Peacekeeping Joint Defense

"Are there Heavenly Demons in the gang too? For real?"

"No way. Heavenly Demons have such obvious tells. How could one lie low for two days without anyone noticing?"

"I think the old gang leader's lying too. Feng Qi put him through hell. If there really were a Heavenly Demon hiding among us, he'd have kept quiet and let it ruin Feng Qi's plans later. He'd never say a word, even if he was dying! The fact that he said something means it's fake..."

"Careful what you say. The new gang leader might hear you."

"I didn't say anything bad about the gang leader. What's there to be afraid of? I think the old gang leader realized he wasn't going to make it and made up a story on the spot to bargain with the new gang leader—get him to save his life, or, like the other notice said, let him see his children before he dies."

Beneath the notice, a crowd of Peacekeeping Gang members pointed at it and exchanged their opinions.

In the crowd,

a young man in his twenties appeared calm, but inside, waves of shock churned through him. Could it be true? He'd been so careful. How could anyone have found him?

Was this a bluff?

No, he had to leave!

Wait, he couldn't leave. That would be a dead giveaway. Feng Qi wouldn't do something like this without planting spies in the gang. If he showed the slightest sign of acting strangely, they'd kill him for sure...

Why was it so hard to keep his head down and live a quiet life?

"Shao Zhou, what's wrong?" someone beside him bumped his shoulder and asked with a grin. "You've been quiet for ages. Don't tell me a Heavenly Demon possessed you!"

"If a Heavenly Demon possessed me, I'd have gone over to the gang leader's side already, living it up. Why would I hang around with a bunch of lowlifes like you?" Shao Zhou said. "I was thinking about who nearby seems suspicious. If I report them, maybe I can earn a favor from the gang leader."

"Damn, you've got guts! Come on, come on. Heavenly Demons all have their own traits. Let's think carefully about who's been acting differently these past couple of days. Then we can report them to the gang leader together. I heard Heavenly Demons usually possess the old, weak, sick, and disabled. The gang leader's generous, so there'll definitely be a reward..." The man's eyes lit up at his words, and he spoke eagerly.

"I was just saying. You're really going to report someone? If the Heavenly Demon finds out, it'll stab you in the back." Shao Zhou smiled.

"I was joking too. We're all brothers here. How could I do something as vile as snitching behind someone's back..." The man chuckled, brushing him off. He clearly hadn't taken Shao Zhou seriously.

Shao Zhou knew exactly what was going on, so he stopped trying to dissuade him. With so many people ready to snitch, he could slip away when he got the chance and check on the old gang leader. Then he'd know at a glance whether it was a bluff.

With a table of food and wine laid out, Du Ge and Feng Zhong ate and chatted, occasionally glancing toward the room where Qiu Yuanlang and his son were recovering, to see if anyone suspicious came to investigate.

"Seventh Brother, which school are you from?" Feng Zhong asked.

"What do you mean, which school?" Du Ge asked in return.

"You don't care much about food, and you're skilled at disguising your Keyword. I'd bet anything you didn't come from an Elite Academy," Feng Zhong said. "There are three thousand people in this Simulation Field, including exam candidates from six Civilian Schools and two Elite Schools. We might even be from the same school! Even if we aren't, it won't take much asking around to find out. We both made the top ten this time. Tell me your name, and I'll find you after we get out. Then we can team up for the Alien Battlefield. We'd be a formidable pair..."

"I'm from a Civilian School. Don't bother looking for me. Once we leave the exam, we'll be strangers," Du Ge said.

"Seventh Brother, you're way too guarded." Feng Zhong smiled. "Once you get out of the Simulation Field in first place, there's no way you won't be famous. It's settled. I'll come find you then."

"I'm only in first place for now. No guarantee I'll hold on to it until the end..." Du Ge was speaking when he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Feng Zhong asked.

"One of the vegetables tastes bitter." Du Ge spat out the food and stood up. "Forget it. I'm done eating. Come on, let's go to the Hall of Redress."

"You're not keeping an eye on Qiu Yuanlang?" Feng Zhong asked.

"The two incense masters can watch him. Your Tongue of Right and Wrong is too unpredictable. Who knows when that guy will show up?" Du Ge said. "We can't stop doing our real work because of a few Heavenly Demons who might not even exist."

Just then, he felt his attributes plummet. In a brief moment, he'd lost at least a fifth of them.

He immediately realized the danger of having his Keyword exposed had arrived.

Someone was targeting him.

