Chapter 122: Instructing Novices, Secretly Tracking Traces

"Zhou You, you no longer need to serve as the eldest young lady's bodyguard."

Just what he needed.

Zhou You had originally been fretting over how to sneak out to gather information while having to stay by Wang Yan's side every step of the way.

Brothels are places that Zang filth and hide dirt; he had to act in secret to be able to inquire.

Unexpectedly, after a few days, the matter Lu Qiang wanted to discuss with him was actually about stepping down from his guard duty.

"Zhong Shaoying volunteered and pleaded repeatedly, so the master agreed."

Once Zhou You heard this, it was no wonder; with a Blood-Qi Warrior protecting her, what need was there for apprentices like them?

That sycophant Zhong Shaoying is truly deeply infatuated with the eldest young lady!

Since that is the case...

Lu Qiang said again, "More new students have come to the Outer Courtyard to learn boxing. I can't handle it alone and need a few apprentices to help lead them and provide Instruction in one or two introductory boxing techniques."

"Hmm, you and Xu Ying come over to help me!"

Teaching novices? Zhou You felt this task was quite good; at least it was much better than waiting on people.

Only after inquiring did he learn that because the Flower-Plucking Thief had caused widespread panic, families in the city were scrambling to learn boxing for self-protection.

In previous years, the number of new apprentices in the martial arts hall's Outer Courtyard hovered around 100, sometimes as few as 80 or 90, and at most over 100.

For example, when Zhou You first entered, there were 97 Disciples in the Outer Courtyard.

These new apprentices were all transient; once the three-month term was up, they either became full members or went home.

Zhou You arrived at the Outer Courtyard on the appointed day and discovered the number of people exceeded his expectations.

The population density of the Outer Courtyard looked as if it had doubled.

"Stop counting, I already inquired clearly—over 160 people."

Xu Ying spoke to Zhou You in a low voice, "Dealing with these greenhorns is a headache."

Zhou You couldn't help but laugh; he rubbed the back of his head. Two years ago, he was also a greenhorn in the eyes of Senior Brother Xu Ying.

"From now on, these two Senior Brothers, Xu Ying and Zhou You, will assist me in teaching you the Tiger-Subduing Boxing."

Lu Qiang announced their names, and the new students were immediately stirred, whispering and murmuring to each other.

"Xu Ying, I've heard of him, he..."

More new students were talking about Zhou You, the renowned Winged Tiger.

"Winged Tiger Zhou You, I joined the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall just for him."

"I heard the Flower-Plucking Thief had an arm severed by him, and the blood flowed with a 'whoosh' everywhere."

"Don't fight me for him, I want to follow him."

Zhou You felt a bit awkward; the rumors were too outrageous. He had only scratched the Flower-Plucking Thief's arm; there was no such thing as a severed arm.

Beside him, Xu Ying felt a bit jealous and said sourly, "Zhou You, you can be considered a person with a name and a reputation."

A "nobody" in the eyes of the world does not mean they lack a given name, but that they lack a title.

People are born with names; in childhood, there are nicknames, and upon growing up, there are formal names and aliases.

A nickname or honorific is a qualification earned only after reaching a certain height and achieving some success, equivalent to a medal.

Winged Tiger, though a bit rustic, allowed Zhou You to shed the role of a "nobody."

Xu Ying also possessed skilled strength and had more seniority than him, yet he lacked the title of Winged Tiger, so most of these incoming students were set on Zhou You.

Lu Qiang saw everything; why did he ask for Zhou You? Wasn't it for this? The tuition fees of new apprentices were one of the martial arts hall's key sources of income.

Every martial arts hall had its own storefront sign to attract sign-ups for boxing lessons.

Zhou You's fame as the Winged Tiger, combined with his solid foundation, made teaching new students a way to kill two birds with one stone.

"Study the boxing well; in time, you might be able to achieve success and fame just like these two Senior Brothers."

Hearing Lu Qiang's words, the new students' hearts grew hot, and their eyes shone bright.

