Chapter 148: Execution

The meeting concluded, and Liu Licheng and the other six departed individually.

Zhuang Jin summoned Xue Yandao, Duan Tao, and Lin Hong to take over Zhao Bin's subordinates. Lin Hong lingered at the very back and whispered a reminder, "Brother Zhuang, by targeting him so openly, won't that Zhao Bin make a move?"

"He most certainly will!"

Zhuang Jin said with a playful smirk, "Previously, Zhao Bin was watched so closely that he didn't dare act, yet he still managed to drag out his miserable existence. Now that I've been brought in, the higher-ups couldn't wait to dump this hot potato onto me. But this also means Zhao Bin no longer even has the luxury of clinging to life."

"I make no effort to conceal my hostility toward him. At this moment, Zhao Bin has only two choices before him: either obediently accept his doom—perishing himself, followed by his entire family—or launch a desperate final counterattack to see if he can inflict any damage upon me and carve out a sliver of survival..."

Hearing this, Lin Hong understood that Zhuang Jin was well aware of the situation, though he remained puzzled as to why Zhuang Jin had acted so directly and blatantly this time. In his estimation, based on Zhuang Jin's past style of conduct, he should have subtly engineered a quiet demise... After all, as a superior, opportunities for such methods were plentiful...

*Unless... Brother Zhuang is doing this deliberately, harboring some deeper scheme!* At this thought, a faint light flickered in his eyes.

Noticing Lin Hong's expression, Zhuang Jin knew the man had guessed his intentions. Rather than hiding it, he spoke openly to instill confidence in his subordinate: "I do indeed have my reasons. Pressuring him this openly might just yield some unexpected harvest... Of course, the most important point is that the enmity between Zhao Bin and me is irreconcilable. It is a battle to the death, and we both know this. Even if I were to put on a false facade of friendliness to pacify him, Zhao Bin would never believe it. Things would unfold the exact same way regardless..."

Since it was utterly useless, why bother pantomiming superfluous gestures?

Besides, one had to admit that this method of making it explicitly clear that he was out to get you—operating on the principle of "a petty man taking revenge from dawn till dusk"—was undeniably much more satisfying, cathartic, and exhilarating!

"If Zhao Bin wants to seize that sliver of survival and fight for his life from the jaws of death, he must either strike back on the battlefield, or resort to... food and water... the rotational dining shifts down below... as well as the supplies we use..."

***

A few hurried days passed by.

During these past few days, Zhao Bin felt as though every single day lasted like a year. Monitored and kept under constant surveillance just like a common criminal, he was required to write down and submit a report detailing everything he ate and everything he did each day. If even the slightest detail in his report conflicted with the records of those cross-monitoring him, it would immediately lead to grueling, repeated interrogations...

Submitting an application to go out invariably resulted in the same predictable outcome: either it vanished into a void with no response, or it was met with bureaucratic prevarication and denied...

Moreover, Zhuang Jin's malice toward him was so palpable and unmasked that many opportunists lower down eagerly chimed in, stepping on him while he was down...

If that were all, it might still have been bearable. What truly left Zhao Bin gasping for breath was Zhuang Jin himself. Now trapped right beneath the man's command and under his very nose, he knew Zhuang Jin would inevitably make a move against him, but the burning question was when and how...

Every time he lay in bed at night, recalling Zhuang Jin's words—*"It hardly looks good to force someone to commit suicide to prove their innocence"*—a chill would crawl down his spine, dreading the day Zhuang Jin might fabricate some baseless 'evidence' and force him to take his own life.

Days like these were an unceasing torment, agonizing enough to drive a person completely mad!

On the afternoon of this day, Zhao Bin's wife came to visit him. Following a rigorous and thorough inspection, she was finally granted permission to enter.

"Back at home... are things all right?" Zhao Bin asked with deep concern.

"Sob, sob!" Zhao Wife shook her head, tears streaming silently down her face.

"Odious! Utterly detestable!" Zhao Bin clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on his forehead bulged prominently. Of course—with him reduced to this state, how could his family possibly fare well?

At that moment, a genuine wave of regret welled up inside him. He never should have provoked Zhuang Jin in the first place...

