The Bounty List was once merely a jianghu organization, with many of its bounty hunters being wanted criminals. However, the sudden rise of Piaomiao Villa dealt a massive blow to the Bounty List. Coupled with government crackdowns, it nearly faced annihilation. Later, when the government’s attention was diverted by Piaomiao Villa, the Bounty List managed to survive. But having suffered severe damage and lacking leadership, it had been virtually extinct for years.
The Bounty List’s resurgence was a recent development, occurring only in the past year or two. Someone had recruited many jianghu assassins with hefty rewards and issued numerous high-bounty missions, gradually attracting the attention of more reclusive bounty hunters.
Although Sheng Changying was no longer at Konghe Court, he understood their methods of information transmission and often intercepted messages. With nothing else to do, he took pleasure in intercepting news. Thus, despite living on an island, he wasn’t isolated from information. Instead, he was even more aware of jianghu news.
An Jiu, using the map Sheng Changying provided, easily found her destination.
This place was a bustling market by day, where officials had been posting notices on the most prominent wall for over a decade.
An Jiu, her face covered with a black cloth, hid in an alley.
This street wasn’t a night market, so there were few pedestrians after dark. At night, it was eerily quiet, with only the whisper of wind through the alleys.
Near midnight, a masked figure carrying a scroll arrived at the wall.
Without using her spiritual power, An Jiu could sense movement around her. After the person posted the list and left, people began to appear gradually.
An Jiu then stepped out.
Though over thirty people stood on the street, it was eerily quiet, as if no one was there. If an ordinary person witnessed this scene, they would surely think they had encountered ghosts.
When they saw a black silk cloth posted on the wall, some first-time bounty hunters couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “There’s even a Black List!”
The Bounty List was divided into three levels: White, Red, and Black. White Lists were for general personal vendettas, with prices usually under 20,000 taels of silver. Red Lists might involve officials, wealthy merchants, or major bandits, with higher danger and prices of up to 150,000 taels of silver. Black Lists only showed prices without task details, open to those with courage and ability, with prices listed in gold.
Since the Bounty List had been re-established for less than two years, there were few experts above the eighth rank among the martial artists vying for bounties. Even Red Lists were rarely posted, let alone Black Lists.
“This Black List has been up for over two months. Someone took it three days ago,” another person said quietly. “It’s been posted again today, so that person must be dead.”
Among the bounty hunters, An Jiu appeared particularly small and thin, buried in the crowd, stretching her neck to see the contents of the list.
Five white cloths and one black cloth hung on the wall, each listing brief target information and prices.
Prices ranged from 200 taels to 150,000 taels, all for notorious figures. The white cloths showed prices between 200 and 10,000 taels. The black cloth listed 150,000 taels but didn’t specify the target details. Sheng Changying hadn’t explained these things in detail, but seeing others’ reactions, An Jiu understood that the Black List must be an extremely dangerous mission.
An Jiu didn’t want to risk her life. She focused on the 6,000-tael bounty, targeting the leader of a bandit group with seventh-rank martial arts skills.
She slowly released her spiritual power. Most of the surrounding bounty hunters had sixth or seventh-rank skills. There were many ways to kill besides confrontation. They could all be potential competitors for this target.
Following custom, after reading the list contents, everyone retreated ten zhang to wait for the midnight bell.
Under the silver moonlight, the atmosphere was tense like a drawn bowstring in the dead silence.
Time ticked by, and soon everyone caught the faint sound from afar.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
As soon as the night watch sounded, the previously statue-like bounty hunters moved with lightning speed.
An Jiu didn’t rush forward. She stood still, focusing intently on her chosen bounty. A few others beside her also remained stationary.
Rushing in now would inevitably lead to confrontations with others, wasting time and energy. It was better to wait until the initial scramble died down before making a move.
Others rushed forward because this competition had a time limit. The night watchman would walk towards them from two li away, stopping periodically. It would take about two incense sticks’ time, and the bounty hunters’ actions couldn’t be seen by the watchman. This meant they had to obtain the bounty within two incense sticks’ time; after that, even if they got it, it would be meaningless.
Those who remained still were either trying their luck or confident in their superior skills.
An Jiu listened to the night watch sounds while observing the fight before her.
The fight quickly split into five groups.
The 6,000-tael bounty was snatched by a burly man wearing a bamboo hat, with six others fighting him for it.
An Jiu noticed that although they fought, no one was aiming to kill. She thought this might be a rule of bounty-snatching.
This discovery was highly unfavorable for her! Without aiming to kill the target, she didn’t know how to fight.
While she hesitated, the few people beside her moved. A seventh-rank expert charged straight for the 6,000-tael bounty, taking down one opponent with a single move. His swift and fierce actions showed he was a seasoned veteran.
An Jiu noticed the night watchman had already covered most of the distance. Only one incense stick’s time left!
No more time to think! If she couldn’t rely on martial prowess alone, then…
An Jiu charged forward. In the blink of an eye, the bounty was in the seventh-rank expert’s hand.
“A little girl with external cultivation dares to play at bounty-snatching?” He chuckled softly, inevitably underestimating her.
An Jiu’s spiritual power surged with her movement, suddenly attacking him. The man froze, finding himself completely immobilized and unable to counterattack! An Jiu grabbed the bounty, tucked it into her clothes, and retreated dozens of steps in an instant.
This concentrated burst of spiritual power rivaled her usual spiritual arrow in intensity. It didn’t disperse outwards, so to unknowing observers, the scene appeared as if the seventh-rank expert had willingly handed over the bounty without resistance.
After a moment of mental blankness, the seventh-rank martial artist reacted with shock in his eyes. Knowing his limits, he didn’t try to snatch it back. Instead, he spoke respectfully, “I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Please forgive me, Senior.”
He believed that someone with such terrifying spiritual power couldn’t possibly be a young girl.
An Jiu didn’t waste words and turned to leave.
Some of those he had knocked down earlier were preparing to snatch the bounty again, but hearing his words, they hesitated.
“Senior, with such impressive skills, why not take the Black List?” the seventh-rank martial artist asked.
The entire scene fell silent as everyone looked at An Jiu.
Earlier, all had been focused on snatching the bounty and hadn’t noticed anything unusual. Now, hearing these words, they realized something was off. The small woman leaving alone seemed like air – if not for seeing her back, they wouldn’t have sensed her presence at all.
This seemed like… a master who had reached the State of Emptiness.