In ancient times, it was said that when a person died, there was a chance they could be reincarnated into a parallel world and be granted a second life.

On a nameless, desolate mountain, amidst a torrential storm, a long, clear howl suddenly rang out from a dilapidated temple halfway up the mountain.

It was like the cry of a dragon over a vast lake, or the roar of a tiger in an empty valley.

As soon as the howl echoed, the raging storm seemed to hesitate for a moment, and the sound spread for miles, resonating for a full cup of tea’s worth of time.

When the howl finally faded, a figure flew out of the temple, landing in front of a stone tablet carved with the words ‘Mánhuāng Mountain God Temple.’

Standing about ten feet away, the figure stretched out one palm.

With a loud crash, the stone tablet was shattered mid-air by his strike, fragments flying in all directions.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, revealing the figure's true appearance. It was a young man, handsome and tall, with a strong, well-built frame.

At this moment, he stared at his palm with a look of shock on his face, muttering to himself:

"Sixty years of internal energy... it's this strong?"

As these words crossed his mind, he felt a stir in his heart. A faint blue, mysterious energy began to swirl and twist in the air, finally forming a translucent panel before his eyes—one only he could see.

[Fugitive Hunter System]

[Host: Su Lun]

[Target: Flying Mouse Fang Huohua]

[Hunting Progress: Complete]

[Rewards: Sixty years of internal energy (Claimed)]

[Nine Dead Severed Meridians: Under Repair...]

[Remaining Lifespan: 1 Year, 24 Days!]

“One year and twenty-four days…”

Su Lun gazed at the words, but instead of feeling despair, a low chuckle escaped his throat.

At first, it was barely audible, but soon it grew louder, until he was laughing maniacally, a smile of delight on his face.

“This is fate not giving up on me!”

After a long while, Su Lun took a deep breath, stopping his laughter. His gaze flickered, uncertain.

He turned back, walking into the temple once more.

He sat by a campfire, where a bundle and a black scabbard knife lay beside it. He set the knife aside, unwrapped a roasted chicken wrapped in oil paper from the bundle, skewered it with a wooden stick, and placed it over the fire to warm.

As he did so, his thoughts drifted to the medical texts that spoke of the Nine Dead Severed Meridians.

The Nine Dead Severed Meridians was an incurable disease.

It did not stem from the twelve primary meridians or the eight extraordinary meridians. Instead, its root cause lay in the fact that those afflicted with the disease had nine hidden meridians beyond what ordinary people possessed.

The symptoms were strange—one could hardly call it a disease, but rather an abnormal constitution.

The medical texts say: "Those with Nine Dead Severed Meridians have bodies like funnels, with life leaking away, beyond any cure."

Thus, although few had this constitution throughout history, none of them survived past the age of twenty.

And this year, Su Lun was exactly twenty years old!

Twenty years ago, he had died in his previous life trying to save a little girl crossing the street, only to be struck by a dump truck. He was then reincarnated into this world, where an untidy old drunkard had taken him in.

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For the past twenty years, the Nine Dead Severed Meridians had hung like a sword over his head.

He had watched helplessly as this sword inched closer, knowing there was nothing he could do.

It seemed that from the day of his reincarnation, his life had already reached its end.

The old drunkard had tried everything, and Su Lun himself had been subjected to many tortures, but it had all been in vain.

And now, with the awakening of this system, only a month remained before his predicted death!

“If it wasn’t for that old drunkard suddenly sending me a letter to rescue him in Cangzhou, if I hadn’t been short on money and had no choice but to take on a bounty to catch a bandit…”

“If I hadn’t done that, I would have never known that I even had a system…”

"Truly, misfortune turns into fortune."

Su Lun exhaled lightly, a strange expression on his face.

He hadn’t expected that the activation condition for this system was to take down a bounty.

To be specific, one needed to tear down a public notice of a wanted criminal or accept a maritime capture order.

