196: Chapter 196 Retreat from Zhenhuang Pass

Fengling City, City Lord's Manor.

In the deliberation hall, a giant holographic map displayed the latest situation in the North.

Red represented the Wang Family, blue the Zhao Family, green the Zhou Family, yellow the Lin Family, and purple the City Lord's Manor.

The red sphere of influence was being eroded bit by bit by the other colors, like a wooden plank hollowed out by insects—looking fine on the surface, but riddled with holes inside.

Jiang Ruowei stood before the map, holding a summary of intelligence that had just arrived.

Her brow remained furrowed from the first line she read to the last.

She turned to look at the City Lord, Jiang Tianzong, who sat in the primary seat.

"Father, the things mentioned here... don't they sound a bit off?" Her voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet hall, everyone heard her clearly.

Jiang Tianzong leaned back in his chair, holding a cup of tea.

He didn't look at the map, he didn't look at the intelligence, and he didn't even look at Jiang Ruowei.

He simply sipped his tea, mouthful by mouthful, very slowly and steadily.

Jiang Ruowei opened the intelligence report and read it line by line.

"The Zhao Family's smuggling team was hijacked, and all clues point to the Wang Family. The Zhou Family's merchant caravans have gone missing, each one near Wang Family territory. Lin Family officials were attacked, and the traces left at the scene are all Wang Family standard-issue equipment. The encounters of those smaller factions are even more ridiculous—the perpetrators had the Wang Family's mark on them every single time."

She closed the report and looked at Jiang Tianzong. "Every incident points to the Wang Family; every clue is too obvious. This doesn't seem like something the Wang Family would do. They are domineering, but they aren't stupid. Provoking every faction at a time like this offers them no benefit."

She paused and lowered her voice. "Father, someone is behind this, inciting conflict between the various factions and the Wang Family. Someone is setting a trap."

Jiang Tianzong set down his teacup.

He looked at Jiang Ruowei, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into an arc.

There was no surprise or praise in that curve, only a sense of realization that said, 'You finally figured it out.'

"Of course," Jiang Tianzong's voice was very calm, as if he were stating something everyone already knew. "If it were just the Zhao Family's business, it might still be unclear. But now, every house and every faction has come into conflict with the Wang Family, and only the Wang Family's logistics can move unhindered in the North—someone is definitely playing tricks behind the scenes."

Jiang Ruowei's eyes lit up. "Father, you knew all along?"

"I knew," Jiang Tianzong picked up his teacup and took another sip, "but who cares?"

Jiang Ruowei was stunned. "What?"

"A God-level Ruins has appeared in the North, and the Wang Family are the locals there, possessing an absolute geographical advantage. Who wouldn't want to weaken them? The Zhao Family wants to, the Zhou Family wants to, the Lin Family wants to, and the small and medium-sized factions flooding in from elsewhere want to even more." Jiang Tianzong placed the teacup on the table and tapped his fingers twice on the rim. "Does the truth matter?"

Jiang Ruowei opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"The truth isn't important. Public sentiment is what matters." Jiang Tianzong stood up and walked to the window, looking at the gray sky to the North. "Everyone wants the God-level Ruins, so the Wang Family must surrender control of the North and be brought to the same starting line as everyone else. Otherwise, things will only escalate."

He turned around and looked at Jiang Ruowei. "Now it depends on whether the Wang Family is smart enough and how they choose."

Jiang Ruowei stood before the map, looking at the dense red markings, her father's words replaying in her mind.

The truth isn't important.

Public sentiment is what matters.

Everyone wants the God-level Ruins, so the Wang Family must surrender control of the North.

Suddenly, the shadow of a person flashed through her mind.

It wasn't Second Elder Wang Chong, it wasn't Zhao Tieshan, nor was it any of the heads of the great families. It was a younger, sharper figure, one like the edge of a blade.

Qin Ce.

She thought of those calm, bottomless eyes.

The corners of Jiang Ruowei's mouth slowly curled into an arc.

There was no worry or anger in that curve, only a sense of realization that said, 'It really is you.'

"That guy," she whispered, "really can't stay idle."

Jiang Tianzong heard her but didn't look back.

He just looked toward the North, at the increasingly chaotic wilderness, the curve of his mouth deepening slightly.

...

Wang Family Main Base, Inner Manor Deliberation Hall.

The atmosphere was so heavy it felt as if it were about to drip water.

Second Elder Wang Chong sat in the primary seat, a thick stack of intelligence spread out on the table before him—the Zhao Family's military movements, the Zhou Family's trade routes being halted, the Lin Family's administrative personnel withdrawing, records of friction between the City Lord's Manor patrol and the Wang Family mercenary groups, and reports of looting and vandalism of Wang Family properties by small and medium-sized factions across the North.

Every piece of news was bad, and every piece said the same thing—the Wang Family was being isolated in the North.

Wang Table sat in a side chair, his face ashen.

