Chapter 300: A Big Catch in Luoshu County, New Gains!

Chapter 300: A Big Catch in Luoshu County, New Gains!



October 30th, 2024

Luoshu County.

Inspection Office.

Amidst the heavy snow, Jiang Ning entered the Inspection Office and headed straight for the council chamber.

Xie Xiao Jiu followed closely behind him.

"Sir, it's right here!" Xie Xiao Jiu gazed at the council chamber ahead and stopped, saying, "This is the place!"

"Mm-hmm," Jiang Ning nodded.

Then, he paused and glanced at Xie Xiao Jiu before saying, "It's cold outside. You don't need to wait for me here. Go inside and warm yourself by the fire."

"Yes, sir!" Xie Xiao Jiu responded, pursing his lips.

Then, he watched as Jiang Ning strode through the swirling snow toward the council chamber.

Council Chamber.

Jiang Ning reached the front of the building, shook his shoulders, and the snowflakes and melting snow on his body were flung away.

Not a single snowflake remained on his head.

He then pushed open the slightly ajar door and stepped over the threshold.

"Commander Jiang!" Ye Qiu saw Jiang Ning and immediately stood up with a smile.

Yuan Hua and Tang Miaomiao, who had arrived earlier, stopped their conversation and hurriedly stood up.

"Greetings, Commander Jiang!"

They already knew that Jiang Ning had been promoted to the eighth rank.

His position was now higher than theirs.

They were just waiting for the official appointment, and Jiang Ning would no longer be a nominal position but one with real authority.

Seeing Jiang Ning at this moment, the two of them couldn't help but show complex expressions.

Although they knew that Jiang Ning's outstanding performance would surpass them sooner or later, they didn't expect it to happen so soon.

The Inspection Office had only been established for a few months, and Jiang Ning had not only surpassed them in strength but also in status.

After standing up, Yuan Hua hesitated for a moment and then moved forward to greet Jiang Ning.

At this moment, the image of Jiang Ning's punch still lingered in his mind.

Before the New Year, he had learned that Jiang Ning had found the Worshipping God Sect's hideout.

With the mindset of sharing the spoils, he led his men to claim a share.

However, when Jiang Ning appeared, he was knocked down with just one punch, suffering internal injuries.

That punch had left him injured for nearly a month before he fully recovered.

He was well aware that he couldn't withstand Jiang Ning's punch at that time.

Now, the gap between them had widened even further.

Seeing Jiang Ning again, he also had the idea of lowering his head in deference.

After a few steps, Yuan Hua approached Jiang Ning.

The next moment, he placed his hands together, palms covering the backs of his hands, and bowed deeply.

"Commander Yuan, what are you doing?" Jiang Ning stopped in his tracks, looking surprised.

Yuan Hua slowly straightened up: "I apologize for my previous offenses. Please forgive me, Commander Jiang!"

As his words fell, Yuan Hua was about to bow again.

"Commander Yuan, what are you saying?" Jiang Ning took a step forward and held Yuan Hua's arms.

"Commander Jiang..." Yuan Hua felt the solidity of Jiang Ning's arms, heavy as mountains, leaving him without the ability to resist, not even the thought of resistance. He couldn't help but look up at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning smiled, "We are all colleagues with the same goal. It's normal to have minor conflicts! If Commander Yuan doesn't bring them up, I would have forgotten all about them!"

Hearing this, Yuan Hua looked at Jiang Ning seriously, realizing that he wasn't pretending, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Commander Jiang is magnanimous!" Yuan Hua flattered.

Jiang Ning smiled at his words and then released Yuan Hua's arms.

Then, he greeted the others present.

He also noticed the two commanders he hadn't seen before.

They were a man and a woman. The man had a bearded face and looked to be in his forties or fifties, while the woman had some crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, making her appear to be in her forties.

Jiang Ning couldn't help but take a closer look.

This was the first time he had seen these two commanders since the establishment of the Inspection Office.

The two commanders smiled at Jiang Ning's gaze.

Jiang Ning returned the smile.

Then, he sat down next to Ye Qiu.

"Commander Jiang, please wait a moment. Commander Li will be here shortly," Hong Ming Hu said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning became even more curious.

He had just received Hong Ming Hu's notification, knowing that the appointment he had made with Hong Ming Hu some time ago had arrived, so he immediately headed to the Inspection Office.

As soon as he arrived, he entered the council chamber and witnessed the current scene.

Except for Commander Li Chang Kong, all the other officials had arrived.

In other words, he was the second-to-last to arrive, just before the yet-to-appear Li Chang Kong.

Today was also the day he saw the most senior officials of the Inspection Office gathered together.

"It seems like there's truly a major event!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Ye Qiu beside him.

At this moment, Ye Qiu also looked at him, "Commander Jiang, are you curious about what happened?"

Hearing this, Jiang Ning nodded slightly.

Ye Qiu said, "I can't reveal it yet!"

Jiang Ning: "..."

"Let's have some tea and crack some sunflower seeds first!" Ye Qiu smiled, "The head of the office will explain everything later."

