Promise!

Chapter 73, Small Success (Two in One)

It was noon that day.

Duan Tao came to the next street, Fuchang Street, and came out of the brotherhood after a while with a gloomy look on his face.

This time he came to persuade the Brotherhood to submit to the Shen family, but the result was obviously a failure.

"You don't know how to appreciate a favor!" he cursed in his heart.

In fact, the Brotherhood is also helpless. Last month, a small team under Duan Tao was ambushed by the Yaowang Gang and almost wiped out. How could they dare to defect to them if their safety could not be guaranteed?

"My subordinates are useless. They were ambushed, and a good thing that was almost done was suddenly thrown into chaos... I can only find a way to regain my position as soon as possible, show off my military strength to the Brotherhood, and prove something to them."

Duan Tao was determined to subdue the Brotherhood and occupy Fuchang Street, naturally because he had made great contributions in this matter.

For street guards, gaining merit is divided into three parts.

The first part is that because the street guards are mostly at the defensive level and rarely take action, their teams will kill people on night duty, and some of the heads they kill will be handed over to the street public, from which the street guards can take a cut;
The second part is about guarding the streets. As long as there is peace and tranquility every month, there will be a certain amount of merit.
The third part is to expand the territory and occupy new streets.

In fact, the first two parts are just small fights. The one that can really gain considerable merits at one time is the third part, which is to seize territory from the Medicine King Gang or the small gangs in the north of the city.

"If I can convince the Brotherhood to surrender and take over the neighboring Fuchang Street, maybe the accumulated merits will be enough to reserve a Shuluo Pill without using any of it. Then, I can break through the bottleneck and make further progress..." Duan Tao secretly calculated, and a burning feeling arose in his heart.

At this moment, a man suddenly came up to him with a smile on his face and said, "Master Duan, I have something important to discuss with you. Why don't you go and have a cup of tea?"

……

This person was none other than Zhuang Yutang. At this moment, the two of them were sitting opposite each other. Duan Tao glanced at the other person, a ninth-rank clerk wearing an official uniform. Although he did not take him seriously, he still had the patience to listen to a few words from him.

"Duan Zhenshou came to Fuchang Street to make the brotherhood surrender, but it seems that things are not going well?" Zhuang Yutang poured a cup of tea and handed it to him and asked with a smile.

Duan Tao heard this and a hint of anger flashed across his face. He frowned and said without giving any respect, without even taking the teacup, "This town guard doesn't have the time to go around in circles with you. If you don't have anything important to do, you can leave."

Zhuang Yutang wasn't angered by Duan Tao's dismissive attitude. Instead, seeing Duan Tao's reaction, he felt that the question he had been trying to probe had been answered. He felt more confident and went straight to the point: "I heard that there's a team leader named Zhuang Jin under Duan Zhenshou who keeps asking others to take his place on night shifts. This kind of behavior of seeking comfort and avoiding experience is not good. Duan Zhenshou should take action..."

"You want Team Zhuang Jin to be on night duty?"

Duan Tao's face suddenly changed when he heard this. He slammed the table, causing the teacups on it to vibrate violently. He stood up and stared at Zhuang Yutang, "Are you from the Medicine King Gang? You're so bold! You actually dared to come before this town guard. Did you really think I wouldn't dare to apprehend you on the spot?"

This violent reaction seems like violence is imminent if something goes wrong.

"Calm down, Commander Duan! Calm down! Please listen to my detailed explanation." Zhuang Yutang quickly stood up, acting panic-stricken, but he was calm in his heart.

Since he dared to come, he must have understood Duan Tao's character and analyzed his situation before coming, and he was at least 90% sure.

"I'm not from the Medicine King Gang. I just have a grudge against Zhuang Jin. It's just a personal grudge."

Zhuang Yutang knew that Duan Tao, as the governor of a certain street, would not collude with the Medicine King Gang. This was his bottom line. He immediately said this to de-escalate the conflict, and then pushed over a large ingot of silver, a full fifty taels. "There's no need for Governor Duan to do anything. Just handle the matter impartially and let Zhuang Jin go out on night duty as usual."

"What do you mean? Do you want me, Duan, to betray my trusted subordinates?" Duan Tao's face was still full of anger.

When Zhuang Yutang saw this scene, he was not disappointed, but felt happy. He knew that Duan Tao's attitude was not really a rejection, but just that the price was not enough, so he immediately took out another ingot of fifty taels of silver.

"This……"

Duan Tao glanced at the two ingots of silver, hesitated, and then pushed it back: "My subordinate Zhuang Jin has excellent talent. If this matter is exposed, it will be a serious offense. It's really not worth it."

"What a greedy wolf!"