A secret report that had just arrived lay by his hand, stating: "No bodies of Seventh Squad personnel have been found in the Huhe Bay ruins; Qin Ce and his squad are suspected to have survived."

He grabbed the teacup on the table and smashed it hard against the reporting officer's head.

Bang!

The teacup shattered, and tea mixed with blood trickled down from the reporter's temple.

The man stood there, head bowed, not daring to move an inch.

"You still haven't found them? What are you good for?!" Wang Zhuo's voice exploded in the hall. "This is the North, my Wang Family's territory! Our intelligence network has swept hundreds of kilometers a dozen times, and you can't find the location of Qin Ce and those twenty-odd people? Are you all useless?!"

The reporter's lips trembled, his voice like the hum of a mosquito: "Young Master, our men have searched the fifty-kilometer radius around Huhe Bay thoroughly, but we truly haven't found any trace. Their tracks vanished by the Huhube River, as if they disappeared into thin air..."

"Disappeared into thin air? You're telling me they disappeared into thin air?!" Wang Zhuo grabbed the ashtray on the table to throw it, but those nearby quickly held him back.

"Enough!"

Second Elder Wang Chong's voice wasn't loud, but in that instant, all other sounds in the hall vanished.

Wang Zhuo's hand stopped mid-air, the ashtray still gripped in his hand, his knuckles white.

He turned to look at Second Elder Wang Chong, his eyes full of confusion and indignation.

"Father, all of this is Qin Ce's doing! He hijacked the Zhao Family's goods, he moved against the Zhou Family's caravans, he hit the Lin Family's officials, and he incited those small factions! I'm certain of it!"

Second Elder Wang Chong looked at him, his eyes devoid of anger or disappointment, showing only an inexplicable weariness, like looking at a child who hadn't grown up yet.

He shook his head; the movement was slight, but Wang Zhuo saw it clearly.

"You don't need to tell me that," Second Elder Wang Chong's voice was calm, as if stating a simple fact. "Anyone with eyes knows."

Wang Zhuo was stunned. "Then why not drag Qin Ce out? This rat is hiding in the shadows causing us trouble; drag him out, reveal the evidence publicly, let everyone know he's the one behind it—"

"And then?" Second Elder Wang Chong interrupted him.

Wang Zhuo was stunned again. "Then? Then the Zhao, Zhou, and Lin Families will know they've wronged us, they'll stop, they'll..."

"They'll believe you?" Second Elder Wang Chong's voice rose slightly, carrying an anger born of disappointment. "Do they care about the truth?"

He said word by word: "Tell me, if you drag Qin Ce out and hand him over to them, will they really stop? Use your brain!"

Wang Zhuo opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

"Now is not the time to pursue the source." Second Elder Wang Chong's tone softened, but each word was hammered into Wang Zhuo's mind like a nail. "Pull your attention away from Qin Ce. We are currently besieged on all sides; everyone is tacitly targeting the Wang Family. They don't care about trade routes at all; except for the Zhao Family, no one cares about those losses."

Wang Zhuo's mind was still spinning. They don't care about trade routes? Then what do they care about?

He looked up at Second Elder Wang Chong, his lips moving as if to ask, but he didn't dare.

Second Elder Wang Chong saw the confusion in his eyes and sighed. "Regarding the Zhao Family's matter, who told you to flatly refuse and deny everything?"

Wang Zhuo defended himself: "But we truly didn't have those three Bright Moon Level healing supplies! We only got one Spirit Soul Silver Star; we haven't even seen a shadow of the other two—"

"Even if you had to scrape them together, you should have scraped them together and sent them to him!"

Second Elder Wang Chong grabbed the ashtray on the table and threw it at Wang Zhuo.

Wang Zhuo didn't dodge; the ashtray hit his shoulder, bounced to the floor, rolled a few times, and stopped in the corner.

"Can't you even see this much?" Second Elder Wang Chong's voice rose, carrying a month's worth of suppressed, overflowing frustration.

"The one who truly caused the situation to become like this isn't Qin Ce." His voice lowered, as if talking to himself. "It's the Zhao Family's refusal to let go. The Zhao Family is one of the five major powers, a faction with enough weight. Once they acted, others dared to follow. The Zhou Family, the Lin Family, the City Lord's Manor, and those small and medium-sized factions—they were all waiting for this opportunity."

He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling of the hall, the light refracting through the crystals into fine spots of light that fell on his face, flickering.

"What they want isn't open trade routes or lost supplies." Second Elder Wang Chong's voice was very soft, so soft that Wang Zhuo had to strain his ears to hear. "They want the God-level Ruins. They want our Wang Family to relinquish control of the North so we can't hinder them from obtaining the God-level Ruins."

A boom went off in Wang Zhuo's head.

The God-level Ruins.

Control of the North!

That was the core of it.

