Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 162 - 158: The Cipher

Chapter 162: Chapter 158: The Cipher

Qianlie County, the closest county to Xiongfeng Manor.

Years ago, two Martial Path Sects fought here, reducing the small village to ashes. The Town Martial Office rebuilt the village to set an example, and knowing it was under the protection of the Town Martial Office, people felt much safer, and the place eventually developed into a small county town.

Recently, Zhang San often brought Deputy Officer Lu here for inspections and offered valuable guidance and financial support to many taverns regarding their management.

Therefore, Zhang San was particularly familiar with the terrain of Qianlie County.

Soon, Zhang San arrived at a grain store, with three large characters written above it—Conscience Grain Shop.

The shop assistant saw that a customer had arrived early in the morning and quickly came over to greet them enthusiastically. He asked with a smile, "What can I do for you, sir? Rest assured, our grain store never cheats with the scales. If we did, the County Magistrate would fine us 300,000 wen money!"

Zhang San walked into the grain store with a smile, looked around, and asked, "Your grain is indeed not expensive, but could you give me a discount if I buy it for foreign guests?"

The assistant’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"There’s no such thing as foreign guests or not; we’re all people of the Han family."

Once Zhang San heard this, he knew it was a match, and he continued to follow up.

"One foreign guest is accompanied by three companions."

"At least 30,000 a month."

"What kind of goods would you like, sir?"

"Fire Dragon burnt Nine Taels of flour."

Upon hearing this last phrase, the assistant knew who the man was looking for.

Although he was a stranger, the set of secret codes initially only verified if someone was one of their own. What came after the assistant’s question, "What kind of goods would you like, sir?" was what specifically they were seeking.

If someone could respond correctly to both parts, it was clear they were one of their own.

Quickly, the assistant took out a small cloth bag containing Nine Taels of roasted flour and handed it to Zhang San.

Zhang San soon found a middle-aged Taoist peddling his wares in a small alleyway.

The Taoist had a pair of whiskers and looked very shrewd.

Approaching, Zhang San placed the cloth bag before the Taoist.

The Taoist weighed the cloth bag and then slowly opened it, glanced inside, and asked softly, "What are you?"

Zhang San’s mouth twitched slightly. Are all conversations in our Heavenly Punishment Sect, no, in our Heavenly Punishment Sect, this hard-core?

"I know of four fat sheep who were captured, and I have a method to rescue them."

The Taoist smiled and asked, "Helping others is a joy, but does it come without a price?"

"I heard you have a door that welcomes friends from all walks of life. So, I’d like to try going through that door as well."

The Taoist’s expression turned serious upon hearing this.

After all, although the Heavenly Punishment Sect hoped to grow in strength, not just anyone was welcome.

"May I inquire about your connections?"

Zhang San knew that the other party wanted to probe his background, so he replied directly, "I am Zhang San, a martial artist from the Town Martial Office, starting from the Ninth Grade as a Deputy Military Attache..."

Afterward, Zhang San whispered his recent experiences to the Taoist.

Meanwhile, the Taoist performed a spell with his left hand to apply the Mind-reading Technique on Zhang San and calculated rapidly with his right hand.

Calculation did not mean going through all the details of an event’s cause and effect. If one were to do that, not just people, but even if a formation were to cram in a bunch of special brains, they could not finish calculating.

But if one calculated certain key points based on what the other party said, and occasionally some minor details, the truth could be discerned.

Indeed, he had drunk with Lu Qingquan; he wasn’t lying!

Indeed, they both paid that day; he wasn’t lying!

Han Baiwen really did reveal information about me to him; he wasn’t lying!

Upon seeing that the other party was a martial artist from the Town Martial Office, and that he wanted to join the Heavenly Punishment Sect due to the injustices suffered within the Office, even willing to help rescue Han Baiwen and the other three, the Taoist’s heart surged with joy.

"Within seven days, I will arrange for a grand celebration at Xiongfeng Manor, inviting everyone to drink," he said. "That very night, I will set Han Baiwen and the others free. You must be sure to have someone ready to meet them, and make sure no one from the Town Martial Office discovers this, understand?"

The Taoist nodded, then took out a very small abacus and handed it to Zhang San.

"You can tell others that this magical treasure is used to eliminate disasters and solve difficulties. In actuality, if you place it alongside a mirror and fiddle with the beads to form this series of numbers, you’ll be able to contact me."

Zhang San looked at the small abacus in his hands, profoundly shocked.

Although he knew that in a fantasy world there must be some methods of long-distance communication, wasn’t this cell phone a bit too abstract?

"Also, a very important point. I have not been well-regarded in the Town Martial Office recently. When you come to rescue them, you can, but you must not kill anyone. Otherwise, if I’m held responsible for arranging the drinking party and then people escape, and if someone dies, I would have no way of clearing my name."

The Taoist nodded earnestly.

"Rest assured, Mr. Zhang San. Although my Heavenly Punishment Sect is at odds with the Town Martial Office, over the years, we have come to admire certain people within the Office. We naturally won’t act rashly," the Taoist responded.

With that, Zhang San felt relieved and took the abacus and nine taels of cooked flour to return home.

Upon returning to his own courtyard, he saw Wang Ziteng running towards him, his face alight with excitement.

His expression resembled that of someone who had just inherited the entire fortune of the Wang family’s patriarch because the old man was no longer capable.

"Great news! Big Head Wang has awakened!"

Zhang San had initially wanted to tease Wang Ziteng, but upon hearing that Big Head Wang had woken up, he immediately rushed into his own room.

Indeed, at that moment, Big Head Wang had been propped up by his maids.

They had propped up his entire body.

Zhang San immediately came over, looking at Big Head Wang with joy and asked with a smile, "How are you? You’ve been lying down for nearly half a month, haven’t you? Feeling any better now?"

Big Head Wang saw that it was Zhang San and nodded with an honest smile.

"Much better. Speaking of which, I seemed to have had a dream..."

When he heard the word "dream," Zhang San motioned to the maids in the middle of the room to leave.

In the room, only Zhang San, Wang Ziteng, and Big Head Wang remained.

"What dream?"

"I think I dreamed of my mother. She came to see me, and then I got better."

Wang Ziteng, standing to the side, was taken aback and asked, "Didn’t your mother pass away when you were very young?"

Big Head Wang nodded.

Zhang San grinned and said, "Then according to this, you’re not getting better; you were supposed to be taken away by your mother! Wait a minute! Your mother didn’t become an immortal after she died, did she?"

Big Head Wang shook his head with a wry smile.

"My mother was just an ordinary woman from the countryside; how could she possibly have become an immortal after death? I can’t even clearly remember what my mother looked like. It just felt like it might have been my mother."

Zhang San patted Big Head Wang on the shoulder.

"You should rest well for now, especially since your injuries were quite serious."

"I’m fine! I’m completely healed!"

As Big Head Wang spoke, he immediately started to show off his muscles on the spot and even unwrapped the bandages on his head.

Wang Ziteng also told Zhang San, "I’ve had a physician look at him. Big Head Wang’s injuries are indeed all healed, particularly his head. Previously, the damage was very severe, but now it’s completely fine, not a single issue."

Zhang San couldn’t understand.

But after all, he was not versed in medicine; perhaps the world’s medical techniques were just that miraculous.

After all, even an abacus could be used as a cell phone.

"Since Big Head Wang has survived a great disaster, I think we should celebrate properly. The three of us have faced a battle between life and death in the Ghost Domain and can be considered companions through hardship. How about we arrange a celebration and have everyone at Xiongfeng Manor join in?"