Zhuang Yutang cursed in his heart, and at the same time secretly resented Zhuang Jin's qualifications, which made him have to pay more money for nothing. He gritted his teeth and took out another ingot of fifty taels of silver.

This time, he almost lost all the money he had earned by taking advantage of Zhuang Jin's family.

Seeing that Duan Tao seemed to be trying to hold back, he immediately said, "Duan Zhenshou, although Zhuang Jin has considerable talent, you and I both know that only talented people who grow up are valuable. Geniuses who fail to realize their potential are worthless, and dead geniuses are even more worthless."

"Also, one hundred and fifty taels, that's quite a lot. As far as I know, the Shen family's reward for killing a three-level warrior from the Medicine King Gang is only one hundred and twenty merits, which converts to only one hundred and twenty taels of silver... Besides, Duan Zhenshou doesn't need to do anything, just let him patrol normally, so any more is fine."

Duan Tao laughed heartily upon hearing this, and took the silver into his arms and accepted it: "Then again, helping others is also helping yourself. I agree to this matter."

"Thank you, Guard Duan." Zhuang Yutang bowed his head and expressed his gratitude again before saying goodbye and leaving.

After Zhuang Yutang left.

"A mere ninth-rank clerk, one hundred and fifty taels of silver, ha!"

One hundred and fifty taels of silver is indeed not a small amount, even for a martial artist of the fourth level, it is worth taking seriously. But if it is just for this reason, does he want Duan Tao to betray his subordinates and offend a genius with extremely high talent?

That would be an underestimation of Duan.

"If not..."

Duan Tao narrowed his eyes, played with the silver, a playful look appeared on his face, and looked at the sky outside the window.

There, a dragonfly was flying in the air, catching mosquitoes, but it didn't know that not far ahead, there was a spider with a big web spread out, waiting for it.

……

the other side.

After bidding farewell to Duan Tao, Zhuang Yutang changed his previous cowardly, timid and taken advantage of appearance, and walked quickly towards Fuqing Street with an expressionless face.

……

That afternoon, Zhuang Yutang and Duan Tao were drinking tea, each with their own thoughts.

Zhuang Jin had no idea that a secret battle with swords and sabers was unfolding around him somewhere, and he was still concentrating on practicing martial arts.

call!call!
Zhuang Jin looked calm and composed, his heart as still as water. He performed every move of the Black Evil Palm meticulously and methodically.

If another warrior were here and saw him practicing at this moment, he would definitely be amazed by two words: precision!

Yes, it was precision, every move, every gesture, utterly precise, like a standard template or textbook, flawless to the last detail. But strangely, this "standard" didn't seem to have the slightest hint of craftsmanship, but rather a subtle sense of unpretentious ingenuity and unstoppable grace.

In the afternoon, the warm sunlight shines through the window, forming beams of light, mottled and fragmented, with tiny specks of light flying and flying through them.

At a certain moment, as Zhuang Jin practiced, these light dusts began to flow like mist and water, dancing between his sleeves. Especially with the movements, the light and shadows intertwined, and this scene gave people an indescribable agility and tranquility, harmony and unity.

Finally, this accumulation of invisible momentum came to an end when the Black Evil Palm came to an end, like a silver bottle suddenly breaking and water spurting out. Zhuang Jin had a telepathic connection, his eyes were as focused as lightning, and he connected the internal energy with one palm, spewing it out into strength, which exploded at this moment and broke through to a distance of three inches!
puff!
Within three inches of the palm, countless light dusts were drawn together, and then shattered under the force, like a ball of water mist being bombarded in mid-air and exploding brilliantly.

"Black Evil Palm is a minor accomplishment, it's done!"

Zhuang Jin slowly closed his palms, with a lazy feeling on his body as if he had just woken up from an afternoon spring nap. He stretched out his body in the light and dark shadows, walked to the window, opened it and looked out. In the boundless blue sky, there were white clouds and dark sky, changing endlessly, and below it was the chaotic and noisy world.

He saw his four team members returning from a patrol and preparing to continue, and saw Duan Tao entering the gate and returning to the street station. He then looked up and looked in the direction of Fuqing Street across Fuchang Street. He stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm and without any disturbance.

At this moment, it is: undercurrents are surging in the water, while chaotic clouds are flying by calmly.

……

May 9th, this afternoon.

Duan Tao called a meeting of all the warriors from his three squads. Soon, a barrage of reprimands emanated from the Furong Street headquarters: "This is disgraceful! Absolutely disgraceful! Someone in our neighborhood—I won't name them—hasn't been on night duty since this month. He's always had someone else take his place."

"Team leader is only supposed to be on duty every three days, and now you've got someone else on duty. What are you doing? So you're just here to take advantage of Furong Street and get away with it, right?"

"He's been taking advantage of Duan from Furong Street for free, damn..."

