Chapter 569: Please Take Me as Your Disciple!

"Zhang, as head of the household, today's incident is partly my fault—I shouldn't have held back so much. If I'd spoken up sooner, none of this would've happened, and now you're injured."

Meng Changwei, seeing Zhang Su's face covered in wounds, felt deep regret and grew restless about his own rigid principles.

"These minor injuries of mine mean nothing—look at them, then look at me. Isn't I'm far better off?"

Zhang Su pointed to the bodies of Feilang Gang members being carried away.

Meng Changwei smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Zhang, no matter what, I owe you compensation. I brought plenty of supplies—our carts are parked in the village. Take your people and inventory everything. Hand it all over to Tianma Yu as my apology."

Many around them—Yanluo Army members and residents of Daqiao Fortress Village—were stunned by Meng Changwei's generous offer.

In this world, survival supplies were priceless; to so decisively donate all of them to the camp required immense courage.

Zhang Su's heart paused—he'd expected the usual arrangement, like in the United Villages or Kuan Zhuang, where thirty percent of supplies were retained locally. He hadn't expected Meng Changwei to be so decisive.

The Daqiao Fortress villagers instinctively grew anxious; many wore expressions of agitation, but quickly suppressed them. They understood one truth: Meng Changwei would never betray them. That was enough.

"Old Meng, the supplies you brought aren't yours to give away. Since you've chosen to join Tianma Yu, I'll handle this."

Zhang Su clapped Meng Changwei on the arm.

He sought long-term growth—people's hearts mattered most. A little extra supply meant little to Tianma Yu, since even if not formally handed over, the goods still remained in the hands of Tianma Yu members. With flexible distribution, it was essentially the same—but the perception was entirely different.

"Does it hurt? You're always showing off. I'd beat nine of you… Don't move, let me clean you up."

"The wounds aren't deep. Once Xinyu finishes cleaning, I'll apply medicine—you'll heal fast, no scars. Still a handsome guy."

"Only the two sisters could be so careful—we couldn't manage this."

"Exactly, exactly…"

Zhang Su had planned to treat his wounds upon returning to Tianma Yu, but Zheng Xinyu and Zhong Xiaoshan insisted on immediate care, so the entire Yanluo Army waited beside the road.

Since the Yanluo Army didn't move, no one else could depart either. The destination was right ahead, and everyone felt relaxed.

Zheng Xinyu's exaggerated imitation of Zhang Su's voice made everyone smile—only she could get away with such jokes.

"Brother Su, seriously, today was dangerous. We had no idea what those guys were capable of—you said you'd fight nine, and we all jumped!"

Wang Xin spoke with solemn expression.

"Yeah, if you hadn't kicked that fatty out of the fight right at the start, your injuries would've been worse!"

"Brother Su should've considered this before acting, but I still think it was risky…"

Everyone nodded. They rarely thought Zhang Su reckless, but today's move had been a bit impulsive—luckily, it ended perfectly.

Zhang Su smiled mysteriously: "Strength can be analyzed through small details. That group looked cunning—cunning and toughness rarely coexist in the same person."

"Oh?" Zheng Xinyu tilted her head, giving Zhang Su a comical look, dragging out the word: "Is that so?"

"Of course it is!" Zhang Su's expression turned serious, then quickly changed the subject: "Most importantly, someone tipped me off!"

"No way! So that's it—who was it?"

"Must've been someone from Daqiao Fortress Village, right?"

"I think it could only be Meng Changwei—who else?"

Everyone speculated, but Zhang Su only smiled silently. His basis was Xie Guangfa.

Based on how the Feilang Gang treated Xie Guangfa and the strength he displayed, it wasn't hard to deduce many things—that was his real reason for daring to fight nine.

He couldn't reveal this to anyone—keeping it mysterious was best. Unfortunately, while he stayed silent, someone else wanted to expose it.

"You're sure someone told you, and not for some other reason?"

Ju Wuying, holding a long steel rod, asked softly—but her voice carried sharp clarity.

She was always invisible when standing quietly among the crowd, but the moment she spoke, everyone turned to look at her.

Pang Dankun exclaimed happily: "Sister Ju, do you know something? Expose his lie, tell us!"

"Lie your ass!"

Zhang Su shot Pang Dankun a glare, then turned to Ju Wuying: "Of course someone told me quietly. You're too suspicious—it's not good!"

