Promise!

Chapter 151, Avoiding Defeat

Almost immediately after Zhu Xi and his group withdrew, reinforcements from the other two streets in the Fengzi area arrived, and then, just moments later—

Sun Mingbi arrived with the other three garrison commanders and a large number of warriors. Having been intercepted by Fu Honggang's team earlier, they were already aware of the situation and were somewhat prepared. They composed themselves and showed grief on their faces.

"Zhuang Zhenshou?! My Zhuang Zhenshou? But... oh, it hurts so much!"

"My condolences, Lord Sun..."

"Alas, poor garrison commander Zhuang has only just arrived in the south of the city, and already..."

……

The martial artists on Fengdu Street looked rather strange upon hearing these words. Suddenly, the crowd parted and Zhuang Jin stepped out.

Sun Mingbi and the others stopped talking abruptly, their grief frozen on their faces, unsure whether to continue.

Just then, it seemed like a flock of crows was cawing overhead...

"Cough cough!" Zhuang Jin looked at the pale-faced man, whose body was covered in blood, and who was holding two heads in his hands.

"Tonight, Zhao Bin betrayed us and poisoned us, but I discovered it... Afterwards, an eleventh-rank deacon from the Medicine King Gang led an attack... Fortunately, before coming to the south of the city, I obtained a top-grade Xuan-level exotic beast leather armor from the Eighth Young Master, which saved my life and allowed me to kill the two ninth-rank leaders of the Medicine King Gang... However, Guardian Huang also perished in the battle..."

Sun Mingbi and the others, who were all stationed there, were so shocked by these words that they fell silent. They couldn't help but think that if they were in Zhuang Jin's position, even if they had the same conditions, could they have done so well?

The answer is: Impossible!
While they were shocked and impressed, they quickly realized: Zhuang Jin was not dead, and even killed two of the Nine Classics Incense Masters of the Medicine King Gang... Doesn't that mean that, in terms of the outcome, the Shen family still won and had done nothing wrong?
But just then, after Zhuang Jin finished speaking, his pale face suddenly turned red, his body swayed, and he trembled and fell to the side.

"Brother Zhuang!"

"Zhuang Town Guard!"

"Lord Zhuang!"

……

The martial artists present were all shocked. Lin Hong and Xue Yandao, who were on either side, called out to him urgently and quickly helped him up.

Only those like Sun Mingbi and the two eleven-level garrison commanders, with their keen senses, noticed this scene and their eyes twitched, but they saw through it but didn't say anything.

In their view, Zhuang Jin must be extremely exhausted after surviving a near-death experience, suffering injuries in battle, and making great contributions tonight. It's understandable that he would pretend to faint to avoid some minor follow-up matters!

Yes, Zhuang Jin pretended to faint because she didn't want to deal with the subsequent trivial matters, nor did she want to deal with her colleagues' endless questions, flattery, networking, or trying to gain some sympathy...

Of course, this wasn't all an act. The previous battle had indeed left him exhausted—controlling the overall situation, refraining from killing Zhu Xi, acting so that the other side wouldn't notice, and keeping his injuries under control... It was really tiring, okay?

……

Chengnan was the main battleground for the war effort along the southern line of Shenjiacheng.

"What?! You're saying you didn't kill Zhuang Jin, but instead lost your two subordinates, Pan Maoben and Kuang Yan, both leaders of the Nine Classics Incense?"

"Yes, Mr. Fu, Zhuang Jin has achieved minor mastery of movement techniques, and the movement technique he cultivates is the Swift Wind Step... This movement technique is incredibly strange, allowing him to reach the tenth level of cultivation, yet his speed is not much slower than mine at the eleventh level... Also, this person is wearing a top-grade Xuan-level exotic beast hide armor..."

Zhu Xi wasn't actually sure whether Zhuang Jin's beast-hide armor was a high-grade or top-grade Xuan-level armor, but given its excellent barrier properties, it was likely a top-grade Xuan-level armor, which would also make it easier to exonerate himself: "I killed one of the Shen family's Eight Classics Ward Guardians... Also, Zhuang Jin must have been in bad shape, taking several of my blows and sustaining serious injuries..."

"Hahaha, very good, Steward Zhu deserves credit for this."

Upon hearing this, Fu Honggang's anger turned to joy. He laughed and patted Zhu Xi on the shoulder: "This time, although we lost two incense masters, the Shen family's Feng branch also lost two town guards, and severely injured Zhuang Jin, temporarily rendering one of the Shen family's town guards incapacitated... Moreover, I've long heard that Zhuang Jin is a genius. This injury will likely affect his future martial arts..."

—It's quite interesting, actually: the Shen family, based on the cultivation levels of the War Dead Guardian and the Incense Master, believes they won; the Medicine King Gang, considering all factors, also believes they won… Well, everyone wins together, there are no losers tonight. Actually, Fu Honggang knew that his statement sounded like he was trying to downplay defeat, but he had no choice!

In the north of the city, their Medicine King Gang was completely driven out. This operation was to boost morale. If they admitted defeat, how could they stabilize the morale of the troops? Besides... it wouldn't be good to claim credit with their superiors!
Upon hearing Fu Honggang's words, the martial artists below were immediately filled with joy.

