ASCENSION OF THE MARTIAL KING

08

"Let's... stop here." Zhang Wei heaved heavily as he tried to catch his breath and placed the deer on the floor. He felt rather dizzy and had to lean on a nearby tree.

Liang Feixing nodded. "Okay. Let's stop here." As he spoke, he looked behind them to see if they were still being chased. "I think they backed off already. We can wait a few minutes more."

Zhang Wei nodded and slid onto the floor, patting his chest to ease breathing. This body was so weak when it came to basic physical endurance. They hadn't even run an entire village, yet he felt dizzy from running.

Liang Feixing saw that he looked listless and pale and moved closer. "Let's wait more for you to recover. I forgot you can't run long distances."

So, it was from the previous host. Zhang Wei clicked his tongue. It was fine if he had no essence as that wasn't his fault, but at least he should have kept his body fit and healthy for emergency situations.

He sighed and pulled Quan Che's satchel over, prying it open to see its contents. He initially thought they had only hunted some and couldn't find everything, so he wanted to bully them into handing theirs over. But to his surprise, they actually had everything, including the Ghost Mushroom. Except for the forest deer, everything else was complete.

"They actually got everything too," Liang Feixing exclaimed. "And yet, he handed it over to you so easily."

He paused and stared at Zhang Wei's face thoughtfully as he asked, "I've been meaning to ask. How did you force him down like that? Quan Che is quite strong, and he should be able to fight back."

"Just some petty tricks." Zhang Wei clicked his tongue. "Once you know the fatal acupoints of the body, you can keep even the greatest martial cultivator in a chokehold. As long as the person is not prepared for it."

"Oh, acupoints." Liang Feixing muttered. "How did you know them then? Isn't that like advanced martial arts?"

"It's not that hard to know." Zhang Wei responded curtly, wanting to cut off the conversation as he feared he would let slip that he was a foreign soul.

Liang Feixing pursed his lips. "Why haven't they come after us yet? It would be faster for them to snatch the satchel back than to hunt again."

"That's true. But, Quan Che must be afraid and doesn't want them to fall into my trap again. So, he wouldn't let them come after us for now."

"Do you think they will still come after us in the village?" Liang Feixing muttered. "It seems like we've offended them even more."

Zhang Wei looked up from what he was doing.  "Definitely. Why? Are you afraid? Do you think I shouldn't have done it?"

Liang Feixing quickly shook his head and waved his hand. "It's not like that. I know they are stronger than us, and we'll have a hard time fending them off."

He looked at Zhang Wei's face and seemed to recall something, so he waved his hand frantically and added, "But, I don't blame you, Zhang Wei. If it weren't for you, I would have been roughed up by Quan Che, and all we've hunted would have been taken. But not only was our satchel not snatched, we even collected theirs."

Zhang Wei looked up at this and gave Liang Feixing a once over. Seriously, he hadn't given the boy much thought before. But now, he realized that he was quite loyal, and even though it was Zhang Wei who swindled Quan Che, he knew to say the word 'we'.

He rubbed his fingers and said thoughtfully, "Yes, they would likely want to retaliate. But now, they must have returned to the forest to hunt what they lost."

"Hm." Liang Feixing nodded. "But they most likely will have a hard time. Even if they find some, it will be hard to find the Ghost Mushroom before the deadline."

"There is a deadline?" Zhang Wei was surprised.

"There should be. I heard today was the last day for people to hunt those items, and some people I know have hunted theirs two days ago."

Zhang Wei looked at Quan Che's satchel and suddenly had a thought. "There will likely be people like Quan Che who will be unable to submit the complete ingredients to their client, right?"

Liang Feixing looked lost but nodded anyway. "There should be. It's always hard to hunt in these forests."

Zhang Wei stood up and dusted his robe. He grabbed the deer off the floor. "Let's get going."

"Oh, okay." Liang Feixing did not know what he was hurrying for but stood up and carried both satchels as they walked to the old hut to keep their weapons before rushing into the village.

