Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 51 Unexpected Promotion
Zhou Zhao looked closely and then smiled.

Her laughter was crisp and clear, but it sent chills down the spines of Huang Sanbai and Zhang Miaoshou.

They could tell that the little girl in front of them had a somewhat wicked air about her!

This person is truly shameless. They were the villains who first accused the other, yet they are now turning the tables and waiting here to be cursed by them.

"The hall master is a veteran of many battles and can tell at a glance what kind of injury this is! Look at the wound on this child's head, it is clearly caused by being hit by a heavy object. If I remember correctly, the Purple Gold Hammer of Tianxu Village is a heavy hammer."

“Look at his forehead and face, there is still red powder on them. Although I have not been in Tianying City for long, I have heard that this is the unique skill of the Heavenly Maiden Yingge.”

"The Dai Kingdom is a weak kingdom, and the Dai army is a weak army. The brothers from both villages, while not all of them are masters, are still quite skilled. How could they be wiped out like this, with only one survivor? Moreover, the person who came to deliver the message only had wounds inflicted by his comrades."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, he sneered and looked at the loud and boisterous Zhang Miaoshou.

"Chief Zhang, now that you're in front of the Hall Master, are you still not telling the truth? Or are you simply too afraid to tell the truth in front of the annihilated Tianxu Village!"

Zhang Miaoshou's expression froze, his lips trembled, and he knew something was wrong!

The one who ran back was one of their Heavenly Maidens' people. He had escaped death because he was lying in the grass after being hit by the Purple Gold Hammer. After learning the truth, he was worried that the Heavenly Void Village Chief, Huang Sanbai, would act rashly in desperation, so he used subtle language to point the finger at Cheng Yuyuan.

Perhaps because Tianxu suffered heavy losses, Huang Sanbai had lost his composure and couldn't quite come to his senses for a while!

But he didn't realize it; the little girl in front of him did.

Not only did she see through it, she also openly sowed discord, trying to get him to fight with Huang Sanbai.

Zhang Miaoshou thought to himself, and couldn't help but look at Huang Sanbai. Sure enough, he saw that Huang Sanbai's expression had turned unfriendly!

The old hall master, Ye Xuan, wiped his hands clean, threw the handkerchief into the copper basin, and his sharp gaze fell on the short man whose head was covered in blood. "Tell the truth, or I'll kill you."

The short man's legs went weak, and he repeated everything word for word, not daring to hide anything.

When Huang Sanbai heard that Yingge had sprinkled the powder and knocked out most of the Tianxu Village people, he was furious. Ignoring the hand that Zhou Zhao had pinched, he suddenly attacked Zhang Miaoshou. Zhang Miaoshou was prepared and got into a fight with Huang Sanbai.

For a time, the Xuanwu Hall was filled with a chaotic and fierce fight, a real dog-eat-dog spectacle.

Zhou Zhao glanced at her and quietly nudged Cheng Yuyuan.

Cheng Yuyuan recovered from her shock and walked to the old hall master's side. "Hall Master, if Dai Jun takes action, it will be a major event for our Xuanwu Hall. So many brothers have been captured. Shouldn't we send someone to rescue them?"

“The two of them were shouting as they walked, and it’s already become common knowledge. It’s impossible to hide it from the other three halls. Our Xuanwu Hall is currently empty, so we should quickly recruit some more brothers to fill the vacancies and make preparations.”

As Cheng Yuyuan spoke, she bowed to the old hall master, saying, "Zhu Wen is unrighteous and betrayed Xuanwu Hall. He was originally one of our Tiandou people. Yuyuan misjudged people and is truly to blame. I am willing to accept the punishment without any complaints."

“Zhu Wu is still in our village. Yu Yuan will have someone bring him here soon and hand him over to the hall master for disposal.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Xuan's expression softened considerably. He shook his head and said, "It has nothing to do with you. As far as I know, the Prince of Dai is about to take up his fiefdom, and the Dai army should be trying to curry favor with the new master by offering up military merits at this time. It's just that Zhu Wen has stumbled upon a good opportunity."

