There's something wrong with me

Chapter 181 Arrangement
night.

A grand banquet was held in the main hall of the General's Mansion.

"Thank you so much, Master Zhang, for saving my life today!"

Compared to regular banquets, Zhang Feng could only cook, and only after the food was cooked could it be served.

now.

Zhang Feng, however, sat down next to the general and was toasted with great gratitude by the general.

at the same time.

Zhang Feng glanced at the cultivators around him and saw that their faces showed more caution and curiosity.

Then, in the courtyard, they had laid the paving stones.

As for them...

Zhang Feng actually had some ideas.

Because of the fire spirit's protection and the structure of the earthen wall, it was almost completely devoured.

Could we perhaps request a copy of their techniques?
I didn't learn it before because I felt it involved a lot of "social etiquette" and was meaningless.

But now look at how respectful they are to themselves.

Then it's just going with the flow.

As Zhang Feng was pondering, he was about to ask them for the magic technique.

Wow!

Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, and a soldier stood at the entrance of the hall, looking like he had something important to say.

He was the one who interrogated the two assassins.

General Hang's attention is now focused on Zhang Feng, a master of both 'intelligence' and 'cooking'.

So, although he also wanted to know who sent the assassin, he felt that asking rashly would spoil the master's enjoyment of drinking and eating.

General Hang is now very concerned about Zhang Feng's feelings.

When it comes to dealing with Zhang Feng, absolute power trumps any favor owed to him for saving him.

General Hang is now being very cautious.

They felt that as long as they didn't offend Zhang Feng, and as long as they could keep Zhang Feng around, they could succeed.

Then there's no need to fear assassination; that's true completeness.

It's better than rushing to find out who it is and then overlooking a very important person.

In business, you need to prioritize.

General Hang felt very confident.

"Let's go take a look."

Zhang Feng didn't think too much about it; instead, he was curious about who had sent them.

Thinking about it carefully, General Hang, who seems like a nice guy, doesn't seem like the type to offend anyone.

Especially in situations like this, where warlords are vying for power, deliberately stirring up trouble to annex the territory of another.

Will the other generals sit idly by?

Zhang Feng had a feeling that something was wrong.

"Alright..." General Hang naturally followed the expert after hearing him speak, and told the others to stay and continue eating.

They really focused on the "you" and "me" in Zhang Feng's words, implying there were only two people.

Besides, with a master like Zhang Feng around, no matter how many people there are, it won't make a difference.

And at this moment, Zhang Feng left.

Only these few monks remained in the main hall.

They suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Honestly, even though Zhang Feng was drinking and eating in a very easygoing manner, he didn't target them at all.

But they felt an invisible pressure enveloping them.

"He's actually a cultivator..."

"I can't tell... I can't tell..."

"I'll keep my voice down..."

At this moment, the several cultivators and retainers in the manor exchanged glances, still surprised by the scene of Zhang Fengwu instantly solidifying into an earthen wall.

"This is strange...it's even divine..."

Amidst the astonishment, an old cultivator spoke up: "Fellow practitioners, what happened at noon today, in my opinion, was no small spell, but a great one!"
And watch him execute his moves with effortless grace...

His cultivation level is far superior to ours!

"It's definitely a powerful spell!" another man dressed in a short shirt replied. "And judging from the fluctuations in his spiritual energy, this spell should be worth at least 'two stones and one tenth'!"

Their depiction of talismans is based on 'stone'.

The character "二石" (two stones) is composed of two strokes.

One percent is 0.1.

Two stones make one unit, which is 2.1.

In fact, Zhang Feng's technique is '1.7 strokes'.

However, Zhang Feng's drawing was too precise, and coupled with his own research on soil science and the like, it relatively enhanced the power of his magic.

Therefore, to them, this technique appeared 'incredibly profound,' amounting to 2.1.
The magic of Ershi is the great magic.

Very few people in the world would do that.

Because when you are focused on drawing talismans, you also need to be able to 'multitask'.

That's really difficult.

As cultivators, they were naturally well aware of this difficulty.

However, they are now very curious about Zhang Feng's level of cultivation.

"Judging from his spiritual energy fluctuations, his cultivation level shouldn't be far higher than ours... he's probably at the peak of Qi Refining..."

At this moment, the old cultivator spoke again: "It's just that his spiritual energy is very strange, but it is extremely abundant, comparable to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Judging by his spiritual energy fluctuations, what kind of extraordinary phenomenon would it be if he were to condense his Foundation Establishment stage?"

