Chapter 44: A Clean Break From This Day On

"So, this is how the rewards for Clairvoyance are claimed."

Liang Jin looked at the information displayed on the interface and finally understood.

His other trait, [Divine Talisman Healing], only required him to cure a corresponding number of patients to obtain rewards.

And now, he finally figured out that [Clairvoyance] required him to kill a certain number of locked targets in order to receive rewards.

Last night, Liang Jin had slaughtered the stall owner and his gang, yet he hadn't received any rewards.

That was because he had never used Clairvoyance to lock onto the stall owner beforehand.

However, Liang Jin had once entered "Single-Blade Swordsman" into Clairvoyance to check his information, which counted as locking onto him.

Therefore, the moment he killed the Single-Blade Swordsman just now, the system reward was instantly delivered.

One trait required saving lives.

Another trait required taking them.

What a stark contrast.

Once Liang Jin figured out how this [Clairvoyance] worked, a surge of interest immediately welled up within him.

His gaze shifted, locking onto the pimp and a group of courtesans not far away.

Without hesitation, Liang Jin grasped his spear and walked toward the pimp.

The pimp was frightened out of his wits.

He wanted to flee, but his legs turned to jelly and he collapsed onto his backside.

Left with no other choice, he hurriedly scrambled to his knees and began to kowtow and beg for mercy:

"Hero, spare my life! Hero, spare my life!"

Regardless, I was only forced by that Single-Blade Swordsman, so—"

The iron spear halted right at the tip of his nose, cutting his words short in an instant.

Liang Jin asked:

"What is your name?"

The pimp hastily replied:

"Everyone calls this humble one Old Man Zhang."

Whether this was a real name or a nickname mattered little.

Liang Jin typed Old Man Zhang into the interface.

Information quickly popped up:

[Target: Old Man Zhang]

[Location: Thatched Shack]

[Strength: None]

[Martial Arts: None]

Liang Jin glanced at the avatar on the interface, then compared it with the pimp, confirming it matched. It seemed the pimp had not lied.

Without pause, Liang Jin continued to ask:

"Tell me the names of all those horse bandits from earlier."

How dare the pimp conceal anything? He rushed to blurt out the names of every single horse bandit in one breath.

Liang Jin entered all these names into the [Clairvoyance] interface as well, locking down the locations of those horse bandits.

"Well done."

Liang Jin offered a word of praise.

The pimp thought he had secured a path to survival and opened his mouth to express his gratitude.

Yet the very next second.

The iron spear pierced right through the bridge of his nose and drove deep into his skull.

Fresh blood welled up, covering the pimp's frozen, ingratiating expression.

As Liang Jin withdrew the iron spear, the pimp's corpse collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"Ah!!!"

The courtesans shrieked in terror.

Liang Jin flicked the blood off the iron spear, then swept his gaze across the group of courtesans:

"Those of you who came to mock and tease me earlier, step forward."

Earlier, in order to prepare for his battle against the Single-Blade Swordsman, Liang Jin had closed his eyes and meditated in the middle of the clearing to attain his peak state.

Yet a few courtesans had strolled over to humiliate and tease him; Liang Jin had killed one of them just to temporarily frighten the rest away.

Now, it was time to thoroughly settle the scores.

The trait of [Clairvoyance] also happened to require killing a few more people to claim its rewards.

Several courtesans tried to cower backward, only to be shoved forward by their companions.

Immediately, these courtesans also began to weep and plead, claiming they had merely been acting under the pimp's orders.

Liang Jin merely said with icy indifference:

"State your names."

Once the courtesans finished reciting their names, Liang Jin tightened his grip on the long spear in his hand.

Just as Liang Jin was about to strike.

Liu Yuan suddenly stepped in to block him:

"Don't kill them, they truly had no choice in the matter."

"Could you grant me this favor, for my sake?"

Liang Jin looked at Liu Yuan indifferently, then typed her name into the system interface.

Information popped up instantly:

[Target: Liu Yuan]

[Location: Thatched Shack]

[Strength: None]

[Martial Arts: None]

Comparing the portrait with the living person revealed no discrepancies.

This actually surprised Liang Jin somewhat; he had not expected this Liu Yuan to be using her real name.

And what surprised Liang Jin even more was that Liu Yuan genuinely possessed no martial arts.

One must remember that just moments ago, when Liang Jin and the Single-Blade Swordsman had pushed their momentum to the peak and were on the verge of striking, Liu Yuan's outburst of vulgar curses had helped Liang Jin immensely.

It was precisely that insult that caused the Single-Blade Swordsman's momentum to falter and his concentration to shatter.

And Liang Jin had seized that opening to take the upper hand, slaying the Single-Blade Swordsman in one fell swoop.

