Everyone present turned around at the same time.

A large Monk, wielding a Crescent Shovel, was walking toward them down the path.

Perched on the large Monk’s shoulder was a short, masked man, twitching his nose and sniffing the air.

"The scent is somewhere around here, but the wind is too unpredictable today. It’s hard to pinpoint at the moment..."

Jiang Ran’s eyes, however, immediately fell upon the large Monk’s right hand.

It was clearly injured; a section was missing, looking as if it had been severed.

The wound was wrapped in a strip of his monastic robe, showing dried bloodstains.

A thought struck him, and he asked in a low voice:

"Do you know who those two are?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Ye Jingshuang and noticed her eyes were bloodshot. She was staring fixedly at the two newcomers.

On the day of the Ye family’s tragedy, she had been woken by shouts and screams, only then realizing intruders had broken in.

She had rushed from her room, fighting to save people as she went, trying to find her parents and ensure they were safe.

But when she arrived, she saw her father, Ye Konggu, surrounded by a group of attackers, fighting to the death and barely holding on.

And among those besieging him were none other than these two men.

They were among the very murderers who had killed her father!

Seeing them now, her blood began to boil.

But she was no ordinary woman. She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the impulse in her heart, and said softly:

"The short one... I don’t know who he is...

"But the large Monk is named Dao Zhen. He comes from Luo Hua Temple.

"Thirteen years ago, he murdered his master, Zen Master Huiyu, then slaughtered thirty-six of his fellow monks and fought his way out of the temple. He has called himself the Evil Arhat ever since!

"He has used his martial prowess to rape and pillage, committing every evil imaginable and breaking every Buddhist precept.

"His actions finally provoked widespread outrage, and the Imperial Court placed a bounty of two hundred taels of gold on his head.

"Disciples of the Righteous Path of the Martial World have hunted him relentlessly.

"Luo Hua Temple also dispatched Martial Monks to capture the renegade...

"But just as the net was closing in, the man vanished without a trace."

Ye Jingshuang recounted Dao Zhen’s history in great detail, as if she knew it by heart.

Having been immersed in the affairs of the martial world since childhood, she was extremely knowledgeable.

What she didn’t mention, however, was that the only reason she could recognize the Evil Arhat so easily was that during the night they surrounded and killed Ye Konggu, her father had shouted out the Evil Arhat’s identity.

Only then had the large Monk pulled off his mask, no longer bothering with concealment.

Otherwise, no matter how much Ye Jingshuang knew, it would have been impossible for her to put a face to the name unless she saw him use one of his signature techniques.

After Jiang Ran finished listening, his eyes instantly lit up.

A semi-transparent panel popped up before him.

[Quest Triggered: Capture ’Evil Arhat’ Dao Zhen!]

[Accept?]

Jiang Ran silently accepted. ’Birds of a feather, I guess,’ he mused. ’Anyone who hangs out with Zhang Dongxuan can’t be a good person.’

’Ye Jingshuang’s troubles are really turning into a huge benefit for me.’

[Quest Accepted!]

[Capture Target: ’Evil Arhat’ Dao Zhen!]

[Progress: Ongoing...]

After seeing this notification, Jiang Ran opened his system interface again.

Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

His interface now displayed two quests.

One to capture Zhang Dongxuan, and the other to capture the Evil Arhat.

This meant his system could handle multiple quests simultaneously.

He just didn’t know what the upper limit was yet.

But for Jiang Ran, this was undoubtedly good news.

It meant he could deal with several wanted criminals at once, then go to the authorities to cash in the bounties and complete the system quests all in one go.

He wouldn’t have to waste time making multiple trips back and forth.

Just then, the Evil Arhat and his companion arrived before them.

The large Monk’s face was a ghastly dark color, his lips were pale, and his eyes were shot with blood. He glared viciously at Cheng Jimo and the others.

"I’ll ask you lot," he began, his voice rough. "While you’ve been messing around here, have you seen a man and a woman? I don’t know what the man looks like, but he’s probably some ugly cur.

"The woman is injured, so she should be easy to recognize.

"Spit it out now, and tell me the truth. If you tell even half a lie, you’d best watch your life!"

His words were utterly blunt, leaving no room for courtesy.

Cheng Jimo’s expression darkened.

"And who are you?"

"Hmph. When did I say you were allowed to ask me questions?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the short, masked man on his shoulder blurred into motion, shooting straight for Cheng Jimo.

He may have been short, but his movements were incredibly fast.

He moved like a dashed black line, arriving before Cheng Jimo in the blink of an eye.

But Cheng Jimo was no pushover. Seeing the ferocity of the attack, his feet instantly blurred, executing a seven-step pattern.

With every step, he launched a flying shuttle from his palm.

After seven steps, seven shuttles were hurtling through the air.

This was the Seven-Star Chain. The shuttles flew at varying speeds, one after another, targeting seven of the masked man’s vital points.

However, this was merely a feint.

It looked like an attack on his acupoints, but in the next instant, the final shuttle actually caught up to the first one.

The moment the two shuttles collided, they burst apart. This triggered all seven shuttles to open at once.

Countless silver glints shot out, as dense and sudden as a torrential downpour.

Cheng Jimo’s flying shuttles were no ordinary hidden weapons.

They were called ’Flying Feather Needles’.

The shuttles contained a special mechanism. Once thrown, any contact with True Qi, a weapon, or even a fist would trigger the release of the hidden needles within.

These needles were specifically designed to pierce Protective Gang Qi, making them incredibly dangerous and difficult to defend against.

The masked man’s attack was ferocious, and it was impossible to gauge his true strength. Cheng Jimo dared not be careless and immediately deployed his advanced hidden weapon technique, triggering the seven shuttles himself before his opponent could even make a move.

This was the cause of the spectacular display.

Unexpectedly, the masked man just burst into laughter.

"The parlor tricks of the Thousand Feather Sect. No matter how many times I see them, they never cease to be amusing."

As he spoke, he moved like a phantom. His hands became a blur of afterimages, and in an instant, he opened his palms to reveal they were now full of the flying needles.

"Here, have them back!"

Cheng Jimo’s heart leaped into his throat. ’This is bad,’ he thought.

He immediately grabbed Geng Zhaoxing to dodge.

But when he looked up, he realized the masked man, despite shouting "Here, have them back!", hadn’t thrown the needles at him.

Instead, for some unknown reason, he had thrown them into the teahouse. Cheng Jimo’s heart skipped another beat.

"Watch out!"

After shouting, he sighed inwardly.

Most of the people in the teahouse today were Geng Zhaoxing’s men. The actual patrons had all been knocked unconscious by the Mind-Confusing Powder, so his warning was useless.

Just as he had this thought, he heard a loud BANG.

A table suddenly flew into the air.

It whirled in mid-air, kicking up a powerful gust of wind.

THWACK-THWACK-THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!

The silver needles all struck the tabletop, making a rapid series of impacts.

The next moment, a clear voice laughed and said:

"Thanks for the gift! But it would be rude of me not to return the favor, so here’s something for you!"

As the voice faded, the table shot out from the teahouse with a WHOOSH, flying straight toward the masked man.

...

...

PS: Bonus Chapter coming up! Next one in two minutes.