Chapter 65: An Unexpected Blessing

"I'm sorry." Half a quarter of an hour later, Qin Feng knelt on the ground, making a sincere confession. "It was just my loose tongue earlier. I beg the senior to be magnanimous and spare us this time."

Qin Feng was defeated swiftly. Under the joint assault of a dozen Vajra Marionettes, he was quickly overwhelmed and beaten directly into a swollen pighead.

The blade techniques he used landed on the Vajra Marionettes like tickles, causing them no pain at all, yet just a few punches from the marionettes were more than he could bear.

Before he could even exchange a few blows, he was laid out straight and flat.

Qin Feng had originally hoped his three good brothers would come to his rescue, but when he stealthily raised his head,

Good grief, all three of his brothers were hanging from the tree!

When had Qin Feng ever witnessed such powerful straw men? He immediately surrendered and obediently prostrated himself on the ground to beg for mercy.

He knelt without the slightest psychological burden; anyway, once they descended the mountain, they would forget everything!

"Weren't you quite arrogant just now? Looking down on us, the Ministry of Agriculture officials?" Zhao Xing asked indifferently.

"Senior, it was I who was blind and spoke without thinking. I am truly laughable. Senior, please be magnanimous and do not hold this against a small person like me," Qin Feng begged repeatedly.

"Indeed, the office of the Ministry of Agriculture benefits all citizens, striving against the heavens for the people's livelihood. We all hold the utmost reverence for it in our hearts."

"Senior, he was merely out of his mind just now; please do not hold it against him."

"That Ganoderma lucidum naturally belongs to a virtuous person like senior!"

The remaining three hanging men were likewise beaten into complete submission.

They hadn't even caught a glimpse of Zhao Xing before being subdued by a few straw men—how could they not submit?

As for addressing him as "Senior," they did so without the slightest mental burden.

The officials of the Ministry of Agriculture typically possessed very little combat capability, yet to be able to knock them flat using the straw man technique—how formidable must he be? He was undoubtedly some veteran clerk who had cultivated for a very long time.

"Releasing you is possible, but do you have money?"

"Take out all your valuable items and place them on the ground, then you may leave."

Zhao Xing could not be bothered to entangle himself further with these fellows. Anyway, once they descended the mountain, they would remember nothing, so there was no need to fear retribution.

"We have them, we have them!" Qin Feng immediately stood up and emptied everything he had on him in one go. There was no silver, but there were several Tier-2 talismans and a box of Tier-2 medicinal pills.

The other three were much the same.

Zhao Xing instructed the straw men to haul the items away. Then, seeing Qin Feng begin to strip off the soft armor he was wearing, he immediately spoke up: "A bunch of paupers... keep your blades and soft armor, get lost."

The standard-issue weapons and armor of the Hucheng Martial Administration bore distinct markings. They couldn't be sold easily, and dragging them back to be melted down for raw materials not only heavily discounted their value but also brought unnecessary trouble.

"Many thanks, Senior! Many thanks, Senior!" Qin Feng and the others expressed endless gratitude before rolling away swiftly.

***

Fang Jie, Zhou Gang, and the others witnessed this dramatic turn of events and instantly felt the situation had taken a favorable twist.

Just as they were about to be ambushed and murdered by those villains, they never expected a peerless expert to suddenly intervene and rescue them.

"Zhou Gang, garrison guard of the Hucheng Martial Administration, offers his thanks to Senior for the rescue," Zhou Gang said, cupping his fists toward the surroundings.

"Fang Jie, garrison guard of the Hucheng Martial Administration, offers his thanks to Senior for the rescue," Fang Jie echoed, also cupping his fists.

Several Vajra Marionettes closed in, and the sound of wind followed: "Don't just offer verbal thanks; bring out whatever valuables you have."

Since Zhao Xing had made a move, there was no chance he would return empty-handed.

Good person or bad person, righteous or evil—whoever passed by Ministry Official Zhao had to have a couple of hairs plucked from them.

"This..." Fang Jie and Zhou Gang were stunned.

"What? Is your little life worth less than those external possessions?"

"No, no, Senior has misunderstood." Zhou Gang forced a bitter smile as he drew a box of pills and some talisman paper from his tunic. "It's just that we garrison guards live meagerly and have very little money. These items are hardly enough to repay Senior's life-saving grace."

"Hah." When Zhao Xing took a look, these two practically laughed him into amusement with their poverty.

