Chapter 3: An Unexpected Encounter at the Marketplace

  If I hadn't studied that damned mirror in the first place...

  If Superbrain were still around now...

  If the military and technology of the "future" could be realized in this era...

  If...

  Unfortunately, these are just "ifs", just like the fact that he has already been reborn as King Zhou, many things can no longer be turned back.

  Fate is like rape, since you can't resist it, might as well enjoy it thoroughly. Or else, just indulge in wine and lust like Emperor Zhou of Shang, live a life of debauchery, enjoy yourself for several decades, and then conveniently ruin the good country, finally managing to become a Heavenly Joy Star?

  Unfortunately, Zhang Zixing was not that kind of muddle-headed or pessimistic person, he was not reconciled.

  On the road of "previous life" scientific research, he was not without difficulties, but he always relied on his firm will and indomitable spirit to successfully overcome one difficulty after another, turning the impossible into possible. How could such a person be so resigned to fate?

  On this day, Zhang Zixing, who was feeling depressed, brought a few followers and went out in simple attire. He strolled around the city of Muyi, clearing his mind, and unknowingly arrived at the market.

  The business of the Shang Dynasty has taken shape, and water and land transportation trade is also relatively developed. There are many kinds of goods in the market, with bronze handicrafts and pottery being the most common, as well as some expensive goods such as silk and sea pearls. The circulating currency is a special copper coin. The market is bustling with people coming and going.

  At this moment, a loud noise came from the front, and people on the road were avoiding it. A naked man with a thin body on his back was desperately running towards this side, with more than a dozen big men closely chasing behind him.

  The man seemed to have a lot of strength, carrying someone on his back and running very fast. However, due to the hasty escape, he accidentally slipped on a banana peel underfoot and fell to the ground along with the little girl behind him. Before he could get up again, the pursuing soldiers had already caught up and surrounded them.

  "You damned slave! How dare you escape from the mansion!" The leader, a burly man, drew out a bronze sword from his waist, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

  The naked man, seeing no way to escape, knelt down: "I am not trying to run away, but my younger sister is only eight years old and suffers from a serious illness, she is in danger of dying at any moment, I had no choice but to rush out to find a doctor, please have mercy on me!"

  The big Han looked at the little girl with her eyes closed and her breath as thin as a thread, and coldly snorted: "You lowly slaves are like ants, so lowly that you're not even worth saving. If you die, then just die, it'll save food anyway. What qualifications do you have to receive medical treatment? You destroyed the torture device and escaped, according to the rules, your whole family will be subjected to punishment!"

  The punishment was a cruel one at the time, where people were minced into meat sauce. The naked man hastily knocked his head and begged for mercy: "My parents are dead, leaving only this little sister, please have mercy on my lord, spare my little sister, I am willing to go back to the mansion to receive punishment!"

  "You dare to haggle over the price, you good-for-nothing things! Since you dared to run away, all of you will die! You think you can run fast? Wait for me to cut off your legs first and see how you'll escape!" Just as this pitiful brother and sister were about to be slaughtered on the spot, not a single bystander was willing to step forward to lend a helping hand. Some even revealed schadenfreude expressions, while most others remained numb.

  The Great Han raised his copper sword with a sneer, just about to strike down, when suddenly a thunderous voice rang out in his ears, "Halt!"

  The one who shouted to stop was Zhang Zixing. The big man was shocked at first, his eyes fell on the brown clothes on his body, and the look of surprise instantly turned into a cold smile: "I am Chen Jie, the housekeeper of Fei Lian Dafu, who are you? Dare to intervene in this matter? If you know what's good for you, roll away quickly!"

  It turned out that the Shang Dynasty had a hierarchy of colors, with white being the most noble. The nobles often wore yellow and red clothes, while Zhang Zixing's light brown clothes represented low-ranking officials and civilians, so Da Han didn't take it to heart.

  "How dare you!" The attendants of the Shouwang Fu saw their master being scolded by a mere servant of a doctor's household and were about to rebuke him, but were stopped by Zhang Zixing with a wave of his hand.

  "Fei Lian, the great doctor?" Zhang Zixing furrowed his brow and immediately thought of that tall and thin man who had come to Shouwang Fu a few days ago to pay respects and offer gifts. He was a notorious treacherous official from the Shang Dynasty, and later when the Zhou army entered Chengzhou, he had stolen the jade seal together with E Lai and presented it to King Wu, attempting to gain favor by betraying his lord.

  Looking at Chen's arrogant appearance, Zhang Zixing, who had been dissatisfied with Fei Lian, smiled instead of getting angry and waved his hand: "What about Doctor Fei Lian? Today, I, the great lord, have decided on this matter!"

  Several attendants couldn't help it, as soon as they received the master's order, they immediately rushed towards the Great Han people. They were all elite guards in the Shouwang Mansion, with high martial arts skills, and could fight multiple opponents with ease, still holding the upper hand.

  Zhang Zixing got excited and joined the battle, although his fighting skills were poor, but he won with swift movements and great strength. With one punch, he knocked down a big man who spat blood, and with another kick, he kicked another big man unconscious. In no time, he knocked down four people. Chen Jie saw Zhang Zixing was so fierce, and secretly stabbed him from behind with his sword. The naked man saw the situation and rushed up to hug Chen Jie, falling to the ground. The sword tip barely scratched Zhang Zixing's shoulder, leaving a blood mark.

  Chen Jue was furious at the failure of his sneak attack and was about to stab the naked man with his sword when he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He was lifted off the ground by Zhang Zixing's single hand grasping his collar, then thrown far away, crashing heavily to the ground, writhing in pain for half a day before he could crawl back up. The sword was snapped into two pieces by Zhang Zixing's divine strength.

