Chapter 137: Taking the Blame

Swoosh!

Breaking through in a single surge, smooth and effortless, the quality and quantity of the inner breath ushered in another enhancement amidst the cycle of the nine meridians.

The Realm of Nine Meridians... achieved!

'Just as the first to third meridians form one stage, the seventh to ninth meridians can also be considered a stage, and the ninth meridian is already the pinnacle of this stage.'

'The next step is the tenth meridian!'

Zhuang Jin's eyes narrowed: 'From the ninth to the tenth meridian, much like the transition from the third to the fourth, the difficulty of the bottleneck is significantly increased compared to before. However, after breaking through, there will also be a major leap in strength. The quality of the inner breath is one aspect, and furthermore, the tenth meridian can elevate movement martial arts to the minor accomplishment level!'

Strength dictates the right to speak, and in the north of the city, the tenth meridian is at the level of a district commander.

'According to the current progress, breaking through to the tenth meridian and reaching that tier will be at the very latest by the end of May.'

'Returning to the present matter, following custom, I will not register just yet. Although the east of the city is peaceful, one can still keep a card up their sleeve... However, given various past events, those who have studied my dossier will certainly prepare for a wider margin if they target me in the future, and will most likely not dispatch someone of the exact same realm if possible!'

There was no helping this, and Zhuang Jin could only push what he could to the absolute limit: 'When internal breath is input into the Glazed Realm-Testing Puppet, it reflects one's attained meridians, so it can at most hide one meridian by delaying registration. However, one can walk the razor's edge as much as possible—for instance, the day I complete the accumulation of the nine meridians and am capable of breaking through to the tenth right then and there, I can go register as a nine-meridian three-stripe guard, return the same day, and immediately break through to the tenth meridian!'

'The Glazed Realm-Testing Puppet does not lie, and others probably won't expect that right after I test and register my promotion, I will turn around and enter the next realm. This can also be considered tactical deception against the enemy.'

……

After Zhuang Jin broke through to the nine meridians, it was time to deal with Miao Shao's family dependents. For such matters, one naturally needed to conduct thorough investigations in advance so as not to startle the snake in the grass and to uproot the entire nest at once.

Matters of this level were no longer suitable to be handed over to Qian Wende—a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and having Qian Wende, a three-meridian martial artist, investigate this would be throwing his subordinate into a pit. In case of any accidents, it would also leave himself looking foolish.

For this reason, Zhuang Jin personally returned to the Shen family headquarters and asked Zou Qingfeng of the Law Enforcement Department to help compile and investigate the information on Miao Shao's family.

In January, Zou Qingfeng had escorted the return journey of a fleet belonging to a prominent lower-district family. Having received a warning from Zhuang Jin in advance, he was one of the only two survivors. Later, he even paid a visit to express his gratitude and presented Zhuang Jin with a generous gift... After this ordeal, their relationship, which had originally been a purely transactional exchange of interests, gained a touch of genuine sentiment.

He was also aware of the feud between Zhuang Jin and Miao Shao. Now that Miao Shao was dead, they were merely the dependents of a deceased seven-meridian martial artist. Such a trivial matter was naturally not something he would refuse.

Since it required a little time, Zhuang Jin agreed with Zou Qingfeng to collect the intelligence at the end of the month. However, an interlude occurred before then.

On the morning of the twenty-ninth of March.

Zhuang Jin faced the accounts submitted by the district commanders of the six streets, reviewed and signed them, and handed them over to the General Affairs Department—as a ward commander in the east of the city, if one truly delegated power down, life was extraordinarily leisurely. Aside from sitting in command on ordinary days, this was the only task of the entire month.

He rapidly flipped through them, giving them a rough scan. Finding no major issues, he directly checked and signed off, until he reached a particular report and his movements paused.

"Rather interesting!"

With a playful look in his eyes, Zhuang Jin set this application aside and instructed his servant: "Go invite Commander Huang Jun of Qing'an Street over."

A moment later, Huang Jun arrived with some trepidation: "Lord Zhuang, you summoned me, what is this about?"

"This street renovation plan report... was it submitted by you?"

Seeing this report, the corners of Huang Jun's eyes immediately twitched. He slapped his forehead, feigning sudden realization, and made a move to take it back: "Yes, this report is mine. However, it must have been taken by mistake; I intended to submit it to the General Affairs Department for review, how did it mistakenly end up with Lord Zhuang..."

Considering that ward commanders were not omniscient and might not understand general affairs concerning streets, street commanders were permitted to submit such street renovation application reports directly to the General Affairs Department for review.

Of course, one could also have the ward commander sign off first. Generally, once the ward commander signed, those above would not withhold approval... However, such a signature carried responsibility.

