The Martial Doctor

Ye Mansion.

Since his son’s death, Ye Shengyuan had aged considerably in the past year, and the Ye Family suffered significant losses in their horse farms, herbal medicine businesses, and medical clinics.

Their overall wealth had shrunk by at least thirty percent.

In the past year, Ye Shengyuan had devoted most of his energy to managing the Ye Family’s affairs, rarely overseeing medical consultations, and even rumors of misdiagnosis had emerged.

But all of this was suppressed.

The Ye Family’s influence in Dongshan was still substantial, supported not only by Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion but also akin to a starved camel being bigger than a horse.

The Ye Family no longer targeted Lin Miao, and naturally, Lin Miao didn’t provoke any trouble, so it had been a peaceful year for everyone.

However, the decline of the Ye Family was visibly apparent; unless they found a business opportunity to turn the tide, this downturn would not be easily reversed.

"Master, this is a secret report that just arrived. The Blade Catching Alliance suddenly took action today and issued a summoning order!"

"A Blade Catching Summons?" Ye Shengyuan was startled upon hearing this. Such a thing was no small matter; the summoning order would only be issued for particularly significant tasks.

The reward for this must be substantial, but he hadn’t heard of any particularly large bounties from the court recently. Could it be a private bounty?

The Blade Catching Alliance also accepted private bounties since relying solely on court bounties to capture criminals couldn’t sustain all the bounty hunters. Besides, the alliance had other business interests; when capturing court fugitives, they might "accidentally kill" the target, but in other missions, killing was not an option. If bounty hunters injured or killed innocent people, they faced severe punishment, treated the same as ordinary martial artists.

Moreover, except for court bounties specified as dead or alive, all others offered higher rewards for capturing targets alive.

In other words, a dead target was not valuable.

Therefore, bounty hunters generally didn’t kill when capturing criminals. At most, they would incapacitate the target. As long as the target was kept barely alive, they could earn more since no one would refuse money.

"Immediately have our registered young bounty hunters investigate what exactly is going on." Ye Shengyuan felt an inexplicable sense of unease and gave his order.

"Yes, Master."

...

"Blade Catching Summons! Quickly, spread the word! All those qualified as bounty hunters gather in the front yard!" The bounty agencies, martial arts halls, and bounty hunters within Dongshan City became excited upon receiving this news.

The issuance of a summoning order meant a big job was at hand; everyone understood this.

Less than an hour after the summoning order was issued, aside from the bounty hunters originally in Xiangyang Old Shop, more than a hundred people had gathered.

The numbers were still increasing.

It was a secret mission and not made public, so everyone speculated that the bounty for this mission would certainly be substantial.

Chen Xiaodao went all out, providing good wine and food, ensuring that all bounty hunters who arrived could have a hearty meal.

Because he knew that after this meal, there might not be a next one.

...

"I’ve already negotiated with the prefect, and the east gate will be conveniently opened for us to leave the city before dark," Cai Jin reported to Chen Xiaodao upon returning to Xiangyang Old Shop.

"It seems the prefect is willing to cooperate with our operation tonight," Chen Xiaodao nodded.

"The prefect originated from the Eastern Palace; the Crown Prince’s visit to Dongshan for unknown reasons is surely known to him. Although the Crown Prince wasn’t attacked in Dongshan, leaking his whereabouts is a grave crime. He too wants to redeem himself by performing meritorious deeds..." Cai Jin analyzed.

"These affairs are not for us to worry about; we are just here to earn our payment," Chen Xiaodao said. He was well aware of the complex relationship between Pei Jian and Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion, but as just a minor supervisor of the Alliance in the northwest district, he couldn’t interfere in the court’s struggles. He was there to earn his share of the money.

"Understood."

"Are you sure Xue Sha and his men are at Xue Family Manor outside the city?"

"Absolutely sure; I have a contact’s brother working inside, and I also heard that three women broke in two days ago, fought fiercely with Xue Sha, and he failed to capture them, suffering a major setback instead," Cai Jin said.

"Who could escape from Xue Sha’s clutches?"

"Rumor has it they were there to rescue someone. Xue Sha had captured someone and was confronted at his doorstep. Of course, this might also be a trap set by Xue Sha!"

"Isn’t he afraid of exposing his location?" Chen Xiaodao asked in surprise.

"Why should he be afraid? It’s Marquis Lingyang’s property; who would dare challenge him lightly? Besides, there are skilled fighters from the Green Blade Sect within the manor. Ordinary people would be taken care of by them swiftly," Cai Jin replied.

"True, however, will my summoning order alert them?" Chen Xiaodao hesitated.

"It seems the prefect has already sealed the news..."

"Good, very good. It looks like we will make a large profit this time." A gleam of excitement flashed in Chen Xiaodao’s eyes. Besides the court, the Crown Prince had also promised a personal reward for Xue Sha’s capture.

Moreover, the bounty is twice that of the court’s.

This news was unknown to the outside bounty hunters; they still had no idea what the mission was, but a 100,000 silver bounty was more than they could earn in several lifetimes.

...

"Sir, the bounty hunters from the Blade Catching Alliance have already appeared near Xue Family Manor. I’ve also secretly dismantled several covert posts of the Green Blade Sect and Xue Sha, so they won’t receive news from Dongshan City for some time." Si Miaoxue returned, leaving Yue Mei’Er at the manor.