Chapter 394: Flaw

Although Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t fertilized his own fields with manure for quite some time, he had grown up seeing the farmers’ treasures. Naturally, he wouldn’t wrinkle his nose just because he was close to it. The reason he acted this way was that he noticed something was off about the two carters driving the wagon.

The “farmers’ treasures” naturally referred to the manure spread on the fields. This manure cart was probably filled with dung scooped from the latrines of households in Pingyang City, to be taken back and used as fertilizer. Normally, when farmers do such work, they stick to the side of the main road, carefully driving the cart for fear of annoying passersby and bringing shame to themselves. Besides, hauling manure was never a respectable job—who would swagger down the middle of the street so brazenly?

Moreover, it was just after the New Year, not the proper time for spreading manure on the fields. If it were the season when the crops were growing, and a large amount of fertilizer was needed, it would be understandable for two strong laborers to go into the city together to collect manure. But now, there was no urgent need to fertilize; at most, they would just haul it back and store it for later. For such a leisurely task, why would it require two people?

Of course, maybe the two went together for company or convenience. But if you’re collecting manure, why cover your noses as if you despise these farmers’ treasures yourselves? Truly, you have no sense of professionalism!

Given all this, how could Zhang Xiaohua not conclude that there was something wrong with these two manure collectors?

Alas, it was their misfortune. Of all people to encounter, why did they have to run into this great hero who grew up in the countryside? Hmm, a great hero who is also extremely knowledgeable about farm fertilizers!

Brushing past the manure cart, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t stop so as not to arouse their suspicion, but continued forward. Only when the cart was almost out of sight did he pat the head of his Sibu Xiang and turn back to give chase.

Zhang Xiaohua was in no hurry. After all, he had his divine sense to rely on, so he could just follow them from afar without being discovered.

The manure cart kept heading east until night fell, and only then did it stop. The two men got off, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, and drove the cart into a small grove. Not long after, they came out again, but now the wooden barrels of manure on the cart were gone. In Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense, he saw the two men, still covering their noses, unload the barrels and carelessly toss them into the woods.

The cart got back on the road, and before long, it reached a small fork. The driver skillfully turned onto a muddy little path heading southwest, just wide enough for a single cart. Up ahead, a scattering of lights could be seen—it seemed to be a very small village.

The two men entered the village without hesitation and went straight to a courtyard at the village entrance, where the lights were already out. They knocked on the gate in a rhythmic, quiet manner. Immediately, an old man poked his head out from inside, first glancing into the distance, then opening the gate and scolding angrily: “You two little bastards, why are you only just arriving? Hurry up and get in here.”

The two men didn’t dare say a word. They exchanged glances and simply drove the cart into the courtyard.

Before the cart had even come to a full stop, the old man asked: “Did you bring the goods? The days are getting closer and closer. If we still can’t finish, the Master will surely hold us accountable.”

One of the men, the slightly taller one, replied with a fawning smile: “Banner Leader Gao, please rest assured. Although we’re two days late this time, we still managed to bring the goods on time, so we haven’t delayed the Master’s plans.”

“You make it sound so easy! I’ve been waiting here for days—how could I not be anxious? The deadline the Master set is almost here. So, why were you delayed for so long?”

“Sigh, please don’t mention it, Elder. Life in Pingyang City hasn’t been easy for us, you know. These past couple of days, the city’s been haunted. My men, and not just mine but brothers from other territories as well, have all run into this monster they call the ‘Legend of the Moon Shadow’ when out working at night. Elder, you haven’t seen it—just a flash of black light, and everything is shredded to pieces, the whole person turned into parts.”

This man spoke at length, repeating “Elder, you don’t understand” several times, which greatly annoyed Banner Leader Gao. At this point, the other man quickly added with a fawning smile: “Old Master Gao, just as my brother said, things have been anything but peaceful in the city these days. Any brother in the trade who goes out to handle business ends up getting interfered with by some strange things. So, for the sake of the Master’s grand plan, we had to keep our heads down and act cautiously.”

Banner Leader Gao’s expression softened a bit upon hearing this. He said: “You’ve had a tough time. You’ve delivered quite a few good items lately. If the Master asks, I’ll be sure to report to him and get you both a generous reward.”

The two men were overjoyed and cupped their fists, saying: “Thank you, Banner Leader Gao, for your support.”

At this moment, Banner Leader Gao sniffed, lowered his head slightly to look at his feet, and then said:

“By the way, what is this ‘Legend of the Moon Shadow’ you mentioned just now? Explain it to me in detail.”

“It’s like this, Banner Leader. As for what exactly it is, none of the brothers have actually seen it. It’s just a streak of black light—sometimes it chops off hands or feet, sometimes it severs tendons and bones, and there were even two people whose ears were cut off. Hmm, and also…”

At this point, the two men wore strange expressions, barely able to suppress their schadenfreude, almost bursting into laughter as they said: “That Fatty Niu from the west side of the city went out at night to force himself on a woman, and his… thing was also… hahahaha, hahaha.”

