Cultivating in Different Professions

"Su Mu! You dare to kill me?"

Hu Guangshao bellowed.

His voice was shrill, betraying an air of being all bark and no bite.

"Who dares trespass in the South City Bureau!"

The sound of frantic footsteps rang out as a large number of constables swarmed in from all directions.

But upon seeing the scene before them, they all stopped in their tracks.

’The new Sima and Constable Xiao Su?’

’Is this something we should be watching?’

"Uh, nothing to see, nothing to see. Everyone, disperse."

Zheng Wang and the others scratched their heads, let down their guard, and turned to leave.

"All of you, halt!"

Hu Guangshao roared, "Su Mu trespassed in the South City Bureau! Arrest him for me!"

Zheng Wang and the other constables stopped, exchanged glances, and then said to Hu Guangshao with some difficulty, "Lord Sima, Constable Xiao Su—no, Lord Su is a Taiping Bureau White Clothes. How could we dare to arrest him?"

"So what if he’s a Taiping Bureau White Clothes? I am a Taiping Bureau White Clothes as well!

When I tell you to arrest him, you arrest him!"

Hu Guangshao raged, "Do you dare defy my orders?"

"It’s not that, Sima. We can’t beat Lord Su either."

Zheng Wang and the other constables refused to move forward.

It wasn’t just that they couldn’t defeat Su Mu. When Su Mu had been their chief constable, he had treated them well. But after Hu Guangshao became Sima, he not only stripped them of their squad leader positions but also oppressed them daily.

Although they didn’t have the courage to openly help Su Mu, they were unwilling to raise a hand against him.

"Fine! Fine!"

Hu Guangshao trembled with rage. Who had ever dared to defy him like this? In his entire life, he had never suffered such humiliation.

"I see now. All of you are in collusion with Su Mu!

Very well. If you don’t want to do this job, then don’t! I will strip you of your Official Uniforms right now. All of you, get out!"

Hu Guangshao bellowed.

"Then we quit. Whoever wants to be a constable can have the job."

CLANG! Zheng Wang threw his Constable Saber to the ground.

If it were still for the position of squad leader, he might have hesitated.

But now that Hu Guangshao had given the squad leader posts to his own cronies, it was just the position of an ordinary constable. If he had to quit, so be it.

Besides, the reward money that Constable Xiao Su had given them before was enough for him to retire on.

What’s more, he, Zheng Wang, was a Martial Artist at the Second Stage of Body Tempering. Could he really not find a way to make a living?

With Zheng Wang taking the lead, the other original squad leaders of the South City Bureau also dropped their Constable Sabers, stripped off their Official Uniforms, threw them on the ground, spat, and walked out with Zheng Wang.

They only held back because they were still wary of Hu Guangshao’s status. Otherwise, they would have definitely hurled a few curses before leaving.

Once the squad leaders left, the remaining constables became even more hesitant.

’When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer.’

’They were just grunts; they couldn’t possibly make such a momentous choice.’

"Hu Sima, it seems you’re not very popular,"

Su Mu said with a slight smile. "A just cause attracts much support; an unjust one finds little."

"Don’t get too cocky!"

Hu Guangshao said, a flash of panic in the depths of his eyes. "This is the South City Bureau! You and I are both Taiping Bureau White Clothes. If you kill me, you won’t escape death either!"

His tone weakened a few notches.

He finally realized just how dangerous his situation was.

These constables refused to act. If Su Mu truly decided to kill him, he would likely meet his end today.

The experts from the Hu Family wouldn’t be able to save him in time.

He suddenly realized that if a low-born commoner like Su Mu disregarded status and, in a fit of rage, decided to fight him to the death, he had no good way of handling it.

’With my noble status, I shouldn’t be clashing head-on with someone like him at all.’

’So what if the Hu Family kills Su Mu afterward?’

’Trading his life for mine? That would be a huge win for Su Mu, wouldn’t it?’

"Rest assured, I won’t kill you today,"

Su Mu said with a slight smile. "I already said this is just a friendly spar.

You’re not the type of child who cries for his parents when he can’t win a fight, are you, Hu Sima?"

"You—"

Hu Guangshao let out a sigh of relief. ’Good, Su Mu hasn’t completely lost his mind. I knew he wouldn’t dare to kill me.’

’But damn, his words are infuriating.’

’I really want to tear that mouth of his apart!’

’So what if I call for backup? My Hu Family has people!’