At this moment, a deacon asked, "Master Fu, now that we've won, what about the promise we made to Zhao Bin regarding his family..."

"If this person really manages to defect, it wouldn't hurt to save his family out of respect for his status as a Seven Scripture Warrior... But this good-for-nothing is more of a hindrance than a help. Now that he's dead, there's no need to worry about him."

"Yes!"

……

After dismissing his men, Fu Honggang's smile faded. He could deceive his men to boost morale, and deceive his superiors to gain credit, but one cannot be so ruthless as to deceive even oneself.

Tonight's operation, by any measure, can hardly be considered a success or a complete success; all the careful planning ended up being a half-cooked mess!

Why does something always go wrong with Zhuang Jin? It's infuriating!

Fu Hong slammed his hand on the table, finally consoling himself with the thought that Zhuang Jin must be in great pain from his severe injuries. "Forget it, I can't rely on those good-for-nothings. I have to rely on myself... I have already mastered the Black Fiend Palm to perfection. Once I have mastered my movement techniques and martial arts to perfection as well, I will no longer hide them and will reveal both of them. Then... whether it's Sun Mingbi or Zhuang Jin... Hmph!"

……

In Fu Honggang's mind, Zhuang Jin was "severely injured and in a terrible state," but to be honest, she's doing quite well now.

"Husband, what do you think of this pillow? Does it feel too low to lean against? ...This is an apple I just cut. Husband, you don't need to lift a finger, I'll feed you..."

"Lord Zhuang, the melons, persimmons, dates... that Sister Yun asked for have all been bought!" Yu Xiaoxiao and two maids came in full of energy, carrying large and small bags.

……

Last night, Zhuang Jin 'collapsed' and was sent to a sanatorium in the rear area of ​​the city in the south. Chen Yun heard the news and came to take care of him overnight, and that's how it happened.

Lin Hong sat on a chair by the bed, his eyes fixed straight ahead, reporting on the aftermath of last night: "The one who specifically poisoned us last night was a remnant of Zhao Bin's loyal followers... He has been caught and eliminated... His entire family has been wiped out..."

Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily; it's normal that Zhao Bin, having reached that point, still had one or two loyal followers.

"Zhao Bin's family members were all executed overnight on the orders of Commander Sun... Brother Zhuang earned merits from the killing of two Nine Classics Incense Masters, each receiving 7,000 merits, plus a 2,000 merit for each of his rank, totaling 18,000... Including his merits from the Zhao Bin incident, along with various compensations, he has a total of 25,000 merits... Finally, Commander Sun said that Brother Zhuang should rest and recuperate in the rear until his injuries are fully healed before returning to the front lines..."

Last night's events were clear and straightforward. On the surface, Zhuang Jin survived thanks to the Xuan-grade top-quality exotic beast hide armor, which he obtained from Shen Xuchen. This was considered to be backed by the other party, so everything was reasonable and justifiable. Considering the impact, Zhuang Jin had just arrived in the south of the city when he suffered this misfortune. Out of a sense of compensation, the perpetrators were dealt with, his battle merits were calculated, and he was allowed to retire and recuperate. All procedures were carried out quickly and efficiently!
Zhuang Jin listened and nodded: "This time, we killed three birds with one stone: eliminated Zhao Bin; gained a large amount of merit, replenished our supplies of exotic beast meat; and allowed us to retire and recuperate, once again securing some time for peaceful cultivation..."

This plan to deliberately get injured and retreat to the third line to recuperate was inspired by Zhao Bin. The other party has been able to survive until now by doing this. If Zhao Bin can do it, why can't Zhuang Jin do it?
"This isn't a passive avoidance of battle like Zhao Bin's approach; it's a strategic retreat, so I can better serve the Shen family in the future!"

Zhuang Jin secretly estimated: 'My injuries should heal by the end of next month. With careful control, they'll appear severe but are actually minor, so it won't affect my cultivation... Now, with over 20,000 battle merits, I can consume the meat of a fully refined beast at the peak of the Flesh Refining stage, quickly completing the accumulation of the eleventh meridian realm and breaking through to the twelfth meridian realm!'

"In the southern part of the city, those at the Twelve Meridians Realm have already reached their peak. Reaching that level provides a strong sense of security. Then, returning to the front lines to reap a large... no, this can't be called reaping military merits; it should be described as working even better and more proactively for the Shen family!"

……

On that day, many people who had heard the news of Zhuang Jin's injury came to visit her, such as Ping Yongfeng, Tang Wentao, Yue Song, and Xing Yan...

On the same day, Zou Qingfeng—formerly the attendant of the Eighth Young Master Shen Xuchen, and now the head of the Enforcement Department—also came over and said, "Upon hearing that Garrison Commander Zhuang was injured, the Eighth Young Master was extremely anxious and originally wanted to come and visit him in person, but a major incident also occurred in the east of the city last night..."

"For the past six months, Zhuang Zhenshou was stationed in Qingyuan Ward in the east of the city, right? Pang Shusheng, the martial arts master who took over as ward ward ward ward this month, was killed last night at the ward's headquarters... It was that group from the east of the city... who produced so-called 'evidence,' claiming that martial arts master Pang colluded with the Medicine King Gang..."

……

(End of this chapter)