Chapter 366: Cannot Let Them Know

Using the screws, Tang Shijiang jettisoned an entire carload of grain from the train. He then unloaded all the remaining grain, coal, clothes, medicine, and miscellaneous goods.

Once everything was unloaded, Brother Tang waved his hand. Two rivets flew from the locomotive and settled into his arms.

These two rivets were the very cause of the train's uncontrolled movement. With the rivets removed, the train began to slow down, and Tang Shijiang and Li Banfeng both disembarked.

As they walked, Li Banfeng carefully observed the senior man. From his words and actions, it was clear he was the local deity of Blackrock Slope.

However, unlike other local deities, Li Banfeng couldn't detect any trace of ghost fire on him, even when he activated his 'Golden Gaze of Keen Sight' ability to its maximum.

This proved he wasn't an undead spirit; his physical body was still intact.

They arrived at an abandoned factory, where Tang Shijiang retrieved a package from beside a machine tool.

He opened the package to reveal two lunchboxes: one contained rice, and the other, vegetables.

Tang Shijiang portioned out the rice and vegetables, then handed one lunchbox to Li Banfeng, saying, "Don't mind it, let's share a meal."

Li Banfeng had worked on construction sites before, so he felt an inexplicable familiarity with lunchboxes.

There was only one pair of chopsticks, which Tang Shijiang offered to Li Banfeng. He himself found two twigs and made do with them as chopsticks.

"Little brother," Tang Shijiang said, "those scoundrels from the outer states are probably going to fight us for a while. We can't back down."

Li Banfeng nodded, "As long as Brother Tang doesn't back down, I'll fight them to the end!"

Tang Shijiang laughed, "You don't have to worry about that. I've never known how to spell 'coward' since the day I was born!"

According to Elder Yao's account, Blackrock Slope was originally Grandfather Train's territory, which he later entrusted to his disciple.

This Brother Tang must be Grandfather Train's disciple, then?

After they happily finished their meal, Tang Shijiang gave Li Banfeng a box of screws. "Brother," he said, "take these. Even though you're not from my school, these screws are very useful. They make excellent hidden weapons."

Li Banfeng didn't actually lack hidden weapons, but since Brother Tang had given them, he naturally couldn't refuse.

Brother Tang added a word of caution: "Those scoundrels from the outer states are starving, their eyes green with hunger. They're definitely going to try to seize things by force, and they'll probably resort to dirty tricks."

"Don't worry about outright robbery. Blackrock Slope is a tough place. If you encounter something like that, you don't need to get involved, and absolutely shouldn't."

"What I'm worried about is when those scoundrels try underhanded tactics. An open attack is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against. Be extra careful."

Tang Shijiang was right; everyone at the Defense Hall was practically starving, their eyes turning green with hunger.

Canned goods were gone, and biscuits had run out. They had been waiting for that train car of grain, but then the train had an accident, and not a single grain was delivered.

The next day, Cheng Mingke had just held an important meeting at the Defense Hall. During his speech, he emphasized the word 'awe' nine times.

He wanted Prolonia to feel awe towards the Defense Hall, towards the Defense Envoys, and especially towards him, the Chief Defense Envoy.

During the speech, several people fainted due to low blood sugar, which greatly displeased Cheng Mingke.

"We've only been in this meeting for five hours," he declared, "and these people can't even sit still. This is a clear issue of willpower."

His secretary, Tong Lingzhu, said, "Envoy Cheng, many of them haven't eaten much all day. Their inability to hold on is a physical reason..."

"Don't talk to me about objective reasons!" Cheng Mingke interrupted. "Look for more subjective reasons! Look at the Deputy Defense Envoys — did any of them faint?"

Tong Lingzhu was silent for a moment before looking up at Cheng Mingke. "That's because the limited food in the Defense Hall was given to the Defense Envoys. Of course, they wouldn't faint after eating their fill."

Cheng Mingke stared at Tong Lingzhu in surprise. This beautiful and competent secretary had always been highly regarded by him, and he couldn't believe she dared to contradict him today.

Tong Lingzhu had endured for a long time. This new Defense Envoy was completely ignorant of the situation in Blackrock Slope.

She had just found out Cheng Mingke's background today: not only was he unfamiliar with Blackrock Slope, but he didn't even know much about Prolonia as a whole.

This was his first assignment in Prolonia, and he was trying to apply methods from the outer states to Blackrock Slope.

Cheng Mingke wanted to explode with anger. If this were in the outer states, he would have berated this impertinent secretary until she questioned her own existence.

But he didn't scold her today, because Tong Lingzhu was staring directly at him.

