"You people serve under my command, yet you are unwilling at heart. I understand that! Matters concerning missions need to be reported to my adoptive father. I understand that too!
"What I don't understand is... why did the thing I wanted end up being given to me by my adoptive father, instead of being delivered before me by you!"
Zhou Ming's furious roar was like thunder exploding beside Jianyu's ears.
Cold sweat immediately poured from Jianyu as he hastily dropped to one knee. "This subordinate is guilty!"
The others in Jianyu's squad also immediately knelt. "This subordinate is guilty!"
Zhou Ming sneered. "I have heard that in the army, overstepping one's rank is a crime. Yet there is one exception: when a superior rebels, soldiers who report it over their heads are not only innocent, but meritorious.
"But the mission I assigned you was merely to make a long journey and bring back a martial art manual. It was only a small task, nothing important.
"Yet even for such a trivial mission, you still reported over my head. You even handed the martial art you brought back directly to my adoptive father, utterly disregarding me. Jianyu, Jianyu, what exactly did I do that made you disrespect me so deeply?!"
Jianyu's body trembled as he knelt on the ground. "This subordinate is guilty. I beg Young Master for mercy. I am willing to redeem myself through service and make up for my mistakes!"
"Make up for your mistakes? Fine, I'll give you that chance. But only those with sufficient ability can seize it. Your squad, go run. Anyone who is still alive after one day without being killed will have that chance!"
"Young Master..."
"Why aren't you getting the hell out already?!"
"Yes!"
After they left, only three squads remained before Qianjin Pavilion.
Zhou Ming looked into the distance. Only after a full quarter of an hour did he sigh and say, "Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning—it rolls off the tongue quite nicely. What a pity that one such piece of trash emerged among them. It truly makes me doubt the loyalty of the others!"
Upon hearing this, the three squads immediately cupped their fists. "Young Master, please see clearly! We are utterly loyal and will never be like them!"
Zhou Ming said, "Loyalty is not judged by what one says, but by what one does. Before nightfall, I want to see the heads of those ten people!"
So... that was what Young Master meant!
The three squads instantly understood, but did not hesitate. "This subordinate accepts the order!"
This mission was not difficult for them.
They knew their own people's methods far too well.
Before nightfall, in the afternoon alone, all ten members of Jianyu's squad were wiped out.
Ten heads were laid out before him.
The members of the three squads were visibly far more respectful toward Zhou Ming than before.
However, Zhou Ming's number of subordinates had also been reduced by a quarter.
That was right. Pei Ju had not replenished Zhou Ming's manpower.
Clearly, although Pei Ju had given Zhou Ming the authority to deal with his subordinates, he also wanted Zhou Ming to understand the consequences of handling matters this way.
Yet Zhou Ming did not care. He sent the three squads to continue watching World's Greatest Manor, Shangguan Hai, Wan Sanqian, and the others.
The purpose of these tasks was to uncover the identities of Dragon Guard Manor's Four Great Secret Agents.
Though Zhou Ming, with his plot cheat, had long known them.
Still, the identities of these four were not like the Northern Darkness Divine Art—something inconsequential.
As the pillars of Dragon Guard Manor under Zhu Wushi's command, everyone who ought to know these four identities knew them, while those who ought not to know had not the slightest scrap of information.
Unfortunately, Pei Ju was precisely someone who ought not to know.
Still, he was not truly counting on Zhou Ming to uncover these people. More than anything, he merely wanted to temper him.
Zhou Ming could more or less guess this, so he was not anxious in the slightest. He left everything to his subordinates while he spent every day fishing, raising dogs, and practicing martial arts, entirely unconcerned with such trivial nonsense.
Worth mentioning was that Yin Zhong seemed to have genuinely become interested in Zhang Sanfeng's hundredth birthday celebration next year. He had actually decided to remain in the Ming State for the time being rather than leave.
"Young Master, the owner of Wenzong Bookstore has arrived."
