Jiang Ran and Ye Jingshuang exchanged a glance and immediately stood to greet Steward Liu.

"I am Ye Jingshuang of the Liuyun Sword Sect. Greetings, Steward Liu."

"I am Jiang Ran."

Steward Liu paused, surprised. He paid no mind to Jiang Ran, his gaze instead falling on Ye Jingshuang.

"The Liuyun Sword Sect? Miss Ye... are you perhaps from the Ye family of Red Maple Mountain?"

"I am."

Ye Jingshuang nodded.

Steward Liu immediately slapped his forehead.

"Forgive my rudeness! I never imagined I’d be in the presence of the heroic Miss Ye. I was blind to the greatness before me."

"Not at all, not at all."

Ye Jingshuang replied humbly.

"The Ye family’s legacy of chivalry is well-known. Though I am not a member of the martial world, even I have heard of it and have always held it in high regard."

Thanks to Ye Jingshuang’s reputation, Steward Liu’s attitude softened considerably as he spoke with a smile:

"Since the heroic Miss Ye is involved, the matter must surely be extraordinary."

Ye Jingshuang gave a wry smile.

"Steward Liu, you misunderstand. I’ve only come this time to act as a witness for a friend.

"These two criminals are highly skilled in martial arts. I’m no match for them.

"Steward Liu, have you ever heard of Zhang Dongxuan, the former Grand Chieftain of Celestial King Stronghold, or Dao Zhen, the Evil Arhat of Luo Hua Temple?"

"Hm?"

Steward Liu paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Ran before he finally spoke:

"Miss Ye, please wait a moment. I’m going to check the case files."

"Please, Steward Liu."

Ye Jingshuang wasn’t surprised. After all, these events had taken place over a decade ago.

It was perfectly normal that he wouldn’t know about them off the top of his head.

Steward Liu excused himself, had someone serve tea to Jiang Ran and Ye Jingshuang, and then turned to leave.

Jiang Ran looked at Ye Jingshuang with a slight smile. He had been about to praise her, ’Miss Ye is truly impressive.’

But the words died in his throat.

Today, Ye Jingshuang was once again relying on the reputation of the great tree that was the Ye family to receive such treatment.

If he said anything, it would inevitably bring up painful memories for her, so he decided against it.

The two drank their tea and chatted casually, with Ye Jingshuang sharing a few more strange and interesting stories from the martial world with Jiang Ran.

Before they had even finished a cup of tea, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Steward Liu pushed the door open and entered.

"Miss Ye, was what you said just now true?"

"The heads are right here. How could it be false?"

Ye Jingshuang glanced at Jiang Ran and said with a smile:

"I invite Steward Liu to inspect the heads and verify their identities."

Hearing this, Steward Liu’s gaze toward Jiang Ran no longer held a trace of condescension. He inwardly drew a sharp, cold breath.

Previously, he had never taken Jiang Ran seriously.

After all, the young man was a complete unknown in the martial world.

Even when Ye Jingshuang had claimed he was highly skilled, he had dismissed it as mere flattery and paid it no mind.

But just now, after checking the case files, he learned who Zhang Dongxuan and Dao Zhen really were, and what price had been paid in the past to capture them.

Only then did he realize he was in the presence of a true master.

But Steward Liu had no time for other thoughts. He asked:

"Where are the heads?"

"Here."

Jiang Ran handed over the bundle containing the two heads.

Steward Liu accepted it respectfully with both hands. "You two... will have to wait a little longer.

"These two are major criminals wanted by the Court. We must proceed with caution. Please forgive the delay."

"As it should be."

Ye Jingshuang said with a smile:

"Steward Liu, please attend to your business. We will wait here."

Steward Liu nodded and left again.

This time, he was gone for longer, about half an hour in total, before footsteps were heard again.

The door opened to reveal Steward Liu, followed by a bailiff.

The bailiff was holding a tray, upon which sat a large yuanbao ingot that looked to be at least fifty taels.

