Promise!

Chapter 115, Home Ground

This familiar person is Tang Wentao—the same martial arts instructor who taught Zhuang Jin the Black Fiend Palm technique when he was a formal martial artist.

Originally, Tang Wentao was teaching martial arts techniques to formal martial artists at the Shen family headquarters. However, as the intensity of the war increased and the competition within the Shen family headquarters became more and more fierce, he was eliminated.

In fact, Ping Yongfeng's connections are not as good as his. He should have been released long ago. It is only because of Zhuang Jin's connection that he can still stay in the Shen family headquarters.

Tang Wentao also saw Zhuang Jin, the student he once taught martial arts to. He had risen to this level, becoming a seventh-level martial arts master and a ward guard, while Tang Wentao himself was now a squad leader under Zhuang Jin's ward guard. Things had changed, and their positions had reversed. Tang Wentao felt ashamed, embarrassed, and awkward. He subconsciously bent down, took two quick steps forward, and called out, "Lord Zhuang... Lord Zhuang!"

"It's Master Tang!"

Zhuang Jin didn't call him "Teacher Tang." At his position, he couldn't speak carelessly or use any particular title. Every move he made would be interpreted. If he were to call him "Teacher Tang," it would be equivalent to sending a signal that Tang Wentao was someone he considered a mentor, like Ping Yongfeng... But their relationship was far from that level, which wouldn't be good for Tang Wentao either.

However, the other party had been very dedicated to teaching him martial arts, and even gave him a tael of silver when he broke through to the third level, so he still had some goodwill towards them.

Zhuang Jin thought for a moment and said, "Martial Master Tang has dedicated his life to the Shen family. We can't expect him to come here and fight to the death in his old age. He should be transferred back to the Shen family headquarters next month, or to the medicinal fields outside the city!"

If he were still a servant, it would be somewhat presumptuous of him to say this from the perspective of the Shen family. But now that he is a guard, as the foundation of protecting the family and clan, it is appropriate for him to say this.

There was a deeper meaning behind these words: if he's being transferred back next month, then safety must be ensured this month. Otherwise, why would they transfer a dead person back next month? This one sentence was enough to make Tang Wentao's town guards take it to heart, and safety this month was greatly enhanced.

"Thank you, Lord Zhuang!" Tang Wentao's feelings at this moment were incredibly complex, including excitement, gratitude, and emotion.

"Of course!" Zhuang Jin nodded and went inside.

Outside, after he left, many martial artists, filled with envy, crowded around Tang Wentao, showering him with compliments and flattery.

……

At noon, Tang Wentao's wife came over, and Tang Wentao spoke of this matter with deep emotion.

“Seven Classics Ward Governor, when did you acquire such a student?”

“You’ve forgotten, back when someone broke through to the Three Classics, I wanted to give five taels of silver as a congratulatory gift, but you wouldn’t allow it, so in the end I only gave one tael…” Tang Wentao began.

Originally, after being ostracized from the main branch of the Shen family, and with no other connections to rely on, he thought of asking Zhuang Jin if he could salvage the situation. However, he felt ashamed for only sending one tael of silver as a congratulatory gift and gave up the idea.

Upon hearing this, Tang's wife felt quite regretful, but women are often soft-hearted, except for their stubbornness: "I won't give it to you. Try to reason with me. Do you really think I won't give it to you?"

"Didn't I tell you back then? I said that Lord Zhuang is different, that he's a thoughtful person. I tried to persuade him with all my heart and soul, but you just wouldn't give it to me!"

"I……"

Tang's wife remembered, it seemed, perhaps, probably... that was indeed the case, but it was absolutely impossible for her to admit her mistake, so she still stubbornly insisted, "Yes, I didn't agree to give you the money at first, but if you were really determined, wouldn't you have acted first and asked later, secretly taking the money, or borrowing it? Could I have stopped you?"

"If I really did that, and you found out afterwards, wouldn't you cause a huge uproar?"

"Pah! You didn't do that, so how did you know I'd make a scene? Fine, so that's how you see me? You heartless bastard, I gave you two sons..."

"I...you...hi!" Tang Wentao was just uncultured, otherwise he would have sighed at this moment, "Women and petty men are the hardest to deal with!"
……

Moving slightly forward, back to when Zhuang Jin and Tang Wentao parted ways and entered the ward's residence for a meeting.

The moment Zhuang Jin entered, the six town guards stood up in unison. Although many of them had known in advance yesterday that Zhuang Jin was the town guard of Yuefang, their feelings were still complicated when they actually saw him.

Zhuang Jin also looked at his six street garrison commanders, which were the standard configuration: two with six rank, two with five rank, and two with four rank.

Two sets of the Six Classics.

One of them was Duan Tao. Looking at Zhuang Jin, his heart was filled with complex emotions. Back in May, Zhuang Jin was still a squad leader under him, addressing him as "Lord Duan" when toasting him. In August and September, within their small circle, people called him "Brother Duan." Now, he was Zhuang Jin's subordinate, and he had to call him "Lord Zhuang"... Damn it! Who could he complain to?
The other was Xue Yandao. Although he was arrogant, he valued strength the most. On the night of September 18th, Zhuang Jin displayed the strength of the Six Scriptures and mastered the Black Fiend Palm. After that night, he took the initiative to attend two small meetings. In comparison, he was quite calm and convinced.

