Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 451 - 425: The Last Hunt!

Chapter 451: Chapter 425: The Last Hunt!

"Holy crap!"

The cultivators chasing Zhang San from behind had just become excited about having him surrounded when they heard him start to spew obscenities.

"Zhang San, if you can’t win, you resort to running your mouth. Is this all you’re capable of?"

Zhang San glanced at the cultivator who had shouted and replied coldly, "Why don’t you take a look at what’s underneath you?"

"What’s underneath me? What the—?"

Just as the trash-talking cultivator thought Zhang San was referring to his private parts, the grass growing wildly from beneath his feet had already tightly entwined his lower body.

It wasn’t just him; several other nearby cultivators found their lower halves similarly ensnared.

The other cultivators, sensing trouble, immediately took to the air if they could fly.

Those who couldn’t fly swiftly retreated backward.

After all, in their pursuit of Zhang San, they didn’t know who had hired them or which organizations everyone came from. They simply shared a common goal: to kill Zhang San.

As for what to do if they couldn’t beat him? Run, of course!

And what about the so-called "teammates" who had just been fighting alongside them against Zhang San?

Who cares if they die? They’re no sons of mine!

So, those who couldn’t fly were already running away, while those who could were looking for opportunities.

Meanwhile, Zhang San watched the people trapped by his Wood Series Spell and sneered.

"Don’t even think about escaping. These plants of mine fear neither fire nor blade. Try anything you like, and if it works, I’ll consider it my loss!"

There were indeed some who wanted to unleash Fire Movement Techniques to burn away the encroaching plants, but upon hearing Zhang San’s words, they gave up the idea.

However, the loose-lipped one refused to give up and hacked at the plants at his legs, hoping to cut through them.

Splat—

With a swing of the blade, not only did the grass be cut, but other things got cut as well.

"Ah— Damn you, Zhang San! Didn’t you say your plants couldn’t be burnt by fire or cut by blade?"

Zhang San simply uttered an "Oh" and nodded, "Then consider it my loss, and you’ve won!"

Initially, when Zhang San had suddenly taken control of so many, everyone felt that the ground was unsafe.

But who would have thought that Zhang San was just bluffing?

As a result, those in the air continued the chase while those on the ground used their Fire Movement Techniques to try burning the plants off their bodies, and people who had noticed Zhang San starting to flee from a distance realized there was no danger and began to rush over again.

But that’s when someone discovered that for those burning the grass with their Fire Movement Techniques, the plants weren’t being burnt away at all. Instead, they seemed to stick to their bodies and, as they continued to be scorched by the fire, the flames erupted even more violently.

Zhang San had in fact been preparing some Wooden Plaque Amulets with defensive power, which were quite strong but only effective when activated with Qi, enhancing their defensive capabilities.

The sole side effect was that when set afire, they would intensify the might of the flames.

Although some fell for the ploy, other cultivators still continued their pursuit at unabated speed, determined to catch up with Zhang San and take him down.

At that moment, someone shouted, "If we keep chasing him forward, we’re likely to encounter the Frontier Army soon!"

"Right! This is our last chance! Brothers, charge!"

As Zhang San sprinted away, he began to prepare his next killer move.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from ahead.

"The Great Sui Border Army stands here! Who goes there!?"

Following the booming shout, the cultivators who had been pursuing Zhang San quickly turned and vanished from his sight.

Zhang San immediately called out to the soldiers ahead, "Don’t shoot... cough, cough... don’t release your arrows, I’m one of you! I am the Martial Chief Zhang San from the Town Martial Office on Chuan-Yu Road, ordered by Kaihuang to join the forces of Changsun Bubai in the Frontier Army. I was just being pursued by Demon Cult Followers."

Hearing he was one of their own, the soldiers quickly lowered their bows and arrows and hurried over to Zhang San.

"So it’s Martial Chief Zhang. Are you injured at all?"

Zhang San pretended to cough weakly and said, "No external injuries, but I’ve suffered serious internal harm. Do you have any healing medicine? Materials for Cultivation Pills will do as well."

"Uh... there’s some, but not much."

"No worries, I’m severely injured, so I should take some now."

The soldiers reluctantly took out some of the Cultivation Pills they carried and handed them over to Zhang San, who eagerly accepted them all.

"Thanks, everyone. How do I address you all?"

Zhang San quickly became friendly with the soldiers, learning they were on a routine patrol around the border.

Without probing further, he was simply curious whether they would have to spend the night in the wilderness as it was nearly dark.

Upon learning that spending the night outside was common for patrol teams like theirs, Zhang San felt at ease. He then joined them in finding a sheltered spot to bed down for the night.

Just before sleeping, Zhang San tied several withered leaves together and attached them to a nearby large tree.

A soldier beside him asked curiously, "Martial Chief Zhang, what’s this habit of yours?"

"I don’t sleep well; I always can’t fall asleep at night. So I got into the habit of tying a few leaves where I sleep, and that helps me sleep better."

The soldiers believed him and didn’t say much else.

