Strongest Soldier King

Luo Zheng could tell that the old village chief was not simple; he was a person with a story. However, since it was a personal matter, it was not good to ask further or contradict him. Luo Zheng looked at the frolicking youths, the people occasionally appearing in the peaceful valley, and his anxious heart gradually calmed down. He said softly, "Old chief, you saved me. I hope I can do something for you."

"Once greed arises, desires become insatiable. The tranquil life passed down through generations will be disrupted, which is not what I wish to see. Leave when you are healed; this will be the greatest reward for me," the old man said somewhat sentimentally, with a touch of weariness and loneliness.

"Alright." Luo Zheng didn't want to disrupt the way of life here either and agreed. Human desires are endless, and once impacted by external civilization, the cultural roots here would vanish. Would one still be themselves then? Luo Zheng thought of the civilization outside the valley, thought of Huaxia's culture, passed down for thousands of years, swaying dangerously under the impact of Western culture. He understood the old man's feelings and said nothing more.

The boy came over with a group of friends, excitedly saying something. The old man looked at the boy lovingly and then said to Luo Zheng, "The little guy guessed you are someone skilled, seeing your belt, and hopes to learn a few moves from you. If possible, leave a few moves here as a token of thanks. It's not easy for mountain people to survive, having some skills is beneficial."

"No problem, mountain people hunt, their gun skills should be good, and there's no need to teach jungle survival. I'll teach them some blade skills, and how much they learn will depend on their aptitude. I will leave here early tomorrow morning," said Luo Zheng seriously, looking at the old man.

The old man nodded, sighed, and didn't know what he was sentimental about. He continued, "Alright, I will have someone prepare dry provisions for you." Then he said a few words to the boys and turned away.

The boys jumped up joyfully, chattering away about something, and someone ran to take out a mountain-opening knife—gleaming, a real, sharp knife. It was evident these mountain youths had courage and bloodlust. Luo Zheng smiled, knowing that to survive in this mountain range, one indeed needed some bloodlust, and thus began teaching them blade skills.

The military boxing has combat techniques with military knives; Finger Knife and Tiger King's Invisible Blade Skill can't be easily taught to others, nor can they be learned in one or two days. However, the combat techniques of military knives in military boxing emphasize killing with one strike, the moves are simple and practical, suitable for these boys to learn.

More boys ran to learn, Luo Zheng was indifferent, using the boy who saved his life as a simulation object, continuously explaining the move essentials. The boy did not understand, so they brought the old village chief to translate, which made communication much easier. The old man, seeing that the moves Luo Zheng taught were very practical, smiled reassured.

By noon, the boy brought over a large bowl of food, still rice stewed with meat. This time Luo Zheng tasted it; it was wild chicken meat. He ate and drank his fill, rested for a while, and chatted leisurely with the old village chief about life perspectives. The old chief, being old, liked to find people to talk with. Usually, people didn't chat deeply with him, but he and Luo Zheng grew somewhat into cross-generational friends.

The boys trained each other according to Luo Zheng's teachings, looking very fierce, luckily swapped for wooden knives. Practically hacking, soon there were injuries and bleeding, but everyone behaved as though nothing had happened, randomly applying some herbal medicine and continued training. Luo Zheng was deeply moved, the environment shapes a person, whereas in a big city's youths, each one is extremely pampered, how could they play like this?

Unknowingly, it was evening. Through a day's interactions, the elderly man gained a deeper understanding of Luo Zheng and confirmed Luo Zheng was not a bad person, completely relaxing his mind. He prepared a table, invited a few people to accompany, served big fish and meat, plus medicinal wine soaked with poisonous snake herbs, saying it was to replenish blood for Luo Zheng. Knowing his body well, Luo Zheng didn't hold back, eating heartily. Having been hungry for too long, his body urgently needed energy replenishment, though he dared not touch overly greasy food fearing digestive issues.

This meal ended with host and guests equally delighted. Luo Zheng, slightly drunk, was helped back to his room to rest. Early the next day, Luo Zheng packed up, the old village chief called the boy over to invite Luo Zheng to breakfast, not being modest, joined the old chief for breakfast, asked for charcoal and animal skin, since the village had no paper or pen. Luo Zheng gave the address of his new house in Beijing to the old chief, seriously saying, "Old man, I know you won't use it, just regard it as an extra path. If you encounter unsolvable issues, come to this address to find me."

The old chief wasn't pretentious, carefully folded the animal skin, placed it in a small box, and said to Luo Zheng, "I appreciate your feeling. In life, there are unexpected turns, if that day truly comes, I hope you can deliver on your word."

"A real man keeps his promises. As long as the matter is not illegal, rest assured," Luo Zheng seriously promised, acknowledging the life-saving grace, even repaying with life wouldn't be excessive, let alone merely helping.

Seeing Luo Zheng say this, the old chief believed him more. Suddenly, someone ran in hurriedly, babbling a bunch of things. The old man's face darkened, said a few words, looked towards Luo Zheng, explained with a grave expression, "Someone is here, looking for a person, carrying guns, I'll go check it out."

"I'll go with you," Luo Zheng said without hesitation.

"Your body hasn't fully recovered; going might not help," the old man said, hurriedly leaving.

Luo Zheng's expression darkened, pondering if it were Tang Tian's people catching up. It was entirely possible. Gritting his teeth, he chased after. Although his body was still weak, walking wasn't an issue anymore. Seeing a large group of strong young men rushing ahead, all carrying hunting rifles and bows, Luo Zheng didn't want everyone to clash because of him, so he quickened his pace.

Soon, Luo Zheng arrived at the valley entrance, people crowded upfront, hardly able to squeeze through. Anxious with sweat streaming down his forehead, Luo Zheng continuously patted the shoulders of those ahead, squeezing in. Seeing it was Luo Zheng, all kindly made way for him, after great effort he squeezed somewhat to the front, finding those who came were soldiers in military green combat uniforms, he couldn't help but pause, looking closely, surprisingly discovered familiar military emblems, immediately rejoicing.

Luo Zheng was about to shout greetings when suddenly heard someone arguing ahead, and he was shocked. Hastily squeezing further ahead, suddenly seeing the boy who saved his life brandishing the mountain-opening knife, confronting the men ahead, eager for a fight. The confronting person turned out to be the familiar Ghost Hand, Luo Zheng couldn't help but rejoice, then startled, fearing trouble if a fight broke out. Quickly he shouted, "Stop, I'm here."

A shout, seeing the surrounding strong young men drawn in by Luo Zheng, the old chief looked at Luo Zheng, then at the newcomers, his expression softened a bit, shouted a few words, easing the tense scene a bit, the gunpowder smell wasn't as strong. Luo Zheng quickly squeezed further ahead, excitedly shouting, "Stop, we are on the same side."

"Is it you?" A mournful voice with endless joy shouted.