Promise!

Chapter 138, Taking the Blame

Swish!
With a single burst of energy, everything is accomplished naturally. In the circulation of the nine meridians, the quality and quantity of internal energy are once again enhanced.

The Ninefold Realm... is complete!
Just as the first three classics represent one stage, the seventh to ninth classics can also be considered a stage, and the ninth classic is considered the pinnacle of that stage.

'The next step is the Ten Classics!'

Zhuang Jin's eyes narrowed: 'The transition from the ninth to the tenth meridian, like the transition from the third to the fourth, presents a significantly increased difficulty in overcoming the bottleneck. However, after breaking through, one's strength will also experience a substantial leap. The quality of internal energy is one factor, and another is that the tenth meridian allows one to elevate movement techniques to the minor completion level!'

Strength determines the right to speak; Shi Jing, being located in the north of the city, is at the level of a garrison commander.

"At the current pace, I'll break through the Ten Classics and reach that level by the end of May at the latest."

"Back to the present, as is customary, I won't register for now. Although the east of the city is stable, it's still good to keep a low profile... However, given all the previous events, those who have studied my background will be more lenient if they target me again in the future, and will most likely not send anyone from the same realm!"

This was unavoidable; Zhuang Jin could only do the best he could: 'When I input my inner energy into the Glazed Realm Testing Puppet, it reflects the progress of my meridian openings. Therefore, I can only hide one meridian at most, delaying registration. However, I can skirt around it as much as possible. For example, when I've completed the accumulation of nine meridians and can break through to ten meridians on the same day, I can then register for the nine meridians and the three-pattern guard, and return that same day to immediately break through to ten meridians!'

'The Glazed Realm Testing Puppet doesn't lie, and others probably wouldn't expect that after my test and registration for advancement, I'd already moved on to the next realm. It's a kind of tactical deception against the enemy.'

……

After Zhuang Jin broke through the Nine Classics, it was time to deal with Miao Shao's family. Naturally, such matters required thorough investigation beforehand to avoid alerting them and to wipe them out completely.

This level of matter is no longer suitable for Qian Wende to handle—even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Sending a mere martial artist like Qian Wende to investigate would be putting his subordinate in a difficult position, and if anything goes wrong, it would only make him look bad.

Therefore, Zhuang Jin personally returned to the Shen family headquarters and asked Zou Qingfeng of the Law Enforcement Division for help in investigating and compiling information on Miao Shao's family.

In January, Zou Qingfeng escorted a large merchant's fleet back home. He had been warned by Zhuang Jin beforehand and was one of only two survivors. He later came to thank Zhuang Jin and gave him a generous gift. After this experience, the two, who had originally only made purely profit-driven deals, developed some feelings for each other.

He also knew about the feud between Zhuang Jin and Miao Shao, and now that Miao Shao was dead, he was just a family member of a deceased Seven Scripture Martial Artist. It was such a small matter that he would naturally not refuse.

Because it would take some time, Zhuang Jin and Zou Qingfeng agreed that Zhuang Jin would come to collect the intelligence at the end of the month. However, an unexpected incident occurred before that.

March 29th, morning.

Zhuang Jin looked through the accounts handed over by the garrison commanders of the six streets, signed them, and submitted them to the General Affairs Department. As the garrison commander of the eastern part of the city, he was extremely leisurely when he was truly given power. This was the only thing he did in a month besides his daily duties of overseeing the area.

He quickly flipped through them, glanced at them, and if there were no major problems, he would simply tick and sign them, until he paused on one of them.

"Something interesting!"

Zhuang Jin looked at the application with amusement, put it aside, and instructed his servants: "Go and invite Huang Jun, the garrison commander of Qing'an Street, to come over."

A moment later, Huang Jun approached somewhat nervously: "Lord Zhuang, what brings you here?"

"This street renovation plan report... was submitted by you, wasn't it?"

Upon seeing the report, Huang Jun's eyes twitched. He slapped his forehead, feigning sudden realization, and tried to take it back: "Yes, this report is mine. However, I think I took the wrong one. I intended to submit it to the General Affairs Department for review, but somehow it ended up with Lord Zhuang..."

Because it is considered that the ward and town officials are not omnipotent and may not be familiar with the general affairs of the streets, the street and town officials can submit such application reports for street and town renovation to the General Affairs Department for review.

Of course, you can also have the town magistrate sign first. Basically, once the town magistrate signs, there won't be any obstacles from above... However, this kind of signature comes with responsibility.

