Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Open Rivalry and Secret Struggles
“Chen Sir, please, cool your temper.” Zhou Heng waved his hand with a smile and said, “Since you forgot to bring the early meal, why not just compensate me with some money? How about three thousand taels?”
“Why doesn’t Priest Zhou turn to banditry?” Chen Xingjiang sneered.
“Could it be that the mighty Prefectural Governor, a Great Grandmaster of the pinnacle of Fourth Rank, can’t produce three thousand taels?” Zhou Heng feigned a look of astonishment and said, “No way, no way, it can’t really be like this, can it?”
“…” Chen Xingjiang suppressed the impulse to slap Zhou Heng to death and took a deep breath before saying, “Fine, three thousand taels it is. I will give you the silver note later.”
“Sorry, I was referring to gold.” Zhou Heng said with a beaming smile.
“Alright, gold then, gold. You just better hope that you have the fate to spend it!” Chen Xingjiang gave up on continuing this topic with Zhou Heng and went straight to the point, “Zhou Heng, doom is upon you, do you know that?”
“I don’t understand,” Zhou Heng shook his head, feigning a confused and innocent expression, looking very guiltless.
“You dared to destroy the Medicine God Sect!” Chen Xingjiang sneered coldly, “No need to pretend to be unaware, besides those ignorant commoners, who would think that it was I who destroyed the Medicine God Sect?”
“Your Purple Lightning Thunder Blade, which has been slaughtering evil beings and eradicating malevolent sects all along the way, is right here. Besides you, who else would destroy the Medicine God Sect?”
“Chen Sir, why would you do this to yourself?” Zhou Heng sighed and said, “You eradicated the Medicine God Sect for the sake of the people, a deed that moves heaven and earth. I wouldn’t dare to take credit for such an act.”
“Stop being sarcastic!” Chen Xingjiang felt the veins on his forehead throbbing and said sternly, “The Imperial Court has many adept in deduction and even the art of scene retrospection. Who do you think you can fool?”
“So, Chen Sir believes that it was I who destroyed the Medicine God Sect?” Zhou Heng asked with an innocent look, spreading his hands, “But everyone in Fangzhou City is saying it was you who eradicated them for the sake of the people.
“The commoners all think you are a good man. Could it be that you want to tell them that you, the Prefectural Governor, never intended to destroy the Medicine God Sect?
“Or are you going to explain to nearly a million commoners that the Medicine God Sect is related to the Prince, and you didn’t have the guts to destroy them, hence it was not your doing?”
“You… I…!!” For a moment, Chen Xingjiang was speechless.
He certainly could not say that; it was purely courting death. Public sentiment was important, to a certain extent.
Especially for those of Upper Third Rank and above, it was very much so.
No one would allow such chaos. Should any trouble arise, it would be certain he, the Prefectural Governor of Fangzhou, would be blamed and suffer the consequences.
“Chen Sir, oh Chen Sir,” Zhou Heng stood up, looking down at Chen Xingjiang who was seated in his chair, and laughed, “I know you didn’t want to destroy the Medicine God Sect, and you certainly don’t want people to know it was you who did it.
“I also know that the upper echelons of Fangzhou County City would not believe it was you who did it, and perhaps not even the Prince would believe it. But does that matter?
“Do you dare let the people of Fangzhou know the Medicine God Sect wasn’t wiped out by you? As for the Royal Family, the Prince, and the many Celestials, what’s more important to them, you alone or a stable county?
“Chen Sir, do not forget that Celestials need a stable human world to secure their own humanity. As a Great Grandmaster at the pinnacle of Fourth Rank, you ought to know this, right? No, it can’t be the case.”
“…” Chen Xingjiang fell silent once again, because what Zhou Heng said was indeed true, but he was still reluctant to be suppressed in this way, and gritted his teeth saying, “The Prince will deal with you in secret; this is not something you can withstand.”
“Is that so?” Zhou Heng laughed.
“You have no idea just how powerful the Royal Family is,” Chen Xingjiang snorted coldly.
“Chen Sir should worry about himself first,” Zhou Heng went back to sitting at the edge of the bed and said with a faint smile, “All the public voices are saying that you, the Prefectural Governor, destroyed the Medicine God Sect. How does this concern me?
“Even if those who are aware of the connection between the Medicine God Sect and the Prince don’t believe it, do you think the Prince will feel like his dignity has been damaged, and will he punish you, perhaps?”
Chen Xingjiang’s countenance turned somewhat pale upon hearing those words.
Indeed, Zhou Heng had struck his vulnerability; what he dreaded most was the blame and punishment from Prince Sixteen.
He understood Prince Sixteen’s temperament quite well.
Despite an incident like this, even if Prince Sixteen knew he wasn’t the perpetrator, he would still surely punish him.
This time he had gone to seek out Zhou Heng in person precisely to avoid such an outcome, but now Zhou Heng’s impervious attitude left him feeling utterly helpless.
“Daoist Zhou, do you truly wish for both the fish and the net to perish?” Chen Xingjiang’s eyes began to grow cold, a faint aura of pressure emanating from him as he stared at Zhou Heng, “Are you so certain Prince Sixteen will punish me?”
“If he doesn’t punish you, then I shall finish you off,” Zhou Heng replied with an easy smile, speaking quite casually.
“Finish me off?” Chen Xingjiang was stunned upon hearing this, his whole body trembling with rage, his tone ominous, “Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to leave Fangzhou alive?”
“Then you might as well try,” Zhou Heng said, unabashed, smiling, “I’ve already claimed the lives of two Loose Immortals, and I wouldn’t mind adding the life of one more Great Grandmaster.”
“Good, very good! What a Zhou Heng, what a reincarnation of a great power!” Chen Xingjiang snorted coldly, then threw down three thousand taels in a silver note and left with a sweep of his sleeve.
This was a complete breakdown of negotiations with Zhou Heng.
“How rude,” Zhou Heng muttered as he watched the open door, before instructing the animated paper figure to close it.
He saw through Chen Xingjiang’s intentions very clearly.
He started with a startling proposition, using Prince Sixteen to intimidate him and simultaneously informing him that his disguise last night was ineffective against those who already knew the truth.
Thus causing him to feel fear and trepidation, and consequently agreeing to a settlement, ultimately sharing the responsibility for the demise of the Medicine God Sect.
Unfortunately for Chen Xingjiang, he had underestimated Zhou Heng’s confidence.
Or perhaps this sudden disaster had thrown the high and mighty Prefectural Governor into disarray.
He couldn’t come up with a more meticulous plan in time.
And so, he had been scornfully rebuffed by Zhou Heng, leaving him seething with anger.
“So, are you going to send someone to make a move on me next?”
Zhou Heng glanced at the silver note on the table, his eyes narrowing slightly, and then he laid back on the bed leisurely, thinking to himself, “If I hadn’t thought it too wasteful to kill you with the ‘Seven Arrows Book with Nail Head,’ I wouldn’t have bothered with all this trouble.
“You just hope that Prince Sixteen will punish you, otherwise, heh!”
…
Chen Xingjiang returned to the County City yamen with a dark expression on his face.
Immediately, Lin He, the head clerk, came to greet him, and seeing that his superior’s expression was amiss, his heart sank, and he asked softly, “Sir, did that Zhou Heng play the scoundrel?”
“More than a scoundrel, he’s practically a hooligan!” Chen Xingjiang said with a cold smile, “However, he thinks he has the upper hand, not knowing that I have a trump card!
“After all, Zhou Heng is just a lowly Seventh Rank Warrior, greedy and unprincipled, too easy to handle. Let’s just wait and see; very soon, there will be a joke circulating about him.”