Tenacity

The two knights kept their voices so low that they were certain an apprentice knight could never detect them—even a knight would have failed. Yet inside the cave, the youth's lips curved upward into a faint, bitter smile. *Day in, day out, will it ever end?* The conversation between the two continued, though both held things back. Toward evening the following day, Wu Youren walked out of the cave to find a burly young man standing alongside the two knights. This newcomer was also a knight in cultivation. Sister Hua introduced him, saying, "My subordinate. He's here to protect you." Wu Youren nodded to the young man first, then answered solemnly, "No need." *What are you playing here, nesting dolls? One inside another, on and on.* He was genuinely getting tired of it. Sister Hua, however, took on an earnest expression. "Listen to me. This really is for your own good this time. "No one knows when the major battle will begin. If something happens to you in there, we won't be able to help." The justification was solid enough, and the young knight seemed eager to prove himself, without the slightest hint of fear. The Intelligence Bureau held immense unseen power, but climbing the ranks was no easy feat, and opportunities like this were rare. Even so, Wu Youren shook his head, his face devoid of expression. "I can't guarantee his safety." "I don't need your guarantees," the young knight retorted, a trace of arrogance and indignation surfacing on his face. *I'm the bloody protector here, and I need you to guarantee my safety?* Wu Youren acted as if he hadn't heard a word, his gaze remaining on Sister Hua. "If he wants to follow me inside, that's fine. But if I come out alone, can you promise not to ask questions?" He had spoken far too bluntly. Sister Hua pondered for a moment, then let out a sigh and waved her hand in irritation. "Fine. If you're not afraid of dying, why should I bother worrying... You really have no idea what good intentions look like!" Wu Youren made no reply to her words, turning instead to take stock of his supplies and pack his gear. "Sister Hua," the young knight said, struggling to contain himself, "slaying the Guizu is my ambition too. If he can do it... I'm not afraid of danger." He truly wasn't very afraid of death; what he feared was lacking an opportunity. "You don't understand, so keep your mouth shut," Sister Hua snapped, waving him off. She thought to herself, *Even Er Shan was schemed into an unrecognizable corpse, and you think you're tough?* Her sending someone in was certainly meant to monitor Wu Youren's actions, but there was also an element of protecting her cash cow. Yet the youth's reply had been nothing short of a blatant warning: *If you dare send someone in, I dare make sure he meets with an 'accident'!* Sister Hua didn't doubt his nerve for a second. Not long ago, he had dared to flee into the mountains under the pursuit of three knights! It wasn't merely the vast disparity in strength; one had to remember that to a hostage, the Intelligence Bureau was supposed to be a natural nemesis. "Well, all right then," the young knight muttered sullenly, a flicker of resentment crossing his eyes. *Is this the great opportunity Father spent so much money to buy?* *Smack!* A sharp slap landed across his face as Sister Hua swung her backhand, her expression dark. "You got a problem with that?" "No," the young knight said, shaking his head at first, though in the end he couldn't help adding, "Sister Hua, I really am not afraid." Neither knight responded, watching silently until the youth, laden with his various packs, vanished into the thick mist. Only then did the military knight shake his head. "You're not afraid of him? Heh, impressive. Even I wouldn't dare say that." "Brother, I brought some specialized gear," the young knight said, still somewhat unconvinced. "Whoa, don't call me brother; you're *my* big brother," the soldier said with a dismissive wave. "Since you're so fearless, go on and chase after him. I won't stop you!" Hearing that, the young knight froze on the spot... *** Wu Youren advanced through the white mist at his usual measured pace. He knew the situation might be urgent, but the more critical things became, the more composed he needed to remain. The crises he faced had never stemmed solely from the Guizu; there was also the Liang military, the Intelligence Bureau, and... others! The threat from the Guizu wasn't actually that overwhelming. Even if it was far from negligible, could it really compare to the omnipresent malice of human hearts? He first checked on the traps he had laid. This broad surrounding area had essentially become a neutral zone for him. It wasn't entirely safe, but the danger was minimal. Guizu aura still lingered, along with several massive clusters of it, but he had already discerned their patterns. He couldn't be bothered to engage those hulking masses—he had already mastered techniques to avoid alerting them. As for the clusters that were overly sensitive or lacked predictable patterns, he had mostly cleared them away. To anyone else, this place remained perilous, yet being here felt somewhat more relaxing to him than living in human society. Mainly, it spared him so much scheming and intrigue; the enemies here were relatively pure... Among the harvest he checked, there were unexpectedly two arrow beasts! The creature resembled a porcupine, though it lacked a porcupine's wits. It could replenish qi and blood, though its effects were modest. Even its flavor was mediocre—carrying an earthy rankness from its habit of burrowing in the dirt. Yet Wu Youren was quite fond of it because it had one notable virtue: it did not easily undergo Guizu corruption! It wasn't terrible to eat, it filled the belly, and it produced no lingering side effects... With so many merits, demanding more would simply be excessive, wouldn't it? He then approached a pile of rocks, moved one aside, and revealed a pool of clear spring water. Testing it with his biguijue to confirm it was unpolluted, he scooped out two ladles and started a small