Chapter 59 Insidious and Cunning

Jianfeng Mountain owned quite a few properties in the city. Aside from gambling dens and opium dens, they also operated several restaurants. With the yamen and the Brocade Guard launching a joint operation in person, he intended to send men to the county office to inquire about the exact situation.

Having already set things in motion, no one was left to keep watch on Huang Wenzhong anymore, as the possibility of someone tipping him off no longer existed.

The men dispatched by Zuo Jincheng quickly found out the ins and outs of the matter.

"It turns out to be that dog Xu Feng. I knew he was harboring a grudge against me in his heart."

Zuo Jincheng thought Xu Feng was deliberately taking revenge on him, little knowing that Xu Feng did not even deign to keep him in mind.

Leaving aside their current status and standing, purely in terms of strength, Xu Feng had already left him miles behind. In Zuo Jincheng's eyes, the position of Brocade Guard Centurion should have rightfully belonged to him.

"Young Master, what should we do now? Magistrate Huang is barely able to protect himself and cannot possibly step forward to help us. If the higher-ups blame us for this, it will probably be hard to explain."

Faced with his subordinate's question, Zuo Jincheng was caught in a difficult dilemma.

He had no idea what to do either, and right at that moment, Song Heng sent someone to summon Zuo Jincheng to discuss matters.

Daring not to delay, he could only bite the bullet and go see Song Heng.

"What is going on over at the gambling den? Weren't you told to close up and rest for a few days? Now that such a huge mess has broken out, how are we going to answer to Zhongmou?"

As soon as he stepped through the door, Zuo Jincheng was met with a barrage of harsh reprimands from Song Heng.

The actions of the Brocade Guard were on too grand a scale to be concealed at all. Upon learning that yet another gambling den under his purview had been raided and sealed, Song Heng was so angry he nearly spat blood.

"Manager Song, this really cannot be blamed on me. The gambling house brings in a massive amount of revenue for us every single day, and closing it down rashly would cause us to lose quite a few patrons. I thought that by moving to a different location, we wouldn't be discovered by the other party. Who could have expected that they are newcomers who would investigate Suzhou City so thoroughly?"

Zuo Jincheng made excuses to absolve himself, but unfortunately, the other party refused to listen to his explanation at all.

"I don't care about that. You can explain this matter to the sect yourself."

Seeing that the other party had no intention of speaking up for him, Zuo Jincheng hardened his heart and revealed the idea he had thought of on his way over to Song Heng.

"Manager Song, how about this? On my way here, I already sent someone to contact Magistrate Huang's side, and he is unable to help us either. When all is said and done, the source of everything still lies with the Brocade Guard, especially that Xu Feng."

"If we can simply eliminate Xu Feng directly, wouldn't all our problems be effortlessly resolved? We can also take this opportunity to stand firmly on the same front as Magistrate Huang—killing two birds with one stone."

Zuo Jincheng had long wanted to deal with Xu Feng, and now that such a prime opportunity presented itself, naturally he could not let it slip away easily.

This plan was somewhat audacious. That was the Brocade Guard they were talking about, not some stray cats and dogs; for a centurion to die in Suzhou City would create repercussions of extraordinary magnitude.

Song Heng inevitably felt a trace of hesitation. Wavering and irresolute, he delayed in making a decision.

As long as Song Heng did not reject the idea on the spot, Zuo Jincheng felt there was room to maneuver. He immediately followed up with a mix of soft persuasion and persuasion, speaking further:

"Manager Song, opportunities must be seized, for they never recur. You must consider this carefully. Magistrate Huang has always cherished his reputation; although he has cooperated with us so many times, he has never truly treated us as his own people. As long as we can help him this one time, any requests we make of him in the future will surely go unobstructed."

Hearing it put this way, Song Heng was inevitably somewhat tempted, and Zuo Jincheng proceeded to present his complete plan.