Backstab probably wasn't the problem. It had to be Peacekeeping.

He had to figure out what had happened.

Backstab was too limited and hard to develop. He couldn't afford to lose Peacekeeping's foundation. He needed to find a way to cover up Peacekeeping, fix the leak from before, and make everyone believe Peacekeeping was just his disguise...

Before they reached the Hall of Redress, Du Ge spotted Liu Cheng riding back at full gallop.

The two stopped.

Liu Cheng leaped from his horse and hurried over to Du Ge. "Gang leader, there's trouble!"

"What happened?" Du Ge asked.

"The silver we gave the victims yesterday was stolen," Liu Cheng said. "The thieves were wearing Peacekeeping Gang uniforms. They didn't just take the money; they beat the victims and threatened them not to talk. Now the whole city of Luyang is whispering about it. They say our talk of upholding justice is a lie, that the gang leader is... one of those people who does despicable things but pretends to be virtuous..."

Thinking of Du Ge's strange behavior just now, Feng Zhong gave him a thoughtful glance.

Well, damn.

Could his Keyword really be Peacekeeping?

While Du Ge's attention was on Liu Cheng, Feng Zhong quietly opened his status panel to check his ranking. He was still ninth, with no change.

He sighed inwardly. So it really wasn't Peacekeeping. Good thing he'd been quick enough to check his rank first. If Du Ge's Keyword really were Peacekeeping, his attributes would've hit rock bottom after his reputation took such a huge hit. There was no way he could still be holding first place.

Still, even if it wasn't Peacekeeping, it must have something to do with it. His attributes had probably been affected.

He had to admit, Feng Qi had done an excellent job disguising his real Keyword.

Du Ge had eyes in the back of his head and saw Feng Zhong's little move clearly, but he didn't think much of it.

After all,

everyone was curious. Wanting to pry into someone else's secrets was only human nature.

He could use this incident to disguise Peacekeeping. After that, Feng Zhong would never suspect him of it again.

"Gang leader, it must've been Han Zuo and his men," Liu Cheng continued. "We have to get rid of them. We can't let them keep ruining the Peacekeeping Gang's reputation. I have an idea. Let's take the old gang leader outside Luyang City and force them to come out!"

"What the hell are you talking about? We're the Peacekeeping Gang, not some criminal gang. Our principles are upholding morality, fairness, and justice. You were the one the old gang leader promoted, and you're suggesting we threaten people with a dying old man? Even if we succeed, what will the world think of us? Will anyone still trust the Peacekeeping Gang?" Du Ge glared at Liu Cheng and scolded him. "We have to resolve this openly and honorably. The right way is to find the culprits and restore the people's faith in us."

Right, right. You're right about everything!

You weren't the one who beat the old gang leader half to death. And you weren't the one who threatened people with his fingers, either...

Look at you, so noble and righteous!

I'm the villain here, all right?

If I give you another suggestion, I'll be your son...

Liu Cheng's eye twitched as he grumbled inwardly. "Gang leader, what should we do?"

"Our enemies are hidden while we're exposed, and we don't have many people. It's not realistic to rely on what we have to investigate the culprits. We need to find some allies." Du Ge turned to Feng Zhong. "Feng Zhong, write a few invitations. Ask the representatives of the Three Sects and Five Schools stationed in Luyang City to come discuss something. Tell them we're setting up a Peacekeeping Joint Defense Alliance and inviting them to join us in upholding the jianghu's moral code and keeping the martial world at peace."

Liu Cheng was stunned. He stared at Du Ge with a strange look. What the hell did this have to do with finding the culprits?

Peacekeeping Joint Defense?

You can barely protect yourself, and now you want other people to help uphold justice?

Besides, those are people from the Three Sects and Five Schools. Even the old gang leader wouldn't dare pull something like this. Why would they listen to a little Peacekeeping Gang with fewer than five hundred members?

How big did he think he was?

At that very moment, Liu Cheng regretted joining this ridiculous Peacekeeping Gang. If he'd known Du Ge was such a flighty man, he'd never have come back to deliver the news. He should've turned around on the spot and wandered the world instead...

Feng Qi always did things that caught people off guard. Feng Zhong had no idea what he was up to. He paused, then asked, "Seventh Brother, isn't it a little early to provoke the Three Sects and Five Schools?"

"It's not too early." Du Ge smiled. "Upholding the martial world's moral code is every jianghu practitioner's responsibility and duty. If we work together to protect our living environment, everyone will be able to live better!"