On the riverbank, Huang Yuzhen stared intently at the person opposite her.
Fine beads of sweat slid down his pale cheeks. He dared not move; the deadly poison and his severely injured thigh made escape impossible.
He is currently in a state of Limit State and can still hold on. However, once this Limit State ends, he will be completely at the mercy of others.
"What do you want from me if you don't act immediately?"
Zhang Rongfang smiled.
"If I wanted credit, wouldn't killing you here be a losing proposition? The power behind Ouyang Jianrong is immense; I can't possibly withstand it alone. Therefore..."
His original intention was to make Huang Yuzhen and Ouyang both suffer heavy losses, so that he could come out and reap the benefits and make a contribution.
But then I thought, this is such a great achievement, I might not be able to handle it.
If he becomes a suspect and is investigated, his identity and abilities may not be able to be concealed.
Therefore, he needs a more reliable method.
"You want a knife too?" Huang Yuzhen frowned.
"Of course. Actually, I'm more interested in why you value this knife so much."
Zhang Rongfang also somewhat curious about this matter.
You should know that even though he is now Tanyang's White Eagle of the Golden Wing Tower, he doesn't even have the authority to apply for and obtain relevant intelligence.
If I could obtain this intelligence through other channels, I could make a huge profit simply by trading it.
For an organization like the Golden Wing Tower, intelligence is money, is profit.
"Since you don't know, then don't get involved," Huang Yuzhen said calmly.
"Heh. Since you're already like this, you might as well give me the knife, and then I'll let you go. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"
"If I get credit, you'll all be able to leave here alive." Zhang Rongfang smiled, but inwardly he was slightly impatient.
This place is not far from the previous Hundred Silver Valley, only a dozen miles away. If someone is determined, they can still catch up.
Huang Yuzhen smiled and wanted to say something, but suddenly stopped.
His expression changed slightly as he looked in a direction to his left.
A little girl was slowly walking towards them.
In many places, girls as young as thirteen or fourteen are already old enough to get married and have children.
But here, she looked delicate and frail, holding a long knife wrapped in cloth in her hand, and trembling as she approached.
"We'll give you the knife! Don't hurt Uncle Zhen anymore!" the girl shouted at Zhang Rongfang. His gaze fell on Huang Yuzhen's thigh, pierced by the knife, and his eyes reddened; tears welled up uncontrollably.
"Jingying, why are you back again!?" Huang Yuzhen's face darkened. He had told Jingying to leave first earlier. Then, Zhang Rongfang glanced at the girl.
"Come on, put the knife down on the ground. Then you can leave."
He weighed the options in his mind and realized that if he were to actually win over Huang Yuzhen, it would attract too much attention.
His best solution would have been to share the credit with Ouyang, but unfortunately Ouyang was too tactless.
So I had no choice but to get rid of him.
But without Ouyang holding the line, the credit was too great for a mere Captain like him to bear.
Therefore, the only way is to reduce the credit, making it to a level that one can bear.
There's no need to kill Huang Yuzhen; he might still have some hidden cards up his sleeve. This way, we can reduce the credit and lower the risk.
The best course of action is to only obtain the knife and then hand it over.
Then we'll say that Lord Ouyang risked his life to snatch the knife, fought off the escaped criminals, and was then caught up with and rescued.
Unfortunately, Lord Ouyang's injuries were too severe, and he died.
Zhang Rongfang could only take the knife and quickly return to Shangjiao.
In this way, the credit is distributed among the higher-ups layer by layer, so that he himself will not stand out too much.
At this moment, Huang Yuzhen on the other side was obviously unaware of the intricacies involved, but he saw Zhang Rongfang's undisguised threatening gaze fixed on Jingying.
Finally, I let out a sigh.
"Miss, do as he says."
Compared to the knife, Jingying's life is ultimately more important.
He dared not gamble on whether Zhang Rongfang would suddenly resort to ruthless tactics. After all, this man had just killed his colleague and superior without saying a word, simply to claim credit.
His ruthlessness was no less than that of his previous major enemies.
Therefore, he dared not gamble.
Jingying bit her lip, slowly moved forward, and gently placed the knife in her hand on the ground.
Then step back.
"Can you tell me what secret this knife is hiding?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly asked.
Jingying paused, then looked up.
"If you find out, it might attract the Ling Ting's pursuit. Just like us. So, do you still want to know?"
Silence.
For a moment, all three of them fell silent.
A full half minute later, faint shouts approached from behind.
"Please, you two, go ahead." Zhang Rongfang then gestured for them to leave.
Huang Yuzhen moved to Jingying's side, gave her a deep look, picked up the girl and took more than ten steps back, then suddenly sped away.
Throughout the entire process, Zhang Rongfang never asked him about the Moon Chasing Blade again.
The two quickly left, Huang Yuzhen blushed after they had traveled several miles away.
Puff.
A mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth, staining his chest and clothes red.
The muscle contours on its body also receded, returning to their state before the Limit State.
"Uncle Zhen!!" Jingying hugged him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing. It's just that my leg will need to rest for a long time." Huang Yuzhen sighed.
With such a commotion here, there's still no news about the person who was supposed to meet them. It seems like things are going badly for him. He's completely lost about what to do next.
"It seems we need to find a place to heal our injuries first."
***On the other side of the riverbank.
Zhang Rongfang quickly stepped forward and picked up the long knife.
