Chapter 58: Qu Heng Imprisoned

Lianjiang City, Qingping Lane.

It was another sunny day, and Gu Mo was in the courtyard carving wood. After a period of exploration, his carving skills had improved by leaps and bounds. Now, he could carve small cats and dogs that, while not lifelike, were quite respectable.

"Brother,"

Gu Chudong entered the courtyard carrying a large bundle. "The last bounty has been collected. Sister Yan only took three-tenths as per the rules, so we're rich now!"

Gu Mo smiled slightly. In the matter of the Wang family in Yong'an County, he had killed Silver Fox, Poison Spider, and Ghost-faced Granny.

The bounty for Silver Fox from the yamen was three thousand taels, plus various smaller rewards, bringing the total to nearly six thousand taels, despite losing the five thousand taels from the Wang family. Poison Spider's bounty from the yamen was only three hundred taels, but other private bounties totaled nearly one thousand taels. Ghost-faced Granny, however, had been presumed dead for over a decade, so the yamen only offered a symbolic one hundred taels. All combined, the total was about six thousand taels. After the split, the siblings received over four thousand taels.

However, expenses were also quite high.

As the saying goes, "poor scholars, rich martial artists." Practicing martial arts was incredibly expensive, requiring various precious medicinal herbs to strengthen Gu Chudong's muscles and bones, a cost that few ordinary people could afford.

Gu Chudong, though, was the one who worried about the money, but she couldn't win an argument against Gu Mo.

Gu Mo felt indifferent about it. After all, money was meant to be spent. He had no particular aspirations for wealth; his goal was simply to live comfortably. With his system, he didn't need to cultivate diligently. He rested when he needed to, and when he felt sufficiently rested, he would go find a wanted criminal.

Although Gu Mo's system was the "Blade Wielder" system, he never intended to become a numb, emotionless killing machine.

In the beginning, when he lacked the ability to protect himself, he was more anxious. But now, with his martial arts skills, he didn't feel such intense pressure. He wouldn't give up blade-wielding, but he also wouldn't give up living.

After returning from Yong'an County, Gu Mo decided to rest for a while.

Conveniently, because of his fame as "Hero Gu," the Bu'er Villa had entered a period of rapid development, receiving many commissions. Numerous blade wielder had also sought them out, leaving Yan Sanniang constantly busy. She hadn't found a suitable wanted criminal for Gu Mo in a short time.

Gu Mo took advantage of this period to rest well, with a focus on teaching Gu Chudong martial arts.

Gu Chudong had also made significant progress. Her Profound Void Mental cultivation had reached the eighth level, nearing mastery, and her Profound Void Blade Arts had reached the fifty-third stance under Gu Mo's guidance. Her Cloud Ladder Ascent had barely reached the introductory level, but the Flicking Finger Divine Skill required too much internal energy and had not yet been mastered.

However, in terms of overall strength, Gu Chudong was now much stronger than Gu Mo before he lost his sight. Moreover, Gu Chudong had traveled the martial world for many years and did not lack practical combat experience.

Gu Mo planned that once Gu Chudong's Profound Void Mental cultivation reached mastery, he would teach her the Ice Cold True Scripture. Of course, if they could acquire a better internal energy cultivation method during this stage, that would be even better; otherwise, it didn't matter. While the Ice Cold True Scripture might not be as good as the Nine Yang Divine Skill, it was still a top-tier martial art in the martial world.

In the courtyard, after Gu Chudong put away the last bounty collected that day, she picked up her blade and began to practice.

She crouched in a horse stance, continuously drawing and swinging her blade. There was a bowl of water on each of her knees. Gu Mo occasionally threw out a piece of firewood, which Gu Chudong had to split with a single strike, without spilling any water or dropping the bowls.

This was practice for the fifty-fourth stance of the Profound Void Blade Arts, "Sudden Strike."

