Chapter 207: Chapter 125: The Art of Killing with Praise

Zhou Hongjun glanced at Zhou Hongda standing below and rebuked him harshly,

"Second Brother, I put you in charge of Lishui District, and this is how you manage it? You let a mere Chief Constable like Chen Cheng single-handedly wipe out the Tiger and Leopard Gang! If word of this gets out, what will the Jianghu Gangs under our Zhou Family think?"

Although the Tiger and Leopard Gang wasn’t a major gang, they were backed by the Zhou Family and represented their power.

With the Tiger and Leopard Gang’s destruction, the Zhou Family didn’t just lose the monthly tribute the gang paid them; they also lost some of their prestige in the South City District. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Zhou Hongda’s face flushed red, and he said in a gruff voice, "Big Brother, how was I supposed to know that kid Chen Cheng’s Martial Arts Power was so formidable? Or that he would act so ruthlessly and decisively, striking without any warning?"

Then, he turned to look at Zhou Xu and said, "Ah Xu, you clearly said that just a few months ago, Chen Cheng was only a martial artist at Great Success in the Skin Grinding Realm, competing with Zhou Fang for a position as an official constable.

If I had known his Martial Arts Power was so immense, I definitely would have sent my Black and White Double Slaughter to protect the Tiger and Leopard Gang."

Zhou Xu shot him a glance and said coldly, "Second Uncle, are you blaming me for not warning you in time?"

"I never said that." Zhou Hongda spread his hands, but the unspoken implication was still that he was shifting the blame to Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu could easily see through this. He snorted and said, "Second Uncle, I may have underestimated Chen Cheng’s Martial Arts Power, but he killed Ren Fei this morning. You should have been on your guard!

Besides, I heard that after Ren Fei was killed, Li Hu came to you for help. Why didn’t you take any action?"

Zhou Hongda retorted irritably, "When Chen Cheng killed Ren Fei, it was dark and snowing. My Black and White Double Slaughter couldn’t see the details of their fight clearly. They just assumed Chen Cheng got lucky.

As for me not taking action, you can’t blame me for that. You know the Zhou Family’s current situation in Lishui District as well as I do.

The Shen Family has Yan Jian keeping a constant watch on our blacksmith shop. The Black and White Double Slaughter have to guard it to prevent the Shen Family from causing trouble.

I couldn’t just send the Black and White Double Slaughter to guard the Tiger and Leopard Gang without knowing the full situation, could I?"

"You..." Zhou Xu shot to his feet.

"Enough!" Zhou Hongjun waved his hand. "What’s done is done. What’s the point of assigning blame now?"

Zhou Hongda shot him a sideways glance, thinking, ’It was you and your son who started this interrogation in the first place.’

Zhou Hongjun continued, "The Tiger and Leopard Gang’s destruction is a fact. Second Brother, what are your plans?"

Zhou Hongda replied, a bit petulantly, "Big Brother, you’re the Zhou Family Patriarch. I’ll do whatever you say."

"Ah Xu, what are your thoughts?" Zhou Hongjun asked, turning to Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu sat back down. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Chen Cheng has the Shen Family’s backing and is making trouble for our Zhou Family at every turn. He’s decisive, ruthless, and has extremely high talent for the Martial Dao. If he’s allowed to grow, he will become a grave threat to our family. We absolutely cannot let him live."

Zhou Hongjun nodded slightly. "I feel the same way. However, Chen Cheng is a Chief Constable of the City Guard Department, and he has the Shen Family protecting him. It won’t be easy to get rid of him."

Zhou Xu nodded. "If we’re going to make a move on a Chief Constable of the City Guard Department, it must be clean. We can’t leave any evidence behind.

If all else fails, the Zhou Family can spare some money to hire people from the Black Market and have him taken care of quietly."

"Are you talking about hiring assassins from the Wind and Rain Tower? They always operate in secret. Paying them to do the job would certainly be clean."

Zhou Hongjun nodded slightly, then hesitated. "But with Chen Cheng’s current Martial Arts Power, a Ding-rank assassin would probably have a hard time killing him. If we hire a Bing-rank assassin at the Muscle Strengthening Realm, it would cost at least one thousand taels of silver.

Spending that much silver to kill one Chen Cheng doesn’t seem very cost-effective. After all, with that much money, our Zhou Family could train two subordinates to the level of Skin Grinding Realm Perfection."

Zhou Xu said, "One thousand taels of silver for a Chief Constable’s head is certainly not cost-effective, but Chen Cheng must die. We have no other choice."

Seeing his brother and nephew meticulously plotting against a mere Chief Constable, Zhou Hongda sneered to himself. Finally, he couldn’t help but speak up:

"Why make it so complicated just to kill one Chen Cheng? Just have the Black and White Double Slaughter find a chance to kill him without anyone knowing. As for him being a Chief Constable of the City Guard Department, who cares? As long as we don’t kill him in Lishui District, who’s going to trace it back to the Zhou Family?

Remember when Wang Li was killed in Ruyi District? In the end, nothing came of it, right? Wang Li was from a branch of the Wang Family, and even then, it was dropped. What does a guy like Chen Cheng even count for?"

