Clara had no idea there was such a thing. She only knew the first half of the law — that killing bandits was not a crime. The second half? No one had ever mentioned it.

  Most common folk only remembered the “no crime” part. Who would’ve thought there was a reward as well?

  Manager Fan took one look at Clara’s dumbfounded expression and sighed.

  “Sigh. Not your fault. The county office never publicizes it, and most villagers can’t even read. Even if the law is posted on the city gates, who could recognize a single word? Some misunderstanding is bound to happen.”

  And even if you did know about it, whether you actually received the bounty depended entirely on how the county magistrate interpreted the law. So even if Clara had gone to claim it back then, there was no guarantee she would’ve gotten anything.

  Besides, it had been months — it was far too late now.

  Manager Fan just wanted to let her know, since she happened to be here.

  “And besides, you're a woman. You wouldn’t be appointed as a clerk anyway.” He chuckled with a sigh.

  Clara smiled faintly and quietly finished the last sip of her lamb soup, lost in thought.

  She recalled those constables who had visited Liew Clan Village earlier that year — their looks of surprise, though not especially intense. In fact, they’d even seemed relieved, as though once they saw she was a woman, they didn’t need to take further action.

  So they’d known about the law. And once they found out she was female, they relaxed.

  Because that meant no appointment necessary.

  As for the bounty, forget it — even the village chief who came with her never saw a single coin.

  This exchange with Manager Fan helped Clara understand the workings of the world just a little more — and only deepened her resolve for Lester to pass the civil exams.

  Even if he only made it to the level of county scholar, next time she killed a bandit leader, the authorities would have to inform her of the bounty.

  “You’re leaving tomorrow?” Manager Fan asked with a tinge of reluctance.

  Clara nodded. “There’s still work at home.” She still had orders to fill at the waterwheel workshop.

  He sighed again. “I wanted to learn a few more moves from you before you left.”

  Clara gave him a gentle smile. “Come visit us at the village sometime.”

  “Really?” Manager Fan asked, visibly thrilled.

  Clara nodded again, and he broke into a big grin. “I’ve always been curious about your place. You bagged a black bear last year, right? You must’ve expanded your farmland by several acres by now. Are you the richest in your village?”

  Ordinarily, those things would’ve been true.

  Unfortunately, Clara’s household had a walking disaster of a man.

  So she just replied mildly, “Still working on it.”

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  Manager Fan gave an awkward chuckle and invited her to rest in the guest room while he returned to the counter.

  Clara booked a regular private room and, between her appetite and her meal’s size (which could feed five), she spent 120 copper coins.

  That night, she slept soundly.

  Early the next morning, Clara checked out, said goodbye to Manager Fan, and prepared to head home.

  But perhaps some lingering resentment tugged at her heart, or perhaps sheer curiosity pushed her feet — before she knew it, she was going against the crowd, heading straight for the gates of Willowridge County’s main office.

  The streets were bustling with people.

  But in front of the county office? A wide stretch of open ground with barely a soul in sight. Only in front of the bulletin board did a few people pause now and then.

  Unfortunately, there were few literate folk around. Those who could read — mostly scholars — wouldn’t deign to read aloud for others. If you didn’t ask, they wouldn’t offer.

  Clara had only intended to take a quick look at what a real county office looked like. But when she saw the bulletin board clear of people, curiosity got the better of her. She strolled over to see what sort of notices the officials posted.

  The first thing to catch her eye was a wanted poster featuring a sketch of a man’s face — the red ink circle around the character for “reward” nearly leapt off the page.

  Her heart skipped two beats.

  The notice was a long-winded piece accusing the mounted bandits of countless crimes and expressing the fury of the people and government alike.

  Clara filtered out the fluff in her mind and condensed it to this:

  Due to rampant and brutal banditry — now so vile that even livestock suffer — the county is issuing a bounty. Anyone, regardless of status, gender, or age, who kills a bandit leader and assists in suppressing the mounted brigands will be awarded one hundred taels of silver.

  “Hiss—” Clara sucked in a breath.

  The morning air was already hot, but this made her blood surge.

  She took a deep breath to calm her excitement and reread the notice three times. It really did say one hundred taels.

  She marched to the entrance of the office and asked the two guards posted there:

  “How do I claim the reward?”

  To hesitate even a second longer would be an insult to that hundred taels.

  The two guards blinked at her — unsure they heard correctly, or convinced they hadn’t.

  After all, that notice had been posted for half a year, and no one had ever taken it. Every time the ink faded, the magistrate’s clerk had to rewrite and repost it.

  Clara asked again, “How do I claim the reward?”

  One of the guards finally gave her a strange look and gestured toward the board, clearly impatient. “Just tear it down!”

  Clara understood.

  She turned around, walked back, and with a loud rip, tore down the entire poster in one go. The two guards stared at her in disbelief.

  Then she marched back to them.

  “I’ve taken it down. So what now? Bring back this guy’s head and I get paid? Do I need to register somewhere? How do I collect the bounty afterward?”

  This wasn’t the post-apocalyptic world. There was no digital tracking system or automatic deposit after a completed mission. Sure, the job was familiar — but the process was brand new.

  Still, all she could think of was that hundred taels. Even the fierce-looking bandit leader in the sketch started to look dashing in her eyes.

  Clara also cursed herself internally. Why hadn’t she come to the county office earlier?

  Had she known, she would’ve kept those bandits alive a little longer!

  “What’s with the silence? Is this bounty real or not?” she asked impatiently.

  Don’t waste my time when there’s money to be made!

  Now the guards were sure she was serious.

  One of them bolted into the office shouting, “Clerk! Someone claimed the bounty!”

  The other, still skeptical, pointed to the poster in her hands. “You can read what that says?”

  “I can,” Clara replied coolly. “It says one hundred taels. Bring back the heads of the bandit leaders. I didn’t get that wrong, did I?”

  The guard blinked, then asked for her name and where she was from. Clara answered clearly, sounding perfectly sane.

  Finally convinced, they brought her inside.

  Clara never expected that her first time entering the county office would be like this.

  She didn’t meet the magistrate, only the clerk and the county deputy.

  The clerk was basically the magistrate’s chief assistant. The deputy was the county’s chief of security — the local equivalent of a police chief.

  Commoners had to kneel before officials. Clara followed custom, gave a shallow one-knee bow, then explained how she tore down the notice before rising.

  No one thought she was joking around. A woman bold enough to do this was clearly not an ordinary woman.

  When she mentioned she had already killed one of the bandit underleaders earlier this year, the county deputy’s eyes lit up with hope.

  (End of Chapter)

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