Zhou You understood in his heart: of the familiar faces from when he first entered, how many remained now? Practicing boxing and martial arts is a process of eliminating one's peers step by step, walking alone to the end through unseen blood and storms. By evening, the day's busyness ended.

Zhou You left the martial arts hall and transformed into the appearance of Lu Zhigang.

He pretended to be slightly tipsy from alcohol, stumbling as he walked along the busiest flower street in the city.

Along the way, prostitutes kept soliciting him, "Master, come in and play!"

Some even began to fight and bicker, "You shameless bitch, how dare you steal business from me."

Pulling hair, spitting, pinching chests—they tore at each other until their hairpins were scattered and their bosoms half-exposed.

Passing lechers watched the fun, jeering and shouting; the scene was extremely lively.

Zhou You walked slowly with his head down, and a Trial Project appeared on his interface: Capture or slay the Flower-Plucking Thief.

The bounty offered in the city had already accumulated to an astronomical figure, and countless people gasped in amazement upon hearing it.

Before the Xu family's concubine-born daughter was harmed, the bounty was estimated at 70,000 to 80,000 taels; after the Flower-Plucking Thief killed her, the noble families in the city were furious and rounded it up to a flat number.

A total bounty of 100,000 taels of real gold and silver was deposited in the city's largest silver shop.

Whether the Flower-Plucking Thief is dead or alive, in pieces or whole, as long as he is brought to the silver shop to cash in, one can take away the astronomical bounty.

For an ordinary family in the city, in the best of circumstances, they could save 10 taels a year.

That is to say, one would need to live for ten thousand years to save up this bounty.

Wealth moves people's hearts! Not only the Hunting Teams, but many civilian martial artists also spontaneously organized themselves to hunt down the Flower-Plucking Thief everywhere.

Recently, the Flower-Plucking Thief has been wounded; it is the perfect opportunity to beat a drowning dog.

Zhou You walked silently, seeing martial artists with heavy footsteps passing by the street from time to time.

Not only on the flower street, but martial artists were patrolling every street in the city, searching for traces of the Flower-Plucking Thief.

The higher-ups used the sky-high bounty as bait, mobilizing so many desperate people without spending a single cent of their own.

In a word: brilliant! Zhou You realized he was also one of them, and his goal became even more firm.

The higher one climbs, the more resources one can mobilize; this is what is meant by using four ounces to move a thousand pounds.

And for now, he is still in the stage of primitive accumulation.

Continuing to grope along Flower Street, walking 700 or 800 meters, suddenly...

"Trial Project (Three-Star Level): Capture alive or execute the Flower-Plucking Thief."

This line of text glowed with a faint red light; this was already the third time a similar situation had occurred.

The first time was when the Flower-Plucking Thief took Captain Chang's daughter, and the second time was at Zeng Fu, when the Flower-Plucking Thief attempted to take away Miss Zeng.

Both times were the same situation—the Flower-Plucking Thief was nearby.

Zhou You suppressed the excitement in his heart, covered his mouth, and stumbled forward.

As the red light grew stronger and then weaker, the location of the Flower-Plucking Thief had been generally narrowed down.

It was near the latter half of Flower Street.

This area was slightly remote, far from the prime sections, filled with low-end brothels, and even had freelancers who solicited customers with just a single room and a wooden bed.

The place where the red light was most intense was a cluster of subdivided rental bungalows, where the tenants were, without exception, unlicensed prostitutes.

The question was, which room exactly? "There's a prostitute with a half-open door who took in a new customer a few days ago and got her body wrecked."

"She had a menstrual hemorrhage, it was truly miserable, the whole room was a bloody mess, and the landlord stands at the door cursing all day!"

"Lately, she hasn't been taking customers either, just lying in bed recovering and taking medicine!"

Two prostitutes at the street corner were blowing in the cold wind, chatting about a certain unlucky colleague.

Zhou You's eyes were incomparably bright in the dark night.

Found you, Flower-Plucking Thief!

(End of this chapter)