I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 312: Chapter 184: Supervisor

After the Martial World Tournament at Hidden Sword Manor had concluded.

Shortly after the painting appreciation party had begun.

In the dead of night, a group of people moved with swift strides down a winding, muddy road.

They were heading toward Hidden Sword Manor.

There were more than twenty people in the procession.

Among them, over a dozen rode fine horses in two orderly columns. They wore magnificent, embroidered cyan robes with a flying swallow motif. Each carried two longswords on their back—one long and one short.

Vermilion tassels were tied to both swords, fluttering in the wind.

The Feiyan Suits all had a matching waist-token, each engraved with the character for ”Secret”.

The Feiyan Suit, the long and short dual swords, and the ”Secret” token. These three features revealed the identity of this group—the Secret Factory.

After the fall of the Dasheng Dynasty, the Daqian Dynasty rose to take its place.

In the early days of the dynasty, to consolidate his rule and monitor his subjects, the Emperor established the ”Secret Arrest Factory,” or ”Secret Factory” for short. It answered only to the Emperor and held special privileges, allowing it to investigate and arrest subjects at will. It wielded immense power within the Court: arrest first, interrogate later; report after the interrogation; execute without appeal.

Hoofbeats splattered mud in the dark night as they galloped forward.

But it was not the horsemen who led the charge.

Four people, also in Feiyan Suits, carried a sedan chair on their shoulders as if it weighed nothing. They traversed the muddy road as if it were flat ground, moving even faster than the horses.

Just then, the urgent sound of hoofbeats approached from a distance. Six riders traveling together came face to face with the Secret Factory procession on the narrow path.

”Supervisor.”

One of the four sedan carriers spoke in a low tone to the person in the chair, her voice sharp and high-pitched. It was a woman.

”Stop them.”

An androgynous, icy voice, impossible to identify as male or female, drifted from the sedan.

”Secret Factory business! Halt at once! Otherwise, you will be killed without question!”

The moment the person in the sedan—the one called ”Supervisor”—finished speaking, the dozen or so Secret Guards on horseback fanned out, blocking the path and stopping the six riders.

”It’s the Secret Factory!”

”It’s the Court’s dogs!”

”Damn it, what rotten luck!”

”Shut up! They’re close!”

These six were, in fact, the Martial Artists who had just come down from Hidden Sword Manor, not having been qualified to stay for the final events. Among them was a woman of heroic bearing with a Nine-Section Whip hanging from her waist. It was none other than the Iron Maiden, the very one who had been humiliated by ”Bandit Xiao” at the Martial World Tournament after attempting a deadly scissor-kick on him.

After the Martial World Tournament ended, a few friends who knew each other fairly well decided to travel together, heading south for home. They hadn’t expected to run into the Secret Factory halfway there. ’Rotten luck,’ the Iron Maiden thought, her gaze turning cold. Seeing the Secret Factory agents surround them in the blink of an eye and spook their horses, she knew they were not here to be friendly.

But the Secret Factory had always been tyrannical and overbearing; this wasn’t necessarily a personal attack. The friends exchanged glances for a moment before the Iron Maiden raised a hand, signaling them to keep quiet and not speak rashly. Clenching her jaw, she dismounted, cupped her fists toward the sedan, and said, ”Your Excellencies from the Secret Factory, we are but wandering Knights of the Jianghu. We have broken no laws, nor are we wanted criminals. Our records are clean. For what reason have you stopped us?”

The Iron Maiden gripped her horse’s reins tightly. For some reason, ever since the Secret Factory agents had appeared, the horses had been exceptionally panicked, panting heavily and acting unlike their usual selves.

The other five also noticed the horses’ strange reactions. Without giving it much thought, they just assumed the animals’ keen senses had picked up on the murderous aura emanating from the Secret Guards, frightening them.

”No need to be nervous. I’m just asking for directions.”

The person in the sedan chuckled softly, lifted the curtain, and extended a long, slender, pale finger, pointing toward a mountain.

”Excuse me, everyone. Is that Hidden Sword Manor up ahead?”

Asking for directions?

Hearing this, the Iron Maiden and the others let out a sigh of relief.

One of them replied, ”Yes, Your Excellency. That is indeed Hidden Sword Manor up ahead.”

”Has the Martial World Tournament ended?”

the person in the sedan asked again.

A flicker of light crossed the Iron Maiden’s eyes. ’As expected of the Court’s bloodhounds,’ she thought. ’Their senses are sharp; they even know about the Martial World Tournament.’ Although the other party’s tone held no hint of killing intent, a private gathering of the Martial World was a serious taboo for the Royal Family. For a moment, they didn’t know how to respond.

”I see. Heh. Let’s go.”

The corner of the curtain that had been lifted fell shut. The woman carrying the sedan covered her mouth with her hand and smiled. ”The Supervisor has spoken. Aren’t you leaving? What are you waiting for?”

Supervisor!

Upon hearing this, the Iron Maiden and her companions felt their pupils shrink, their hearts filled with terror.

The person in the sedan was actually called ”Supervisor” by the Secret Guard?

In the entire Secret Factory, there was only one person who could be called Supervisor. The identity of the person in the sedan was now glaringly obvious.

According to Jianghu rumors, that person was ruthless and cruel. How could they be so easy to talk to?

”Thank you, Your Excellency!”

The Iron Maiden and her friends kept their heads bowed and said nothing more. After exchanging a look, they mounted their horses, preparing to leave.

But countless questions swirled in their minds. Wasn’t that person a recluse who rarely left the Imperial City? Why would they travel so far to Hidden Sword Manor? And judging by their direction of approach, they were clearly coming from the south, not from the Capital City in the north.

What was the Supervisor of the Secret Factory doing at Hidden Sword Manor?

The Iron Maiden’s group of six brushed past the Secret Guard.

A faint sigh came from the sedan. ”We’re too late.”

One of the carriers whispered, ”Supervisor, arriving at the right time is better than arriving early.”

The Supervisor chuckled. ”Well said. There will be a reward for you when we return.”

”Thank you, Supervisor!”

The two groups separated, one heading north and the other south, gradually growing distant.

”PHEW—”

On the Martial Heroes’ side, three or four of them let out a huge sigh of relief at the same time. As they wiped their brows, they were shocked to find them covered in cold sweat.

Once they were dozens of paces away, the panicked horses began to calm down.

”Iron Maiden, he...” someone started to say, their voice hushed.

”Shh!”

The Iron Maiden raised a finger to her lips, her eyes signaling: ’Let’s go. Don’t stir up more trouble.’

Just as the group was thinking of making a quick getaway, the Supervisor hidden in the sedan suddenly asked a question. The voice was soft, but it carried far in the night, dousing them like a bucket of ice water.

”Just now, who was it that said ’dogs of the Court’?”

The color instantly drained from the faces of the Iron Maiden and her group. But then, for some unknown reason, the Knight next to the Iron Maiden raised his hand and loudly confessed, ”It was me! Pei Rushi!”