Chapter 17.1: Compensation Scam (1/2)

Zhang Shenxu’s face turned black, and his heart grew anxious. He swung the folded fan toward the palanquin once again.

“Outrageous!” A loud cry came from afar.

“Whooooosh—”

A beam of light was shot toward Zhang Shenxu, which was a flying sword aimed at his head while going at an extreme speed. It would have cut off his head had he not stopped his attack to blast the palanquin.

“Who is that!” Zhang Shenxu turned around in shock and deflected the flying sword with his white fan.

“Baaam!”

A loud explosion followed. The flying sword flew back after clashing with the white fan, but the Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples were right by Zhang Shenxu’s face by then. The leading middle-aged man caught the flying sword and stared at Zhang Shenxu.

“Who are you? How dare you act as you please in the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s territory!” said the middle-aged man with glaring eyes.

While all of this happened, Wang Ke’s eyes were glowing as he stood near the palanquin. The Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples don’t know the man with the white fan?How fortunate! No need to trouble ourselves with the speech I prepared!

Wang Ke kicked Zhang Zhengdao lightly, prompting him to cry out for help.

“Aiyo! He’s going to murder me. Save me, please! My waist, my intestine! It hurts so much. Aiyo! Help me!” Zhang Shenxu cried out to play the part, which interrupted Zhang Shenxu and the man with the flying sword.

The middle-aged man raised a brow as he pointed toward Zhang Shenxu, “All of you, don’t move! Surround him, and don’t let him escape!”

“Yes, sir!”

All the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s disciples surrounded Zhang Shenxu while the man with the flying sword looked toward Zhang Zhengdao.

“I’m Sun Song, from the Heavenly Wolf Sect! How are you?” the leading man asked.

Before Zhang Zhengdao could reply, Wang Ke interjected, “My senior apprentice-brother is tasked with escorting our eldest apprentice-sister on the way to her wedding. Where is your hospitality? Are we really being ambushed at your sect’s doorsteps?”

Sun Song felt threatened. It would indeed be a humiliation that such an accident were to take place right outside the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s gate, even if the Golden Crow Sect chose not to pursue the matter.

“Don’t listen to his lies! They are fake!” Zhang Shenxu shouted.

Fake? All the Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples were astonished.

“Fake? Hahaha! Well, well, well, Heavenly Wolf Sect. It seems like you have deliberately set up this trap to ambush my eldest apprentice-sister! Does this murderous man work under you? Is he on your side? Did you pick this day intentionally to kill my eldest apprentice-sister and humiliate the Golden Crow Sect? Do you want to break your relationship with the Golden Crow Sect and become our mortal enemies?” Wang Ke snapped at them.

“No, no! We don’t know him!” Sun Song cried out immediately.

“You don’t know him? Ha! We are right at the gate of the Heavenly Wolf Sect. It’s your turf! Do you think you can absolve yourself from all responsibility just by claiming not to know him? My senior apprentice-brother was badly injured while protecting the bride riding the palanquin. You must be held accountable for this!” Wang Ke kept on pursuing the issue.

“I didn’t injure him!” Zhang Shenxu cried out in frustration.

Wang Ke. How shameless!Are you trying to peg false claims on me? 

“You didn’t injure my senior apprentice-brother, and yet he fell? Let me tell you! My senior apprentice-brother isn’t a nobody; he is the bride’s younger brother. His name is Zhang Shenxu! Have you heard of him?” Wang Ke cried out.

Zhang Shenxu: “…………….!”

All the Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples looked toward Zhang Zhengdao with frowns. Zhang Zhengdao was stupefied by that revelation. How did I become Zhang Shenxu?

What was the reason for Wang Ke to make Zhang Zhengdao pose as Zhang Shenxu? Because he recognized that his attacker was the real Zhang Shenxu. Although he hadn’t seen the Golden Crow Sect disciple’s face, the Wang Clan members had described him in the intel they had collected. Wang Ke knew that Zhang Shenxu was a Golden Core cultivator who rode on a crane and used a white folding fan. It had to be the person in front of him!

The best way to keep him silent was to discredit everything he said.

By being the first to claim Zhang Shenxu’s name… The fake will become real, and the real will become fake!

“He’s Zhang Shenxu?” Sun Song asked in surprise.

Zhang Zhengdao, who was lying on the ground, felt rather uneasy. Wang Ke was really dragging him into a pit by asking him to pose as Zhang Shenxu. I’ll be the one in trouble if the real Zhang Shenxu goes after my life when all this is over!No way. I cannot continue pretending.