After sunset, Hei, in the darkness of the night, watched from a distance as Zhang San tied a string of withered leaves on a tree and knew it was the signal Zhang San and he had agreed upon. He immediately took out the Signal Firework Zhang San had previously given him and ran seven miles to the west to launch it.

After firing it, Hei headed to a spot several miles north of where Zhang San was and rested, taking out the straw man Zhang San had asked him to prepare and placing it beside him to wait for Zhang San to find him the next day.

Recently, whenever Zhang San encountered an assassination attempt, he would tell Hei to run first, and then have Hei come find him after he had managed to evade the pursuers.

If there were other people around him at that time, he would then wait until after sunset to check for a signal on his side.

Although Hei did not understand Zhang San’s actions, he carried them out nonetheless since his master had ordered them.

Unbeknownst to them at the time, eight members of the Heavenly Punishment Sect had already seen the Signal Firework and quickly gathered before secretly advancing to a location seven miles east of where the firework had been launched.

Approaching dawn, the morning star in the east had already risen, and the land began to brighten with a faint light.

Several soldiers, wielding sharp blades, approached Zhang San from different directions and surrounded him.

Multiple blades targeted Zhang San’s throat, chest, and ribs, piercing almost simultaneously.

"Zhang San, don’t blame us! If you must blame someone, blame yourself for offending... ah?"

Being Frontier Army soldiers, these men weren’t strangers to killing.

There’s a clear difference between a blade piercing a human body and piercing a straw man, and they knew it.

At this moment, they all sensed something was wrong.

The feeling they got was that their blades had gone into a straw man.

There was no sensation of flesh gripping the blade or the thrilling feeling of penetration, just a hollow emptiness and confusion.

"What is this..."

As the soldiers stood there, bewildered, they suddenly heard a rustling noise around them.

Pfft—

Pfft—

The next instant, the sound of swords piercing flesh echoed around them.

The twenty soldiers who had been patrolling and had encountered Zhang San were being attacked by Cultivators.

They hadn’t even had time to realize what kind of enemy they were facing before half of them were dead.

By the time they realized, eight masked black-clad Cultivators had already begun a frenzied hunt for the remaining soldiers.

At that moment, a heart-wrenching shout came from the north.

"Ah—I said I didn’t need your protection, but you insisted! Now I’m saved, and you have died at the hands of the Demon Cult Followers! Ah—You were my saviors! I am the Military Chief of the Town Martial Office! I am Zhang San! Ah—"

Zhang San wailed hysterically, even going so far as to feign wiping away tears from his cheeks that never appeared.

Then Zhang San put away Feng Chengying, took a deep breath, looked at the concluded carnage in the small woods in the distance, and turned to leave.

But just two steps after turning, Hei, who was standing nearby with a puzzled look, saw his master turn back around.

Zhang San notched arrows to his bow and swiftly shot dozens of arrows towards the direction of the small woods.

While most of these arrows either broke large trees, exploded deep craters in the ground, or flew two to three miles away,

Zhang San put away his bow and arrows after doing this and mounted the Black Chi Horse, directing Hei to leave.

Hei couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, "Master, weren’t those soldiers the ones who previously saved you? Why did you kill them?"

"Don’t talk nonsense; they were killed by the thieves from the Heavenly Punishment Sect!"

"Master, aren’t you the leader of the thieves from the Heavenly Punishment Sect?"

"Don’t talk nonsense; if I were the leader of the thieves from the Heavenly Punishment Sect, would I have been chased all this way?"

"Aren’t those chasing us your enemies from the Capital?"

"Don’t talk nonsense; I, Zhang San, am so well-liked in the Capital, a favorite of Kaihuang, a foster son to the Empress, a chamber head’s sworn brother, a Town Martial Office official!"

Hei fell silent, realizing he would not receive any straight answers from Zhang San.

A moment later, Zhang San, watching Hei looking a bit downcast below, cracked a slight smile.

"Hei, remember, the place we are heading to is not only unfamiliar, but also a veritable Dragon Pool and Tiger’s Den. Do you know what that means?"

"I know Dragon Pool; my home is in Dragon Pool. Tiger’s Den sounds... like a curse word!"

Zhang San sighed helplessly and shook his head, "Nevermind, just keep quiet and listen to me. Being in the military camp is very dangerous, and it’s full of strangers. We don’t know who is a friend and who is a foe, so we must be cautious no matter who we face. From now on, pretend you are a horse and do not reveal your true identity to avoid any danger."

"And the twenty soldiers we encountered yesterday evening. Do you think the Cultivators from the Spiritual Platform Realm who would dare to hunt down a Military Chief of the Town Martial Office would be afraid of twenty Great Sui soldiers? If they were that law-abiding, I would have scared them off long ago!"

"So, it’s a trap. They knew they couldn’t successfully pursue me, so they arranged for the Frontier Army to ostensibly rescue me while secretly planning my demise."

"After all, if the Frontier Army kills me and I don’t fight back, I’m sure to die; if I do fight back, I’ll be charged with the crime of killing military personnel."

"Moreover, to believe I’m the Military Chief of the Town Martial Office from the Frontier Army just because I say so, without even glancing at the documents? They trusted me that easily? Hmph..."