Chapter 8

San Yue Mountain was Meng Yan's place of growth. The main peak and several side peaks, the front and back of the mountain, were as familiar to him as the back of his hand. With his good physical strength, even while supporting Jielin, his pace did not slow down. As they walked, they engaged in further conversation.

"You ancient heritage is really convenient. Such a large shield, it can grow big and small, appear and disappear. Is that why they want to rob you?"

When Meng Yan tried to take Jielin's parrot-claw battle shield, he found it weighed over a thousand pounds, far beyond the strength of an ordinary person. However, Jielin could control it from a distance, lifting it up and down as if it were a piece of paper, with no effort at all. Finally, she waved her hand, and the entire massive shield vanished without a trace. This left the young man, who had seen many strange things, genuinely impressed.

"…You really don't know anything! Ancient heritage is the starting point of all modern battle weapons. All the technology related to battle weapons is the result of studying ancient heritage. It could even be said that without ancient heritage, there would be no modern human world… This is something everyone knows. I don't understand why you act as if you've never heard of it, it's too unbelievable!"

"I'm just a body collector in the mountains, occasionally growing some green vegetables. Why should I know about things outside?"

"You, you're a body collector? Not a beggar?"

The green-clad girl's eyes widened. Her first reaction upon regaining her senses was to jump away from him, trying to get as far as possible. However, due to her severe injuries and lack of strength, she ended up collapsing on his shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong with being a body collector? If you think it's dirty, don't lean on me. Let me tell you, this is a top-notch service industry. Without me, you might end up exposed in the wilderness, with no one to collect your body… Speaking of which, you can keep your ancient heritage. I quite like the embroidery on your shoes and socks. Can I keep them when I work later?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll definitely kill you!"

"Wow! Do you know how many people have said that to me every year? In the end, I buried them all with my own hands… You people are all the same, I've seen it all before."

"Don't look down on me. I'm different from those people! The parrot-claw battle shield is not an ordinary ancient heritage. The battle weapons those people have are all useless. If I weren't in poor condition, I could easily sweep through them all!"

"Really? I see you can barely stand. I advise you, everything is external, but life is the most important. It's not worth dying for a piece of scrap metal. If you can't escape, just give them your scrap metal to save your life. After all… it's just a piece of scrap metal. I have plenty of it in my warehouse. I wonder why you're fighting over it… Is iron in short supply outside?"

The young man genuinely didn't understand, but to Jielin, his words were all painful mockery. She felt a surge of anger and couldn't help but punch him, hitting his back and shoulders over a dozen times.

"Hey! I'm supporting you. This hurts… Stop it! Otherwise, I'll just drag you and bury you!"

This was just a bluff, as one of the rules Meng Yan had agreed to when he took over the job from his predecessor was that he could never bury a living thing. However, this threat had some effect on Jielin. She reluctantly stopped and turned her head, saying, "Don't be naive. There was a chance to save my life before, but now that they've seen the parrot-claw battle shield and realized I don't have the corresponding combat strength, they will definitely kill me… Killing to take, possessing to be killed. I was told this on the first day I was entrusted with the parrot-claw battle shield."

"Wow, that's impressive. You look so small, but you have so many thoughts. Is this what they call… precocious? You think a lot, I really admire you."

"Hmph, it's not much. My living environment is different from those people. If my mind was like theirs, I would have been long gone…"

Jielin was initially somewhat proud, but then she thought about it. She, the so-called smart one, had to rely on this guy to escape, which was incredibly embarrassing. Moreover, no matter how smart she was, she was always getting angry at this body collector, which proved he was better than her. Thinking about this, she felt there was nothing to boast about.

"By the way, your surname is Ye, right? I heard them call you. Is your Ye family very powerful?"