It wasn't Qin Ce, it wasn't the Zhao Family's goods, it wasn't the Zhou Family's caravans, and it wasn't the Lin Family's officials. Those were all just excuses, fuses, the primer on the powder keg.

The real explosive was the God-level Ruins. Everyone wanted it; everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

And the Wang Family was their biggest obstacle in the North.

"This is the core of the current situation. The Wang Family is at the center of the vortex, not Qin Ce. So, why look for Qin Ce?"

Second Elder Wang Chong's voice echoed in Wang Zhuo's ears like a giant drum being struck, making his head ring.

He thought back to what he had just said—'drag Qin Ce out, reveal the evidence publicly.' He felt like a fool. A fool of the highest order.

"The key now is whether our Wang Family relinquishes control of the North or not." Second Elder Wang Chong's voice continued, giving him no time to breathe. "Never mind that the Zhao Family is giving us trouble now; the fundamental problem is that the City Lord is watching us like a hawk, waiting for us to make a mistake. That old fox is even willing to give up the God-level Ruins just to suppress our Wang Family."

In that instant, Wang Zhuo's face turned deathly pale.

The City Lord.

Jiang Tianzong.

The person who said 'after Wang Zhuo fails' in front of the whole city at the commendation ceremony.

He wasn't afraid of the Wang Family getting the God-level Ruins; he was afraid that after the Wang Family got the God-level Ruins, they would completely overshadow the City Lord's Manor in Fengling City's power structure.

So he wanted to suppress the Wang Family at all costs, even if it meant giving up the God-level Ruins.

Wang Zhuo's legs felt a bit weak. He leaned against the back of the chair and slowly sat down.

"Then... Father, what do we do?"

His voice was hoarse, carrying a sense of powerlessness he had never felt before.

Second Elder Wang Chong didn't speak. He stood up from his chair, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains.

Outside the window was the gray Northern sky and the distant, continuous ridgeline.

On the other side of that ridgeline was the Wuji Army, Zhenhuang Pass, Huhe Bay, and Qin Ce.

He looked for a long time.

Then he turned around, walked back to the desk, took a map out of a drawer, and spread it on the table.

The map showed the full view of the North—Beimang Mountain, the Space-Time Rift, the Wuji Army station, Zhenhuang Pass, as well as the Wang Family's main base and various outposts scattered across the North.

He used a red pen to draw a circle on the map, enclosing Zhenhuang Pass.

He drew another circle, enclosing the Wuji Army.

He drew one more circle, enclosing several key nodes on the eastern side of Beimang Mountain.

Wang Zhuo stood by, looking at those red circles, not understanding.

"The one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it." Second Elder Wang Chong's voice was very calm, as if he were speaking about something he had already decided. "Qin Ce wants to play tricks at Zhenhuang Pass? Fine. Our Wang Family will retreat first."

Wang Zhuo's pupils contracted sharply. "Retreat? Father, we can't retreat! The North is the foundation we've built over three generations—"

"Not a total retreat." Second Elder Wang Chong interrupted him, his finger tracing across the map. "First, retreat from Zhenhuang Pass. Then, these few outposts on the eastern side of Beimang Mountain. Then, the supply lines on the periphery of the Wuji Army. Aside from the core Wang Family headquarters, we can retreat from everything."

His finger stopped on the largest red circle in the center of the map.

That was the Wang Family's main base.

The strongest fortress in the North, with the thickest walls and the most elite troops.

As long as this place remained, the Wang Family's foundation in the North would not be shaken.

Wang Zhuo looked at the red circles, his mind racing.

Retreat!

Give Zhenhuang Pass back to Qin Ce, yield the outposts on the eastern side of Beimang Mountain, and withdraw from the Wuji Army's supply lines.

Who would take over the retreated territory?

The Zhao Family? The Zhou Family? The Lin Family? The City Lord's Manor? Or those small and medium-sized factions?

Second Elder Wang Chong looked at Wang Zhuo and saw his expression change from confusion to contemplation, and from contemplation to realization. He knew Wang Zhuo understood.

"The territory we retreat from... which of those factions in that loose, ulterior-motivated alliance could actually seize it?" Second Elder Wang Chong's voice was very soft, like a needle falling on the ground, but Wang Zhuo heard it clearly.

Wang Zhuo's Adam's apple bobbed.

He understood.

It wasn't a retreat; it was an abandonment.

Toss out Zhenhuang Pass, toss out the outposts on the eastern side of Beimang Mountain, toss out the peripheral supply lines of the Wuji Army.

Let those factions fight over them, scramble for them, and kill each other for them.

When everyone's attention was on seizing territory, who would still remember Qin Ce?

Who would still remember the Wang Family's 'domineering' ways?

Who would still remember to unite against the Wang Family?

"Father," Wang Zhuo's voice was still trembling slightly, but it wasn't from fear—it was excitement, "when do we start?"

Second Elder Wang Chong sat back in his chair and took a sip of tea. "Now!"

...