'It wasn't for nothing, all those days of skipping meals and sleep. I've finally achieved something.'
Su Mu slowly let out a breath.
He summoned the panel again and saw that its contents had quietly changed.
[Name: Su Mu]
[Identity: Hunter (Commoner)]
[Points: 0]
[Martial Arts: Submerging Wave Saber Technique (Minor Success), Archery (Initiate)]
His Points were now zero. In their place, the Submerging Wave Saber Technique had entered the Minor Success Realm.
Reaching Minor Success in a saber technique might be nothing to a true expert.
But for Su Mu, this was a milestone.
He had come so far from being a mere rogue, suffering countless hardships and shedding endless sweat.
Minor Success in the saber technique meant he had taken another huge step forward on the right path.
Minor Success in the saber technique meant he could join the South City Bureau and become a constable at any time.
Minor Success in the saber technique meant that even if he went to work as a Nursing Home for a wealthy family, he could make a living.
'After Minor Success comes Major Success, and after that, Perfection. The road is long and arduous. To truly establish myself in Wuling City, Minor Success in my saber technique is far from enough.
What Brother Taiping meant by 'making a name for myself' must be reaching Major Success in the saber technique, at the very least.'
Su Mu thought to himself, 'The revolution is not yet won; I must keep striving.'
He focused his thoughts on the Submerging Wave Saber Technique, and a prompt appeared in his mind.
To reach Major Success in the saber technique required three hundred Identity Points.
'Good. That's less than I expected.'
Su Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Three hundred Points. With his current identity and profession, he could save that up in just one hundred and fifty days.
'Should I try to become a constable?'
Su Mu thought, 'With my saber technique at Minor Success, passing the South City Bureau's selection shouldn't be a big problem. If I become a constable, my Points should increase faster.'
He tossed and turned, unable to sleep soundly all night. The next day, he got up at the crack of dawn and headed for the South City Bureau.
Just as Su Mu arrived outside the South City Bureau, he happened to see a few constables leading a large group of constables into the South City Government Office, all looking battered and defeated.
Su Mu raised an eyebrow slightly.
After cultivating his archery, his eyesight had also become much better than before.
In that casual glance, he clearly saw that the last few constables entering the South City Government Office seemed to be bloodied.
"Brother, what's happened here?"
Su Mu squeezed into the crowd of onlookers, picked out a man who seemed easy to talk to, and asked with a smile.
"Heh, the South City Bureau went out of the city to suppress bandits and lost, of course."
The man chuckled, a gloating expression on his face.
"They're always so arrogant and throwing their weight around. Serves them right to have a day like this, huh?"
"Isn't that the truth? They're only good for bullying us common folk. When they run into those vicious bandits, they just get their asses handed to them, don't they?"
Another man next to them also said in a low voice.
Su Mu's heart skipped a beat. He thought of what Liu Feng had said before about the South City Bureau recruiting constables.
'Don't tell me they sent the newly recruited constables out of the city to fight bandits?'
'Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?'
'Newly recruited constables have no business fighting those vicious bandits to the death!'
Su Mu felt like he understood something, and his original intention to apply to be a constable was now shrouded in doubt.
The bad reputation of the constables was one thing.
But if the job was this dangerous, Su Mu had to seriously reconsider.
He wasn't afraid of a bad reputation, but he was afraid of losing his life.
With the system panel in his possession, as long as he didn't die, he would sooner or later become a powerful figure. There was no need to take such a risk right now.
With this in mind, Su Mu turned and walked toward Liu Hai's Family.
Liu Feng had just joined the South City Bureau not long ago; who knew how much he knew.
Just as he reached the entrance of the alley where the Liu Family lived, Su Mu knew there was no longer any need to seek out Liu Feng for information.
Because he could already hear the sound of wailing coming from the Liu Family home.
Outside the Liu Family's door, a group of neighbors had gathered, discussing animatedly.
Su Mu only had to listen for a moment to understand what had happened.
Liu Feng had been sent back by men from the South City Bureau early this morning.
What they sent back was a corpse that had already stopped breathing.
