Chapter 60: Murder Case Clues
Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Murder Case Clues
[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Constable Leader / Taiping Bureau White Clothes (Ninth Grade)]
[Points: 0]
[Realm: Second Stage of Body Tempering (Extreme Skin Tempering Realm)]
[Cultivation Technique: Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill (Initiate)...]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Perfection), Archery (Initiate)]
By the time the sun was high in the sky, Su Mu was steaming, shrouded in a white mist.
He called up his system panel again.
After a hard night’s work, he had finally reached the Initiate stage of his Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill.
In the Cultivation Technique section, the Body Tempering Technique was automatically collapsed, only showing its details when he focused his attention on it.
The content of the Realm section had also changed.
Second Stage of Body Tempering, and his Skin Tempering had reached the Extreme Realm.
’The Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill requires fifty Points to reach Initiate. From Initiate to Minor Accomplishment requires five hundred Points. From Minor Accomplishment to Major Accomplishment is one thousand Points, and from Major Accomplishment to Perfection is a full two thousand.’
Looking at the prompts on the system panel, Su Mu thought to himself, ’The number of Points needed to advance in Flesh Tempering is so much higher than for Skin Tempering.’
With the boost from his dual identities, his daily limit for earning Points was as high as one hundred.
Calculating at the fastest possible rate, it would take five days to reach Minor Accomplishment in the Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill, fifteen days for Major Accomplishment, and thirty-five days for Perfection.
Thirty-five days to reach Perfection in Flesh Tempering was equivalent to two or three years of hard work for an ordinary Martial Artist.
It sounded fast, but that was under ideal conditions. In reality, Su Mu couldn’t possibly max out his "performance Points" every single day.
Most of the time, he only managed to earn between fifty and seventy Points a day.
Therefore, the time required to raise the Wild Elephant Marinating Flesh Skill to the Perfection Realm would definitely be longer than thirty-five days; it might even take two months.
’I only reached the Extreme Skin Tempering Realm by cultivating three different Skin Tempering Techniques. If I want to reach Extreme Flesh Tempering, I’ll probably have to cultivate at least three Flesh Tempering techniques as well.
By that calculation, it might take me half a year to reach Extreme Flesh Tempering.’
Su Mu thought to himself.
In the Four Stages of Body Tempering, the higher one went, the greater the difficulty of cultivation and the longer it took to advance.
He was already seventeen this year. If he reached Extreme Flesh Tempering in half a year, then the Extreme Tendon Tempering in another year, and the Extreme Bone Tempering a year and a half after that...
By then, he would be almost twenty years old, barely meeting the Taiping Bureau’s baseline standard—reaching the Fourth Stage of Body Tempering before the age of twenty.
’My cultivation speed seems fast, but because my starting point is lower than others, I have to work even harder just to catch up.’
Su Mu mused.
With that in mind, he forwent any rest. After washing up, he changed into his Official Uniform and began his day’s shift.
For two days straight, Su Mu diligently carried out his duties. His hard work earned him the admiration of Wang Liu and the other constables.
Even though he was already a squad leader, he still insisted on patrolling the streets every day, come rain or shine. It was no wonder he’d become a squad leader at such a young age.
When it came to dedication to his duties, if Sergeant Su of the South City Bureau claimed to be second, no one would dare claim to be first.
The only time Su Mu slacked off during this period was when the Taiping Bureau sent an attendant to deliver his Taiping Bureau token and Official Uniform.
The Official Uniform for the Taiping Bureau White Clothes was also a Brocade and Ink Shirt, with two round patches on the chest and back.
If it were a Taiping Capital Captain or a Taiping Captain, the patches would be embroidered with the two characters for "Taiping." The first character would be on the front, and the second on the back. Different colored threads represented different statuses.
A Taiping Capital Captain’s was black thread, a Taiping Captain’s was silver thread. As for gold thread, only a Governor who commanded all the Taiping Captains in a city could use it.
As an unranked member, Su Mu was not yet qualified to have those two characters embroidered on his uniform.
He put the Official Uniform away safely and didn’t wear it to show off around town.
No one at the South City Bureau knew about his dual identity yet, and Su Mu felt there was no need for them to find out.
If they did find out, he probably wouldn’t be able to continue as a constable. Not only would he lose a salary, but he would also lose a source of Points.
It was better to continue as a constable for now, completing the trial for the Taiping Bureau White Clothes at the same time. It wouldn’t be too late to give up his constable identity once he earned the right to have the word "Taiping" embroidered on his uniform.
...
"I’ve looked into it. Su Mu has no connection to the City Lord. Last time, he just got lucky and managed to latch onto Wang Guan."
In the South City Government Office, Sima Hu Yuxing had summoned the acting chief constable and spoke in a low voice.
"The Wang Family’s second young master is a wastrel; he’s capable of anything unreliable. You can only say that Su Mu got lucky and that the two of them were cut from the same cloth."
"So, Su Mu’s only backing is the Wang Family’s second young master? And an unreliable one at that?"
Zhao Ji’s eyes lit up.
If Su Mu truly had a powerful background, it would be difficult for him, the acting chief constable, to get his position made permanent.
But if Su Mu had no backing, it wouldn’t be so easy for him to take his place.
’After all, I’m Lord Sima’s trusted subordinate.’
"That’s right. The Wang Family’s second young master never sticks with anything for long. Look, it’s been many days, and he hasn’t paid Su Mu any more attention."
Hu Yuxing nodded. "We were too cautious."
"That’s just you being prudent, my lord," Zhao Ji flattered him. "My lord, since Su Mu has no significant background and refuses to pledge allegiance to you, should we—"
Zhao Ji made a throat-slitting gesture.
"There’s no need."
Hu Yuxing shook his head. "He’s just a kid with no background. Relying on a bit of talent and cultivation, he’s gained a little strength and now he’s arrogant, thinking he can have a meteoric rise.
He’ll understand after he’s beaten his head against the wall a few times. When that happens, he’ll come crawling to me on his knees, begging."
A cold sneer appeared on Hu Yuxing’s face. "He has some strength, doesn’t he? From now on, give him all the hard and dirty work at the South City Bureau.
If he succeeds, the credit is ours. If he fails, the blame is his."
"Your Lordship is brilliant!"
Zhao Ji said, "The case in Five Miles Temple Village has been in his hands for some time now with no results. I’ll go question him about it right away.
If he can’t catch the culprit, he can forget about being a squad leader. He can go back to being a junior constable."
The two men looked at each other and laughed.
...
"Things have gotten a little troublesome."
Inside the residence in Guangfu Square, Wei Yongfu chugged a mouthful of tea before setting down the teapot. He looked at Su Mu with a serious expression and spoke.
He had been ordered to leave the city to investigate the murders in Five Miles Temple Village and had only returned today.
"Troublesome? Are the murders in Five Miles Temple Village really related to demons?"
Su Mu asked in a low voice.
If it really was a demon causing trouble, he would have to call for backup.
"It wasn’t a demon that did it, but it is related to them."
Wei Yongfu looked around warily, then lowered his voice. "The deaths in Five Miles Temple Village might be connected to a group called the No-Heaven Sect. This No-Heaven Sect only appeared in Wuling City in the last seven or eight years and has been active throughout the Outer City.
I suspect they might be trying to create demons!"