97: Chapter 97 With money in my pocket, I have nothing to fear.

"Look at this cut; although it's deep, the edges are uneven. This shows the strike wasn't fast enough, or the blade wasn't sharp enough." Tiger Li stood up and clapped his hands. "Moreover, the killer's method was very simple—pure brute force. Even when facing a siege by three guards, he just used a direct horizontal sweep, relying on sheer strength to smash them to death."

Tiger Li stroked his chin and made his final deduction:

"The killer should be a Body Tempering Realm expert, possibly even at Major Achievement. But he isn't skilled in saber techniques, or perhaps he practices with some kind of heavy weapon, like a hammer or a staff. Last night was likely a spur-of-the-moment act or a grudge, and he just grabbed a crappy saber and came over."

Chen Mo looked impressed: "Brother Li is brilliant! You saw through it at a single glance."

"There's more." Tiger Li pointed toward the master bedroom. "The money was taken. Seven or eight hundred taels. But the killer didn't touch those two servant girls. This shows that while the person is ruthless, they aren't lecherous. They might even have... a bit of a chivalrous heart?"

Speaking of the word "chivalrous," Tiger Li laughed at himself.

Killing dozens of people in an entire household and still being called chivalrous?

"Then this case..." Chen Mo asked tentatively.

Tiger Li waved his hand: "Investigate my ass. A killer of this strength targeting a piece of trash like Steward Zhao is clearly a Jianghu vendetta. Our City Guard Department is fine for handling petty theft, but we can't afford to provoke this kind of 'crossing dragon.' Report it as a 'Jianghu vendetta, killer at large,' and close the case."

Chen Mo nodded: "Understood. Better to have one less thing to worry about."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

This was officialdom.

This was the way of the world.

As long as it didn't involve the interests of those above, the death of a local wealthy man was like the death of a dog; no one would care.

...

At night.

Chen Mo returned home.

He closed the doors and windows tightly.

He emptied the heavy cloth bag onto the table.

*Clatter.*

Gold and silver light intertwined, dazzling the eyes.

One hundred gold leaves, each weighing one tael—that was the purchasing power of a thousand taels of silver. Plus those several large silver ingots.

This haul made him rich.

Chen Mo picked up a Gold Leaf, blew on it, and listened to the pleasant humming sound.

"I have money now."

The previous tight, anxious feeling was swept away.

With this money, he wouldn't have to worry about Cultivation resources for a while. He could even go to the Inner City's black market to trade for some more Advanced Medicinal Pills, or... get a good saber.

The standard-issue long saber in his hand really couldn't keep up with his strength anymore.

Chen Mo stacked the gold leaves one by one and hid them in a Secret Compartment under the bed—he had learned this from Steward Zhao: the most dangerous place is the safest.

After finishing all this, he sat in the darkness, looking at the moonlight outside the window.

There was no panic after killing, nor was there wild joy after sudden wealth.

There was only a faint indifference.

The Zhao Residence last night was a microcosm of this world.

The strong prey on the weak.

Steward Zhao was strong, so he could ravage those young girls at will.

Chen Mo was stronger than Steward Zhao, so he could slaughter Steward Zhao at will and take everything he owned.

The logic was that simple.

So simple it made one feel cold.

"The Inner City..."

Chen Mo murmured to himself.

With money and strength, the small pond of the Outer City could no longer contain him.

He had to go see the Inner City.

To see what that more prosperous, more cruel, more soul-devouring place actually looked like.

Chen Mo closed his eyes and began to circulate the Hunyuan Iron Cloth Skill.

The Qi and blood in his body surged like a river entering the sea.

No matter how chaotic the world became.

A hard fist was the only truth.

With money in his pocket, his heart didn't panic.

The purchasing power of a thousand taels of silver could buy several streets' worth of lives in the Outer City, but in Chen Mo's eyes, this was just a ticket to a higher Realm.

The pharmacies in the Outer City were for treating the poor, selling nothing but roots and bark. The true great medicines used to refine skin and strengthen bones and tendons were all in the Inner City.

Chen Mo changed his outfit.

A black satin martial arts suit with tightly bound sleeves and a pair of thick-soled cowhide boots. He didn't hang that chipped, broken saber at his waist, leaving it empty instead.

He was going to the Inner City to stock up.

Pingyang City was very large.

Walking from the slums in the west of the city where Chen Mo lived toward the center was like flipping through a living atlas of social classes.

The first few streets out the door were muddy pits, the air floating with the smell of slop and waste. The people by the roadside had dull eyes, like some kind of plants waiting to rot.

After walking five li, the road became harder, paved with gravel. There were more shops on the street, and the pedestrians had a bit of color in their faces; though they were still in a hurry, they at least looked human.

Another five li.

The road turned into green bricks. The houses on both sides changed from low-slung mud-brick huts to two-story wooden buildings. The respectable people of the Outer City lived here—small merchants, peddlers, or local wealthy men like Steward Zhao.

Chen Mo's pace was very fast.

The physique of a Body Tempering Realm Major Achievement made him walk like the wind. A journey that would take an ordinary person an hour took him only fifteen minutes.

Ahead, a black line cut across his vision.

That was the wall of the Inner City.

Only when he got close did Chen Mo feel the oppressive weight of this thing.

High, too high.

It was a full thirty meters high, like a giant crouching there looking down on all living beings.

The most ridiculous thing wasn't the height, but the material.

This wall wasn't built of bricks; it seemed to be piled from solid blocks of some black rock, with molten iron poured into the crevices. When the sun hit it, it didn't reflect light but absorbed it instead, shimmering with a cold, metallic luster.

At the base of the wall was a terrifyingly wide moat.

The water was green and bottomless. There were no bridges, only several massive winch-operated drawbridges, currently lowered like the tongues of giant beasts.

"Truly..."

Chen Mo stood by the river, looking up at the dark, oppressive city wall, a curse popping into his mind.

This was the Inner City.

A single wall split Pingyang City into two worlds.

Outside the wall was a quagmire, a jungle, a place where people ate people.

Inside the wall was paradise, order, a place for the elite.

This wall wasn't to defend against foreign enemies; it was to keep out the poor ghosts from outside.

Chen Mo walked onto the drawbridge.

Two rows of armored soldiers stood at the city gate.

Unlike those crooked Runners in the Outer City, these soldiers were each over 1.8 meters tall, wearing polished scale armor, the tips of the long spears in their hands glinting coldly.

Their eyes were arrogant, looking at everyone as if they were thieves.

"Halt."

An armored soldier leveled his spear, blocking Chen Mo.

"What's your business?"

Chen Mo didn't waste words; he pulled out the bronze waist token representing the Constable of the West City Runner Office from his robe and gave it a shake.

"Official business."

The soldier glanced at the waist token, snorted through his nose, and pulled back his spear.

"Go in."

The soldier pointed to a nearby hourglass. "Remember, Outer City Runners are not allowed to stay overnight in the Inner City without orders. You must get the hell out before sunset. Otherwise, if you're caught by the patrolling Black Robe Guards, they'll break your legs and throw you into the moat."

"I know the rules."

Chen Mo put away the waist token and stepped through the deep gateway.

One step out.

The world changed.

The clamor instantly vanished, replaced by a prosperity that was not at all noisy.