"Sorry." Half a quarter of an hour later, Qin Feng knelt on the ground, sincerely repenting, "I spoke arrogantly earlier. I humbly ask the senior to forgive my offense and spare us."
Qin Feng was defeated swiftly. Surrounded and beaten by more than a dozen Mighty Vajras, he was quickly overwhelmed and ended up with a swollen face like a pig's head.
His blade techniques, when slashing at the Mighty Vajras, were ineffective. A few punches from the Mighty Vajras, and he couldn't withstand it.
He didn't even manage to exchange a few moves before he was laid flat.
Initially, Qin Feng hoped his three good brothers would help him, but when he sneaked a glance upward, he found them hanging from a tree!
Qin Feng had never encountered such powerful straw men before, so he immediately surrendered, obediently lying on the ground and begging for mercy.
He knelt without any psychological burden, knowing he would forget everything once he descended the mountain!
"Weren't you quite arrogant just now? Looking down on our Agricultural Affairs Bureau?" Zhao Xing asked indifferently.
"Senior, it was my ignorance and careless words. I was the ridiculous one. Senior, please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me," Qin Feng pleaded repeatedly.
"Indeed, the position of Agricultural Affairs benefits the people, contending with the heavens for the people. We hold great respect in our hearts."
"Senior, he was just confused earlier. Please don't hold it against him."
"That lingzhi should belong to a virtuous person like Senior!"
The other three, who were hanging, were also beaten into submission.
They hadn't even seen Zhao Xing, yet they were dealt with by a few straw men. How could they not submit?
As for calling him senior, they did so without any psychological burden.
The Agricultural Affairs Bureau didn't have much combat power. To be able to use straw men to knock them down, how strong must he be? He must be an old official who had cultivated for many years.
"Releasing you is possible. Do you have money?"
"Put all your valuables on the ground, and then you can leave."
Zhao Xing was too lazy to entangle with these people. Once they descended the mountain, they would remember nothing, so there was no need to worry about revenge.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Qin Feng immediately got up and emptied his belongings. There was no silver, but there were several second-level talismans and a box of second-level pills.
The other three were about the same.
Zhao Xing instructed the straw men to take the items away, and then he saw Qin Feng starting to remove his soft armor. He immediately said, "A few paupers... I don't want the knives and soft armor. Get lost."
The standard weapons and armor of the Lake City Martial Division had marks on them. They couldn't be sold, and taking them back to melt down for materials would not only reduce the price significantly but also be troublesome.
"Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Senior!" Qin Feng and the others expressed their gratitude profusely and quickly left.
Fang Jie and Zhou Gang, witnessing such a turn of events, suddenly felt a twist of fate.
They were about to be harmed by these scoundrels, but unexpectedly, a master appeared and saved them.
"Zhou Gang, a guard of the Lake City Martial Division, thanks Senior for the assistance." Zhou Gang cupped his hands towards the surroundings.
"Fang Jie, a guard of the Lake City Martial Division, thanks Senior for the assistance." Fang Jie also cupped his hands.
Several Mighty Vajras surrounded them, and a voice followed the wind: "Don't just say thank you. Take out anything valuable."
Since Zhao Xing had intervened, there was no reason to let them go empty-handed.
Regardless of whether they were good or bad, righteous or evil, anyone passing by Zhao Xing had to leave something behind.
"This..." Fang Jie and Zhou Gang were taken aback.
"What, are your lives not worth more than those external possessions?"
"No, no, Senior misunderstood." Zhou Gang smiled bitterly as he took out a box of pills and talisman paper from his bosom, saying, "We guards are quite poor, without much money. These items may not be enough to repay Senior's life-saving grace."
"Heh." Zhao Xing looked at the two and couldn't help but laugh at their poverty.
Together, they had only four pills for restoring vital Qi and two first-level Swift Talisman for saving effort on the road, which weren't worth much.
The valuable items were the weapons and armor, but Zhao Xing couldn't take those.
He had no intention of squeezing a few paupers further and was about to leave.
Unexpectedly, Fang Jie, hearing the cold laugh, thought the senior was displeased and immediately said, "We might have another way to repay Senior."
"Oh?"
Zhao Xing stopped, wanting to hear what they had to say.
Fang Jie and Zhou Gang exchanged a glance and immediately said, "Earlier, we passed by a cave where there is a spiritual essence. I remember the location and can lead Senior there."
"Is this spiritual essence difficult to obtain?"
Zhou Gang said, "To be honest, Senior, the cave is a beast's lair. We knew we couldn't defeat it, so we left, planning to return after gaining more strength."
Zhao Xing asked, "Do you know what kind of beast it is?"
Fang Jie, somewhat embarrassed, said, "Our strength is low, and the beast's roar was terrifying, so we didn't go in to check."
Zhao Xing was silent. Zhou Gang and Fang Jie were at the Gathered Essence Fifth Level and Sixth Level, respectively. To scare them, how fierce must the beast be?
"At least beyond Gathered Essence Eighth Level, possibly even Gathered Essence Ninth Level."
"But if I fear this and that, I might as well not climb this mountain."
"With straw men scouting ahead, there's no harm in taking a look." After some consideration, he made a decision.
"Being a good person has its benefits," Zhao Xing chuckled softly. "Saving your lives was just a convenient act. If I truly obtain the spiritual essence in that cave, I certainly won't treat you unfairly."
"But let me be clear, if you two don't lead me there, that's fine. But if you harbor any other thoughts or conceal anything, don't blame me for turning a good thing into a bad one."
Zhou Gang and Fang Jie felt a chill in their hearts: "We dare not deceive."
"Lead the way."
Zhao Xing sat steadily on a rattan chair, two miles away, with Zhou Gang and Fang Jie leading the way with the straw men.
He only trusted three parts of anything. Even if Zhou Gang and Fang Jie swore, he never fully believed them, let alone approached or revealed himself.
After walking for about three quarters of an hour, the mountain path became increasingly steep, and the surrounding forest was dense, almost requiring a path to be cut with a knife.
Just as Zhao Xing was losing patience, Zhou Gang whispered to the straw men ahead, "Senior, it's just ahead."
Fang Jie parted a leaf, and through the scouting straw men, Zhao Xing saw that there was indeed a cave ahead.
"Senior, our hearts are racing. We can already sense the spiritual essence. Can Senior sense it?" Zhou Gang asked cautiously.
"Yes, you didn't deceive me." Zhao Xing naturally sensed it too. Even though he was farther away than Zhou Gang and Fang Jie, his strength was greater, and his perception was sharper.
"Senior, we don't expect any reward. If we can repay Senior's life-saving grace, it would be a blessing." Zhou Gang said.
He meant that he didn't want to stay here any longer.
Zhao Xing understood: "You two don't need to worry. I keep my word. Since we've reached the place, I have some healing ointment here. Find a secluded spot to heal first."
Hearing this, Zhou Gang and Fang Jie realized that the mysterious person wouldn't let them go, fearing they might leak the information. They had no choice but to agree. Fortunately, the mysterious person didn't make things difficult for them and even sent straw men with ointment, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.
For now, it seemed this senior wasn't the type to turn hostile.
Assigning two straw men to watch over Zhou Gang and Fang Jie, Zhao Xing himself circled to the opposite side of the cave entrance to observe.
"Thump thump~ thump thump~" The closer he got, the faster his heartbeat. Zhao Xing understood that inside was at least a mid-grade spiritual essence, possibly even stronger than a Pure Yuan Vermilion Fruit!
"Let's send a scouting straw man over to take a look."