"Okay!" Jiang Ning nodded again.

Since he wasn't in a hurry, he chatted with Ye Qiu while cracking sunflower seeds and drinking tea.

Footsteps approached from afar and drew near.

A figure appeared at the entrance, then strode through the doorway.

"Gentlemen, I'm late!" The man cupped his hands in greeting, bowing to the assembled group.

The latecomer was none other than Li Chang Kong, the last of the four commanders.

Hong Ming Hu smiled and said, "You're not late!"

He stood up immediately and glanced around.

"Since everyone is here, I'll close the door."

As he finished speaking, Hong Ming Hu flicked his sleeve, and a gust of wind suddenly appeared indoors.

The wind swept through, and the doors instantly closed, followed by the vertical door falling with a loud 'clap'.

From this moment on, the indoors and outdoors were completely separated.

Hong Ming Hu said, "I believe you are all curious as to why I've gathered you here today."

"Indeed, we are curious!" Li Chang Kong, who had arrived late, spoke up first, "County Lord, just tell us what's going on!"

"Take a look for yourselves!" Hong Ming Hu took out several pages of white paper and flung them towards Jiang Ning and the others. The papers instantly scattered and floated precisely in front of each person.

Jiang Ning raised his hand to catch a corner of the paper, and he couldn't help but marvel at Hong Ming Hu's control over his inner breath.

As far as he knew, Hong Ming Hu had achieved the Fifth Rank, and his inner breath had condensed into a tangible form with the help of external objects.

But at this moment, Hong Ming Hu's control over his inner breath was extremely exquisite, and it didn't seem like he had relied on external objects to reach his current level.

"Impressive!" Jiang Ning sighed inwardly, then focused his gaze on the white paper in his hand, quickly scanning the content.

A moment later, he understood Hong Ming Hu's intention in calling them here.

Just as he had guessed, Hong Ming Hu had indeed caught a big fish.

A big fish that could make him rich and powerful.

Li Hong, the County Lord of Luo Shui County, was a member of the Worshipping Deity Sect and even held the position of the sect's deputy leader.

At this moment, Jiang Ning also understood why the County Lord Li Hong had remained quiet after the Inspection Office's arrival.

No wonder the sect's statue had been placed in the City God Temple to gather spiritual energy.

The reason for all of this was that County Lord Li Hong was a member of the Worshipping Deity Sect and held the position of the sect's deputy leader.

A little while later, Hong Ming Hu saw that everyone had finished reading, and he finally spoke.

"Colleagues, this operation is simple. You will provide cover for me, and together we will capture County Lord Li Hong."

"If we can capture him alive, it will be a great merit. Capturing Li Hong, the deputy leader of the Worshipping Deity Sect, will earn us all a promotion."

The next moment, Li Chang Kong slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"Indeed, it's a big fish!"

"I'm not interested in promotion, but I'm very interested in the merit!"

"The Martial Sage Bureau has many good things!"

"I can only master the power of momentum with the resources provided by the Martial Sage Bureau!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded slowly.

Ye Qiu turned to look at Jiang Ning.

"Brother Li's words remind me of Brother Jiang!"

"Brother Jiang had already mastered the power of the sword during the entrance examination, which is truly enviable!"

As he spoke, the atmosphere became tense.

Li Chang Kong suddenly remembered that as a direct descendant of the Li Clan, he had achieved success in both internal and external cultivation. Yet, he was still pursuing the mastery of momentum to qualify for the Fourth Stage of Martial Dao.

In this remote county, the locally born Jiang Ning had already mastered one form of momentum.

This made Li Chang Kong feel a little discouraged.

At this moment, Hong Ming Hu spoke again, "I believe you still have doubts, colleagues. Here, I have the evidence that Commander Shangguan and Commander Fan have gathered over the past few months. You can take a look."

After he finished speaking, the male and female commanders, who had not appeared for a long time, stood up and prepared to distribute the evidence they had prepared earlier.

At this moment, Li Chang Kong spoke up.

"There's no need for that!"

"Let's take action now!"

"If we make a mistake, we can just apologize!"

"As the saying goes, speed is essential in warfare. If we delay and let County Lord Li Hong escape, our losses will be significant!"

Seeing this, Ye Qiu also stood up.

"County Lord, Brother Li's words make sense. To avoid complications, let's take action now!"

Beside them, Jiang Ning remained silent, but his heart was filled with interest.

The deputy leader of the Worshipping Deity Sect.

If County Lord Li Hong truly held this identity, then it would be a great catch.

He had been thinking of finding other bases of the Worshipping Deity Sect to try and absorb the authority of divinity and the power of blood and flesh.

And now, right here in Luo Shui County, there was such a big fish.

If Hong Ming Hu's information was accurate, then he might have a significant gain.

At the same time, Hong Ming Hu saw the attitudes of Li Chang Kong and Ye Qiu and could only nod.

"Alright, let's take action!"

"I will bear all the consequences."

A moment later, after a brief discussion and task distribution, the group followed Hong Ming Hu out of the council hall quietly.

