Chapter 215

Sergeant shouted angrily, "You still dare negotiate terms with me? Do you think I won't cut you!"

Niu San sneered, "General, if you were to cut me, that would be a huge loss for you; there's no need for you to go against food…"

"Cut the chatter, what conditions?" Sergeant's eyes held a warning.

"My condition is simple," Niu San said politely, "as long as you let me also become a member of the Zhenhuang Army, that's all."

Sergeant was stunned for a moment, not expecting the condition to be so simple.

"Is that all?" Sergeant asked incredulously, repeating it.

Niu San nodded, "I already said at the start, I'm here to seek the General, hoping you'll take me in."

Sergeant waved his hand, "In that case, you're accepted!"

"Thank you, General! Thank you, General!"

Niu San, overjoyed, knelt and kowtowed.

Sergeant impatiently lifted him, "Now you finally ought to answer my question, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Niu San nodded, bowed, rubbing his hands, "The kind of food I just brought, Niu Village still has plenty. I suggest you turn back immediately! It's all good stuff; if the villagers eat it all, wouldn't that be wasteful?"

Sergeant, full of doubt, "Is it true? I've already ransacked Niu Village completely, and I'm planning to go to a farther village tomorrow to scavenge more."

Niu San raised his finger in oath, "Absolutely true! I would never dare deceive you! If there's even a single false word, you can split me alive!"

"You kid… really from Niu Village?" Sergeant, seeing his enthusiasm, still had some doubts.

Niu San said angrily, "I was originally! But not anymore! They looked down on me, never took me seriously! I've cut off ties with them!"

Sergeant, seeing his resentment, felt completely at ease, licking his lips, savoring the lingering taste of food, and glanced at the sky.

Estimating that with this kid leading the search, it shouldn't take long, they'd make it back before nightfall to Zhenhuang Pass, so he agreed.

Niu San hurriedly helped Sergeant mount his horse, then took the initiative to lead the horse.

"General, may I know your esteemed surname?" Niu San asked while walking, trying to get friendly.

Sergeant casually said, "My surname is Feng."

"Ah, General Feng!"

"Don't call me that! I'm not a general yet!"

Sergeant scolded him.

Yet despite the scolding, a smile still tugged at his mouth.

Niu San continued flattering, "I see you are brilliant, mighty, with an extraordinary aura, definitely material to become a general, so I couldn't hold back and shouted like that; please don't blame me, General."

Sergeant cleared his throat, stroked his whiskered beard, straightened his back involuntarily, "You kid is quite the talker, but if you can achieve a great feat this time, it's not impossible to become a general; then I'll reward you with a Deputy General position."

"Thank you, General, thank you, General!" Niu San continued, "General, I've cut ties with Niu Village and don't want to bear the name Niu any longer. If you don't mind, I'd like to take you as my adoptive father and adopt your surname."

Sergeant was only just over thirty; seeing Niu San's age, they were only a few years apart, taking such an adopted son felt rather awkward.

"Isn't this improper? Wouldn't I be taking advantage of you?"

"General, you are my benefactor; taking you as my adoptive father is a blessing I've cultivated over eight hundred lifetimes."

"Alright, alright, then you'll take the surname Feng from now on."

"Thank you, adoptive father! Please accept the worship of your son Feng San!"

Having changed his surname, Niu San immediately knelt and kowtowed three heavy bows.

As for his conduct, the others felt a bit disgusted, but the leading Sergeant couldn't help but find it very useful.

"Alright, don't waste time, hurry on." Sergeant ordered.

"Yes, adoptive father!"

Feng San stood up, wiped the snow from his face, lifted his head and chest, and continued leading the horse.

At that moment, he felt his spine become harder than ever before.

Inside Niu Village.

Village Chief led people to bury the sacrificed villagers.

After the whole village finished the rites, they realized someone was missing.

"Chief, Niu San is missing!" someone said urgently.

Village Chief asked, "Who among you was the last to see him?"

Everyone wore a blank stare.

The people who had gone hunting with the chief earlier said they only clearly remembered Niu San returning together with them.

When everyone gathered in the Ancestral Hall to divide the goods, he seemed still to be there.

Then they were busy burying the victims, so no one paid extra attention.

"It's getting dark, the wind and snow outside, where could he have gone?" Old Village Chief, worried, asked, "Have you searched the whole village?"

Villagers said that after discovering Niu San missing, they had already searched every corner of the village where a person could stay, and even searched the surrounding area twice.

If the weather were normal, perhaps they could follow footprints, but now it's impossible.

Any trace outside would be quickly covered by the heavy snow.