“That is correct. This is my senior apprentice-brother, Zhang Shenxu. He suffered terrible injuries because of the ambush. You were all here to witness it. A few hundred thousand pounds worth of spirit stones is the least required to heal my senior apprentice-brother. I want compensation! I want him to compensate!” Wang Ke pointed at Zhang Shenxu and chided.

Just when Zhang Zhengdao was about to stand up and explain everything, he heard Wang Ke mentioning ‘a few hundred thousand pounds worth of spirit stones.’ He lied down again almost immediately. Wang Ke promised to share the profits equally with him just then! A few hundred thousand pounds of spirit stones!

“Aiyo! I cannot go on any longer! I, Zhang Shenxu, am going to die at the gates of the Heavenly Wolf Sect! Pfff!” Zhang Zhengdao forced internal injuries to manifest, all to spew a mouthful of blood. He looked extremely pathetic.

“See! That is how badly injured my senior apprentice-brother is!” Wang Ke continued reprimanding Zhang Shenxu.

“Hahaha, Wang Ke? Zhang Zhengdao? And Princess Youyue inside the palanquin? You charlatans dare to try swindling people outside the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s gate? You think you can fool us that easily?” The real Zhang Shenxu laughed coldly.

“Princess Youyue?” All the Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples raised their brows in suspicion.

“Disciples of the Heavenly Wolf Sect, what are you waiting for? Capture this scoundrel! Not only did he ambush us but now is also aiming to tarnish our good name. A few hundred thousand pounds of spirit stones aren’t nearly enough to cover this humiliation!” Wang Ke said, staring at him.

“Pfff—” Hearing that the compensation had increased again, Zhang Zhengdao forced himself to vomit yet another mouthful of blood.

A few hundred thousand pounds is still not enough?How much more is Wang Ke going to milk from them?I will get half of it! Vomiting blood is just a small matter in comparison!

“The truth can never be falsified! And the false can never be validated! Wang Ke, you will surely die today!” Zhang Shenxu said coldly.

All the Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples looked toward Wang Ke with suspicion.

“Why are you looking at me? Do you think that I’m a fake? Do you think our Golden Crow Token is fake too? We journeyed over such a long distance to escort the bride to the Heavenly Wolf Sect. Are we really being humiliated, right here, by all of you?” Wang Ke raged as he tossed out the Golden Crow Token.

“Baam!”

The token landed in Sun Song’s hands, who immediately recognized its authenticity. The Golden Crow token was the emblem of the Golden Crow Sect Lord. It represented the Sect Lord himself. They had heard that the Golden Crow Sect had given the token to Zhang Shenxu so that he could have the freedom to mobilize people.

All verifications would be taken care of while having the token.

“Ohh! You’re indeed our senior apprentice-brothers from the Golden Crow Sect. Please forgive us. I will interrogate this brat now!” Sun Song apologized immediately.

Zhang Shenxu was petrified. That was the Golden Crow token he had given to She Tianba. It had just been used to authenticate Wang Ke’s identity?

“Brat, who are you? How dare you murder outside our Heavenly Wolf Sect’s doorsteps and slander these brothers from the Golden Crow Sect! We shall show no mercy if you don’t give us a proper explanation!” Sun Song stared at Zhang Shenxu.

“Senior apprentice-brother Sun! The spell array is locked on the target area. I will activate the spell array if anyone poses a threat!” One of Sun Song’s juniors shouted from afar.

Everyone immediately felt as if something was targeting them. Their hairs stood.

Zhang Shenxu’s face froze, “Are all of you blind? They are a group of scammers! I’m the real Zhang Shenxu from the Golden Crow Sect!”

“You are Zhang Shenxu?” Sun Song walked up to him slowly.

“Yes, I am Zhang Shenxu. The one lying on the ground is fake! He’s called Zhang Zhengdao. The one in the palanquin must be Princess Youyue! Just look inside and you will know!” Zhang Shenxu explained with a deep voice.

“Are you suggesting that we lift the bridal veil to see who’s inside?” Sun Song stared at Zhang Shenxu.

“Yes, lift the veil and you will know!” Zhang Shenxu repeated himself confidently.

Sun Song’s face turned grim and gave Zhang Shenxu a tight slap.

“Piak!”