Hong Ming Hu led the way, and the others followed closely behind.

Outside, the heavy snow fell, quickly covering the footprints of a few people.

Jiang Ning's assigned task was simple: to stand alone on a high building, using archery technique to block County Governor Li Hong's path.

The others were to attack from the side, but Hong Ming Hu was the one who truly made a move.

At the fifth rank, looking across the entire Loshui County, he was a unique presence.

Of course, he didn't know Jiang Ning's current strength, and Jiang Ning didn't officially achieve the fifth rank until now.

As for this achievement, Jiang Ning had no intention to snatch it.

Above all, he still owed the merit of defending the city and quelling the Black Mountain Army rebellion.

Furthermore, the one million contribution points had yet to be distributed.

In the short term, he wasn't lacking in merit.

So, he didn't need to snatch the top merit originally belonging to Hong Minghu. He was content to get a share of the spoils.

Sometimes, cooperation leads to mutual benefits; hoarding everything to oneself isn't a lasting strategy.

Moreover, being too much in the limelight might not be a good thing.

The group moved through the snow, the heavy snow falling silently, swallowing their movements and sounds.

Halfway through.

Ye Qiu's figure flashed, and he appeared beside Jiang Ning.

"Brother Jiang, congratulations!"

"Brother Ye, what's there to be happy about?" Jiang Ning asked.

Ye Qiu said, "Brother Jiang has been promoted to the eighth rank. I reckon the appointment document will come down soon and when it does, Brother Jiang will have a real promotion. Isn’t that something to be happy about?"

Jiang Ning's figure, swift yet composed, followed behind Hong Minghu.

"What's there to be happy about? Once the appointment document comes, I might be reassigned elsewhere. Once in another place, everything will be unfamiliar, where can one be as comfortable as in Luoshui County? If there's a choice, I'd rather stay here temporarily."

Hearing this, Ye qiu knew Jiang Ning's thoughts and said, "It's not without a solution!"

"What solution?" Jiang ning asked.

"Generally, promotion is prioritized for local positions, and then for outlying ones. If any of the four of us, including me and Li Chang Kong, are reassigned, there will be a vacancy for the eighth rank official position. Brother Jiang will naturally fill the gap smoothly."

At this moment, Ye Qiu saw Jiang Ning's determined gaze and couldn't help but smile faintly.

"Brother Jiang, if all goes well, and I get reassigned elsewhere, you will take over from me, right?"

"Then, I'll owe you a lot, Brother Ye!" Jiang ning's eyes lit up instantly.

Being able to remain in luoshui County is the best.

Luoshui County, a small county in the remote part of Dongling Prefecture, generally speaking, the more minor the place, the more idle the Inspection Office personnel are.

Especially now, the Worshipping Deity Sect's tentacles have been mostly severed in Luoshui County.

Two of the local three great clans were eradicated due to the Worshipping Deity Sect, and the remaining Xie Clan has reformed, committing to good deeds.

In short, there would be little significant turmoil in Luoshui County in the coming year.

This would be highly suitable for him to practice and cultivate his skills without worrying about other matters.

And it might not be the case for other places.

Being reassigned elsewhere could bring a pile of trouble.

Now, he doesn't lack merit, he only wants a sufficiently stable environment to practice and increase his strength.

Therefore, staying in Luoshui County is the best.

At this moment, he sincerely thanked Ye Qiu.

Because if Ye Qiu was reassigned, it would be as he said: he would be promoted and reassigned away, and he could smoothly take over Ye Qiu's position.

In this way, he wouldn’t have to worry about being reassigned by an order from above.

He could continue to stay in Luoshui County, cultivate steadily, and enhance his own power.

A moment later.

The group had already reached three li outside the county hall.

Seeing Hong Minghu stop, everyone else halted as well.

Three li of distance, to the group, was no more than a dozen breaths.

This distance wasn't far, yet it was safely out of reach of County Lord Li Hong's perception in the county hall.

For Jiang Ning, this distance was nothing at all.

At his current speed, if he went all-out, he could reach the county hall in just two breaths.

"Depend on all of you to support me!" Hong Minghu clasped his fists.

"Rest assured, Governor!" Li Chang Kong smiled, "Capturing County Governor Li Hong, we all have our shares of the credit, we won't hold back."

Following this, Ye Qiu and the others also expressed their stances.

Seeing this, Hong Minghu nodded satisfactorily.

Then, he turned to Jiang Ning.

"Commander Jiang, I won't command you in the operation, just do your best!"

"Done!" Jiang ning nodded.

"Also!" Hong minghu looked at everyone again, "If the situation isn't right, don't hold back, act decisively, and don't let Li Hong escape."

"Don't underestimate Li Hong. In his youth, he was a martial scholar. Any martial scholar, at the least, has achieved peak sixth rank bone refinement. More than half of the martial scholars are sixth rank martial warriors."

"Understood!" Li Chang Kong smiled indifferently, "How much of a wave can a minor place stir up? Among the present Commanders, who hasn't already reached the sixth rank?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end