Chapter 77

* * *

"It's just bodies. There's nothing worth calling treasure."

Ji Yunseong nodded at his subordinate's report. In fact, he had already guessed as much when he saw the burning building. Even if there had been any treasure, Zhang Jian and his gang would have already taken it all. Given the short time they had, it seems the amount of treasure wasn't much.

As he listened to his subordinate's report, he suddenly turned his head to look at the ridge beyond. On the slope of the ridge, Ji Shangtian, mounted on a horse, was gazing at the sunset turning red.

Ji had successfully repelled the ambush.

This was a case where the head of the family's excessive efforts to boost the standing of the successor, Ji Shangtian, turned out to be a stroke of foresight. The pursuing warriors numbered nearly a hundred and were well-trained, the main force of the family. Despite the surprise attack by the Lian family, the numbers were almost double, and the morale was high with Ji Shangtian fighting bravely at the forefront.

From Ji Shangtian's personal perspective, it was a turn for the better. Through this battle, he proved himself as a brave heart and a skilled martial artist, not a pitiful young man who would attempt suicide after being seduced by a Lian family spy. He was the one who rode at the forefront and defeated the most Lian family warriors.

When they returned to the family, the remaining members of the pursuit team would likely become staunch supporters of Ji Shangtian. With the strong justification of being the successor, this internal support would be a significant force for him. However, he didn't seem to be in a good mood at the moment, as Zhen Jiying had been seriously injured during the ambush.

Despite Ji Yunseong's objections, he had divided the warriors into two groups, sending Zhen Jiying back to the family first. Now, with the other half of the warriors, he had arrived at this already ransacked place.

The person who had most strongly advocated for the theft of the treasure now seemed uninterested, only looking towards the west where Zhen Jiying had gone. For Ji Yunseong, who had to follow the orders already given, this was a frustrating situation.

So, Ji Yunseong turned his head back this way. He saw the almost completely burned and tilting building, and the bodies neatly lined up in front of it.

There were five who seemed to be Lian family archers, and twelve who seemed to be Taiping soldiers. All the Taiping soldiers had died from arrows. One of them had run quite far but ultimately died from an arrow in his back.

The five Lian family archers had all died from sword wounds. Ji Yunseong could guess Zhang Jian's skill from the clean sword marks.

"Master, I've found some traces. Should we track them?"

"Some traces? Are the traces split?"

A few of Ji Yunseong's direct subordinates from the pursuit team nodded and answered.

"Yes. They seem to have split into two and one."

"Hmm. They must have found the treasure and split up right away. If so, the group that split into two probably split again soon after. Now, tracking them has little meaning."

The subordinate glanced up at Ji Yunseong and cautiously asked.

"Bu... But one of them must have the martial arts of Li Shimin. You say it has no meaning...?"

"They split the items too cleanly for thieves. The treasure, which should have caused the greatest conflict, didn't fulfill its role. What could this treasure be?"

The subordinate fumbled with his lips before answering.

"Is it... the martial arts of Li Shimin?"

"Yes. The fact that they could split and escape during the time we spent repelling the enemies and chasing them suggests that the value of the treasures was secondary, and their size was not large. It also means there was nothing worth coveting by all three. In my opinion, the martial arts of Li Shimin either didn't exist, or if it did, it wasn't tempting enough to incite greed. If it can't even incite desire in mere thieves, there's no reason for our family to covet it."

The subordinate nodded at Ji Yunseong's reasoning. Indeed, it was a short but insightful deduction worthy of a bloodline of the Ji family, a family investigator.

"Then, did I waste our family's warriors for something the thieves themselves didn't covet?"

Ji Yunseong turned his head at the voice from behind. Ji Shangtian, who had approached, was looking at him with a stern face. Ji Yunseong tried to suppress a sigh and said.

"Have I not already explained, young master? This was a trap set by the Lian family and Xin Shachan to target our family, and it was overcome by your excellent martial arts and the bravery of the warriors. This isn't just about the value of the treasure; it's about the interests of the forces involved. As the successor of the family, you must have the eyes and ability to observe and utilize these relationships."

Ji Shangtian nodded roughly.

"Right. No matter what, the Lian family and Xin Shachan's dark faction will pay the price. Oh, should we put a bounty on the thieves?"

"There's no need to do that. The Lian family's plot was twisted because they stole the treasure and disrupted the situation. On the contrary, they might deserve a reward."

Ji Shangtian nodded again and then suddenly turned his eyes to the warriors looking at him.

"What are you doing? There's nothing more to see here. Let's go. If we hurry, we might catch up with those who left earlier today."

Ji Yunseong, seeing his confident or perhaps arrogant attitude, let out a hollow laugh. Ji Shangtian seemed to have no regret about not obtaining the family's treasure. Perhaps he had shed all such feelings while fiercely fighting the Lian family's ambush. His fierce fighting, as if he were a lion, was surprising even to Ji Yunseong.

Whether he found it absurd or not, the other warriors all remounted their horses at Ji Shangtian's words, following his lead.

Ji Yunseong, nodding slowly, slowly followed behind.

