Searching for the best path, starting from Renjia Town

Chapter 235 Rescue
"This is Junior Uncle's hometown."

In a remote mountain village in northern Anhui, a burly man quietly appeared; he was none other than Li Kunshan's Blood God Son, Li Yi.

In order to find Zheng Zibu, Li Kunshan immediately sent two Blood God Sons after leaving Maoshan. Based on the known clues, one went to track Lu Jin and the other went to Zheng Zibu's hometown.

Looking at this small village, which was only two or three miles in circumference, Li Yi couldn't help but shake his head.

Under the continuous ravages of war, this already not-so-prosperous little village has become increasingly depopulated. Although it is not quite empty, there are basically no able-bodied men left in the village, only some old, weak, women and children.

Even more tragically, according to the original text, those extraordinary individuals gathered here in advance to ambush Zheng Zibu and seize the Tongtian Talisman.

The original text does not specify the exact circumstances, only stating that Zheng Zibu's hometown was destroyed.

But from these two words, one can imagine that it was probably not just houses and farmland that were destroyed, but also villagers who were implicated and slaughtered.

When the nation is in peril, it is truly despicable that compatriots still fight and waste each other's resources.

"No."

Thinking of this, Li Yi's face darkened.

Li Kunshan's order was for him to find and protect Zheng Zibu, but now that he knew about the village's tragic end, how could he sit idly by?

Before Zheng Zibu went up the mountain, he had no relatives left in the world. The people in this village were just his fellow villagers, but the strange people who came after him probably wouldn't care about that.

To prevent the villagers from being harmed, it would be best to let them leave.

But as the saying goes, it's hard to leave one's homeland, especially in this day and age. Who would abandon their house and land to leave?

What the Japanese devils couldn't do, how could Li Yi possibly accomplish with just a few words?

"In extraordinary times, we have no choice but to resort to extraordinary measures."

Li Yi thought for a moment, then raised his hand and scattered a handful of paper figures.

These paper figures entered the village and stuck them on everyone they met. In just a short time, the few dozen people left in the village all had paper figures attached to the back of their necks.

"Let's hide in the mountains for now."

There is a small hill next to the village. Although it is bare, it is still a good place to hide.

They used a mind-controlling spell to subdue all the villagers, and with several days' worth of food and water, they drove their few livestock and poultry into the mountains one by one.

"This village can't be left empty."

After settling the villagers in, Li Yi glanced at the empty village one last time and pondered for a moment.

Such an empty village is highly suspicious; it's clearly a message to those strange people that something is amiss here.

Then, with a smile, he scattered another handful of paper figures.

Hurrah~!

The paper figures floated in the air, rapidly changing their appearance. Once they landed, they had transformed into villagers, livestock, and poultry.

Then, as if they had a sense of self, they worked and lived in the village like ordinary villagers.

It wasn't exactly turning beans into soldiers; it was just some simple tricks to deceive people. But with Li Kunshan's skill, it was no problem to fool those ordinary supernatural beings.

"It wouldn't be good if it got damaged."

After settling the people in, there are also houses and farmland.

Li Yi casually made a series of slashes, and a large number of talismans surged out, then burrowed into the ground and scattered throughout the village.

Buzz~!

A moment later, a buzzing sound rang out, and golden light flashed, like a thin film that completely enveloped all the houses, fields, and utensils in the entire village.

In the blink of an eye, the golden light vanished, as if nothing had ever happened.

"That'll be fine."

After taking one last look, Riku couldn't help but nod.

He smiled and walked straight into the village.

He was of ordinary appearance to begin with, and after changing into farm clothes, he looked no different from any other villager.

A day later, a group of outsiders appeared around the village.

Although the Republic of China was not like ancient times, it was still inconvenient for ordinary people to travel by carriage, especially now that wars were raging in various places, and people generally did not leave their hometowns.

The sudden appearance of a large number of unfamiliar faces around the village was enough to raise alarm.

However, these people were quite resourceful and extremely vigilant, so they were not discovered by the villagers. They simply lurked around the village, secretly observing every move in the village.

Over the next two days, more people arrived, and just like before, they lay in wait around the village.

"Young Master, if we just wait here, will we really be able to catch Zheng Zibu?"

Two miles outside the village, at the foot of a hillside, a group of strange people gathered.

The fat man at the head of the group was named Wang Ai, the young master of the Wang family, one of the four families, and the sole heir of the Wang family.

"You ask me? How the hell would I know!"

Wang Ai slapped the head of his short, thin subordinate in front of him, then narrowed his eyes slightly.

"In this world, things don't always have a result just because you do them, but no matter what, you should at least try. Don't you see that others are waiting too?"

