Zhang San, please behave yourself!-Chapter 831 - 767: Zhang San, this is an open scheme!

All things in the world come with a price.

The Thousand-Eyed Rat King knew that for Zhang San to grant him such a great benefit, it couldn’t possibly come without a cost.

Zhang San smiled slightly at the Thousand-Eyed Rat King and said, "The price is... you must become famous!"

The Thousand-Eyed Rat King’s brow furrowed. What kind of price is fame?

Doesn’t your human race have a saying about gaining both fame and fortune, or something like that?

Fame, to your human race, isn’t it supposed to be a good thing?

Besides, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King himself also very much hoped to make a name for himself along the All Things Path, so all the Demon Clan members would see him with great respect.

The pursuit of his rat life is all about prestige!

So now Zhang San tells him the price is fame?

Zhang San continued to explain with a smile.

"Everyone knows that the first of the Zodiacs is the Rat. Although the Rat is a species, a general term for all rats and rat demons in the world, in reality, whether it’s all the people of Great Sui or the demons of the All Things Path, the first one they know of is you!"

At this moment, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King understood.

The establishment of the Twelve Zodiacs system indeed allows him to gain some Power of Incense Flame, thereby stepping halfway onto the Path of Ghosts and Gods, enhancing his own strength.

It would also improve the image of the Rat in the eyes of the world. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

But problems arise, because as the head of the Twelve Zodiacs, he’s indeed famous among all the humans of Great Sui, but he’s also famous in the All Things Path.

After all, not all demons can accept a collaboration with Great Sui.

Where there are supporters, there will be opponents.

He’s become famous, but while fame can bring some benefits, sometimes it also brings some drawbacks.

"I’m afraid that after I become famous, there won’t just be hostility from the All Things Path. Even within your human race, there must be something too?"

Zhang San smiled as he explained to the Thousand-Eyed Rat King: "Fame, naturally, has its advantages, but how could there only be advantages?"

"But I’ve already thought of how to solve the potential problems for you."

"You are the head of the Twelve Zodiacs, serving as a model for all the Zodiacs thereafter. So the better you do, the better the other Zodiacs will work with our Great Sui."

"This involves a small problem—that is, due to the Path of Calamity’s harassment of Great Sui over the past year, various natural and human disasters have occurred in many places, leading to a proliferation of rat infestations!"

"It’s not that our Great Sui lacks benevolence. It’s just that with natural and human disasters already depriving people of food, along with the increase in rats, it’s naturally even harder for the people to survive."

"So I’ve thought of a great method for you, which is for you, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King, to become the head of the Twelve Zodiacs and send your demons to all the places with rat infestations to take those rats away."

The Thousand-Eyed Rat King frowned. Although many rats in Great Sui might not be his offspring and have nothing to do with him, after all, they are of the same tribe. Where would he take them?

Although the Rat Race sometimes indeed proliferates too much, ultimately having to let some of the old and weak leap into the sea to ensure the survival of the whole race.

But that’s only when there’s no other option.

To sacrifice the offspring of his tribe for his own fame and descendants, even though the Thousand-Eyed Rat King is a demon, he cannot bring himself to do such a thing.

"Take them where?"

At this moment, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King’s tone was somewhat serious.

Zhang San said with a smile, "The Twelve Zodiacs are Great Sui’s Twelve Zodiacs, not the Tujue’s Twelve Zodiacs from the north. Those rats can completely go to Tujue in the north. Although the living environment there must be more dangerous than in Great Sui, even if you do nothing, in the end, our Imperial Path will still find a way to deal with the rat plague. The result will be the same. It’s better to let them go to Tujue and break new ground!"

Upon hearing this, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King understood.

"Hahaha... Zhang San, this is an open strategy!"

"Although I don’t actually need to pay anything, you must know that what I, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King, love and care about most is prestige! Becoming the head of the Twelve Zodiacs, something that couldn’t have been my fate, was handed to me by you, making it hard for me to refuse!"

"And once I become part of the Twelve Zodiacs, you and I are in the same camp, so naturally, I must help you. Sending most of Great Sui’s rats to the northern Tujue seems like helping you with the rat problem without much impact on the relationship between us at the All Things Path and you. But in reality, it also gives trouble to your enemies, the Tujue. I can hardly imagine how the plains will survive such a winter with so many rats."

At this time, Hu, who was eating all along, couldn’t help but feel worried. He had indeed noticed that the Thousand-Eyed Rat King was smart, but not this smart.

He guessed, perhaps, that after many rats went to the plains, barely one-tenth would survive.

Would the Rat King really agree to this?

At this moment, Hu started to feel tense.

However, the Immortal Monarch Who Treads Snow in Search of Plums beside him didn’t seem affected and continued eating.

Hu glanced at the Silly Roe Deer beside him, thinking: Still eating? What if a fight breaks out later and you don’t react in time?

At this moment, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King suddenly smiled and said, "It is possible, indeed possible. But I have one more request, and that is for some of my rat demon descendants to become Mountain Gods under your Mountain God system."

