Chapter 112: Clashing

November 29, evening.

The weather had been growing colder, with the chill becoming especially biting after sunset. Outside the door, Chen Yun tended to a small red clay stove, where water bubbled for tea and dishes—including exotic beast meat—were kept warm.

Zhuang Jin was practicing his movement martial art, the Gale Step, in front of the house. He channeled his internal energy through his foot shaoyang meridian, moving with his hands behind his back. He flicked, leaped, and shifted—unhurried, steady, and composed.

*Whoosh!*

At a certain moment, as if breaking through a bottleneck, his speed surged abruptly. It grew faster and faster; the wind whistled by his ears, and the withered, blackened leaves falling from the treetops began to swirl around the hem of his robe.

*For the past half-month, I’ve been putting in an extra hour of practice every night. The Gale Step... I’ve finally mastered the basics!*

Zhuang Jin thought to himself, *The Gale Step is a cut above ordinary movement arts. Plus, with my Seven Meridians cultivation now forty percent complete and the Black Fiend Palm pushed to the limit of its advanced stage, if I were to fight Miao Shao again, it certainly wouldn’t end like last time.*

Indeed, his Black Fiend Palm had truly reached the pinnacle of its advanced stage. He had not yet opened all twelve regular meridians to achieve a state of perfect unity; otherwise, he could have reached the perfection stage in one leap.

Just then, Luan Zhenyun arrived. He had come to inform Zhuang Jin about the variations in task assignments for the Seven Meridians bodyguard rank, only to witness this scene.

"Zhuang, brother, you’ve mastered your movement art? But if I recall correctly, you chose the Gale Step!"

Luan Zhenyun had heard of the Gale Step and knew it was notoriously difficult to master. He had even tried to dissuade Zhuang Jin from choosing it. He widened his eyes in shock, having never expected Zhuang Jin to grasp it in such a short time.

"Brother Luan, care to spar?"

"Haha, well said! I’ve been wanting to see what secrets this Gale Step holds!"

In his youth, Luan Zhenyun had been a lover of combat. Now that he was older, he had settled down, but the curiosity about the Gale Step and the fighting spirit sparked by Zhuang Jin’s invitation reignited the hot-bloodedness that had been dormant for so long.

He unleashed his own movement art, the Wild Goose Flight, and darted forward.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Under the moonlight and starlight, Zhuang Jin and Luan Zhenyun became blurred afterimages, circling the plane tree in front of the door, fighting from the ground before leaping into the branches.

As they clashed, their figures shifted rapidly. Withered branches and leaves fell constantly, and under the erosion of their internal force, they were pulverized into dust. Like rain hitting a lake, the dust exploded in clusters, appearing hazy and dreamlike under the shimmering light of the stars and moon.

"Brother Zhuang, this is not satisfying enough! Let’s head to the pavilion!"

"Agreed!"

The two leaped away, toes barely touching the ground. Several breaths after they departed, the bark of the plane tree they had been using burst open with a series of *pop-pop-pop* sounds—the delayed eruption of the internal energy that had seeped into the wood during their fight.

Reaching the pavilion, the two fought across the eaves and walls, leaping onto the roof. Every move they made was accompanied by a rustling sound.

"Sister Chen, Guardian Zhuang is truly incredible!" Yu Xiaoxiao exclaimed, standing beside Chen Yun.

The young servant, Min Shang, watched with clenched fists, his heart racing with excitement. Who, in their youth, had not dreamed of being a master?

Chen Yun remained silent, pressing her lips together, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the figure that moved as a blur of shadows in the dim light of the star-drenched pavilion roof.

"Brother Luan," Zhuang Jin warned, "be careful, I’m going to counterattack!"

"Hahahaha, bring it on!"

At first, Zhuang Jin had defended with caution, but he soon realized that the Gale Step gave him a slight speed advantage over Luan Zhenyun. Feeling no pressure, he switched to an offensive stance, his movements expansive and powerful. To his surprise, he quickly suppressed Luan Zhenyun, a veteran of the Seven Meridians.

The pair fought from the roof to the inside of the pavilion, then back out, wreaking havoc on the surrounding flowers and grass.

Another moment passed, after several hundred moves.

*Swish!*

Luan Zhenyun leaped back and separated himself. "No more, no more! Any longer and these old bones of mine will fall apart!"

In truth, he knew that if he continued, he would lose, and that would be too embarrassing for an elder.

"You kid, you’re a real freak. The Black Fiend Palm is at the limit of its advanced stage, right? And you’ve even mastered the basics of a movement art as difficult as the Gale Step... At the same level, the Gale Step is indeed a cut above others. I fear that in the same realm, no one can do anything to you. If you were determined to run, even two or three people probably couldn't stop you."

As Luan Zhenyun said, the Gale Step was difficult to learn, but at the same level, it was more comprehensive and versatile than other movement arts. In combat, even a slight edge in speed was a massive advantage, and if one wanted to escape, a typical Seven Meridians practitioner would find it very difficult to catch up.

After the fight, Zhuang Jin had a clearer gauge of his own strength. Feeling confident, he engaged in some polite mutual flattery. "Brother Luan, you are still as vigorous as ever. You put quite a bit of pressure on me just now..."

"That was just my internal energy, refined and thick from my long experience in the Seven Meridians. My martial arts are far inferior to yours... You young people are the ones who are truly impressive. No—you are the one who is truly impressive."

