Rebirth: Not Being a Waste - Chapter 123

Zhang Shu and the others lay still, listening to the two bandits chat. When they heard the words “white fox,” Zhang Shu momentarily froze.

In his previous life, he once heard rumors that white foxes could understand human nature and transform into peerless beauties. The fact that one appeared in the area under their county’s jurisdiction was considered a blessing from heaven.

He wasn’t sure who spread the rumor, but by the time Zhang Shu heard it, it seemed like everyone knew about it. The tale passed from one person to another, reaching every corner.

Zhang Shu was always the type to keep to himself, unaware of new things until they were already widely known. Now that he learned of it, the extent of the gossip was clear.

Eventually, the county government sent a group of soldiers to the mountain to capture the white fox. However, the mountain was home to many wild beasts, and none of the soldiers returned alive.

The court flew into a rage and executed everyone involved. A total of 135 people from the county government were beheaded, and the nearby village was destroyed, with heavy casualties.

At the time, Zhang Shu didn’t understand why the court was so enraged by the loss of lives to wild animals. But now, thinking back, he realized it was likely due to someone’s involvement.

After that incident, a death knell sounded through the court. The second son of His Majesty, Prince Cheng, died. The grief of a father losing his son was immense. The people, out of respect, refrained from drinking, celebrating, or even holding weddings for an entire month, after which life slowly returned to normal.

In this life, Zhang Shu was no longer as naïve as before. As he reflected on the recent events, his eyes fell on the man lying next to him. He understood now: this man was none other than Prince Cheng.

No wonder the county magistrate was so deferential during the trial. Prince Cheng exuded an unmatched aura. Zhang Shu recalled never seeing Prince Cheng before, but he met the little prince on a few occasions. It was around this time, at the home of Erbao in this life—Zhang Qin in the previous one—that he saw the young prince paying tribute to his father. They bore a striking resemblance.

Now, with the river bandits coming to Shuitou Village because of their conflict with him, it meant that if Prince Cheng died here, Shuitou Village would likely be destroyed!

The thought of his own relatives and the kind-hearted villagers flashed through Zhang Shu’s mind. He made a firm resolution. Prince Cheng must be saved, otherwise the Emperor would surely be enraged, and millions of lives would be lost.

Just as Zhang Shu solidified his decision, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He looked up to see four men dressed in black, their faces hidden behind scarves, walking toward the river bandits. Zhang Shu’s nerves calmed a little with the arrival of six people, but when he overheard their conversation, his anxiety returned.

“Brothers, have you set the trap?”

“Yes, tomorrow, you and a few others go down the mountain to kill the Zhang family you mentioned. The louder the noise, the better. If necessary, we can slaughter the entire village. Then, we’ll escape to the place I mentioned. The county office will definitely send troops to encircle us, but the big fish will bite.”

Wu Laoda’s face twisted into a bloodthirsty grin. He hadn’t had the chance to kill as he pleased for a long time, and this time, he was determined to enjoy himself.

The men hiding behind were filled with resentment. These bandits clearly didn’t value human life!

Prince Cheng’s gaze darkened even more. He didn’t expect that, even after expressing his intention to retreat, these people would still pursue him. Could it be that the royal family had no sense of family ties? Worse still, they lost all humanity.

Prince Cheng knew exactly why they went through all this trouble: it was to draw out the eight men secretly protecting him. The county office’s soldiers were no match for these men, and once the dark guards made their move, they would surely capture the river bandits. Once the secret guards left, they could kill him.

At this moment, the leaders of the bandits and assassins stood up, preparing to leave.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Now that their conspiracy was exposed, they could secretly mobilize troops in Shuitou Village and catch the bandits off guard.

However, just as they were about to move, Prince Cheng, in his fury, didn’t notice a bug crawling onto his hand. When it bit him, he screamed, and that’s when the men below realized something was wrong.

“Someone’s here!” The others first thought the water bandits betrayed them, but when they saw the bandits’ shocked expressions, they knew something wasn’t right.

