8mi Chapter 13 Silver Seal
Chapter 13 Silver Seal
The moonlight was dim, and the other person's face could not be seen clearly, but he could be vaguely discerned to be a man in his thirties or forties.
Mo Zheng took a closer look and was immediately startled.
Despite his keen senses, he couldn't discern who this person was or when they appeared in this place.
If the other party hadn't spoken up, he probably wouldn't have noticed it yet.
A master, definitely a master!
Friend or foe?
Mo Zheng looked somewhat nervous. If the person coming was an enemy, how could he possibly fight back now that his longsword was broken?
"Little one, don't be nervous. My name is He Xiong, and we're family. Look at this."
The mysterious man smiled and took something off his waist, holding it in his hand.
It was a small silver seal, pale white in color, with an exquisite design and a very unique appearance.
The Silver-Seal Constable of the Six Doors!
Mo Zheng recognized the meaning of the small seal and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He bowed respectfully and said, "This humble officer, Mo Zheng, a constable from Shangyin County, greets Lord He."
The Great Yan established six gates specifically to handle illegal activities by martial artists.
The term "martial artist" here refers to both those in the imperial court and those among the common people.
Therefore, the Six Doors wielded immense power. Once someone committed a crime, regardless of whether they were a high-ranking official in the imperial court or a powerful noble family, they could be arrested and punished.
The gold, silver, and bronze seals represent three different levels of constables.
Mo Zheng didn't know the specific level, as it was the first time he had seen it, but he knew that Chief Constable He of Shangyin County didn't even have a copper seal.
Of course, the Six Doors have the authority to oversee the head constables of all prefectures and counties in the country. Although Mo Zheng is a minor constable and not considered important, he is undoubtedly one of their own.
However, how did the silver seal of the Six Doors end up in a small place like Shangyin County, and how did I manage to run into it?
"So it's Constable Mo."
He Xiong's figure flashed and he was in front of Mo Zheng. He looked Mo Zheng up and down and said, "You look quite young. Are you eighteen?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, I will be fifteen years old in a few months," Mo Zheng replied cautiously.
"Not even fifteen yet?"
He Xiong fell silent. He arrived late and did not see Mo Zheng break through in the midst of the battle. He only saw the latter half of the fight between the two. The little constable named Mo Zheng killed the thief with a sword that displayed the perfect level of the Thunderclap Sword Technique.
The Thunderclap Sword Technique's entry, minor, and major levels all belong to the basic realm, but once it is perfected, one has grasped the mysteries of the subtle realm.
When did his swordsmanship become so refined? Was it twenty-three or twenty-four? He was already praised as a genius.
This kid is not even fifteen yet.
"Mo Zheng, I envy you."
He Xiong sighed, stepped forward, and gently flicked his sleeve at the corpse. A gust of wind immediately ripped off the masked man's mask, revealing a face with unseeing eyes.
He had an ordinary appearance, but a scar on his face stretched from the left to the right, making him look extremely fierce and conspicuous.
"This is... the notorious thief Yu Yang!"
Mo Zheng immediately recognized the masked man as the notorious bandit that his foreman Li Fei had mentioned during the day.
But shouldn't the other party be a murderer and robber? Why is he coming to me claiming he wants to avenge Zhang Li?
Could he be Zhang Li's uncle?
Numerous thoughts flashed through Mo Zheng's mind, and for a moment, he couldn't sort out his thoughts.
"Indeed, the notorious thief Yu Yang. This scoundrel used to roam the southeast, committing crimes and killing many wealthy people. Who knew he would come to this northwest region? When the prefecture received the news, fearing he would commit another major crime, they ordered me to capture him. But before I could even make a move, he died at your hands."
He Xiong briefly explained Yu Yang's background, and without pausing for a moment, he stepped forward and sliced off Yu Yang's head with a single stroke, slamming it into a bundle. He said, "I'll take this head back to the prefecture to report. The rest is yours. As for the reward, it will be issued soon."
Yu Yang's reward is a large sum of money.
However, Mo Zheng's mind was not on the money, but on Yu Yang's identity.
He asked, "Lord He, do you know why he wanted to attack me?"
He Xiong shook his head slightly and said, "These kinds of thieves are used to killing and robbing. It's not surprising that they kill anyone. Don't overthink it."
"Yes, sir."
Mo Zheng responded, still puzzled, but it was clear that He Xiong couldn't answer his question.
"Then see you again in Liangzhou."
He Xiong said goodbye, ignoring Mo Zheng's return greeting, and just as he had come, carrying Yu Yang's head, disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Mo Zheng was left alone in the darkness, facing the headless corpse.
Mo Zheng didn't leave. Instead, he bent down and began the necessary procedure after the murder: touching the body.
Yu Yang carried three things on his person: several banknotes, a small booklet, and a letter.
Three silver notes, each with a face value of one hundred taels, totaling three hundred taels of silver. It can only be said that he is indeed a notorious bandit, rich and powerful, carrying so much silver on his person, presumably for the convenience of escaping.
The booklet is a martial arts manual: Black Tiger Strength.
