Chapter 124.2

“The sweet potatoes are done.”

Holding a stick, Li Zhuiyuan pulled the sweet potatoes out of the fire.

Runsheng walked over, took a few, then went back to squat where he had been.

Seeing that, Lin Shuyou also came over, grabbed a few, and squatted back down as well.

Each of them took a different direction, crouching on separate little slopes to keep watch over the surroundings.

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng had already gone into the village to investigate that Zhao household.

That left one person who was bad with words and one whose mouth had no filter here with Li Zhuiyuan.

Actually, everyone had rations in their bags already, things like compressed biscuits and dehydrated vegetables. After every operation, anything that had been used up was always replenished right away.

Mainly, though, that stuff really tasted awful.

And since there was nothing much to do at the moment, they had bought some sweet potatoes from a nearby farmer and were roasting them to snack on while killing time.

Some things were best done only on a dark and windy night.

“Someone’s coming,” Runsheng said.

Li Zhuiyuan blew lightly on the sweet potato in his hand, stood up, and looked in that direction.

He saw an old man carrying a young man on his back, walking toward them along the ridge between the fields.

The young man had a cloth wrapped around his head, like the way rural women dressed during postpartum confinement.

Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze lowered, settling on the old man’s footsteps.

It had rained here just last night. Earlier, when he had gone looking for dry firewood, even that had taken some effort. Naturally, the field edges were muddy. Yet this old man, carrying the weight of a full-grown adult on his back, didn’t leave a single footprint each time his cloth shoes came down.

That meant the man practiced genuine internal martial arts, and had reached a real level with it.

Runsheng practiced internal martial arts too, though the “internal” in Runsheng’s case had been carved out by force.

Li Zhuiyuan bit into his sweet potato and said, “Get ready to fight.”

They were here to settle a score, and this was the other side’s turf. Running into a trained fighter here meant only one thing. It was broad daylight, and both sides had spotted each other from far off. If it had been at night, they probably would have already struck first, knocked the other side down, and only then bothered figuring out who was who.

Runsheng picked up the Yellow River Spade and stood in front of Li Zhuiyuan.

Lin Shuyou took up his trident, but instead of competing with Runsheng for the front position, he stood diagonally off to Li Zhuiyuan’s side.

Across from them, Old Tian stopped walking and asked in confusion, “Hey now, what’s this? Looks like you’re getting ready to throw down?”

“Mm,” Zhao Yi replied.

“All this over a roasted sweet potato?”

“Grandpa Tian, next time you walk, don’t be so afraid of dirtying your shoes.”

At that, Old Tian’s face reddened slightly.

“That man is holding a Yellow River Spade.” Zhao Yi patted Old Tian on the shoulder. “Grandpa Tian, put me down.”

“Young master, I think it’d be better not to make contact.”

“Even if we turn around and leave now, I doubt they’ll be willing to let us go.”

“Young master, at least have a little faith in me.”

“Grandpa Tian, I do have faith in you. But didn’t you see? That young man over there is much younger than I am.”

“Hm?” Old Tian looked baffled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“When you travel the jianghu, the younger someone is, the less casually you should provoke them.”

Zhao Yi climbed down from Old Tian’s back. His body actually wasn’t in too bad a state, but he lacked balance when walking and needed someone to support him.

After getting a little closer, Zhao Yi gently pushed Old Tian aside and began a formal greeting.

He slapped each side of his chest with one hand, then pressed both thumbs to the center of his brow, and finally crossed his hands over his chest.

“With chest facing Jiujiang, courage illuminating Xunyang, qi overshadowing Mount Lu, spirit descending upon Poyang. The Zhao Clan of Jiujiang greets fellow travelers here!”

Once he finished the full gesture and the full speech, the young man immediately turned dizzy. His body swayed violently. The old man behind him wanted to help but didn’t dare, and could only fret in silence. Fortunately, after reeling in place for a moment, Zhao Yi barely managed to steady himself again.

