Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 83: The Knight Intercepts (Two more updates in congratulations to League Master An Lang 11)

“Divine Doctor?” The constable and the riff-raff were taken aback upon hearing the words.

However, it was the Hanging Knife Constable, truly a man of ruthless dispositions, who snorted coldly, “Who doesn’t know how to boast? If you’re so capable, show your true identity!”

“Bah, you thing no better than a dog,” Lang Zhen spit disdainfully, “If it weren’t for my master not wanting to attract attention, killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant.”

“Master?” The constable holding the iron ruler was shocked, “Brother Wolf… he’s actually your master?”

In this plane of existence, there were various master-servant relationships, and even simple employment could also be referred to as such.

But who was Lang Zhen? He was the famously audacious Lone Wolf, with extraordinary bravery, meticulousness, and exceptional martial prowess. The character “Lone” in his name implied not only his willingness to face battles alone but also his pride and disdain for associating with ordinary people.

Such a man had acknowledged this young person as his master, and upon hearing this, a chill ran through everyone present over and over again.

Lang Zhen couldn’t be bothered with them, and with a swift movement, he leapt onto the carriage. Feng Jun, seeing this, also stepped forward and boarded.

Watching the two leave proudly made the Hanging Knife Constable’s face change colors several times, but ultimately he dared not follow.

His face turned livid, he turned to look at his comrades and stamped his foot hard, “Useless, all a bunch of useless fools!”

The other idlers didn’t dare to make a sound, but Feng Laoliu couldn’t hold back. Both of them followed Lord Yun and were roughly equal in status. He snorted coldly with disdain, “Zhao Lao San, if you aren’t useless, then take action.”

“Laoliu, I’ve tolerated you for a long time,” Zhao San watched him with a cold smile, “If it wasn’t for you losing your composure from the start, calling him Brother Wolf, would we have ended up so passive? I will certainly report this to Lord Yun.”

“As you please,” Feng Laoliu replied with an indifferent smile, “It’s your right to report to Lord Yun with your tail between your legs. I only have one piece of advice for you: when you’re out in this world, make sure your stance is clear… Do you really think that you’re entitled to trample upon the name of the famous Lone Wolf?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao San let out another cold laugh, “He’s just a cripple. I marvel at the courage you have, daring to be out and about.”

“Yes, he is a cripple,” Feng Laoliu replied impassively, “then why don’t you chase him down and take care of him?”

Of course, Zhao Lao San didn’t dare to pursue. Although he looked down on Lang Zhen, even a disabled Lone Wolf was not someone he could afford to provoke, especially after the other party had shown a clear intent to kill.

So he just snorted coldly, “I will certainly tell Lord Yun about this incident. Feng Liu, this deal today cost our Hall of Heroes at least ten silver yuan. I’d like to see how you explain this to Lord Yun…”

Leaving their bickering aside, Lang Zhen drove the carriage carrying Feng Jun, and asked about the events that had just transpired.

After Feng Jun finished explaining, Lang Zhen snorted in disdain, “These city rats, still as unprogressive as ever.”

It turned out that the gang of idlers who had targeted Feng Jun had a scheme— they were targeting newcomers to Xiyin City.

By revealing himself as a foreigner and appearing highly vigilant, Feng Jun allowed them to conclude he was new to Xiyin City.

While it’s necessary to be cautious when abroad, that very cautiousness can also leak a lot of information.

Just as Feng Jun had thought, these people tried to gauge his limits by pushing their luck little by little.

If he couldn’t handle the situation well, he could potentially lose both his horse and carriage.

As for the constables who appeared later, that was still part of the routine.

Feng Jun’s vigilance was too strong, and the two fake constables showed up intending to seize an opportune moment to act.

“Foreigners are cheap, but their belongings are precious.” This saying couldn’t be more true.

According to Lang Zhen, this phenomenon had a long history in the area, and he had heard about it when he used to escort valuables.

Of course, he also apologized for his oversight, “This doesn’t happen often. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, and I’ve forgotten that things like this occur. My apologies to you.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Feng Jun waved a hand dismissively. Big cities aren’t very friendly to outsiders, and it’s pretty much the same in the Earth Realm.

Why do I feel like it’s as chaotic as a train station on Earth?

After this incident, Lang Zhen was on his guard, bringing forth the vigilant mindset he had during his escort days.

He hired a couple of teens from a nearby village to help with communication.

By the next noon, the teens had brought Lang Zhen’s friend over.

The man was a lean old man with the countenance of a sneaky rat, quick and sly. His shifting eyes made it so that he hardly needed makeup to play a villain.

This man was a master forger from Xiyin City. Despite his unsavory appearance, he was truly an honest man at heart. He had once received a favor from Lone Wolf and this time, he didn’t even plan on charging a fee.

After memorizing Feng Jun’s appearance, he intended to return to the city to create a fake identity. When he left, he cautioned carefully, “Brother Wolf, Xiao Yun isn’t what he used to be. You two better hide yourselves well. That guy won’t leave things as they are after losing face.”

Lang Zhen, upon hearing this, snorted in disdain, “In crowded places, we might be at some disadvantage, but out here in the wilderness… heh, let’s see if he has more men or if my blade is faster!”

