Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 243 The Chicken Crow and the Dog Thief

In the distant borderlands of the Zhenglan Kingdom, on that desolate land thousands of miles away from the bustling city of Jingzhou, things have become unusually noisy and bustling in recent days.

This quiet little village, which had always had only a handful of households, was suddenly flooded with a large number of unfamiliar faces.

These outsiders came in all shapes and sizes, some dressed in strange clothes, others behaving oddly, which stirred up an indescribable sense of fear in the hearts of the simple and honest villagers.

The devastating explosion the day before yesterday still leaves people feeling shaken and unsettled.

At this moment, the arrival of so many strangers of unknown origin like a tidal wave undoubtedly made the villagers even more fearful and uneasy.

Out of instinctive fear of unknown dangers, everyone closed their doors tightly, hiding in their homes in fear, not even daring to breathe loudly.

However, the situation developed in a way that was far more complex and simple than these villagers could have imagined.

Sure enough, while everyone was hiding at home in fear, a haggard-looking middle-aged man unfortunately became a victim of this storm.

A group of imposing men dressed in fine clothes stormed into his house and easily dragged him out from under the bed like a chicken.

Before the poor middle-aged man could react, he received several resounding slaps to the face.

As the crisp sound of a slap rang out, the middle-aged man felt dizzy and saw stars before his eyes, and blood immediately flowed from his mouth and nose.

Then, this group of fierce-looking, brocade-clad warriors threw the middle-aged man, who was already bruised and battered and in a sorry state, onto the ground as if he were trash.

"Damn country bumpkin, I came here out of kindness to ask you some questions, and you dare to hide and refuse to come out? Are you tired of living?"

The burly man at the head of the group, with a face full of scars, glared angrily and roared viciously at the middle-aged man who was lying on the ground.

The middle-aged man was already dizzy and disoriented from the beating, his body wracked with excruciating pain. He coughed painfully and pleaded desperately:

"Cough cough... Good sir, spare my life! I really don't know anything! Please, please let me go... cough cough..."

"You were closest to the explosion site, there's no way you didn't see anything! Are you trying to cover it up?"

“We country folk go to bed early, and the explosion happened at midnight. We were so shocked by the blast that we almost passed out, and we didn’t dare to go out. So we didn’t see anything.”

"Aren't you curious? Didn't you want to see what was going on? You didn't dare go out that night, so you didn't go out the next morning either!" The burly man grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar and lifted him up from the ground, speaking viciously.

"I went out, but I didn't go to see what was going on. First, I was scared, and second, it was too far away, at least a thousand miles away. Besides, my house was destroyed by the earthquake and needs to be repaired..." the middle-aged man said mournfully.

"You know nothing? You have an excuse? You don't want to live anymore!" Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, the big man slapped him across the face again, sending him flying a dozen feet away.

The middle-aged villager was an ordinary person with no martial arts skills. He couldn't withstand the big man's fist. He coughed up blood and rolled on the ground in pain.

"I told you not to know!" The big man was furious because he couldn't get a word out. He didn't care about the villagers' lives and walked over and kicked the middle-aged man again, sending him flying more than ten feet away. None of the warriors who came with him said anything to stop him. They just stood there and watched coldly.

"Stop!" Just as the burly man walked over again to assault the villagers, a strange old man wearing a long robe with red and green stripes walked over.

"Don't push your luck! You bunch of people bullying a country bumpkin, have you no shame?" The old man walked up to the middle-aged man and blocked the big man's path.

"Where did this old codger come from? It's none of your business how the Thirteen Protectors of Zhangzhou conduct themselves. You'd better get out of here, or don't blame us for being impolite!" the burly man roared at the old man.

"What Da Bao or Xiao Bao? Never heard of them. So what if I'm being rude? Trying to rely on numbers? I, 'Cai Yunfei,' have never been afraid of anyone. One-on-one or all of you coming at me?"

The old man didn't take these people seriously at all.

"I think you're tired of living!" Without saying a word, the big man unleashed his profound power and punched the old man in the face.

"Level 5 Earth Rank, Fire Attribute Mystic Technique, indeed has a fiery temper, but that's all." The old man waved his hand, using his arm to block the swift punch.

The burly man was startled to see the old man easily deflect his punch. Moreover, he couldn't see through the old man's strength at all, knowing that the old man's cultivation was at least two levels higher than his own. However, he was not afraid, because no matter how strong the old man was, he was still just one person, while there were thirteen of them on his side. Even if the opponent was strong, he would definitely be outnumbered, unless he was a Heavenly Rank expert.

"Again!" The big man turned around and punched the old man in the chest again, this time putting all his strength into it. His huge fist turned red, like a red-hot iron fist.

"Again?" The old man swung his arm again, trying to block the punch. Just then, a skinny man standing next to him made a move without a word. He was as fast as lightning. He shot out a white sword aura from two fingers, aiming straight for the old man's waist.

The old man quickly moved his body to avoid the sword energy. He then swiftly swung his palm, swiftly slicing it into the big man's arm and deflecting the oncoming fist.

"Trying to launch a sneak attack? A fifth-level Earth-rank Metal-type cultivator is still too green!"

The old man easily neutralized their combined attack with a single move, and even calmly mocked his opponents. Enraged, the burly man brandished a large sword, gripping the hilt horizontally and slashing towards the old man's waist. At the same time, the metal-elemental warrior simultaneously thrust both hands forward, sending two white sword energies, one above and one below, straight towards the old man's chest and abdomen.

Seeing this, the old man pushed with both hands, his left palm striking the back of the horizontally slashing broadsword with surprising accuracy, knocking the man's broadsword away and crashing it to the ground. His right palm then conjured a wooden shield of primordial energy, blocking the two incoming sword energies.

The burly man's broadsword was forcefully deflected, his strength was hindered, and his hands burned with pain from the backlash. He couldn't help but shout in anger.

"Let him go!" the big man shouted, raising his knife again to smash at the old man. At the same time, the other twelve men also took their positions and surrounded the old man, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Heh heh, finally lost your patience! Come on, if numbers mattered, there would be no fools in the world!" The old man said this, but his expression became much more serious. A red and green vine whip appeared in his hand, and his aura rapidly increased.

"You've lived for hundreds of years and you're only at the ninth level of the Earth Rank of Wood element? You dare to boast like that! We brothers have taken down countless level nine Earth Rank idiots before! Brothers, form a formation! Let's see who the real idiot is!"

After the burly man saw through the old man's cultivation level, he felt much more at ease.

After the big man finished speaking, the thirteen men quickly sprang into action. The skinny man who had previously cooperated with the big man, along with another tall man, a dark-faced man, and a burly man, stepped forward and, together with the big man, surrounded the old man from five directions. The other eight men quickly retreated a few steps and formed a circle from eight directions, slowing down their movements and constantly changing their moves, merging their respective profound skills together to form a spiritual energy ring.

"I'll show you the power of the Five Elements and Eight Directions Formation, you old geezer, prepare to die!"

The burly man roared and raised his knife to slash at the old man. The other four also attacked in unison, unleashing five streams of profound energy—red, white, green, yellow, and black—that enveloped the old man. Their killing intent was palpable, and their aura was many times stronger than before.

"They really do have some skills! I underestimated them."

Trapped within the formation, the pressure intensified, and the old man inwardly groaned. He hurriedly swung his vine whip, making a whooshing sound as it was lashed out.

With each swing of his whip, the speed increased, and numerous tiny black thorns rapidly sprouted from its surface. These thorns were broken off when the whip collided with the ground and embedded themselves there. In no time, the area within several feet was covered with these thorns.