Why do I have so many masters?

Wang Anfeng had no idea what the man before him was thinking. Originally, he had taken him for just an ordinary thief, but when the mystical smoke came in, he sensed something was amiss.

What kind of thief would use such a potent sleeping drug?

It was enough to cause quite a reaction in his Mixed Yuan Skill.

With suspicions arising in his heart, he lightly touched the blade of his short knife to Liang Jingxuan's throat and asked,

"What are you here for?"

Liang Jingxuan had already been scared out of his wits, especially because the blade was waving in front of him, which is why he didn't dare to speak loudly and lowered his voice.

He then clearly informed Wang Anfeng of his identity, how he had come across the notice at the Fire Refining Sect, and why he had come here. Anfeng's face remained unchanged, but he was already seventy percent convinced and reflexively stuck the short knife into the ground.

The blade stopped just inches from Liang Jingxuan's body, emitting a low hum, startling him so much that his heart skipped a beat. He nearly thought the young man in front of him planned to take his life, turning pale. He was stunned for a moment before he snapped back to reality, his breathing slightly rushed.

Wang Anfeng stood up and smiled at Liang Jingxuan, causing the latter's heart to quake.

Then, he turned and walked toward the doorway.

Liang Jingxuan heaved a sigh of relief. His tense body slackened, understanding that the library guardian here likely didn't intend to take his life. Now, amidst his fright, he was covered in cold sweat, sticky and extremely uncomfortable. He shifted slightly and suddenly realized that there wasn't a single sound coming from his ears.

Startled, he looked up to see that the man called an average Qinggong practitioner made no sound whatsoever with each step he took, not knowing what trick he used. He wasn't slow, yet his clothes didn't even flutter, showing a lightness in body akin to a ghost, something rarely seen in his life.

Liang Jingxuan's mouth fell open as he looked at the incense stick that was not yet fully burnt and suddenly felt despair.

Average Qinggong?

Average Qinggong my ass…

How had he earlier thought that he could get his hands on those fifty thousand taels of silver?

Was his mind clouded by lard?

Fight, but he couldn't beat him.

Play dirty tricks, but he couldn't outplay him.

Even the light body techniques he was so proud of were no match for him.

Liang Jingxuan felt drained, sitting on the ground, listless. At that moment, he seemed to return to his youth, planning to sneak out, facing his master just like that, filled with a sense of powerlessness and despair from being utterly outmatched.

What he didn't know, the other did.

What he was skilled at, others played even better.

How could he fight this?

This was damn futile!

Even an immortal would have no chance.

While he was thinking this, a very familiar voice suddenly reached his ears. Liang Jingxuan shuddered and looked up to see that through the small door past the furnishings of the inner room, he saw Wang Anfeng leaning by the door in the dimly lit wooden hut, speaking again with that familiar voice:

"Come in."

"It's been taken care of."

Liang Jingxuan's pupils dilated even further.
Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

This voice—it was his own voice!

His heart raced, and in an instant, he understood Wang Anfeng's intention. Though his own dealings were not clean, he had known the fat man for a long time. He was about to shout when Wang Anfeng, as if sensing something, turned around to look at him.

There was no light in the room, but Liang Jingxuan's cultivation of the Pupil Skill allowed him to see in the dark. In his unique vision tinged with shades of blue and purple, the youth in blue stood tall like bamboo, with eyes like two drawn swords, so cold and sharp they were unbearable to look at directly.

His expression was rather serene, but it was this serenity that made Liang Jingxuan shiver with fear. The short dagger hanging upside-down by his thigh seemed to shriek, as if a cold chill penetrated the fabric of his clothes straight to his core. Liang Jingxuan shivered and let his head droop stiffly, unable to utter a word.

At that moment, the fat man outside had believed his 'companion' and tucked the Emei Water Splitting Spike into his waistband, stretching out a hand cautiously to push on the door.

Just then, the clouds that had been covering the moon were scattered by the wind, and bright moonlight flooded in. In the fat man's line of sight, as the door of the wooden hut creaked open from the inside, a clean face appeared, with a smile at the corner of the mouth, saying:

"Welcome."

