Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 134 - 133: Can a Living Person Really Starve to Death Over a Single Meal?

Chapter 134: Chapter 133: Can a Living Person Really Starve to Death Over a Single Meal?

Fang Cunzai lay in the firewood shack, unable to recall how many days he had been trapped there.

That night, he had sneaked into the courtyard searching for traces of Zhang San and the others, only to be brutally beaten by several unknown experts.

Being beaten was bad enough, but after they were done, they tied him up in the firewood shack and even used some technique on him, rendering him unable to cry out for help.

Fang Cunzai, after all, was a Military Chief from the Town Martial Office, and although he had only recently entered the Spiritual Platform Realm, he was not one to be taken lightly.

The next day, Fang Cunzai found an opportunity to escape.

But then...he was caught again, and it was another vicious beating.

Not only did they mercilessly beat him this time, but they also took away everything of value he had on him.

After that, each time Fang Cunzai thought of escaping, they would discover him as soon as he showed the slightest sign, and then came another round of merciless beatings.

Fang Cunzai was no fool; realizing that his attempts to escape were always discovered, he immediately decided to do the opposite.

I won’t run anymore!

I’ll let my guard down first, lulling you into thinking I would never run, and then I’ll make my move!

However, before he knew it, three days had passed without seeing any sign of those who had beaten him before.

He guessed that his captors, brute in strength but lacking in brains, must have been fooled by his act of complacency, probably even forgetting there was someone like him in the firewood shack.

Carefully, Fang Cunzai rubbed the dry straw on the ground until it eventually frayed, and then he broke free from his bindings.

Throughout these days, Fang Cunzai hadn’t even had a sip of water, relying solely on consuming his own Qi to survive, and now, he was running very low on it.

But escaping was not going to be easy, so Fang Cunzai cautiously approached the door of the firewood shack and gave it a gentle push, only to find that it was open.

Who would have thought that I’d managed to fool them to such an extent? Truly worthy of me!

Fang Cunzai stuck his head out proudly and saw that there wasn’t a soul in the empty courtyard.

But in the center, there was a low table with food and drinks placed on it.

Having not eaten anything for three days, Fang Cunzai immediately pounced on the food, only to find that it had been sitting there for days and had gone bad.

Beneath one of the plates was a note with eight bold characters: "We have left, sorry for the offense."

After pondering for a long time, Fang Cunzai realized that it wasn’t his complacency plan that had worked on the enemy; they might have left two or three days earlier.

They had even prepared a meal for him as an apology before leaving.

If he had just tried to escape one more time, he would have been able to enjoy a warm meal. But now...

Worried whether the Town Martial Office had already sent a Principal Officer to investigate the Bai Yucheng case, Fang Cunzai couldn’t afford to think about hunger. He went to the neighboring ironmonger’s shop, begged for a bowl of water from the ironmonger uncle, drank it, and prepared to leave.

"Young man!" the ironmonger called out to Fang Cunzai, beckoning him over and then handing him a wooden plaque.

"I see darkness looming over your forehead; it seems you’re having a run of bad luck. This object can ensure your safety; wear it."

Although Fang Cunzai didn’t believe in the idea of darkness over one’s forehead, his luck had indeed been terrible recently, or rather since he met Zhang San, nothing had gone right.

He thus accepted the wooden plaque, thanking the ironmonger over and over again before leaving.

The old ironmonger watched Fang Cunzai’s retreating figure and let out a wry laugh.

"That little wooden plaque has defensive properties, crafted out of Woodcraft Making. It can block thirty percent of attacks from the metal, water, and earth series, but it should not confront the Fire Series, especially the Earth Fire Forging Method fire attacks; otherwise, the damage could more than double."

After speaking, the old ironmonger suddenly felt a sense of longing for his apprentice Zhang San.

"The story he told about the donkey at home during the three-hall judgment seemed quite interesting..."

Obviously, Fang Cunzai had no idea that the old ironmonger was Zhang San’s teacher, and he thought he had encountered a good Samaritan.

Then, in urgent haste, he dashed straight back to Xiongfeng Manor.

