Chapter 355: Ning Zhuo

As the Prefect of a region, the Magistrate of Suspended Magnet City governed not only the Suspended Magnet Immortal City itself but also the surrounding villages, towns, and numerous sects and families.

Jade Steel Mountain naturally fell under his jurisdiction as well.

Although he was a Nascent Soul cultivator and, as a Magistrate, held sway over a territory—barely qualifying as a regional official—he found the Golden Core-level Meng Zizhong to be a massive headache.

In this world, one's background and influence mattered.

This was even more pronounced in the righteous path than in the demonic path.

It would be very easy for the Magistrate to take down Meng Zizhong; he could do it effortlessly. He wouldn't even need to act personally; a single order would be enough to make Meng Zizhong bow his head.

The difficulty lay in Meng Zizhong's background.

The Meng family!

They were a prominent noble clan of the Southern Bean Kingdom and one of its founding contributors.

The Magistrate came from a background of rogue cultivation. Although he had a family, their support was minimal; in reality, he relied on his own strength to feed back into his family.

He knew deeply that even the Zhu royal family had to be cautious and strategic when dealing with high-ranking officials like those of the Meng family. How much more so for him?

"You want to report Meng Zizhong for harboring bandits to maintain his own importance? This evidence alone is not enough," the Magistrate said, shaking his head, his intent to shirk the matter clear.

Ning Zhuo smiled: "Magistrate, I understand your difficulties. Rest assured, I did not come here to make things difficult for you."

"You only need to report it upward. I believe the royal Zhu family will surely react immediately. At that time, you only need to follow orders."

"Of course, I could also contact Lord Zhu Xuanji directly. However, I thought about it and felt that reporting over your head would imply contempt for a superior. You must know that although I am young, I am also the head of a branch of the Ning family. Naturally, I must lead by example and follow the regulations."

The Magistrate's eye twitched. He thought to himself: *You little brat, go ahead and report over my head! If I can't hear it or see it, wouldn't I avoid this awkward situation?

The Magistrate was filled with helplessness.

From this simple exchange, he already knew that Ning Zhuo was not to be trifled with! This young man was quite well-versed in the rules of the righteous path; treating him as an equal opponent was the only safe course of action.

"Wait here for a moment; I will report it." The Magistrate left Ning Zhuo outside the door, turned back to his study, and used an emergency channel to report the case.

Ning Zhuo stood outside the study, not wandering about. He stood his ground, showing no signs of anxiety, calm and composed.

He had known from the beginning that the Magistrate could not make the decision and could not be relied upon.

He had come here only to use this Nascent Soul cultivator as a mouthpiece.

The one Ning Zhuo truly needed to rely on was the royal Zhu family!

Of course, even if the Magistrate was just a messenger, he was inevitably dragged into it. He really didn't want to wade into these muddy waters, but he had no choice; it was truly a case of disaster falling from the sky while sitting at home.

Over the years, the Southern Bean Zhu family, as the royal family, had found it increasingly difficult to control the Southern Bean Kingdom.

The monarch had carefully selected the Magistrate and supported him to hold down the Suspended Magnet Immortal City, which had not been easy. It had required frequent clashes in the court with major officials, pulling strings, suppressing others, and maneuvering to barely succeed.

The Magistrate was a capable official for the Zhu family's local control. Now that he had suddenly used an emergency channel to convey a key case, it immediately received the monarch's attention.

The matter of Meng Zizhong seemed small, but it actually concerned the power struggle between the Meng family and the Zhu family.

"This Ning Zhuo again?" The monarch sighed. "He is truly worthy of being the Child of Tribulation; wherever he goes, waves are sure to rise."

The monarch frowned; she did not want to deal with this matter and also felt it was quite thorny.

Because if handled improperly, the Zhu family would collide violently with the Meng family. As the royal family, the Zhu family's strength was naturally greater than the Meng family's, but the entire Southern Bean Kingdom did not just have the Meng family; there were also the Su family and other high-ranking officials and generals.

If the Zhu family consumed too much strength on the Meng family and revealed signs of weakness, there would be even greater risks.

As a monarch, one naturally had to assess the situation and could not ignore any risks.

"The Magistrate cannot be used." The Southern Bean monarch first determined this.

She had to protect this rare local official and could not easily let him get involved in the clash between the royal family and the Meng family.

Therefore, the Southern Bean monarch needed to find someone who could be trusted and could withstand the Meng family's potential backlash.

Soon, the Southern Bean monarch thought of a candidate.

Zhu Xuanji was speeding through the air.

He was like a golden rainbow, piercing through the sky.

"In half a day, I will reach the Strange Gate Immortal City. By using it as a transit point, I can greatly shorten the journey and return to the capital quickly."

Just as he was thinking this, Zhu Xuanji's expression changed slightly, and the token in his bosom trembled gently.

He was not far from the Strange Gate Immortal City, so he received the royal emergency order transmitted from the immortal city.

"Asking me to go to Suspended Magnet Immortal City to handle an urgent matter?"

He took a closer look, and his face immediately darkened.

This was because he saw a name he did not want to see.

"Ning Zhuo?!"

"What is this kid doing in Suspended Magnet Immortal City, stirring up trouble?"

"Black Wind Tiger Demon, Meng Zizhong..."

Zhu Xuanji's face showed realization; he understood the royal family's intention in having him change his route midway.

