Chapter 31: Bounty
“The Divine Marquis Estate must be where the gods reside!”
“Yeah, as soon as Anguo Temple was burned down, the Divine Marquis Estate immediately knew who the culprit was—it's even more omniscient than the heavens!”
“Shh, keep your voice down. If you speak so loudly, the Divine Marquis Estate might hear you.”
“Where can we worship the Divine Marquis Estate? Temples only have Bodhisattvas. Could it be that only Taoist temples have them?”
“I think we should still go to a temple. Look, once Anguo Temple was burned, the Divine Marquis Estate issued a bounty right away. That means the gods acknowledge the status of the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas… pfft pfft, the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are gods! May Guanyin Bodhisattva forgive this disciple’s blasphemous words.”
“Why not just directly worship the spirit tablet of the Divine Marquis Estate? Maybe it’ll show a miracle…”
Inside the Duke of Jin’s estate, two maids were whispering to each other as they walked down the corridor, not noticing that the young lady, Medicine Master Wen, was staring at them with wide eyes.
Shock was written all over her delicate and proud face.
She had already changed into a wide-sleeved ruqun, with a shawl and high-piled hair bun, looking exactly like a refined young lady of a noble household who never stepped beyond the inner courtyard.
Even if a monk from Anguo Temple came by, he would never recognize her.
Before Medicine Master Wen could question the maids, the steward came to inform her that she could now enter the study of Changqiu Study.
She could only temporarily suppress her curiosity and go report the situation to her father first.
Inside Changqiu Study, Medicine Master Mo Ke sat upright in the hall, looking quite weary.
When he saw his daughter enter, he only nodded slightly and silently pointed at the paper on the desk.
Medicine Master Wen picked it up and saw that it was a wanted poster.
On the bounty poster was a person wearing a Black Wolf mask.
Even though only the hair and eyes were visible, anyone could see the fierce and dominant aura of the depicted figure.
“Suspect No. 2”
“Description: Wears a black wolf-shaped mask, uses a collapsible refined steel spear.”
“Crime: Involvement in the Anguo Temple robbery case.”
“Threat Level: Near Third-Stage combat power.”
“Reward for Execution: 30,000 Spirit Jade or Advanced Spearmanship Mastery Manual.”
“Deadline: Within thirty days from the issuance of the bounty order.”
“Once the bounty is completed, an envoy will guide the righteous person into the Divine Marquis Estate to collect the reward.”
“There are four of these wanted posters, aren’t there?” Medicine Master Wen asked. “Where are they posted?”
“At every city gate in Chang’an, and they cannot be torn down. The ones I have are copied by artists.”
Medicine Master Mo Ke raised one finger. “Tonight, you must leave Chang’an. Yanta, Weiyang, or Lianhu—which do you want to go to?”
The three places Mo Ke mentioned were all secret realms controlled by the royal family of Great Zhou, and the resources produced were all of Second-Stage level.
Going there would not only help Wen avoid the heat, but also allow her to train in the secret realm.
But Wen was a bit puzzled. “Is that really necessary? Could anyone really link that wanted poster to me?”
Although Wen secretly oversaw the Embroidered Guard, wore the Ming Wang Armor, and was already a Second-Stage Messenger at a young age, on the surface she was just the pampered daughter of the Duke of Jin and rarely went out.
Aside from her father’s trusted aides, hardly anyone outside knew her, let alone had seen her.
Mainly because Wen believed most of the noble offspring in Chang’an were nothing but useless fools.
Rather than forming ties with them, she preferred to promote loyal warriors from decent families.
“They can.” Mo Ke said, “There are countless tokens in the world, many capable of tracking people. I know several myself.”
“Now that the wanted poster is out, hermit clans, spies from noble families, and talented individuals within Chang’an will all come out to trace your whereabouts.”
“Right now, only secret realms guarded by heavy troops can ensure your safety.”
“Is it really that serious?” Wen glanced at the wanted poster. “But the reward for killing me is only thirty thousand Spirit Jade or a manual… that’s not worth much to the great clans.”
“The bounty isn’t what matters,” said Mo Ke. “What matters is that completing it gives one a chance to enter the Divine Marquis Estate.”
Wen was stunned. “The Divine Marquis Estate is the name of a secret realm?”
“It is a very, very important secret realm.” Mo Ke paused. “If one can obtain a chance to enter the Divine Marquis Estate, almost all Third-Stage Messengers in the world would be willing to pay any price.”
Wen’s expression finally changed.
Wherever they were, Third-Stage Messengers were absolute figures of prominence—ceiling existences mere mortals could never reach.
Fame, women, status, family—they could easily acquire them all.
If something could make them give up everything to pursue it… there must only be one such thing.
She did not continue questioning and prepared to pack her luggage.
Before leaving, Wen recalled something and asked cautiously, “Did you just hear… the Divine Marquis Estate’s announcement?”
“It rang three times in total.”
Mo Ke tapped the table. “At first I thought it could only be heard near Chang’an, but the fact that you heard it while inside the Secret Realm · Thieves’ House means…”
“The range of the announcement covers the entire world—even inside secret realms.” Wen murmured.
No wonder the maids were so excited, even viewing the Divine Marquis Estate as gods.
They were at least servants of a ducal household, more knowledgeable than ordinary officials, and yet were instantly captivated by the ‘miracle’ of the Divine Marquis Estate.
Yes, a miracle.
Though it only spoke three sentences and posted a wanted notice, the power the Divine Marquis Estate revealed far exceeded anything they had seen from any Messenger.
Because the power of Messengers could only influence a small area, but the Divine Marquis Estate could directly speak to them.
It was as if the Divine Marquis Estate was watching the entire world—watching each and every one of them.
Wen could imagine it now.
At this moment in Chang’an—no, across the whole world—countless ignorant men and women were praying to the Divine Marquis Estate.
The clay statues at home never spoke, the bronze figures in temples never showed compassion.
They had knelt a thousand times and bowed ten thousand times, worshipping day and night.
Now that a real god had appeared, how could they not be fanatical?
Looking at his silent daughter, Mo Ke suddenly felt that perhaps this was a good thing.
Now that the situation had blown up, this highly opinionated and capable daughter should finally feel some fear, understand she couldn’t make decisions alone, realize when to ask her father for help.
Then he could properly lecture her about how hard he worked, and maybe her wild heart would settle down.
Future marriage arrangements might go more smoothly...
But what Mo Ke saw instead was his daughter slowly clenching her fist, the corners of her mouth curving upward, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“To think it would be like this.” Wen took a deep breath, smiling unconsciously. “To think it could be like this!”
“Either become a laughingstock for eternity, or become a legend known far and wide? How interesting.”
She turned to Mo Ke, somewhat puzzled. “Since we both heard the announcement, Father, why didn’t you ask me whether I got the legendary token Bingzi Pepper Forest?”
Seeing his daughter react this way, Mo Ke sighed inwardly and handed her another wanted poster.
“What?”
The moment she took it, Wen clenched it tightly, her eyes nearly shooting out flames.
“Why is his bounty so much higher than mine?!”