Chapter Five: Zhuang Zhuang’s Despicable Tricks

Early the next morning, as the group awoke from their slumber, a member of the Mad Dragon Mercenary Corps approached the leader just as he stepped outside. "Captain, Brother Zhao San is nowhere to be found. He disappeared at dawn, and there are a few other brothers missing as well!"

Mad Dragon knew perfectly well why Zhao San wasn't around, but this was getting out of hand. It had been an entire night and still no sign of him—could it be that the fellow's beastly urges had gotten the better of him, and he'd gone after even the men?

"Alright, I understand," Mad Dragon replied, his tone stern. "Remember, not a word about Zhao San's absence to anyone. If word gets out, you'll answer to me." He warned his subordinate to keep his mouth shut.

"Rest assured, Captain. I know what to do," the man promised.

Mad Dragon nodded with satisfaction. "Go on, then. I'll take a walk around." The subordinate left after a quick acknowledgment.

Mad Dragon strode toward the tent where Leng Tian and his companions resided, hands clasped behind his back, humming an unfamiliar tune, his face brimming with pride. Yet his cheer did not last. His expression froze in disbelief as he saw Leng Tian greeting him warmly. He rubbed his eyes, suspecting he'd seen wrong, but on closer inspection, it was indeed Leng Tian. A bad premonition stirred in his heart: not only had Zhao San failed, he might have gotten himself into real trouble.

Mad Dragon didn't return Leng Tian's greeting. His face darkened, and he turned on his heel, walking away at a brisk pace, finally breaking into a jog back to his camp.

Yanlong and the others watched Mad Dragon depart in haste, their faces blooming with satisfied smiles.

Mad Dragon summoned several subordinates, instructing them to search nearby for Zhao San and the missing men, while he himself feigned calm and joined the others for breakfast.

Meanwhile, Void Chubby floated silently in midair, watching Mad Dragon and his crew below with a mischievous grin, evidently up to something.

After breakfast, preparations for the day's journey began in earnest. The drivers maneuvered the convoy onto the main road, and the green-clad guards mounted their horses to flank the caravan. Yet the Mad Dragon Mercenary Corps failed to appear. Their tents remained uncollected, and not a soul was to be found. Ye Xiang immediately dispatched men to search for them.

Leng Tian and his three companions were equally baffled. Last night, they had knocked out Zhao San and his men and tossed them near the camp. Now, despite the whole mercenary group mobilizing, no one had found them. Could they have really been devoured by wild beasts?

In truth, Leng Tian had anticipated trouble the previous night. His group entered the tent and stayed awake, patiently awaiting their adversaries' arrival. Zhao San had indeed come, and the matter ended with his defeat.

As it turned out, shortly after breakfast, every member of the Mad Dragon Mercenary Corps clutched their stomachs and hurried off to relieve themselves. Once squatting, they found themselves utterly unable to stand again. More than twenty men, scattered among the grass, were beset by the sound of frequent splashes, the air thick with a vile stench.

Mad Dragon, a burly giant, bit down on a wooden stick, his face contorted with exertion, features twisted out of place.

"Captain, my gut feels like stormy waves. I'm dehydrated, yet the torrents won't stop!" a subordinate beside him groaned, biting into his rolled-up shirt, his expression alternating between relief and wishing he could crush steel with his teeth.

All twenty men clenched their jaws, desperately purging their bowels.

After what seemed an eternity, their expressions finally relaxed, as if their intestines had been thoroughly cleansed. Suddenly, scraps of grass paper drifted down from the sky, scattering densely around the mercenaries.

Not caring where the paper had come from, they were eager only to wipe themselves clean and escape the foul-smelling area. Soon, they pulled up their trousers and made their way out, walking unsteadily, supporting each other as they headed back toward camp. But before they'd gone far, each began to grimace, reaching toward their own backsides.

"Captain, do you feel an unbearable itch deep in your rear, as though stabbed by needles or bitten by insects?"

"Yes, indeed," Mad Dragon's face suddenly changed. "Could it be something wrong with that grass paper? Who's behind this scheme?"

A hoarse, ancient voice echoed in Mad Dragon's mind, "Boy, it is I who am toying with you. Do you have any objections?"

"Who are you? Why resort to such underhanded tricks against us? If you have the nerve, show yourself and fight me fair and square!" Mad Dragon's bravado was instantly shattered by the tormenting itch. He clawed furiously at himself. "What have you done to us? Such a stalwart man as I, driven to tears by this agony!"

A flash of light revealed a pile of smooth, rounded stones on the ground. The elderly voice spoke again: "To relieve the itching, insert a stone. After three hours, the itch will vanish."

This voice resounded in the minds of all twenty men simultaneously. They gritted their teeth, scratching desperately, then lunged for the stones like hungry wolves, each grabbing one and shoving it into their rear.

Strangely enough, the ordinary-looking stones miraculously halted the maddening itch. All let out long, contented sighs, so relieved that some even moaned softly. Seeing this, Mad Dragon hesitated no longer; he picked up a particularly smooth stone and pressed it in, his expression instantly relaxing.

At that moment, Ye Xiang arrived with his search party, discovering the mercenaries sprawled weakly on the ground. He frowned and asked, "Brother Mad Dragon, what happened to you all? Why are you so drained?"

"Second Master, best not to ask. It's a long story."

"Men, help our brothers back!" Ye Xiang refrained from pressing further; the look on Mad Dragon's face told him there was more to the story.

In the void...

Chubby sat cross-legged on a chair, savoring fragrant tea. Beside him, on another chair, a plump boy in a bellyband looked at him with utter disdain.

"Eggie, what's with that look? Am I not helping that Leng Tian kid?"

"A mighty expert of the Unrivaled Realm, resorting to such low tactics—you aren’t ashamed? I’m embarrassed for you!" With these words, Eggie's form blurred and vanished, leaving without another word.

Chubby raised a middle finger in the direction Eggie had disappeared, then left himself, bored.

Zhao San and his companions were eventually found by Ye Xiang's men and brought back. Upon seeing Leng Tian and his group, fear flashed in their eyes.

Leng Tian paid no mind to Zhao San's change in demeanor, pondering instead why Mad Dragon and his men had mysteriously disappeared.

Martial Peak 5, Chapter Five: Chubby's Vile Tactics—End of update!