Nine Yang Life and Death Transformation

Just then, light footsteps approached from afar. It was Zhang Hao's younger sister, Zhang Yi, who had followed the aroma to the kitchen. Before she even entered the door, her voice rang out: "Brother, why are you back?" Before she finished speaking, she was already standing in the doorway.

Zhang Hao replied with a smile, "Of course I brought some delicious food for my precious little sister. Come and try the steamed buns that your brother made by hand. They're most delicious when they're hot."

Upon hearing this, the little girl's eyes lit up, and her mouth almost watered. She eagerly grabbed a steamed bun, ignoring the heat, and took a big bite. Then, while chewing, she mumbled a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "So delicious!"

Seeing this, Zhang Ziqiang quickly picked up a steamed bun and tasted it. Taking a small bite, he found the bun's skin soft and delicious, the meat filling tender and juicy, with a rich and mellow flavor that lingered long after. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Hmm, it's really good. This bun melts in your mouth and tastes incredibly delicious. But... tell me, do you have any other requests?"

Wu Feilong nodded slightly, his expression grave as he looked at Master Zhang, and said slowly, “Master Zhang, look, this is a steamed bun! It’s made from wheat flour, carefully ground into powder. You know, wheat flour can be transformed into dozens of different delicacies! Today, I’m willing to hand over this precious recipe to you, but I have three small conditions. First, I only need five percent of the profits; second, I implore Master Zhang to help my friend and his family, who are currently being unjustly imprisoned by that despicable magistrate of Ankang County; third, yesterday I happened to glimpse thousands of disaster victims outside the city, living in dire straits. I hope Master Zhang can allow these victims to cultivate the land and plant wheat, thus giving them a way to survive.”

Upon hearing this, Master Zhang frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before saying, "The first two conditions are manageable, but with thousands of disaster victims, providing them with food and lodging every day is a thorny problem."

A hint of urgency flashed in Wu Feilong's eyes as he hurriedly explained, "Master Zhang, please don't worry! This flour can not only be made into steamed buns, but also processed into noodles, various pastries, and can even be deep-fried. It's also easy to store. It can even be used to brew delicious maltose, etc. Its uses are extremely wide-ranging. At present, it seems like a large number of people (a thousand), but once it's really operational, I'm afraid there will be a shortage of manpower! Besides, if you can generously help solve the livelihood problems of some of the disaster victims, that would also relieve the court's burden! As the saying goes, 'Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.' If these disaster victims are driven to desperation and riot, looting your granaries, it will be too late then..."

If an official had said this, Zhang Ziqiang wouldn't have been surprised, but since it was a sixteen-year-old boy, he looked Wu Feilong up and down and asked suspiciously, "Are you really sixteen?"

"Truly sixteen years old, no deception, young or old."

"If wheat is really as useful as you say, then you should demonstrate it to me."

Next, Wu Feilong skillfully manipulated the soft dough balls, like a highly skilled magician. In no time, his magical hands transformed the dough into all sorts of pasta dishes. The paper-thin knife-cut noodles were all of uniform thickness; the long, thin, and chewy hand-pulled noodles seemed to dance in the air; the neatly arranged dried noodles emitted a faint aroma of wheat; and the small, exquisite dumplings were like works of art.

Food is the most important thing for people, a principle Zhang Ziqiang understood all too well. Therefore, when Wu Feilong proposed cooperation, he readily agreed, saying, "No problem!" Soon, the two parties solemnly signed a contract. As agreed, Wu Feilong would impart all his knowledge of noodle-making methods without reservation.

Not long after, Wu Feilong returned to his hometown, Ankang Town. However, unexpectedly, just a few days later, the county magistrate Peng Jiang, who had been serving there, was transferred. Immediately afterwards, the new magistrate, Qian Dahai, quickly took office. At the same time, Li the carpenter and Tiesheng's family, who had been imprisoned for some reason, were naturally released. Having experienced these events, Wu Feilong knew perfectly well that Zhang Ziqiang was undoubtedly behind this series of changes, secretly orchestrating and manipulating events.

Night fell silently, shrouding the entire town in a mysterious black veil. Just then, three dark figures leaped onto the roof of Zheng Yuan's house like ghosts. They moved with lightning speed, stealthily entering the courtyard. In an instant, a flash of cold light, and three sharp long knives slashed down mercilessly. The poor Zheng Yuan family of three didn't even have time to cry out for help before collapsing into pools of blood; even their three-year-old child was not spared.

Without pausing, the three men in black sped towards Wu Feilong's residence. In the blink of an eye, they leaped into Wu Feilong's courtyard. By the dim moonlight, a sliver of light could be seen emanating from one of the houses. Seeing this, the three men in black rushed inside without a word. However, to their utter surprise, they were met with a dense hail of crossbow bolts. Caught off guard, the three men had no time to react and were instantly struck by the bolts. The wounded men in black, enduring the excruciating pain, cautiously scanned the room, only to find it completely empty…

"Retreat!" With this deep and urgent command, three black figures flew away like lightning, disappearing from the spot in an instant. Wu Feilong, who was hiding in the shadows, kept his eyes fixed on the black-clad men, and without hesitation, he moved and silently followed them.

Along the way, Wu Feilong, relying on his excellent lightness skills and keen perception, always maintained a certain distance from the men in black ahead, neither being detected nor failing to keep up with their movements. Before long, the men in black stopped in front of an extremely secluded wooden house.

At this moment, the leader of the men in black knelt down with a thud and said in a trembling voice, "Brother, Zheng Yuan has been successfully killed by us, but Sun Kang escaped in the chaos and his whereabouts are currently unknown."

Another figure standing at the door of the wooden house snorted coldly and said in a chilling tone, "No matter what, we must kill him before he escapes back to the Heavenly Sword Sect. We absolutely cannot let him leak the news!"

"Yes, sir!" the two men in black replied in unison. However, just as they finished speaking, their expressions suddenly changed drastically, and they spat out a mouthful of black blood, their bodies swaying as they fell backward.

Upon seeing this, Wu Feilong was startled and involuntarily clenched his fists. He looked closely and saw that the man named Peng Jiang was standing there with a gloomy expression, coldly observing everything that was happening before him. Seeing this, Wu Feilong couldn't help but think to himself, "It seems that Wang Lun and Peng Jiang are indeed in cahoots, working together like wolves in sheep's clothing. Their elaborate scheme to eliminate me must be for some ulterior motive."

Peng Jiang took out two pills from his pocket and quickly handed them to the two injured men in black, anxiously shouting, "Quick, take these pills!" However, despite the two men swallowing the pills with difficulty, their condition did not improve at all. Before long, they began to foam at the mouth, convulse, and finally collapsed and died.