This stance emphasized an immediate, unexpected attack, requiring extreme speed and ruthlessness. Not only did the blade need to be fast, but the lower body also had to be absolutely stable.

So, Gu Mo devised this method to supervise Gu Chudong.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

A rapid knocking sound came from outside the door.

Gu Mo walked over and opened the door.

Outside were two people: a woman about seventeen or eighteen years old and a middle-aged woman. They were Qu Heng's daughter, Qu Xiao, and Qu Heng's wife, Mrs. Qu Li.

Qu Xiao was startled to see Gu Mo open the door. She quickly said, "Brother Ah Mo, please save my father!"

Before Gu Mo could speak, Mrs. Qu Li immediately pulled Qu Xiao down to kneel on the ground, crying, "Ah Mo, please save your Uncle Qu! Auntie will kowtow to you..."

Gu Mo recognized Qu Xiao and Mrs. Qu Li's voices. How could he accept their kneeling? He quickly reached out to support them and said, "Aunt Qu, Sister Xiaoxiao, what are you doing? Just tell me what's wrong."

Hearing the commotion, Gu Chudong also ran over, wiping sweat. She quickly asked, "Auntie, Xiaoxiao, what happened to Uncle Qu?"

"Come inside first," Gu Mo invited.

Mrs. Qu Li and Qu Xiao followed them into the house. Gu Chudong motioned for the mother and daughter to sit down and rushed to make tea, but Mrs. Qu Li stopped her, saying, "Chudong, don't bother. Let me tell you what happened first, and you can see if you can help. I... I... I really don't know what to do... I..."

Mrs. Qu Li started crying as she spoke, her eyes swollen and red, clearly having cried for a long time.

Gu Chudong quickly comforted her, saying, "Auntie, please don't cry. Tell us what happened first. Oh, Xiaoxiao, you tell us!"

Mrs. Qu Li was a typical delicate woman. In her youth, she stayed hidden in her maiden home, and after marrying Qu Heng, she faithfully managed the household, possessing a gentle nature. Qu Xiao, on the other hand, was the complete opposite; she had practiced martial arts with Qu Heng since childhood and had a decisive personality.

Qu Xiao began to speak, "Brother Gu Mo, Chudong, my father is now trapped in Fang County, Qingyang Prefecture, and he's seriously injured. He was escorting a镖 with Chief Escort Lin Zhenyue. When they were in Fang County, the cargo was robbed. Out of nearly a hundred escorts, over eighty were killed, and Chief Escort Lin Zhenyue also died. Five of the eight escorts also died."

Gu Mo frowned but said nothing.

Qu Xiao continued, "The Six Doors in Qingyang Prefecture conducted an emergency investigation and finally ruled it as embezzlement by the guards. They arrested all thirteen remaining escorts, including my father. Now, Qingyang Prefecture has transferred all of them to our Linjiang Prefecture's Six Doors."

Gu Chudong wondered, "Uncle Qu isn't that kind of person. He wouldn't do something like that."

"I know," Qu Xiao took a deep breath and said, "But when we went to the yamen, they wouldn't even let us see him. We really don't know what to do to clear my father's name. The Changfeng Escort Agency itself is in danger. The insurance for this escort was two hundred thousand taels. Now, the Yang father and son desperately hope that the culprits really are my father and the others, so they can get the lost cargo back. They certainly won't help us overturn the case."

Gu Mo waved his hand and said, "The Yang father and son are unfeeling and untrustworthy. Not to mention they're in trouble themselves, even if they could get out of it, they wouldn't necessarily help."

Qu Xiao nodded and said, "Brother Ah Mo, my mother and I don't know what to do now. You know my father; he couldn't have committed embezzlement. I heard that you and Zhuo Qingfeng, Commander Zhuo of the Six Doors, are sworn brothers. Can you ask Commander Zhuo for help? We don't ask for anything else, just let us see my father to understand the situation, that's all. Brother Ah Mo, please!"