Promise!

Chapter 146, Breakthrough Again

"How can it be?!"

The flying squirrel thief's pupils shrank sharply when he saw this.

He was at the Eighth Principle Realm, and his hidden arrow, shot with a special technique and enhanced by his inner energy, could have been a serious loss even for a Ninth Principle Realm martial artist if they weren't careful. Yet, his opponent was able to block it with a lantern with ease.
Before anyone could be shocked, a figure darted through the sparks and the light of exploding like fireworks.

Swish!
Under the cool moonlight, Zhuang Jin, with an indifferent expression, swept out and pressed down with his palm.

The Flying Rat Thief was rushing away and hastily raised his palm to deal with the attack. He then felt Zhuang Jin's palm force sweep away everything in its path, annihilating the power he had unleashed and instantly eroding his hand, leaving it a bloody mess. The accompanying immense force sent him flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

Then several breaths passed.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
The hidden force contained in Zhuang Jin's palm strike caused the Flying Rat Thief's right arm to tremble. With a sound like a firecracker exploding, multiple places on his skin were torn open, and he screamed in agony.

In the short time that followed, several white-robed warriors caught up. These were all at the level of town guards, some at the seventh or eighth level, and there was also Ou Wenzhong, an old acquaintance, at the ninth level. They surrounded the Flying Rat Thief.

Then came the garbage time. The flying squirrel thief, already badly injured, was outnumbered and quickly taken down.

After making that move, Zhuang Jin returned to Chen Yun's side and watched from a distance.

"Thanks to Town Guard Zhuang, otherwise this guy would have really gotten away!"

Ou Wenzhong came over as a representative to express his gratitude, and said in a low voice, "There are some inside stories. I will talk to Governor Zhuang about it in detail tomorrow and then present a gift of thanks."

Zhuang Jin nodded in understanding: "It's nothing, Garrison Commander Ou, please do as you please."

At that moment, he suddenly sensed something, and his gaze shifted to the crowd of onlookers. Many of them dared not meet his eyes and lowered their heads to hide the fear and hatred on their faces.

"Was it because of me that the Flying Squirrel Thief was captured so easily?"

Zhuang Jin instantly understood the reason, but her expression remained indifferent, without any change.

He had his own judgment. Putting aside the fact that the Flying Rat Thief had attacked first, trying to kill him and Chen Yun, just considering good and evil, the Flying Rat Thief was not as chivalrous as rumored; he was a womanizer... He had no qualms about attacking such a person.

As for the ordinary people's lack of understanding and hatred?
What does it have to do with him? Does it bother him in the slightest? He doesn't need to care.

However, after this experience, he was no longer in the mood for sightseeing. Zhuang Jin nodded goodbye to Ou Wenzhong and the others, and returned home with Chen Yun.

……

The next day, Ou Wenzhong came over and spoke of the operation against the Flying Rat Bandits the previous night: "It's one thing for the Flying Rat Bandits to be a bit rampant on a regular basis, after all, we don't want to provoke such martial artists easily. If we don't kill them off, they might hide in the shadows and seek revenge... But this guy should never have laid a hand on the wife of a town ward..."

"Last night's lantern festival was a trap specifically set for this Flying Rat Thief. They even used a huge luminous pearl as bait... The Flying Rat Thief fell for it, but he didn't expect that this person wasn't a Seventh Scripture, but an Eighth Scripture. He deliberately chose a location guarded by the Seventh Scripture Ward to break through the encirclement..."

That's why the two of them encountered that scene last night.

"I see." Zhuang Jin nodded slightly. No wonder it was such a coincidence.

"The Flying Rat Thief was captured last night thanks to the efforts of Garrison Commander Zhuang. Under torture and interrogation, several of his hideouts were raided, and a considerable amount of spoils were seized. These are his books and paintings; Garrison Commander Zhuang, please do not refuse them..." Ou Wenzhong knew that Zhuang Jin's relationship with the forces in the eastern part of the city was delicate. It would be difficult for Zhuang Jin to accept direct gifts of property, money, etc., but these things were fine.