’If you’ve got what it takes, you call for backup too!’

’Just you wait. We’ll see how I deal with you later!’

’So what if he’s a Taiping Bureau White Clothes? I’m one too, and I’m also the Sima of the South City Bureau. With one more layer of status than you, you think I can’t handle you?’

"Hu Sima, I have one more strike. Please, see what you think of its power."

Just as Hu Guangshao was lost in thought, a flash of light suddenly erupted before his eyes.

Hu Guangshao was shocked and enraged, his face a mask of terror.

...

「A moment later.」

Su Mu slowly walked out of the South City Government Office.

The constables watched him leave, not a single one daring to block his path.

Soon, cries of alarm rang out from within the South City Government Office.

"Someone, quickly! Get a doctor!"

"Lord Sima has fainted! Help!"

...

Luo Anning was right. Hu Guangshao couldn’t die within the city, and he certainly couldn’t die inside the South City Government Office.

Otherwise, neither the Hu Family nor the Wuling City Government Office would let the matter rest.

The South City Bureau had already lost one Sima. If another one died, what would become of the Government Office’s prestige?

Even if only to uphold the dignity of the Government Office, Wuling City would surely investigate the matter to the very end.

At that point, not even his status as a Taiping Bureau White Clothes would be enough to protect him.

But while he couldn’t kill him, no one said he couldn’t beat him.

A "friendly spar" between two Taiping Bureau White Clothes was hardly something the Wuling City Government Office could meddle in, right?

Why would someone get injured in a spar?

Blades have no eyes. Anyone who practices the Martial Dao knows that.

If Hu Guangshao was injured, it was because his skills were lacking. Could he really run around shouting about it with a bullhorn?

Hu Guangshao was used to having his way and being complacent. He didn’t understand a simple principle: when a common man is enraged, blood will splatter for five paces.

No matter how good your birth, you still only have one life.

Although Su Mu hadn’t killed him, that second strike was enough to keep him bedridden for months.

Moreover, Su Mu had driven his Kan Water Realm into Hu Guangshao’s body. Unless Hu Guangshao could expel this realm’s influence, his blood circulation would be perpetually affected by it, making it nearly impossible for him to break through to the Blood Transformation Realm.

Even if the Hu Family had a realm expert help heal him, the delay of several months would have a huge impact on Hu Guangshao’s future.

In the cultivation of the Martial Dao, falling one step behind could mean falling behind forever.

Even if Hu Guangshao was the young master of the Hu Family, he couldn’t afford such a delay.

He wasn’t Su Mu, after all.

’You should be glad this was inside the city. Otherwise, you’d be dead already,’

Su Mu sneered inwardly.

’In the end, I’m still not powerful enough, whether in terms of strength or status.’

’Otherwise, so what if I had just killed Hu Guangshao with one strike?’

’If I were a Governor of the Taiping Bureau, if I already had the strength of the Rebirth Realm, even if I killed Hu Guangshao right in front of the Hu Family’s Patriarch, what could the Hu Family possibly do?’

’I wouldn’t have to be so restrained just to vent a little anger, like I am now.’

Lost in these thoughts, Su Mu made his way back home.

Just as he reached his doorstep, a middle-aged man stopped him.

"Pardon me, but are you Lord Su Mu?"

the man asked, bowing slightly.

"And you are?"

Su Mu stopped and looked at the man.

"My lord, I am the Chief Clerk of the East City Bureau. You may call me Yu Xiujiang,"

the man said. "I have been ordered to deliver your letter of appointment. You are now the Sima of the East City Bureau.

An official from the City Lord’s Mansion was supposed to announce the appointment, but he was suddenly occupied with other matters, which is why I was sent instead. I hope you can forgive the informalities, Sima."

"It’s no matter."

Su Mu was pleasantly surprised. ’Luo Anning actually pulled it off?’

’She really got me the position of Sima for the East City Bureau?’

’This is great. My rate of gaining Points will return, and it might even be faster than before.’

’Luo Anning really is a good person.’

"When can I assume my post?"

Su Mu asked casually as he accepted the letter of appointment.

"The official residence in the East City is already prepared. You may assume your post at any time, Sima,"

Yu Xiujiang said. "However, I suggest you wait a little while, Lord Sima. The situation in the East City might be a bit complicated, and I feel it is necessary for you to understand it beforehand.

My primary reason for coming was to explain the situation in the East City to you, Sima."