Chapter 217: Flipping the Table and Starting the Fight

Chapter 217: Flipping the Table and Going to War

"Metal generates Fire. As for today's matter, shouldn't you give me a reasonable explanation?"

Zhang Ren's figure suddenly flickered, then appeared at the other end of the long table.

A pair of tiger eyes fixed upon Jin Shenghuo; his taut face revealed not a shred of expression.

Jin Shenghuo seemed to have long anticipated this question from Zhang Ren, answering unhurriedly, "What is there to explain? It's simple and clear: abandoning the carriage to save the general."

Zhang Ren shouted in anger, "A mere Buddhist itinerant monk forced you to abandon the carriage and save the general? When did our 'Pai System' fall to such depths?!"

"Who said the 'general' this time refers to the three of us?"

Zhang Ren's expression froze, abruptly plunging into silence.

Jin Shenghuo chuckled lightly, "Zhang Ren, the reason I did this today... you know perfectly well in your heart. Let's not play dumb while understanding everything clearly."

"All these years, as the 'Fire General,' you've done quite a lot for the 'Pai System,' killed quite a few people. You are a rare talent. That's why Zhao Tong and I were unwilling to pressure you excessively in the past."

"But the situation is different now. Those above won't allow anyone to sit on the fence and watch any longer. So I advise you to make your choice soon. Picking a side might not cost you your freedom, but it will certainly save your life."

A stretch of silence. No one responded.

The other end of the long table was already empty.

"Old Jin, how do you think Zhang Ren will choose in the end?"

The 'Tuo General' Zhao Tong, who hadn't uttered a word from start to finish, finally spoke.

"Choose? He has no choice at all."

Jin Shenghuo laughed loudly, "He either obediently submits under Lord Zhang's banner, or he tucks his tail and rolls out of Chongqing Prefecture. As for whether he walks out standing or is carried out horizontally... doesn't that depend on the mood of you, the 'Tuo General'?"

Zhao Tong's appearance was that of an utterly ordinary middle-aged man, yet the tone Jin Shenghuo used when speaking to him carried a hint of flattery.

"You were this forceful in pressuring He Zangjia today. Aren't you afraid he'll jump the wall in a panic? Don't forget, he still has Wu Qi Dufu backing him up."

"Martial Dao Sequence? Heh!"

Jin Shenghuo sneered, disdain dripping from his voice, "Since you called him a dog, even if he jumps the wall, what is there to fear?"

*Puchi!*

In the darkness, a nerve fiber bundle was violently yanked out, dragging a spray of jumping electric arcs with it.

He Zangjia gently stroked the front end of the bundle; the numb, stinging sensation transmitted through his fingertips did nothing to quell the rage in his heart. Instead, it burned ever more fiercely.

"Our guess was right. These bastards really do intend to kick away the ladder after crossing the river."

He Zangjia asked the air before him, "Daoist Chen, has the position trace been completed yet?"

Seemingly hearing an affirmative reply in his ear, he slowly curled his lips into a ferocious grin brimming with killing intent.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's flip the table and go to war!"

Nanyu District, Tieping Street, inside a certain unnamed restaurant.

Li Zu, having just departed from a millet dream, stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, a jar of burning liquor clasped in his hand, taking hearty swigs from time to time. His side dish was the dazzling nightscape of the street outside the window.

He was currently bare-chested, his robust frame covered in dense, terrifying scars.

Bullet holes, knife slashes, burns... the works.

It was precisely because of this body of scars that Li Zu targeted and hated He Zangjia so intensely.

In his view, he had fought his way to today with every slash and shot, watching batches of brothers die one after another, before finally attaining the 'Meihua' title.

What right did He Zangjia, a mere opportunistic villain, have to jump from 'Tou' to 'Hu', usurping the seat above his head?

However, all the grievances and jealousy accumulated in his heart over the years were burned clean today as the fierce liquor entered his belly.

"He Zangjia, so you were just a raised scapegoat all along?"

"The happier you smiled when you tricked me into donating three million Baocao, the more miserably you'll die now!"

"When you die in those monks' hands, your 'Hu' title, and all the venues under your command... they'll all belong to your granddaddy!"

Li Zu laughed uproariously, raising the jar to drink deeply, his heroic spirit soaring to the clouds.

Perhaps because his mood was too good, the alcohol hit him especially fast.

In his drunken haze, Li Zu actually saw a strange face reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Damn it, what kind of wine is this? It actually made your granddaddy see double. But why a man? Disgusting. At a time like this, there should be a chick."

"You are Li Zu?"

Suddenly, an icy voice drilled into his ears, like a basin of ice water poured over his head.

Li Zu's hackles rose instantly. The instinct honed by years of killing made his body violently spring backward.

"Seems it is."

The face suspended outside the window curled its lips into a faint smile.

In the next instant, a streak of black light pierced through the window, burying itself between Li Zu's eyebrows.

*Bang!*

The floor-to-ceiling window exploded into a floor full of shards.

The night wind took the chance to rush in, blowing the blood spreading from the corpse into rippling waves.

Five-mile long street, crowds surging.

"Cui Cui, I really have nothing to do with A Qin. It's purely a case of the flower having feelings but the flowing water being heartless!"

"But I'm different with you. Though the weak water flows three thousand miles, I, Old Ma, only take this one ladle of yours!"

A figure wrapped in a black robe shuttled through the crowd. A nauseatingly oily voice drifted from beneath the hood.

Passersby brushing past him all shuddered with inexplicable chill, hurrying away.

"Ah, Cui Cui, wait a sec, let me take a call first, I'll call you back later. How could it be some other artifact spirit? It's my stupid vessel. Disappeared for so long, finally knows to contact me."

"Cui Cui, you're right. These young brats really don't let us artifact spirits rest easy. But Cui Cui, rest assured, I'll personally help you 'train' your vessel another day, guarantee he never dares make you angry again."

"Ah, it's a female? Heh, then I'm even more of an expert at training."

A moment later, the voice beneath the black robe suddenly shifted tone, turning hoarse and low.

"Zhao Qingxia, so you brat aren't dead yet!"

"Go to hell! What do you mean 'if you die I'm a wandering ghost'? You'd better croak soon. Grandpa Ma will become a free 'Ming Gui,' using infinite time to seduce infinite artifact spirits!"

"Alright, cut the crap. Tell me, how's the Tianzhi Association situation?"

The black-robed figure slowly stopped walking, standing still amidst the bustling crowd.

"Okay, I got it. You keep stringing that grandson along for now, absolutely do not startle the snake."

"Wait till I help Li Jun settle things on the Chongqing Prefecture side, then I'll come find you. Then the two of us, grandpa and grandson, will flay him alive!"

"Mhm, that's it for now. Grandpa Ma has some business to attend to here. Damn it, it's not picking up chicks, it's serious business!"

The words ceased. The black robe slowly lifted its head, looking at the shop ahead.

Beneath the hood, a wisp of bloody crimson light seeped out.

"Changle Gambling Den? A name as tacky as 'Zou Pu' itself—damn, that's rustic."

The black-robed figure shook his head and stepped inside.

The next instant, gunfire thundered, explosions erupting in succession.

*Boom!*

Orange flames blasted from the doorway, the shockwave hurling a charred corpse onto the long street.

*Thud.*

The black-robed figure emerged slowly, body speckled with embers, a grotesque steel dragon's head clutched in the right hand.

Acutely pungent gunsmoke drifted from the dragon's gaping maw.

"Just this level of skill? Truly no face to show."