In addition, I had heard that Chen Yun was interested in books and calligraphy, so I wanted to help her achieve her interest.

This time, Zhuang Jin did not refuse. He had contributed to the capture of the Flying Rat Thief, so he deserved this reward. He was not to be outdone and was worthy of it.

……

That afternoon, Chen Yun was tidying up the books and paintings when she suddenly came over with a flushed face: "Husband, look at this!"

As he spoke, he handed something to Zhuang Jin as if it were a hot potato.

Zhuang Jin looked at it with curiosity and saw that it was a booklet with the title "The Record of Stealing the Heavenly Treasure" on the cover. The name sounded domineering, but it was actually the diary of the Flying Rat Thief. After reading it, he immediately understood many of his doubts, such as the identity and origin of the Flying Rat Thief and why he was able to reach the Eighth Rank.

As mentioned before, the rise of the Medicine King Gang was due to a disciple's rapid breakthrough, which drew attention and led to the theft of the Azure Origin Pot... This Flying Rat Thief had actually been in contact with that Medicine King Gang disciple!
Zhuang Jin had mentioned things like immortals and the Qingyuan Pot to Chen Yun as amusing anecdotes, and it was precisely because of this that Chen Yun saw these things and thought they might be useful to Zhuang Jin, so she showed them to him.

According to the Flying Rat Thief's diary, this person used to operate in the west of the city. He once stole a small jar of Qingyuan Mother Elixir from a disciple of the Medicine King Gang... Later, this Medicine King Gang disciple was secretly arrested and killed, and the Qingyuan Pot was stolen. Even news about this person was strictly sealed off. The Flying Rat Thief sensed something was wrong, so he ran to the east of the city...

He has now reached the Eighth Realm, thanks to the small jar of Qingyuan Mother Liquid used to cultivate medicinal herbs.

Of course, this only makes up a small part; the majority is other stuff, such as boasting about which documents he stole today, which prison ward he stole from tomorrow, and commenting on which officials, whether low-ranking or high-ranking, are extremely corrupt and have an ugly way of doing things. This person seems to be extremely bored; he even made a ranking of corrupt officials...

The wealthy households in the city were not spared either. The diary recorded what was stolen from which rich household today and what was stolen from which wealthy man tomorrow. The diary also expressed great contempt for some nouveau riche who were blind to the value of treasures and allowed them to be tarnished.

These casual anecdotes might offer some insights into antique appraisal, but the last part is quite disturbing. It recounts the man's illicit affairs... He critiques the various concubines of officials and wealthy families, commenting on their size and appearance, and noting which had large buttocks and which had small breasts, deeming them flaws...

This person has quite good writing skills, and writes vividly, almost comparable to the most explicit novels on the market... It is conceivable that if this diary were to be circulated, countless officials and wealthy families would be slapped in the face, and countless bloodshed would occur in their private quarters.

The interaction with that disciple of the Medicine King Clan, and the useful information on cultivating medicinal herbs, were actually given very little space in the text, and were filled with a lot of 'useless information,' so it's no wonder that Chen Yun reacted that way.

Zhuang Jin found it amusing, glanced through it briefly, and then put it down. It seemed that this thing had no other use besides answering some questions.

……

Zhuang Jin regarded the theft by the flying rat as a minor incident. After that day, he focused his energy on his cultivation level and devoted himself to cultivation.

As before, every two or three days, Ou Wenzhong would come to deliver gifts, maintain their relationship and tacit understanding, and cater to Zhuang Jin's preferences by telling her the latest news on the situation in the city, such as: the battle in the south of the city was still fierce and bloody, with the exchange of weapons... the north of the city was winning one victory after another, and the Shen family was preparing to completely drive out the Medicine King Gang in one fell swoop, and the war here seemed to be coming to an end...

In these peaceful days, time flew by, and another month passed.

On July 28th, Zhuang Jin completed the accumulation of the Ten Classics Realm, returned to the Shen Family Headquarters, registered for promotion to Four-Pattern Guardian, and then returned, immediately breaking through to the Eleventh Classic.

The very next day, the Eighth Prince Shen Xuchen invited him to a small gathering.

……

(End of this chapter)