Gently unfold the cloth bag, revealing a bright green blade.
The blade appears to be coated with colored paint, reflecting iridescent light from the edge. There is no guard, and the handle is about the length of a forearm, clearly allowing for a two-handed grip.
A thin black tassel hung from the end. The material of the tassel was unknown, but it resembled human hair. Zhang Rongfang gripped the hilt of his knife, about to turn around and go to Ouyang Jianrong's side.
Suddenly he stopped in his tracks.
The Attribute Panel, which had previously shown no reaction to external objects, suddenly opened automatically at this moment.
And the target of the attack was none other than this Moon Chasing Blade!
Zhang Rongfang's pupils contracted, and he stopped in his tracks.
In his field of vision.
At this moment, the Moon Chasing Blade had already revealed lines of information.
' The Moon Chasing Blade, 171cm long, 18cm wide, and 3-7cm thick. Weighs 12.7kg, material unknown.'
' Intuition Warning: there seems to be a mechanism hidden in the hilt. Perhaps it can be activated by turning it three and a half turns clockwise and then one turn counterclockwise.'
"Huh?! What is this?!" Zhang Rongfang's heart sank.
He had always thought that his Attribute Special Ability only manifested when interacting with people, but now it was reacting to this knife. This surprised him and also aroused his curiosity.
Before the sound behind him could get any closer, he quickly tried to follow the instructions and gripped the knife handle to turn it.
Soon, with a soft click, the hilt of the knife fell off.
It was hollow inside, and a small, copper-colored metal part fell out.
Zhang Rongfang quickly picked up the part and glanced at it.
This is an arm from some bronze-colored metal statue of unknown origin. It is covered with numerous cracks.
It appears that the arm is also composed of many small parts.
The Attribute Panel is now active again.
When Zhang Rongfang looked at this thing, a new prompt appeared.
'A strange, mysterious component; judging from the fit of the gaps, it requires five similar parts to complete.'
After collecting all five pieces, there might be a new hint.
Without hesitation, Zhang Rongfang quickly put the parts back and reattached the tool holder.
This matter is of great importance; even Huang Yuzhen, Ninth Grade Master, was chased and killed until he was in this miserable state.
He felt it was best to just hand it over honestly.
As for the changes in the Attribute Panel, more information will naturally become available once you reach a higher level.
Zhang Rongfang understands one principle very well.
When you lack the ability to know more about many things, the more dangerous it becomes.
The footsteps behind him grew closer and closer. Zhang Rongfang sighed softly and slapped himself hard in the chest.
Puff.
He bit his tongue, squeezing out some blood, then changed his expression to one of appropriate hardship, exhaustion, and pain. He turned to face the approaching person.
***13th.
Ouyang Jianrong's death unexpectedly did not cause much turmoil.
After Zhang Rongfang returned to the city and handed over the Moon Chasing Blade to Li Ran, the Chief of the Ministry of Justice, no further news about him was heard.
Although Ouyang Jianrong was dead, he still desperately managed to retrieve the knife.
Zhang Rongfang and the others fought desperately to save the Moon Chasing Blade from being taken back.
The record was quickly submitted.
The credit was divided among the various levels of the organization.
The matter of the Moon Chasing Blade gradually faded into obscurity.
"Ouch. Be gentle!" Chen Hansheng sat upright in the small building of the Ninth Squad, asking Liu Han to help him apply medicine to his back.
As he was being treated, he was grimacing in pain.
Zhang Rongfang stood to the side, carefully examining a newly released official document.
Hearing the call, he shook his head slightly and glanced at the two of them.
"You're in so much pain from such a small injury? Don't tell anyone you're from my Ninth Squad when you go out."
"Hey, Team Zhang, that's not a nice thing to say. I, Lao Chen, was the first to rush forward because I was worried about your safety, Team Zhang!" Chen Hansheng protested.
Ever since that day when the two of them risked their lives to be the first to rush up and support Zhang Rongfang, they have been considered Zhang's confidants.
The other Ninth Squad members were mostly grateful to Zhang Rongfang for saving their lives thanks to his advice.
Ninth Squad now supports Zhang Rongfang much more than before.
They are no longer as perfunctory and distant as they were before.
"By the way, boss, how many times did the higher-ups calculate your merits this time?" Chen Hansheng asked with a forced smile.
"That was a great achievement," Zhang Rongfang replied with a smile.
One major merit can be counted as five minor merits, while for ordinary team members, three minor merits can get them promoted one rank and achieve the lowest official position.
"That's really amazing!!" Chen Hansheng and Liu Han both looked on with envy.
"Actually, it's nothing much." Zhang Rongfang shook his head. "One major merit, exchanged for five minor merits, is just enough for me to hold onto this position, with a little left over. If I want to move up, even if I have enough merit, my seniority is still quite lacking."
He sighed, "So, after I recover from my injuries, I plan to apply to return to the Dao Palace to take up my post."
"Does Your Excellency intend to gain a promotion through a roundabout route?" Liu Han thought for a moment and immediately understood.
"You're quite sharp-minded," Zhang Rongfang said with a smile.
"Actually, quite a few people have done this." Liu Han smiled subtly. "Many adults from the Tianxuan Palace Great Yang Temple have done this."
She was about to say something when she was interrupted by a heart-wrenching cry coming from outside the building.