Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 20 Leaving a Letter Under the Moon
Inside the arresting officer's office, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Zhao Dusi Zhao An's face was even blacker than the bottom of a pot.

In just two days, two shocking cases occurred in the capital, alarming the entire elite class. As the commander in charge of official affairs, he was under immense pressure.

After hearing Cheng Ming and his grandson's purpose and deductions, Zhao An slammed his hand on the table.

"Old Constable Cheng, are you implying that this notorious thief might originate from the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) of our capital?"

"It's just a possibility," Cheng Ming said calmly. "Commander Zhao has been in charge of the Eight Great Families for many years and knows the top experts of each sect like the back of his hand. I would like to ask Commander Zhao to do me a favor and help me investigate."

Zhao An certainly dared not refuse.

He immediately ordered the summons of the elders and young masters of the eight major families—Jin, Pi, Cai, Gua, Heng, Lan, Ge, and Rong—and commanded them to mobilize all their forces to gather information about this flying thief in their respective territories.

In an instant, the entire martial arts world of the capital was in turmoil.

At the same time, constables from the Six Doors, soldiers from the Military Patrol Station, and agents from the Arrest Bureau all came out in droves, and patrol teams were everywhere in the streets and alleys, making the checks extremely strict.

However, this official tension stands in stark contrast to the atmosphere among the general public.

The people dared not say it aloud, but they all prayed silently that the chivalrous thief would not be caught.

The eight major martial arts sects, forced to mobilize all their members to gather information from all directions, became increasingly passive and reluctant to work.

The Rong family, in particular, was under the most intense surveillance. Every day, Fang Tao and his men would stroll around the streets with their men, then find a teahouse to drink tea and listen to storytelling, purely to go through the motions.

Some daring storytellers have even secretly turned the stories of "The Masked Swordsman's Night Visit to Fu Man Cang" and "The Flying Thief Dividing Gold Under the Moon" into tales and performed them quietly in teahouses and taverns. Whenever they got to the exciting part, they would always be greeted with a chorus of hushed cheers.

Chen Ye also received many honorific titles among the people, such as Flying Thief and Moon-Treading Hero.

In short, officials and commoners, black and white, have formed a peculiar landscape in this vast capital city, clearly divided between them.

Meanwhile, Chen Ye was planning his next target.

The Hengtong Money Shop case boosted Chen Ye's public reputation, but it didn't cause much of a stir on his professional profile.

There are no changes to the job level or skills.

Chen Ye fell into deep thought.

It seems that the later the stage, the more difficult it becomes to upgrade.

Although Hengtong Money Shop also targeted the powerful and wealthy, it was ultimately just a poorly guarded shop, and the infiltration and theft encountered almost no decent resistance.

This level of difficulty could no longer provide him with enough experience.

Therefore, simply robbing the rich to help the poor is too narrow-minded.

A cold glint flashed in Chen Ye's eyes. Since stealing was no longer enough, he would try a different target this time.

This time, it's still not for money, but only to... uphold justice on behalf of Heaven.

With that thought in mind, he pushed open the door and stepped out, his figure silently disappearing into the night of the capital.

The capital city is a melting pot of people, including noble families with centuries-old traditions and newly risen officials who have climbed the ranks through scheming.

This resulted in a proliferation of spoiled brats in the capital. Most of these people were simply ignorant and incompetent, relying on their family background to act arrogantly and domineeringly.

But there are always some people whose twisted desires can no longer be satisfied by ordinary pleasures, so they start to seek stimulation in some perverse ways.

Among them, Li Chunfeng, the eldest son of Duke Anguo Li Jun, was the most notorious.

This man, relying on his father being a duke and his aunt a concubine in the palace, committed countless evil deeds and treated human life as worthless. The people of the capital spoke of him in private, all gritting their teeth in hatred, yet daring not to speak out.

Chen Ye had long heard of this person's deeds.

It is said that any woman he sets his sights on will eventually fall victim to his cruelty.

Once, while strolling on the street, he happened to catch a glimpse of a family's newlywed daughter-in-law who was quite attractive. He barged into her home with ill intentions.

The woman's husband happened to return home at that moment, but was pinned to the ground by Li Chunfeng's vicious servants and could only watch helplessly as his wife suffered humiliation before his eyes. Afterwards, Li Chunfeng, satisfied, dusted himself off and left.

That very night, the poor couple hanged themselves.

This matter caused a great uproar in the capital, but in the end it was left unresolved.

Over the years, at least eighty to one hundred innocent women have died directly or indirectly at the hands of Li Chunfeng.

Such scum deserved to die.

But killing him with a single blow would be too lenient.

Chen Ye stood in the shadows of the dark alley, looking at the brightly lit Anguo Duke's Mansion not far away, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
-
The next day, An Guo Gongfu.

Li Chunfeng woke up in a luxurious brocade quilt, his hangover giving him a splitting headache.

He rubbed his temples in frustration and turned his head to look at his side.

On the bed, a young woman, barely clothed, was curled up, her body covered in bruises, her eyes vacant, and her face streaked with tears, like a broken rag doll.

This was a pretty young woman he had abducted from the street three days ago. She was unmarried and had a very strong personality, which gave him a lot of fun.

But now, he's tired of it.

"Drag him out." Li Chunfeng waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away an eyesore of a fly.

Two strong female servants immediately entered from outside the door, quickly wrapped the woman in a quilt, and dragged her out like a dead dog.

Whether the woman lives or dies after being sent back is not something that Young Master Li needs to consider.

He stretched, humming a little tune, and was about to have breakfast.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

Li Chunfeng frowned, his mood suddenly becoming irritable.

"What's going on? What's all the noise about so early in the morning?"

Just then, one of his close followers scrambled in, "Young...Young Master..."

"Speak!" Li Chunfeng snapped impatiently.

"Outside...on the outside wall..." The lackey stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"waste!"

Li Chunfeng pushed him away and simply walked out herself.

He stopped in his tracks as soon as he stepped out of the courtyard gate.

On the vermilion wall of the Duke of Anguo's mansion, someone had inexplicably written a line of large, flamboyant characters!

Three days later, take Li Chunfeng's head.

Signed: Ta Yue.

Li Chunfeng was taken aback at first, then flew into a rage, "Which blind bastard dares to mess with me? Investigate him! Find him! I'll tear him to pieces!"

He initially thought it was the work of some nobleman's son with whom he had a grudge.

Meanwhile, a growing crowd of onlookers had gathered outside the mansion gates. They pointed at the inscription, their faces a mixture of shock and excitement.

Seeing this, Li Chunfeng was furious and immediately ordered his servants to disperse the crowd and wash the writing off the wall with water.

Just then, the people from the Six Doors arrived, and when they saw the words on the wall, especially the signature "Treading the Moon," everyone's expression changed drastically.

As the situation escalated, the name "Moon-Treading Hero" became widely known among the people, referring to the mysterious thief who had robbed two powerful families in the past two days, causing chaos in the upper echelons of the capital.

(End of this chapter)