Chapter 51: Endowed with Fortune

"Wind rises beneath my feet!" Zhao Xing manipulated the wind-summoning spell to give himself a boost for running.

However, this spell was not for himself, but for the straw man.

Moreover, he controlled the rhythm of the rainmaking so that when the straw man ran beneath the clouds, its path remained in a rain-free zone.

He deliberately left two subtle differences to mislead Shen Zhui.

Shen Zhui rushed to the willow tree, instantly facing a choice between two options.

After hesitating for only a second, he chased in the direction of the straw man.

Feeling Shen Zhui running in the opposite direction, a slight smile appeared at the corners of Zhao Xing's mouth.

.........

"What? Another straw man?!" Shen Zhui looked at the recurring straw man before him, utterly speechless.

Thinking back now, those two flaws Zhao Xing had shown were clearly deliberately laid traps for him.

To react so quickly in such a short amount of time without the slightest hesitation could hardly be called a first reaction—it had been designed all along!

"Hmph!" This time, Shen Zhui didn't speak to Zhao Xing; he directly slashed the straw man apart, giving the opponent no chance to buy time, and immediately gave chase in the opposite direction.

............

In the study of the Chen Mansion.

Chen Shijie sensed this scene and burst out laughing.

He hadn't intended to pay attention at first, because in his view, Shen Zhui was at the seventh stage of Qi Gathering, and with his micro-level nine-turn movement technique, he would capture Zhao Xing in no time.

He never expected Zhao Xing to pull off such a fancy maneuver, playing Shen Zhui in circles.

"Good lad, just by utilizing cloud-gathering, rainmaking, straw men, and wind-summoning, you've carved out such an advantageous environment for yourself?"

"If you don't become a military agriculture officer, it is a terrible waste of natural talent."

Chen Shijie stopped reading his book, picked up a wine gourd, sat by the window, and intently began to observe this game of cat and mouse.

..........

In the pouring rain, Shen Zhui looked at the two figures running off in opposite directions ahead, his mouth twitching slightly.

Zhao Xing had called back the second straw man he made to act as a decoy.

Now he had to make a choice again.

One was accelerated by the wind-summoning spell with rain ceasing overhead, while the other had no enhancements whatsoever.

"Last time the straw man was blessed with a spell, this time it must be the real body!"

Shen Zhui chose a direction and gave chase.

Ten breaths later.

Shen Zhui looked at the straw man ahead, feeling somewhat shattered.

"This, this... another straw man?"

"Did he anticipate my anticipation?"

Shen Zhui felt like a clown, being played for a fool yet again.

He hadn't been this angry when he lost while sparring with martial artists in the martial training hall.

But facing Zhao Xing truly tested one's mentality.

Brother Zhao, you with your thick eyebrows and big eyes looked so bright and honest, who would have thought you were so good at deception?

"Hmph!" Shen Zhui let out a cold snort, a white flash from his iron ruler chopping the straw man to pieces.

Shen Zhui reined in his mentality, regrouped, and continued his search.

........

"He adjusts his mentality quite quickly. Even after being fooled three times, he maintained a certain degree of calmness. Although he had emotions, his actions were completely unaffected, and he subconsciously made the best remedial response."

After losing connection with the third straw man, Zhao Xing also held Shen Zhui in higher regard.

Because the opponent's handling was quite exceptional.

As for making the wrong choice?

That couldn't be blamed on Shen Zhui.

While choosing between two options seemed like a fifty-fifty probability, Zhao Xing's odds of winning far exceeded fifty percent!

Because his fortune was at the second level of Yan!

Through this method, he pulled Shen Zhui and himself into another dimension of gameplay: gambling on fortune.

"Whether chasing the straw man or chasing me, either choice has its rationale, but my fortune rank is higher than his," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

This was something Chen Shijie couldn't see through either.

After all, second-level Yan fortune was already extremely rare in this small county. Pooling all the official officers together, probably only Magistrate Li Wenzheng and Chen Shijie possessed second-level Yan fortune.