The pages are yellowed and the paper is slightly curled, clearly indicating that Yu Yang often pondered and studied them.
However, one cannot practice without striving.
His qi and blood were not yet fully developed, so he could not cultivate the martial arts of those who had entered the realm of martial arts. Once he reached full development, he could enter the Liangzhou Martial Arts Hall, where he would be taught advanced techniques. This booklet was really useless to him; it would be better to use silver notes instead.
Mo Zheng's attention was drawn to the third thing: a letter addressed to his younger brother, Yu Yang.
The content reads: "I have received your letter, brother, but military law is strict, and I still have a year left in my service, so I cannot return. My nephew's great vengeance is something I can only entrust to you, my virtuous brother. I have no way to repay your kindness, so I offer you three Qi-Gathering Pills as a token of my respect."
The inscription at the bottom reads "Respectfully submitted by Zhang Yan".
With just this one letter, Mo Zheng could roughly guess the cause and effect. This Zhang Yan should be Zhang Li's uncle. Because he was serving in the army and was not free, he entrusted Yu Yang to avenge his nephew after learning of his death.
Three Qi Gathering Pills were enough for Yu Yang to make a trip to Shangyin County, but who would have thought that Yu Yang would lose his life here.
As for how Zhang Yan knew that Mo Zheng killed Zhang Li, there are too many ways to know, and Mo Zheng couldn't guess either.
However, he didn't need to guess. Zhang Yan wouldn't be back for another year. By then, he would have already been admitted to the Liangzhou Martial Arts Academy, so there was no need to worry.
And this knife.
Mo Zheng looked at the long sword next to the headless corpse. This was the fourth item Yu Yang had left him. Although it couldn't be said to be able to cut through iron like mud, it was definitely a treasured sword.
He gripped the long sword and felt a warmth emanating from it, which made his blood flow faster.
Good knife.
Although Yu Yang came to kill him, he was actually a money-giving boy, bringing him cultivation techniques, a precious sword, silver notes, and even helping him cultivate the Thunderclap Sword Technique to perfection.
Although it was a bit dangerous, it was very rewarding.
Lifting the body, Mo Zheng went around to the moat, threw it in, and then headed home.
"Xiao Zheng, you're back?"
Pushing open the gate, Mo Danian, who was washing his face in the courtyard, asked.
"Big brother."
Mo Zheng nodded and then prepared to go back to his room to sleep.
However, as he walked through the living room, Wang Yumei called him back.
"Xiao Zheng, wait a minute, why are you covered in blood?"
By the light from inside the room, Wang Yumei saw clearly and exclaimed in surprise, "You're injured! How serious is it? Why is there so much blood?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Hearing his wife's somewhat panicked voice, Mo Danian rushed in without even washing his face.
It was dark in the courtyard earlier, so he couldn't see clearly. But when the candlelight shone in the living room, he was surprised to see that Mo Zheng's constable uniform had several bloodstains, indicating that he had just been in a fierce fight.
"Second brother, what is this... what is this..." Mo Danian was full of worry, and his voice trembled slightly.
"Brother and sister-in-law, don't worry. It was just catching a thief. We fought a bit, and I only sustained a few minor injuries. It's nothing serious," Mo Zheng said, trying to sound relaxed.
The bloodstains on his body were from minor injuries, which would heal in a couple of days.
As for Yu Yang's matter, he didn't intend to discuss it with Mo Danian and his wife. It would be useless to talk about it and would only make them worry unnecessarily.
As for the Black Sand Gang, it was a trivial matter after his swordsmanship broke through. As fellow martial artists who had entered the realm, he could kill Yu Yang, but he couldn't kill that Gang Leader Han.
"Xiao Zheng, you're being impulsive."
Wang Yumei's pretty face hardened as she scolded, "Do you know you're not alone? You have our whole family. It's fortunate nothing happened yet, but what would your brother and I do if something did?"
"Being on duty is just a job, it's about making a living. You can catch all the thieves, but your life is your own."
"Your sister-in-law is right," Mo Danian chimed in. "It's only a few taels of silver a month; how can we risk our lives?"
"Mind your own business. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up."
Seeing the couple talking back and forth, Mo Zheng couldn't help but secretly groan. However, this was the first time he had returned home injured. The petty thief he had caught before had only mediocre martial arts skills and couldn't defeat him in just a few moves.
"I've got it, brother and sister-in-law. I'll be more careful in the future. I'm going back to rest now."
After saying that, he dashed off into the back room.
Mo Danian and Wang Yumei exchanged a glance and shook their heads, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.
After a night's rest, Mo Zheng spoke very briefly, but what he really said was the excitement of that life-or-death battle and the breakthrough in his swordsmanship.
As dawn broke, he unusually refrained from practicing his swordplay. After breakfast, he asked Mo Xiaotian to go to the martial arts school and the garrison to ask for a few days' leave on his behalf.
Firstly, he planned to deal with the items left behind by Yu Yang; secondly, although his knife wounds were not serious, he needed to rest and was not suitable for cultivation.
