“Contract, or curse?”
Wu Ming looked at the corpses on the ground and slightly furrowed his brows: “Well then, at least it’s neat and tidy!”
Obviously, on these Western thugs, there was still some kind of countermeasure from that shadowy figure behind. Once certain conditions were met, it would activate immediately, killing them off to eliminate witnesses, not even leaving their souls behind.
Even though Wu Ming had the ability to save people, doing so would inevitably alert that shadowy figure and provoke an enemy.
He had only come out for a simple favor and to clear his head. Without clearly defined benefits, recklessly provoking such an enemy would be unwise, so he simply let things take their course.
“As for this…”
Wu Ming’s eyes flickered. He raised his hand, and an object resting on the leader’s corpse flew into his palm.
“A strange fluctuation…”
Resting in his palm was a peculiar black ring, exquisitely carved into the shape of a black serpent devouring its own tail, with every scale meticulously detailed.
Certainly, the leader had other high-level magical artifacts on him, but to Wu Ming, they were nothing special.
Only this ring, though seemingly ordinary, carried a faint trace of an aura that even Wu Ming found somewhat unfathomable.
“It seems I’ve stumbled into a big conspiracy…”
Looking at the ring in his hand, Wu Ming’s expression was peculiar: “However, since they’ve successfully eliminated all witnesses and there’s no fear of information leaking out, that mysterious organization shouldn’t go out of their way to create more trouble…”
“Miss Guo, come over here!”
He waved his hand. The flames extinguished, and the young girl entered, gripping her sword tightly with a nervous expression: “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. As for them, they’ve already been silenced…”
Wu Ming shrugged: “Judging from the way they died, I believe they fell victim to a curse. You can notify the New Port Bureau and the Union now.”
“Oh, okay!”
Miss Zhang looked at the corpses scattered around, her expression shifting in shock.
Honestly, even if her older brother Zhang Fan were here, having enlisted a bunch of mages and warriors, facing such an obviously extraordinary mission, they would very likely fail, perhaps even be completely wiped out.
Yet now, the bodies of those thugs lay before her!
What did that imply?
“Are… are they all masters of great strength?”
The girl’s voice trembled slightly. If Wu Ming was indeed such a formidable expert, then why should she struggle so hard at the academy? Wouldn’t it be better to just become his disciple?
“Of course not…”
Wu Ming touched his nose, keenly sensing the girl’s psychological shift: “Alright, stop standing there like that! Get to work!”
…
Inside the New Port Bureau.
“Tsk tsk… these two civilian heroes are indeed impressive!”
An official from the Da Chang Empire first examined the Western corpses that had been brought in, then compared them with several images, nodding in confirmation: “These are indeed the bandits, although one is missing…”
“The missing one is Black Jas, already reduced to ashes!”
Miss Zhang rolled her eyes: “If you wanted to see him, you should have said so earlier. I could have brought you his ashes…”
“Is that so!”
The official smiled amiably, not showing much anger: “Alright, young lady, bring me your documentation. I’ll attach an official certification…”
If the two were just ordinary individuals, he certainly wouldn’t have been so courteous.
But right now, he had received an urgent notice from the Protectorate, stating that these Westerners were not only ruthless but also potentially very powerful, prompting him to consider sending additional personnel.
Yet now, he saw the corpses of these Westerners. What did that mean?
The young girl was one thing, but the key figure was the young man beside her, who had been meditating with his eyes closed the entire time, giving off an unfathomable aura.
For cultivators like him, putting on airs as an official was pointless; their pursuits were entirely different.
“Mr. Wu Ming…”
Thus, Miss Zhang received the merit certificate she had longed for, her eyes nearly disappearing in her wide smile. The official turned to Wu Ming, sighing slightly: “Unfortunately, as a foreigner who hasn’t obtained our country’s citizenship, you cannot be credited with military merit…”
He shook his head, appearing genuinely regretful: “Otherwise, based on this mission’s record, the military merit earned would have been enough to promote you to the rank of ‘Shi’ (Knight).”
In the Da Chang Empire, the ranks of Shi, Da Fu (Grand Minister), and Qing (Minister) were different from official ranks, open only to its citizens. Even the lowest rank of Shi came with privileges such as tax exemptions, labor service exemptions, and the right not to kneel before officials, making it highly sought after.
“What do you mean…”
Beside him, Miss Zhang rolled her eyes in exasperation: “This mission eliminated several master-level Western experts! If it were counted as military merit, it might even be enough to promote to the rank of Da Fu, not just the lowest junior Da Fu!”
But at this moment, she pursed her lips and said nothing.
Although Miss Zhang was somewhat naive, she wasn’t foolish.
After Wu Ming’s warnings, she had realized the unusual nature of these Western thugs and had already decided to keep her mouth shut to avoid trouble, treating them simply as ordinary criminals.
