I was told I'd be a late bloomer, but I was born with the potential to achieve great things!

"Wang Hu, leader of the Black Tiger Gang, is a martial artist at the Visceral Realm, skilled in the Earth-Rank Fist Technique 'Tiger Demon Twelve Styles'... Reward: 500 taels of silver."

"Huang Xuan, the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang, a master of the Bone Forging Realm, suspected of possessing sword energy... Reward: 1500 taels of silver."

"He Lao Er, manager of the Black Tiger Gang's gambling den, a Bone Forging Realm expert, is famous for his Thousand-Machine Gambling Technique... Reward: 800 taels of silver."

"Hu San Niang, the owner of the Black Tiger Gang's brothel, a Bone Forging Realm expert... 800 taels of silver as reward."

"Zhang Wuding, the Black Tiger Gang's transport manager, a Bone Forging Realm expert... rewarded with 1000 taels of silver."

......

"Almost everyone in the Black Tiger Gang who holds a core position is on this bounty list... Could this be a bounty set by my Seven Mysteries Sect?"

Zhou An put down his brush, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Because the Black Tiger Gang and the Seven Mysteries Sect have the most members on the Hidden Affairs Pavilion's bounty list, while there are very few members from other forces.

Even Mo Kai, who had refined his golden bones, received a bounty one hundred taels more than the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang. Zhou An's own head was worth 300 taels.

The higher the cultivation level, the greater the reward?

At first, Zhou An also thought so, but the truth was exactly the opposite.

Unless there is a deep-seated hatred, the higher the position, the greater the potential, and the easier it is to kill someone, the higher the bounty will be.

For this reason, all the Bone Forging experts in the Black Tiger Gang who hold important positions receive more bounties than the gang leader, Wang Hu.

At first glance, it seems unbelievable, but upon closer reflection, it makes perfect sense.

After all, Wang Hu, as the leader of the Black Tiger Gang and a martial artist at the Internal Organs Realm, was a towering figure in Ningshan City and an undisputed big shot.

Unless they completely break off relations, who would be willing to fight to the death with them?

"The canal transport, gambling dens, and brothels are the three core industries of the Black Tiger Gang."

Manager Li had previously mentioned that the Black Tiger Gang had recently connected with the An family in Anyang Prefecture and would be supplying them with resources on an irregular basis.

Resources that such important figures in the city value must be extremely precious, and might even be of great help to my cultivation of the internal organs realm.

But precisely because of this, my primary goal must be to eliminate the canal transport.

Firstly, there are unknown experts hiding among them, so even if a martial artist at the Bone Forging Realm went, they wouldn't gain any advantage.

Although I have already entered the realm of internal organs, I am ultimately alone, and there are certain risks involved.

Thinking of this, Zhou An crossed out the column for canal transport and then his gaze fell on Hu San Niang, who managed the brothel, and He Lao Er, who managed the gambling den.

"The Black Tiger Gang's brothels are located outside Ningshan City, frequented by wealthy young men and dignitaries. A slight misstep could lead to trouble... It seems I only have one target left."

Zhou An thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and drew a circle over He Lao Er's name.

Firstly, since this gambling den is located in Qingshi Town outside the city, the pressure from the government is significantly less than in Ningshan City.

Secondly, there is a large flow of silver within the gambling den.

Once successful, the amount of silver obtained will be greater.

The only problem is that Qing Shi Town is an important territory of the Black Tiger Gang, and there must be many experts hiding there.

"Just in case, I chose to take action during the Black Tiger Gang's shipping season."

Only by separating these two can we ensure that there aren't too many skilled fighters remaining in Qing Shi Town.

Zhou An felt he needed to secretly go to Qing Shi Town to find out what was going on there.

After all, this kind of information can be easily obtained by paying some silver within the Hidden Affairs Pavilion.

This means that as long as the members of the Black Tiger Gang aren't stupid, they will definitely take precautions after learning that they are on the Hidden Affairs Pavilion's bounty list.

Some unscrupulous individuals will even deliberately leave some openings to lure the assassins there.

Therefore, Zhou An would not act rashly without a suitable opportunity.

"Then it's about becoming a ghostwriter, checking if any ruthless people are around in the areas under Ningshan City's jurisdiction, and trying to avoid any unnecessary accidents."

After confirming that he had not overlooked anything, Zhou An put the paper with the list of bounties on it into the oil lamp and lit it.

......

The next morning, Zhou An found Constable Zhao Ji.

"Becoming a ghostwriter is both difficult and easy."

Upon seeing Zhou An arrive, Zhao Ji, the head constable who was patrolling the street, smiled and waved for Zhou An to follow.

"You come from the Seven Mysteries Sect and have never committed any crimes before, so this first test will naturally not be difficult for you."

Your only problem is passing the ghostwriting assessment within a month.

"As long as you can capture any target on the bounty list and bring them to the Ghost Executioner's Office, you will have passed the test."

After explaining their situation, the two arrived at the Sword-Catching Division.

Compared to a proper government office, this "Sword-Catching Division" clearly had a more江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) atmosphere, with many ruthless martial arts figures wielding weapons coming and going.

Soon, Zhou An completed the initial registration under the guidance of Constable Zhao Ji.

"Officer Zhao, why is there a red list and a green list for the ghostwriters?"

Looking at the two completely different lists, Zhou An's eyes flickered.

"The Red List refers to those who are on the imperial court's kill list."

Anyone can be killed for a reward, because such people are often extremely dangerous and wicked.

Zhao Ji pointed to two names on the red list and began to recount the story.

"Such are the Blood Fiend Sword Feng Buping, ranked eleventh, and the Asura Hand Yan Tai, ranked twenty-first."

Once you encounter them, you don't need to capture them alive, just their heads.

As for the green list, although these are also criminals, the people on this list often have other reasons for being on it. To collect the full bounty, you need to keep them alive.

"I see."

Zhou An nodded.

If he were to ghostwrite, he would definitely choose the red list first.

Capturing prisoners alive is too troublesome, and problems can easily arise during transport. A slight mistake could even result in the bounty being withheld, making it not worthwhile.

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether it's a red list or a green list. What's important is that when you choose a target, you must check if there is a detailed introduction of their strength on it."

If not, it means that this person is very likely to have strength beyond that of those on the list.

Secondly, there's the timing of the list updates.

Head Constable Zhao looked at Zhou An with a serious expression.

"For example, this Blood Fiend Sword Feng Buping, when the news of this person came out half a year ago, he was at the Bone Forging Realm."

However, even six months later, there is still no specific introduction to his strength; all that is known is that he lingered near Ningshan City three months ago.

However, it is rumored that this person has a way to feed his sword with blood and enhance his own strength.

Although it's unclear whether it's true or not, this person might have already entered the Visceral Realm in the past six months.

However, since no concrete evidence has been found, his reward remains only 500 taels.

In the end, there was a hint of helplessness in Constable Zhao's eyes.

"These ruthless individuals are not fools. Most of those who have survived to this day are adept at hiding their true strength, which is why their bounties often do not match their actual abilities."

"Feed the sword with blood to enhance one's own strength."

In contrast to Zhao Ji's sighs, Zhou An's attention was focused on the intelligence about feeding the sword with blood.

"Could a martial artist at the Bone Forging Realm also do this? Could it be the kind of demonic immortal technique that storytellers talk about?"

......