He deliberately did not explain the involvement of the martial arts alliance leader. Instead, he glossed over the Taiping soldiers, making Ji Shangtian believe they were also part of the Lian family and the dark faction. While it was right to clarify for the family's benefit and revenge, Ji Yunseong saw an opportunity to use this to his advantage.

Holding the secret of the alliance leader, he could shake things up or align with him.

Ji Yunseong did not want to remain just a well-behaved collateral branch of the family, always a bloodline of the Ji family. He thought this was just the beginning. He suddenly repeated the words he had said to Zhang Jian as he left, injured.

"Will you ultimately be broken, or will you break the world..."

It was unclear whether these words were directed at the unseen Zhang Jian or at himself.

* * *

Yi Lian and Zhang Jian rode for a long time. Adjusting their speed to avoid tiring the horses, they found themselves under a red sunset on the horizon. The wilderness was dyed a deep red, becoming a crimson land.

Suddenly, Zhang Jian and Cao Cao stopped. Yi Lian, who had been slightly lagging behind, slowed down and turned her horse to face him.

"Why did you stop?"

Zhang Jian, with the same calm eyes she had seen throughout their journey, looked at her. Yi Lian felt she could understand what his eyes were saying. Then, Zhang Jian spoke.

"We should be far enough from the Ji family's warriors by now."

Yi Lian hesitated for a moment, her lips trembling. Then, she tightly closed her lips, sniffed, and took out Li Zhi's diary from her bosom, holding it out. But Zhang Jian shook his head.

"Why are you doing this? The martial arts were supposed to be for you, Zhang Warrior."

"The martial arts in there are unique, but they have no meaning to me. What remains is just the record of the Li family, and it's right for the descendants to have it."

Yi Lian hesitated for a moment.

"But..."

"If it's of no use to you, just sell it for a good price. Since you've made enemies with the Ji family and the dark faction, you can't return to Xin Shachan, so you'll need a new home."

Yi Lian sniffed again and forced a smile.

"Are you underestimating me? I have a small office in Tianhousheng. I mainly operated in Xin Shachan because it's my hometown. I'm sure there will be more work in Tianhousheng."

"Then, that's fortunate."

Zhang Jian's eyes turned to the sunset on the western horizon. Seeing this, Yi Lian, thinking he might just leave, quickly put the book back and spoke energetically.

"Really, I can't understand how a guy like Yang Hong could know you, Zhang Warrior. I've known him for quite a while, but he usually just plays dice and lives a life of leisure."

"It's because of the dice."

Yi Lian's face showed surprise.

"Really?"

"Whenever I play dice, my vision narrows and my greed grows. I end up losing big after winning small, always ending up in the red. When I played with Yang Hong, I couldn't get up and lost a lot of money."

"Did you let him live because of that?"

Zhang Jian smiled slightly and continued.

"Would I kill someone just because of dice? I'm not that obsessed with it."

Yi Lian, looking at his smile, suddenly remembered Zhang Jian shooting an arrow at Yang Hong.

"So, this matter was just a matter of indifference to you. Whether you got it or not, it didn't matter. That's why you didn't kill Yang Hong."

"I didn't act with such indifference. But I knew he would do something foolish. If he was really a rotten guy, he wouldn't have just run away with the map. If he really wanted to exclude us, it would have been easier to poison our food. He knew the innkeeper, so it would have been safer to eliminate us there than to run away recklessly."

Zhang Jian, looking at the sunset, untied the straw hat from the saddle of Cao Cao and continued.

"I thought he was leading us to an inn he knew for some reason. But in the end, what he did was just a reflexive action based on the situation. He wasn't prepared to betray us from the start."

Yi Lian laughed.

"Reflexive action? That's an interesting way to put it. You're talking about instinct, I guess."

"Something like that."

Zhang Jian, looking at the sunset, turned back to her, and she instinctively lowered her eyes.

"I really thought you were going to hang him. I didn't even know you could cut the rope with an arrow."

"Neither did I."

Yi Lian, surprised by his answer, suddenly looked up. Zhang Jian, looking at her, smiled strangely and slowly put on the straw hat. She soon understood the meaning of his words and laughed loudly.

"Really didn't know?"

"I can't even remember the last time I shot an arrow. Three years? Four years? When I shot at the fleeing Taiping soldiers, I aimed for their heads, not their backs."

She laughed again at his answer. While she was laughing, Zhang Jian lightly tied the strings of the straw hat and tidied up his clothes. When he finished and looked at her again, she was looking at him with reddened eyes. He knew it wasn't because of the sunset.

She said,

"Do you want to come with me? Actually, the office in Tianhousheng is a bit too big for one person."

Zhang Jian smiled faintly at her.

"Tianhousheng is a warm city. Perhaps because of this, the people are generally generous and gentle. It's a good place to visit anytime."

"Will you come, Zhang Warrior?"

At her question, Zhang Jian nodded lightly. Yi Lian nodded in understanding. Looking at her red face for a moment, Zhang Jian turned his horse's head and lightly tugged the end of the straw hat.

With this short farewell, Zhang Jian left, leaving Yi Lian behind.

Yi Lian watched Zhang Jian, who was gradually disappearing into the red world, for a long time. She watched until he blended into the horizon.