Banner Leader Gao’s expression changed slightly and he said: “Could it be an expert from the martial world? Or perhaps a master from the Heaven’s Way Alliance?”

The two men laughed and said: “That we don’t know. But the Heaven’s Way Alliance usually doesn’t bother with our affairs, so it shouldn’t be them. At first, we did suspect it was a martial arts expert, but that black light appeared in both the west and east sides of the city at almost the same time. Even if it was a master of martial arts, how could they strike in two places at once? What kind of qinggong would that require?”

“Hm? Such a strange event? Could it be that several martial experts acted at the same time?”

“Ah?” The two men shrank their necks and said: “Pingyang City is under the Heaven’s Way Alliance’s control now. Such a large sect even managed to wipe out the Piaomiao Sect—how could they let other masters run rampant in Pingyang City?”

“Well… even a fool may sometimes have a good idea. What you say makes sense. Forget it, anyway, the number our Lord wanted is almost reached, so we should be able to make the delivery. Sigh, I just don’t understand why our Lord dares to have us do these things right under the nose of the Heaven’s Way Alliance. It’s truly baffling.”

The man who spoke first laughed and said: “Banner Leader Gao, you don’t know. The other day, I specifically asked Blind Fan about it. Guess what he said?”

Banner Leader Gao was again displeased, snorted, and sniffed, then inconspicuously rubbed his foot on the ground a few times.

The other man laughed and said: “Don’t be offended, Banner Leader. The old blind man only said one thing: ‘The most dangerous place is the safest place.’”

Banner Leader Gao scoffed: “Anyone can say that. You think I don’t know? Without enough skill, everywhere is dangerous. This only proves that our Lord possesses unmatched martial prowess and extraordinary wisdom.”

“Long live the Lord!” the two men hurriedly shouted.

“Hush,” Banner Leader Gao said, “keep your voices down, don’t draw others here.”

As he spoke, he sniffed again, unable to endure it any longer. He lifted his foot and took a careful look.

The two men fawned, saying: “Banner Leader Gao, are you tired? Shall we massage your legs for you?”

Banner Leader Gao broke out in a cold sweat and waved his hands repeatedly, saying: “No, I’m not tired at all. It’s just… just, where is that stench coming from? I don’t think I stepped in any dog shit, and you two drove the cart over, you wouldn’t have stepped in any either, right?”

“Ah? Well…” The two looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.

One of them cautiously explained: “Well… Banner Leader, it’s not that you stepped in dog shit. It’s that the cart we drove here was used to carry manure!”

“Manure???” Banner Leader Gao was stunned. “Why on earth would you give up the fine profession of being a foot soldier to switch to hauling manure?”

At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua had already reached the village entrance. He left the Sibu Xiang in the wilds, floated down, and after carefully surveying the surroundings, with a flicker of his body, used an earth escape technique to arrive beside the small courtyard, hiding himself. He poked his ear out from the corner of the wall and listened intently.

The sharper of the two men laughed: “Banner Leader Gao, why don’t you take a look at the goods first, then you’ll understand.”

“Hm?” Banner Leader Gao was a bit puzzled. What could the goods have to do with manure? Still, he pinched his nose and walked to the front of the cart. He saw the man fiddle with some mechanism on the cart, and right in the middle, where it was smeared with filth, a fairly wide gap opened up. Through the gap, some clothing could be seen. In Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense, he suddenly saw a thin, small girl dressed in beautiful clothes.

In an instant, Zhang Xiaohua’s heart lit up. It seemed he really was blessed with dogshit luck—just when he was about to give up, he’d run into the real culprits. If he was not mistaken, these people were the ones who had kidnapped Little Orange.

Alas, Little Orange’s fate was not yet sealed.

However, in the next moment, Zhang Xiaohua found himself just as puzzled as Banner Leader Gao. Although he had been suspicious of the manure cart all along and had frequently scanned it with his divine sense, how had he not detected anything unusual? He had to admit, the mechanism on this cart was extremely well concealed.

The man carried the girl out from the hidden compartment inside the cart. Seeing her eyes tightly shut and her breathing steady, it was clear she had been drugged with some kind of sedative.

Banner Leader Gao looked at the girl, still frowning. To be honest, he really couldn’t see any absolute connection between this girl and the manure cart. This specially modified cart had previously been used to transport secret items, so hiding the girl inside was understandable, but what did it have to do with the stinking manure?

After a moment of contemplation, Banner Leader Gao’s eyes suddenly lit up. “So you two used the manure to cover your tracks? Could it be that ‘Moon Shadow Legend’ in Pingyang City has made you this wary?”

The two men immediately gave him a thumbs up and said: “Banner Leader Gao, you truly are wise!”

Alas, Banner Leader Gao was displeased once again!