"However, a drum's spirit is vigorous on the first beat, wanes on the second, and is exhausted on the third. The passive triggering of fortune follows a mysterious, predetermined rule; dominating three times in a short period is the limit."

"Assuming I had a fourth straw man, the next time Shen Zhui makes a choice, he will probably find the right one."

"Besides, I don't have a fourth straw man anyway."

Feeling the footsteps rapidly approaching from behind, Zhao Xing gave up resisting.

..............

The clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, and the wind fell calm.

Shen Zhui's iron ruler rested against Zhao Xing's neck, a wave of exhilaration welling up in his heart.

Run, go on and run!

"Brother Shen is mighty. I tried every possible method, and yet I only managed to stall for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before being caught by you." Zhao Xing cupped his fists.

Seeing this, Shen Zhui also realized he had taken things a bit too seriously. This was merely a training exercise; how could he place an iron ruler against a colleague's neck?

He hastily withdrew the ruler, tucked it back into his waist belt, and cupped his fists, saying, "I am ashamed. Brother Zhao's mastery of spells and meticulous mind are truly rare among clerks. I am deeply impressed."

Shen Zhui was not just exchanging polite pleasantries; he was genuinely impressed.

The initial distance between them was only fifty meters, and Zhao Xing was only at the third stage of Qi Gathering while he was at the seventh stage. By all rights, he should have caught him long ago—keep in mind he was a martial artist, and a hunter who had completed numerous missions at that!

Yet he was actually dragged out by Zhao Xing for so long!

"I had good luck; you've simply just encountered a spirit farmer like me for the first time, and Brother Shen adapted very quickly. Your footsteps in the rain were almost impossible to grasp. A few more training sessions like this, and you'll probably adapt completely." What Zhao Xing said was also from the bottom of his heart.

Opportunities for martial artists and spirit farmers to clash were rare to begin with, and moreover, he had the advantage of luck.

Furthermore, Zhao Xing's combat experience and methods were honed through countless hardships in his past life.

In a small place like Gucheng, they belonged to a tier of their own.

For Shen Zhui to have forced him to the point where he had no time to create a fifth straw man and could only run continuously was already quite remarkable.

"Brother Zhao doesn't need to be so modest," Shen Zhui said with a smile. "With just these four ordinary spells of yours, if you had combined more, I don't know how long it would have taken me to catch you."

That was indeed true, and Zhao Xing did not deny it.

Relying solely on the straw man spell was indeed too monotonous. If he knew more primary spells, it would also cause considerable interference to Shen Zhui. Combining various spells might even give him a chance to harm the opponent.

"Brother Shen, let's stop flattering each other." Zhao Xing pointed to the pear orchard ahead. "Why don't we sit down and have a pear?"

"This... wouldn't that be inappropriate? That is Lord Chen's pear orchard." Shen Zhui hesitated slightly.

"Lord Chen allows me to eat fifteen Tianyuan pears every month. What's wrong with me sharing one with you? Put it on me, go ahead and eat!" Zhao Xing unceremoniously plucked two pears from the orchard and tossed one to Shen Zhui.

"Alright." Shen Zhui didn't stand on ceremony either; he could tell these pears were treasures.

After the two finished eating, Chen Shijie walked out of the study with a smile. "You rascal are quite unceremonious, using my pears to buy favor? I only said I'd gift them to you to eat; when did I ever permit you to pick them?"

"Lord Chen, these pears were picked for me." Shen Zhui stood up somewhat awkwardly, then made a bow and said, "If there is a punishment, please punish me alone; it has nothing to do with Zhao Xing."

Chen Shijie nodded inwardly; it seemed he had not chosen the wrong person for Zhao Xing.

Seeing that Chen Shijie was not angry at all, Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I accept whatever punishment the Lord gives, but could you wait a moment first?"

"Oh? What are you going to do?"

"Break through to the fourth stage of Qi Gathering."