner City, making it the residence of some wealthy and influential families as well.

As night fell, walking along this wide North Street, one could see high walls and large courtyards on both sides, some of which were brightly lit, appearing as a completely different world compared to the pitch-black slum areas.

The roads here were smooth, and the blue stone courtyard walls were clean and tidy.

Inside one of the large courtyards.

A few burly men were present, one of whom was carrying a sack. The sack was constantly writhing, as if some living creature was inside. He effortlessly carried it with one hand to the inner yard and knocked on the room door.

The door opened, revealing a young master in his late twenties or early thirties dressed in fine silk, who indifferently asked,

"Have you brought it?"

"Here it is."

The subordinate grinned, placed the sack on the ground, and then opened it.

What emerged was not a wild boar or some other animal, but a girl around thirteen or fourteen years old, with a face full of terror. Her clothes were old and patched, obviously from a common family, her complexion slightly sallow. She was not particularly beautiful, but in these times, such girls were rare among the poor.

"Hmm, not bad, better looking than the last one."

Wei Lun forcefully pinched the girl's chin, examining her with a scrutinizing look, then released his grip, seemingly satisfied and nodding his head.

The brawny subordinates laughed, "We spent quite some days searching for this one, especially difficult to find anything good from those peasants' homes."

"Good, I'll remember your merit."

Wei Lun chuckled, saying, "Wait until I'm done, then she's yours. But be gentle, if you kill her like last time, there's no chance to sell her in the East City for money, and the Silver will be deducted from your monthly salary!"

"Of course, of course, we will be careful this time."

The brawny men smiled as they rubbed their hands together, showing a hint of anticipation.

The girl, bound hand and foot and with a cloth stuffed in her mouth, listened to the conversation between Wei Lun and the guards, her eyes of horror gradually turning desperate.

Wei Lun grabbed the rope tied on the girl, lifting her up and dragging her into the house, the girl straining desperately, her feet kicking against the ground, but no match for Wei Lun's strength, soon she was pulled inside the house.

Bang!

The door shut abruptly.

The guards outside walked away, laughing and talking in filthy language, waiting for their later reward.

However.

The scene unfolding inside the house at that moment was not as lustful as the guards imagined.

Wei Lun carried the girl into the house and had just shut the door, about to say something, when he suddenly stopped. A steel sword had unknowingly been placed against his neck.

In an instant, cold sweat poured down, and he involuntarily released the girl, not daring to speak loudly, "Sir… Great sir, whatever you want, if it's Silver, I'll bring it to you right away…"

Wei Lun was terrified.

With so many guards outside, in just the time it took to open a door, a masked bandit had managed to enter the room and place a sword against his neck, how could the security in the Outer City have deteriorated to this extent?

"Hand it over."

Standing behind Wei Lun was a man wearing a black cloak and a mask, who spoke in a cold tone.

"Yes, yes."

Wei Lun repeatedly agreed, carefully walked to the inner room, opened a chest, and from it, he took out about thirty Gold leaf pieces and roughly a hundred taels of Silver.

The man in the black cloak coldly said, "Is this it?"

Wei Lun said with a mournful face, "That's all there is, the old man only cared about his own pleasures. When he died, he didn't leave me much. This is what I've saved by cutting corners. Others go to the pleasure districts every day, but I can't bear to spend like that..."

"Oh."

The man in the black cloak nodded, and suddenly his iron sword loosened and thrust directly into Wei Lun's throat, causing his words to abruptly stop as blood splashed instantly.

Wei Lun clearly hadn't anticipated that despite handing over all his Silver Coins, the robber would still kill him. He couldn't help showing a reluctant expression, making choking sounds, intending to call for the Protector outside, but he was already unable to make a sound.

Thud!

He fell to the ground, twisting and struggling for a while before gradually becoming still.

The girl who was brought in bound watched this scene in horror. She did not show any sign of joy; for her, both Wei Lun and the murdering, money-stealing robber were terrifying villains.

"..."

The man in the black cloak didn't look at the girl beside him but slowly collected the Silver and Gold leaf, weighing them and summing them up, translating into approximately four to five hundred taels of Silver in total value.

Only after collecting all the Silver did he glance at the girl beside him, but that was it, and he did not bother any further. Lifting his iron sword, he lifted a window and climbed out through it.

Leaving behind the girl still bound hand and foot, collapsed next to Wei Lun's body, breathing heavily.

About the time it takes for one cup of tea to brew.

Sounds of chaos came from outside, it seemed like a fight had broken out, but it lasted only a short while, roughly the duration of a dozen breaths, and then silence returned, with no one able to shout out.

The girl lay there curled up in fear and terror next to the body of Wei Lun all night until dawn the next day when the door was kicked open, and a group of government officers walked in.

"Hey, there's someone still alive!"

Liu Song looked surprised.

Li Tie, observing the situation inside the house, appeared thoughtful and walked over, using the Servant's Knife to remove the gag from the girl's mouth.

At that moment, the girl who had spent the night in terror and fear burst into loud crying.

...

After a while.

City Defense Division.

In Chen Mu's Hall Office, Liu Song and Li Tie quietly reported the matter.

"...It was in the River Street area, a girl from the Zhao family was taken by Wei Lun's servants at night, intending to do evil deeds when they were attacked by robbers during the night, killing all the Protectors cleanly."

"The Prefecture Chief also personally arrived, examined the bodies, and said that they were all sword wounds, but the Swordsmanship seemed not quite professional, yet the force was very remarkable, different from a few incidents a while ago, likely done by the same person, either by a notorious bandit or someone from the Inner City coming over 'to act heroically and exterminate villains,' letting us put an end to this case here."

Liu Song and Li Tie relayed the details once more.

Chen Mu listened with a calm expression, waved to them, and said, "Alright, I understand."

This incident had already been decided by Min Baoyi to be closed without further investigation, and there was no need to inform him, but Liu Song and Li Tie often spent their days sharing the events occurring in his absence at the City Defense Division with him.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now, just carry on as usual."

Chen Mu stood up and walked out.

Liu Song and Li Tie both made a bow.

Shortly after.

Chen Mu returned home alone, went to his bedroom, and from a bundle beneath the bed's bottom panel and beneath several floor tiles, he took out a bundle containing about sixty to seventy Gold leaf pieces, as well as two to three hundred taels of Silver.

There was also a crude iron sword without a scabbard, standing inserted into the ground.

"Finally getting wealthy, hmm, I should also send some Silver over to Yue'er, she needs some expenses over there now."