Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 419 - 394: Full Moon on Mid-Autumn Festival, Rendezvous by the Well!

Chapter 419: Chapter 394: Full Moon on Mid-Autumn Festival, Rendezvous by the Well!

Mid-Autumn Festival, the breeze carrying the fragrance of osmanthus.

It was supposed to be a delightful night for moon viewing, but due to the recent Floating Corpse Case that had everyone in the Capital on edge, the rare occasion of Mid-Autumn moon watching became cautious and tentative for everyone.

After all, starting from three days ago, the number of patrolling soldiers in the Capital had more than doubled.

This was only what the ordinary citizens could see, and there were likely many more people watching from unseen corners.

The Zheng Family, the family head Zheng Fang, didn’t come out for dinner this evening and was drinking alone in his room.

He drank, not knowing what time it was, just feeling a heaviness in his chest, then he walked out of the room.

"Head of Zheng Family, where are you planning to go?"

Zheng Fang looked behind and saw a young and beautiful woman standing there, her face partially covered by a light gauze.

Her voice seemed familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it.

It seemed like a voice he had heard a long time ago.

"Annoying! Just going for a walk!"

The woman smiled gently and said, "But... the curfew is already in place. Head of Zheng Family, do you dare to go out?"

"Dare! What do I have to be afraid of? I... I... I... heh... I don’t have to go out, just walking around the yard will do... just walking around will do..."

Although Zheng Fang was uncomfortable staying indoors, he knew that it would be even more troublesome if he went out.

"Alright then, Head of Zheng Family, enjoy your walk."

As the woman spoke, she waved her hand, and a gust of wind lifted Zheng Fang off his feet; he felt light as a feather, and when he landed, he was right in front of his grandson, Zheng Poyue’s door.

Looking at the weapons rack in the courtyard, and then at the empty, dark room, Zheng Fang suddenly felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, his whole body weakened.

Today, on the auspicious fifteenth of August Mid-Autumn Festival, people from the Ministry of War had come early to take Zheng Poyue away, stating they were following the orders of Minister of War Wen Chudao, obeying the imperial edict from Kaihuang to have Zheng Poyue serve in the Northern Army.

It was originally agreed that they would take him away after the festival on the sixteenth of August, but Wen Chudao purposely chose to come a day earlier, clearly intentional.

At this moment, as Zheng Fang looked at his grandson’s room, tears unbidden streamed down his face.

Behind him, the beautiful woman’s voice resounded once again.

"I once advised you to take a bold stance, with the Liu Family Head fabricating the imperial edict, you could have become the Grand Sima, and the Liu Family Head the Minor Chancellor, letting Yang Jian be the Great Chancellor. Then, with the military power in your hands and Yang Jian merely holding an empty title, even if this world wasn’t yours, how could you end up today unable to protect your own grandson!?"

At that moment, Zheng Fang suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the woman in the light gauze face cover.

"I remember you, you are the Path of Calamity, the Upper Heaven Calamity, you... it was you who misled me and old Liu! If not for you, old Liu wouldn’t have died!"

The beautiful woman smiled enchantingly and spoke softly, "His death was due to his foolishness, I urged him to be bold when he feared Yang Jian. I advised him to lie low when he feared not Kaihuang. His rebellion failed, naturally his entire clan was exterminated. But you, Zheng Fang, are different, you, still have a chance."

As she spoke, her figure had moved behind Zheng Fang unnoticed, and she placed her slender hand on Zheng Fang’s shoulder, whispering in his ear, "The Taiping Jiugong Formation is soon to initiate, by then the Yuwen Imperial Clan will return, does your Zheng Family still need to worry about being oppressed?"

"Taiping Jiugong Formation..."

Zheng Fang couldn’t help but think of the recent Floating Corpse Case and the Imperial Palace being placed under martial law.

Could it be, the heavens are about to change again?

"I helped you once before, although you didn’t cherish the opportunity, I don’t blame you. What I am willing to offer you is the most supreme in this world. All you have to do is reach out your hand."