The leader slowly approached with a knife at his waist, while the others spread out to prevent anyone from escaping.

Suddenly, an arrow shot from the bushes, its speed so fast that no one could react in time.

The leader of the assassins yanked Zhao Lao’er in front of him to shield himself from the arrow.

The arrow pierced Zhao Lao’er’s body with a muffled thud. His eyes widened, and he died without uttering a single word.

The arrow was shot by Li Yan. He was accustomed to hunting animals but never killed a person before. Though his hands were sweaty and his nerves rattled, he knew he had no choice. If he didn’t kill them, their village would be destroyed.

Now, there were five people on this side and five on the other, but the leader put his fingers to his mouth and blew a long whistle, signaling for reinforcements.

The left-hand guard immediately took out an object and fired it into the sky to notify the dark guards to arrive quickly. They were within a hundred paces, and it wouldn’t take long for them to reach the site.

The battle began. Wu Laoda charged toward Li Yan, while the left and right guards each fought one of the assassins. The other two made straight for Prince Cheng, leaving no one to pay attention to Zhang Shu.

His subordinates were frustrated, but Prince Cheng remained calm, opening his folding fan to block the two assassins. However, with his poor martial arts skills, there was no way he could hold off trained death warriors. It didn’t take long before he was forced back several steps.

Zhang Shu, wielding the axe he brought up the mountain, charged toward them. He swung the axe with little technique but immense power. His wild attacks caught the two death warriors off guard, forcing them to retreat from Prince Cheng’s side.

The two bodyguards, unwilling to engage in prolonged combat, fought while retreating toward Prince Cheng. They only needed to hold on until the shadow guards arrived.

However, it wasn’t the shadow guards who arrived first, but more of the death warriors. More than twenty of them surrounded them and launched a simultaneous attack.

Zhang Shu swung his axe and chopped down a small tree about the thickness of a bowl. He then grabbed the tree and started swinging it around Prince Cheng, using it as a makeshift weapon. His method was crude, but effective. The death warriors couldn’t get close to Prince Cheng for a while.

Realizing that stalling only worsened the situation, the death warriors began using the tree trunk to strike back, pushing through the excruciating pain. Zhang Shu’s tree was grabbed by two death warriors, and he couldn’t break free. One of the assassins flew at him and kicked him away.

The two bodyguards hurriedly moved to protect Prince Cheng. But even two fists couldn’t overcome four hands. The bodyguards were knocked to the ground, each receiving a sword strike.

With no one left in front of Prince Cheng, the leader of the death warriors seized the opportunity and hurled a sword at him. Behind his mask, the leader’s face was tight with focus. If the sword struck, Prince Cheng would die, and their mission would be complete.

The sword’s shadow grew closer in Prince Cheng’s vision. He knew his end was near, but he was unwilling. If he knew this would happen, he wouldn’t have sacrificed himself for so-called brotherhood. He would’ve stayed behind and fought them to the bitter end.

With a sound, the sword pierced his body. Prince Cheng felt a warm spray of blood hit his face, but there was no pain. He must have already died…

The death warrior leader’s face twisted in confusion. Why did this ordinary person leap forward to block the sword? But death was inevitable, whether sooner or later. The leader swung his sword again, aiming it at Zhang Shu.

This strike missed because suddenly, a knife appeared from the side, blocking the sword’s tip. A great force sent the sword flying.

The shadow guards arrived.

In truth, the shadow guards could’ve arrived sooner, but they were delayed by a group of seven or eight blocking their path. After dealing with them, it already took them a little longer than expected.

Prince Cheng opened his eyes and realized he was unharmed. However, Zhang Shu, who protected him, was pierced through instead.

Zhang Shu was deeply relieved it was him who took the blow. If Prince Cheng died, his entire family would be in danger. When he blocked the sword, he tilted his body just enough to avoid the fatal strike, allowing the sword to pierce his abdomen.

To others, this would be a severe injury, but Zhang Shu trusted his own healing ability. As long as he didn’t die on the spot, he believed he would recover. Only in this way could he avoid sending his family to the grave.