"If we can't handle that Red Lotus, dealing with Xu Feng is as easy as turning over one's hand. He has a rather good relationship with the second young miss of the Feng family; we can directly kidnap the Second Miss Feng to lure him into going there alone."

"With an ambush set in advance, it will effortlessly succeed when the time comes."

"You rascal, had you already thought this through long ago?"

How could Song Heng fail to see that Zuo Jincheng had already harbored this notion in his mind and was merely bringing it up now that he was seeing him?

"It is all to serve the sect. With such a massive blunder occurring, naturally I cannot shirk the blame and can only figure out a way to make amends as soon as possible."

Zuo Jincheng spoke with a righteous and lofty air, though in reality, he merely wished to use this opportunity to settle a personal score.

"Since you have a plan, go and prepare for it. However, I must make one thing clear to you beforehand: this matter is entirely your own doing and your own idea. If something truly goes wrong, it has nothing to do with either me or the sect."

Song Heng did not wish to become entangled. Success or failure, he wanted no part in either the credit or the responsibility.

The risk was simply too great. Being a naturally cautious person, Song Heng was naturally unwilling to act as a guarantor for Zuo Jincheng, at most arranging a portion of manpower to cooperate with his operation.

"This subordinate understands. This is entirely my own spontaneous action and has nothing to do with the manager."

"Hmph, go on then!"

With a wave of his large hand, Song Heng tacitly approved the operation.

Departing from Song Heng's presence, Zuo Jincheng immediately mustered his men and prepared to commence the operation.

Although he still lacked any official public status, everyone within the Feng estate—save for Feng Yumian—had tacitly accepted him as the son-in-law of the Feng family.

From Old Master Feng down to the servants and maidservants, all of them highly approved of him as their future son-in-law.

Led by Zuo Jincheng, the group quietly slipped into the Feng estate without the guards noticing the slightest trace.

"Young Master, I noticed that Second Miss Feng still seems to be a virgin. Do you suppose we could let the brothers indulge and have some fun with her before we carry out our task?"

"Shut your trap, you idiot! Do you not realize how crucial this matter is? If you still cannot control the lower half of your body at a time like this... I'll make it clear in advance: whoever dares to drop the ball for me, don't blame me for holding them accountable afterward."

Seeing his martial brothers and fellow disciples behave with such a lack of discipline, Zuo Jincheng was consumed with fury.

What time was it, and they were still thinking about indulging in pleasure!

Taking Xu Feng's life right now was the paramount priority, and everything else had to take a back seat.

Under the cover of night, clad in black and masked in cloth, Zuo Jincheng silently crept into Feng Yumian's bedchamber.

Xu Feng's departure had not drastically altered the lives of the others in the Feng estate; it was as though an entirely irrelevant person had simply left.

Having recovered from her initial heartbreak, Feng Yumian had returned to her old ways, spending her days gallivanting with her young female companions just as she used to.

Logically speaking, she should have been asleep by this hour, but for all his careful calculations, Zuo Jincheng had failed to foresee that Feng Yumian had felt hungry in the middle of the night and was currently eating a snack.

The moment he burst into the chamber, his gaze locked directly with Feng Yumian's.

"Audacious! Why do you break into this young lady's bedchamber in the middle of the night!"

With sleepy eyes, Feng Yumian failed to sense the danger for a split second, only realizing something was amiss when Zuo Jincheng lunged toward her without a word.

"You are..."

Though his face was masked, his eyes remained exposed. Zuo Jincheng's gaze was quite distinctive; the instant their eyes met, Feng Yumian recognized who he was.

Hearing this, Zuo Jincheng's expression shifted. Denying Feng Yumian the chance to cry out for help, he stepped forward directly and struck her unconscious.

"Help...!"

Feng Yumian's body went limp, her voice trailing off into nothingness without alerting anyone outside.

Slinging her over his shoulder, Zuo Jincheng silently vanished from the Feng household.