From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"hateful!"

Wang Qing lay on his back on the ground with a horrifying wound on his chest, gazing at the pale dawn breaking in the east, his eyes filled with resentment.

It was just a moment away.

"You're too kind."

Jia Xingzhou, panting heavily, pulled the key from Wang Qinghe's pocket.

At this moment, a red sun leaps out from the eastern mountain.

Woohoo!

A somber bugle call sounded, signaling the call to arms.

The distance isn't very far.

Jia Xingzhou temporarily put away the iron box and the key, and strode forward.

"Let me carry you on my back."

Lei Sanshan walked to Wang Qinghe's side and carried him on his back.

A moment later, in a clearing in the mountains.

Surrounded by attendants, Gu Tingliang sat there, still half asleep.

Chen Shi arrived before them, his clothes soaking wet.

Jia Xingzhou did see Chen Shi leave, but he was too busy fighting Wang Qinghe to care about anything else.

It wasn't raining, so why was Chen Shi all wet?

I had a vague feeling that something was off.

But it was already daylight, the assessment was over, and there was no point in thinking about it anymore, nor did I bother to think about it any further.

"Who had the last laugh? Hand over the stuff."

Hua Jieyu stepped forward and said with a smile.

Lei Sanshan had already put Wang Jinghe down, and the two of them looked at Jia Xingzhou together.

Without further ado, Jia Xingzhou took out the iron box and key from his pocket.

Then, in front of everyone, he inserted the key into the lock.

Click!

With a crisp sound as the key turned, the lock opened.

Jia Xingzhou smiled and opened the tin box.

"..."

But the smile on Jia Xingzhou's face froze instantly the next moment.

Seeing Jia Xingzhou's reaction, Wang Qinghe and Lei Sanshan also quickly leaned over.

After seeing it clearly, he was also completely taken aback.

empty.

The tin box was completely empty; there was nothing inside.

"Why is there nothing inside? Could it be that this metal box itself is a token?"

Lei Sanshan scratched his head and said something casually.

Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe frowned. If the iron box was the token, why bother with a key?

It seems they've been tricked!

"This box looks exquisite; it's the first time I've ever seen one like it."

Hua Jieyu smiled and then asked again.

"Whoever got the item last, please hand it over."

Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe remained silent, turning to look at Chen Shi with grim expressions.

Chen Shi remained calm as he pulled out a yellow cloth bag, no bigger than a baby's fist, from his pocket. The bag was also wet.

"That's right, this is it."

Upon seeing the cloth bag, Hua Jieyu smiled and nodded.

Chen Shi then untied the cloth bag, revealing a small gold seal.

Turn it over, and you'll see the words "Illustrated Record of the Marquis of Jing'an's Residence" engraved on it.

It was actually the chief steward's golden seal!

"Congratulations, Manager Chen, on passing the third round of assessment."

The golden seal appeared, and Hua Jieyu announced the result on the spot.

Looking at Chen Shi, his eyes held not only admiration but also a hint of surprise.

The person who had the last laugh was Chen Shi, whom Hua Jieyu least expected!

After all, Chen Shi could not compare with the other three in terms of either cultivation level or experience.

But things in this world are so strange; in the end, it was Chen Shi who emerged victorious.

"Ha, in the end, this kid actually became the general manager."

Gu Tingliang leaned forward slightly and chuckled softly, clearly also taken aback.

"A steward who is not even twenty years old, tsk tsk, the Jing'an Marquis's mansion has only had one like him in the past few decades."

Hua Jieyu clicked her tongue in amazement and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"A seal is the token? You're kidding me!"

Lei Sanshan suddenly shouted and looked at Chen Shi with a face full of anger.

"All's fair in war, Brother Lei, I'm sorry."

Chen Shi cupped his hands in greeting, a victor's smile on his face.

Lei Sanshan frowned, but said nothing more.

Chen Shi is right. All's fair in war, and as a military general, he should understand this principle better than others.

"A substitution of beams and pillars? We actually fell for such a simple trap."

Lei Sanshan realized what was happening, stamped his foot, and sighed deeply.

"You have the nerve to say that? If you hadn't been clutching that broken box so tightly, I wouldn't have believed you so easily!"

Wang Qing glared at Lei Sanshan, getting angry just thinking about it.

Given his cautious nature, he wouldn't have trusted Chen Shi so easily, but as he said, seeing Lei Sanshan desperately protecting the iron box misled him.

Chen Shi smiled; he had indeed taken advantage of Lei Sanshan.

Judging from the information provided by Xiao Fengxiao, Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe are not easily deceived, but Lei Sanshan is not so quick-witted.

Therefore, when he turned to break through, he deliberately chose Lei Sanshan's side.

It wasn't that Lei Sanshan was lucky.

Chen Shi had originally planned to feign defeat and have Lei Sanshan "snatch" the box. Unexpectedly, Lei Sanshan let him pass, but this did not affect Chen Shi's plan.

Later, with Lei Sanshan's "cooperation," they successfully deceived the quick-witted Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe.

"That's not right! I saw it clearly; he took this box out of the water!"

Lei Sanshan spoke again, frowning as he looked at Chen Shi.

"So, besides this intimidating box, you also got the seal? Damn it, I should have searched you then!"

"It's impossible to find it."

Jia Xingzhou snorted and gave Lei Sanshan a disdainful look.

"Why!"

Lei Sanshan stared wide-eyed, then realized what was happening.

"Could it be that he found an opportunity to hide the seal beforehand, and only retrieved it just before dawn?"

"You're not completely stupid after all."

Jia Xingzhou gave a soft snort, his expression suddenly turning serious.

"However, he didn't hide it along the way; the seal remained in the stream the entire time!"

"What did you say?!"

"Brother Jia is indeed exceptionally intelligent."

Chen Shi nodded, and Chong Jiaxingzhou cupped his hands in greeting.

Jia Xingzhou was right; the seal remained under the white stone in the stream until just before dawn when Chen Shi finally retrieved it!

Last night, after finding the stream, Chen Shi took advantage of the fight between the three to rush over and retrieve the token.

However, the stream was actually quite deep, and the seal was hidden at the bottom, not something that could be easily retrieved. If Chen Shi stopped searching, this delay would inevitably lead to him being caught by Jia Xingzhou and his men.

At that time, facing three opponents alone, let alone Chen Shi's cultivation level of only seventh rank, even if he were sixth rank, he probably wouldn't be able to protect this token!

So he simply resorted to a feint, while secretly advancing his own campaign.

Chen Shi had thought of a way to pass off the real thing as the real thing beforehand, so he went to the street in advance to prepare this iron box.

He held the tin box in his hand, making it look like it had been pulled out of the water, so that others would mistakenly believe that it was the token!

Of course, this method is very risky. If someone becomes suspicious and goes back to check, the item will fall into someone else's hands.

Fortunately, the entire night was filled with chasing and fighting, and Lei Sanshan's enthusiastic "cooperation" afterwards prevented Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qing from thinking about it carefully, and they ultimately overlooked this point.

So, having calculated the time perfectly, just before dawn, while Jia Xingzhou and the others were fighting fiercely, Chen Shi quietly returned to the stream and took out the token!

"Bold and meticulous, Jia admires you!"

Looking back on the whole process, although it was his own oversight, Chen Shi's planning and decision-making were admirable.

Jia Xingzhou bowed to Chen Shi with clasped hands, admitting defeat wholeheartedly!

"Now that the results are in, let's go home."

Gu Tingliang said something and then stood up.

He glanced at Chen Shi and couldn't help but smile again; he still had to formally appoint him when he got back.