fire a short distance away. His living conditions in the Guizu domain were genuinely quite comfortable; even lighting a fire to boil water rarely drew the Guizu. This safety was a dynamic equilibrium, of course, requiring constant observation of the Guizu aura's movements. Still, it was more than enough to satisfy him. Anyone else would have jumped at the chance to have such a brief respite inside a Guizu domain. Beyond that, the many traps he had set had the potential to snare and kill Guizu. Crystals and the like were only a minor consideration, and he didn't harbor high expectations for them. After all, even if a crystal dropped, it would be snatched up by other Guizu if he couldn't reach it immediately. The crucial reward was experience points. As long as a Guizu was slain, the experience points would be credited to him! After tending to the traps, he ventured further out to explore new territory. Sister Hua and her companion thought they had choked off his route in and out, which was an utter joke. The relatively safe zone he had carved out in the mountains already spanned three to four square kilometers. The area he had scouted stretched across six or seven square kilometers. His two months in the mountains had not been spent in vain! Previously, his plan had been to expand little by little, prioritizing stability over haste. Now, however, circumstances had shifted slightly, and he needed to adjust accordingly. Even so, as the saying went, he couldn't be certain whether this melon was truly ripe. There was no need to rush into changes; taking things one step at a time was just fine. While patrolling, his senses suddenly flared with warning, and he darted aside with a violent twist of his body. A massive shadow plunged straight down from the sky, blindingly fast. Seeing that Wu Youren had barely dodged, the dark shape skimmed the ground and wheeled around, carving an improbable arc as it swept low in pursuit. "A pouch eagle!" Wu Youren's expression turned grave as his hand flashed to draw the long saber from his back. In this instant, he held nothing back, channeling his Daoist internal breath to unleash a swift blade of qi forward. Immediately following was a second, then a third... He had to treat this with utmost seriousness. Pouch eagles were uncommon birds of prey in Liang, and upon reaching adulthood, their combat power rivaled that of a knight. Its body wasn't particularly massive, but it possessed an enormous crop capable of holding prey equal to its own weight. It didn't even need to kill its quarry first; opening its wide beak, it would swallow the target whole into its crop, which would then slowly contract. By steadily constricting the prey until it could no longer move, the creature would eventually strangle or suffocate it to death. Worst of all, the beast could fly, giving even a knight a massive headache. Yet when Wu Youren saw it, his surprise was mingled with delight. A pouch eagle's crop was prime material for crafting storage pouches—not only exceptionally elastic, but extraordinarily tough and densely woven. Whenever one needed to replenish qi and blood, the beast could also be cooked and eaten, offering far greater nourishment than an arrow beast. For that harvest alone, he didn't mind facing a pouch eagle's assault. Of the three slashes he unleashed, only one connected; the beast was simply too agile. The blade qi struck its left wing, severing a dozen or so long primary feathers. The pouch eagle let out a shriek of agony, pitching uncontrollably toward the ground. Each of its wings bore fewer than twenty long flight feathers in total, making this a severe wound. Even so, it flapped furiously, adjusting its posture in a desperate attempt to take flight once more. Wu Youren's heart sank, however, because the power of that blade qi had been... slightly too great. His cultivation was advancing at a rapid clip, but he still had a rough grasp of how much damage a single strike should deal. The first strike had missed; the one that hit was the third, delivered in such haste that its power was relatively weak. By his estimate, severing three or four primary feathers would have been satisfying enough, five or six at the absolute most. To cleave off more than a dozen... was proof enough that this pouch eagle had undergone slight Guizu corruption! Daoist internal breath exerted an inherent restraining effect against Guizu aura, a fact he had verified multiple times. The only exception had been the shadowy figure that emerged from apprentice ability master Er Shan's body after his death, which had proven immune to Daoist internal breath. However, the cultivation method that man practiced was riddled with major flaws, a view shared even by the Intelligence Bureau. That isolated case was merely an anomaly, not something that could simply be lumped in with ordinary corruption. What displeased Wu Youren was that once a pouch eagle was corrupted, its crop became useless! As for the meat being inedible, that was a minor matter. Though a pouch eagle had an impressive wingspan, its body stood less than a man's height, leaving it with very little meat to begin with. The flesh was stringy and coarse, with a heavy rank odor that made it foul to eat—even if its qi-and-blood replenishing qualities were decent. Disappointed though he was, now that he had encountered a corrupted bird of prey, he couldn't let it escape. Otherwise, if the creature harbored a grudge and returned for vengeance, he would be in deep trouble. Taking such a blow was a grave injury, but if he left it alone, the beast could still wobble off into the air. Even if it couldn't fly far, a combination of hopping and gliding would soon see it vanish into the white mist. *Fine, I'll just treat it as farming experience points!* Wu Youren consoled himself. *At least I won't walk away at a loss.* He struck out with several more slashes, severing the pouch eagle's head, yet the body continued to thrash. Even its beak opened and snapped shut repeatedly, as if it were spewing curses. Such vitality... was truly anything but ordinary.