Luan Zhenyun was awestruck by Zhuang Jin’s high aptitude and rapid growth. "I’ve heard that without enough talent, even those in the Eight Meridians struggle to master the Gale Step, yet you... sigh, high talent is a blessing. It’s as if these techniques are tailor-made for people like you."

In reality, to master the Gale Step at the Seven Meridians level, one needed exceptional talent—or at least a very high level of it. Zhuang Jin was a special case; having no bottlenecks allowed him to achieve what others could not imitate.

The two returned, and Chen Yun poured tea and brought out the warmed dishes.

"Right," Luan Zhenyun said after sipping his tea and chatting for a while. He slapped his forehead, suddenly recalling why he had come. "The Seven Meridians are different from before. We have to return to the main headquarters tomorrow afternoon to have our duties assigned in advance. If you are in the city as a Ward Guardian, you have to attend a meeting that afternoon; the same applies to District Guardians in the medicine fields."

This was so that on the first day of the following month, the Ward Guardians could hold meetings for the Street Guardians under their command and convey the instructions from above.

"When I went to get promoted that day, because of the Miao Lun case, I didn't get to understand these details... Thank you for telling me, Brother Luan."

Zhuang Jin noted this, thinking of the opportunity to become a personal guard to the Eighth Young Master. Having heard nothing yet, he figured it was likely not to happen.

*So be it. The main benefits of being a personal guard are twofold: first, safety within the Shen family headquarters; second, the allocation of resources. The first point is indeed safer than the front lines of the North or South city, but it is dull, and if real danger occurs, it won't be a minor skirmish. As for the second point, I have no bottlenecks and little need for high-end resources, so that value is greatly diminished.*

*Furthermore, as a personal guard, I would be under too much scrutiny. My talent... my progress is bound to be rapid, which would challenge others' nerves. In the long run, the Young Master I serve might feel threatened.*

Thinking this way, the so-called opportunity for a personal guard position had significant drawbacks for him. Losing it was not something he felt conflicted about; he was quite capable of "letting it go."

...

The next day, November 30.

Zhuang Jin arrived in the afternoon and ran into Xing Yan, who seemed to be waiting for him.

"Master Xing..."

"Now that you are also of the Seven Meridians and a bodyguard rank, let us speak as peers. If you’re willing to give me face, just call me Brother Xing."

Xing Yan mentioned that he had become a personal guard to the Eighth Young Master. "I know you were on the list, Brother Zhuang. The General Affairs Department was conducting investigations and asked for my opinion, and I put in a good word for you... But in the end, it fell to me, this..."

"It’s fine. Such things are a matter of fate; I don’t blame you, Brother Xing... Congratulations!"

Zhuang Jin didn't think much of it at the time. With a "what I get is my luck, what I lose is my fate" attitude, he figured that perhaps they chose him because he was young, and Xing Yan was more mature and had a better track record.

"By the way, leaving the North City—I’m not at ease handing the East Bridge Dock to anyone else. Since you’re familiar with it, I have the right to recommend you. What do you think, Brother Zhuang?"

"Many thanks, Brother Xing!" Originally, after the purge of the well-connected in early October, if Zhuang Jin were still at the Six Meridians, he likely would have remained at the medicine fields outside the city. But now that he was at the Seven Meridians/bodyguard level, he would technically be at the District Guardian level, and there were no vacancies in the fields.

He couldn't stay at the medicine fields, and a position at the Shen headquarters was a pipe dream. The North City was the most likely destination, and since he had to go there, the familiar East Bridge Dock was the best choice.

After chatting a while longer, he parted ways with Xing Yan and ran into Zou Qingfeng. Zou was wearing a white robe, clearly having broken through to the Seven Meridians thanks to the "Enhanced Meridian-Clearing Pill," which also earned him a promotion to the bodyguard rank.

"Congratulations, Attendant Zou!"

"It was just luck. I was stuck at that bottleneck for years... Of course, I am most grateful to Guardian Zhuang. If it weren't for that beast treasure at the skin-refining perfection level that you let me have to refine into the pill, enhancing its effect, I wouldn't be here today..."

Zou Qingfeng offered some modest pleasantries before pausing to mention the personal guard opportunity. "Regarding the Eighth Young Master’s guard position... it just didn't work out."

Zhuang Jin, already aware of this, felt no disappointment and expressed his gratitude nonetheless.

According to their agreement, since the guard opportunity didn't pan out, Zou Qingfeng was to pay him in silver for the "Enhanced Meridian-Clearing Pill," adjusted for the proportion of his war contributions. This was essentially extra cash coming his way.

This was good for Zhuang Jin, as it helped reduce his reliance on war contributions. Mid-grade Black Essence Powder cost five taels a dose, and with the exotic beast meat needed to accelerate his training, his expenses had soared—he had spent over a hundred taels in the last twenty days alone. He was a bottomless pit for money, and his treasury needed replenishing.

As they parted, Zou Qingfeng seemed to hesitate, wanting to say something.

"Is there something on your mind, Attendant Zou? Please, speak freely."

"It’s nothing."

Zou Qingfeng’s expression flickered, and he gave a hollow laugh. "Do you remember Director Zhao Bin of the Law Enforcement Department? He’s being transferred to the South City next month. Oh, and I won't be the Eighth Young Master’s attendant next month; I’ll be taking a position as a director in the Law Enforcement Department. We might cross paths in the future, so let’s keep in touch!"

"That would be excellent; I would welcome it!"

Zhuang Jin instinctively felt that this wasn't what Zou had originally intended to say. But since the man wouldn't speak, there must be some hesitation or hidden difficulty. He kept it in mind, though he showed nothing on his face.