The next moment, Zheng Fang felt the surrounding scenery change, and when he focused his eyes, he realized he was standing right in the middle of the street in the Fang.

In the distance, a team of guards was running fast towards him, shouting, "Who goes there? Don’t you know it’s curfew?"

Zheng Fang thought of the tragic state of the Liu Family, and remembered the woman’s words from before; if he had listened to her completely, he wouldn’t be so easily manipulated by the Wen Family now.

"I am Zheng Fang, Head of the Zheng Family, a second-rank official, a Minister from the Dragon! You bark like dogs, what disturbance, move aside!"

With a shout from Zheng Fang, the patrolling troops dared not come closer, and could only stand on the wide roadside, watching him depart.

At that time, high upon the tall Fang wall, the veiled beautiful woman sat on the wall, swinging her jade feet, watching Zheng Fang’s retreating figure, and smiled softly.

"They say the human heart is grown from flesh, indeed, it is much easier to manipulate than a knot in elm wood. Hehe..."

At that moment, a young man with short hair, black on the left side and white on the right, beside the woman sarcastically said, "Bewitching hearts, isn’t that just what you from the Path of Calamity, Unchanging Human Heart, do best?"

The woman looked up, appearing pitifully at the young man beside her, with a very aggrieved tone said, "San Lang is so cruel, with a Little Fox Demon and a girl from the Ximen Family by your side, you turn so harsh on me. When you wanted my help, under the moonlight, it wasn’t like this you spoke."

Meanwhile, the two men-looking figures on the other side watched this scene, one of them stepped back half a step.

"Bloody Wind and Bloody Rain, what are you afraid of? You aren’t human, can the Unchanging Human Heart bewitch you as well?"

The one called Bloody Wind and Bloody Rain looked toward the person beside him and whispered, "Qianli Chidi, what do you know? Although we, as Calamities, have taken human form and can cultivate better, it also means we have acquired human weaknesses. You see Unchanging Human Heart as weak, but have you ever considered why she is an Upper Heaven Calamity?"

Qianli Chidi looked at the woman, who had her hand on San Lang’s thigh, and didn’t see how such a frail woman could pose any threat.

Moreover, while they were all Calamities, even though he was now a Lower Heaven Calamity, once there was a chance, it wasn’t impossible for him to rise to Mid Heaven Calamity, or even counterattack to become an Upper Heaven one.

At that moment, the young man known as San Lang didn’t even glance at the one who deliberately rubbed his "Unchanging Human Heart" below, but instead, he looked at another humanoid Calamity next to him.

"Today, I will activate the Taiping Jiugong Formation and resurrect Yuwen Ming. You’d better stay back, and don’t sacrifice yourselves just for a bit of Calamity Power," he said.

Qianli Chidi chuckled bitterly and said, "I was actually planning to head to the northern prairies to see for myself. I heard that a Drought Demon is about to be born there—it would be perfect for us to join forces. The Capital is just a place I’m passing through."

Bloody Wind and Bloody Rain seemed displeased, his face full of scars twisted grotesquely as he smiled.

"Human brat, I advise you to mind your own business! Don’t think I’m afraid of you just because you’re joining forces with ’Unchanging Human Heart’! When I was promoted to an Upper Heaven Calamity in Southern Chen, you had no idea where you were!" he exclaimed.

"Hmph!" the young man known as San Lang scoffed and retorted, "Then why have you now fallen to a Mid Heaven Calamity? Trash remains trash. Be careful. Vermilion Bird is also in the Capital. If it weren’t for her being slower than you back then, you might have become a Lower Heaven Calamity by now!"

Bloody Wind and Bloody Rain glared ferociously at the other, wanting to say something but after opening his mouth for a long time, he found that arguing was truly not as satisfying as a fight.

Regrettably, with ’Unchanging Human Heart’ here, he dared not be too presumptuous towards her ally.

San Lang looked at ’Unchanging Human Heart’ and whispered softly, "The promise of yore, when I fully reclaim this body, will certainly be fulfilled."