Come to think of it, he and Zhuang Jin had never harbored any deep-seated grievances. How on earth had things deteriorated to this point? Ah, yes, it all started with the Miao Lun case. Driven by jealousy over Zhuang Jin's talent, resentment regarding his background, and displaced anger over his own son's death, he had deliberately skewed the judgment. Yet unlike others who obediently swallowed their losses, Zhuang Jin had dared to meet him blow-for-blow, making him feel as though he had been publicly slapped in the face... The conflict escalated step by step through continued confrontation... Afterward, he was transferred away from headquarters and banished to the southern district... And later still, his schemes against Chen Yun... Little by little, it had all culminated in this present fate!

"Calamity is born of jealousy; this is retribution, absolute retribution!" Zhao Bin sighed, but saying anything now was far too late.

"My Lord!" Zhao Wife called out softly. Trembling, she retrieved an object hidden intimately within her garments, dampened her finger with a bit of tea, and traced characters on the table: *'The other day, someone...'*

For the men of the Medicine King Sect to directly contact Zhao Bin, forging secret ties and colluding with him, was naturally an immensely difficult task bordering on the impossible. But his family? Though they were also kept under tight surveillance and the difficulty remained high, it was relatively more manageable. With a bit of resolve, waiting for an appropriate opportunity, and dispatching a skilled operative...

Zhao Bin stared at the words his wife had written on the table. Remembering his current plight—the endless torture, the agonizing torment, and Zhuang Jin's unvarnished malice—he gritted his teeth and took possession of the item.

***

The southern district, the main encampment for the frontline battles against the Shen family.

Fu Honggang, the current commander-in-chief of this sector, was holding a briefing for his subordinates: "The Shen family is utterly overbearing, driving our Medicine King Sect completely out of the northern district without leaving us a single street. They aren't showing us an ounce of respect... A humiliation! A supreme humiliation! Now that I have assumed command of the frontline operations in the southern district, I am naturally going to settle the score and reclaim our lost ground..."

His finger traced across four designated sectors belonging to the Shen family on the map one by one, finally coming to a halt on Zhuang Jin's Feng-character sector.

Selecting this particular location was quite simple. Among the four town commanders governing the four sectors on the Shen family's frontline, Zhuang Jin of the Feng-character sector was ostensibly the weakest. He had only officially registered a breakthrough to the Tenth Meridian a couple of days prior, whereas the other three were either Eleventh Meridian experts or seasoned veterans of the Tenth Meridian. Naturally, one always picked the softest persimmon to squeeze!

Another factor was this: previously, Zhuang Jin had been heavily promoted and publicized as a benchmark figure. To actually cut him down would inflict the greatest deterrence, win the finest reputation, and deliver the most resounding slap to the Shen family's face.

Furthermore, during the previous raid on the merchant fleet belonging to the great gentry families in the county town below, Fu Honggang had served as one of the chief planning officers, yet Zhuang Jin's sector was the only one where a massive mishap occurred. New hatred and old grievances combined... coupled with the relative assessment that Zhuang Jin possessed the highest aptitude and was the most likely to eventually break through beyond the Condensing Qi realm...

Taking all factors into consideration, moving against Zhuang Jin offered the highest cost-effectiveness!

"Inside the territory of the Feng-character sector commander Zhuang Jin, an inside agent has already been subverted... Naturally, it would be best if this person succeeds... If not, we will rely on sheer brute force..."

Fu Honggang narrowed his eyes and said, "According to intelligence, this Zhuang Jin is naturally cautious in temperament and enjoys concealing his true strength... However, having only registered at the Tenth Meridian two days ago, even if we push our estimates to the absolute limit, this person can at best be hiding one more hand, with his movement technique and martial arts Gale Steps having reached the Lesser Accomplishment stage..."

This was already an extremely generous assessment.

The *Glazed Meridian-Measuring Puppet* could not possibly lie. Surely Zhuang Jin hadn't completed the accumulation required for the Tenth Meridian realm and broken through the bottleneck from the Tenth to the Eleventh Meridian all in the span of just a few short days, right? Even if Zhuang Jin had concealed his Tenth Meridian realm accumulation, bottlenecks were notoriously difficult to break through. Did people think this was a woman's maidenhood, where whenever you wanted to break through... *snap*—it just popped right open?

Fu Honggang pointed at an Eleventh Meridian lieutenant—within the Medicine King Sect, those from the fourth to the sixth meridians were junior incense masters, corresponding to the Shen family's street commanders; those from the seventh to the ninth meridians were incense masters, corresponding to the Shen family's ward commanders; and those from the tenth to the twelfth meridians were at the lieutenant level, corresponding to the Shen family's sector commanders.