His surname was Zhao?

The clothes on Runsheng’s body suddenly puffed outward, then sucked tight against him, then puffed out again, with the faint sound of wind whistling through.

Lin Shuyou’s eyes widened. Slowly lifting his head, he clenched his left fist and held the trident in his right. A harsh, obscure sound came from his throat. In order to avoid losing face, he was forcefully beginning a spirit medium ritual.

Old Tian immediately moved in front of Zhao Yi. With a flick of both arms behind him, two daggers slid out into his hands, held in reverse grip.

His eyes first swept over Runsheng, then settled on Lin Shuyou.

“What... is that man trying to do?”

“He’s preparing for a spirit descent through a spirit medium ritual. It’s a transmission line from the southern coast. Not sure whether it’s the Eight Generals or Officers of the Command Banner.”

“Young master, if it’s the kind of sorcery that invites spirits, I can just stall him and the time will pass. But that big fellow’s aura is too deep and heavy. I’m old now. My blood and qi aren’t what they used to be. I’m afraid I can’t outlast him.”

“Grandpa Tian, weren’t you just telling me to have more confidence in you?”

“How was I supposed to know that stopping by a field where people were roasting sweet potatoes by the river would lead us into two freaks like these?

Young master, if it really comes to fighting, our only chance is for me to circle around and seize that young one. The other side may try to grab you too, and then we can force an exchange by holding hostages against each other.

That’s the only way.”

Zhao Yi let out a sigh. “That only way is gone.”

Old Tian stared in shock, because the young man across from them was already backing away continuously, opening up a long enough safety gap. Even the fellow preparing for spirit descent had retreated together with him, guarding his flanks.

While he had been assessing their formation, they had also assessed his: one old man and one sickly young master.

Leave the one best suited for attrition to wear down an old man like him, while the sickly young master couldn’t even run away.

“This...”

“Grandpa Tian, next time don’t say the whole plan out loud so plainly.”

“Young master, I was already speaking very quietly.”

“But their hearing is good.”

Old Tian sighed. “This sweet potato is really expensive.”

Zhao Yi raised both hands and stepped forward again, going around Old Tian. Just as he was about to say something, his foot suddenly slipped.

Smack!

He went face-first into the field.

Lin Shuyou tilted his head. It seemed he had finally found someone even dumber and more ridiculous than himself, so he quickly seized the chance to say, “Heh. Is he trying to be funny?”

Beside him, Li Zhuiyuan said, “He did that on purpose. To break the heavy atmosphere.”

Lin Shuyou silently closed his mouth. Fine. He’d made himself look dumb again.

Old Tian put away his daggers and helped Zhao Yi up, now covered in mud from head to toe.

“Young master, if I’d known this trip would go like this, we really should’ve brought more people from home.”

Wiping the mud off his face, Zhao Yi shook his head. “Sometimes it’s fate. It has nothing to do with how many people you bring.”

After standing up again, Zhao Yi smiled awkwardly and said:

“This Zhao is not that Zhao. Please don’t misunderstand. I come from the Zhao Clan of Jiujiang. Though our ancestors were once the same family as the Zhao line here, we split off two hundred years ago. We are absolutely not on the same path.”

After hearing his introduction, the other side had clearly become even more cautious, and the intent to fight had only grown stronger. Zhao Yi picked up on that and immediately continued:

“Our family head heard that the Zhao line here was committing acts that defy the righteous path, and specially ordered the two of us to investigate. Now the investigation is clear. This Zhao household currently has four members.

There is an old matriarch, a son, and beneath him a pair of twin great-grandchildren, one boy and one girl.

This family not only uses living people to refine cursed objects, but also transfers the backlash of curses through the medium of taking in orphans under the guise of caring for the lonely and childless. That old matriarch even borrows Lifespan from her blood relatives.

One crime after another, one outrage after another. Their sins are monstrous, enough to enrage both gods and men. All righteous people under heaven should unite to punish them!