The good news was that the mountain bandits and highwaymen had pretty much been eradicated by him, so it had been very peaceful lately.

The bad news, however, was that because it was so peaceful, he hadn’t come across a single place to punish evil, promote good, and have a meal along the way.

Even more so since he had taken the official road to get back quickly, he hadn’t even encountered a wild rabbit or boar.

The journey by horse that would otherwise take around four days, Fang Cunzai, in his mad dash, relying solely on his two legs, ran back to Xiongfeng Manor.

Upon arriving at the manor, Fang Cunzai went straight for the dining hall. Bursting in, he grabbed whatever looked edible and stuffed it into his mouth without hesitating.

After wolfing down several bites, under the astonished gaze of a cook, he picked up a big basin and guzzled down one-third of the soup within.

"How come this soup tastes like dishwater?"

The cook stepped back and cautiously said, "Is it possible that it actually is dishwater?"

Fang Cunzai felt a wave of nausea; the food he had just eaten came right back up.

Of course, it wasn’t just the disgust, but also because he had been too hasty eating.

After throwing up, Fang Cunzai took a moment to recover, and then a cook brought over some leftovers for him to have a bite.

The cooks had also heard that there had been many skilled fighters who had died on Chuan-Yu Road recently and that things had been quite chaotic. Many martial artists had gone out to suppress those martial path sects and aristocratic families causing trouble, without even time to eat.

However, just as Fang Cunzai was about to shove a piece of cake into his mouth and hadn’t yet managed to pick up some vegetables, he heard someone outside shouting loudly, "Principal Officer’s order, all idle martial artists, gather—"

Hearing that there was an issue, Fang Cunzai immediately rushed out.

The remaining martial artists in Xiongfeng Manor totaled no more than ten.

At that moment, Principal Officer Ximen approached. Fang Cunzai inquired from the person next to him and learned that this was Principal Officer Ximen who had come to look into the Bai Yucheng case.

Simultaneously, Deputy Officer Lu Qingquan also stepped forward.

Lu Qingquan loudly announced to all the martial artists present: "Town Martial Office martial artist Zhang San has requested leave and gone out. Principal Officer Ximen had lent him a precious horse, but just now, Principal Officer Ximen has lost sensation of the precious horse, and Zhang San’s whereabouts are unknown!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Cunzai felt secretly pleased.

I knew there was something off about that Zhang San, and look, now he’s already run off!

Thus, he immediately stepped forward, ready to capture the man.

Lu Qingquan noticed Fang Cunzai’s return and inwardly sensed trouble.

After all, it was he who had judged the Bai Yucheng case, and it was he who had convicted Bai Yucheng. If Fang Cunzai was kept around in Xiongfeng Manor, he would inevitably cause trouble for him.

Lu Qingquan continued, "Chuan-Yu Road has been rather tumultuous lately, and I have reason to suspect that Zhang San’s disappearance is due to other martial path forces trying to stir up trouble and secretly harm our Town Martial Office martial artists."

"Zhang San has just recently made a merit. If he is harmed by villains at this time, it will be a slap in the face for our Town Martial Office!"

"Now, we need to assign people to rescue Zhang San. Who will volunteer? Fang Cunzai, I saw you were eager to go just now. You’re one of them!"

Fang Cunzai was bewildered; wasn’t Zhang San to be dealt with for deserting? How did it turn into rescuing Zhang San? And with no idea where the man was, where was he to rescue him from?

But after all, it was an order from the Deputy Officer and with the Principal Officer present, Fang Cunzai had no way to refuse, so he could only nod in agreement.

"Don’t just nod your head, you should set out!"

Lu Qingquan couldn’t wait for Fang Cunzai to depart immediately.

And Principal Officer Ximen naturally couldn’t express his concern about Zhang San deserting and having everyone capture him, so instead he had to use the pretense of a rescue operation to have him brought back. Seeing a Military Chief prepared to act, he nodded slightly, feeling quite relieved.

Fang Cunzai said to Lu Qingquan with an embarrassed face, "Deputy Officer, may I have something to eat before I..."

"You’re a grown person; you won’t die from missing a meal, will you? The situation is urgent; you set out now!"