"Lieutenant Zhu, you yourself are at the Eleventh Meridian, and under your command are six incense masters—two at the ninth meridian, two at the eighth, and two at the seventh. In terms of overall strength, you completely surpass Zhuang Jin's Feng-character sector... Tonight, I will lead the remaining forces to intercept the Shen family's reinforcements, while you lead your men to eliminate this person within the shortest time possible... Use a signal flare as the cue to withdraw..."

"Rest assured, Commander Fu, old Zhu will surely bring back that Zhuang Jin's head for you tonight!" A bloodthirsty, ferocious grin surfaced on Zhu Xi's face as he beat his chest with heavy thuds, giving his booming guarantee.

His personality was decisive, valiant, and bellicose, bearing a certain resemblance to Fu Honggang's. This was precisely why Fu Honggang appreciated him and entrusted him with this task of claiming the primary glory.

"Haha, excellent! This operation combines a subverted covert asset, Lieutenant Zhu surpassing him by an entire meridian, and incense masters comprehensively outmatching their counterparts across the board... With such a deployment, how can that Zhuang Jin possibly escape death? Once this fellow is dead, it will be a fierce blow to the Shen family's face, instantly washing away the humiliation of our Medicine King Sect being driven out of the northern district last month..."

Fu Honggang laughed heartily and slapped the table, as if he could already envision that very scene.

***

The political winds of the prefecture city shifted unpredictably. The Medicine King Sect had been driven out of the northern district, and with Zhuang Jin's arrival in the southern district, undercurrents surged violently as both sides made their moves and laid out their strategies, brewing a storm of blood and slaughter.

***

Night fell, and the evening lanterns were just being lit.

That evening, meals were delivered from below. Following his usual routine, Zhuang Jin directly fed the entire portion to the white mice kept in his room, while he himself dined on jerky made from exotic beast meat prepared in advance by Chen Yun.

Unlike previous days, the moment the white mice finished their meal today, their bodies stiffened and they tumbled over, collapsing onto the ground.

—Drugs capable of affecting martial artists possessed potent efficacy; even if they weren't immediately fatal and merely interfered with internal breathing, ordinary small animals could never withstand them.

"An unexpected harvest indeed. Will they make their move tonight, then?"

Zhuang Jin's gaze hardened. He threw on his outer garments, circulated his internal breath, and revealed a faint cyan radiance shimmering from a garment worn underneath—an anomalous phenomenon born of extraordinary energy in circulation.

Indeed, this was precisely an exotic beast leather armor!

Anyone knowledgeable in the trade would be able to recognize it as a supreme Profound-grade exotic beast leather armor, tanned from the hide of an exotic beast at the Flesh-Refining perfection stage, possessing exceptional dampening properties against the physical force of a Twelfth Meridian martial artist.

As for its origin?

***

Time rewound to the end of last month, on the twenty-ninth of July, during a small gathering with Shen Xuchen.

"...Master Pang possesses an upright and unyielding disposition, utterly intolerant of evil. If there were any clashes, he harbored no malicious intent whatsoever and did not mean to deliberately make things difficult... Please be magnanimous and overlook it... For this, I have prepared an additional recompense..."

As he spoke, Shen Xuchen produced a leather armor: "This is a supreme Profound-grade exotic beast leather armor capable of blocking and weakening the physical force of a martial artist at the Condensing Qi Twelfth Meridian... Town Commander Zhuang is heading to the southern district, so taking this along will ensure you are prepared for any eventuality..."

"This..."

Zhuang Jin was filled with hesitant uncertainty. Being magnanimous toward Pang Shusheng's attitude was merely a trivial matter. To offer such a heavy gift for a trivial matter without making things clear—how could he accept this and rest easy?

"Given the current situation in the prefecture city, the Medicine King Sect has been driven out of the northern district, and the frontline battles in the southern district are growing increasingly fierce and perilous... Town Commander Zhuang is a benchmark and model for our Shen family, representing the honor of our Shen family. Naturally, your safety cannot be treated lightly... Very well, if Town Commander Zhuang feels you cannot accept a reward without merit and finds it troubling, then let this item simply be considered a loan..."

This was entirely Shen Xuchen's own initiative, yet it also carried the subtle hints and guidance of his father, Shen family head Shen Xinhong: On one hand, following the previous publicity, Zhuang Jin represented the Shen family's face to a certain extent and could not afford to meet with any mishap; otherwise, it would be a direct slap to their reputation. On the other hand, it was also a means of bestowing a favor upon Zhuang Jin to win his loyalty.