"Yanluo Wang! Zhang, Brother Zhang!"

Suddenly, a shout from outside the crowd startled many Yanluo Army members.

Wang Zhetao's face glowed with admiration. He snapped to attention, posture rigid. Seeing everyone's attention on him, he slipped through the crowd and said: "Brother Zhang, please take me as your disciple! I want to learn combat skills from you!"

After speaking, he bowed deeply, his sincerity unmistakable.

???

The Yanluo Army members stared at Wang Zhetao in confusion—many didn't recognize him at all.

"Damn, he beat you to it. You're always late to everything!"

On the other side, Ding Yongguo scolded Zheng Ziwen.

"This… Uncle, why are you blaming me? He ran too fast—we can still catch up!"

Zheng Ziwen felt wronged.

Earlier, Ding Yongguo, seeing Zhang Su's divine prowess, had planned to beg humbly for him to train his useless nephew. But Zheng Ziwen thought asking for favors was beneath dignity. They argued a while—and Wang Zhetao beat them to it.

"Go, go, go to hell! Wait till next time!" Ding Yongguo ignored Zheng Ziwen.

Ding Yongguo didn't realize that being first didn't guarantee success.

"Where's your rope?"

Zhang Su scanned Wang Zhetao, suddenly pointing at his hands.

By right, everyone from Niuyazi had their hands bound—but Wang Zhetao's hands moved freely.

"I… I just untied them earlier," Wang Zhetao stammered, scratching his head.

Zhang Su's expression darkened slightly, but he held back. He was about to dismiss him when he heard distant shouts: "Xiaotao! Xiaotao!"

"Old Tan, Old Wang's calling him. Take him over to find him—and rebind his hands."

"This… I…" Wang Zhetao instantly deflated, head hanging low.

Tan Huajun nodded, stepped forward, and patted Wang Zhetao's shoulder: "Why run off without telling your dad? Don't you know his condition? It's dangerous!"

Wang Zhetao kept his head down, silent. As he passed Zheng Ziwen, he glanced back at the Yanluo Army.

Crowds gathered easily created contrast: the Yanluo Army members' spirit, attire, demeanor—all utterly unlike other survivors. It felt like a regular army rescuing refugees.

Wang Zhetao's face brimmed with envy—but he didn't belong to that group. Turning to see the Niuyazi survivors gathered nearby, he frowned.

"This guy's totally unreliable. His dad's deaf and blind, yet he came here to schmooze and beg for discipleship? Unreliable. Extremely unreliable!"

Pang Dankun, acting like a little adult, shook his head criticizing Wang Zhetao.

In the past, Zhang Su would scold Pang Dankun for being precocious—but this time he didn't. Watching Tan Huajun and Wang Zhetao's backs, Tan Huajun still gently advised, yet Wang Zhetao barely listened.

"Xiao Wang's personality is the opposite of his father's. Probably takes after his mother."

Zhong Xiaoshan mused.

She'd spent as much time with Wang Guangjun as Zhang Su had, and understood his behavior well. From Wang Zhetao, she saw almost no trace of Wang Guangjun's character.

"Yeah, he doesn't even look like him."

Zheng Xinyu nodded thoughtfully, adding.

"Damn, stop analyzing—keep going and Old Wang's gonna get a full birth chart…"

Pan Guoliang grinned.

"What birth chart? Don't badmouth my Uncle Wang!"

Lu Yubo frowned at Pan Guoliang.

Zhang Su smiled and waved: "Bozi, no one's badmouthing Old Wang—we're just talking about his son. You're about his age—what do you think of him?"

Pan Guoliang exaggerated nothing. Wang Guangjun's era was still simple; such scandals were rare. Wang Zhetao's different personality wasn't hard to understand—his upbringing, education, and mindset were entirely different.

"That guy…" Lu Yubo pinched his nose, making a squinty face: "Brother Su, remember Kuang Miao? I think he's kinda like Kuang Miao—good at smoothing things over, but it feels forced. I don't like him!"

Kuang Miao was one of the four who escaped from technical school with Chen Hanzhou and Pei Lan. Later, when Song Yijun broke ties with Zhang Su, Kuang Miao left with him.

"I think… Kuang Miao's different from him!"

Chen Hanzhou, rarely joining in, spoke up—this time contradicting Lu Yubo. To avoid misunderstanding, he explained.

