Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 65: Unexpected Surprise

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Unexpected Surprise

"I’m sorry." Half a quarter later, Qin Feng knelt down on the ground, sincerely repenting, "Just now, I spoke arrogantly. Please, Senior, don’t be offended and let us go."

Qin Feng was defeated quickly. Under the siege of over ten Vigorous Vajra, he was soon overwhelmed and turned into a swollen mess.

His blade technique, when slashing at the Vigorous Vajra, didn’t even cause a scratch. But when they punched him a few times, he couldn’t bear it.

He didn’t even have time to execute a few moves before being thoroughly beaten.

Originally, Qin Feng had hoped his three good brothers would help him, but he snuck a glance up and realized.

Good heavens, his three brothers were hanging from a tree!

Qin Feng had never encountered such powerful Grassmen before, so he immediately surrendered, obediently lying on the ground and begging for mercy.

He knelt without the slightest psychological burden, knowing that he would forget everything once he descended the mountain!

"Weren’t you very arrogant just now? Looking down on our Minister of Agriculture?" Zhao Xing asked indifferently.

"Senior, it was I who was blind and spoke thoughtlessly. I’m so laughable. Senior, you are magnanimous, please don’t hold it against me," Qin Feng repeatedly begged for mercy.

"Indeed, the position of Minister of Agriculture benefits all the people, contending with heaven for them. We all deeply respect that."

"Senior, he was just out of his mind earlier, please don’t hold it against him."

"That Lingzhi should belong to a virtuous person like Senior!"

The other three who were hanging were also thoroughly beaten into submission.

They hadn’t even seen Zhao Xing himself, yet were dealt with by a few Grassmen, making it impossible to be anything but submissive.

As for calling him Senior, they did so without any psychological burden either.

The Minister of Agriculture didn’t have much combat strength in the first place, but being able to use the Grassman Skill to floor them — how strong must he be? He must have been cultivating for a very long time.

"I can let you go, but do you have money?"

"Put all your valuables on the ground, and then you can leave."

Zhao Xing didn’t want to entangle with these people much further anyway. Once they descended the mountain, they would forget everything and revenge wouldn’t be a concern.

"We have, we have!" Qin Feng immediately stood up and emptied all his belongings without hesitation. There wasn’t any silver tael, but there were several Second Order Talismans and a box of Second Order Elixirs.

The other three were about the same.

Zhao Xing ordered the Grassmen to take away the items. Seeing Qin Feng starting to remove his soft armor, he immediately said, "A bunch of paupers... I don’t need your swords and soft armor, get lost."

The standardized weapons and armor of the Lake City Martial Arts Bureau had marks on them. Selling them wouldn’t work, and taking them back to melt down for materials would greatly reduce their value and be troublesome.

"Thank you, Senior, thank you, Senior!" Qin Feng and the others thanked him profusely and hurriedly left.

Fang Jie and Zhou Gang, seeing such a turn of events, felt like they were given a new lease on life.

Just when it seemed they were about to be harmed by these scoundrels, a grandmaster suddenly appeared to save them.

"Zhou Gang, guard of the Lake City Martial Arts Bureau, thanks Senior for your help," Zhou Gang cupped his hands toward the surroundings.

"Fang Jie, guard of the Lake City Martial Arts Bureau, thanks Senior for your help," Fang Jie also cupped his hands.

Several Vigorous Vajra surrounded them, and a voice came with the wind, "Don’t just thank me with words, put out anything valuable."

Since Zhao Xing had made a move, he wouldn’t let it go to waste.

He didn’t care if they were good or bad, righteous or evil, anyone passing by Minister of Agriculture Zhao had to contribute something.

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

"What, is your life not worth more than those external possessions?"

"No no, Senior misunderstood." Zhou Gang bitterly smiled and took out a box of elixirs and talisman paper from his chest, saying, "We guards are quite poor, these items are all we have to show gratitude for Senior’s life-saving grace."

"Ha." Zhao Xing took a look and was amused by their poverty.