To a certain extent, Zhuang Jin had been selected by Shen Xinhong and assigned to Shen Xuchen as part of the core cadre upon whom he would rely should he eventually become the head of the Shen family.

—Zhuang Jin's background was recruitment as a civilian martial artist. While in the northern district, this background had occasionally subjected him to cold reception and subtle exclusion from other ward commanders. In the eyes of Shen Xinhong and Shen Xuchen, however, this was actually a plus, signifying that he was free from tangled factions and would not be influenced by internal human relationships and connections within the Shen family.

Previously, Zhuang Jin had spent half a year in the eastern district. Aside from the various strategic considerations mentioned at the time, it was also a period of observation: during those six months in the northern district, Zhuang Jin had not escalated conflicts with the group of parasites in the eastern district, maintaining a tacit understanding instead. This demonstrated that he was not someone who "could not tolerate sand in his eyes," that he understood how to adapt, and that he possessed sufficient capability and tact. Furthermore, the fact that he had not wallowed in the mire proved he held moral bottom lines; and the way he digested his military exploits through consecutive breakthroughs showed he could settle his mind, understand his own foundations, and excel at seizing opportunities...

Combined with Zhuang Jin's aptitude, potential, and the image of gratitude and grievance-clearing he had previously displayed, he was quite simply an unpolished piece of jade and the quintessential candidate to be left behind as a pillar of strength for his son!

With these considerations in mind, dispatching him to the southern district now—aside from certain other strategic deployments and a temporary shortage of personnel in the south—was also meant to temper him while facilitating the bestowal of favors. For instance: Shen Xuchen's assistance with the exotic beast leather armor today was a massive favor; a year or a half from now, when Zhuang Jin reached the Twelfth Meridian and stood on the verge of breaking through to the Pulse-Opening realm, Shen Xuchen stepping in once more to arrange his transfer back to the rear, allowing Zhuang Jin to break through with peace of mind, would constitute yet another massive favor...

In short, every single calculation was laid out transparently. Even knowing you were being manipulated, you would still feel compelled to accept the favor and offer your gratitude.

***

"Bestowing favors, human debts, and future recompense—those are matters for the days to come. For now, since Zhao Bin has cracked under the pressure, made his move, and chosen to court his own death, it is high time to send him off to meet his end!"

Zhuang Jin strode out, stepping out the door to directly launch a distress signal flare, and then proceeded straight toward Zhao Bin's residence.

Inside the room, Zhao Bin paced nervously back and forth, wiping the cold sweat from his palms onto his clothes from time to time. At that moment, hearing the explosion of the signal flare echoing outside, his expression instantly shifted, and he rushed frantically toward the door.

Yet in the very next instant—

*Boom!*

The door splintered into flying shards of wood. Amidst the spraying splinters, Zhuang Jin strode inside with a expressionless face: "Zhao Bin, your crimes have caught up with you!"

Upon laying eyes on Zhuang Jin, Zhao Bin shuddered violently. Pointing a trembling finger at him, his face contorted in sheer disbelief: "You, you... I... Clearly the Soul-Disrupting Powder... How is this possible?!"

"Surprised, are you? The even more surprising developments tonight are still to come, but unfortunately, you won't be around to see them."

With that, Zhuang Jin took a single step forward, instantly closing the distance to Zhao Bin with a speed too blinding for the latter to even react, and brought his palm down.

*Splat—!*

*Thud!*

Zhao Bin flew backward like a kite with a shattered string, slamming heavily into the wall before crashing down onto the floor. A patch of crimson blossomed across his chest, and he clutched his chest in agony.

"Rest assured, you won't be lonely on the Yellow Springs road. Your entire family will be joining you down below shortly!"

Leaving behind these final words, Zhuang Jin flicked his sleeve, turned around, and strode out.

*Boom!*

Behind him, Zhao Bin's eyes bulged wide in terror, though he could no longer force out a single syllable. In the next moment, the hidden internal force planted within his chest erupted, shattering his flesh and blood into ruin... He died with his eyes wide open in grievance.

***

Not far from Fengdu Street in the Feng-character sector.

*Screee—Pop!*

The distress signal flare blossomed across the sky above Fengdu Street.

"That is... a distress signal from the Shen family's sector commander level?! Damn it! It must be that useless Zhao Bin who botched his operations and got exposed. Our plan has been leaked prematurely..."

At this critical juncture, Zhu Xi maintained a clear head and made a prompt, decisive judgment: "We cannot afford to give that Zhuang Jin time to react and retreat. Execute the plan immediately!"