Chapter 265 - 105: Giving In (3)

Chapter 265: Chapter 105: Giving In (3)

’Fuck!’

Zheng Jingkai froze for a moment before it hit him—his own cousin had just used him as a target and was fleeing by himself.

Furious, he took out a Jade Talisman of his own. But just as he was about to act, he saw his fleeing cousin, Zheng Jingwei, come flying back, only to explode in mid-air.

SPLATTER!

Bits of flesh and blood rained down.

At the same time, a masked, black-clad figure appeared in the room, seemingly out of nowhere.

It was Fang Rui!

How had he found this place?

He had simply tailed someone, following the trail right back to its source. The Zheng Family’s various defensive measures were certainly decent, but for a Second Grade Martial Artist, they were practically nonexistent.

"My lord, spare me!"

Zheng Jingkai dropped to his knees. "Are you here because the Zheng Family attacked the Divine Capture Bureau? I’m willing to testify and redeem myself!"

Zheng Jingwei, a Fourth Grade Martial Artist, had been taken down instantly. What could he, a mere Fifth Grade Martial Artist, possibly do?

Only an idiot would fight a battle they knew they couldn’t win. Zheng Jingkai wasn’t that stubborn; he was a pragmatist. He decisively switched sides.

’If I were Zhou Changfa, I might actually spare your life,’ Fang Rui thought. ’But unfortunately for you, I’m only here for revenge!’

With that thought, Fang Rui shot out a palm, striking the man and leaving him severely wounded and vomiting blood.

He then strode forward, planted a foot on Zheng Jingkai’s chest, and pressed his palm down. True Essence surged forth, transforming into Dark Force that entered the man’s body like a hidden mine.

"You’re..."

Those two familiar palm strikes—a taste of his own medicine—instantly made Zheng Jingkai realize something. His eyes widened in disbelief, his face a mask of horror.

But before he could finish his words—

BANG!

The Dark Force detonated inside him, shattering Zheng Jingkai’s internal organs. He died bleeding from all seven orifices.

"Dying from such a sinister Dark Force... doesn’t feel good, does it?"

Fang Rui sneered. His True Essence billowed out, forming a Great Hand Seal that obliterated Zheng Jingkai’s corpse, leaving no trace behind.

Once that was done, he took the Dragon Pearl from his robes and retracted the Barrier.

’My True Essence concealment is good, but it’s not foolproof. The Dragon Pearl’s Barrier is the safer option.’

’With the Dragon Pearl shielding the area, even an Upper Grade Spirit Master on par with a First Grade Martial Artist wouldn’t be able to find the slightest clue about what happened here.’

Fang Rui stretched lazily, turned, and strode away. "All wrapped up. Time to go home and get some sleep!"

...

「The next day.」

Zheng Shaoguang, the Patriarch of the Zheng Family and a newly minted Third Grade Martial Artist following the Nanshan Garden incident, arrived at the private courtyard. Accompanying him was a Middle Grade Spirit Master.

"Well?" Zheng Shaoguang asked, his face grim.

"Forgive me, Patriarch. I have used every method at my disposal, but I cannot find a single trace," the Middle Grade Spirit Master said, shaking his head in embarrassment.

"Heh, leaving no trace is the best trace of all! In Huaiyin Prefecture, only a couple of factions could pull off something this clean. Besides us and the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office, there’s only the Divine Capture Bureau!"

Zheng Shaoguang sneered. "Fine, just fine. Zhou Changfa, you’re ruthless. I actually thought we had a tacit understanding to keep our struggles contained to our subordinates. But now... heh!"

"So be it. It’s time I paid a visit to this Zhou Sizheng!"

...

「Three days later.」

"Chief, you have no idea,"

Niu Bajin said, gesticulating wildly, "That day, the Zheng Family’s Patriarch, Zheng Shaoguang, barged into the Divine Capture Bureau to challenge our Zhou Sizheng to a duel! The battle was epic! Lightning, thunder, the heavens themselves seemed to fall..."

"Stop, stop, stop! Bajin, cut the crap and give me the real story."

Fang Rui, playing the part of a patient, lay in bed listening to Niu Bajin’s recent city gossip. He kept his mouth open as the two little girls, Fang Ling and Nannan, flanked him, tossing in peeled melon seeds.

"Well, uh, Chief, I wasn’t actually there for the fight. This is all just hearsay, you know."

Niu Bajin scratched his head in embarrassment. "The stories going around about the fight are definitely exaggerated, so I’ll skip those parts. I’ll just stick to what I actually know!"

"The Zheng Family lives up to its name as our Prefecture City’s only Noble Family. Their foundation runs deep. Even though Patriarch Zheng only recently broke into the Upper Three Grades, his actual combat strength was only a sliver weaker than our Lord Si Zheng."

"I heard Patriarch Zheng’s True Qi is of the Extreme Yin Attribute. When he unleashes it, it freezes everything for miles... There’s a rumor going around the city that the Zheng Family possesses an Extreme Yin Supreme Treasure..."

"Oh? A Supreme Treasure of the Extreme Yin Attribute?"

Fang Rui’s eyes narrowed. "Bajin, keep talking. What was the final result?"

"The final result? Patriarch Zheng was seriously wounded, but our Lord Si Zheng didn’t get off lightly either. I heard he was badly hurt. The strange thing is, by the next day, our Lord Si Zheng seemed almost completely recovered."

"Right now, the Divine Capture Bureau is kicking the Zheng Family while they’re down... Oh, and Lord Si Zheng said that since you were injured in the line of duty, you should take your time recovering. You can come back to the office whenever you’re ready. There’s no rush."

"The Southeast Branch’s assignments have been divided up, so me, Old Gou, and Tie Niu are all getting a bit of a break, thanks to you!" he said with a sly grin.

"Oh, is that so?"

Fang Rui replied, scooping up the handful of seeds Fang Ling and Nannan had just peeled and eating them all at once. He then patted their little heads.

Greatly encouraged, the two little girls each grabbed another handful of seeds. With a CRACK, CRACK, they got ready to continue feeding him.

"Anything else interesting? Bajin, keep going. Let’s hear the rest of the fun..."

...