Zhuang Jin pressed down on the report, looked at Huang Jun, and said with a forced smile, "I don't believe that Garrison Commander Huang would make such a low-level mistake. If I hadn't looked at it carefully and signed it, surely Garrison Commander Huang wouldn't have said such a thing?" "This...this...Lord Zhuang is joking." Cold sweat beaded on Huang Jun's forehead, and he looked guilty.

Indeed, this was not a mistake, but a deliberate test.

It turned out that since Zhuang Jin and Ou Wenzhong reached an agreement to delegate authority and turn a blind eye to things, Huang Jun and the other two were initially quite relieved and content. However, as time went on, nearly two months passed, and they became increasingly relaxed and daring. In addition, Zhuang Jin was not one of their own. Although he wouldn't interfere or meddle, he wouldn't offer any support either, which made many things inconvenient. Furthermore, they felt that Zhuang Jin was afraid of the forces behind them and wanted to further test their limits...

Huang Jun told Ban Ming and Song Jinghui about this matter. The two agreed in principle and supported him in spirit, encouraging him to go ahead, which led to this incident.

It can only be said that strength and interpersonal skills are not necessarily proportional. Among the three, Huang Jun has the strongest background, with elders at the Eight Classics level behind him, while the other two only have elders at the Seven Classics level. In addition, he is at the Six Classics level and has the strongest strength. He seems to be the center of the three-person group, but is that really the case?

Ban Ming appears taciturn, yet he is meticulous and cunning; Song Jinghui always speaks sweet words and praises others, making him a master of flattery... Huang Jun seems to be the leader of the three, but in reality, he is being pushed forward and encouraged by Ban Ming and Song Jinghui. They encourage him to take the lead when needed, while the two hide behind and reap the benefits, just like the test on the first day.

This is similar to the emperor and his ministers. If those in power lack wisdom and character, they can be manipulated and manipulated by those below them, and even rebel against the heavens!

Getting back to the main point, let's return to this matter.

Huang Jun had intended to test the waters a little, and if it didn't work, he would just take it back. However, he didn't expect Zhuang Jin to react so strongly, like a baboon that explodes at the slightest provocation. Huang Jun immediately felt a strong sense of regret.

"This... haha, it's not that I didn't want to trouble the General Affairs Department..."

"No, you don't want to trouble the General Affairs Department; you want me to take the blame!"

Zhuang Jin flicked his sleeve and threw the report at him: "Five taels of silver for a tree, one qian of silver for a bluestone slab? Are you trying to fool me?"

"No, Lord Zhuang, let me explain... no, let me explain... this tree was transported from another prefecture, and it's a different variety..."

"I swear on your stupidity! You're turning a street into a palace?"

After Zhuang Jin finished scolding, his expression immediately turned calm, and he said indifferently, "Next month, you should apply for a transfer from Qingyuanfang yourself, and give yourself some dignity!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Jun's expression changed drastically.

You have to understand, given the current situation in the prefectural city, with constant battles everywhere, if we were to lose our position guarding this street, there probably wouldn't be any suitable place to assign us in the east of the city for the time being, and it would be even more impossible for our headquarters. If we were to go to the north or south of the city, wouldn't that be disastrous? Even if we were to be assigned to the medicinal fields outside the city, it wouldn't be as comfortable or lucrative as being in the east of the city!
Panic, hatred, anger, regret, fear...

He was filled with mixed emotions, but because of Zhuang Jin's status, power, and unpredictable personality, he dared not show it in the slightest. He could only repeatedly beg for forgiveness, saying, "Lord Zhuang, I know I was wrong. You are a magnanimous person, and I will definitely make amends for this..."

Zhuang Jin didn't even look up, and said indifferently, "Have your elders come and say this."

The implication is that you're not worthy of talking to me about compensation.

"This..." Huang Jun's face turned red and then pale, changing color repeatedly, but he dared not lash out and left stammeringly.

"Ah!"

Zhuang Jin glanced at Huang Jun's retreating figure, a cold smile playing on her lips: 'Some people are just inherently despicable. Give them a nice face, some understanding, some tolerance, and they'll think they're easy to bully, pushing their luck and trying to test their limits...'

'When faced with something like this, you have to cut off the claws the first time they extend, so they know the pain, otherwise it will keep happening one after another, endlessly!'

……

(End of this chapter)