The fat man froze, his heart nearly stopping, and with a scream, he turned and ran. He had barely taken a few steps when Wang Anfeng's right hand brushed past his waist, and several Silver Needles shot out, plunging into the unguarded, turned back of the fat man. Then stepping forward, he grabbed the collar of the fat man's clothes and dragged him inside the hut, planning to interrogate him one more time to avoid being deceived.

The fat man's face was filled with despair. Because of his heavy body, the pressure point technique had not achieved its maximum effect, and he still managed to move his hands.

Instinctively, he bent his arms and dug his fingers into the ground, trying to stop himself from being pulled in, but to no avail. He left ten despairing, feeble drag marks on the ground and was then hauled by Wang Anfeng with a slight exertion of strength, as if he were throwing a fat pig in Great Liang Village, into the house.

The door of the wooden hut slowly closed.

The moonlight gradually faded from the two faces filled with fear and despair, and then disappeared.

A faint creak.

The wooden door shut tight.

The wind blew the fallen leaves under the moonlit deep autumn still appearing calm and tranquil.

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

The next day, at the Ministry of Punishment.

Yan Ling rubbed the center of his forehead.

The dark circles under his eyes were growing more visible, and it had been days since he had a good rest. Looking at Wang Anfeng and the two martial artists, one fat and one thin, tossed at his feet, he sighed and said,

"What's happened now?"

Wang Anfeng briefly summarized what had occurred the previous night and added,

"Big Brother Yan, breaking into a house to steal at night is also punishable by law in our Great Qin, isn't it?"

Yan Ling looked at the two thieves, thought for a moment, and shook his head,

"It's not breaking and entering."

Wang Anfeng blinked in momentary surprise, while Liang Jingxuan's eyes lit up as if he had clutched onto a lifesaving straw, urgently saying,

"Yes, exactly, exactly, the lord is right."

Just then, they saw the young arrest officer in vigorous red attire rub his brow, speaking indifferently,

"The words of a thief are not to be trusted. According to what you said, Anfeng, before you could subdue this man, he had first used a sleeping drug and then drawn a sharp weapon."

"We can't rule out the possibility of murder for the sake of robbery,"

"According to our Great Qin Legal Code, home invasion leading to murder falls under one of the six types of killings, which belongs to 'premeditated murder'."

"Those who commit premeditated murder, if there are two or more people or if the crime is evident, even if it is just one person, it is treated the same as a conspiracy by two, usually punished by beheading. Even if this attempt was not successful, they would still be sentenced to exile, to be sent off to a bitter and cold place."

Liang Jingxuan's expression suddenly became stiff, his eyes widened as he looked at the arrest officer in front of him and murmured:

"I, I didn't..."

Yan Ling glanced at him and said indifferently:

"When handling cases, we tend to believe more in physical evidence."

"Rest assured, there will be someone to inspect the scene later."

"Since you were found with a weapon and entry-rank sleeping drugs on your person, to say you were simply there to steal is rather hasty."

He then looked towards the arrest officers on either side and said:

"Regarding the suspects with dubious crimes, do you know what to do?"

The two arrest officers on either side drew ropes from their waists, their faces showing a sinister smile as they approached, casting large shadows on Liang Jingxuan's face. The one on the left raised his eyebrows, looking like a grim reaper out to claim lives, and snickered upon hearing the command:

"We know, boss Yan. Check his background, if he's clean, then be lenient. If he has committed similar crimes within the past five years, then escalate the punishment."

The one on the right had a scar on his face, and his facial muscles twitched with a smile, looking more like a murderous bandit than the two thieves, and responded with a laugh:

"But I reckon this brother has had run-ins with the law within the past three years, hahaha..."

"The hungry blade has long been deprived of drinking human blood..."

Liang Jingxuan turned pale.

In the past, he had been an assassin and his victims included ordinary wealthy families. With no backing, how could he be free of cases? But back then, he had escaped, and pursuit failed, so they hastily concluded it was a Jianghu feud. If they looked closely, there would be many suspicions. As long as it was confirmed that the small-city wealthy family had no connection to Jianghu, he would be guilty of killing innocent people.