Meng Yan's casual question made Jielin roll her eyes. She wanted to tell this young man how the Ye family in the East supported the sky, how their power was unparalleled, and how many forces vied to curry favor with them… But to a young man who had never left San Yue Mountain and knew nothing about the outside world, no matter how much she said, it would mean nothing to him. So Jielin simply said, "We have some influence. As long as I don't die this time and can contact my family, those beasts outside will all be dead…"

She said this with a fierce tone, but in her heart, she knew that the other side would also be aware of this. To prevent any leaks, they would definitely try to kill her… Being caught in such a deadly situation was truly unfortunate. San Yue Mountain was indeed a strange place…

"You're in poor condition but still want to fight. That's tough. However, if you weren't waiting for your senior sister, there would be other ways. Didn't you come on a crane? If you call your crane down, you won't have any problem escaping."

The young man's casual words enlightened Jielin. She couldn't abandon her senior sister, but the large crane carried medicine and distress signals. Although this wasn't the East, and the distress signals might not bring immediate help, they could at least have some deterrent effect. If lucky, they might scare away the attackers and buy some time.

"…You… you have a point." Jielin reluctantly admitted, "But the energy from the crystal cave makes the cranes afraid to approach. I'm afraid I can't call them. We need to go back to where we started walking. Once there, I can call the cranes down, and then… I can deal with these people."

"Alright, I can't promise anything for a long distance, but I think I can get you there. But will calling the crane be loud? I'm afraid that before the crane arrives, the people who want to kill you will come first."

Jielin thought the young man was talking about the attackers and nodded, thinking his consideration was as thorough as hers. However, she didn't realize that Meng Yan was worried about the people from Xiaojiao Village nearby.

"The problem… shouldn't be too big. The cranes are our Ye family's battle mounts, capable of charging into battle. They may seem gentle, but they are very strong, unless they encounter an expert…"

Jielin weighed the risks and decided to take the chance. She and Meng Yan accelerated their pace. After a while, Jielin suddenly became worried, "If we run, will they chase us? If they don't chase us and go into the cave, what about my senior sister?"

"Oh, that's good. If they really go into the cave, you won't have to worry about being chased… It's a forbidden place. Do you think it's easy to get out? I only brought you in and out because you promised gold and silver. Ordinary people… go in but never come out."

"Really? We just went in and out without any problem."

"Killing intent isn't something that can be seen easily. Before your senior sister disappeared, you didn't notice anything wrong, did you?"

Meng Yan hit a sore spot, and Jielin felt a surge of anger but had to admit he was right. She was about to say something when she noticed his serious expression. After a few seconds, she said, "Tsk, I forgot. I should have lured them into the cave. That way, they would be finished, but… I wouldn't have any credit, and your senior sister might be affected and unable to come out."

Jielin had a similar thought initially but held back when she heard it might harm her senior sister. She continued walking with the young man. Soon, they reached their destination, a fork in the road with pine and cypress trees, dense with vegetation, suitable for an ambush, but no one was in sight.

"…The atmosphere feels off. I feel it's too quiet here." Jielin hid in the grass and said to the young man, "Is it possible that those people have already passed us and are waiting in ambush?"

"Oh, that's hard to say. But you said you could sweep through them all. A small ambush is nothing for you. Just go all out. You don't even need to use your shield for defense. They won't be a match for you."

"Idiot! I said I could sweep through them when I was in good condition. Now… now I'm not in good condition. When they attacked, I wanted to counter and then take the initiative, but due to my lack of strength, I could only counter. Otherwise, I would have taken care of them all! And you too!"

As Jielin spoke, she unconsciously waved her hand. The sound of this movement triggered a sudden rush of wind, and over a dozen figures quickly emerged from behind the trees. They were clearly the disciples of Chiri Manor and Tengyue Fort, each with their battle weapons, sealing off all escape routes and surrounding the two young people, clearly not intending to let them live.

"Uh, life is full of surprises…"

Looking at the surrounding formation, the young man turned to Jielin, "…Are you feeling any better? These people don't seem very patient. Some of them are already taking off their pants. They won't wait for you long… When do you plan to start sweeping through them?"