Chapter 51: Fortune's Blessing

"Wind Beneath My Feet!" Zhao Xing activated a wind spell, using it to aid his running.

But this spell wasn't for himself—it was for the straw dummy.

Moreover, he controlled the rhythm of the rain, so that when the straw dummy ran beneath the clouds, the rain stopped along its forward path.

He deliberately left two subtle differences to mislead Shen Zhui.

When Shen Zhui ran up to the willow tree, he was immediately faced with a two-way choice.

After only a second's hesitation, he chased after the straw dummy.

Sensing Shen Zhui running in the opposite direction, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Xing's mouth.

"What? Another straw dummy?!" Shen Zhui stared at the walking straw dummy before him, at a loss for words.

Now that he thought about it, Zhao Xing's two slip-ups were clearly sold to him on purpose.

To react so quickly in such a short time, without the slightest hesitation—that couldn't be called a first reaction; it had been planned from the start!

"Hmph!" This time Shen Zhui didn't speak to Zhao Xing. He split open the straw dummy directly, giving the other no chance to stall for time, and immediately chased off in the opposite direction.

Chen residence, study.

Chen Shijie sensed this scene and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He hadn't originally intended to pay attention, because in his view, Shen Zhui was at the seventh stage of Qi Gathering, and his movement technique had reached the ninth-turn Subtlety—he would have caught Zhao Xing very quickly.

He hadn't expected Zhao Xing to pull off such a flashy maneuver, leading Shen Zhui around by the nose.

"Good lad, using only Moving Clouds, Rain Summoning, straw dummies, and Wind Rising to create such a favorable environment for yourself?"

"It's a waste of talent for you not to become a Military Agricultural Officer."

Chen Shijie stopped reading, grabbed a wine gourd, sat down by the window, and began to attentively observe this game of cat and mouse.

In the heavy rain, Shen Zhui looked at the two figures running in different directions ahead, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Zhao Xing had called back the second straw dummy he had made to provide cover.

Now he had to make another choice.

One had the wind spell for acceleration and a rainless head, the other had no enhancements whatsoever.

"Last time the straw dummy had the spell boost, so this time it must be the real body!"

Shen Zhui chose a direction and chased after it.

Ten breaths later.

Shen Zhui looked at the straw dummy ahead and couldn't help but feel his composure cracking.

"Th-this... another straw dummy?"

"He predicted my prediction?"

Shen Zhui felt like a clown, toyed with once again.

When he lost in sparring matches with martial artists at the martial hall, he hadn't been this angry.

But facing Zhao Xing, it really was getting to his head.

Brother Zhao, with those bushy brows and big eyes, you look so sunny—yet you're so skilled at deceiving people?

"Hmph!" Shen Zhui snorted coldly. A flash of Bai Guang swept from his iron ruler as he split the straw dummy apart.

Shen Zhui steadied his mindset, regrouped, and continued his search.

"He adjusts his mentality quickly. Even after being fooled three times in a row, he maintained a certain degree of calm. Although there were emotions, his actions weren't affected in the slightest—he instinctively made the best recovery."

After Zhao Xing lost his connection with the third straw dummy, he also looked at Shen Zhui in a new light.

Because the other's handling of it was truly excellent.

As for the wrong choice?

That couldn't be blamed on Shen Zhui.

It looked like a fifty-fifty coin flip, but Zhao Xing's odds of winning were far above fifty percent!

Because he had a Fortune of the Second Order!

Through this method, he pulled Shen Zhui and himself into another dimension of contest—namely, a gamble on Fortune.

"Whether chasing the straw dummy or chasing me, either choice has its logic, but my Fortune rank is higher than his." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

This point, Chen Shijie couldn't see either.

After all, a Fortune of the Second Order was already extremely rare in this small county. Counting even the proper officials, probably only County Magistrate Li Wenzheng and Chen Shijie had a Fortune of the Second Order.

"But momentum builds once, then fades, and is spent by the third. The passive triggering of Fortune follows a mysterious pattern—gaining the upper hand three times in a short period is already the limit."

"Suppose I had a fourth straw dummy; the next time Shen Zhui made a choice, he'd probably get it right."

"Besides, I don't have a fourth straw dummy anyway."

Sensing the footsteps behind him closing in at extreme speed, Zhao Xing gave up resisting.

The clouds dispersed, the rain ceased, the wind calmed, and all was still.

Shen Zhui's iron ruler rested against Zhao Xing's neck, and he couldn't help feeling a surge of exhilaration.

Run! Run some more!

"Brother Shen is mighty. I tried every trick I had, yet I only managed to stall for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before you caught me." Zhao Xing cupped his hands in salute.

Seeing this, Shen Zhui also realized he had been a little too serious. This was only a training game—how could he have put an iron ruler to a colleague's neck?

He hurriedly withdrew the ruler, tucked it back at his waist, cupped his hands, and said: "I'm ashamed. Brother Zhao's spellcraft is exquisite, his thinking meticulous—truly rare among clerks. I admire you."

Shen Zhui wasn't being polite; he was genuinely somewhat impressed.

The initial distance was only fifty meters. Zhao Xing was only at the third stage of Qi Gathering, while he was at the seventh stage. By all rights, he should have caught him long ago—after all, he was a martial artist and a constable who had completed many missions!

Yet he had been stalled by Zhao Xing for this long!

"I was lucky, and you've only just encountered an Agricultural Officer like me. Besides, Brother Shen adapted very quickly. Your footsteps in the rain were almost impossible to track. A few more sessions of training like this, and you'd probably adapt completely." What Zhao Xing said was also sincere.

Martial artists and Agricultural Officers rarely had the chance to clash, let alone with him holding the advantage of Fortune.

Moreover, Zhao Xing's combat experience and techniques were also honed through countless trials in his previous life.

In a small place like Gucheng, he was in a league of his own.

That Shen Zhui could force him to have no time to create a fifth straw figure and keep him running nonstop was already quite remarkable.

"Brother Zhao, no need for false modesty." Shen Zhui laughed. "You've only used four ordinary spells. If you combined more, I don't know how long it would take me to catch you."

That was true, and Zhao Xing didn't deny it either.

With only the straw figure technique, it was too monotonous. If he knew more beginner spells, it would cause Shen Zhui no small interference, and combining multiple spells might even give him a chance to injure his opponent.

"Brother Shen, let's stop flattering each other." Zhao Xing pointed at the pear orchard ahead. "Why don't we sit down and have a pear?"

"Th-that wouldn't be proper. That's Lord Chen's pear orchard." Shen Zhui hesitated.

"Lord Chen allows me to eat fifteen Celestial Origin Pears a month. What's wrong with sharing one with you? It's on me, eat without worry!" Zhao Xing unceremoniously plucked two pears from the orchard and tossed one to Shen Zhui.

"Alright." Shen Zhui didn't stand on ceremony either; he could tell the pears were treasures.

After the two finished eating, Chen Shijie walked out of the study with a smile: "You brat really don't hold back, using my pears to win favors? I only said I'd let you eat them; when did I ever say you could pick them?"

"Lord Chen, these pears were picked for me." Shen Zhui stood up somewhat awkwardly, then bowed with clasped hands: "If punishment is due, punish me alone; it has nothing to do with Zhao Xing."

Chen Shijie nodded inwardly. It seemed the person he had chosen for Zhao Xing was not chosen wrong.

Zhao Xing, meanwhile, could tell Chen Shijie wasn't angry at all, so he said with a beaming smile: "If my lord wishes to punish me, I accept. But could we wait a moment first?"

"Oh? What are you going to do?"

"Break through to the fourth stage of Gathering Origin."