Beneath the silver were silver notes.

Steward Liu entered, beaming, and clasped his fists in a salute.

"Young Hero Jiang, you are a hero in your youth! By eliminating these two great villains for the people, you have performed a truly immeasurable service."

Jiang Ran smiled.

"Steward Liu, you flatter me. It was just a stroke of luck.

"Have their identities been verified now?"

"Indeed."

Steward Liu nodded.

"These two heads are indeed those of Zhang Dongxuan and the Evil Arhat, Dao Zhen.

"The Court once issued a bounty: for Zhang Dongxuan, Grand Chieftain of Celestial King Stronghold, the reward is one thousand taels of fine silver.

"For Dao Zhen, the Evil Arhat, the reward is two hundred taels of gold.

"And now, we present it to you in full!"

As he said this, he turned, took the tray from the bailiff, and presented it to Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran first picked up the large yuanbao ingot. The sheer sight of it was delightful.

Mainly because it was so big...

But seeing this, Steward Liu quickly cleared his throat.

"Young Hero Jiang, your reward silver is underneath. It’s in the form of silver notes."

"Huh?"

Jiang Ran was taken aback. "Then what’s this?"

"That is Official Silver. You wouldn’t be able to spend it even if I gave it to you."

Steward Liu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "I’m using it as a paperweight for the silver notes."

Jiang Ran was suddenly speechless. ’Using such a huge ingot of silver as a paperweight... Just how rich are you people?’

’No wonder Feiyun Stronghold was planning to make a move on you...’

While grumbling inwardly, he didn’t dally. He took the silver notes from the tray to check them. It was exactly three thousand taels.

And just as Jiang Ran accepted the silver notes, the system prompt arrived as expected.

[Quest: Apprehend Zhang Dongxuan, Grand Chieftain of Celestial King Stronghold!]

[Completed!]

[Quest: Apprehend ’Evil Arhat’ Dao Zhen!]

[Completed!]

[Reward: Five Years of Inner Strength!]

Jiang Ran froze. ’After all that effort, just five years of Inner Strength?’

’Does this mean that the first reward, a full sixty years of Inner Strength, was really due to a beginner’s bonus?’

Just as he was thinking this, another prompt popped up.

[Reward: Creation and True Heart Sutra (Second Level of Cultivation)!]

[Claim now?]

’Two rewards?’

’The second reward... seems to be an Inner Energy manual.’

’But what does "Second Level of Cultivation" mean?’

Jiang Ran looked at the prompt. Though he had his doubts, he was now a little more satisfied.

Although this reward was far from being as good as the first, it wasn’t bad to receive something other than just Inner Strength.

Besides, as long as his martial arts were strong enough, capturing wanted criminals wouldn’t be difficult at all.

If he caught eight or ten at a time, even if they each only gave him three or five years of Inner Strength, over time he would probably become invincible.

At this thought, his mood brightened.

But that wasn’t the most important thing right now. With a thought, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.

His gaze skimmed past the various boxes and lines at the top, landing on the very last line.

[Remaining Lifespan: 1 year, 3 months, and 5 days.]

Jiang Ran thought for a moment.

’Counting from that day in the ruined temple, my remaining lifespan was one year and twenty-nine days.’

’After that, it took six days to travel from the temple to Cangzhou Prefecture.’

’By that calculation, I’ve gained about two and a half months of life from completing this quest.’

’Trading six days for two and a half months... that’s a massive profit!’

At this, Jiang Ran’s smile finally became genuine.

’System rewards, Inner Energy, Inner Strength... all of that is fleeting.’

’Only life itself is real.’

The system reward this time might not have been as generous as the first.

But Jiang Ran wasn’t afraid of small rewards; he was afraid of no rewards at all.

As long as he could confirm a steady way to increase his lifespan, then as for wanted criminals... the entire Golden Cicada Dynasty was full of them!