"You few, come with me out of the village to search," Old Village Chief selected a few strong youngsters, "Wear more clothes, bring torches; I guess he might have returned to that place… but he's unfamiliar with the terrain, even if he walked it once he certainly can't remember, and getting lost in the forest would be disastrous!"

The villagers immediately began to dissuade him.

"Chief, don't worry about that kid!"

"He was always idle and never contributed anything for the village!"

"Yeah, with him gone, we can save some food!"

"…"

Regarding Niu San, the villagers were basically unanimous.

Old Village Chief solemnly said, "Regardless, Niu San is still a member of our Niu Village. Though he used to be lazy and slick, he never truly harmed anyone. Moreover, it's a living human life; how can we ignore it?"

"Village Chief, but—"

"Fine! No more talking!"

The Old Village Chief was resolute, so everyone had to obey him.

Just as he led a few youngsters out of the Ancestral Hall gate, a familiar figure appeared in the gloomy wind and snow.

"Huh? Isn't that Niu San?"

"Village Chief! He's back!"

"Great, we don't have to trouble ourselves to go find him!"

The few of them felt a weight lifted.

The Old Village Chief pulled his face and said, "Later I must give him a good scolding; leaving the village without a word made everyone worry."

A youngster muttered, "Actually… it's only you who worries…"

"Niu San!" the Old Village Chief jabbed his cane into the ground a few times, "Come over quickly!"

As Niu San's figure drew near, more silhouettes appeared behind him in succession.

"Niu San? You can't be calling me, can you?" Feng San swaggered over, "Old thing, remember this: I'm now called Feng San!"

Then he respectfully pointed to the Sergeant on horseback behind him, "This military lord is my adoptive father! I've already joined the Zhenhuang Army!"

The Old Village Chief's expression stiffened.

A young man beside him shouted, "Village Chief! It's this Zhenhuang Army that looted our village and killed our people!"

"What?!" the Old Village Chief's face changed dramatically.

Several young men, as if facing a great enemy, all guarded the Old Village Chief, staring intently at the thugs.

Feng San sneered, "Still haven't learned? Going against the Zhenhuang Army won't bring good fruit!"

The Old Village Chief, heartbroken, said, "Niu San! You—"

"I told you I no longer bear the name Niu!" Feng San growled, "I'm called Feng San!"

"You…" the Old Village Chief's heart was torn like a knife, his eyes full of sorrow and anger, "Fine… Feng San, you are treating a thief as a father! They killed so many people from Niu Village, and you actually…"

Feng San was unperturbed, disdainfully saying, "I haven't had a father for a long time; what's the problem with recognizing one? Whether they're a thief or not, I've cut ties with the people of Niu Village. The killers have nothing to do with me. You'd better watch your words, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Feng San, stop wasting time, where are the items?" the Sergeant urged.

Feng San instantly switched to a flattering smile, pointing toward the Ancestral Hall, "They're inside, a whole bunch, packed in big bundles."

The Sergeant raised his arm and gestured, "Go, bring everything out for me."

Dozens of Zhenhuang Army members immediately prepared to storm the Ancestral Hall.

The young man beside the Old Village Chief, unable to contain his anger, burned with fury and was about to charge.

"Stop!" the Old Village Chief forced back his resentment, holding the youngsters back, "You aren't their match; don't waste your lives!"

"Move aside!" the Zhenhuang Army rudely pushed the Old Village Chief and the youngsters aside, kicked open the Ancestral Hall doors, and poured in like fish.

Inside the Ancestral Hall, villagers' cries of shock rang out immediately.

"Feng San… you really are… a beast!" the Old Village Chief, trembling, pointed at Feng San's nose and cursed, "You… you went to join them, and you even… brought them back, stealing our things! You have lost all virtue!"

Feng San kicked the Old Village Chief in the stomach, "Old thing! Try insulting me again!"

"You dare hit the Village Chief?! Seeking death!" several youngsters, unable to bear it, lunged at him.

Feng San was startled and quickly stepped back a few paces.

Then a few Zhenhuang Army members drew their swords, shielding Feng San from behind.

The youngsters, unarmed and outmatched, were forced to stay where they were.

"Hahaha!" Feng San, riding on his henchmen's momentum, laughed wildly, "You are the ones seeking death! You still treat me as the old Niu San? Now I'm also a military lord you can't provoke! Kneel to me!"

The youngsters' eyes seemed about to spit fire, as if they wanted to devour Feng San alive, refusing to kneel.

Feng San ordered the nearby Zhenhuang Army, "Go! Beat those few up for me!"

The Zhenhuang Army members frowned, genuinely annoyed by Feng San's petty arrogance, but since he had recognized their Sergeant as his adoptive father, they gave him some face.

