I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 157 Capturing the Great Thief with a Twist of the Hand

"Alright, alright, then I'll trouble you, Brother Wu."

Chen Gui looked grateful, raised his wine cup, toasted Wu Ming, and then drank a cup himself.

Wu Ming remained calm and was about to say something when his gaze suddenly shifted, turning to the distance and looking through the window towards a certain direction.

Chen Gui noticed Wu Ming's expression and paused. Just as he was about to ask a question, Wu Ming thoughtfully withdrew his gaze, reached out and pressed his hand slightly down, saying, "Wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."

……

Another pavilion, separated by a courtyard.

Inside a private room on the third floor.

Two figures sat facing each other. One of them wore a black robe, beneath which lay a dark and deep face. He was a notorious bandit wanted by the Censorate for many years. No one knew his name, only his nickname "Blood Blade." He wielded a blood-red curved blade, was cruel and ruthless, and had been wanted by the Censorate for eight years, yet remained at large.

Sitting opposite Blood Blade was Ban Hui, the leader of the Crimson Eagle Gang. The Crimson Eagle Gang, backed by the Xuan Yu Sect, was a major gang in the outer city of Jingye City. It was a very powerful force in the outer city, with hundreds of people under its command and occupying a large territory. Ban Hui, the leader, was also a martial arts master who had achieved the third stage of blood coagulation.

"Brother Blood Blade, given your status, it's not appropriate for you to enter the city so casually."

"Brother Ban, rest assured, I only have one thing to do in the city this time. I will leave as soon as I finish it and will not stay in the city for long."

Blood Blade picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said in a deep voice, "I heard that the head of the Criminal Investigation Department in Jingye City has changed?"

"Ah."

Ban Hui said in a low voice, "The Criminal Investigation Division is now in the hands of the newly appointed head, Wu Ming. This Wu Ming is no ordinary person; he is a rare master of Taoist magic in our area. You should be careful of him if you enter the city so rashly."

Blood Blade smiled slightly and said, "Of course I know this person is powerful, but he is a rising star among the younger generation. Taking over the Criminal Investigation Division is just a nominal position for him. He won't devote much energy to handling the affairs of the Criminal Investigation Division."

Actually, his decision to come to the city on business was made in consideration of the change of leadership in the Criminal Investigation Department.

He had already found out about Wu Ming's whereabouts. Although Wu Ming was a high-ranking and terrifying figure, he was also likely to ignore the trivial matters below him. In addition, Jingye City was currently vulnerable in its internal defenses, with almost all the troops from the two departments deployed to the northern border outside the city. Therefore, now was the most suitable time to enter the city.

In the entire Jingye City, the only person who could do anything to him was Wu Ming, who was in charge of the Arrest and Capture Division. He was not afraid of the other patrol divisions at all. As for the other officials and even the heads of the two divisions, they were mostly outside the city and had no time to spare.

"Brother Blood Blade seems to know everything about what's going on in the city."

Ban Hui smiled when he heard Xue Dao's words: "As long as we don't offend that person, there really shouldn't be any major problems."

In fact, since Wang Mingxuan was transferred and Wu Ming took over the Criminal Investigation Department, he has indeed been acting as a hands-off manager. This has made the notorious thieves who were being watched by the Criminal Investigation Department much more relaxed. Moreover, with the changing situation and the chaos, the order in the city is much more disorderly than before. Some gangs are now secretly engaging in illegal businesses that they wouldn't have dared to do before.

The matter he discussed with Blood Blade this time involved smuggling demon beasts. In Jingye City, anything involving demon resources must be adjudicated and audited by the Demon Suppression Division. The commercial tax on the transactions is very high, and normally no one dares to act recklessly. However, the city is now empty, the two divisions are short-handed, and Wu Ming has become a hands-off manager. Many forces have started to smuggle demon resources in secret.

Da, da, da

Just as Xue Dao and Ban Hui were having a pleasant conversation, they suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. The footsteps were undisguised, and they walked over step by step until they stopped in front of the door.

Blood Blade and Ban Hui were both formidable figures, and naturally they had already noticed the anomaly. They stopped talking and, upon hearing the footsteps stop in front of the door, both turned their gazes toward the main entrance.

Although there was a door between them,

Both of them could sense the person outside the door; his fiery aura was completely undisguised, indicating that he was also a martial arts master.

"Which gentleman is outside?"

Ban Hui was already on guard, and at this moment he took the initiative to speak, asking in a deep voice.

"I."

A calm voice came from outside the door.

Then a hand pressed on the door, giving it a gentle shake. A powerful yet gentle force emanated from the doorway, easily dislodging the bolt without damaging the wooden door. Then, the hand pushed both doors open from the outside.

"It seems the two of you just mentioned me."

Wu Ming stood outside the door with one hand behind his back. He pushed the door open with one hand and stepped into the room.

clatter,

His steps were slow and deliberate, making a dull thud on the wooden floor. But to Xue Dao and Ban Hui, the sound was like a bolt from the blue, a thunderclap, causing both of them to show expressions of horror.

"Wu Ming!"

Although Blood Blade had never seen Wu Ming in person, he had naturally seen Wu Ming's portrait and studied his information before. Even though it was the first time he had met him, he recognized him at a glance and was immediately shocked.

Swish!
Without the slightest hesitation, he sprang from his seat, his movements agile as a startled cat, transforming into a black shadow as he rolled towards the window, intending to smash through the wooden pane and escape. However, Wu Ming remained calm, merely flicking his sleeve in the air.