"However, the Prince of Dai was a low-key person and not ambitious. After he entered Dai, the Dai army dared not provoke Tianying again."

"You first guard Xuanwu Gate and stabilize the situation. As for rescuing people..."

Ye Xuan's voice boomed, and Huang Sanbai and Zhang Miaoshou, who had been fighting like idiots, finally realized what was happening. Zhou Zhao had instigated them to fight to the death, while Cheng Yuyuan was stepping on their corpses to curry favor with the old master! This was simply outrageous!
As the old master spoke, his gaze fell on Zhou Zhao, "Your skills are quite good. Tell those two to stop fighting."

Zhou Zhao nodded obediently, looking exactly like a well-behaved sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. She made no attempt to hide her abilities, leaping lightly between the two men and then mercilessly slapping one of them on the forehead.

Huang Sanbai and Zhang Miaoshou only felt a black shadow flash by, their heads started buzzing, and they began to see stars!

Only then did the two belatedly realize that the new girl from Tian Dou Village was truly quite skilled in martial arts! Not to mention that they had suffered heavy losses today and were no longer a match for Tian Dou, even without today's events, if Cheng Yuyuan had such a divine weapon, they would have been no match for her in the struggle for the village chief position.

“You all heard what Chief Cheng just said, so do as she says.”

The old master only said that one sentence, and then said nothing more.

He looked at Zhou Zhao with great interest, "There are quite a few young ladies nowadays who can ride and shoot, but not many who know real martial arts."

Zhou Zhao was wary and cupped his hands in greeting to the old hall master. "In these chaotic times, learning some martial arts is just for self-preservation. I originally thought that if my father and brothers were conscripted to the battlefield, I could still manage to survive with the women in my family."

"Unexpectedly, life is unpredictable. People can't be relied on, but kung fu is reliable."

The old hall master seemed to have thought of something and sighed.

"I find you to be of a cheerful and straightforward nature, and we get along very well. I wonder if you would be willing to stay by my side and inherit my mantle? I have fought on the battlefield for many years, but I have lost all my family members. Now I am nearing the end of my life, and all I have left is this skill."

"I've been looking for a successor, but I haven't met a suitable one yet. I never expected to meet you at this time."

Zhou Zhao was stunned, never expecting things to turn out this way.

She secretly sized up Ye Xuan. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and exuded an imposing aura. Although he kept saying that he was nearing the end of his life, and Cheng Yuyuan had previously said that he intended to retire, no matter how you looked at him, the old hall master did not show any signs of illness.

Not only was he not sickly, but his voice was booming and his blood and energy were more vigorous than three Cheng Yuyuans combined.

He is not someone who is nearing the end of his life at all.

So why did he give up the position of Xuanwu Hall Master?

Zhou Zhao's mind raced with a thousand thoughts, but his face was filled with joy. "Thank you, Hall Master! This is Zhou Zhao's good fortune!"

I wonder if this is a blessing for you, old man! Zhou Zhao silently added in his heart.

Things didn't go exactly as she had planned, but instead, it brought her to the side of the Xuanwu Hall Master ahead of time, giving her more opportunities to take action.

Her strength lies in her ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then raised his hand to bow, "Master, above..."

The old master stopped her, saying, "Don't rush. Let me first offer sacrifices to my ancestors, and then choose an auspicious day to formally accept you as my disciple."

Zhou Zhao was overjoyed, and rolled her eyes at Huang Sanbai and Zhang Miaoshou, her face full of arrogance, "Master, your disciple will go back and pack my luggage and move over right away!"

Whether she sticks her neck out or not, she'll still get hurt eventually. She might as well move in sooner rather than later and see what this old man is really up to!
Zhou Zhao thought to himself, "Look how much she pities her senior! She even promoted him, from the fan-wielding underling of the third leader of Tiandou Village to the fan-wielding underling of the only disciple of the Xuanwu Hall Master."