The wealthy-looking middle-aged man, who nevertheless carried a faint scholarly air, bowed somewhat nervously. "This humble one is Wen Jin. Greetings, Young Master Zhou."
"Boss Wen, no need for formalities. Have you read the copy of Famous Detective Lu Xiaofeng that I had delivered yesterday?"
"I have, I have. Young Master Zhou's literary talent is exceptional, and the design is ingenious. This humble one has enjoyed reading all his life, yet I have never encountered a book like yours."
"Hehe."
Zhou Ming smiled. "Then does Boss Wen think my book can become an overnight sensation and spread across the land?"
"This..." Boss Wen immediately hesitated.
"Do not worry. Just speak honestly."
"Yes... in my view, Young Master's novel has a twisting, bizarre plot, and every case is strange beyond measure. Yet because of this, many readers may not understand the earlier portions upon their first reading. And Young Master's prose...
"I mean, if your novel spreads by word of mouth, it will sooner or later become popular across the land. But if you wish for it to become an overnight sensation... it is still somewhat lacking."
Zhou Ming naturally knew the quality of his prose.
Ever since transmigrating into this world, he could be said to value martial arts greatly and literature lightly. He had spent most of his life practicing martial arts.
Even with a cheat like Perfect Qi, he had almost never allocated any of it to literature.
Thus, his writing was somewhat lacking.
Even so, he did not think there was anything wrong with that. Prose was ultimately a minor path. Writing novels was merely a hobby; the martial path was the great path of this world.
Perfect Qi could only produce one wisp per day. Zhou Ming even felt it was somewhat insufficient, so how could he waste it elsewhere?
"Word of mouth... no. It must become an overnight sensation!"
Zhou Ming said.
This world had no copyright protection. If it truly spread by word of mouth, those pirate booksellers would likely pounce on it before it had even gained momentum.
Such things could not be prohibited, not even with his status, not even when Wenzong Bookstore was the most powerful bookseller in the Ming State.
By then, even if the novel spread across the land, Zhou Ming might not receive much money.
He did not lack money, but who would ever complain about having too much of the stuff?
After pondering for a moment, Wen Jin said, "If that is your goal, Young Master may wish to tie it to the hottest topic in the jianghu for publicity. I see that this book takes Lu Xiaofeng as its protagonist and includes the matter of the Plum Blossom Thief, which is excellent. However, the Jianghu Monthly Report has already published a detailed account of the entire Plum Blossom Thief affair, so its appeal is not particularly strong..."
"Jianghu Monthly Report? Don't they publish once a month?"
"This... they called it a special supplement, dedicated solely to the Plum Blossom Thief affair."
It was merely an excuse.
They were probably afraid the Plum Blossom Thief would cease to be a hot topic, so they rushed to ride the wave and make money.
Speaking of which, after the truth behind the Plum Blossom Thief affair had been exposed and caused a sensation, Lin Xian'er herself had made it explode once again.
The reason was that, after getting drunk, some jianghu wanderer had bragged to everyone that he had slept with Lin Xian'er.
After word spread, many other jianghu people publicly revealed that they had slept with her as well.
For a time, it became another major hot topic.
"I heard that Young Master once visited Xingyun Manor and personally took part in this affair. If you can add some details, preferably things unknown to the public, that would be best. With Wenzong Bookstore's promotional power, becoming an overnight sensation would not be a problem!"
Zhou Ming nodded. "Thank you for Boss Wen's guidance. I will revise the writing at once. In seven days, I hope Boss Wen will analyze it again."
After seeing Boss Wen off, Zhou Ming sent someone to fetch the Plum Blossom Thief special report published in the Jianghu Monthly Report's supplement.
Sure enough, the Jianghu Monthly Report's coverage of this matter was truly detailed.
Combined with their powerful, evocative prose, it was no wonder they had remained standing in the jianghu for so many years.
In that case, if he wanted to ride this trend, he had to write something deeper than they did!
Details?
Things unknown to the public?
Zhou Ming pondered for a moment, then suddenly picked up his brush.
"Perhaps I can start from this angle..."
Before you continue