Promise!

Chapter 144, Incontinence

Time flies, and nearly two months have passed. It's now late May, and Zhuang Jin is about to complete his Nine Scriptures Realm accumulation and break through to the Ten Scriptures Realm.

Just then, on this day, Ou Wenzhong came to visit, bringing small gifts as usual. During their casual conversation, he inadvertently mentioned, "Zhou Town Commander Zhuang, do you know what Qian Wende, the town commander of Qing'an Street, has been up to lately? Taking money is one thing, but targeting the wives of his subordinates... is a bit too much."

"I see."

Zhuang Jin nodded slightly, without saying anything.

Owen Zhong also changed the subject, talking about other things and not mentioning the matter again.

After Ou Wenzhong left, Zhuang Jin summoned Bi Kai and Lin Hong, instructing them to split into two groups: one to summon Qian Wende, and the other to investigate Qian Wende's recent activities.

As a superior, when faced with outsiders holding his subordinates accountable, he naturally needs to have a certain level of trust in them. He can't just believe whatever others say, or throw his subordinates out with a bluff like, "Your Left Sima Cao Wushang is no good." Who would dare to work diligently under such circumstances? He must conduct his own investigation and verification.

"Lin Hong, during your investigation, keep an eye out for any external forces at play..."

Zhuang Jin knew that since Ou Wenzhong dared to say that Qian Wende must have gone too far, the question was whether it was Qian Wende's own problem or someone else's scheme to frame him.

'If it were just Qian Wende's own depravity, that would be one thing, but what if someone with ulterior motives plotted against him...'

A murderous glint appeared on his face: 'After what happened to the Huang family father and son, if anyone dares to act like this again, they're slapping me in the face. This time, it won't be over so easily without a lot of people dying!'

……

Lin Hong and Bi Kai went out together to the Qing'an Street post. By then, the sun was already high in the sky, and when they arrived, they found that Qian Wende had not yet come.

So, one of them stayed behind to investigate, while the other, after making inquiries, went to the home of a martial artist on Qing'an Street.

Bi Kai arrived at the martial artist's home. Led by the man, who had a resentful and frustrated expression, he arrived at the door of a certain room. Upon hearing the sounds coming from inside, he paused involuntarily.

The room was in disarray, filled with the smell of alcohol and a scent reminiscent of photinia. Qian Wende's eyes were dark-rimmed, a sign of his recent excessive indulgence. He was currently embracing a naked woman under a blanket, half-seduce, half-threat, saying, "Good sister-in-law, you don't want this either... Don't worry, serve me well, and the master will leave your husband in the east of the city and take care of him..."

The woman trembled slightly as she listened, her face filled with humiliation and resentment, yet she had no choice but to comply. Her voice, tinged with hatred, trembled as she cried, "Governor Qian, aren't you afraid of what the higher-ups will say?"

"This……"

Upon hearing this, Qian Wende thought of Zhuang Jin and his body trembled involuntarily. But he immediately shook his head and sneered as if to comfort himself, "Afraid? Why should I be afraid? Even if Brother Zhuang knew... he wouldn't say anything about such a trivial matter."

"Besides, a local official is more powerful than a distant one. Don't overestimate your superiors. My brother Zhuang may be called the magistrate of a town, but he probably isn't as carefree as I am..."

Men probably like to boast in front of women, and at this moment he became more and more proud as he spoke, and his mouth became more and more unrestrained: "To put it bluntly, my brother Zhuang is in a high position, and correspondingly, there are naturally many people who are jealous of him and hate him. He is licking blood from the edge of a knife, and who knows when he will... I am a small person, but I also have the advantages of being a small person. If I am sure... as long as I change quickly and pay my dues, I can still be rich and powerful."

"Of course, when to jump ship, how to do it, and whether you can do it quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly—there's a lot to learn in all of these..."

"Hey, he takes the risks, I'll take the profits, what do you say..."

……

boom!
Upon hearing this, Bi Kai finally couldn't hold back any longer, kicked the door open, and burst in.

“You green turtle, who let you in… Bi, Bi Kai?! Did you hear everything just now?” Qian Wende’s voice trembled as he said the last sentence.

The next moment, overwhelmed by fear, and weakened by two months of unrestrained indulgence, he lost control of his bladder and wet himself in terror, causing the woman on the bed to scream.

……

"Brother Zhuang, it's like this... this matter is somewhat related to our dinner party last month..."

Lin Hong returned first and reported the investigation results.

Zhuang Jin listened expressionlessly, and then understood the whole story.

Let's start with Qian Wende becoming the town magistrate of Qing'an Street. Because of his admonition, this guy didn't get arrogant at the time, but he couldn't help but feel proud.

Qian Wende certainly had reason to be proud. Having reached the fourth level of cultivation, his rise from servant to household guard represented a dramatic change in status. Furthermore, he was the street magistrate of the lucrative eastern part of the city, wielding real power and, in a sense, a local tyrant. The situation in Qing'an Street was particularly different. The three squads under him were all former subordinates of Huang Jun. With a new emperor came new officials; the three squad leaders and over ten ordinary martial artists naturally worried about being replaced by Qian Wende and kicked out of the eastern part of the city… Given the current situation in the prefectural city, with fierce battles in the north and south, these complacent rats faced an almost certain death if they were driven out. Therefore, they were extremely eager to please Qian Wende.