Zhuang Jin pressed his hand down on the report, looked at Huang Jun, and said with a forced smile that did not reach his eyes: "I don't believe Commander Huang would commit such a low-level error. If I hadn't examined it closely and had just signed it, I presume Commander Huang wouldn't have said such words, would you?"

"This... this... Lord Zhuang is joking." Cold sweat beaded on Huang Jun's forehead; at a glance, he was the picture of a guilty conscience.

Indeed, this was no mistake; it was a deliberate probe on his part.

As it turned out, ever since Zhuang Jin reached a tacit understanding with Ou Wenzhong, delegating power below and turning a blind eye, Huang Jun and the other two had initially felt quite fortunate and content. However, as time went on, with nearly two months having passed, they grew increasingly relaxed and their boldness gradually swelled. Moreover, Zhuang Jin was not one of their own people after all; while he wouldn't interfere or meddle, he wouldn't offer any support either, making many matters somewhat inconvenient. On top of that, they felt that Zhuang Jin was afraid of the powers standing behind them, prompting them to further test his bottom line...

Huang Jun had discussed this matter with Ban Ming and Song Jinghui. The other two had given in-principle approval and spiritual support, egging him on to take the lead, which led to this very scenario.

One can only say that strength and worldly wisdom do not necessarily exist in direct proportion. Among the three, Huang Jun had the strongest background, with an elder at the eighth-meridian level standing behind him, whereas the elders behind the other two had only reached the seventh meridian. Furthermore, he was at the sixth meridian and possessed the greatest strength, making him appear to be the center of the trio's small clique. But what was the reality?

Ban Ming appeared reticent and tight-lipped, yet he left no openings and possessed deep schemes. Song Jinghui spoke only dully pleasant words, showering people with praise; such a person was also the most adept at killing with kindness... Huang Jun seemed to be the leader of the three, but in substance, he had been hoisted up and pushed to the forefront by Ban Ming and Song Jinghui. Whenever there was trouble, they egged him on to step forward while hiding behind the scenes to reap the benefits—much like this initial probing.

This was just like emperors and ministers: if the ruler lacked wisdom and temperament, he would be played in the palms of his subordinates and see the natural order completely upended!

To return to the matter at hand.

Huang Jun had originally thought it would be a minor probe, and if it failed, he would just take it back. He never expected Zhuang Jin's reaction to be so fierce, exploding like a flat-headed baboon at the slightest provocation, and intense regret instantly rose in his heart.

"This... haha, I just thought, didn't want to trouble the General Affairs Department..."

"No, you didn't want to trouble the General Affairs Department—you wanted to make me take the blame!"

Zhuang Jin flicked his sleeve, hurling the report straight at him: "Five taels of silver for a single tree, one tenth of a tael of silver for a single bluestone slab—do you take me for a fool to be played with?"

"No, Lord Zhuang, you listen to my sophis... no, explanation... These trees were transported from an outer prefecture, the variety..."

"Variety your ancestors! A single street renovation, do you think you're decorating an imperial palace?"

After cutting him down with a scold, Zhuang Jin's expression suddenly turned calm as he said indifferently: "Next month, apply for a transfer from Qingyuan Ward yourself and leave with some dignity!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Jun's expression changed drastically.

One must realize that in the current general environment of the prefectural city, wars were raging everywhere. If he truly lost his position as a street commander here, there probably wouldn't be any vacancies available elsewhere in the east of the city for a time, and the headquarters was completely out of the question. If he were sent to the north or south of the city, wouldn't that spell disaster? Even if his family arranged to send him to the outer-city medicinal fields, it wouldn't be as comfortable or lucrative as the east of the city!

Panic, hatred, anger, regret, fear...

A myriad of complex emotions churned within him, yet because of Zhuang Jin's status, strength, and volatile temperament, he dared not show the slightest bit of it, and could only plead repeatedly: "Lord Zhuang, I know I was wrong. With your magnanimity, I will certainly make amends and compensate for this..."

Zhuang Jin didn't even raise his head, saying indifferently: "Have your elders come and say those words."

The implication was: What tier of a thing are you, that you are even worthy of talking to me about compensation?

"This..." Huang Jun's face turned green and red, shifting through various hues, yet he did not dare to act up, and instead left in sullen silence.

"Hmph!"

Zhuang Jin looked up at Huang Jun's retreating back and sneered inwardly: 'Some people are just base in their bones. Give them a pleasant expression, mutual understanding, or tolerance, and they take it as you being easy to bully, pushing further and further to test more of your bottom line...'

'When faced with this kind of thing, you must chop off the outstretched claws at the very first instance and make them feel the pain so that there won't be a second, third, or endless stream of such things in the future!'