It was his experience that when a subordinate looked at you directly, it was best to control your emotions.

He turned around, picked up his teacup, and calmly looked out the window as usual.

He told Tong Lingzhu to leave. This person could no longer be used; he'd find an opportunity to transfer her elsewhere.

Worried about no food? Worried Blackrock Slope would lose control?

With her limited vision and methods, she was simply not competent for this job.

Furthermore, she was disobedient. Such a person, no matter how capable or how beautiful, could not be entrusted with important tasks.

Cheng Mingke immediately ordered Du Zhaohui, the Defense Envoy in charge of logistics, to lead a team to buy grain.

The instructions this time were clear: no matter what means were necessary, the grain had to be bought back. He also sent two fifth-level cultivators with Du Zhaohui.

This attitude made it obvious that Du Zhaohui had no choice but to use force to acquire the grain, otherwise he wouldn't complete his mission.

However, in a place like Blackrock Slope, forceful acquisition wasn't so easy.

The owner of the rice shop called all his staff, armed them, and confronted Du Zhaohui at the entrance of the shop.

In terms of both cultivation and equipment, the two sides were vastly mismatched; the rice shop employees were no match for the Defense Envoys.

Yet, the rice shop owner showed no fear, and none of his staff members flinched.

Bystanders gathered, all eyes turning towards the rice shop owner.

The rice shop owner shouted to the crowd, "This small shop has been open here for decades, thanks to all your patronage!"

"Today, there's no rice in the shop, but someone insists on buying it, forcing me to stake my old life on this!"

"Having lived to this age, even if I fall here today, it's worth it. I only ask all of you, young and old, to bear witness, so that if anyone asks later, you can at least speak a word of justice!"

The crowd of onlookers grew larger, and Du Zhaohui became increasingly nervous.

His subordinates stepped forward to disperse them, but it was useless; no one listened to their shouts.

Seeing that the situation was about to escalate, a cultivator named Chen Yusheng, a fifth-level martial cultivator, stood beside Du Zhaohui.

This man was intelligent and could clearly assess the situation.

It was unrealistic to expel the crowd now. The most effective approach was to immediately take down the central figure of the incident: the rice shop owner.

The strike needed to be discreet, giving the target no hint of detection.

The action needed to be decisive, avoiding a stalemate, otherwise it would lead to a brawl, and the situation would become much worse.

The blow had to be severe. After taking him down, the rice shop owner needed to be beaten half to death on the spot, unable to even cry out, thereby directly intimidating everyone else.

Chen Yusheng silently approached the rice shop owner from behind, his gaze hardening.

Li Banfeng reached out from beside him, grabbed Chen Yusheng's hair, and slammed him to the ground.

The strike was indeed discreet; Chen Yusheng hadn't detected it.

The action was decisive; after pinning him down, Li Banfeng immediately began to kick him.

The blow had to be severe. On this point, Li Banfeng's idea differed slightly from Chen Yusheng's: he used his feet.

As soon as Li Banfeng made his move, the rice shop owner followed suit, and all the onlookers joined in the fight.

They had endured for a long time.

Li Banfeng first kicked Chen Yusheng, who tried to struggle up but was then kicked back down by Tang Shijiang.

"Brother," Tang Shijiang whispered, "weren't you supposed to stay out of this?"

Li Banfeng delivered another kick. "I'm not really involved," he said, "I'm just watching the show."

Tang Shijiang kicked again. "Don't worry, they can handle this themselves."

The two men's kicks were too heavy; Chen Yusheng was nearly out of breath after taking several blows.

Meanwhile, Du Zhaohui's side was surrounded and under siege, the situation extremely perilous.

Next to Du Zhaohui was another body cultivator, who effortlessly shielded Du Zhaohui behind him, declaring, "Let's see who dares to come closer!"

Brother Tang stepped forward, slammed the body cultivator to the ground, and said to Li Banfeng, "Come on."

The two of them kicked the body cultivator while chatting.

"Brother, go on ahead. I'll handle this."

"As you say, Brother."

Li Banfeng added two more kicks and then left the rice shop.

At dusk, a bruised and swollen Du Zhaohui reported to Cheng Mingke that the grain still hadn't been purchased.

Cheng Mingke placed his teacup on the table and asked Du Zhaohui, "Where are the guards I assigned to you?"

"They're all seriously injured and being treated in the infirmary."

"Both fifth-level cultivators are injured? Something is going on here. Special individuals are involved in this matter!"

"Fu Botai's disappearance is connected to these people. We must dig three feet deep and find them!"