How far can this kind of flattery go? Sending money, women, even one's own wife... At first, Qian Wende still had his head and bottom line, and he didn't like that kind of behavior. He decided to accept bribes to appease and keep some people, and drive away others to place and cultivate his own confidants.

After deliberately spreading the word, the martial artists began to compete fiercely for the remaining spots, and their generosity in giving gifts left Qian Wende speechless. It could only be said that these bigwigs from the east of the city were indeed rolling in money, and the benefits they offered made Qian Wende's bottom line waver.

Just then, during the latter part of the dinner party last month, Qian Wende, Xiang Qichen, and Xiong Lei went to a brothel, which opened the door to a new world for them...

From then on, he developed some strange habits similar to Cao's. When faced with his subordinates giving him gifts from his wife again, he would... well, they smelled so good!

At this point, it's mostly a matter of mutual consent and each party getting what they need.

But over the next month, Qian Wende's desires continued to swell. He lost all interest in normal women and began to seek greater stimulation. Even the kind of consensual, mutually beneficial relationship was no longer enough. He became increasingly outrageous, and when he heard that one of his wives was beautiful, he would use threats and inducements, threatening to kick her out of the east of the city if she didn't comply...

—Qian Wende wasn't really lacking in women; rather, he was insatiable, or rather, his stimulation threshold was raised. He wanted to try more exciting and perverse things, so he liked to use coercion and enticement, the kind where the other woman's wife was clearly unwilling, but had no choice...

As for the consequences of doing so? What consequences? In Qian Wende's view, those below were just martial artists of the first to third level. What could they do? What did they dare to do? He didn't take them seriously at all!

However, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Qian Wende took the money but did nothing, and he was so arrogant and unreasonable... So, those people joined together and spent a lot of money to find connections... These rats in the east of the city were deeply entrenched and interconnected. In their search for connections, they went through many twists and turns and finally found a few town and ward officials. However, because of Huang Tianjun's matter, they did not dare to offend Zhuang Jin, so they told Ou Wenzhong, which is why this person came to mention it today.

"...That's just the way it is."

As Lin Hong spoke, he felt it was all unbelievable. He couldn't believe that Qian Wende would do such things, that the changes would be so drastic, and that he was so unfamiliar with him. It was as if the Qian Wende he knew before was always wearing a mask, and he had never truly seen him for who he was.

As Zhuang Jin listened, he recalled how Qian Wende had been by his side before—a man of principle, intelligent, and knowing when to advance and retreat. Compared to the two short months he had been sent to guard the town, he was like a completely different person…

This was even after he had given prior instructions.

"Human nature, human desires!"

Having experienced Miao Lun, Xing Yan, Gao Shi, Liu Licheng… and so on, Zhuang Jin had long since become indifferent. Now, calm as an outsider, she detached herself and saw things clearly, understanding the reason: 'Qian Wende's personality is such that if you have value, he'll fawn over you like a dog; if you have no value, he'll turn his back on you, as he did with Xiang Qichen, and later with Jiao Kun's family…'

"Such values ​​and personality are fine when suppressed around me; but once they're sent out into the world, rise to power, and wield absolute authority, facing all sorts of flattery and fawning without any constraints, their desires gradually swell, leading to further indulgence and ultimately to their current state."

Ultimately, it came down to a lack of virtue matching his position. Qian Wende didn't have the temperament to match that position or the capacity to wield that power, and... he ultimately didn't heed my warnings and admonitions.

Zhuang Jin lowered her eyelids and asked, "Was there any external force involved during this process?"

"Brother Zhuang, according to my investigation, there shouldn't be any."

"Ok!"

Zhuang Jin nodded slightly, guessing that was the case. After the Huang Tianjun incident, the other wards and towns in the east of the city all knew that he was not to be trifled with and regarded him as a plague god, avoiding him at all costs. They just wanted him to stay for a few months and get out of there as soon as possible. Why would they cause trouble and scheme to provoke this evil star? Weren't they afraid of getting into trouble and even suffering a lot of pain?
"Besides, even if they wanted to test or scheme, they wouldn't target only Qian Wende, the town magistrate. Letting him become corrupt and degenerate would only make me look bad; what good would that do? It would just make them a laughingstock!"

He still allowed Lin Hong to investigate, but only out of caution.

"Brother Zhuang..." Lin Hong opened his mouth, wanting to plead for him.

Although this investigation made him feel unfamiliar with Qian Wende, and even disgusted with him, it was still a small circle after all, and if it really came down to it... he also felt a sense of shared sorrow.

Where there are people, there is a social hierarchy, and Zhuang Jin's subordinates are no exception. They have their own circles, such as Xue Yandao and Duan Tao, who were colleagues in the north of the city, and Lin Hong, Bi Kai, Wu Hao, and Qian Wende, who were from their dormitory.

"I have my own plans. Lin Hong, you can go now!" Zhuang Jin waved his hand, letting Lin Hong leave.

……

Not long after, Bi Kai brought Qian Wende in. At this moment, Qian Wende had dark circles under his eyes from excessive indulgence, and his face was pale. He looked like a scholar whose life essence had been sucked away by a female ghost. He no longer had the prestige and high spirits he had in front of his subordinates.

Especially when he saw Zhuang Jin standing next to the sword rack, playing with a long sword, he almost peed his pants in fright again, and knelt down with a thud: "Brother Zhuang, spare my life!"

……

(End of this chapter)