Now, it was the shadow guards’ turn. Though the death warriors had the advantage in numbers, they were no match for the shadow guards. However, their desperation made them fight recklessly.

Everyone suffered injuries, some minor, some more severe. Zhang Shu and the two bodyguards were no exceptions, each taking a sword strike. Meanwhile, Li Yan and Wu Laoda were engaged in a battle outside the main fight, with no one paying much attention to them.

Li Yan, having received years of training, stood a good chance against Wu Laoda. Wu Laoda, once a ruthless man himself, became accustomed to giving orders rather than fighting personally.

Soon, the shadow guards defeated all the death warriors, even delivering a final strike to Wu Laoda. They then knelt together, saying, “We are sorry for arriving late to protect you, Your Highness. Please punish us.”

“Forget it,” Prince Cheng replied. “Quickly take them down the mountain for treatment!”

Before Zhang Shu was carried off the mountain in a daze, he heard Prince Cheng holding his hand and saying, “I have no way to repay your life-saving grace, but I can only…”

Can only? Zhang Shu couldn’t hear the rest. His last thought before losing consciousness was, “As long as he doesn’t ask for my body, I’m fine with anything else.”

When Zhang Shu woke up again, he found himself lying in his home, with Li Mujin lying beside him. He tried to raise his hand to stroke Li Mujin’s hair, but as soon as he moved, Li Mujin woke up.

Li Mujin immediately checked if Zhang Shu was still bleeding. His nervousness warmed Zhang Shu’s heart, but soon after, he became anxious again. “Jin’er, aren’t you supposed to be in confinement? Why did you get out of bed?”

“You still remember I’m in confinement?” Li Mujin glared at Zhang Shu with red eyes. “You don’t care about me and my son. All you think about is being some kind of hero, blocking swords for others!”

Zhang Shu tried to sit up, but the movement tugged at his abdominal wound, causing him to hiss in pain. Li Mujin quickly checked him again and pushed him back down on the bed.

Zhang Shu took the opportunity to grasp Li Mujin’s hand, not letting go. “Jin’er, I never wanted to be a hero or a legend! I just want to stay at home with you and live a happy life. But that person’s family is powerful. If he dies, we—our whole family, even the village—might not survive,” Zhang Shu lowered his voice. “If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have thrown myself into danger, ignoring my own safety, my husband and children at home, to risk my life.”

Li Mujin gasped in shock. “What? What kind of business does his family do to have such power?”

Zhang Shu gestured for him to lean in closer. When Li Mujin’s head was on his chest, he whispered, “His family runs the royal palace. His father is the emperor.”

“Oh!” Li Mujin nodded, then after a pause, his eyes widened. “What? The… emperor?!”

Zhang Shu quickly covered his mouth. “Yes. If he dies, everyone will be buried with him.”

The two bodyguards didn’t die. They knew the river bandits were after Zhang Shu’s family. If the truth came out, it would appear as if Zhang Shu’s family conspired with the bandits to harm the prince. The emperor, having lost his son, would not spare anyone and would likely take out his anger on others.

Li Mujin collapsed against Zhang Shu’s chest, crying, “Why does all this trouble happen to my family? I was already scared when I found out the river bandits had a connection with you. Now we have a prince involved—this is too much!”

Zhang Shu gently patted his back, understanding that seeing him covered in blood already scared Li Mujin. Now, learning of this immense danger, it was no wonder he was overwhelmed with emotion.

“Alright, Jin’er, I’m fine now. Come on, get back into bed. You’re still supposed to be in confinement!”

“What confinement? It’s only a day or two left. It doesn’t matter if I get up now or later.”

“What about the children? Where are they?”

“They’ve been sent to my own natal house. It’s too chaotic here with so many people. What’s the point of keeping them around? I even sent Grandma with them. She kept crying at home, so it’s better to keep her away,” Li Mujin sighed. “That prince moved in too. Not only that, he’s got minor injuries, but he’s wrapped himself up worse than you! I don’t know what he’s thinking. Rich people really are delicate!”