Twisting Black and White

"What kind of nobody dared try to scam me?"

Chen Jue frowned, brushing at the wrinkles Zhang Hu had clawed into his shoulder, his face full of disdain and disgust.

His uncle had told him not to cause trouble at the guard station, but he had never told him to fear it.

He had no idea how he had offended Zhang Hu today, but since the man had failed to recognize his place and insisted on bullying him, Chen Jue could only reluctantly smash straight through him.

Otherwise, people would look down on him, and there would only be more trouble later.

The spectators in the corridor felt their horizons broaden.

Earlier, He Yuanshan had pulled strings and spread money around to have Chen Jue assigned to Group Three, making it easier to look after him.

They had assumed he was some high-scoring, low-ability piece of trash who needed connections just to enter the guard station.

Who would have thought that though he looked refined and delicate, he was swift and decisive in a fight? Even Zhang Hu, whom the guard station regarded as a future fierce general, had not been able to withstand a single exchange with him.

"Chen Jue! You've got some nerve! You openly committed violence in the guard station and harmed a fellow officer!"

In the Group Four office on the fourth floor, the commotion in the corridor instantly brought seven or eight inspectors rushing out.

The man in the lead was Zhang Wei, the shift leader, at the sixth level of True Qi.

Behind the crowd, Chen Jue spotted Zhang San. He immediately understood the whole business of being set up just now.

"Shift Leader Zhang, please see clearly. Zhang Hu was the one who attacked first. I was merely defending myself. If you don't believe me—"

Chen Jue instinctively swept his gaze over the few spectators in the corridor.

Yet they all shrank back and hurriedly retreated, as though terrified of being dragged into the matter and inviting trouble upon themselves.

This was bad!

Chen Jue's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the surveillance camera by the stairwell corner and discovered that someone had twisted its neck away beforehand.

Fine, fine, fine. He had been putting on a show just now, only to find that someone had played him!

It seemed he would have to buy more body cameras in the future and keep one hanging on his chest, recording twenty-four hours a day!

"I didn't see Zhang Hu attack anyone. I only saw you injuring someone here! Surrender at once!"

Zhang Wei was about to reach out and seize him when a large group of people came rumbling up from the stairwell.

"Zhang Wei! Try laying a hand on my nephew!"

He Yuanshan had likewise led seven or eight Group Three inspectors up to the fourth floor, forming a standoff with Zhang Wei.

Chen Jue took the chance to retreat into the crowd and whispered the entire sequence of events into his uncle's ear.

"Zeng You, this has nothing to do with you. Take your people and go back to the third floor."

Zhang Wei ignored He Yuanshan and fixed his gaze on Zeng You, Group Three's shift leader.

As the saying went, an official one rank higher could crush a man to death.

Likewise, in the world of martial artists, one realm higher was enough to do the same.

Zeng You groaned inwardly.

He was already fifty-four this year. He had only attained the position of Group Three shift leader at the fifth level of True Qi through more than thirty years of hard work, as well as his superiors wanting to let him retire with dignity.

So he had no desire to involve himself in this matter at all.

But Chen Jue was not only an intern in Group Three; he was also the biological nephew of He Yuanshan, one of the group's old hands. Zeng You was caught riding a tiger and could not get off. Even if he did not want to interfere, he had no choice.

"Zhang, there must be some misunderstanding here. Why don't we find a meeting room and sit down to talk this over properly?"

Zeng You swallowed the insult dry and tried to smooth things over.

"Cut the crap! Look what your people did to my godson!"

"Is He Yuanshan's nephew the only one who counts as a person? Is my godson not a person?"

Zhang Wei pointed at Zhang Hu, who lay in the corridor moaning in agony, his face twisted in an impromptu performance.

Following Zhang Wei's gaze, everyone finally noticed that there was still someone lying in the corridor, vomit splattered all over the floor. He looked seriously injured.

Seeing this, Zeng You could only grit his teeth. "Zhang! We can't hand him over to you. Just name your price. How much do you want?"

The fury in Chen Jue's chest flared up with a whoosh. Just as he was about to speak, his uncle reached out from beside him and stopped him.

"Don't be impulsive! There's no solid evidence of the setup, but injuring someone is a fact."

"You haven't been here long, and you haven't become a full member yet. It won't look good if this reaches the secretary. At best, your confirmation will be delayed; at worst, your file will be rejected and you'll be sent back."

"Endure it for now!"

He Yuanshan was also burning with anger and dearly wished he could go head-to-head with Zhang Wei.