"The Liu family's boy was one of the lucky ones. I heard that the boy from Zheng Tu's Family in Pingkang Square... they didn't even get a body back."
The murmurs of discussion drifted into his ears, and Su Mu felt a chill run down his spine.
When Liu Feng had come to invite him to the South City Bureau's selection that day, he had actually been tempted.
If he had gone with Liu Feng then, would he have ended up like him, another corpse?
'The waters of the Government Office run too deep. With my saber technique only at Minor Success, if I rush in rashly, I'm afraid I won't even make a tiny splash.'
'Being a constable is too dangerous. I'd better just stick to being a Hunter. I'll think about raising my status after I've reached Perfection with my saber technique. It would be best to do it all in one go and become a full-fledged, officially recognized constable.'
Su Mu thought to himself as he walked away.
'The potential of a Hunter is limited, but I feel there's still more to be explored.'
...
The South City Bureau's heavy losses were a cataclysm for some families, but for most people in South City, it was just idle gossip after a meal.
Their lives went on as they always had.
Su Mu gave up the idea of applying to be a constable and continued to charge full-speed down the path of becoming the best Hunter.
One day, as Su Mu was heading out of the city early in the morning with his bow and arrows, he was suddenly stopped by Sun Dazhao.
"Xiaosu, there's a big job available. You interested?"
Sun Dazhao said, wearing his signature smile.
"Thank you for looking out for me, Master Sun."
Su Mu cupped his hands and said, "It's just that I only know how to hunt, nothing else..."
"They're specifically looking for Hunters."
Sun Dazhao smiled. "Chief Xing of our South City Bureau is looking for a few Hunters to do a small task. Once it's done, there's a reward of twenty taels of silver.
"This pays a lot better than your hunting. You in or not?"
An ordinary Hunter is lucky to make one or two hundred wen a day.
A windfall like the three taels Su Mu made last time was something that might not happen once in several months.
Twenty taels of silver was almost equal to what a Hunter might earn in two or three years.
But Su Mu did not agree immediately.
He keenly picked up on a piece of information.
Chief Xing of the South City Bureau!
Although he didn't know this Chief Xing, there was only one Chief Constable in the entire South City Bureau. He was one of the top five figures in the South City Government Office.
Most importantly, all the constables in the South City Bureau were under his command.
First, they massively recruited constables, and now they're looking for Hunters...
Su Mu's intuition screamed that danger was closing in.
"Master Sun, it's not that I don't want to give you face, but I accidentally injured my leg yesterday. If I go and work for Chief Xing, I'm afraid I'll ruin his important business."
Su Mu politely refused.
"Injured your leg?"
Sun Dazhao didn't seem to doubt Su Mu's words. After all, with a lucrative job worth twenty taels of silver on the line, other Hunters were clamoring for the chance.
It was only because Sun Dazhao thought Su Mu was skilled and usually respectful toward him that he thought of Su Mu when such a good opportunity arose.
In Sun Dazhao's eyes, Su Mu had no reason to refuse.
"What a pity. Opportunities like this are rare. If you could earn these twenty taels, you could finally fulfill your wish of buying a house in Wuling City.
"Besides, if you manage to catch Chief Xing's eye, who in South City would dare to mess with you?"
Sun Dazhao said with a look of regret, "Such a pity."
"Isn't that the truth."
Su Mu also put on a look of frustration. "It's all my own fault for not being good enough."
As he watched Sun Dazhao's back disappear around the corner, shaking his head, the smile vanished from Su Mu's face, replaced by a grave expression.
Although he didn't know what exactly was going on with the South City Bureau, he now had a strong sense of crisis.
'He's already targeting Hunters, and I'm one of the best Hunters in South City. I might have dodged it this time, but I might not be so lucky next time.
'If he asks for me by name, can I refuse? Am I even in a position to refuse?'
Su Mu thought to himself, 'To think that even skipping the constable selection couldn't save me from this disaster. It's too hard for a small fry to control his own destiny. I have to get my saber technique to Major Success as soon as possible!'