Zhang San immediately clasped his hands and said, "That is natural, but to become a Mountain God, on one hand, it’s necessary to accept and learn the legacy of the Deer God. On the other hand, as a Mountain God, one must guard regional order and bless the people with favorable weather. If they do well, they can continue as Mountain Gods, but if not, they may face demotion. In this regard, it’s the same as the officials on the Great Sui Dynasty Court. So, as long as the candidates are recommended by you, Thousand-Eyed Rat King, have the ability, and can perform well, I’ll take as many as you can provide!"

Hearing this, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

Because he knew that Zhang San’s words seemed to have no requirements, but in reality, "have the ability, perform well" was the requirement.

"Then, may I know if Deputy Chief Zhang has any other requirements for our Rat Race?"

At this moment, the tone and manner of speaking of the Thousand-Eyed Rat King, as well as his way of addressing Zhang San, had changed.

Zhang San knew that from this moment on, he had truly become a collaborator with the Thousand-Eyed Rat King.

Previously, although the Thousand-Eyed Rat King had sent his demon clan underlings to deliver information to him, at that time, it was more about thinking Zhang San was a good person worth helping a bit.

But now, he was truly being considered an equal partner for collaboration.

"Next, I naturally intend to deal with the North Wind Wolf King and Qian Shanxiu with full force. So I hope that, as allies, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King can provide some assistance and convenience."

The Thousand-Eyed Rat King had actually anticipated this and immediately glanced at a rat demon nearby.

This rat demon immediately came over, took out a scroll, and handed it to Zhang San.

"On this scroll is recorded information about one of the Twelve Superior Demons, the Yellow Dragon. Although we have yet to receive confirmation of Yellow Dragon agreeing to cooperate with the North Wind Wolf King, a careful examination of this information will reveal why the North Wind Wolf King would eventually choose to seek out Yellow Dragon. And there is a very high possibility that Yellow Dragon will agree to join the attack on Julong Pass on the third day of April."

As soon as Zhang San opened the scroll, he immediately understood everything that the Thousand-Eyed Rat King had said.

Yellow Dragon had once helped the human race and had a good relationship with them.

It could even be said that the birth of the Imperial Path was inseparably linked to the Yellow Dragon.

However, since Yellow Dragon belonged to the Demon Clan of the All Things Path, not the human race, there were significant differences in thinking on many issues, leading to Yellow Dragon’s departure.

Moreover, even now at Julong Pass on Longyou Road, the reason this pass is named Julong (Refusing Dragon) is precisely because of Yellow Dragon!

Having seen this, Zhang San understood everything.

The North Wind Wolf King certainly wasn’t in a hurry to find Yellow Dragon, knowing that Yellow Dragon could come by merely calling out.

Hence, before aligning with Yellow Dragon, the North Wind Wolf King and Qian Shanxiu focused their efforts on other superior demons.

After all, persuading other superior demons required great efforts before they would agree to cooperate with the North Wind Wolf King.

But for someone like Yellow Dragon, a simple call would suffice.

However, fortunately, Zhang San soon found a very important piece of information in the intelligence provided by the Thousand-Eyed Rat King.

All his life, Yellow Dragon feared nothing, standing unmoved despite being surrounded by thousands of mighty foes. Yet, he only feared his wife!

Secondly, he feared his two daughters!

Zhang San could ascertain that if he hadn’t reached an accord with the Thousand-Eyed Rat King, the Rat King would never have let him know such vital information.

After all, holding the other’s weakness meant holding the other captive!

"Speaking of which, Deputy Chief Zhang, you are so handsome; if you’re not opposed, having a couple more sisters-in-law would be a good thing, especially if the eldest daughter of the Five Immortal Clans doesn’t mind," the Thousand-Eyed Rat King said with a mischievous smile.

Zhang San grinned. Although he intended to ally with the All Things Path, it certainly couldn’t be through such means!

He’s not a stud horse.

Still, the Thousand-Eyed Rat King’s words did remind Zhang San that Yellow Dragon’s family could indeed be a point of leverage.

Additionally, it wasn’t just Yellow Dragon.

Niu Mo had also initially agreed to the North Wind Wolf King. Now, it was time to let the friendship he cultivated earlier with Brother Niu Mo blossom into fruitful results!

"This intelligence is very important, thank you, Rat King."

Zhang San collected the scroll containing the intelligence and clasped his hands towards the Thousand-Eyed Rat King.

Seeing that although there had been much scheming before, the matter was finally settled, Hu couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"If there are any more important intelligence pieces in the future, I hope the Rat King will promptly send someone over," he added.

The Thousand-Eyed Rat King laughed, "With our cooperation, that’s only natural."

"Moreover, the third day of April is a grand day; I hope the Rat King will bring everyone to Julong Pass to watch the spectacle. There’s a forest in the north where your auras can be concealed, perfect for watching the show."

"Since Deputy Chief Zhang invites, I shall certainly attend on time!"