The transition from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment involves transforming one's 'thin spiritual energy' into a more advanced 'spiritual liquid'.

This represents an improvement in quality.

In their view, Zhang Feng is still just spiritual energy and has not yet achieved 'Spiritual Liquid Foundation Building'.

This is very strange.

Such powerful magic, such abundant spiritual energy, and the ability to multitask.

They all sound normal, and each one individually is correct, but when combined, they don't make sense, at least not in accordance with their understanding of cultivation.

The moment the spell was cast was especially suspicious to them.

Because normal spells require 'drawing'.

This sketching takes time and cannot be completed instantly.

With their combined strength at the 'Perfect Qi Refining' stage, it was far beyond their capabilities.

Even the talisman geniuses they had encountered could not have completed such a feat in an instant, or even ahead of time, by anticipating the enemy's moves.

This is what they suspect now, and no matter how they think about it, it doesn't seem right.

"Could these assassins have been sent by him?"

At this moment, the cultivator speculated again: "Otherwise... how did he anticipate the enemy's moves? He cast the spell the instant the gunshot rang out, or rather, before the gunshot rang out?"
Could he be trying to get close to the general by claiming he saved his life?

He said this as if it could answer some of his questions.

“With Zhang Feng’s strength, there’s no need for this,” the old cultivator quickly objected. “Anyone with eyes can see that Zhang Feng’s strength is superior to ours; he’s at least a Foundation Establishment-level ‘Land Immortal’!”

With such strength, one would be a benefactor anywhere! Why resort to such tricks?

“Yes.” One of the cultivators agreed, “With the strength Zhang Feng has shown today, as long as he is careful of some traps and ambushes, he can definitely roam the world freely.”

If I had his strength, why would I need any tricks?
I can freely go to any general's mansion, and whichever general sees me, they will surely treat me as an honored guest!

He said that even if he wasn't Zhang Feng, he was far from having Zhang Feng's strength.

Just thinking about it makes me feel that it must feel incredibly exhilarating.

He felt envious and jealous, extremely jealous.

In addition, Zhang Feng looked young, unlike a learned old Taoist priest.

Such a prodigy only fueled his jealousy.

“That’s right.” The old cultivator nodded in agreement. “Now that Zhang Feng didn’t plan ahead, the way he drew his talismans must be at a genius level!”

And such a distinguished person was cooking in the general's mansion?

Especially since it lasted for two years without any problems?

Why is that?

The old monk did not understand.

And it wasn't just him who didn't understand; everyone else did too.

They didn't think there was anything in the general's mansion that would make this expert covet it.

From beginning to end, they never considered that this 'expert' was there to learn.

I never imagined that someone could master the art of talismans without a teacher within two years, and even replicate and instantly cast a talisman with two strokes.

In particular, the absurdly similar analogy led to the optimization of the soil spikes?
In their minds, this was impossible, to the point that they had never even considered it.

This is because it's just like spiritual cultivation and taking a master. Without someone to teach you, it's difficult to even begin visualizing, let alone open your spiritual mind.

Even if one can visualize, one's mind may be unstable, eventually leading to a disorder of spiritual energy and spirit, resulting in damage to both the mind and body.

The same applies to the art of talismans; it requires a high level of support from both spiritual energy and mental discipline.

Therefore, self-study is unrealistic.

They didn't think Zhang Feng was in the general's mansion to study.

This whole learning thing makes it even more terrifying.

Imagine a cultivator who knew nothing about talismans two years ago, and then in just two years, he learned the 'Two Stone Fire Spirit Talisman', which other cultivators could never understand in their entire lives, and even optimized it into a 'Two Stone' earth attribute.

This is no longer a question of whether someone is a cultivator or not; it means this person could establish a sect and become a patriarch.

However, even if they disbelieve and do not understand, they cannot deny the fact that Zhang Feng is a master.

Furthermore, they also knew that with such a powerful figure present, their status within the General's Mansion would naturally decline.

But that's it.

Suddenly, the old cultivator seemed to remember something and said to the group of people who were deep in thought or filled with envy, "Gentlemen... Zhang Feng was just a waiter more than two years ago..."

How...how did he achieve this level of skill in just two years...?"

Wow—

Upon hearing this, the man suddenly stood up, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his brow.

Because it's too weird.