But circumstances were stronger than men. He could not ruin his nephew's future over one mouthful of pent-up humiliation.

"Heh. Since Shift Leader Zeng wants to play peacemaker, I won't ask for much..."

"Hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill he received today, then pay another twenty thousand for medical expenses. That will settle this matter. How about it?"

Zhang Wei smiled darkly. He was plainly opening his mouth like a lion, determined to extort Chen Jue severely.

The Group Three inspectors all changed expression at once.

"Zhang! What the hell do you mean by this?!"

"Framing a fellow officer—how could you do something so conscience-less?"

Guard station inspectors made their living investigating cases and catching bandits.

Everyone was no fool. The moment Zhang Wei voiced his unreasonable demand, they followed the vine to find the melon and guessed the source of the matter.

"Say whatever you like. Even if this reaches Lord Wu, I, Zhang Wei, will still be in the right."

Zhang Wei looked at the Group Three members and sneered without end.

As the saying went: a cowardly soldier was cowardly alone; a cowardly general made a whole nest of cowards.

With a nearly retired old man leading Group Three—a man with no drive and insufficient strength—what prospects could they possibly have?

"The Foundation Establishment Pill is out of the question. Thirty thousand for medical expenses, and this matter ends here!"

He Yuanshan's expression was ugly as he named the price to settle the matter.

Zhang Wei sneered, just about to spit out another threat, when He Yuanshan cut him off in a stiff voice.

"Zhang Wei, do you think blowing this matter up will do you any good?!"

"Your method of framing a fellow officer isn't particularly clever. If some lord happens to take an interest and sends someone to investigate, how do you intend to answer for yourself?!"

At those words, Zhang Wei gradually reined in his smile. He thought to himself that this old dog He Yuanshan really did have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Though Group Four held the upper hand in this matter, it would not stand up to scrutiny.

If it truly reached Secretary Zhao, Chen Jue might have his file rejected and be sent back, but Group Four would not escape punishment either.

In the corridor, the few people who had been eager to watch the excitement earlier sensed that things were turning serious and quickly left.

"He Yuanshan, you do have quite a mouth on you. Much better than Zeng You."

Though Zhang Wei's tone had softened, he did not forget to drive a wedge between He Yuanshan and Zeng You.

The members of Group Three looked at one another. Zeng You's expression was particularly ugly.

"Zhang Wei! Stop trying to sow discord here!" He Yuanshan snorted coldly, exposing Zhang Wei's sinister intentions.

Seeing that the heat was right, Zhang Wei stopped pressing the matter.

"Thirty thousand it is. I'll give Old He that much face!"

"But tell your nephew to be more careful next time. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll go bankrupt before you live to see him become a full member..."

Seeing their boss's mocking manner, the Group Four inspectors all burst into laughter along with him.

Chen Jue rested a hand on his sword hilt, his face dark. His gaze locked onto every face in Group Four, etching them firmly into his memory.

Today's events gave him his first deep taste of how treacherous the human heart could be.

And he, Chen, was narrow-minded and small-hearted, repaying every slight in full. Today's grudge would be returned tenfold someday!

"Haha! Everyone, thank Lord He for the treat! Tonight, we're going to Narcissus Club, and we won't leave until we're drunk!"

After receiving He Yuanshan's transfer, Zhang Wei led his underlings away, dragging Zhang Hu, who had been lying stiff on the ground, to his feet as they laughed and joked.

Zhang San was even more hateful. Before leaving, he did not forget to shoot Chen Jue a mocking look. He had already set foot on the path to death.

Zeng You was old and narrow-minded. Zhang Wei's words of discord filled his head, and without saying a word, he returned to the third floor.

With such a leader who could not shoulder responsibility, the other Group Three members all felt helpless. After nodding to He Yuanshan, they too left together.

"Uncle, I was careless this time. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

Chen Jue drew a deep breath. The pent-up anger in his chest churned, and he had the urge to draw his sword and cut someone down.

He Tang would take the martial examination next year. Thirty thousand was no small sum. Every bit lost here meant one bit less in resources for his cousin.

"There's no need to be so formal between uncle and nephew." He Yuanshan waved a hand and instead comforted Chen Jue. "How could life possibly go smoothly in every matter? Consider it money spent to buy a lesson."

"Besides, as they say, a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years."

"Your uncle believes that one day, you'll take back every bit of money you were cheated out of, principal and interest."

Chen Jue nodded.

After this incident, he understood one truth as well.

The Great Ming Code was meant to restrain honest people.

As long as there were no cameras and no witnesses, anything could be done!