He first went to the clinic to buy some wound medicine, and then went to the largest pawnshop in Shangyin County.
"Black Tiger Strength?"
Old Chao Feng casually flipped through the martial arts manual in his hand, his brows furrowed deeply.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Mo Zheng asked upon seeing this.
"Forgive my bluntness, but this kind of martial arts technique of unknown origin is hard to sell at a high price, and most people wouldn't dare to buy it."
The old clerk put down the booklet and said, "This is a cultivation technique that only martial artists who have entered the realm can practice. It should be worth a thousand gold pieces, but if there are any omissions or errors in it, the slightest carelessness will cause the practitioner to suffer a qi deviation and be doomed forever. Therefore, my shop cannot accept it."
"But you do sell cultivation techniques in your shop."
"Young man, you've done your research. Yes, we do sell martial arts techniques, but they are all authentic techniques passed down from the Great Yan Martial Arts Hall and martial arts schools. They are exactly the same. No one else would dare to practice them; they can only be used as a reference for cultivation. If you want our shop to buy them, we'll only charge you five taels of silver at most."
Five taels...
Upon hearing Chao Feng's words, Mo Zheng couldn't help but twitch his lips. That was a cultivation technique practiced by martial artists who had entered the realm, and it was only worth five taels?
This shabby pawnshop charges thirty taels of silver for the Thunderclap Sword Technique!
Yu Yang carries hundreds of taels of silver notes with him and is prone to murder and robbery. The cultivation techniques he frequently studies are certainly not ordinary.
"Young man, are you planning to sell?"
The old clerk urged impatiently, as the five-tael silver transaction didn't really require his help.
"Sell, of course I'll sell, five taels it is."
Mo Zheng readily agreed, but his heart was truly bleeding. That damned, heartless pawnshop was haggling way too much!
However, this pawnshop is already the largest in Shangyin County, and if it can't fetch a good price, it certainly won't accept anything from other pawnshops.
The key is that Mo Zheng himself doesn't dare to practice, for fear of ruining himself.
"And this knife, let's estimate its price too!"
Mo Zheng also placed Yu Yang's precious sword on the table.
"This knife..."
The moment the old scalper touched the hilt of the knife, his spirits lifted.
He drew his sword, examined it closely, and murmured, "Pure black with a faint red glow, warm to the touch, and incredibly sharp... this is a treasured sword forged from obsidian and refined steel..."
With that, he waved his hand lightly.
hum!
The long sword trembled slightly, and the sound of it cutting through the air was crisp and pleasant.
"It's genuine, it's authentic."
Old Chao Feng, seeing Lie Xin's delight, said, "Young brother, this precious sword is extremely difficult to forge. The obsidian is buried deep at the bottom of a volcano and can only be obtained through a volcanic eruption. Are you really going to sell it?"
Sure enough, I knew the martial artists who entered the country used the best stuff.
It's only natural that the sword is sharp; after all, for martial artists entering the realm, their opponents, besides other martial artists, could also be demonic beasts. Without a sword, it would be difficult to break through their defenses.
It's a pity it's not a fine sword.
Mo Zheng sighed inwardly and said, "I've already brought it all, so naturally I won't keep it any longer. Name your price, shall I?"
The old scalper stroked the blade, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Nine hundred taels."
Nine hundred taels!
With the addition of those three hundred taels of silver notes, killing Yu Yang directly yielded a huge sum of over a thousand taels of silver!
The courtyard left by the eldest sister-in-law's family was only worth two or three hundred taels of silver, and Mo Zheng could now afford to buy one for each of the three brothers.
Stepping out of the pawnshop, Mo Zheng, carrying 1,205 taels of silver notes, felt his back straighten up considerably.
He went straight to the weapons shop.
"Hey young man, are you here to buy or sell weapons?"
As soon as I entered, a waiter came up to me and asked me in a warm manner.
"I'm here to buy weapons. I want a good longsword, not these cheap ones that cost two taels of silver each. I want a good sword, the kind used by martial artists who have entered the realm." Mo Zheng, feeling confident in his wealth, stated his purpose directly.
"The sword used by martial artists entering the country?"
The waiter was taken aback; this was a big deal. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Please wait a moment, sir."
After saying that, he went into the inner room.
A short while later, an elderly shopkeeper with gray hair came out from inside, bowed to Mo Zheng, and said, "Greetings, sir. I am the shopkeeper. I heard you wish to buy a fine sword for martial artists entering the country?"
"Indeed, if you have a fine sword, feel free to bring it to me for a look."
"Yes, we do have them, but the weapons used by martial artists who enter the country are very different from those of ordinary people, and they are extremely expensive. Sir, you..."
"What's the approximate price?"
The old shopkeeper smiled slightly and said, "The cheapest one costs 1,200 silver coins. It is forged from the horns of the Crimson-Eyed Bull, a demonic beast, mixed with refined steel."
cough cough...
Mo Zheng, who was originally wealthy and powerful, suddenly felt insecure upon hearing this price.
One thousand two hundred taels of silver, and that's the cheapest price?!
Even those with gold plating aren't this expensive!
……