But to speak of these eight burly men, they were notorious bandits in the area surrounding Book Mountain. They often waylaid passing merchants, robbing them of their money, and occasionally even taking lives. Moreover, these eight rarely appeared before others; whenever they did, they would quickly eliminate their targets and vanish without a trace, which is why they had never been caught. The authorities, helpless, could only post bounties for their capture.

In truth, among these eight, only the eldest had decent martial skills; the rest were rather mediocre. If they ever encountered a true expert, there was a ninety-nine percent chance they’d be killed on the spot.

However, these men were extremely cunning. If they sensed their target was too tough, they would never make a move, which is why, despite their crimes, they had always remained safe and sound. Today, they had just discovered they were wanted and had gathered here to discuss whether they should lay low elsewhere, which is how they happened to run into William Clark and his companion. That’s also why they had their own wanted posters on them.

They never expected to fall into the hands of two seemingly young people. Besides being drunk and losing their usual judgment, they also made some fatal miscalculations, which led to their deaths.

First, they underestimated Emily Carter’s skills. Second, they mistook William Clark for one of those ordinary young heroes of the martial world. Lastly, their most skilled leader never expected the sword technique William Clark unleashed at the last moment to be so fierce—he was struck down before he could even react, falling victim to a surprise attack.

It could be said that their deaths were inevitable, which is why this whole chain of events unfolded.

Yet, the deaths of these men brought quite a bit of silver to William Clark and his companion, especially since the eight were wanted by the authorities. The two could even exchange their bodies for bounty rewards.

“If that’s the case, not only will we have enough for food, clothing, and daily needs, but we could even buy a new place to live!” Seeing the bounty amount, Emily Carter finally broke into a smile.

As for William Clark, when he heard about buying a new place, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness in his mind, as if a voice was trying to tell him something.

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P.S.: Watched two soccer matches in a row last night... all kinds of pain...

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Chapter 7: Establishing a New Home

The night passed uneventfully. At dawn the next day, Emily Carter told William Clark to stay in the dilapidated temple and not wander off, then went herself to rent a cart near the county town to transport the bodies.

At first, the old farmer didn’t know what he was being hired to transport. When he saw the corpses lying everywhere, he was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. Fortunately, Emily Carter quickly explained that these were notorious criminals wanted by the authorities, and that the two of them had happened upon them and rid the people of evil. Only then did the old farmer relax; otherwise, he would have mistaken them for ruthless outlaws.

During this time, William Clark remained silent. Seeing him frowning and not speaking, Emily Carter thought his old injuries were acting up. After all, last night’s fierce fight could have aggravated the internal wounds William Clark had yet to fully recover from.

“If you’re not feeling well, just rest on the cart!”

After all, they had grown up together since childhood as senior and junior disciples. Although she didn’t like William Clark’s personality, she still cared about his health. So when she saw him frowning, Emily Carter suddenly said this, startling William Clark out of his thoughts.

It took him a while to realize that his junior sister Carter was showing concern, suggesting he rest on the cart to avoid overexertion. After all, he was still injured.

But William Clark’s frown wasn’t due to his lingering injuries, but rather that sudden thought that had popped into his mind.

Ever since he and Emily Carter killed those bandits and learned they were wanted criminals, a voice had been echoing in his head. But it was so faint and indistinct that he couldn’t quite grasp what it was trying to tell him.

Yet, deep down, he kept feeling that this was something very important, something he absolutely had to figure out. That’s why he’d been lost in thought from dawn until now, unable to focus on anything else.

This state persisted even when they arrived at the authorities—in fact, the two of them took the bodies straight to the constable’s office, not the county magistrate’s.

Ordinary wanted criminals were usually brought here, where the local constable would confirm their identities and throw them in jail, with their fate to be decided later. Only truly notorious outlaws or imperial criminals required the county magistrate’s personal attention, as such cases were serious and involved large bounties, which the constable had no authority to pay out.

As for those brought in by William Clark, while they weren’t petty thieves, the bounty was already substantial, so the constable called in the county advisor to help settle the reward.

Now, the county advisor had a special skill: he could judge people at a glance. He was an expert at knowing whom he could afford to offend and whom he couldn’t—otherwise, how could he advise the magistrate?

So, when the advisor saw these two young people, both armed with swords (weapons taken from the bandits), he immediately recognized them as martial artists, the kind not to be trifled with. After all, martial artists were also known as desperados.