Hurt my loved ones? I'm not guarding this country's borders anymore!

The abandoned mine was swept by the night wind, which whistled through it.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, almost enough to knock you over.

Zhuque, dressed in red and wearing high heels, walked quickly behind Shen Jinglong.

She lowered her head and said in a low voice, "General Long, Prince Anle has escaped. That old fox arranged for a double and a tunnel beforehand, and our preparations outside the city came to nothing."

Shen Jinglong took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his fingertips, as if they were stained with some unseen filth.

"He can run away, but he can't hide. What about his foundation in Cangcheng?"

"They've all been eradicated." Zhuque spoke rapidly. "The Military Commandery is now under our control, and the Prince of Anle's residence has been sealed off. However..."

She paused, her expression somewhat subtle.

"Speak." Shen Jinglong threw the handkerchief into the wind.

"When the bodies were being inventoried, something strange was discovered."

Zhuque pointed to the corpses scattered on the ground.

"Among those who made a move tonight were swordsmen from the Li family, boxers from the Zhou family, and assassins from the Zheng family. But... I didn't see anyone from the Wang family."

Shen Jinglong raised an eyebrow, his eyes showing a hint of amusement.

"Oh? The Wang family, who are known as the richest family in Cangcheng?"

"Yes. Intelligence says that Wang Daoyuan, the head of the Wang family, has stayed indoors all night, watching a play. He hasn't touched a single one of the five hundred elite troops he promised to Prince Anle."

Shen Jinglong let out a soft chuckle, tinged with disdain.

"That's interesting."

"It seems that these so-called four major families are not so united."

He turned around and gazed at the city lights in the distance.

"Wang Daoyuan thought himself clever, but unfortunately, those who rely on petty cleverness often die the fastest."

……

Meanwhile, at the Li family mansion.

"What did you say?!"

Li Wanshan, the head of the Li family, slammed his palm on the mahogany table, and a crack appeared in the thick tabletop.

In the center of the hall knelt a man covered in blood. He was the only survivor the Li family had sent to the abandoned mine. He had lost an arm, his face was covered in cold sweat, and he was gritting his teeth and clutching his wound tightly.

He spoke with a heavy local accent, tears and snot mixed with blood streaming down his face.

"Master, didn't you see that?! That Shen Jinglong is inhuman, he's possessed by the King of Hell! Our men rushed in, and they fell like paper, piece by piece!"

"I'm asking you about the Wang family! Where are the Wang family members?!" Li Wanshan roared, his eyes bloodshot.

The man wiped his face.

"No! Not a single one! That bastard Wang Daoyuan, he's kidding me! Besides our Li family, only the Zhou and Zheng family brothers were being stabbed. I crawled out from the pile of corpses and looked around, but I didn't see those Wang family bastards in white!"

"Bang!"

Enraged, Li Wanshan grabbed a teacup and smashed it on the ground.

"Wang Daoyuan! I curse your ancestors!"

He roared, trembling with rage, "I emptied my pockets and risked my life, and you just stood there watching? Using the Li family as a pawn?"

Just then, the butler announced from outside the door: "Master, the Zhou family head and the Zheng family head have arrived, and they don't look too good."

"Let them in! Perfect, we're going to settle accounts with that old bastard Wang Daoyuan right now!"

……

The Wang family mansion was brightly lit.

On the stage, the actors were singing "The Empty City Stratagem" in a melodious voice.

Wang Daoyuan held two walnuts in his hand, his eyes half-closed, his head swaying gently to the tune.

"Wang Daoyuan! You still have the mood to listen to opera!"

A roar shattered the tranquility of the courtyard.

Li Wanshan kicked open the door, followed by the Zhou and Zheng family heads, their faces ashen. The three groups of men stormed in, completely surrounding the stage.

The performers on stage were so frightened that their voices cracked, and they ran backstage in a panic.

Wang Daoyuan then slowly opened his eyes and stopped eating the walnuts.

"Hey guys, why are you so angry? Aren't you afraid of damaging your liver?"

"Don't give me that nonsense!"

The Zheng family head, known for his fiery temper, pointed at Wang Daoyuan and yelled, "You have to give me an explanation for abandoning the mine tonight! What happened to the four families joining forces? Where are your Wang family members?"

The Zhou family head didn't curse, but his face was so dark it could be wrung out: "Brother Wang, our three families' elite forces have been almost completely wiped out, yet you've managed to escape unscathed. This scheme is far too ambitious."