Although Duan Tao did not name anyone when he cursed, everyone present knew who he was talking about, and they looked at Zhuang Jin either openly or secretly.

Zhuang Jin's expression remained calm, and he even nodded slightly as he listened, as if he shared a common hatred for the enemy and felt that this behavior was indeed excessive, as if it wasn't just him who was being talked about.

A person's state of mind changes with his strength.

If he had not yet broken through the four classics, he would naturally be frightened by Duan Tao's attitude and would have to pretend to be submissive, but what about now?

Not only did he break through the Four Classics, but he also achieved minor success in the Black Evil Palm yesterday. To put it bluntly, even Duan Tao might not be able to beat him. This was not a criticism by name, and it had no substantial impact at all. It was just like a gentle breeze on his face. He was naturally calm and didn't care.

"Originally, I had achieved minor success in my Black Evil Palm, so I had no intention of hiring a substitute for today." Putting aside the financial burden, Zhuang Jin had finally made it to this point, so naturally he needed to celebrate.

"But let's put it this way. Although I was about to leave, why did Duan Tao suddenly come here?"

This kind of night shift is consensual and doesn't affect anyone's interests. Normally, the street guards would prefer to mind their own business and ignore it. Just like the two previous times, Duan Tao wasn't involved. Why would he suddenly target him now?
Zhuang Jin's mind raced, and he seemed to have thought of something, and understood a little: "Our Duan Zhenshou can't wait any longer!"

"Let's not talk about the past. From today on, no one in Furong Street, no matter who it is, is allowed to find someone to take over the night shift without permission. If there are special circumstances, ask me for approval, otherwise..."

Duan Tao snorted coldly, "Go back to where you came from! My Furong Street Temple is too small to accommodate a deity like you!"

He left this sentence and walked away.

Qian Wende looked at him with concern, and Zhuang Jin nodded slightly. The other party immediately understood and relaxed. After saying hello to another team leader Song Jie, he followed and left.

"This..." Ke Jingxing took a step back, with an embarrassed look on his face, obviously unable to help.

Chang Hetong is his good friend, and he did ask him to look after Zhuang Jin, but Duan Tao is his immediate superior, and he is one of his trusted confidants, so it is impossible for him to go against him. Even if Zhuang Jin asked him to do so today, he would not be able to take over the night shift.

"It's okay. Thank you for the first two times. Today, I'm sorry for causing Brother Ke to lose face. Let our team take responsibility for tonight's night duty!" Zhuang Jin said.

Beside him, Jiang Wei lowered his head, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and secretly clenched his fists.

Du Yunqi and Pan Zimo looked at Jiang Wei quietly, their eyes met, and then suddenly separated.

Zhou Chao, drawn to the nervousness of his first night watch, muttered, "I heard our previous squad was ambushed last month. Will we be in danger tonight? I wouldn't be so unlucky to get ambushed by the Medicine King Gang on my first night watch, right?"

The next moment, he suddenly realized that the rest of the team was looking at him. He was stunned: "What, what happened?"

"Nothing, I just hope your bad mouth doesn't come true." Du Yunqi said calmly as if nothing had happened.

Pan Zimo also tried to make amends: "Yeah, if good things don't work, then bad things will. You can't just say that."

"No, how could that be?" Jiang Wei finally said with a chuckle, looking like he was in a good mood.

Zhuang Jin looked at this scene, as if he had seen something extremely interesting, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly in an imperceptible arc.

Jiang Wei looked at Zhuang Jin again and asked casually, "Captain Zhuang, I heard you say at the beginning of the month that you encountered a bottleneck and tried to break through one or two. How are things going now?"

"How can it be so easy to break through the bottleneck? There has been no progress at all."

"Oh? That's a pity." Jiang Wei said with regret.

"Yes!"

……

Fuqing Street.

Zhuang Yuyong was drinking with two warriors from the Su and Hong clans who were invited to help, a team leader from Fuqing Street named Deng, and two other warriors from the Yaowang Gang.

This month, he used his connections to contact Fuqing Street, which was not far from Furong Street where Zhuang Jin was. Through someone else, he was introduced to a small team leader and even met Yu Di, the young incense master of Fuqing Street.

"Yesterday, my eldest brother... prepared... Zhuang Jin..."

At this time, Gao Shi came in to deliver the food with a pug-like smile on his face. When he suddenly heard Zhuang Jin's name, his wrist couldn't help but tremble.

When he met Zhuang Jin at Jinhua Building that day, he heard Ke Jingxing call Zhuang Jin 'Brother Zhuang' and realized that the 'little mute' he knew was actually surnamed Zhuang. Later he learned Zhuang Jin's name. He didn't expect that the next time he heard news about Zhuang Jin, it was that his people were going to deal with him.

……

(End of this chapter)