Chapter 90 - 85: The Third Identity

Chapter 90: Chapter 85: The Third Identity

At his age, with his cultivation at the early stage of the Bone Tempering Realm, his future in the army was boundless. So what if he slept with a few women?

Even if the General found out, he wouldn’t do anything to him.

’Those grunts dare to be defiant? It’s your honor that I’m sleeping with your wives!’

He thought smugly, ’That woman just now was a real treat. I’ll have to go back and sleep with her a few more times.’

"Ding Zhidou!"

Just then, someone suddenly called his name from behind.

"Who’s calling me?"

Ding Zhidou turned around subconsciously.

PHOOF!

A cloud of white powder flew right into his face.

Caught completely off guard, the white powder instantly sprayed into Ding Zhidou’s eyes.

He felt a searing pain in his eyes.

Before he could even let out a scream, he heard the sound of something slicing through the air.

Though he was a man of poor character, his strength had been forged through relentless training. From the sound alone, he knew it was the sharp edge of a sword cutting through the air.

"Not good!"

Ding Zhidou fought back the pain in his eyes, drew the saber from his waist, and slashed out, judging the position by sound alone.

As he hacked, he retreated quickly.

If he could just hold on for a few moves, he’d have a chance to wipe the lime powder from his eyes.

’Just let me see who you are,’ Ding Zhidou swore to himself, ’and I will tear you limb from limb!’

As for whether he could last a few moves, Ding Zhidou was full of confidence.

’A lowlife who only knows how to use dirty tricks like throwing powder? I’m a master at the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering, and my martial arts are highly accomplished. In all of South City, no one is my match!’

CLANG!

In the blink of an eye,

The saber and sword clashed, letting out a crisp metallic ring.

A surging force traveled up his arm, and the saber was nearly knocked from his grasp.

Ding Zhidou cursed inwardly, ’This is bad.’

He had assumed that since his opponent resorted to a scoundrel’s tactic like lime powder, their actual strength must be lacking.

But with this one exchange, he immediately realized his opponent’s strength was not the least bit inferior to his own—in fact, it might even be greater!

’I’m in deep trouble!’

"Brave hero, wait! Hear me out—"

Ding Zhidou was just about to beg for mercy, but before the words could leave his mouth, he felt an invisible wind blow past him.

What he didn’t see was a sword of blue steel that had ridden the wind, slipping right through a gap in his saber technique.

PFFT!

The tip of the sword pierced Ding Zhidou’s throat, cutting off his plea for mercy.

Su Mu thrust and retracted his sword, then kicked Ding Zhidou’s body away.

After hitting the ground, Ding Zhidou rolled several times, blood gushing from his throat like a spring. He clawed at it futilely a couple of times before gradually falling still.

Su Mu quickly patted down Ding Zhidou’s body, then vanished into the night.

The entire process had lasted but a few breaths and had barely made a sound.

By the time the night patrol constables discovered the body, Su Mu was long gone.

***

"For the same level of strength, whether one has grasped Momentum or not truly makes a world of difference."

Back home, Su Mu’s heart was calm.

’Killing a piece of scum like that is no different from crushing an ant.’

This Ding Zhidou was weaker than he had expected.

Even without the surprise attack with lime powder, Su Mu was confident he could have killed him quickly.

The reason was that while their strength was comparable, the disparity in their Martial Dao skills was immense.

For a Martial Artist in the lower stages of the Martial Dao, one who had grasped Momentum possessed a crushing advantage over one who had not.

It wasn’t that Ding Zhidou was too weak, but that he was too strong.

With his current strength, if he revealed it all, he could secure a place for himself even in the Inner City.

’I wonder who would be stronger if I went all out against Luo Anning right now.’

Su Mu wondered to himself.

He then shook his head.

’Someone like Ding Zhidou wouldn’t even be considered a second-rate expert in the Inner City.’

Luo Anning, however, was at Bone Tempering Perfection and had also grasped Sword Momentum. He was definitely not her match at present.

’Forget Luo Anning, there are probably plenty of people in the younger generation of the Inner City who are stronger than me.’

’Unless I can cultivate to the Bone Tempering Realm, the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering, or grasp Intent, I won’t be able to compete with those prodigies.’

Su Mu banished the messy thoughts from his mind and couldn’t help but chuckle.

He was overthinking things. Clearing his mind, he called up the system panel.

[Name: Su Mu]

[Status: Ghostwriter/Constable/Taiping Bureau White Clothes (Ninth Grade)]

[Points: 210]

[Realm: Third Stage of Body Tempering (Extreme Skin Tempering Realm, Extreme Flesh Tempering)]

[Cultivation Technique: Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds Marrow Tempering Technique (Minor Accomplishment)...]

