Sure, here is the translation for the provided text:

"So it’s just a monkey version..."

Du Chengfeng finished sharpening his weapons and looked at the retractable short spear in his hand, scratching his head in frustration.

Initially, he thought that this item could pose a threat to him and possibly be some Divine Soldiers—however, the truth proved he only guessed half right; this thing is merely an imitation of Divine Soldiers, and a very poor one at that.

He had seen a true Divine Weapon while sharpening his blade—the Soft Vine Spear—even at a level undergoing Evil Qi, was extremely deadly. Like how he swung several blades, but the opponent’s long spear twisted three times and pierced through, leaving him momentarily stunned, enough for him to get impaled through the throat.

And that was without unleashing the full power of the Soft Vine Spear.

His weapons can slash out blade lights; naturally, the Soft Vine Spear also has its unique methods—unfortunately, the young assassin turned into a monster was so incompetent that the old man just thrust the spear and killed it. It was convenient for the old man, but Du Chengfeng missed a chance to observe Divine Weapons.

However, at least he saw what one of the fifteen National Guardian Artifacts looks like.

"It’s truly something remarkable..."

Recalling the Soft Vine Spear, Du Chengfeng admitted he was somewhat tempted.

Yet, he quickly restrained the greed, as the spear wasn’t his, just as Liu Bolun advised before departing that if he entertained greedy thoughts about treasures, he might step into an unknown trap.

The old saying goes, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Instead of coveting the National Guardian Artifacts of the Chen royal family, he’d better see what he gained this time.

First is the retractable short spear; although compared to the Soft Vine Spear, this thing is just a toy, toys have their uses. At least this compact form can completely be tucked in his old robe among the remaining knives and, when needed, just take it out, shake it, and it’s a short spear again.

Moreover, he acquired a set of techniques for using this short spear, which can be utilized when necessary to uphold appearances.

But the most important gain this time would be the assassin experience.

How to track, how to pinpoint, how to assassinate discreetly, how to withdraw at the fastest speed—and most importantly, when to raise the price, when to switch to outsourcing, what kind of rhetoric can prompt the employer to pay more deposit, these are essential survival skills for assassins, and Du Chengfeng learned them well.

Incorporating his previous knowledge, like hunter tracking skills or the extortion techniques of petty gangsters, Du Chengfeng felt he was treading a path of no return.

The gains in items and skills had made Du Chengfeng quite satisfied, proving staying awake at night has its benefits, for heaven favors those who stay up.

Besides that, he gained information.

"Is there someone wanting to buy my head already?"

Recalling seeing a bounty for himself while sharpening weapons, Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but laugh.

The reason for his laughter is his high value; remember Cui Yuan, back in Yanzhou, was only priced at ten gold by a bunch of people.

Yet in Jiankang, his head was already worth a thousand gold.

Though for a rebel who assassinated an emperor, the price seemed low, for an assassin, it’s extraordinarily high—a top-tier sum—so Du Chengfeng could almost foresee that during the journey to Jiankang, assassins coming for him would be endless.

Just like now, the moment he appeared in the window, a cold arrow was shot at him.

Having trained, Du Chengfeng easily caught the arrow, and after a moment of contemplation, he tossed the arrow back.

That raised a classic question he pondered for some time, since in this damned world, achieving Evil Qi infusion grants the strength to block arrows, and with Evil Qi release, arrows are regarded as nonexistent; but Strong Bow and Crossbow can still be deadly.

So the question arises.

After a Strong Bow and Crossbow kills someone, is the Evil Qi attributed to the bow or the arrow?

In the past, Du Chengfeng never considered this question as he didn’t use bows, hence it didn’t concern him—now, driven by his research on Evil Qi, he needs to understand what’s going on.

Luckily, this time he remembered to test it.

But the experimental result was somewhat subtle; the assassin was nailed to death by the arrow he tossed back, yet strangely, the Evil Qi went to the bow—but the bow was in the assassin’s ownership, never touched by Du Chengfeng.

"Shouldn’t this count as an arrow kill? Why is it attributed to the bow?"

Du Chengfeng scratched his head.

Being an isolated case, it wasn’t sufficient for conclusion, so Du Chengfeng retrieved the bow and arrows and returned to the inn to continue fishing.

Though he learned some archery skills from prairie people, his shooting technique was unreliable—the fundamental reason being that those prairie people themselves aren’t infallible marksmen. However, it didn’t pose much trouble as he was always precise with his throws, especially after Yang Sanlang sacrificed himself wielding the blade, raising his throwing skills to a new level.

Thus, after deciding to use himself as bait, in just half a night, Du Chengfeng gathered another dozen.

Ten bodies neatly laid on the ground, and after ten comparisons, Du Chengfeng confirmed that even throwing arrows by hand, the Evil Qi still falls onto the nearby bow.

Evidently, there exists some unknown distribution mechanism; further research is needed to understand why it lands on the bow.

However, the research in Haizhou couldn’t proceed, with more than a dozen deaths overnight, all aimed at the Imperial Envoy, the Haizhou leading commander was so frightened his beard turned white, escorting Du Chengfeng and the old eunuch out of the city at daylight, unwilling to keep them a day longer.

Heading south out of Haizhou required boarding a ship—via the Huai River and the Yangtze—both requiring ships to traverse. Unlike the eunuch accustomed to ships, Du Chengfeng was unaccustomed to seafaring, so standing on the deck was naturally unstable, grasping for balance required skill, and he surprisingly discovered that much of his combat ability was unutilizable.

Meanwhile, over ten assassins lurked underwater, drilling through the hull.