  The guards of the Shouwang Mansion, seeing their master's bravery, also lifted their spirits and beat the remaining big men until they were scattered all over the place. Chen Jie saw that things were not going in his favor, so with the help of his companions, he gritted his teeth and got up, threw out a few harsh words, and then limped away from the market.

  After the battle ended, the guards only discovered that their master was actually injured and they all knelt down to apologize, admitting that they had failed in their duty to protect him.

  Zhang Zixing saw those guys fleeing in a sorry state, and the depression in his chest dissipated a lot. He didn't blame the guards at all, but instead burst out laughing: "Refreshing!"

  The naked man knelt down on both knees, constantly knocking his head against Zhang Zixing: "I thank you for saving me from the kindness of a small person! Lord Fei Lian is in a high position and has great power, please let the benefactor leave quickly to avoid endless troubles!"

  "You don't have to worry about me, but rather yourself..." Zhang Zixing was most afraid of people who would kneel down at the drop of a hat. Moreover, as the King of Shou, he wouldn't be afraid of Fei Lian's power. He signaled for his attendants to help the man up, "You're just an escaped slave, with no status or wealth. Even if you managed to escape to the medical hall this time, who would treat your sister? Even if by some miracle a kind-hearted person treated her successfully, you both will still find it hard to escape from Mo Yi City, and in the end, you might not be able to escape the death penalty."

  The man sighed and said, "My family has been slaves for generations. My father was beheaded for offending the master, and my mother died from exhaustion, leaving only my younger sister and me to rely on each other. Now my younger sister is seriously ill and in danger of dying at any moment. How can I bear to watch her die before my eyes? In desperation, I have come up with this plan... If I were to die, it would be all right, but it's a pity that my little sister has such a hard life..."

  Zhang Zixing naturally knew the miserable fate of slaves in a slave society, and when he thought that the Shang Dynasty still belonged to this most primitive social system of humanity, his heart felt particularly heavy. Looking at the man's helpless expression of resignation to his fate, Zhang Zixing suddenly had a feeling of sympathy - as the future King Zhou himself, wasn't he also a pawn being manipulated by "heavenly fate"? Lost in thought, he stood there for a moment.

  Is everything really destined?

  Can't it be changed at all?

  "If you had the chance, would you... want to change your own and your sister's fate?"

  After a moment of silence, Zhang Zixing's sudden question made the man pause, and he hesitated for a moment before nodding vigorously.

  "If I told you that you would probably suffer defeat or even death, would you still persist?"

  The man did not hesitate, his expression firm as he nodded his head. Originally a fugitive slave with nothing to his name, what was there to fear in failure or death?

  Zhang Zixing nodded silently, and a flash of lightning seemed to pass through his mind. His eyes gradually became fervent - if even the lowest slave in society at present could change his fate without fear of failure, then shouldn't he, with thousands of years of human wisdom and scientific knowledge, be better than him?

  In college, isn't there a most commonly used dirty phrase among schoolmates called "ren si wan zhao tian"? Simply summarized in two words: Lao Tze!

  Die and be done with it, what's there to fear?

  The heavens want the Shang Dynasty to perish according to the "plot", but I, the emperor, won't let that happen! If we don't turn this world upside down, wouldn't it be a waste of this rebirth?

  From economy to military, let's take a leap forward in time. Think about tens of thousands of soldiers holding hot weapons to deal with those immortal beings, shooting them into honeycombs, and see how much elixir they can eat? What if we go crazy? If possible, let's get hundreds of super nuclear warheads to blast Kunlun Mountain a few times, and see how hard the turtle shell of Yu Xu Palace is!

  Can't fight against those immortals head-on, so use cunning schemes like sowing discord, driving out the tiger and swallowing the wolf, or borrowing a knife to kill someone... If not, just poison them, hit them with a blunt object... Killing a few is just killing a few, if you can reduce those cult leaders to nothing that would be even better - even if it means dying and being worshipped as a god, at least take down some scapegoats along the way.

  In the world of Fengshen, aren't there many beauties? What about the celestial maidens, princesses... Unfortunately, the original work didn't describe them in detail, so we can't catch a glimpse of their beauty. Otherwise, might as well fill up the harem, after all, it's not easy to come here, this is called dying in the Hundred Flowers Garden, Fengshen is also popular...

  After making up his mind, Zhang Zixing felt a sudden clarity in his heart, and the ideological burden that had been accumulated for a long time disappeared without a trace. He burst out laughing at once.

  Actually, some principles are not complicated at all, but people often get confused when they are in the midst of it and even get stuck in a dead end. Truly intelligent people usually only need an appropriate opportunity to suddenly realize the cause and effect and jump out of the situation. What Zhang Zixing encountered today was exactly such an opportunity. On the surface, he didn't seem to have changed much, but his mental outlook had undergone a qualitative leap.

  That slave didn't know what was going on and saw Master En suddenly laughing foolishly for no reason, and he didn't dare ask more questions.

  At this time, a commotion came from the street corner, waking up someone who was immersed in infinite daydreaming. Looking far away, there was a team of people rushing towards this side. Zhang Zixing had sharp eyes and saw that it was a martial general riding a horse leading a team of soldiers wearing leather armor, and Chen Chuan, who had been driven away by himself, was among them. But what kind of identity did he have, how could he be afraid of these people?

  The naked man also sensed that the pursuers had arrived and hastily said: "If the benefactor is willing to show mercy, please quickly take my younger sister away. I will stay behind to distract the pursuers and fight to the death to protect the benefactor's departure. The benefactor's kindness is great, and I can only repay it with my life in the next world."

  Although this man is a slave, he values emotions and righteousness, and views death as a return home, which is truly rare. Before Zhang Zixing could speak, someone on the side had already said: "There's no need for that, you just rest assured and leave, I'll use a little trick to ensure your safety."