"Young master, you are right."

The short, thin man nodded obsequiously for a while, then patted his chest repeatedly.

"Young Master, rest assured, we have made all the arrangements. As soon as Zheng Zibu shows up, we guarantee he won't be able to escape!"

"Yes, success depends on fate, but planning depends on man."

"By the way, young master, the Lü family has also arrived. If Zheng Zibu really shows up, I'm afraid there will be some trouble."

"Damn it, those mad dogs from the Lü family are everywhere."

Wang Ai's face was full of resentment whenever the Lü family was mentioned.

Back then, he took a liking to Guan Shihua, but Guan Shihua was in love with Lü Ci from the Lü family. Although Guan Shihua didn't marry anyone in the end, it still left Wang Ai with a lingering resentment.

The delegation from the Lü family was led by Lü Ci. Wang Ai's gaze darkened, and he let out a cold snort.

"They'd better be sensible, or I'll take care of them all!"

"Understood!"

The short, thin man nodded, ready to serve as a pawn.

Meanwhile, in another direction from the village.

In a small grove of trees, another group of extraordinary people gathered—it was the Lü family.

Looking at the peaceful village and then at the place where the Wang family was lying in ambush, Lü Ci smiled coldly.

"Damn it, Fatty Wang is here too. He dares to try and take it from me? He's asking for it!"

Compared to the Wang family, the Lü family members were even more ruthless.

At this moment, everyone was eager to fight, completely disregarding the friendship between the four families.

Besides the Wang and Lü families, there were also many other extraordinary individuals from other factions, lying in ambush around the village.

Everyone remained still, waiting for Zheng Zibu to arrive.

Although it's not guaranteed that you'll get what you want, waiting patiently when there are no other good options is a viable solution.

Step~!

Late at night, a figure wearing a straw hat walked from a distance.

These days, strange people keep coming, which is not unusual.

But compared to other extraordinary individuals, this person was noticeably more cautious, as if afraid of being discovered.

In a high-lying spot, the man slightly lifted his straw hat, revealing a pair of sharp eyes. It was Zheng Zibu!

Looking at the village in the distance, Zheng Zibu's expression was serious.

As an orphan, he indeed had no relatives left in the village.

But as an orphan, he survived on the charity of various families before being taken to Maoshan.

To him, everyone in the village is his benefactor and family!
He realized that the matter of the Tongtian Talisman had been exposed, and now the entire world of supernatural beings was searching for him. With Zheng Zibu's abilities, it wouldn't have been a problem if he wanted to hide.

However, he was worried that those people would harm the villagers, so even though he knew it was dangerous, he still came to check it out.

"You really think highly of me."

Outside the village, Zheng Zibu had already spotted no fewer than thirty or forty people, all of whom possessed considerable skills and were clearly there for him.

Making so many extraordinary people spend their time waiting for him is certainly impressive.

Fortunately, the village doesn't look out of place now.

Immediately, Zheng Zibu's face darkened. But they couldn't just let it go like this. These people were willing to do anything to get the Tongtian Talisman. If they didn't get it, they might harm the villagers.

Unless, this matter can be brought to a conclusion.

After a moment's hesitation, Zheng Zibu did not retreat, but instead headed straight for the village.

Swish~!

After taking only two steps, he casually drew an invisibility talisman, and his figure immediately disappeared.

"Damn it, how long is this going to take? This is such a waste of my time. I'm burning this lousy place down when I leave."

On a desolate hill to the west of the village, amidst the sparse sound of water, a burly man with a thick beard urinated while muttering to himself.

After urinating, the burly man shivered twice, yawned, and prepared to go back to sleep. It wasn't his turn to be on night duty, and besides, they had already made arrangements to trigger the alarm if anyone came.

"!!!"

But the next moment, as soon as he turned around, he saw a figure standing in front of him. The big man was startled and instinctively wanted to shout.

Poof~!

But before he could even utter a sound, a short knife had already slit his throat. The big man opened his mouth, spitting out a lot of blood and foam, but he couldn't make a sound.

He casually caught the fallen man's body, gently placed it on the ground, and then drew a talisman to cover it up. With a serious expression, Zheng Zibu immediately reached out to the others.

Along the way, he had been hunted down too many times and had long understood that it was either you die or I live!
Moreover, to put an end to this, a fight is inevitable, regardless of the final outcome!
"coming!"

"He actually dared to come!"

A moment later, the Lü family became alert.

Lu Ci was filled with excitement and immediately led his men over.

"Ok?"

He had only run halfway when he encountered the Wang family, and his face immediately darkened.