The others weren't having an easy time either. Coupled with the fact that Zhang Feng could easily see assassins 300 meters away, they constantly felt like a pair of eyes were watching them. "Could it be..." one cultivator stammered, "...that he's truly a legendary reincarnation of a god or demon? Or..."

At this point, a hint of greed appeared on his face as he asked, "Or... does he possess some extraordinary treasure?"

“Or perhaps he’s hiding his identity.” The man quickly interrupted him after seeing the greed in his eyes. “He might be hiding in the general’s mansion to travel the world and find a way to break through his limitations.”

As the man spoke, he moved away from the greedy man.

Others also distanced themselves from him.

Even knowing that Zhang Feng was a master, they still acted greedily and schemingly.

That's practically suicide.

Although they were cultivators, they were still human beings and did not want to be implicated and die.

They also thought this person was a fool, and that he could keep his thoughts of murder and robbery to himself.

Now that you're saying it so openly, aren't you afraid they'll tell on you?

……

In fact.

Another few days passed.

Neither of them betrayed the other.

Because betraying one's friends for personal gain is shameful.

Furthermore, given that they had worked together for over a decade, even if one of them betrayed them, Zhang Feng might not believe that person was innocent.

So it's highly likely they'll all be killed, and then Zhang Feng will rebuild his own General's Mansion faction.

Especially when it comes to 'betrayal,' once it happens, it happens again.

Therefore, they didn't say anything, lest Zhang Fenglai defeat them one by one and then discard them afterward.

Fortunately, Zhang Feng was the same as always, and at most he only asked them for a few magic manuals.

As always, they decided to stick together and stabilize the situation first.

As for the assassins...

That evening, a trial and investigation were conducted.

Zhang Feng realized that the person who came was not from outside, but someone from within.

This man was a confidant of General Hang and commanded some troops.

Then, seeing that General Hang was focused on business and had no grand vision, he harbored evil intentions and wanted to take the opportunity to kill him and then seize power amidst the chaos.

If you think about it carefully, it makes sense.

This "reasonableness" doesn't refer to the desire to replace, but rather to the matter of assassination.

Only a few of General Hang's confidants knew about the fact that he had several cultivators practice their spells a few days ago.

In response, General Hang not only executed the insubordinate man but also thoroughly investigated his trusted confidants.

And then it was the second day of the review.

While studying the new spell, Zhang Feng overheard the old cultivator and the man saying they were taking people to their inn to investigate Hang Ge's situation. He then decided to follow them.

Firstly, I wanted to check on how the inn was doing, and secondly, I wanted to see my fellow corpse-driving brothers.

If possible, bring them into the General's Mansion to prepare for the Yangshan matter in the future.

……

We returned to the inn at noon that day.

The copper factory over there has been shut down for a long time. There's a huge surplus of copper coins here. If they keep operating, a bunch of people will have to deal with General Hang.

Nowadays, Brother Peng is mostly in charge of the businesses in the city.

Several new places for evening leisure and entertainment have appeared in this part of the city.

today.

Peng Ge is at the inn.

They arrived here in a car.

Through the car window, Zhang Feng saw that what used to be an inn had expanded to three times its original size.

If we go any higher up, we can't take care of them all.

Since Zhang Fengyi left, the quality of the food here has definitely declined significantly, and the number of customers has not increased every day, but has remained at two to three hundred tables per day.

Even if the chefs here have a little bit of Zhang Feng's skills, they can't afford to hire anyone more skilled than that.

Now, three hundred tables, three times the size, should be enough.

Sometimes the restaurant isn't even fully occupied, creating a "gap" in seating capacity, leaving some waiters and chefs idle.

At this moment again.

Zhang Feng led his men out of the car, followed by more than forty officers and soldiers.

"Brother Zhang!"

When Zhang Feng arrived, the former factory boss, Brother Peng, bowed and scraped and offered him cigarettes in welcome.

This place is only a few hundred miles away from the big city, and he had long heard that Zhang Feng was a great cultivator.

To be honest, he felt he should benefit from this, because if it weren't for his 'recommendation,' the general might have been gone.

Whether he can actually benefit from it depends on whether "Brother Zhang" takes him seriously.

“Hmm.” Zhang Feng had no intention of forming factions. Instead, he looked at the inn he wanted to visit and then at the innkeeper and others standing at the entrance with their hands clasped in front of him.

They only dared to stand at the door with forced smiles and hands clasped, not daring to come over.