But there was one prerequisite: you had to know that the person was indeed a genuine criminal, or else anyone could be captured and the system rewards claimed.

Was this a glitch in the system?

At the moment, he had completed just one task, and not only had he received sixty years’ worth of internal energy, but even the incurable Nine Dead Severed Meridians showed signs of being repaired.

"Does this mean… as long as I keep capturing these criminals, I might even cure the Nine Dead Severed Meridians completely?"

Thinking of this, Su Lun felt a surge of excitement.

And achieving this was far from difficult.

In today’s world, there wasn’t much, but there were certainly plenty of bounty notices and wanted criminals.

The Golden Wasteland Dynasty might not be in the midst of chaos, but it wasn’t a time of peace either.

Especially after the 13th year of Emperor Taizong’s reign, when the ten-year-long Five Kingdoms War came to an end, the dynasty’s national power weakened, and the lives of ordinary people grew even more difficult.

With the court’s power waning, the martial world was in turmoil.

In the marketplace, various factions arose, and skirmishes broke out from time to time.

Each battle left behind numerous bodies.

There were also martial artists who, relying on their skill, roamed the world, committing crimes without regard for human life.

When the government was too weak to capture these criminals, they would issue maritime capture orders, calling on skilled fighters from the martial world to hunt them down.

The bounty hunters in the martial world are those who live by collecting rewards for capturing fugitives.

From the name of his system, it’s clear that it’s designed for this very purpose.

"In other words, within this entire martial world, there are countless life-saving treasures waiting to be found!"

He clenched his fist lightly, calming his mind, forcing back the urge to rush into the county town and expose the notice immediately.

When facing major matters, one must maintain a calm demeanor. This task is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

Having extended his life by a year already, he could take it slow from here on out.

There was no need to rush.

Thinking of this, he exhaled softly, removing his soaked clothes with the intention of drying them by the fire.

Though martial novels often describe how experts in the martial world can dry their clothes using their internal energy, Su Lun didn’t do this. The reason was simple—his system had only granted him internal energy, without any skills on how to use it. In other words... he had no idea how.

Just as he was about to look for some wood to hang up his clothes, he suddenly heard a swishing sound coming from outside the dilapidated temple.

Su Lun was taken aback. Who would be walking around in this weather?

Moreover, from the sound of it, the person seemed to be heading straight toward here.

It seemed his guess was right. Within moments, the person had already reached the door of the temple.

As Su Lun set up a horizontal bar with a stick, he turned to look. What he saw was a woman with a cold expression stepping into the temple.

Their eyes met, and both were slightly stunned.

Su Lun hadn't expected that, on this late night when no one should be out, there would be a woman running through the mountains.

The woman, however, was staring at Su Lun, who was shirtless. Her originally cold eyes widened, her lips parted, but no words came out.

Su Lun wasn’t worried about her gaze; he was just shirtless, but his pants were still on.

He silently observed the unexpected guest.

Apart from her age being similar to his, what stood out the most was her bloodstained white dress.

Her features were delicate, her complexion pale, and she seemed somewhat disheveled.

There were injuries on her body, not just one, and the blood had been washed away by the rain, giving the impression that from her neck down, she was outlined in a faint red, like a sketch done with a soft brush.

Against her pale face, the contrast made her look even more deathly pale.

She was holding a sword. The sword’s blade had already been unsheathed, gleaming with cold light—definitely not an ordinary weapon.

It was a far cry from the dull blade Su Lun had bought from a blacksmith for two taels of silver.

No matter how you looked at it, she seemed to be a skilled martial artist who had just come from a brutal fight in the martial world.

But right now, she seemed stunned, like a marionette with its strings cut.

Su Lun was puzzled. Was he really that attractive?

He glanced at the long sword in her hand and felt it was better to remind her.

He cleared his throat lightly and said:

"Miss, with that deadly weapon in your hand, are you here to rob me of my money, or... my virtue?"