Hunting Assassins

Just like physical strength, Demon Power slowly recovers with eating and resting. Zhang Xuezhou flew back to Hibiscus City from high above in broad daylight.

Once his Demon Power was fully restored by nightfall, he traversed the night sky.

The darkness provided cover, and also allowed Zhang Xuezhou to be bolder in his leaps.

After traversing through the darkness, Zhang Xuezhou finally saw Fuping County, where only a sliver of light remained in the night.

As he retracted his winged Demon Power, he swiftly leaped down and rushed into the familiar street.

After walking less than a hundred meters along the street, Zhang Xuezhou had already found the inn where everyone was staying.

The inn's main door was still open. Zhang Xuezhou lifted the heavy curtain and slipped inside, where he saw Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Cigong, and others eating and warming themselves by a fire at a small table.

"You're back?"

Dong Zhongshu was somewhat surprised to see Zhang Xuezhou enter the guesthouse.

Although they were colleagues, Zhang Xuezhou's goals were completely different from Dong Zhongshu's.

Zhang Xuezhou bears no responsibility whatsoever for his efforts in saving Zhao Liang's life.

Upon hearing Zhao Liang mention that Zhang Xuezhou had come looking for him after regaining consciousness, and that Dong Zhongshu hadn't seen Zhang Xuezhou all day, Dong Zhongshu became very certain that Zhang Xuezhou had run away after regaining consciousness.

But Dong Zhongshu did not expect that Zhang Xuezhou would return after fleeing.

"Look at what you're saying! Our young master's injuries haven't even healed yet, how could I possibly run away!"

Zhang Xuezhou responded and then sat down next to the group.

"Your mouth is all greasy, you must have eaten a lot of pork today," Dong Zhongshu said.

"You have a sharp eye; you even guessed what I ate. How's the matter of pulling strings going? Have you made contact with General Li yet?"

Before Dong Zhongshu could continue asking questions, Zhang Xuezhou took the initiative and asked a couple of questions, which made Dong Zhongshu look worried, and Zhao Liang lower his head.

"Those soldiers are ruthless at taking advantage of us," Zhang Cigong said helplessly. "We spent the money, but didn't get anything done!"

"We just don't have enough money!"

Dong Zhongshu waved his hand.

With enough money and force, bribing connections to get a meeting with Li Guang from afar is not difficult.

The real problem was that they had traveled thousands of miles from Shu County to Fuping County, only to encounter the Beast Taming Sect along the way, losing most of their wealth and leaving them short of funds.

Their current finances are insufficient to sustain their extravagant spending on cultivating relationships. If they were to spend even a little more, they might not even have enough money to support Zhao Liang and the others' return to Shu County, let alone enough to cover their lodgings in Fuping County.

"We don't even have enough money?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"I should have brought a few dozen more strings and half a tael of cash," Zhao Liang said regretfully.

"Bringing more won't help. If we run into that blind Su Fang, no matter how much we bring, it won't be enough to prevent him from losing us," Dong Zhongshu said, waving his hand.

"Ha... Master Dong, what do you think I mean by this?"

"I remember you still have a few strings of cash?" Dong Zhongshu asked.

"I depend on this money to buy medicine to survive. How much do I need?"

Zhang Xuezhou muttered something, but he agreed to the matter fairly quickly.

"I will never forget your kindness in saving my life. As long as I can return to Shu County, I promise to repay the money I borrowed today tenfold in the future," Zhao Liang promised.

"Then you'll have to borrow more!"

Lending carries high risk, but the potential returns are enormous.

Zhang Xuezhou ultimately made a high-risk investment, lending out the four strings of cash he had stored in his purse.

"Young Master, you must get well soon," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"I have been sincerely praying to our ancestors for peace and hope that this trip will end smoothly," Zhao Liang said in a low voice.

"This trip will surely go smoothly. I spent money to find a supervisor today. If he hadn't asked for too much, and we hadn't been unable to reach an agreement, this matter would at least have made some progress today," Dong Zhongshu said.

"That supervisor is exorbitant with his money! How can he keep asking for so much money, one string at a time? He can buy several pigs just by asking for a favor!" Zhang Cigong said indignantly. "I used to think our Northern Border was the best, and the Flying Feather Army was the best army in the world!"

"Indeed ruthless and vicious," Dong Zhongshu nodded. "That's just how it is—easier to avoid the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. There's no way around it!"

"Will our four strings of cash be enough?" Zhang Bayang asked worriedly.

"We should have enough money, no matter what, as long as we can..."

Just as Dong Zhongshu was ensuring that everyone's confidence was boosted, a footstep was heard, and a military general wearing a large crown and armor entered through the doorway.

"It's them! These people tried to bribe their way to the governor; they're probably spies from the Xiong State!"

As the military officer glanced at the crowd, an elderly man dressed as a scholar behind him shouted, then shrank back behind the officer as he entered.

As the two entered the guesthouse, a row of soldiers carrying knives, swords, and bows followed them in.

"We are law-abiding citizens!"

Upon seeing the heavy sword in the general's hand, Dong Zhongshu couldn't help but feel a slight chill run down his spine.

In martial arts sparring, most swords used by practitioners are light swords, which allows them to fully utilize their sword skills.

However, in the military camp, those skilled in heavy swords, heavy sabers, and heavy bows are the better choice. Such warriors may not have refined skills, but they can kill enemies with wide-ranging and powerful attacks on the battlefield, and even sweep away a large group of enemies.

If the other side were to attack forcefully, Dong Zhongshu had no doubt that several of them would die in a single exchange.

"I just came in to warm myself by the fire. You can talk things over slowly," Zhang Xuezhou said awkwardly as he stood up. "Look, I didn't even take any chopsticks, and there's no bowl for me on the table. I'm not with them!"

"If you're not part of this group, get out of here!" the scholar behind the military general shouted. "Flying Feather Army is here to apprehend assassins! This place is dangerous!"

"Gentlemen, we simply wish to meet Prefect Li Guang," Dong Zhongshu said. "Our young master is gravely ill, and we've heard that only Prefect Li's medical skills can cure him!"

Zhang Xuezhou slipped away as soon as possible, leaving behind someone to work as a teammate.

Dong Zhongshu took a deep breath and began to state his needs directly.

Looking at General Bo Dang, he felt that today's events would be difficult to resolve.

There was a reason why Wang Yanchong, the supervisor of the gate, accepted such a large sum of money. The other party clearly mistook them for spies sent by the Xiong State to assassinate them and wanted to take them as military merit.

With such people pushing things from behind, General Bo Dang is unlikely to listen to their explanations and is more likely to become a weapon.

"Enough talk, let's talk in jail," Bo Dang said, raising his sword. "Or you can taste my sword!"

"Lord Bodang, we are a merchant group from Shu Commandery, and we carry the insignia of Prefect Wen..."

"Men, tie them up!"

Seeing that the crowd only offered explanations and did not resist, Bertan called for soldiers from the rear to capture the man.

The group was suddenly shackled and put in chains. When Bo Dang took a whip and led them out of the shop, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but gasp.

"They're all wiped out already? My high-risk investment isn't going to go down this fast, is it?"

The cold night wind howled, and as he listened to the crowd being whipped and driven away, Zhang Xuezhou glanced again at the innkeeper, who was hiding in a corner of the inn, too afraid to make a sound.

"Don't spread rumors. We just had a little misunderstanding with the Flying Feather Army. We'll explain it all away in prison. We'll keep our room; we'll come back to stay in it in a couple of days!"

Zhang Xuezhou warned the shop owner before sneaking out in the dark to follow him.