Chapter 118: Chain Reaction

"Damn it, we agreed on a sparring match, so why are you ganging up on me?"

Before Dong Pei could even finish his curse, he saw Zhuang Jin’s figure flickering under the moonlight, moving with blinding, phantom-like speed.

"This speed... how is it possible?!"

Disbelief was etched across his face, but there was no time to dwell on it. Zhuang Jin was already upon him, palm thrusting forward.

Bang!

Dong Pei took the blow head-on, stumbling back several steps as the blue roof tiles beneath his feet shattered into pieces.

"Incense Master Dong, again!"

Zhuang Jin had taken the initiative, unleashing his Gale Steps at full strength to seize the upper hand from the very start. Once he gained the advantage, he pressed his attack relentlessly.

Bang, bang, bang, bang... Boom!

Zhuang Jin danced through the air with his Gale Steps, his movements fluid and expansive. Every strike targeted a weakness. Under the bright moonlight, his figure seemed to split into multiple silhouettes, as if he were surrounding Dong Pei with clones. After suppressing him for over a dozen moves, Zhuang Jin suddenly delivered a heavy, downward-crushing blow that sent Dong Pei slamming from the rooftop deep into the ground below.

Liu Licheng, who had just arrived, was stunned to see this. He hadn't expected Zhuang Jin to be so formidable; it was clear that even in a one-on-one fight, Zhuang Jin wouldn't have lost!

However, who would complain about having an even greater advantage? Such a golden opportunity was the perfect time to kick a man while he was down.

Swish!

He dived into the fray, forcing Dong Pei into an even more desperate position. For a moment, Dong Pei could only scramble to defend, completely unable to counterattack.

After trading dozens of blows, Dong Pei found himself in dire straits. Risking a heavy palm strike to his back to create an opening, he leaped away and retreated rapidly into the distance. "Fine, fine! Zhuang Jin, and you too, Liu Licheng... I, Dong, will remember this grudge!"

Zhuang Jin looked over at Liu Licheng.

"Don't pursue a desperate foe."

Liu Licheng shook his head. "There is an unspoken agreement between our Shen family and the Medicine King Gang. In the northern district, no Seven-Meridian level expert has died yet. Once that precedent is set, there will be no turning back... Furthermore, Dong Pei is a veteran of the Seven-Meridian stage. If we force a kill, one of us will surely be severely wounded by his final retaliation."

"That makes sense," Zhuang Jin nodded slightly.

This was their first time working together, so perfect synergy was impossible. Lacking the kind of trust that allowed for life-or-death reliance, both men were wary that the other might hold back at a critical moment. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let Dong Pei escape at the cost of just one palm strike.

With mutual caution, forcing a kill would likely have resulted in one of them being critically injured.

*Besides,* Zhuang Jin thought, *as Liu Licheng said, there is no precedent for a Seven-Meridian death in this part of the city. Killing Dong Pei would shatter the current safety, dragging the other Wardens into the mess. I might gain some glory, but how would they feel? They would likely respond with joint exclusion and targeting.*

Those who start such conflicts rarely meet a good end!

...

With Dong Pei injured and in retreat, his subordinates signaled a withdrawal. Their plan had been disrupted and exposed, and Zhuang Jin’s East Bridge Dock and Liu Licheng’s Flat Water Port forces did not let the opportunity slip. They pursued relentlessly, securing significant gains.

On a certain street, Gao Shi and two other warriors were cornered. With his two comrades—one at the First Meridian and one at the Second—already dead, Gao Shi was being swarmed by two squad leaders, his situation precarious.

Gao Shi gritted his teeth, ready to fight to the death to take one of them down with him.

"Wait, take this one alive!" Qian Wende recognized Gao Shi and, thinking he might be of use to Zhuang Jin, quickly gave the order.

...

Back at the Medicine King Gang's base, Dong Pei regrouped with his retreating men.

A Sixth-Meridian Incense Master reported, "Incense Master Dong, because of the hasty retreat, we lost a Fourth-Meridian Incense Master and sixteen warriors between the first and third meridians. The warriors from East Bridge Dock and Flat Water Port were very cautious; they stopped after taking three streets and did not recklessly split up to pursue us, so we couldn't find an opening..."

"It was a secondary plan anyway. If it doesn't work, so be it... *cough, cough!*" As Dong Pei spoke, he began to cough violently, the handkerchief covering his mouth stained with a splash of deep red.

This was the result of the palm strike he had taken from Zhuang Jin while trying to escape.

Truth be told, he had revealed himself to Zhuang Jin and Liu Licheng to hold them back, hoping to see if the Shen family warriors would grow reckless and split up. He had also considered that Zhuang Jin was a young man who had recently broken through, and he hoped to provoke him into a one-on-one fight to gain an easy victory. He hadn't expected Zhuang Jin to be so formidable—no less capable than a veteran Seven-Meridian expert like himself—and to be so skilled at ganging up on people, completely devoid of "martial virtue."

"Incense Master Dong, are you alright?"

"It is nothing!" Dong Pei raised a hand to stop the warriors gathering around him. He looked at one of his Incense Masters and asked, "How did it go with the task I gave you?"

Fei Xu, the Incense Master on the street where Gao Shi was stationed, replied, "I arranged for Gao Shi’s squad to stay behind to cover the retreat, right near the location of Zhuang Jin’s personal guards. I expect him to be recognized and captured alive."

"Good."

This was yet another layer of Dong Pei’s strategy—the follow-up to his decision to send Gao Shi out in broad daylight that very noon.

*According to the intel, Zhuang Jin is a sentimental person and seems to have some history with Gao Shi. If I send Gao Shi to be captured by Zhuang Jin, and he chooses not to kill him, there is much to be made of that. I can stir up rumors, create suspicion, and deepen the cracks between him and his superiors, pushing him into the abyss step by step. If Zhuang Jin kills him, even if the later plans fail, it will still deeply disgust him. Every time he remembers it, he will feel uneasy. If his focus is shaken, his martial path might be affected.*

It was generally accepted that martial progress was determined by aptitude and comprehension, but there were rumors that one's state of mind played a role as well, though this was mysterious and had yet to be proven.

*Regardless, sacrificing a Third-Meridian expendable asset to cause such trouble for Zhuang Jin is well worth it!*

This thought only grew stronger after being beaten so miserably by the young man tonight. "This grudge, I will surely... *cough, cough!*"

Before he could finish his sentence, blood spurted from his back, and his face turned as pale as parchment.

...

On the evening of the sixth of the twelfth lunar month, the skirmish in the corner of the city held by Zhuang Jin’s East Bridge Dock and Liu Licheng’s Flat Water Port had resulted in the capture of three streets and the death of one Fourth-Meridian Medicine King Gang member, along with over a dozen lower-ranked warriors. The other fronts were also proceeding smoothly, though the performance of the East Bridge Dock and Flat Water Port was particularly outstanding.

After verification and tallying, Zhuang Jin, as a Warden, received 872 merit points for the streets captured and the kills attributed to his subordinates—a very impressive haul.

Afterward, the streets were handed over to the higher-ups for processing, and the forces from East Bridge Dock and Flat Water Port withdrew.

Having retreated to the rear, the environment was safe. After the previous night’s battle, the warriors rotated to rest and release the tension brought on by the slaughter.

The following afternoon, Qian Wende sought him out and handed over a document. "Brother Zhuang, this is the intelligence on Gao Shi for the past six months that you asked me to investigate."

Zhuang Jin opened it. The indifference on his face gradually turned to apathy, and then to a chilling coldness. The temperature in the room seemed to drop significantly. "Alright, Dezi, you may go first!"