When they reached the academy door, Zhong Hua and the two seniors were standing there. Once they sighted them coming, the senior who had given them the job looked relieved. But the other looked uneasy and kept looking behind them.

Zhong Hua quickly approached them, examining the deer Zhang Wei carried and asked in a hushed tone, "Did you get everything?"

Liang Feixing nodded. "Yes."

"Including the Ghost Mushroom?" Zhong Hua asked again, and this time, Liang Feixing only nodded.

Then, they approached the two seniors. The senior looked at Zhang Wei and Liang Feixing impatiently. "Did you get everything? Hurry up and bring them out. It needs to be submitted before the deadline."

Zhang Wei placed the deer on the floor while Liang Feixing pulled out all the items from their satchel and placed them on the floor. "Everything is here."

The senior leaned down to check, and once he was done, he looked satisfied. "Good. Everything is complete."

He put his hand into his robe and took out a small pouch for them to take. "This is the mon-"

He hadn't even finished speaking when Zhang Wei reached out and collected the pouch before throwing it over to Liang Feixing to count.

"...ey." The senior drawled speechlessly, finishing his earlier words. He then bent down to carry the deer, but before his hand could touch it, a hand reached out to stop him. He looked up and saw that it was Zhang Wei.

He looked confused. "What's wrong?"

"What do you need from this forest deer?" Zhang Wei questioned.

The senior was taken aback, but he soon looked Zhang Wei over and snickered, "Why do you care? Do you even know what it's used for?"

Liang Feixing frowned immediately and seemed to want to retort, but Zhang Wei was faster, and he smiled.  "The blood is for making basic longevity pills, antler as an ingredient for strength potions, and the bones is for healing potions. With the rank on your robe, although you're a senior, it's only second grade. You can't practice advanced alchemy, and at most, you'll be taught basic things like longevity and healing potions."

Both seniors were instantly shocked, and they quickly covered the ranks on their robes before glaring at him warily. "What are you talking about? How do you know that?"

"That's not for you to concern yourselves with." Zhang Wei pursed his lips. "You don't need to waste everything else. Just take what you need and leave the rest. We'll come back to get the rest."

"But I've paid for it." The senior frowned.

Zhang Wei nodded. "Yes. But, no need to waste food, right?"

The senior could only nod helplessly. He grabbed the satchel and looked at his partner, who was still looking at the entrance and waiting for someone to appear.

"What's going on, Nan Chu?" The senior asked. "Quan Che is still not here. The deadline is in an hour. If they don't bring it now, it will be too late."

Nan Chu looked troubled and tiptoed to look at the entrance again. "I'm also worried. And I thought those bastards were trustworthy, so I already gave them the payment in advance. I'm already on the red book of penalty points. One more fail, and Master Zhang will chew me out. What do I do, Nie Long?"

Nie Long clasped the satchel Zhang Wei gave him and sighed. "Let's wait for some more time. Maybe they are being delayed by something."

"I can sell to you." A voice suddenly rang out beside them.

Both of them looked at Zhang Wei immediately, and the latter smiled. "I have everything here except the deer. I can sell it to you if you want."

Nan Chu instantly looked like he had just regained his spirit. He hurried over, disregarding the initial arrogance he had earlier that morning. "You have everything?"

Zhang Wei nodded and grabbed Quan Che's satchel. Liang Feixing, who was counting the money in the pouch, paused at this and looked at Zhang Wei. He had only just realized what Zhang Wei's expression from earlier meant.

Meanwhile, Zhong Hua stared at the satchel in Zhang Wei's hand and muttered, "That satchel..."

Zhang Wei instantly looked over and calmly asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhong Hua was stunned by the look in his eyes and quickly shook his head. "Nothing. It looks a bit familiar. Maybe I'm just seeing things."

"Yes, you are." Zhang Wei nodded solemnly, leaving Zhong Hua speechless.

Nan Chu had seen that the satchel contained everything, and he clapped his palms excitedly. "How much do you want for everything?"

Zhang Wei smiled and raised ten fingers.