Together, they only had four elixirs for restoring Primordial Energy and two Godspeed Talismans, all First Order, not worth much.

Valuable items were their swords and armor, but Zhao Xing didn’t want to take those.

He had no intention of extorting these poor souls. He was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, Fang Jie heard that cold laugh and thought the Senior was dissatisfied, so he immediately said, "We might have another way to repay Senior."

"Oh?"

Zhao Xing immediately paused, wanting to hear what they had to say.

Fang Jie and Zhou Gang exchanged glances and said, "Earlier, we passed by a cave with some Spiritual Beauty inside. We remember the location and can take Senior there."

"This Spiritual Beauty might not be easy to obtain, correct?"

Zhou Gang said, "To be honest, Senior, the cave is the lair of a fierce beast. We knew we couldn’t defeat it, so we left, planning to come back when stronger."

Zhao Xing asked, "Do you know what beast it is?"

Fang Jie awkwardly replied, "Our strength was too low. The beast’s roar made our hearts tremble, so we didn’t go in to check."

Zhao Xing was silent. Zhou Gang and Fang Jie were at the Fifth and Sixth Ranks of Gathering Essence, respectively. For a beast to terrify them, how fierce must it be?

"At least beyond the Eighth Rank of Gathering Essence, possibly even the Ninth Rank."

"But if I fear this and that, I shouldn’t even be on this mountain."

"Since I have the Grassmen to scout the way, there’s no harm in checking it out," he decided.

"Seems like being a good person has its perks." Zhao Xing chuckled lightly, "Saving your lives was just a small deed. If I truly get that Spiritual Beauty from the cave, I won’t treat you unfairly."

"But let me be clear, if you don’t lead me there or harbor other intentions or hide anything from me, don’t blame me for turning a good deed into a bad one."

Zhou Gang and Fang Jie felt a chill in their hearts, "We dare not deceive you."

"Lead the way then."

.......

Zhao Xing sat comfortably on a rattan chair, two miles away, while Zhou Gang and Fang Jie, along with the Grassmen, opened the way ahead.

He trusted only about thirty percent. Even if Zhou Gang and Fang Jie had sworn vows, he remained cautious and didn’t show up or get closer.

They walked for about three quarters of an hour as the mountain path grew steeper, and the surrounding forest became denser, almost requiring them to cut a path with swords.

Just as Zhao Xing grew impatient, Zhou Gang whispered to the Grassman ahead, "Senior, it’s just up ahead."

Fang Jie parted a leaf, and through the reconnaissance Grassman, Zhao Xing saw that there was indeed a cave up ahead.

"Senior, our hearts are racing. We can already sense the Spiritual Beauty. Can Senior sense it?" Zhou Gang cautiously asked.

"Hmm, you didn’t lie to me." Zhao Xing also sensed it. Even though he was farther away than Zhou Gang and Fang Jie, his stronger cultivation made his perception keener.

"Senior, we do not seek rewards. We are already fortunate enough to repay your life-saving grace," Zhou Gang said.

He meant he didn’t want to linger here.

Zhao Xing understood, "You two needn’t overthink. I mean what I say. Since we’re here, I have some healing ointments. Find a secluded spot and treat your wounds first."

Zhou Gang and Fang Jie realized this meant he wasn’t letting them leave, fearing they might leak the information. Reluctantly, they complied, feeling relieved that the mysterious expert didn’t make things difficult for them. He even sent Grassmen with healing ointments, which eased their minds.

It seemed, for the time being, this Senior wasn’t someone who would turn hostile and deny a favor.

Zhao Xing assigned two Grassmen to watch over Zhou Gang and Fang Jie while he circled to the opposite side of the cave entrance to observe.

"Thump thump thump~" The closer he got, the faster his heartbeat. Zhao Xing understood that this had to be at least middle-grade Spiritual Beauty, possibly even stronger than Pure Essence Red Fruit!

"Let’s send a reconnaissance Grassman to take a look first."