Seeing this, Zhang Feng didn't exchange any pleasantries or say much, but simply nodded and said, "That's right, it can definitely be built."

Later, I'll write down some tips and instructions for the recipes, and you can send them to the chefs in the kitchen.

"Yes, yes..." The shopkeeper nodded and bowed, not as happy about making money, but as if he had received an order.

……

in the afternoon.

Zhang Feng arrived in the city alone and headed straight for the alley.

Two years later, I came to this small house again.

As Zhang Feng knocked on the door, he peered through the crack into the somewhat dark room.

There were many new dust and footprints there that were hard for ordinary people to notice.

This proves that the fellow students are still alive.

'We all thought they were gone by now, after all, it's been over two years.'

Zhang Feng really didn't expect that the two of them hadn't left yet.

The knocking stopped a second later.

A white figure flashed to the crack in the wall and peered out.

Zhang Feng also looked over here, "Fellow Daoist Lin, it's me."

As Zhang Feng spoke, he also smiled and said, "Congratulations on your full recovery."

"Brother Dao?!"

Compared to Zhang Feng's calm greeting, Fellow Daoist Lin appeared unusually excited.

Wow—

When he opened the door, the Taoist priest, now sporting a long beard, also came out of the house.

"Brother Dao has arrived!" He was also very excited, feeling as if he had waited for two years and finally met his 'benefactor'.

As Zhang Feng walked inside, he casually remarked, "When I came here before, I thought you two had already left."

"Why did you leave?" Now nimble as he caught up with Zhang Feng, Fellow Daoist Lin clasped his hands in a fist salute and replied, "Brother Daoist showed mercy to my junior brother, and even more so to me, saving my life!"
Now that we have not repaid such a great debt of gratitude, how could we possibly leave, how could we dare to leave?

"Exactly!" The Taoist priest clasped his hands in a solemn manner. "To abandon someone who has shown you kindness is no different from being a beast."

As he spoke, he added, "Furthermore, Brother Dao had instructed the two of us to wait here. We owe Brother Dao a debt of gratitude, so we will naturally obey your orders."

Over the course of two years, their perception of Zhang Feng changed repeatedly.

Especially six months ago, after Fellow Daoist Lin fully recovered.

This immense kindness filled them with gratitude, and they wanted to repay it in some way.

Of course, it cannot be denied that Zhang Feng's strength was too high, so they wanted to wait for this master.

But more than anything, it's out of gratitude.

"You two are too kind."

Zhang Feng saw that they were acting as if they were repaying a debt of gratitude, but he didn't think much of it, because there weren't many times when he would need their help.

At most, they will be needed to guide us on our next trip to Yangshan, which will reduce the time spent searching.

Then compare based on the highest value.

The strongest being in the previous world had around 230 physiques.

You need at least 260 stamina, or at least 30 more stamina to crush them before you can go.

That means I'll need to train for another year or so.

It's a good opportunity to organize the spells of those cultivators and see if we can figure out the basic structure of 'various elemental thorns' through water swords and earth spikes.

then.

After the two men offered tea, another cup of tea was served.

Zhang Feng then spoke about going to the General's Mansion.

The two of them didn't say much, and quietly listened to the general's instructions.

After Zhang Feng finished speaking.

Even though the two of them disliked warlords a bit because of General Tao's affair.

But they also knew it was safe there, and they knew that their brother was doing it for their own good.

Therefore, the two did not refuse, but instead gratefully clasped their hands in greeting.

"I will follow your instructions, fellow Daoist!"

"Brother Dao, when shall we depart?"

They looked at Zhang Feng.

Zhang Feng glanced at his watch. "Let's get ready to leave now. First, head to the inn. Where's the car?"

"Alright." The Taoist stood up and prepared to pack some luggage.

However, after Fellow Daoist Lin got up, he hesitated for a moment before going over.

Seeing his hesitation, as if something was wrong, Zhang Feng asked, "What is it, fellow Daoist?"

"This..." Fellow Daoist Lin pondered for a moment, and finally decided to tell the truth: "Brother Daoist, when I went out at night some time ago, I found ghosts causing trouble in the Qingcheng area."

Over the past few months, I have searched extensively but still cannot confirm it.

Now, on the road leading to the General's Mansion, slightly southwest, lies Qingcheng.

I'd like to explore further, but I'm afraid it might disrupt your schedule.

(End of this chapter)