Chapter 50: Speculation (Please follow the updates, add to your collection, and vote with monthly tickets and recommendation votes)

"Young Master Wang, your family's reach is becoming a bit too long, don't you think?"

At the entrance of the Inner City, He Yuxing only emerged from the shadows once Su Mu had disappeared toward the direction of the Outer City.

Wang Guan fanned himself with a paper fan, a look of smugness on his face. "You're being so euphemistic that I can't understand what you mean."

"Su Mu is a constable of my South City Division. It was I who promoted him to Squad Leader. By interjecting yourself now, you are breaking the rules," He Yuxing said in a heavy voice.

The four great families of the Inner City engaged in constant undercurrents of struggle, but for now, they maintained a superficial peace, adhering to certain unspoken rules to save face.

"No, no," Wang Guan said, shaking his head. "I've already said it: Su Mu is not one of our Wang family members. My relationship with him is purely personal; it has nothing to do with the Wang family. Do I, Wang Guan, need to report my friendships to you, Sima He?"

"A friendship?"

Both He Yuxing and Feng Wandong frowned.

It was an open secret in Wuling City's Inner City that the second young master of the Wang family was neither scholarly nor martial. He was capable of any absurdity; if he claimed to be friends with a mere squad leader from the Outer City, it wouldn't be impossible.

Could it be that they truly hit it off and became friends?

"I'm leaving. I'm warning you: if you bully my brother again, I'll give you a slap across the face."

With that, Wang Guan swaggered off, followed by a group of subordinates.

He Yuxing and Feng Wandong looked at each other.

"Do you believe him?" He Yuxing asked after a long silence.

"Believe him? My foot," Feng Wandong said irritably. "The second young master of the Wang family never tells the truth. Something must have happened that we don't know about."

"However, the second young master isn't lying about Su Mu not being a member of the Wang family. Even if Su Mu had truly defected to the Wang family, he wouldn't be qualified to call the second young master 'brother.' Despite Su Mu mastering the Blade Momentum, his Body Tempering realm is too low. Even our He family wouldn't take him seriously, and the Wang family would be the same. A direct descendant of the Wang family wouldn't call him brother just for that," Feng Wandong mused. "I suspect there might be someone else behind Su Mu, and that is why the second young master is acting so brotherly toward him."

"Who is this person?" He Yuxing gasped. If Feng Wandong's guess was correct, the person behind Su Mu was likely someone extraordinary; otherwise, Wang Guan wouldn't have adopted such an attitude.

"Could it be the City Lord's lineage..."

He and Feng Wandong exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with gravity.

"Does the City Lord want to interfere in the affairs of the Outer City?" He Yuxing's expression darkened. In Wuling City, the City Lord was surnamed Luo. The Luo family held the greatest power, but they were primarily concentrated in the Inner City, rarely interfering in the Outer City, which they intentionally left as the sphere of influence for the other three families.

"This is no small matter. I must inform my family as soon as possible," Feng Wandong said. "As for Su Mu, do not disturb him for now, and do not try to recruit him further. Just act as if you don't know his identity and continue everything as usual."

"Understood," He Yuxing said solemnly.

***

"Hiding your identity to gain experience in the Outer City—I get it. I definitely won't leak it."

Walking along the streets of the Outer City, Su Mu recalled the words the second young master of the Wang family had whispered to him with a wink.

Su Mu wasn't sure what the man thought he "got" or what he had imagined. However, since the second young master had stepped forward, Su Mu decided not to continue riding on someone else's coattails.

Riding on someone's coattails had consequences; if "Brother Taiping" found out, who knew if he would develop a grudge?

Although Su Mu hadn't lied, he felt it was best to avoid using borrowed authority to intimidate others unless absolutely necessary. After all, this "authority" wasn't truly his own. If he offended Brother Taiping, it would be a losing trade.

"The Taiping Division has already gone out. I don't know when they'll return from outside the city; I can only wait for news," Su Mu thought to himself. Going out of the city to search was out of the question; the Daxing Mountains stretched for eight hundred miles, and he had no idea where the Taiping Division members had gone. Moreover, the area outside the city was crawling with demons and full of danger.

"I might as well take this opportunity to consolidate my strength. By the time Brother Taiping returns, my strength might have progressed even further."

By the time the sky had turned completely dark, Su Mu had returned to Yang Jin's house.

Yang Jin wasn't home. However, Yang Jin was always mysterious, often sneaking out in the middle of the night, so it wasn't strange for him to be away.

Su Mu didn't pay it much mind. He went straight to the room he had stayed in the previous night and fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already midnight.

The exhaustion from a day of traveling had vanished. Lying in bed, Su Mu summoned his system panel.

[Name: Su Mu] [Identity: Constable Squad Leader (Clerk)] [Points: 65] [Cultivation Method: Golden Scale Skin Tempering Method (Great Success)] [Martial Arts: Wave-Subduing Blade Technique (Perfection), Archery (Beginner)]

His identity remained unchanged; the base points for a Squad Leader were only twenty.

"There's still no news from the Taiping Division, and I don't know when the official appointment for the Head Constable promised by He Yuxing will happen," Su Mu thought as he looked at the panel. "I still need to do my job as a Squad Leader diligently, at least to earn more performance bonuses."

At the thought of "work," drowsiness washed over him, and he soon fell back asleep.

***

The next morning.

Yang Jin had returned at some unknown time and was currently snoring loudly in the room.

Su Mu didn't wake him. He was just thinking that since he couldn't go to the Inner City for the time being, it wasn't quite appropriate to keep living with a grown man, and wondered if he should find his own place to stay.

After getting ready, he took his long blade and headed toward the South City Division. Since he couldn't leave for now, he might as well tidy up his own jurisdiction.

Just as Su Mu arrived at the entrance of the South City Division, Zheng Wang, the Squad Leader in charge of Pingkang Ward, came to meet him.

"Constable Su, you're finally here!" He leaned in close to Su Mu, grinning as if he had just picked up two taels of silver.

"Squad Leader Zheng, I'm not a Head Constable yet," Su Mu replied modestly.

"It's only a matter of time," Zheng Wang laughed it off, then suddenly lowered his voice. "Xu Mingchen is inside waiting for you."

"He's got quite some nerve, coming to the South City Division to find me?" Su Mu said.

"He's here to surrender," Zheng Wang said with a strange expression, his voice low. "Steward Xu confessed everything. He hired assassins to kill the previous two Squad Leaders of Guangfu Ward."

"If Steward Xu did it all, why is Xu Mingchen surrendering?" Su Mu asked, puzzled. He was well-acquainted with the trick of using a scapegoat; it was impossible for Xu Mingchen to be completely unaware if Steward Xu had done everything.

However, he also knew that catching Xu Mingchen with direct evidence would be nearly impossible. Since Steward Xu had taken the fall, no further investigation would lead back to Xu Mingchen.

"That, I don't know," Zheng Wang shrugged and shook his head. "He insisted on waiting for you. Guangfu Ward is your jurisdiction anyway, so it makes sense for him to seek you out. If the Xu family can be brought down, you'll have achieved a great feat, Constable Su."

Zheng Wang's face was full of envy.

"Achieving a feat isn't the main point. I mainly want to do something for the people of Guangfu Ward. One must act according to their position," Su Mu said. "Let's go. Let's hear what Xu Mingchen has to say."