When questioned, Wang Daoyuan even picked up his teacup and took a leisurely sip.

"An explanation? What explanation do I need to give?"

He put down his teacup, glanced at the three men, and looked at them as if they were three gamblers who had lost all their money.

"I promised to send people, but I didn't say when. Can't we deal with traffic jams? Can't we deal with the team taking a while to assemble?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Li Wanshan angrily drew his knife. "You're clearly doing this on purpose! You want to preserve your strength so we can go and die!"

Wang Daoyuan stopped smiling and stood up.

Although he had gained weight, his aura was in no way inferior to the three warriors opposite him.

"So what if it is?"

He laid his cards on the table.

"Don't you all know what kind of person Prince Anle is? He's just a clay idol, barely able to protect himself! And who is Shen Jinglong? A powerful dragon crossing the river! Even Prince Anle was beaten like a dog, what are we doing rushing in? Adding lives to his cause?"

"You..." The Zhou family head was speechless, choked by his words.

"I call this cutting my losses!"

Wang Daoyuan raised his voice, interrupting them, "The situation is obvious, Prince Anle is finished. My Wang family's success today is all thanks to our foresight! I will never sacrifice the entire family for a gamble we are destined to lose."

He looked at the three of them, his tone icy.

"And you lot are the real idiots. You got sold out and still helped count the money. Now that you've squandered your fortune, you come here to vent your anger on me? Go find Shen Jinglong if you dare!"

Upon hearing this, the Li, Zhou, and Zheng families were stunned; they had never seen anyone so shameless.

"Good...good stop-loss strategy!"

Li Wanshan was so angry that he laughed instead, his laughter filled with murderous intent, and his hand holding the knife was trembling.

"Wang Daoyuan, from this day forward, the Li family sever all ties with you! You can be a coward, but the Li family will remember this blood debt!"

"My Zhou family is the same!"

"The Zheng family seconded it!"

The three family heads exchanged glances, each seeing a resolute determination in the other's eyes.

The alliance is completely shattered.

Wang Daoyuan shrugged indifferently: "Take care. The door's over there, don't step on my new carpet."

Watching the three men storm off in anger, the butler behind Wang Daoyuan looked worried.

"Sir, has this completely ruined our relationship? What if they unite against us..."

"What are you afraid of?"

Wang Daoyuan sat down again and started playing with the walnuts. "Three toothless tigers are worse than sick cats. They're severely weakened now, barely able to protect themselves, let alone have the energy to bite me."

A servant serving tea nearby suddenly muttered under his breath, "Master, what you're doing... in our village, this is called betraying your teammates, and it'll get you a lot of criticism..."

Wang Daoyuan glared at him.

"You know nothing! This is called tactical risk avoidance! Get out!"

The servant trembled in fright and quickly covered his mouth as he retreated.

……

Inside Baicao Hall.

Shen Jinglong sat on the sofa, listening to Zhuque's latest report.

"Just now, the heads of the Li, Zhou, and Zheng families came out of the Wang family's house and spat at the door. It seems that the alliance of the four major families has completely fallen apart."

Zhuque smiled and said, "Commander Long is indeed a brilliant strategist. They collapsed on their own before we even made a move."

Shen Jinglong swirled the red wine in his glass.

"When dogs fight, they get all messy."

He took a sip of his wine. "This is just the beginning. Wang Daoyuan thought he had escaped the chessboard, but little did he know that he had merely gone from being a chess piece to a pawn that everyone could discard."

"Commander Long, who should we target first?"

"No rush."

Shen Jinglong put down his wine glass and walked to the window. The sky was already turning a pale white.

"Let them be in chaos for a while longer. Fear is the best catalyst."

He looked at Cangcheng as he gradually awoke, his voice calm yet undeniable.

"When they've bitten each other so badly they're covered in wounds, that's when we'll close the net."

"Oh, right."

Shen Jinglong seemed to remember something and turned to ask, "Did the gatekeeper at the Wang family's gate say something?"

Zhuque was taken aback, flipped through the records, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Oh, there was a tip from an informant. The security guard from the Wang family, the one called Er Lengzi, was so scared when he saw the three heads of the family rush in with knives that he almost wet his pants. He ran and shouted, 'Gentlemen, spare me! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support, and... I don't even have a girlfriend yet! Don't kill me, I'm just someone who gets full pay!'"

Shen Jinglong's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Let him live. This Cangcheng needs a bit of this kind of lively character."