Combined, it amounted to merely four pills for restoring vitality and two wind-walking talismans to ease traveling, all of which were Tier-1 and essentially worthless.

The valuable items were their blades and armor, but Zhao Xing found it inconvenient to take those.

Lacking the inclination to squeeze a few paupers any further, he prepared to depart.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing that cold chuckle, Fang Jie assumed the senior was dissatisfied and hurriedly spoke, "The two of us may know of another way to repay Senior."

"Oh?"

Zhao Xing immediately halted, curious to hear what the two had to say.

Exchanging a glance, Fang Jie and Zhou Gang spoke up, "Earlier, the two of us passed by a mountain cavern. There is a spiritual treasure hidden within that cave. I remember the location and can lead Senior there."

"I imagine that spiritual treasure won't be easy to acquire, right?"

Zhou Gang replied, "Reporting to Senior without reservation, the cave is the lair of a fierce beast. Knowing we were no match for it, we left, intending to return and try our luck only after our strength had improved."

Zhao Xing inquired, "Do you know what kind of beast it is?"

With a somewhat embarrassed expression, Fang Jie said, "Our cultivation is low, and the beast's roar alone was chilling enough to make our hearts quail, so we didn't dare enter to investigate."

Zhao Xing remained silent. Zhou Gang was at the fifth stage of Gathering Qi, and Fang Jie at the sixth stage. What kind of beast could scare them out of their wits? It must have been ferocious indeed!

"It's at least above the eighth stage of Gathering Qi, and quite possibly the ninth stage."

"Still, if I were to fear this and cower from that, I wouldn't have climbed this mountain in the first place."

"At any rate, with a straw man scouting the path, there's no harm in going to take a look." After mentally weighing the situation, he made his decision.

"It seems being a good person does have its perks," Zhao Xing said with a soft chuckle. "Saving your lives was originally just a matter of convenience. If I truly obtain the spiritual treasure from that cave, I naturally won't treat you unfairly."

"But let's make the ugly things clear first: it's fine if the two of you choose not to lead me there, but if you harbor any ulterior motives or keep anything concealed, don't blame me for turning a good deed into a bad one."

A chill struck Zhou Gang and Fang Jie's hearts. "We would never dare to deceive you."

"Lead the way ahead."

..........

Zhao Xing sat steadily in a rattan chair. Two miles ahead, Zhou Gang and Fang Jie were clearing the path alongside a straw man.

One should only trust three parts out of ten in any matter. Even though Zhou Gang and Fang Jie swore oaths earnestly, he never trusted them completely, let alone exposed himself by getting close.

After walking for about three quarters of an hour, the mountain path grew increasingly steep, surrounded by dense forests that practically required a blade to hack through a path.

Just as Zhao Xing was beginning to lose his patience, Zhou Gang ahead spoke in a low voice to the straw man, "Senior, it's right up ahead."

Fang Jie pushed aside a clump of leaves, and through the scouting straw man, Zhao Xing saw that there genuinely was a cave ahead.

"Senior, our hearts are racing; we can already sense the presence of the spiritual treasure. Can Senior perceive it as well?" Zhou Gang asked cautiously.

"Mhm, you haven't lied to me." Naturally, Zhao Xing sensed it too. Even though he was stationed further away than the two of them, his cultivation was higher, and his perception correspondingly keener.

"Senior, we don't expect any reward. If we can simply repay your life-saving grace, that in itself is already a supreme blessing," Zhou Gang said.

His implication was that they wished to avoid lingering here.

Understanding their intent, Zhao Xing replied, "You two needn't overthink things. My words carry weight. Since we've reached the destination, I happen to have some healing ointment here. Find a secluded spot to treat your injuries first."

Realizing this meant they weren't being released for fear they would leak the information, Zhou Gang and Fang Jie had no choice but to comply. Fortunately, the mysterious figure didn't make things difficult for them and even had a straw man deliver the ointment, which allowed them to heave a sigh of relief.

For the time being, this senior's temperament didn't seem to be the type to instantly turn hostile and deny favors.

Leaving two straw men behind to keep an eye on Zhou Gang and Fang Jie, Zhao Xing himself took a detour to observe from the opposite side of the cave entrance.

*Thump-thump ~ Thump-thump~* The closer he got, the faster his heartbeat accelerated. Zhao Xing understood that whatever lay within was at least a medium-grade spiritual treasure, and potentially even superior to the Pure Origin Vermilion Fruit!

"Let's send a scouting straw man over to take a look first."