"Hundred taels!?" The smile on Nan Chu's face froze, and even Zhong Hua and Liang Feixing froze and stared at Zhang Wei like he had two heads.

"Yes." Zhang Wei nodded. Thankfully, this kid was a rich brat, and he only counted in multiples of hundred. Definitely made the transaction easier.

Both Nie Long and Nan Chu spoke up at the same time. "But you sold the first one at fifty taels."

"That's different." Zhang Wei shook his head and said as a matter of fact, "We were hired to hunt for that one at a fixed price, but this one is for sale and isn't the same thing."

"But, you don't even have a deer." Nan Chu protested.

Zhang Wei's expression suddenly became serious, and he reached out to close the satchel. "I thought you were in dire straits and wanted to help you. But if you don't need it..."

Upon seeing that he was about to close the satchel, Nan Chu quickly grabbed his arm. "No, I need it." He paused and said thoughtfully, "I'll pay seventy taels. Take it or leave it."

Zhang Wei's expression didn't change, and he muttered solemnly, "Ninety-five taels."

"Let me pay eighty." Nan Chu haggled.

"Ninety taels." Zhang Wei responded. "Can't go any less than that."

Nan Chu stared at his face, which looked like he would really turn and leave if he bargained anymore. He looked reluctant but eventually nodded. "Okay. Ninety taels. I'll pay for it."

Nie Long instantly grabbed his arm in alarm. "That's too much. Your allowance for the month will be affected."

"But if he gets another penalty point, he'll be at risk of being expelled from the academy. By then, he won't even have tears to cry not to talk of taking allowance from home," Zhang Wei piped in, glaring at Nie Long's face. He was afraid that he would sway his potential client.

Nan Chu was even more panicked at his words, and he quickly pulled out two pouches from his robe. He handed one to Zhang Wei and pulled out more money from the other to give to him, which Zhang Wei threw over to Liang Feixing to count again.

"..." Liang Feixing stared at the three pouches in his hand, speechlessly. They had only come here to earn at most three taels. How did they suddenly have more than one-thirty taels in hand?

Zhang Wei handed the satchel over to Nan Chu. "We'll be back to get the two satchels."

Nan Chu nodded and quickly counted the contents again.

Zhang Wei smiled and added, "As a gift for buying from me, I'll give you a tip."

Both boys looked up at him in confusion. "What's that?"

"Drain the blood from the deer and split it into two to share. It's impossible for you to need everything during the class so the teacher will likely not care whether it is full or not." After he spoke, "I'm only telling you this as a gift for being my first customer. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have sold it to you at such a price."

His attitude only made the boys, Zhong Hua and Liang Feixing even more dumbfounded. He had clearly ripped him off but still had the cheek to talk so righteously.

Nan Chu could only nod thankfully before he left with Nie Long.

Once they were gone, Zhong Hua exclaimed, "I've never seen anyone rip those seniors off like that. They are usually so arrogant."

As he spoke, he even raised a thumb with approval. "Zhang Wei, you're good."

Zhang Wei flicked his hand carelessly, but he had a mild smile on his face. "It's nothing. They wouldn't have gotten it if they thought Quan Che would get here in time."

Zhong Hua could only shake his head helplessly. "Okay, I have to get going. I have to get to class too."

"Wait." Zhang Wei suddenly turned to Liang Feixing and took ten taels from him, which he handed to Zhong Hua. "Your share."

Zhong Hua looked at the money in surprise. "This is a bit too much." Usually, his share would only be a tael out of whatever they earned since he only referred the customer. He had thought Zhang Wei would only give him that but didn't expect that even with his swindler attitude, he would be so generous.

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten such big customers." Zhang Wei responded.

"I'm done." Liang Feixing suddenly called out, holding the three pouches.

"Okay, let's go."

Then, the two turned and left the academy. Zhong Hua watched as the two of them left, and it was just then that he suddenly recalled why that satchel was so familiar.

It was Quan Che's.

"..." He did not know how Zhang Wei had managed to rip it off him, but he was thoroughly speechless.