I was just about to return and report to the family head, to request an order to wipe out this degenerate branch and cleanse the Zhao name.

And I imagine, my friend, that you’re here for the righteous path as well, aren’t you?”

He spoke very sincerely, with logic and evidence, and even laid bare all the secrets of Stone Table Zhao. It really did sound genuine.

But Li Zhuiyuan had no need to determine whether what he said was true or false, nor any need to waste his energy on that.

The boy raised a hand and pointed at the young man opposite him.

“You come over here alone. I’ll treat you to a sweet potato.”

“Young master, no!” Old Tian immediately tried to stop him.

“Grandpa Tian, whose fault is it that you can only handle one of them?”

“Young master, even if I have to risk this old life, I’ll—”

“Make sure both you and I are buried together in this field?”

Old Tian: “...”

“It’s fine. At worst, I’ll just have to trouble Grandpa Tian to temporarily become someone else’s blade.”

Zhao Yi walked toward Runsheng, swaying unsteadily.

Runsheng didn’t look at him.

Zhao Yi passed by Runsheng’s side and kept going a little farther, finally reaching Lin Shuyou.

Then he could no longer maintain his balance. With a thump, he dropped to his knees.

This time it wasn’t an act. He genuinely couldn’t keep walking. Every step made the world spin before his eyes.

Only then did Li Zhuiyuan sit back down and toss him a roasted sweet potato.

“Heh heh, I’ve been craving exactly this.” Zhao Yi peeled it and bit into it. “Sweet. Tastes good.”

Li Zhuiyuan tossed two more roasted sweet potatoes to Lin Shuyou. “Take those to the old man.”

In the distance, Old Tian saw that his young master had already gone over and become a hostage. He stopped confronting Runsheng altogether and simply squatted down in the field by himself, sulking.

Lin Shuyou held the sweet potatoes and shook his head.

He was worried this sickly fellow might suddenly strike and harm Brother Xiaoyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan knew what he was worried about and said, “His Gate of Life is cracked. He’s useless.”

“Pfft... cough, cough, cough... cough cough cough!”

The moment Zhao Yi heard that, he started coughing violently and kept pounding his own chest.

Old Tian, who had already squatted down at a distance, immediately stood back up. But as his young master beat his chest, he also raised his right hand and gave a downward flick. Old Tian could only squat back down again.

Somewhat helplessly, Zhao Yi said, “Everyone says that a split in my Gate of Life is the mark of a genius. How come with you, I’m just useless?”

Li Zhuiyuan replied, “A genius who can’t even take care of himself?”

Zhao Yi corrected him, “Still a genius!”

“Is genius worth a lot?”

Zhao Yi frowned, bit into his sweet potato again, and said, “At the very least, I can’t really think of myself as crippled, can I? The title of genius helps me keep going.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “That makes sense.”

Seeing that Brother Xiaoyuan was certain the other party posed no threat, Lin Shuyou finally left with the sweet potatoes and went to the old man.

“Thanks.” The old man took the sweet potatoes, thanked him, and casually asked, “Are you Eight Generals or Officers of the Command Banner?”

“Officers of the Command Banner.”

After answering, Lin Shuyou went back.

Runsheng, meanwhile, walked over and squatted beside the old man.

His task was to stay with the old man at all times and trade lives with him if it came to that.

As he gnawed on his sweet potato, the old man asked, “To be able to cultivate your internal martial arts to this level at such a young age, that’s truly remarkable.”

Unlike Lin Shuyou, whose mouth ran wild, Runsheng said nothing. He just silently took out his cigar case.

The old man continued, “Who taught you?”

Runsheng shook his head. “I don’t have a master.”

He had once, but on the road through the jianghu, even the form of address had changed.

“Our young master is already in your hands. What’s wrong with saying something honest? You can ask me things too.”

“I’m not interested in you.”

“Heh. Fine.”

Runsheng lit the thick incense-like cigar, took a deep drag, then slowly exhaled.