Zhou Xu’s eyes lit up. "Second Uncle, your words have truly woken me from a dream."

Zhou Hongda shook his head, looking quite pleased with himself. "It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Your second uncle has a few tricks up his sleeve, you know. I’ve got plenty of brilliant plans like this.

I’ll have my men tail Chen Cheng right now. The moment he steps out of Lishui District, I’ll have the Black and White Double Slaughter finish him!"

Zhou Xu quickly waved his hand. "Second Uncle, you’re mistaken. Chen Cheng must be killed, but we won’t be the ones to do it.

The real culprit in the Wang Family massacre hasn’t been found yet. With Chen Cheng’s power, he’s more than capable of committing such a crime and killing Wang Li. We just need to give Young Master Wang a little hint, and the Wang Family will naturally find someone to take care of Chen Cheng."

Zhou Hongda was suddenly displeased and retorted, "Ah Xu, don’t be too clever for your own good. Chen Cheng caused such a huge commotion in Lishui District, how could Young Master Wang not know about it? Why would he need you to remind him?

He personally came to the Lishui Sub-Department to investigate thoroughly and found no connection between Chen Cheng and the case.

If you bring up the Wang Family massacre again, don’t let Young Master Wang see that you’re just trying to stir up trouble. You might end up damaging the relationship between our Zhou Family and the Wang Family."

Zhou Xu looked completely certain and smiled faintly. "Second Uncle, you’re being shortsighted.

Don’t you know that the scions of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City have always acted without asking for reasons and without any scruples?

We just need to spread a rumor. We’ll say that Chen Cheng’s talent for the Martial Dao is so high that it’s second to none among the Direct Descendants of the Four Great Clans, that he’s a one-in-a-million martial arts prodigy, and that his future Martial Arts Achievement will likely make him the number one of Linji City’s younger generation. We can get rid of Chen Cheng without lifting a finger.

Whether or not Chen Cheng is connected to the Wang Family massacre, Young Master Wang will not allow a martial arts genius to rise through the ranks—especially since this genius is being cultivated by the Shen Family."

Zhou Hongda suddenly froze. He stared at Zhou Xu and muttered, "Ah Xu, you little rascal... this is the ’praise to kill’ tactic. You’re planning to put Chen Cheng on a pyre and burn him until not even ashes remain?"

Zhou Xu chuckled. "Second Uncle, just tell me, what do you think of my plan? Wouldn’t you call it brilliant?"

"Ah Xu, you truly live up to your title as an Official of the South City District City Guard Headquarters! A scheme like this... your Second Uncle could never compare to you!"

Zhou Hongda clapped Zhou Xu on the shoulder, then walked to his seat and sat down, his enthusiasm somewhat dampened. He turned to Zhou Hongjun and said, "Big Brother, your branch of the family really produces talented people! The future prosperity of our Zhou Family will all depend on Ah Xu."

Zhou Hongjun smiled amicably. "Second Brother, what nonsense are you talking? We’re blood brothers, why are you being so formal? Ah Xu will still need your help in the end. As long as we work together, the Zhou Family will one day become a great power like one of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City. Our children and grandchildren will all share in the glory and wealth."

...

Over the next few days, several fights broke out between the Celestial Dog Gang and the Qingcheng Gang, resulting in casualties on both sides.

However, both gangs were clearly afraid of Chen Cheng, and their conflicts didn’t spill over to affect civilians. So, Chen Cheng treated it as if nothing was happening and ignored them.

And with the Tiger and Leopard Gang gone, public order around Qingshui Pier improved dramatically. Chen Cheng continued to focus on Cultivating Martial Dao every day.

What annoyed Chen Cheng, however, was that new rumors, unfavorable to him, had begun to circulate in Lishui District.

Strictly speaking, these rumors were all praising him. They said his talent for the Martial Dao was exceptionally high, that he was a martial arts prodigy seen once in a century, and that at only eighteen years old, he had already reached Small Success in the Muscle Strengthening Realm.

These rumors were based on recent facts: Chen Cheng had killed the Flying Thief Ren Fei, a man famous in Lishui District for years and at the Beginner Level of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, and he had single-handedly wiped out the Tiger and Leopard Gang, which had two Perfect Martial Artists of the Skin Grinding Realm and nearly a hundred members.

Such a record was unique, not only in the South City District, but among all the Chief Constables of the City Guard Department in the Four Outer City Districts.

Some gossips even started calling Chen Cheng the number one Chief Constable of Linji City’s Outer City Districts!

Chen Cheng immediately smelled a conspiracy. He secretly sent out his informants to investigate and discovered the source.

The rumors seemed to have originated from the Zhou family. In fact, the title of "number one Chief Constable of Linji City’s Outer City Districts" was first spoken in public, ’unintentionally,’ by Zhou Xu, the Official from the South City District City Guard Headquarters.

Meanwhile, at the Lishui Sub-Department, Chief Constable Ji Jingbei and a group of other Chief Constables had all started treating Chen Cheng like a public enemy.

Wang Xiongjie had even, on several occasions, ’casually’ brought up the Wang Family massacre in Ruyi District and the murder of Wang Li, subtly pointing the finger at Chen Cheng.