Two Five Classics.

One of them is Wei Xun, who is a little flustered at this moment. Back then, because Zhuang Jin took over his street and refused to share the orchid, he was filled with jealousy and was blinded by greed, so he poured boiling water on Zhuang Jin's pot of orchids and killed it... Now he has become Zhuang Jin's subordinate. Fate is playing tricks on him!
The other was Du Shiyuan, whose feelings were no less complicated than Duan Tao's and Wei Xun's. Back then, he was the first among the martial arts students recruited to break through the fourth meridian, while Zhuang Jin was only the second... But now, he had only broken through the fifth meridian after receiving the meridian-clearing pill from the 'Battle Merit Loan', while Zhuang Jin had already reached the seventh meridian!
He asked himself, "I haven't been slacking off at all, so why is the gap widening? Is this reasonable? Is this normal? Does it make any sense?"
But thinking about it, among the martial arts students recruited now, not a single one has mastered the Six Classics, and he is still one of the top two, so he feels much better... Well, although the gap between second and first place is quite large, you could say it's a huge gap, Du Shiyuan can comfort himself by saying that he is a normal genius and not comparable to a monster like Zhuang Jin who is not human.

Two sets of four classics.

One of them was Lin Hong. He earned a lot of merits under Zhuang Jin in August and September. After completing the accumulation of the Three Scriptures Realm, he naturally couldn't afford the Shuluo Pill, so he used a 'Poison Dragon Flower' to break through the bottleneck.

—The 'Poison Dragon Flower' and the 'Lotus Grass' that Zhuang Jin once gave to Ping Yongfeng are both main ingredients of the Meridian-Clearing Pill. However, the Lotus Grass is relatively mild, while the Poison Dragon Flower has an extremely violent effect. Without other medicinal materials, its medicinal properties are violent and it is easy to damage the meridians.

Lin Hong successfully broke through, but his meridians were slightly damaged, and it took him almost a month to recover.

The other garrison commander of Sijing Street was named Qu Zhe. He was wounded and retired from the south side of the city and was assigned to the north side.

Zhuang Jin could guess the complex feelings of the crowd and said, "There are many acquaintances here. I am not one to put on airs. It's fine for people to call me by my name in private. However, private matters are private matters and public matters are public matters. There is no room for joking around in public affairs. Anyone who messes up will be dealt with according to military law!"

As he spoke, he moved swiftly, using the Swift Wind Step to leave afterimages as he arrived at the empty head seat.

This scene caused the pupils of the six town guards to shrink sharply. Such speed far exceeded theirs; in a battle, they probably wouldn't even be able to react, and a single move could severely injure them. They also thought that Zhuang Jin's strength seemed to be no weaker than that of Xing Yan, the former town guard...

Martial artists prioritize strength above all else. No matter how complicated their feelings may be, they suppress them and feel a sense of awe.

"Gentlemen, for your own lives, for the sake of military merit, and for the grand plan of the Shen family, I urge you to unite as one and obey orders without question... Let's discuss the arrangements for this month..."

Zhuang Jin relayed instructions, mentioning that on the evening of the sixth day, they would join forces with Ping Shui Po to launch an attack on the front lines, as well as various matters concerning the streets, and then the meeting adjourned.

……

On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, in the afternoon.

Wei Xun then brought Xiang Qichen over and presented him with a generous gift as an apology for what had happened.

—The reason for bringing Xiang Qichen is that Xiang Qichen and Zhuang Jin were roommates back then, so there might be some friendship between them; if there is no friendship, then reveal that Xiang Qichen talked about Zhuang Jin behind her back and was two-faced, and sell Xiang Qichen out.

"Lord Zhuang!"

"Brother Zhuang!"

Zhuang Jin looked at the two anxious people, then at the gift, which was worth about five or six hundred taels of silver, as well as orchids, chrysanthemums, calligraphy and paintings, etc. It was obvious that she had done her homework and knew his and Chen Yun's preferences.

"If only you had known this would happen, you wouldn't have done it in the first place." He patted Wei Xun on the shoulder, making the man tremble with fear and break out in a cold sweat. Only after accepting the gift did the man finally breathe a sigh of relief.

On the one hand, the orchid incident wasn't a big deal, and the apology was substantial enough; on the other hand, it was just a minor official, and his relentless pursuit was detrimental to unity and also showed pettiness.

This was directed at Wei Xun, but what about Xiang Qichen...? Weren't there many people gossiping about him behind his back? And the other party was just a subordinate of his subordinate; to say even one more word would be to lose face for no reason.

On this day, not only Wei Xun, but also Qu Zhe, the garrison commander of Sijing Street who had been injured and retired to recuperate in the south of the city, also came to visit with gifts. He was clearly a sensible and worldly-wise man, and this was a sign of his obedience.

Wei Xun and Qu Zhe lowered their heads. The other four were Duan Tao and Xue Yandao. One was a friend and a smart man, and the other respected the strong. Du Shiyuan came from an official family and was quite pragmatic. Lin Hong was an old subordinate, needless to say.

Thus, Zhuang Jin completely took control of Dongqiaowu in a single day, taking advantage of the home advantage he enjoyed during August and September.

……

(End of this chapter)