"Gather all the dark energy users in the Defense Hall. Have the Deputy Defense Envoys who aren't on active duty lead teams. First, go to the rice shop, bring back the rice, and bring back the people from the rice shop as well."

"These people are so audacious; they must be acting under orders. Tonight, interrogate them strictly. We must get a result."

"If any unrelated individuals participated in this matter, they are to be charged with the same crime and escorted to the Defense Hall along with the others."

Cheng Mingke issued the orders, while Du Zhaohui watched, his face filled with bewilderment.

Cheng Mingke frowned. "What are you waiting for? Depart at once!"

Du Zhaohui ventured to ask, "Envoy Cheng, aren't you coming?"

Cheng Mingke glared at Du Zhaohui, who quickly left the office.

The sun was about to set. Cheng Mingke stood by the window, gazing at the scenery outside, maintaining his usual calm and composure.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. Tong Lingzhu pushed open the door and entered.

Cheng Mingke frowned slightly. He didn't turn around, but saw Tong Lingzhu's reflection in the glass.

Not even knocking on the door? Who taught her such bad habits?

Cheng Mingke turned around, put down his teacup, and prepared to use this opportunity to properly discipline Tong Lingzhu.

Tong Lingzhu said, "The Grand Defense Envoy has arrived."

The teacup wasn't placed steadily; it fell to the floor. Cheng Mingke didn't bother picking it up and rushed out to greet the Grand Envoy.

That's strange, when did the Grand Envoy arrive? Why was there no prior notification?

Just as he reached the door, the well-built Grand Defense Envoy Liao Zihui, wearing a friendly smile, walked directly in.

Cheng Mingke quickly asked Tong Lingzhu to make tea, but Liao Zihui waved his hand. "No need for the trouble," he said, "I'll only be staying for a moment. Little Tong, you go attend to your duties. I have a few words to say to Mingke privately."

Tong Lingzhu left the office. Liao Zihui sat on the sofa and said to Cheng Mingke, "Mingke, you've just started working in Prolonia, so there must be many things you're not used to, right?"

Cheng Mingke, having navigated the ranks for many years, immediately understood the implied meaning. He quickly explained, "Grand Envoy Liao, Blackrock Slope has indeed encountered some issues recently, but I have handled them promptly..."

Liao Zihui nodded. He was already aware of Cheng Mingke's handling of the situation but offered no evaluation.

"Mingke," Liao Zihui continued, "when working in Prolonia, you can't be too hasty. I don't know if you've seen the newspapers recently, but there's been a lot of buzzing news linking us to the Jiangxiang Gang. Some even link us to human traffickers. The impact is very negative."

"These are all false rumors," Cheng Mingke replied, clearly prepared for this line of questioning. "We have always maintained a clear boundary with the Jiangxiang Gang. The newspapers that spread these false rumors have already been sealed by me."

Liao Zihui was silent for a moment, then asked, "Mingke, you can seal the newspaper offices in Blackrock Slope, but are you going to seal all the newspaper offices in the entire Prolonia as well?"

Cheng Mingke carefully considered his tone and said to Liao Zihui, "Grand Envoy Liao, I believe severe measures should be taken against these unscrupulous newspapers."

Liao Zihui sighed. "You're still too impetuous in your actions. How about this: pack your things and come with me to Greenwater City. I have some work there that requires your assistance."

Cheng Mingke paused for a moment. "Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to leave Blackrock Slope at this time?"

"Mingke," Liao Zihui said, "someone else has already been arranged to take over your work here in Blackrock Slope."

Cheng Mingke shook his head. "Grand Envoy, I don't understand this. What dereliction of duty have I committed in my work?"

Liao Zihui smiled. "This decision is also for your personal safety. Your resume states you're a second-level dark energy user, but as far as I know, you're only first-level, aren't you?"

Cheng Mingke's expression didn't change. Falsely reporting one's level was not uncommon among Defense Envoys. He neither admitted nor denied it, saying calmly, "I believe there's no necessary connection between a person's combat power and their ability. I think..."

"You think?" Liao Zihui's smile vanished, and his tone became less gentle.

Cheng Mingke realized he had said the wrong thing. Before the Grand Envoy, certain words needed careful consideration.

Liao Zihui asked, "Do you know how formidable Prolonia truly is?"

Cheng Mingke deliberated for a moment, then rephrased his words: "I believe their so-called formidable nature is merely superficial. In essence..."

"Stop talking!" Liao Zihui interrupted Cheng Mingke. "It doesn't matter that you don't know how formidable they are. The crucial thing is that they mustn't realize it themselves."

"If you keep acting so recklessly, they'll soon find out."