He sighed and continued forward—with the help of the Strange Gate Immortal City, he could teleport over a long distance and arrive directly at the Suspended Magnet Immortal City.

That evening, Zhu Xuanji met Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong again in the Magistrate's office.

After reviewing the footage, Zhu Xuanji said bluntly: "This bit of evidence cannot prove that Meng Zizhong had private contact with the Black Wind Tiger Demon. He can completely claim that he felt killing intent from the cultivator Shi Sui and therefore struck first."

"Besides that, there are various other excuses; even if they are absurd, they can be used by him."

Sun Lingtong: "With the Divine Catcher acting, and under the investigation of the Golden Eye, are we still worried about not finding his criminal evidence and leverage?"

Zhu Xuanji frowned and remained silent.

The Magistrate shook his head slightly: "The troublesome part of this matter is precisely that we found the evidence!"

"Harboring bandits to maintain one's importance is a major crime. Especially since it involves the death of the previous mayor; this is the murder of a court official, which completely touches the bottom line."

"Without sufficient preparation to fully confront the Meng family, we cannot launch such an attack casually."

For such a serious crime, the Meng family could not simply admit guilt. Because the charge was too great, once admitted, the loss the Meng family would suffer would be extremely significant.

And once the crime was publicized, the Zhu family would also be in a difficult position. If they did not bring the criminal to justice, it would completely expose the weakness of the royal Zhu family, making the disloyal hearts of the major noble clans even stronger!

At that time, the situation will evolve into an all-out confrontation between the Zhu and Meng families. Even if the Zhu family wins, they will likely suffer heavy losses. The intense process of their struggle will allow other great clans to fish in troubled waters.

Ning Zhuo smiled, having expected this: "My Ning family and the Zhu family are aligned. If the Zhu family and the Meng family clash, the first to suffer will be us."

"After all, Meng Kui is still the current Fire Persimmon City Lord."

oo￠o

"This time, dealing with Meng Zizhong, there is no need to involve his major crime of harboring bandits. Just get him off his horse and let our people control Jade Steel Mountain, and that will be enough."

"Meng Zizhong is currently under the command of the Magistrate, which is a hidden danger. Getting him off his horse is beneficial for you, Magistrate, and for the royal Zhu family, isn't it?"

This spoke directly to the Magistrate's heart, causing him to look deeply at Ning Zhuo, his evaluation of him rising once again.

Zhu Xuanji snorted coldly and pointed at Ning Zhuo: "I knew you had a plan; just say it."

Ning Zhuo then explained his plan.

The three cultivators listened carefully, with Sun Lingtong exclaiming at the cleverness of the plan and Zhu Xuanji nodding slightly.

The Magistrate looked at Ning Zhuo again. It had to be said that the young man before him had left a deep impression.

This plan seemed simple, but the understanding and manipulation of human nature had reached a subtle level.

According to common sense, the age of sixteen or seventeen was a time of innocence and romance, easily moved and impulsive, but the young man before him was like an old man who had experienced the world, gone through the ups and downs of officialdom, understood the treachery of the human heart, and possessed unfathomable depth.

"He still has talent that hasn't been tested... his future is vast." Realizing this, the Magistrate couldn't help but feel a sense of closeness to Ning Zhuo.

Once the plan was settled, the four began to act.

A few days later, Meng Zizhong saw the information in his hand and flew into a rage: "Investigate, investigate for me, who is spreading these rumors!"

A rumor had been spreading recently, pointing directly at Meng Zizhong, saying that he had secretly funded the Black Wind Tiger Demon and was the mastermind behind the death of the previous mayor. Meng Zizhong had the ambition of harboring bandits to maintain his importance and plotting rebellion!

However, the strict prohibitions and investigations had no effect, instead making the rumors spread even more fiercely, with many versions emerging.

One of the rumors even revealed the hiding place of the Black Wind Tiger Demon, Mount Wuyin, which made Meng Zizhong terrified.

He did not dare to be arrogant and sent a message back to the Meng family, only stating the current situation of the rumors in Jade Steel Town.

The Meng family immediately became alert, knowing that someone must be stirring up trouble behind the scenes. In a situation where they couldn't investigate anything, to avoid long delays and being dug up for criminal evidence, they decisively chose to abandon the pawn to save the knight!

Meng Zizhong entered the barracks and began to mobilize the garrison, actively preparing for battle.

Meng Zizhong stood on the platform and shouted loudly: "Since I took command, I have been stationed here, always diligent and sharpening my weapons."

"I have been sending out scouts and finally made a discovery recently, finding the hiding place of the Black Wind Tiger Demon. However, demonic spies in the town have been stirring up trouble and spreading rumors, attempting to provoke internal chaos to delay our attack and buy time for the demons to escape."

"Hmph! How could I easily fall for their trick? This time, I will lead the army myself, swear to take revenge, fight bravely, wipe out the demons, and return Jade Steel Town to a clear sky!"

"Warriors, follow me to charge, kill all the demons, and create a prosperous and peaceful world together!"

The garrison responded in unison, their morale fully mobilized.

They set off immediately, lined up, and stepped into the teleportation array.

The teleportation array started frequently, teleporting the town's garrison directly to the vicinity of Mount Wuyin.

In this way, the movement could no longer be hidden and was discovered by the Black Wind Tiger Demon's group.

The Tiger Demon's eyes were red, falling into a rage, roaring, and leading a group of demon cultivators to rush out of the valley and head straight for the army formation!