The slap sounded so loud and clear that Zhang Shenxu took a long time to realize what had happened. Damn…What just happened?Did he just slap me?On the face?

Zhang Shenxu’s eyes grew wide in anger; he was about to flare up.

“You scoundrel! How dare you pretend to be Zhang Shenxu? Do you think we’re all fools? Today is our eldest apprentice-brother’s wedding day, and you dare to ambush the bride? You even injured senior apprentice-brother Zhang Shenxu! You’ve already injured him this badly, and you still dare to slander, saying that he’s fake? Can’t you just pretend to be someone else? Do you really think we’re blind? And you dare goad us into unveiling our eldest apprentice-brother’s bride? Do you think we’re stupid? That’s the bride! No one can remove her veil except the groom!” Sun Song vilified him with a glare.

“You are the one tired of living. How dare you slap me! How dare you! No one has ever dared to slap me since I was young! How dare you!” Zhang Shenxu raged with piercing eyes.

“Rumble!”

A bolt of heavenly lightning struck. Zhang Shenxu was shocked; he looked up and said, “The Demon Slaying Heavenly Lightning Array?”

“Rumble~~~~~~!”

With a thunderous roar, the lightning bolt struck Zhang Shenxu. He still fell to the ground and vomited blood while he covered himself with his fan. His clothing was also torn and charred.

“Brat, how dare you disguise yourself as Zhang Shenxu and ask to unveil the bride? This is what you get for humiliating both sects and disrupting the marriage between their disciples!” Sun Song chided with fierce eyes.

Zhang Shenxu was so frustrated that he spurted out another mouthful of blood. F***, I’m pretending to be Zhang Shenxu?I’m the real one!

“Wang Ke? Zhang Zhengdao? I will kill you!” Zhang Shenxu got up and was about to pounce on Wang Ke.

“Rumble… Booom! Boooom!”

Bolts of heavenly lightning struck continuously in the blink of an eye; not even Zhang Shenxu could dodge them in time; his body was quickly burned black.

“I’m going to kill all of you!” Zhang Shenxu roared amidst the lightning strikes.

Sun Song looked behind him and shouted, “Continue! Strike him! Don’t stop the array. Use as many spirit stones as needed. How dare this bastard pretend to be senior apprentice-brother Zhang Shenxu! How dare he humiliate our eldest apprentice-brother and these senior apprentice-brothers from the Golden Crow Sect! Strike him! Strike him hard!”

“Rumble!~~~~~ Booom!~~~”

Not even ordinary Golden Core cultivators were able to withstand those terrifying lightning bolts. Wang Ke and Zhang Zhengdao watched with twitching eyes as the ceaseless lightning bolts struck down. However, they were truly enjoying the show since they weren’t the ones being struck. Exhilarating!

“Senior apprentice-brother Sun, did he stop moving?” One of Sun Song’s juniors asked worryingly.

“Stop!” Sun Song ordered with a loud shout.

The lightning bolts stopped immediately.

“Dear apprentice-brothers from the Golden Crow Sect, I apologize for putting you through this.” Sun Song bowed respectfully toward Wang Ke and his companions.

“Is he dead? Then what about my spirit stones?” Zhang Zhengdao asked in a daze.

Aren’t we going to ask him to compensate us with a few hundred thousand pounds of spirit stones?If he died, who are we going to scam?

“He’s not dead yet. We will take him inside the sect and put him into custody. I will interrogate him after he wakes up so that he settles matters with you!” Sun Song reassured Wang Ke.

“Then what about my injuries?” Zhang Zhengdao said in frustration.

Have you any sympathy for me?I’m still lying here! How many mouthfuls of blood have I vomited! You knocked out the person I’m trying to scam; what do I do now?I can’t get out of this embarrassing situation!

“We have a Golden Core senior apprentice-brother who specializes in healing. Shall I ask him to take a look at your injuries?” Sun Song asked.

A doctor?Would I be exposed?

“It’s okay. Our Golden Crow Sect can take care of the healing. Your help is not necessary! Right now we’re questioning your interest in marrying our eldest sister after being ambushed right outside your doorsteps!” Wang Ke said with an icy tone.

“Everyone, please rest assured. I will surely do something to appease your anger!” Sun Song replied immediately.

Wang Ke used his eyes to hint at the charred Zhang Shenxu who was about to be captured.

“I can’t hand him over to you for investigation. Don’t worry. We will give you an answer as soon as possible!” Sun Song responded.