[Martial Arts: Cloud Rain Saber Technique (Perfection), Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Perfection), Wind-Breaking Swordsmanship (Perfection), Archery (Entry Level/+)]

A smile appeared on Su Mu’s face as he looked at the contents of the system panel.

A new status!

His third status had finally appeared!

The three words for "Ghostwriter" on the system panel were different from the other text, appearing dim and gray.

When Su Mu focused his attention on it, a piece of information automatically appeared in his mind, and he instantly understood.

If Constable and Taiping Bureau White Clothes were official professions, then Ghostwriter was the equivalent of a part-time job.

Of course, a part-time job didn’t come with benefits and a 401k... wait, I mean, a base salary.

The Ghostwriter status didn’t provide base performance points. Instead, for each Ghostwriter mission completed, he would receive a certain number of Points based on the mission’s difficulty.

For example, he had received one hundred Points for this mission.

Unlike his Constable and Taiping Bureau White Clothes roles, which gave him dozens of base Points even if he was just slacking off all day.

The Ghostwriter status had no base Points. If he didn’t have a Ghostwriter mission tomorrow, he wouldn’t earn any Points.

Figuring out this rule, Su Mu felt a slight sense of regret.

He thought he had gained a new source of Points, but it turned out to be a series of one-time deals.

’Well, it’s better than nothing. From now on, I’ll take on a Ghostwriter mission every now and then to earn some extra cash,’ Su Mu sighed and thought to himself.

Thinking of how easily he had killed Ding Zhidou using the Wind-Breaking Sword Momentum, Su Mu gained a deeper appreciation for the power of "Momentum."

’If Momentum is already this powerful, what about Intent, the level above it?’

Su Mu’s heart filled with anticipation. ’I must grasp Intent as soon as possible!’

At this thought, all sleepiness vanished. He took out the secret manuals he had collected from a box under his bed.

He selected a book, the "Jade Wave Saber Technique." As he read, he began to practice the moves with his Autumn Water Saber in hand.

***

After dawn, Su Mu put on his Official Uniform, ate breakfast at a street stall, and made his way to the South City Government Office.

"Constable Xiao Su, something’s happened!"

Zheng Wang rushed over to report. "A Captain from the City Defense Army was murdered in South City last night! The City Defense Army is already here, and Lord Sima is furious. He wants us to catch the killer immediately!"

"What was a Captain from the City Defense Army doing in South City instead of the Inner City?"

Su Mu asked with a calm expression.

"How would I know?"

Zheng Wang said with a wry smile. "Give us our orders, Chief. What should we do?"

"Investigate. We investigate as we always do."

Su Mu said coolly, "I’ll go see Lord Sima. The South City Bureau has its own procedures for investigating cases. The City Defense Army has no right to interfere."

***

「South City, the outskirts.」

Yang Jin, his hair streaked with white, and several men in their prime were squatting before a grave, burning paper money.

"Captain, Ding Zhidou has paid for his countless evils. You can rest in peace now."

These men, tough as iron, couldn’t help but shed tears at this moment.

"Old Yang, do you know who did it?"

After a long while, one of the men couldn’t resist asking.

"A Ghostwriter,"

Yang Jin said.

The man was about to ask more, but another man cut him off. "It doesn’t matter who it was. What’s important is that Ding Zhidou is really dead. The brothers can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

"You’re right."

The man thought for a moment, then nodded. "It’s a shame we can never go back to the barracks."

"Everyone’s doing fine now, all things considered."

Yang Jin kowtowed once before the grave, then stood up, patting the dust from his knees. He slung a bundle over his back.

"Brothers, this is where we part ways."

He cupped his hands in a salute to the other men and spoke with a serious expression.

"Old Yang, are you really going back to your hometown to farm? Stay in Wuling City! As long as we have food to eat, we won’t let you starve!"

The men chimed in one after another.

"My foundation is destroyed. I don’t have many years left. Returning to my village to live a few peaceful years has always been my dream. Don’t try to persuade me. If fate allows, we will meet again."

Yang Jin said with a carefree air.

The men fell silent. They all knew that after this farewell, they would likely never see each other again in this lifetime.

"Old Yang, how much silver did it cost to hire the Ghostwriter? We’ll split it!"

One man said loudly, trying to find an excuse to give Yang Jin some silver so he could return home and live as a wealthy man.

"One tael."

With his back to the men, Yang Jin held up a single finger. As he walked away, he began to sing a lighthearted country tune, his voice slowly fading into the distance.