The old man’s face filled with shock. “You’re a damn dea—”

Runsheng turned his head to look at him.

The old man immediately stuffed his mouth full of sweet potato.

Runsheng stopped looking at him and kept smoking his cigar.

On the other side, Zhao Yi scooted a little closer to Li Zhuiyuan and asked curiously, “How could you tell at a glance that my Gate of Life is split?”

“Cracked.”

“Cracked sounds awful. My brow center is split, not something lower down.”

“I read about it in a book.”

“What book could possibly record something like that?”

“Some junk book in the basement back home.”

Zhao Yi laughed awkwardly, assuming that Li Zhuiyuan had seen through his attempt to probe his background and was deliberately mocking him in return.

After finishing the sweet potato in his hand, Zhao Yi seemed to finally make up his mind and asked openly, “Do you have a way to treat it?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Same as the way to treat the one lower down.”

“Huh? The upper and lower parts can be treated the same way?”

“Cut it out. That’ll do it.”

Zhao Yi swallowed hard and muttered, “If I dig it out, then I won’t be a genius anymore.”

“In that case, you really aren’t.”

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the stick and shifted more sweet potatoes into the fire to roast, saving them for when Binbin and Mengmeng came back.

Zhao Yi asked quietly, “If it were you, would you really be willing to give it up, even if it burdened you, even harmed you because of it?”

Li Zhuiyuan pulled a burning stick closer to himself and blew out the flames at the tip in one breath.

“I would.”

Hearing that, Zhao Yi lowered his head deeply.

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng came back. They first saw the old man squatting there with Runsheng, then noticed Zhao Yi sitting beside Li Zhuiyuan.

The two of them knew well enough who to ask about the situation, so they chose Lin Shuyou. Lin Shuyou rattled off everything that had happened earlier.

Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng came over and sat down.

Binbin slung an arm around Zhao Yi’s shoulders. “Hello there, Mr. Hostage.”

“An honor, an honor.”

Tan Wenbin picked up a sweet potato, blowing on it as he said, “Little... brother, looks like our trip was for nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“This Stone Table Zhao family runs an old folks’ home in the village, and an orphanage too. They donate money to build roads. Their reputation is excellent. I was almost moved by their family values.

Then I happened to catch them burying an old person from their family. I slipped into the crowd and tested it with a Yellow Talisman.

And hey, guess what? That talisman turned black as pitch.

Damn it, that place is definitely a nest of beasts.”

Zhao Yi clenched his fist and chimed in, “Exactly. They deserve punishment from heaven and earth alike!”

“Hahaha, Mr. Hostage, you surrendered fast.”

“My stance is very firm, because in the future I’m going to undertake River Walk.”

Tan Wenbin looked puzzled. “River Walk? That sounds pretty rare. What’s that? Sounds kind of impressive.”

Zhao Yi replied, “If River Walk succeeds, you can transform into a Dragon King.”

Tan Wenbin said, “Whoa, there’s even a saying like that? Not bad, not bad.”

Then Tan Wenbin looked at Li Zhuiyuan. “Brother, what do we do?”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi spoke up. “Once it gets dark, I’ll break the restrictions on their Ancestral Hall. We’ll go into the Ancestral Hall first and destroy those cursed objects, then clean out that nest of beasts.

But be careful. They’re also carrying personal cursed objects on them.

Also, before we act, I need to set up a formation to separate their rear courtyard from the front residence. There are quite a few old people and children living in the east and west wing rooms of the front residence. We shouldn’t drag them into this and stain ourselves with karma for nothing. Not worth it.”

Tan Wenbin asked, “Oh? You know formations too?”

Zhao Yi nodded. “I do. What, you do too?”

Tan Wenbin waved a hand. “Wouldn’t say I know it exactly. Just... understand a little.”

Li Zhuiyuan tossed the stick in his hand into the fire and clapped off his palms.

“Then we wait for nightfall.”

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