Moreover, she was thinking of becoming Wu Ming’s disciple, or at least establishing a good relationship with him. How could she possibly offend such a powerful figure standing right in front of her?
“Mr. Wu Ming…”
After leaving the Bureau, Miss Zhang immediately became excited: “Shall we go to the Union now? After completing the task, we can go to the Academy Library, which houses many ancient texts…”
“Not yet!”
Wu Ming lifted a jade ring in his hand, faintly inscribed with characters.
This was a gift from the previous official, a reward granted by the Da Chang Empire to foreigners who had made special contributions—a honorary status, which, in Wu Ming’s understanding, was akin to being an honorary citizen of New Port.
With this, at least within New Port, all his activities would be unrestricted.
“I see…”
Miss Zhang lowered her head, clearly disappointed: “You won’t be coming with me anymore?”
“Yes! Take care, and we shall meet again!”
Wu Ming patted the girl’s head and turned to leave, soon disappearing into the crowd.
“Hmph! I’m not a little girl anymore!”
Miss Zhang looked at her figure with resentment, then angrily shook her tiny fist.
…
Clippity-clop! Clippity-clop!
However, she hadn’t expected that at night, a series of urgent horse hooves galloped into the Bureau.
“What’s going on?”
The official who had received Wu Ming earlier and reported to his superiors was sleepily opening the door: “Daring to storm the official residence—do you want to die?”
“Sir!”
A servant came running with a flustered expression, a whip mark still visible on his face: “Soldiers have arrived—they’re the personal guards of the Protectorate!”
“What?”
The official was startled: “Bring me my robe and hat!”
After hastily dressing, he arrived at the scene and saw more than a dozen black stallions freely roaming the backyard, devouring precious flowers like roses and peonies.
These black horses were mostly unusually tall and robust, with fish-scale-like armor covering their vital areas and even small bumps on their heads resembling tiny horns.
“Black Dragon Horses?!”
Recognizing these rare dragon-bred steeds, the official’s mood darkened further: “These are only ridden by the personal guards of the Protector of Fengfeng. What major crisis could have occurred in this small New Port?”
“Where are they?”
He immediately asked the servants nearby.
“The soldiers went straight to the morgue!”
The servant quickly replied.
“The morgue? Could it be…”
The official was shocked, suddenly recalling the scene from earlier: “Could there be more secrets hidden within these Western corpses?”
Rushing to the morgue, he indeed saw more than a dozen black-armored soldiers casually scattered around in small groups. Though appearing relaxed, they had already tightly sealed off the entire courtyard.
“Zhuo Tie!”
A black-armored soldier strode out from inside, calling the official by name: “Who brought these corpses?”
“Dare you…”
A servant beside him was about to scold, but was slapped back by Zhuo Tie with a single blow.
Carefully examining the black-armored soldier’s face, the official suddenly shivered and knelt down: “Your humble servant, Zhuo Tie, pays respects to the Protector of Fengfeng!”
Appearing to be in his thirties or forties, the Fengfeng Protector had a face as if carved by a knife, the most traditional military visage, exuding masculinity and determination.
“Rise and be at ease!”
He turned, gazing at the Western corpses inside the morgue, their white sheets already pulled back, his eyes gleaming with intense light.
“Reporting, my lord!”
Zhuo Tie respectfully reported: “These criminal corpses were brought in by the Union’s righteous heroes. It is said the bandits resisted fiercely, but finally, realizing they couldn’t win, they committed suicide! All documents and evidence are present, and the military rewards have already been issued…”
He paused, hesitated, and then asked cautiously: “But could there be something wrong with these corpses?”
“Whether there’s a problem remains to be seen. However, according to the intelligence I received, those who infiltrated and caused trouble this time should not be so simple—there were even several master-level individuals among them!”
The Fengfeng Protector waved his hand, and immediately, a cold-faced middle-aged man stepped forward. He gently ran his fingers over the leader’s skin like caressing a lover.
The Bureau had its own coroners, but seeing this man’s technique, they immediately felt inferior, realizing they had encountered a true expert in this field.
After a few manipulations, the middle-aged man took out a small silver knife and cut open the palm of the Western leader, the middle-aged boxer.
“As expected…”
His eyes flickered: “My lord, look… although a master-level expert’s physical characteristics are usually internalized and hard to detect externally, this man’s bones are as hard as steel, and his bone marrow is frosty and jade-like. He was practically on the verge of reaching the Grandmaster level!”
“Indeed so?”
The Fengfeng Protector murmured, then turned to Zhuo Tie: “You’re quite lucky. A major crisis was resolved by a noble benefactor…”
“But…”
The coroner’s face showed confusion: “His opponent clearly only injured without killing, showing great restraint, yet this man was silenced? This method…”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage