As if reading Wu Youren's thoughts, the woman asked in a deep voice, "Do you know who mainly controls these resentment crystals?"
Wu Youren shook his head blankly. "No idea. I've never thought about it."
His youthful appearance was exceedingly deceptive; it was entirely natural for an adolescent not to ponder such matters.
Even now, he showed little interest in the topic. "Does your tribe have no Guizu nearby?"
*You people aren't even citizens of Liang. You can't possibly be waiting around for the government to hand out resentment crystals, so why don't you just hunt them yourselves?*
"That is precisely what I was going to say," the woman said flatly.
"Guizu certainly exist around us, but when we obtain resentment crystals... or any other Guizu relics, we must surrender them to Great Liang."
"So that's how it is." Wu Youren nodded with a look of sudden realization.
The people of Liang were warlike and plunderous by nature, so bullying the smaller peripheral tribes was only par for the course.
Having reached this point in the conversation, there was a question he had to ask, or it would seem abnormal.
"Then when you offered to provide cultivation resources... were you just pulling my leg?"
"It's different now!" the burly man chimed in eagerly. "We don't have to hand them over anymore."
Wu Youren gave him a speechless look. *Do you really have no clue what kind of impression you give people?*
"Shut up." The hairless woman couldn't stand the oaf either—did he think this boy was as brainless as he was?
She said calmly, "We don't have to hand over as much now. When our warriors enter Liang to slay Guizu, the spoils are their own."
Wu Youren couldn't help but nod, murmuring softly, "Now that sounds reasonable."
Seeing that his attitude had finally softened, the woman took the opportunity to ask, "At your age, isn't it a waste of your talent to go through the hardship of hunting Guizu all on your own?"
Wu Youren merely chuckled without replying. After a long pause, he asked, "Can a mere knight make such a weighty promise on behalf of your Teli Tribe?"
"Her status is far from ordinary," the burly man piped up again. "If you don't believe it, you can visit the Teli Tribe first to see for yourself."
"If we fail to deliver, you're free to leave at any time."
"Mmh... I'll consider it," Wu Youren said, keeping his options open.
By this time, his meal was ready, so he went ahead and invited the pair to join him.
The two did not stand on ceremony. The youth had already started cooking before their arrival, and all three of them were eating together, so the food couldn't possibly be tampered with.
More earth dragon meat was added to the stone pot, and before long, an earthy, musky aroma drifted out.
However, the scent did not dampen their appetites.
As he ate, Wu Youren remarked indistinctly around a mouthful of food, "This earth dragon meat... doesn't taste as gamey as I expected."
"It's been specially treated," the burly man replied while chewing. "That's a specialty of the Teli Tribe; other tribes can't do it!"
A portion meant for one person, split between three, was polished off in mere minutes.
Though the two knights had been doing their best to win Wu Youren over, they had still maintained a high degree of vigilance.
After all, this was the wilderness, and strangers crossing paths could never be entirely sure of each other's intentions.
Once they shared the boy's food, their demeanors visibly relaxed, and they waited for the remaining earth dragon meat to simmer tender.
Wu Youren stretched lazily and asked offhandedly, "You moved through the Guizu aura with barely a trace of presence... Can I learn that?"
"It's something honed over countless days, just like my nose," the burly man answered casually. "If you want to learn, go ahead, but I doubt you could."
"Don't listen to him," the hairless woman spoke up. "There is a technique for concealing your presence... You—!"
She thought the tension between them had dissolved, never expecting that as the youth finished his stretch, a long saber would suddenly materialize in his grip.
He whipped the blade around in a backhanded slash directly at the burly man, blindingly fast.
A flash of blade light later, the burly man had been cleaved diagonally in two.
Immediately after, the gleaming blade swept back, and the man's massive head tumbled to the ground.
His wide-open eyes were glazed with utter bewilderment—*weren't we just talking peacefully? How did it come to this?*
The hairless woman turned pale with horror, her figure rocketing backward in retreat. "We have clansmen in—"
She, too, had the cultivation of a knight, but the youth had cut down her companion in a single stroke; he was clearly far more than an apprentice knight.
The boy was an awakened ability master, yet that slash hadn't relied on supernatural abilities at all.
She had noticed the blade radiance sweeping off the edge during the swing—a technique exclusive to knights.
At such a tender age, he was not only an apprentice ability master, but a knight as well?
Her status was higher than the burly man's, but her personal strength was slightly inferior; the man was both her combat partner and her bodyguard.
She had no idea why the youth had turned hostile so abruptly, but without question, she needed to flee as quickly as possible.
Even though the surroundings were filled with Guizu aura, the boy was undeniably far more dangerous than any Guizu!
Even so, she still had to worry about the aura's corrupting influence, which prevented her from unleashing her full might without restraint.
This inevitably hampered her mindset as she scrambled to evade.
Meanwhile, completely ignoring her threat, Wu Youren flicked his wrist and sent forth another slash.
A surge of white saber qi broke free from the blade, sweeping toward her left.
*He really is a knight!* The woman gritted her teeth and dodged sharply to the right. *Wait... no, that's not right!*
The first thing that felt wrong was that his saber qi didn't seem entirely like pure knightly energy; there was an odd quality to it.
Before she could analyze it, however, a massive net dropped from above, trapping her tight.
That was the second thing that was wrong.
The woman was instantly stunned. She had heard her companion mention earlier that the boy knew how to set up mechanical traps, but she had only paid half a mind to it.
The burly man hadn't dismantled the traps, merely leading her around them, so she hadn't thought much of it.
Only now, when combat truly began, did she realize what a terrifying snare her companion had steered her past.
Her reactions were by no means slow; she drew a short blade from her waist and slashed at the net around her.
The blade was exceptionally sharp, but she was still half a beat too late.
Even though she had opted for a short weapon, the net had already fallen, entangling her movements.
Her right elbow slammed into the mesh and was brought to a halt.
The open netting was entirely unaffected by battle qi, yet it effectively sapped the speed—and the force—of her strike!
Life and death on the battlefield often hung on fractions of an instant.
If she had maintained heightened vigilance regarding potential traps earlier, being just a hair faster...
While she couldn't guarantee she would have evaded it completely, there would have at least been a chance.
Regret washed over her: *My companion warned me several times. How could I have forgotten about this?*
Still, this was no time for self-pity. She swiftly adjusted her mindset.
By now, the net had bundled her tight. Without a sharp edge to cut through, even a knight had no choice but to surrender helplessly.
Casting aside all irrelevant thoughts, the woman glared at the boy outside the net and ground out three words: "Why do this?"
"Villains die from talking too much, but... it really is satisfying," Wu Youren murmured softly.
Then he raised his gaze, looking at her indifferently. "No special reason. Just that you harbor resentment toward Great Liang, and worse, you shouldn't have thought about robbing me."
Having had no hair to begin with, her contorted expression while bound tight in the net made her look even more grotesque.
She sneered, "Brat, my father is the chieftain of the Teli Tribe. You're... in for it!"
She didn't dare say *You're a dead man*, because saying that meant she would be killed first.
"You were the ones who wanted to rob me," Wu Youren replied with a straight face, "and you pursued me. You left me no choice."
"How many years has Great Liang plundered us?" the woman flared up, no longer caring that she was still trapped inside the net.
"In the end, did the two of us rob you? We even planned to provide you with cultivation resources! There truly isn't a single decent person in Liang!"
Wu Youren hadn't intended to drag out the conversation, but in the end, he couldn't help himself.
At this moment, he genuinely wished he had an ally; traveling alone was simply too exhausting.
And since she harbored such deep hatred for Liang, it wasn't completely out of the question to consider.
He asked evenly, "If I truly went to the Teli Tribe, would I be allowed to leave?"
"Of course," the woman answered without hesitation. "I can swear by the God of Wind and Snow. If you're dissatisfied, you can leave at any time."
"Still spouting nonsense." Wu Youren shook his head and let out a soft sigh.
He raised his arm and thrust his saber forward. "Doesn't the Teli Tribe worship the Moon God?"
"What Moon God?!" The woman flew into a rage, her face twisting further. "You... your blade is a bit dull!"
Truth be told, while Wu Youren had trapped her in the net, finishing her off was rather awkward.
The long saber was sharp, but through layer upon layer of mesh, only thrusting attacks could penetrate.
He had a long sword, but it was a broadsword whose tip lacked sufficient piercing sharpness.
He had plenty of small daggers, but their materials were of poorer quality, making it difficult to pierce a knight's battle qi defense.
That thrust of his long saber packed quite a punch, but miraculously, it hadn't drawn blood!
Even so, the woman grimaced in pain. Seeing him stow the long saber, she relaxed slightly.
She didn't know why the youth had turned on them, nor could she be certain of her fate—her companion had been killed, likely because they had intended to seize the crystal earlier.
Just now, she had revealed that she was the chieftain's daughter.
Among the barbarian tribes, hierarchy was clearly defined. Once defeated, high-ranking captives could pay a ransom to secure their release.
Alternatively, the other party might hold her hostage to force her tribe into concessions—much like the foreign hostages Liang kept in custody.
It was not unreasonable for her to make such an assumption; society was practical, and profit always reigned supreme.
Still, the woman dared not provoke him further. Sucking in cold breaths of air, she endured the pain and reminded him, "I can pay a ransom!"
Wu Youren, however, had only put away the long saber because he found it ill-suited for the task.
Ignoring her words, he turned and walked toward the slain burly man.
Seeing him rummage through the corpse, an ominous feeling crept into the woman's heart. "Don't do anything reckless. Our tribe truly doesn't worship the Moon God!"
Wu Youren searched the burly man thoroughly and finally pulled a dagger from the strap on his calf.
The dagger looked dull and grayish, but when he scraped his finger against the edge a couple of times, he found it extraordinarily sharp.
Witnessing this, the woman felt her sense of dread spike. "He's already dead, so let it be! He was only a bodyguard—I won't seek revenge for him!"
Chapter 113