With that, the young man whose hair was black on the left and white on the right vanished into the night wind in a flash.

’Unchanging Human Heart’, watching the voice disappear into the wind, murmured to herself, "Zhang San, if there are two souls in one body, you might still have a chance to take control again, but with eight hundred souls within one body, can you... come back?"

The young man who dissipated into the wind was indeed Zhang San.

However, at this moment, Zhang San’s hair was black on the left and white on the right, and his pupils, fierce and full of War Intent, were filled with calmness and indifference, completely different from his usual demeanor.

Meanwhile, in the Daye Fang in the south of the city, near a Turbid Water Well, footsteps suddenly appeared.

Zheng Fang wasn’t sure what was happening, only feeling that the woman who had appeared next to him earlier seemed to be whispering in his ear all the time, leading him here unconsciously.

Looking at the well under the bright moonlight, Zheng Fang walked over and peered into it.

The water in all the wells of Daye Fang was clear and sweet, except this well’s water was very muddy from the day it was dug.

So, everyone abandoned this well, and even passing nearby was very rare.

At this moment, Zheng Fang glanced into it and saw the bright moon’s reflection in the water, casting a dazzling white brilliance.

That brilliance was bright and splendid. Even though it was just the reflection of the night sky’s moonlight, it was brighter than the moon itself.

Even more so, as Zheng Fang watched, he vaguely felt it was not just a moon but a giant eyeball that was continuously rotating, as if it were about to open at any moment.

While Zheng Fang was intently looking into the well, he did not notice that countless Runes were gathering around the well, eventually forming a densely packed Formation.

Just as the last Rune of the Formation was completed, a voice filled with etherealness came from inside the Turbid Water Well.

"The final Formation, will you come yourself?"

"Of course."

At this moment, a somewhat confused Zheng Fang, just lifting his head as a cold wind blew, heard the voice from the well as well as from behind him.

Before he could react to what was happening, Zhang San, who had appeared behind him at some unknown time, placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Decrees forged, usurpation of the throne, imperial chaos—all started because you, Zheng Fang, forcibly stamped the Jade Seal on that false imperial edict that should never have existed in this world. It began with you, so it shall end with you."

As the words fell, Zhang San gently pushed Zheng Fang towards the Turbid Water Well.

"Go! All entangled karma will be clarified tonight; all lineage between life and death will be severed by the Heavenly Dao!"

...

At the same time, Principal Officer Vermilion Bird of the Town Martial Office, also patrolling the city, happened to see a group of giggling patrol soldiers and scolded, "Patrolling during curfew and still making noise, do you know what you are doing?"

The other side, recognizing the Principal Officer of the Town Martial Office, immediately lowered their heads to admit their mistake.

The team leader stepped forth and said, "We’ve met the Principal Officer of the Town Martial Office. We... we just encountered Zheng Family Head Zheng Fang, but he, taking his position as a Minister from the Dragon, scolded us instead."

Vermilion Bird’s brow furrowed. There was a citywide curfew; how could Zheng Fang still dare to be outside?

"Then what is there to laugh about?"

"We on patrol naturally wouldn’t dare provoke Zheng Fang, but we thought that with the increased patrol forces, he would surely encounter someone who could deal with him," they replied.

Vermilion Bird snorted coldly and asked, "Which way did Zheng Fang go?"

"South! Just keep going straight to that intersection and head south," they answered.

Vermilion Bird nodded slightly and turned back, instructing the Town Martial Office people to continue patrolling their original routes, while he himself went to check.

Seeing that Vermilion Bird had left, the patrol team leader turned back and smirked proudly at his subordinates. After bidding farewell to the Town Martial Office personnel, they returned to their original patrol path.

"Team leader, it had to be you! Knowing we can’t handle Zheng Fang, you deliberately waited on the Town Martial Office’s patrol path for them to handle it," they said.

"Don’t speak nonsense, it was just coincidental. Zheng Fang is clueless; he should have just accepted a few Gold Leaves quietly. Even lords must be sensible in these times!"