Had Liu Yuan not intervened in the nick of time, the final outcome might have been unpredictable.

Yet therein lay the question.

If Liu Yuan were a martial artist, she might have been able to discern the critical moment and lend a hand.

Instead, she clearly knew no martial arts—could it be that she was naturally sensitive to momentum, allowing her to grasp the optimal moment to curse?

Or was it merely a coincidence?

Liang Jin spoke up:

"Your favor, I will not grant."

These words startled Liu Yuan and the courtesans slightly.

However, Liang Jin immediately followed up by saying:

"But the debt I owe you is considered repaid. From this moment on, we are even."

Putting aside what Liu Yuan's motive for helping might have been, her timely curse had indeed aided Liang Jin at a crucial moment.

Therefore, Liang Jin acknowledged this favor.

Having taken this opportunity to repay the debt, Liang Jin no longer wished to have any further entanglements with her.

Liu Yuan's expression turned complex, and she seemed as though she wanted to say something more.

Yet Liang Jin had already turned around and walked away.

First, he arrived beside the corpse of the Single-Blade Swordsman and searched it thoroughly.

Aside from some silver taels, only the man's sabre was of decent quality, and Liang Jin naturally accepted these spoils without courtesy.

It was only a pity that there was no manual for the Single-Blade Swordsman's technique.

Though, upon reflection, it made sense: since the Single-Blade Swordsman had cultivated his blade technique to the eighth tier, the manual would have long since been committed to memory, rendering a physical book completely unnecessary.

Following that, Liang Jin went to the stables, randomly led out two horses, and packed provisions of dry rations and water.

Liang Jin cared little whose horses these were, but he was certain no one would dare to stop him right now.

He then swung himself into the saddle, hung the iron spear on the horse, and prepared to ride out of the thatched shack.

Gao Hongzhe anxiously asked:

"Brother Meng, where are you headed?"

Seated upon the horse's back, Liang Jin could hardly announce that he was off to commit murder to earn system rewards.

Instead, he replied in a righteous and solemn tone:

"To purge evil to the very last root."

"Although the Single-Blade Swordsman is dead, those horse bandits who escaped will inevitably continue to plague the common folk."

"I am going after them now to hunt them down and leave behind no future perils."

With those words, Liang Jin flicked the reins and spurred his horse forward.

Relying on the function of [Clairvoyance], not a single one of those horse bandits would be able to escape.

Gao Hongzhe watched Liang Jin's departing back, unable to stop himself from sincerely praising:

"Brother Meng is truly a righteous hero!"

"To be acquainted with such a hero is Gao Hongzhe's great fortune across three lifetimes."

With that, he hurriedly shouted toward Liang Jin's retreating figure:

"Hey! Brother Meng, I shall wait for you right here at the thatched shack! I await your triumphant return from suppressing the bandits!"

............

............

Imperial Palace.

Liang Jin's true body was still bitterly stuck guard duty.

"The world outside the imperial palace is truly so much freer and more exciting!"

As he experienced the trials and travels of his two avatars, a deep sense of envy arose within him.

If not for the fact that he needed to stand guard and check-in to continuously acquire system rewards to strengthen himself and establish a foothold in this world,

he would have long since abandoned this oppressive and grim ghost of a place.

At that moment.

A series of footsteps echoed.

Liang Jin looked in the direction of the sound, only to see squad leader Wu Huan approaching.

This caused Liang Jin to frown slightly.

Ever since the time he had given Wu Huan a thorough beating, the two of them had not spoken for a long time.

Wu Huan had treated Liang Jin as if he were completely invisible, never once seeking him out on his own accord.

Today, for Wu Huan to suddenly appear here, it was certain he had not come without a purpose.

Wu Huan wore an awkward expression, forcing a sheepish smile:

"Liang Jin, among everyone in our squad, your guard duty is undeniably the most diligent."

"How are you feeling today? Are you tired? Would you like me to rearrange a better post for you?"

"Rest assured, I won't take any silver from you. Just pick whichever spot you fancy around the Nanxun Hall and let me know."

Liang Jin looked at him indifferently, offering no response.

This caused the smile on Wu Huan's face to stiffen slightly.

He had originally had no intention of seeking out Liang Jin, but he had been driven to it by sheer desperation.

Thus, he could only force a continued smile and say:

"We might have had a minor conflict before, but it's completely normal for imperial guards to occasionally come to blows. Once it's past, it's past."

"You and I are brothers-in-arms, so that matter... could we just let bygones be bygones?"

Liang Jin gave a faint smile:

"Squad Leader Wu, if you have something to say, speak your mind."

Wu Huan glanced around, confirming there was nobody else in the vicinity, before leaning in closer and lowering his voice:

"By now, you must have caught wind of the high-level shifts happening within the imperial guard recently, haven't you?"