However, Zheng Zibu is the most important thing right now, so we can't worry about anything else and will skip over it.

"Hmph~!"

Wang Ai snorted coldly, understanding this principle as well.

There was no immediate conflict with Lü Ci, so they headed straight for Zheng Zibu.

Boom~!

Now that they've been exposed, there's no need to hold back any longer. A deafening roar rang out, and blinding lightning flashed across the wilderness—it was the Five Thunder Talisman.

These strange beings are not evil spirits; ordinary exorcising talismans are useless against them. But whether they are human or ghost, they all fear natural forces such as thunder and fire.

Boom~Boom~!

With the addition of the Wang and Lü families, the battle intensified.

In an instant, the entire wilderness roared continuously, accompanied by earth-shaking tremors and blinding flashes of lightning.

Those who came to lie in wait this time were all experts from the world of supernatural beings, and there were many of them. However, Zheng Zibu, as the junior uncle of Maoshan, was not someone to be trifled with.

In particular, he has now comprehended the Tongtian Talisman, and although many of the talismans have not yet been nurtured, their power is already quite remarkable.

The two sides fought from midnight until dawn, and Zheng Zibu single-handedly killed more than half of the enemy's men!

"Hoo~ho~!"

However, Zheng Zibu was already at his limit, and as he stood there, his chest heaving violently.

The Tongtianlu allows you to draw talismans at will, scattering all kinds of powerful spells like beans.

However, there is a prerequisite: regardless of the type of talisman, casting it requires consuming Qi and Blood.

Zheng Zibu was merely promoted to the rank of Dharma Master; his vital energy was ultimately limited.

To put it simply, Zheng Zibu's skills have no cooldown, but he lacks mana.

"Zheng Zibu! If you don't surrender, I'll kill all these villagers!"

In the village, Wang Ai grabbed a four- or five-year-old child, held the child's neck with her right hand, and looked at Zheng Zibu with a sinister expression.

Other members of the Wang family, acting on instructions, kidnapped many more people in the village.

Furthermore, many other martial arts practitioners from other sects followed suit. After all, if they could truly control Zheng Zibu, they couldn't let the Wang family seize the initiative alone.

Although the Lü family members did not make any moves for the time being, they all had fierce expressions on their faces. If they were to actually fight, they might not be as amicable as the Wang family.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Zibu immediately frowned.

Although he has little energy left, if he is determined to escape, he may still be able to get away.

But the current situation is troublesome.

These scumbags are using the villagers as leverage. If he escapes, these villagers, and indeed the entire village, will surely suffer.

Zheng Zibu originally wanted to kill all these strange people, or at least drive them away, and then find a way to settle the villagers.

However, to his surprise, two of the four families came, along with other extraordinary individuals, whose strength far exceeded his expectations, and he simply couldn't handle them.

Now, by using the villagers as leverage, they have completely seized his Achilles' heel.

"hateful!"

Caught in a dilemma, Zheng Zibu's face was filled with anger.

But he was really unwilling to surrender just like that.

"Damn it! You won't surrender, huh? I'll kill this little brat first!"

Seeing that Zheng Zibu refused to comply, Wang Ai was too lazy to argue with him. With a cold shout, she suddenly exerted force with her palm.

"do not want!"

Zheng Zibu's expression changed drastically, and he shouted to stop him.

But unfortunately, it's too late.

Click~!

With a soft crack, Wang Ai snapped the child's neck.

Anyway, we have plenty of hostages, one more won't make a difference.

Wow~!

But the next moment, to everyone's surprise, with a soft sound, the child who should have become a corpse turned into a paper doll!
"This is……"

"what happened!"

For a moment, everyone stared in shock. How could a living person turn into paper? What kind of method was this?

Wow~!

Just as everyone was horrified, the next moment, everyone else in the village also turned into paper figures.

"This one too!"

"All of them!"

Seeing their hostages turn into paper, everyone was horrified and panicked.

"Ok?"

Of course, a few people remained calm and looked around warily.

It was only at this point that they noticed something was wrong.

Something's wrong with this village!

Not only did everyone turn into paper, but the village itself seemed to be protected by a powerful force!

After all, they had been fighting for so long, it was inevitable that the village would be affected, but every tree and blade of grass in the village was intact.

"That's a good trick."

Surprised, everyone turned to look at Zheng Zibu with serious expressions.

It seems we underestimated this junior master from Maoshan.

"This……"

On the other side, Zheng Zibu's eyes widened, filled with doubt.

This was not done by him at all.

Swish~!

Just as everyone was wondering who had done all this, a tall figure suddenly leaped out!

(End of this chapter)