And the timing was just within the past five years.

Suddenly, his heart was in turmoil, and he cried out:

"Wait a minute, I am a person of Jianghu. How can you, the Great Qin imperial court, interfere with matters of the Jianghu?"

Yan Ling lowered the finger he had been rubbing his brow with, and said with a meaningfully:

"Jianghu matters, of course, Great Qin will not take the initiative to manage, nor will it intervene in conflicts."

"But if everything becomes clear afterward and the evidence is conclusive, and Jianghu is willing to hand over the criminals to Great Qin, then Great Qin will not refuse them."

The fat man, driven to desperation, shouted:

"You're framing me, you can always find an excuse! Book Guardian, you're actually colluding with the court, you dog, you lackey, I spit on you!"

Before Wang Anfeng could speak, Yan Ling's brow furrowed slightly. He stepped forward and sternly shouted:

"You commit crimes first, how dare you spout such nonsense here!"

"If you have a clear conscience and no past murder charges, why be so terrified?!"

His words and demeanor were all severe and upright, commanding respect, and the fat man went pale, unable to speak for a moment.

Liang Jingxuan clenched his teeth and shouted:

"We are people of the Jianghu, we have our teachers and friends."

"Dare you judge us, do you know the consequences?!! You, and you, and you, can you bear it?! If things escalate, can Great Qin bear it?!!"

The contradiction between Jianghu and Great Qin had a long history. The arrest officers hesitated at the thought of such consequences, but only Yan Ling, with his hand on his sword, replied:

"We can bear it."

Liang Jingxuan was slightly stunned, showing an incredulous look. Yan Ling looked at him and said flatly:

"Even if it's the entire Jianghu, Great Qin can still bear it."

"Besides, a mere Ninth Grade thief who has violated Great Qin's laws, having been taken into the Ministry of Punishment, how dare you be so presumptuous?!"

"Take them away."

"Got it, boss!"

The two burly arrest officers, full of defiant and roguish air, replied in unison. While the other patrol officers were still hesitating, they reached out their hands. Liang Jingxuan and his companion were Ninth Grade assassins with quite good martial arts skills. Yet, in the hands of these officers, they were as helpless as chickens, indicative of the officers' superior skills.

And such men with great skills and defiant characters were obedient and highly respectful to Yan Ling.

Wang Anfeng was quite surprised by the events, and upon reflection, realized that Yan Ling's recent actions were not focused on this particular case but were intended to uncover the old murder cases associated with the two men, actively touching on the old cases that ordinary arrest officers were reluctant to deal with.

Thinking this, Wang Anfeng looked up at his friend, only to see his back straight, his face no longer the dull one of their Academy days, his brows sharp as blades, severe and upright. Wang Anfeng felt a sense of strangeness in his heart and realized he was growing increasingly distant from this friend; he could barely recognize him.

It was then that Yan Ling turned to look at him and said lightly:

"For homeland and nation, no matter how big the Jianghu is, it is still under Great Qin."

"Anfeng..."

"Do you understand?"

Caught off-guard, Wang Anfeng saw the seriousness in Yan Ling's expression, reminiscent of their first meeting, as if because Wang Anfeng hadn't responded for a while, Yan Ling's eyebrows furrowed slightly again. He then patted Wang Anfeng's shoulder, speaking earnestly:

"That's why, Anfeng, you can't be like these people in the future, understand?"

"Even if you become a martial arts master, you can't break the law. Otherwise, the world would be in chaos."

"If you ever run out of money, just ask me, well, ask Su the Gambler. That guy is quite wealthy. Remember not to commit crimes, understand?"

"Eh, why are your clothes so thin?"

"Even as a martial artist, you need to dress warmly. Understand? Otherwise..."

Watching the young man who, despite his vigorous attire and waist-hung saber, rambled on like a nagging mother, his topic drifting from homeland to nowhere in particular, Wang Anfeng felt a familiar and genuine connection, and couldn't help but laugh, saying:

"I get it, I get it..."

"I really do get it..."

PS: First update...