bestfiction Chapter 95 "Strategic Deception"
Chapter 95 "Strategic Deception"
A large group of people entered the mine. Zhong Ming squinted and quietly observed for a while. The carriages behind them were loaded with a lot of goods, which meant that this was not the first time they had committed the crime.
The waiter, as if grasping at a straw, frantically racked his brains trying to figure out how to get the immortal master to speak up and save him. After much thought, he realized that their relationship with Zhong Ming was not very deep. Apart from knowing that he was a Taoist priest from Maoshan Taoist Temple and liked to eat fish, they knew nothing else about him.
The group entered the open space to the side. Zhong Ming, close to the captain of the soldiers, secretly pinched a small silver ingot into his hand. As he walked, he leaned slightly towards the captain and "accidentally" bumped into his hand, then slipped the silver ingot into it.
The man had no choice but to accept the money, so he had to rely on his "extensive" experience to cover it up.
You dare to be so shameless after receiving "favors" from a celestial master?
He immediately said, "Gentlemen, please check the goods carefully. No one is allowed to leave until the goods have been checked."
After saying that, he personally started to untie the ropes binding the goods on the first large wagon, tightening them with both hands. He winked at the other soldiers and then said angrily, "Who tied this knot? It's so tight!"
Then, a large number of wagons carrying goods surrounded the open space, trapping several prisoners in the middle. The soldiers, in unison, scratched their heads and struggled with the knots binding the goods, keeping a safe distance from Zhong Ming.
Zhong Ming walked into the group of prisoners. The men, who had just been full of resentment, immediately put on pitiful expressions, as if they had conspired together. The waiter whispered to Zhong Ming, crying, "Master, what kind of prisoners are we? We were just carrying a lot of goods and were a little slow. We didn't even make it a hundred miles before these soldiers tried to arrest us, accusing us of being robbers and stealing our precious goods! We're innocent!"
“Speaking of which,” Zhong Ming paused, carefully observing the group. There were no signs of water on them, indicating they hadn’t been on the water for the past few days. “Didn’t you say you were going to take the Juejiang River for water transport?”
"Don't talk about that, Immortal Master. You don't know, those corrupt officials actually said they would collect taxes if we traveled by water. We dare not even go ashore."
Zhong Ming scoffed inwardly, 'Do you think I don't know Juejiang? I jumped right in with that red-eyed girl, how could I not know?'
On the surface, he pretended to think and asked, "Where is your father? Isn't he here?"
“My father went to the tax collection office to smooth things over and hasn’t come back yet. I suppose the deadline is approaching and he left with those bureaucrats.”
"Ah, that's it."
Zhong Ming decided to scare the other party. Who would believe him if he said he wasn't there? It was highly likely that he had escaped with some of the goods, or that he was guarding the place where the goods were hidden.
Look at these goods. It's really difficult for these few people to escort them. If there were any more, there wouldn't even be enough guards or people to pull the carts.
"That's good, that's good. It's good that you're gone. Staying alive is the most important thing." Zhong Ming pretended to be very concerned about them, sighed a few times, and began to fabricate a detailed, vivid, and seemingly real story.
"I wonder if this place can withstand the attack of the Twin Dragons Moving Water. Look, we are activating the mountain-protecting formation." He pointed to a high place where a large number of unknown formations were being activated, which looked like colorful carapace pieces floating in the air.
"It's tough, everyone's having a hard time. We've all been summoned here to strengthen the great formation, even my seriously injured brother who only has one arm left has been brought here. It seems we really might not have enough manpower. I hope God will bless us."
Several members of the "civilian water patrol team" looked up and were amazed by the large formation Zhong Ming had described.
The waiter was inexplicably flustered, but not wanting Zhong Ming to notice, he asked indirectly, "Immortal Master, this double dragons moving through water must be a rare event that only happens once every ten million years. Unfortunately, we should have been locked up in the dark mines at that time and could hardly have seen it. Great Immortal Master, can you tell me what double dragons moving through water looks like?"
"That's terrible! Let me tell you, with these two dragons moving through the water, the fire dragon comes first. Once it arrives, the sky will be a sea of fire. All the trees won't just turn into charcoal; they'll be burned to ashes. Hiding anywhere won't help. Even if you dig three feet into the ground, crawl into a cave, or burrow underground, tsk tsk tsk..."
Zhong Ming kept everyone in suspense, saying, "Don't ask. I learned it from a storyteller. Now it's time to give him a tip."
Seeing that several people were craning their necks and frowning, looking tense, Zhong Ming slowly spoke.
"That's beggar's chicken. Do you know what beggar's chicken is? It's chicken that's been prepared, stuffed with all sorts of delicacies, wrapped in lotus leaves, covered with a layer of yellow mud, and then roasted over a fire. The timing of the fire is very important. If the timing is right, it'll be juicy and incredibly tender. If the timing is wrong, all that'll be left is a pile of charcoal (emphasis)."
The men's faces darkened upon hearing this, and the waiter's legs went weak, nearly causing him to fall.
One of them immediately asked, "What about the other dragon?"
"And there's another dragon that's even more powerful," Zhong Ming said loudly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes... well, maybe in a dream.
"There's also a water dragon. After the fire dragon passes by, there's a sea of fire everywhere. No matter where someone is hiding, as long as they leave a vent, the scorching gas will flow in, and no living thing can breathe. Don't think the water dragon will save you. Wherever it passes, there's a great flood. When it collides with the fire started by the fire dragon, there's water vapor everywhere. You know how to steam buns? Even if someone is lucky enough to survive, they'll be steamed into cooked meat."
As Zhong Ming finished speaking, a large steamer of meat buns appeared out of nowhere, and the aroma of meat filled the air.
To be honest, in the second-class rest area of the military merit point, mortals were truly putting their hearts into preparing delicious food to serve the immortals.
"Everyone must be hungry after walking so far. Come on, eat, it's on me." Zhong Ming handed out large steamed buns with a big smile.
The group looked utterly dejected, their faces hanging low. The waiter didn't even dare to take the meat buns. Only after the "immortal's" repeated requests did he raise his hands and tremble as he took a large meat bun, as if he were holding the ashes of a loved one.
“Everyone eat, and I’ll continue. After the steam dissipates, the water will overwhelm the remaining fire, creating a massive flood. Have you ever seen a tsunami hundreds of feet high? You can’t even imagine it. If our little hill didn’t have a protective formation, it would be shattered by a single blow. At this point, the earth will shake and there will definitely be landslides. Even the mines inside Jishui Mountain will collapse.”
By this time, many people had turned pale, but a few more composed ones sighed, "It's really unreasonable for natural disasters to kill people like this."
"This is nothing," Zhong Ming said, turning his head to observe the other soldiers before lowering his voice.
When someone whispers something to you, many people subconsciously assume it's probably true.
"The most terrifying thing is the backflow. After the great flood ends, we cultivators also have to clean up. True immortals with great water magic will divert all the floodwaters back into the Yelan River and rush eastward into the sea. At this time, let alone caves, as long as you don't fly into the sky, everything will be swept away. The mountains that have just been baked are all ashes and loose soil. With one surge, the entire mountain may be swept away."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the group changed drastically. They looked at the newly lit array "armor plates" and couldn't think of any reason not to believe it.
The waiter knelt down with a thud, sobbing and pleading with Zhong Ming, "Please, Immortal Master, save my father!"