"Kuang Miao was genuinely kind-hearted, often helping without expecting anything in return—not flattery or sycophancy. Back in school, he was always active. But this guy? His motives are strong, and he knows… how to use connections to get what he wants."

Lu Yubo had been annoyed by Chen Hanzhou's rebuttal, but hearing the rest, he realized it made sense. Still, he lacked the skill to respond—only nodded silently.

Zhang Su had finished applying ointment and lit a cigarette: "I hope he doesn't use Old Wang's name to cause trouble—it'd be really annoying…"

"Brother Wang! Brother Wang!"

As Tan Huajun neared the tail of the convoy, she saw Wang Guangjun anxiously scanning the crowd. She hurried forward and grabbed his arm.

"Brother Wang, you're looking for Xiaotao? I brought him back."

"Ah, Tan girl, thank you, thank you so much!"

Wang Guangjun vaguely saw Tan Huajun's figure and kept thanking her. Then he spotted his son behind her—his anger flared. He raised his hand to strike: "You little brat, where'd you run off to? Couldn't you even say something? What if something happened?"

Zhang Su and the others thought Wang Zhetao was essentially Wang Guangjun's eyes and ears—his sudden disappearance could endanger Wang Guangjun. But Wang Guangjun was more worried about Wang Zhetao's safety—surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place, caution was vital. Wang Zhetao knew his father cared. He dodged and darted, then stepped forward loudly: "Dad, this is the foot of Tianma Yu—under Yanluo Wang's control. How could anything happen? I'm back, aren't I?"

"What were you doing?"

Wang Guangjun pressed.

"Xiaotao probably got excited seeing Brother Su's fight earlier, so he came over to talk to us. Brother Wang, don't get mad—oh! Word's come—we're moving out!"

Tan Huajun, seeing the father-son argument, rushed to mediate—only to turn and see Zhang Su shouting for everyone to climb the mountain.

Wang Guangjun took a deep breath: "Thanks, thanks, Tan girl. Go ahead, take care of your business."

"Uh…" Tan Huajun rubbed her hands awkwardly: "There's one more thing… Brother Wang, where's the rope that was tied to Xiaotao?"

"Huh?"

Wang Guangjun turned to his son. Had Tan Huajun not mentioned it, he'd never realized his son had secretly untied himself.

"You little rascal, how dare you? Where's the rope?"

"Here…"

Wang Zhetao sulked as he pulled the rope out of his bag.

"You just wait... Tan Meizi, thank you for your help! Come on, I'll tie you up myself—try to untie it again, and I'll break your legs!"

Wang Guangjun was truly angry. This son hadn't brought him any pride—he'd brought nothing but shame. Their hands had been tied in front before, but this time he intended to bind Wang Zhetao in a triple-loop reverse bind. "No, no, Brother Wang, this isn't right… just tie me like before."

Tan Huajun spoke up again in Wang Zhetao's defense, though inwardly she had reservations about him. The young man was decent-looking and socially adept, but there was something overly calculating about him—an indefinable quality.

The convoy set off. Many chose not to cram into the vehicles but walked up the mountain instead. The one- or two-kilometer trek was no hardship, and it carried a strange, nostalgic air of a company team-building outing.

As they stepped onto the self-built road leading to the mountain's base, the scene across the fields to the north made everyone slow their steps.

Across the wasteland, pile upon pile upon pile of zombie corpses lay scattered—enough to send anyone with claustrophobia into immediate fainting.

Many stood frozen, scalp prickling. Tianma Yu's peace wasn't luck—it was carved out by sheer brute force! The vehicles behind them all came to a halt, everyone standing still to gaze upon this spectacular sight.

Those who had taken part in the recent defense battle proudly recounted their heroic deeds to their companions, and listeners couldn't help but be moved.

"No wonder Yanluo Wang dared boast he'd guarantee our heating—this… this is just insane."

Someone recalled Zhang Su's promise to everyone outside the Lebuy Mall—this was the source of their confidence.

Zombies were once their own kind; it was undeniably sorrowful. But now, these corpses were precious fuel—in other words, they were a guarantee of survival! Of course, securing such resources required immense power: a formidable Yanluo Wang and his Yanluo Legion, superior weapons and gear, and more combatants.

No time to linger—those walking continued upward, while the convoy followed slowly behind.

(End of Chapter)