Chapter 145 - 90: Southern Chu Regent

Chapter 145: Chapter 90: Southern Chu Regent

Zheng Jun exhaled and asked, "What else did he say?"

"He also said..."

The guy dressed as a tavern waiter immediately took a step forward and lowered his voice. He didn’t speak the rest of his sentence. Instead, a flash of emerald green light flickered in his eyes.

Immediately after, Zheng Jun faintly sensed a surge of True Qi flash through the waiter’s body. It was incredibly subtle, but he caught it.

"This is... the Broken Jade Skill!"

He immediately recognized this True Qi, but soon felt that something was off. It felt very much like the Broken Jade Skill, yet it was a bit too weak. The True Qi of the Broken Jade Skill shouldn’t be this flimsy.

There were two possibilities.

Either it was a Lower-Level Technique derived from the Broken Jade Skill—the Inner Power practiced by Outer Sect disciples back when the Shattered Jade Sect still existed. This was the same Cultivation Technique Bo Zhangjiu had mentioned, the one Zhang Qingyu used to conceal his identity. Though it was also called the Broken Jade Skill, the Outer Sect and Inner Sect versions were two completely different things.

The other possibility was that an Outer Gang Martial Artist with Mastery over the Broken Jade Skill had injected a wisp of True Qi into his body. This True Qi couldn’t be utilized by the recipient, but it could be displayed.

Regardless of which possibility it was, it pointed to one fact: his guess had been correct. The people of Southern Chu had indeed arrived.

For them to seek him out like this and explicitly invite him for a chat in Shengdong Village... it had to be that core figure of Southern Chu, the Regent. The man dressed as a tavern waiter standing before him was undoubtedly one of the Southern Chu men as well.

It made sense. For a matter of this importance, if they had randomly hired a real tavern waiter, the risk of a leak leading to the Southern Chu rebels being wiped out entirely would be absurd.

"I understand." Zheng Jun nodded, indicating he got the message, and then began walking home.

There was no rush. He would let the Southern Chu people wait. He thought, "I’ll go home and eat a bowl of noodles first. I can’t let it go to waste. That’s all bought with gleaming silver, after all!"

***

Shengdong Village was located to the east of Black Mountain County, marking the county’s easternmost township. The Shengdong River flowed right through the village, and north of the great river lay Rongyuan County.

The Shengdong River and the Lotus Water belonged to the same Water Element and were interconnected. They were simply called by different names in different sections. According to the Court’s official designation, this extremely long waterway, which originated in the Yan Mountain range, should be known as the Yan River.

The local tyrant of Shengdong Village was the Guo Family. Because they controlled the Shengdong River and held a massive stake in the fishing industry—along with being adjacent to Rongyuan County, allowing them to trade back and forth between the two counties—the Guo Family had become the number one powerful faction in Black Mountain County. Thanks to these resources, the Patriarch of the Guo Family, Guo Ping, had successfully become a Qi Storage Martial Artist.

However, that was all in the past.

Now, Guo Ping was dead. All of the Guo Family’s farmland and fishing boats had been distributed to the people of Shengdong Village. The Tongzhou Association had elected a man surnamed Zhang as the Village Chief to uphold justice in the area. The local fishermen and farmers were far more motivated than before, creating a vibrant and thriving atmosphere.

Wearing a bamboo hat and a cyan robe, Zheng Jun stood in Shengdong Village with his Beirong Saber in hand. As he gazed around, a myriad of emotions welled up in his heart.

This was only his second time visiting Shengdong Village. The last time he was here, he had killed three Qi Storage Martial Artists. He wondered what would be different about this visit.

Zheng Jun entered the village without alerting anyone. He strolled quietly, lost in thought.

Wait a minute. What was he supposed to do next?

Zheng Jun suddenly remembered that the man had only told him to come to Shengdong Village. He hadn’t specified what he should do once he arrived.

There were quite a few pairs of eyes watching him from the surroundings, but Zheng Jun paid them no mind. It was perfectly normal for a stranger who suddenly appeared in the village to draw attention.

This was especially true now that the Tongzhou Association had expanded into the townships. After learning about the Vast Sea Sect, the local villages were naturally much more vigilant toward outsiders. If any household spotted a stranger, it would be reported up the chain of command, eventually reaching the desk of the Lord Guardian.

Since that was the case, he might as well mobilize the power of the masses.

At this thought, Zheng Jun took off his bamboo hat. After a moment of consideration, he spoke up toward those who were hiding and secretly observing him. "I am Zheng Jun. Have Village Chief Zhang come to see me."

Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, the surrounding people were momentarily stunned. Then, a farmer carrying a hoe rubbed his eyes and shouted, "It really is Captain Zheng! On the day Captain Zheng killed that treacherous scoundrel Guo Ping, I was right outside the door and was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him! Quick, go get Village Chief Zhang!"

With that said, the farmer hurriedly took off, rushing frantically to report to the local Village Chief.

The local Village Chief was also a member of the Tongzhou Association. He was an apprentice disciple of the Ma Family Fist gym and had seen Zheng Jun many times before. As a Shengdong Village native, he had been chosen for the role of Village Chief.

In a way, the emergence of the Tongzhou Association had already replaced the grassroots Village Chief system in Black Mountain County. Currently, all the Village Chiefs in the forty-one townships under Black Mountain County were members of the Tongzhou Association.

He thought, "Since I don’t know the situation, I’ll just let the Tongzhou Association’s Village Chief help me find them."

Before long, a burly man dressed in coarse hemp garments strode over toward Zheng Jun with large steps. Spotting Zheng Jun from a distance, he called out excitedly, "Captain Zheng! I am Zhang Ji, the Village Chief of Shengdong Village. The Shengdong Village joint defense squad has thirteen members in total, all ready to serve you!"

"You’re too polite, Village Chief Zhang," Zheng Jun said with a faint smile, speaking mildly to the man in coarse clothes. "I’m here today regarding a specific matter.

"A friend of mine arranged to meet me in Shengdong Village, but after arriving, I couldn’t find any trace of him. Therefore, I came to trouble you, Village Chief Zhang, with a question. Have there been any strangers coming and going in Shengdong Village recently?"