That person had to be hostile toward the Heavenly Wolf Sect; after all he had chosen that particular timing to ambush the Golden Crow Sect’s bridal procession at the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s doorsteps. The Heavenly Wolf Sect had the right to interrogate the ambusher since they had managed to subdue him. That was to ensure no accidents would occur.

“Humph, fine. I hope you’ll give us a satisfying answer soon. However, he wounded senior apprentice-brother Zhang Shenxu, and we can’t just let him go like that. We must take possessions from this scoundrel to make up for it!” Wang Ke demanded.

“How can that be allowed?” Sun Song disagreed.

Even setting aside the possibility of the charred man possessing anything of importance, he surely had a ton of valuable things since he was a Golden Core cultivator! How could Sun Song just let Wang Ke do whatever they liked?

“If so, let’s cancel the wedding then. Eldest apprentice-sister, the Heavenly Wolf Sect was not sincere in the end. They allowed an unidentified man to injure your younger brother right at their doorsteps. We may encounter even more danger once we reach their place. I think we should go back!” Wang Ke said toward the palanquin.

Sun Song was shocked. You’re not going to proceed with the wedding?You want to cancel the wedding and leave?

The two sects did countless preparations for this wedding, and they have invited a lot of guests from powerful immortal sects to attend the ceremony. And now, you’re saying that you’re going to cancel it just like that?I can’t bear such a big responsibility!

“Okay, fine. Do as you wish; you can temporarily be in charge of his possessions!” Sun Song acquiesced.

Wang Ke looked toward Zhang Shenxu and asked, “Senior apprentice-brother Zhang, what do you say?”

While still lying on the ground, Zhang Zhengdao was dumbfounded. This isn’t just a compensation scam for a few hundred thousand pounds of spirit stones. Wang Ke is trying to take everything from him!How vicious!But I like it because half of it is mine! Ha!

“Forget it. We cannot cancel my older sister’s wedding just because of me… Cough, cough. This is fine!” Zhang Zhengdao replied weakly, but his heart was blooming with happiness.

“Thank you for your understanding, senior apprentice-brother Zhang Shenxu. I’m deeply grateful!” Sun Song heaved a sigh of relief.

The group quickly plundered Zhang Shenxu’s possessions. His body belonged to the Heavenly Wolf Sect, but his storage rings and enchanted artifacts belonged to Wang Ke and his companions. In his stupor, Zhang Shenxu was able to sense his body being emptied… No, it was more like being stripped clean. He felt so helpless, hopeless, and in such despair!

“Hmm? Where’s his white fan?” Wang Ke asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe the lighting bolts burned it into ashes? He has no enchanted artifacts, only a storage bangle!” Sun Song said with worry.

“Forget it!” Wang Ke kept the storage bangle in his pocket.

Zhang Zhengdao wanted to demand his share, but he knew that it wasn’t appropriate to ask for it while seen by that many eyes. He could only glare at Wang Ke, hinting at the master scammer to keep his promise. Wang Ke looked back at Zhang Zhengdao with reassuring eyes, and the latter was pleased.

After they snatched all the attacker’s things, Zhang Zhengdao’s suddenly recovered from a fair part of his “injuries” and started walking. Sun Song and his juniors were dismayed by that sight.

“Okay. My eldest apprentice-sister is right outside of the Heavenly Wolf Sect. When are we going to enter?” Wang Ke looked toward the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s disciples.

“Start the music!” Sun Song cried out.

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Joyous melodies were suddenly heard coming from the gate. At the same time, decorative spells were also cast into the sky. Although they were nothing when compared to the Grand Ceremonial Light, they were still pleasing to the eyes. A bunch of Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples came out to welcome the bridal party, all according to the itinerary.

“Everyone, welcome to the Heavenly Wolf Sect!” Sun Song invited them to enter.

Wang Ke nodded and ordered the bridal party to move forward. The Heavenly Wolf Sect’s disciples formed a parade and escorted the bridal party. And just like that, Princess Youyue was openly carried into the Heavenly Wolf Sect.

“It’s really happening like what Wang Ke said?” Zhang Zhengdao softly mumbled to himself with an eccentric expression, “Being welcomed into the Heavenly Wolf Sect and strutting right in? I knew it! Wang Ke must be using some kind of evil, magical tricks! But he’s just too petty! I sacrificed too much by vomiting so much blood, and he only gives me half? Petty Wang! Iron rooster!” (TL: The surname “Wang” also means king.)