So they stepped forward and beat the youngsters until their noses were bruised and faces swollen.

Feng San still wasn't satisfied, and had the Zhenhuang Army force the youngsters to kneel before him.

The Old Village Chief slumped in the snow, watching helplessly as the remaining supplies in the Ancestral Hall were looted again; outside, the few youngsters were beaten and humiliated, a mouthful of blood surged to their throats and spewed out, staining the snow with a glaring scarlet.

"People act, Heaven watches…" the Old Village Chief croaked, cursing, "Feng San… you… you will surely face retribution!"

Feng San grinned mischievously, smugly saying, "If joining the Zhenhuang Army and having a Sergeant as adoptive father counts as retribution, then I hope the more retribution, the better."

The Old Village Chief was so angry he couldn't speak, clenching his back teeth, kicking his legs, and instantly fell into a coma.

"That old guy can't have died of anger, right?" the Sergeant said casually.

Feng San suddenly thought—if the Village Chief couldn't die, perhaps he was still useful.

But now he couldn't recall what use he had, feeling perhaps he still held some lingering sentiment, yet showing it now would likely harm his own future.

So, indifferent, he said, "If he dies, he dies; it doesn't matter."

"Report! All items have been searched clean! Everything's right here!" a group of Zhenhuang Army, carrying bundles with flushed faces, walked out of the Ancestral Hall.

Feng San pointed at the comatose Village Chief and the unconscious youngsters, "Their cotton clothes and shoes also, don't leave them behind; they belong to our Zhenhuang Army."

The Sergeant cast an admiring glance at him, "Not bad, ruthless enough to help me achieve great deeds; I need people like you under my command."

Feng San, overjoyed, clasped his fists, "Thank you for the praise, Adoptive Father."

Seeing they had searched again and found even better food supplies than before, the Sergeant was in high spirits, saying that after returning to Zhenhuang Pass, he would definitely reward Feng San richly.

Afterward, the group left satisfied, soaring away, leaving behind a bleak, desolate scene in the cold wind and snow.

Inside the Ancestral Hall, villagers in rags were as dead as ash, all slumped on the cold stone floor, numbly staring at the drafty broken walls; the children, terrified and frozen, couldn't even cry properly.

They, along with the youngsters and the Village Chief who lay comatose in the snow, were gradually enveloped by the encroaching night, quietly awaiting death's arrival.

No one knew how long had passed.

A burst of footsteps treading on the packed snow arrived, and faint firelight flickered.

A few villagers who still retained a sliver of consciousness strained to open their eyes, only seeing what seemed to be a tall woman running into the Ancestral Hall, with many burly figures following behind her…

Before they could see clearly, they completely collapsed and lost consciousness…

……

On the other side, Feng San followed this group of Zhenhuang Army back to Border Pass City.

His Sergeant Adoptive Father received a reward and was promoted by the Zhenhuang Pass Grand General to Centurion.

But the severe injury promised by Adoptive Father was not fulfilled; people said that once he became a commander, they would reward him properly.

Feng San was extremely dissatisfied with this, but showed no outward sign; instead he said all the credit belonged to Adoptive Father, that Adoptive Father's promotion to Centurion was also his honor, and that was already enough.

With a round of flattery he made Adoptive Father overjoyed, pulling him aside in a camp tent to drink together, and casually asked where Niu Village had obtained those foods and supplies.

Feng San laughed and said they were all made by the villagers themselves.

"You damn it, don't feed me lies! Those things, not only are they absent among the common folk, even in our Royal City they cannot be seen!" the Centurion sprayed pungent wine vapor, his drunken eyes blurry as he grasped Feng San's shoulder, his words threatening, "You kid, stop hiding, quickly tell me the truth!"

Feng San, while pouring wine, laughed and said: "Adoptive Father, why are you so curious about the source of those things?"

The Centurion poured another big bowl of wine, slurred: "Nonsense… good stuff… can… can you not be curious? The Grand General told me, if… if we can get more, he'll definitely grant me a General title."

A cunning glint flashed in Feng San's eyes, "So that's it, I indeed wasn't wrong; Adoptive Father is about to become a General! Congratulations, Adoptive Father! Here, son offers another bowl to Adoptive Father!"

The Centurion was in a great mood, accepting everything, and was fed bowl after bowl by Feng San, soon becoming so drunk he lost all sense.

"Let you get a General for free, is there such a good thing under heaven?" Feng San soaked a cloth in strong liquor, pressed it tightly over the Centurion's mouth and nose, grinning lowly, "My good Adoptive Father, you are of no use to me now, safe travels, when I become a General, hehe… I will definitely burn a few more incense sticks for you!"