The place they now found themselves in was a wilderness, over twenty li from Xiyin City, next to a river where lush grass and trees made it not difficult to hide.

The following afternoon, the old man came again, bringing with him the fake identity documents he had prepared. He claimed that, as long as Feng Jun did not actively cause trouble, no one would notice anything amiss.

Accompanying the old man were two tutors, who had come to help him identify seal script characters.

To cover up the Tai Chi Exhale Technique, Feng Jun had brought forth fifty seal script characters for consultation, some of which were not from the breathing technique but were knowledge he had accumulated on Earth Realm.

The two tutors were also puzzled, wondering why choose such a desolate riverside where no birds would even defecate?

Wouldn’t finding a fixed abode around Xiyin City, without entering it, not be too difficult?

But how to put it? Since the other party was willing to pay a high price for literacy, they couldn’t be bothered to meddle any further—they were teaching writing, not killing methods, after all.

Feng Jun spent two days and thoroughly mastered these fifty characters, not only memorizing them but also learning a lot about their various underlying implications.

After learning, there was nothing more of much attachment in Xiyin City for them, so they thought about leaving for Zhige County.

However, not even ten li from leaving the riverbank, two knights appeared ahead, standing alone in the middle of the path.

“Damn… they’re aimed at us,” Lang Zhen cursed under his breath, fiddling with the sleeve arrow in his pouch, “Once we get settled in Zhige, I’m going to take the Meridian Opening Pill.”

But not much farther, he suddenly widened his eyes, leapt down from the carriage, hurried over, and shouted, “Is it the Deng Family Brothers? Where is Brother Deng?”

The two blocking the road were brothers, the sons of DengYifu, the deputy head of the powerful Escort Bureau, both around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Lang Zhen had a good relationship with Brother Deng during his days at the escort bureau, and he was considered one of Brother Deng’s men.

Because he often visited Elder Deng’s house, he knew the brothers’ temperaments inside and out.

“Brother Wolf, there’s no need to speak of ‘head’ anymore,” spoke one of the young men, who appeared to be the older Deng brother.

Eldest Brother Deng’s face was full of bitterness, “My father is no longer with the escort bureau; he retired due to injury three years ago.”

“That’s too bad,” Lang Zhen sighed, truly regretting it, but then he quickly changed the subject, “But from what I know, not many withdraw from that line of work normally… In any case, in my heart, he is always Brother Deng.”

Upon hearing this, Deng Lao Er snorted angrily, “The truth is, my father was plotted against by someone with the surname Yun.”

“Oh?” Lang Zhen’s eyebrows lifted as he angrily demanded, “Could it be that kid who set up the Hall of Heroes?”

“Who else could it be?” Deng Lao Er replied resentfully, “Had we known he was socrafty back then, we should have dealt with him.”

Lang Zhen slapped his one arm across his chest, “If you brothers decide to act against him, count me in!”

“Forget it, the Hall of Heroes now wields great power, and my father has left the Escort Agency,” Eldest Brother Deng sighed deeply, “We heard that Yun has been inquiring about you everywhere recently, so we came to find you. Brother Wolf, you should be careful.”

Lang Zhen sneered in disdain, “He’s welcome to find trouble with me. If it were in the city, that would be one thing, but out here in the wilderness, if he dares to come after me… The one who will regret it certainly won’t be me.”

“We’ve heard too,” Eldest Brother Deng nodded, casting a thoughtful glance at Feng Jun, “We heard that Brother Wolf you’ve attached yourself to some influential figure. Is that so?”

“Yes,” Lang Zhen nodded, answering proudly, “Otherwise, why would I come out of retirement?”

The Deng Family Brothers exchanged glances and then Eldest Brother Deng spoke, “Brother Wolf, since our father left the Escort Bureau, we brothers don’t have much to do… Could you trouble yourself to take us under your wing? Even a little payment would do.”

Lang Zhen looked at Feng Jun for help. He really wanted to aid the Deng Family Brothers, but obviously, this was not a decision he could make by himself.

Feng Jun could sense his intent but still had to ask aloud, “Old Lang, are these two brothers reliable?”

“I watched them grow up,” Lang Zhen replied without hesitation, “Brother Deng was good at raising his sons, and their talent for cultivation isn’t bad either. It’d be a waste if they just stayed at home doing nothing.”

After thinking it over, Feng Jun knew if he wanted to develop in this place, relying solely on Lang Zhen would clearly be insufficient. If the brothers were trustworthy enough, having them nearby wouldn’t be a bad idea.

So he nodded slightly, “Eight silver yuans a month. If you perform well, there might be a raise.”

Upon hearing this, the Deng Family Brothers exchanged a glance and simultaneously dismounted, bowing to Feng Jun, “Thank you for offering us shelter, we will not disappoint you.”

For martial artists, eight silver yuans was indeed a lot. Even working the perilous jobs in the Escort Agency paid only three silver yuans a month, and with additional earnings from escort assignments, reaching six or seven was already quite impressive.

Especially considering that Deng Yifu had already retired from the Escort Bureau, it wasn’t appropriate for them to look for livelihood there, and they were truly idle at the moment.

Besides, they were at the age where they needed to hone their skills, and staying idle at home would only waste their potential.

(Second update for 2018, celebrating the chief title for An Langll.)