Wow!

The chopsticks on the table flew out one by one in an instant, as if they were shot by a powerful crossbow. The force was so terrifying that even in the narrowest distance, they produced a piercing sound as they cut through the air.

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

Blood Blade had no time to react, not even time to touch his blade, before eight bamboo chopsticks pierced eight key acupoints in his body, from his lower abdomen to the center of his chest, then to his shoulders, elbows, and thighs. His strong and resilient body, which had been clotting blood three times, was pierced through eight places by the fragile bamboo chopsticks, and he instantly lost all his strength.

All of this happened extremely quickly. It was only the instant that Xue Dao leaped up and crashed into the window. After his eight acupoints were sealed, Xue Dao's body finally barely touched the windowsill. But by then, he had lost all his strength. The impact only made the window bang, but he failed to break it open. Immediately, he fell to the ground, unable to move.

"You must be the notorious bandit 'Blood Blade' wanted by the Criminal Investigation Department. Now that you're in the city, why leave? If I let you escape from my sight, I, as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, will lose all face."

Wu Ming strode forward with his hands behind his back.

Ban Hui, the leader of the Red Eagle Gang, was sweating profusely. He watched Wu Ming walk towards him step by step, and then watched helplessly as Wu Ming subdued the Blood Blade from a distance in an instant. The thought of escaping had long since been extinguished.

"I am... Ban Hui from the Red Eagle Gang... I greet Lord Wu."

Ban Hui knew that running away or resisting would only lead to a worse outcome, so he knelt down tremblingly and bowed to Wu Ming.

He was, after all, a person who had achieved three stages of blood coagulation. He had only seen the Blood Blade in private. Although he was guilty of harboring a criminal and smuggling demon resources, his crimes did not warrant death. If Wu Ming had dared to resist him in person, that would have been truly courting death.

"Someone is coming."

Wu Ming glanced at Ban Hui indifferently, then spoke calmly.

This summons, though soft, instantly echoed throughout the entire pavilion, bringing everyone in the private rooms—whether they were drinking and enjoying themselves or engaging in passionate lovemaking—to a complete halt.

Within moments, a steward staggered in. Upon entering the room and seeing the gruesome state of Xue Dao, he was first horrified, then, upon seeing Wu Ming, he trembled with fear.
"Lord Wu... Lord Wu..."

"This, this has nothing to do with me. I don't know either of these people..."

He scrambled to his feet, bowed to Wu Ming, and then explained.

Although no one knew what had happened, the two people in front of them must have done something evil and were caught red-handed by Wu Ming, the head of the Censorate.

Brothels like his, located on North Street, all have certain backgrounds and are not afraid of ordinary people causing trouble. Even if they encounter a patrol officer from the Censorate, they can bring up their boss to talk to him, but that is only limited to the patrol officer.

Who is Wu Ming? He is a prominent figure in Jingye City, the head of the Shenxing Division, in charge of the arrest and capture departments. Not only is he exceptionally talented, but he is also Liu Muyuan's disciple. Even major forces such as Heisha and Xuanyu have to give way to Wu Ming and will not fight with him, let alone a small brothel.

"Whether it's none of your business or not, we'll discuss that later. Go and give me the order from the Arrest Division."

Wu Ming glanced at the manager and gave the order indifferently.

Upon hearing this, the manager responded repeatedly and hurriedly left the room, disappearing as fast as lightning. Soon after, several figures rushed into North Street and arrived at the brothel where Wu Ming was.

"My lord."

The three men who arrived were all patrol officers from the Criminal Investigation Department. Upon hearing that Wu Ming had summoned them, they dared not hesitate and rushed over immediately.

Wu Ming pointed to Xue Dao and Ban Hui in the arena and said, "Take these two back to the Censorate for a thorough interrogation. Also, conduct a thorough search of this place. If anyone is found to be protecting them, expose them all."

"Yes."

The three patrol officers from the Arrest Division immediately responded.

At this moment, all three of them noticed Blood Blade, who was lying to the side, trembling and unable to even get up. They recognized him as the notorious bandit who had been wanted for many years, and they were all secretly shocked.

Blood Blade was a vicious criminal who had been running rampant for many years. The Censorate had tried to capture him many times, but to no avail. Judging from the situation in this scene, Blood Blade probably didn't even make a ripple in front of Wu Ming before being captured directly.

This young head of the arresting officers may not handle much of the affairs of the department, but his personal martial prowess is beyond doubt. His Daoist techniques of refining the primordial spirit four times are indeed no less than those of a martial arts master who has condensed blood four times!
I've finished dealing with things here.

Wu Ming then turned around and went back to the courtyard where Chen Gui was.

"Something happened, don't worry about it."

He said something to Chen Gui, then sat down again at the table.

Chen Gui had naturally heard about the other side's actions long ago. He knew that Wu Ming had suddenly made a move and captured a notorious bandit who had been running rampant for many years. He was both surprised and impressed. When he saw Wu Ming again, he vaguely felt that Wu Ming's authority had become even greater. Although they were still sitting and drinking opposite each other, he was more reserved.

Wu Ming is now a dragon among men, no longer the insignificant figure who once honed his skills with him at the Seven Martial Alliance Martial Academy. He can go out for a drink and, in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, take down a vicious thief who is enough to make even the Chen family extremely wary.

(End of this chapter)