Following Feng Qianjun's praise, faint wails echoed from outside the workshop.
"So many?" another hostage muttered softly under his breath.
He did not dare say more, lest the Liang guards assume he was mocking them.
Yet at that moment, doubt lingered in all the hostages' minds: Had the war between humanity and the Guizu truly deteriorated to such a degree?
Overhearing the mutter, a guard snorted in displeasure. "Focus on defense! It doesn't matter whether you live or die, but don't screw up our job!"
All that talk about friendship between Liang and Jin was pure nonsense; these words were the truest reflection of how Liang's soldiers and guards felt deep down.
The next moment, an indistinct sensation stirred once again within Wu Youren's heart, and his gaze swept toward a corner of the workshop.
"Hmm?" He Wenhao, standing not far from him, could not help following his look.
As their gazes shifted, curiosity got the better of the others, and while maintaining their vigilance, they peered over with the corners of their eyes.
A shadowy patch lurked faintly there, motionless, resembling nothing more than an existing stain on the wall.
"What are you lot..." A guard had only spoken half a sentence when the driver-guard raised his hand and fired two more shots toward the spot.
Amidst a storm of flying sparks, another agonized cry rang out. "Ugh—aaagh—!"
"Holy crap..." Another guard fired two shots in rapid succession, instantly blasting the ghost-shadow apart.
Right after, a figure blurred into motion as one of the knight-level guards flashed back inside.
For them, dealing with qi ghosts was effortless. If they had held back earlier, it was merely to see whether the enemy had any follow-up tricks.
Now that they were sweeping the perimeter, hearing a disturbance inside the workshop meant someone had to return and check.
How many Guizu they killed was secondary; the primary mission was to protect the hostages' lives as much as possible.
The knight swept his eyes across the room and instantly understood what had transpired. Looking around, he gave a soft snort and turned to leave.
"Stay focused on defense. Do not take risks!"
The dozen or so people inside the workshop were well aware that taking risks right now was utterly pointless.
Four knights were outside hunting down the remaining foes while still having the leeway to look after the interior—so what reason was there to take foolish chances?
"How about we... huddle together?" a hostage suggested in a low voice. Shouldn't focusing on defense mean doing just that?
"Covering each other's flanks is better," Feng Qianjun remarked evenly. As scions of nobility, none of them lacked theoretical martial knowledge.
At this moment, he was somewhat curious about Wu Youren. "How did you discover... well, sense something was off?"
Yet the person addressed showed no reaction whatsoever, until He Wenhao raised his voice. "He's asking you a question."
"Huh? Oh." The dazed look in Wu Youren's eyes cleared up. "I can't really explain it. Just pure gut feeling!"
His momentary distraction was because... more experience points had rolled in!
It was only a tiny sliver, but he was certain he hadn't imagined it.
*So, do I only share in the experience points if a qi ghost related to me gets killed?*
Regardless, gaining experience from slaying ghosts was an immense boon.
His cultivation ranked at the very bottom among the hostages, and his rate of improvement was pathetically slow.
Setting aside innate talent, his supply of blood food alone was severely lacking.
Fortunately, many in the hostage group deliberately suppressed their cultivation, intending to attempt their breakthrough to knight after turning eighteen.
After all, serving as a hostage in an enemy nation meant that being too brilliantly talented was by no means a good thing.
Thanks to this, Wu Youren had avoided looking like an even greater burden.
Now that he had a cheat, the underlying pressure eased considerably, even if he had yet to figure out how to fully utilize it.
He sensed that the gains from the old gardener combined with today's harvest had spared him at least a month of bitter cultivation.
His estimation might not be completely accurate, but advancing rapidly without needing blood food was more than enough on its own.
Just as he was calculating his prospects, a shrill, piercing wail arose from outside, noticeably louder than that of the earlier qi ghosts.
After that, the sounds of battle gradually subsided. Before long, the four knight guards returned, their uniforms completely dry and untouched by the rain.
"A resentment crystal." In the guard leader's palm lay a small, dark-gray stone roughly a centimeter across, somewhat irregular in shape.
He casually tossed the stone up and down, speaking offhandedly. "Pity. Not much use, and only the lowest grade.
"Still, it's worth three to five thousand at least. Share and share alike, brothers."
A Hostage Manor guard's monthly wage was only about thirty silver dollars.
In the imperial capital, such an amount could roughly support a family of five, though it fell short of providing a comfortable life.
Fortunately, they could earn extra side income, bringing their total monthly earnings to around fifty or sixty.
In contrast, Wu Youren's monthly household stipend was a mere twenty silver dollars, and only two dollars actually reached his hands.
While room and board were free at Hostage Manor, twenty dollars could maintain basic decency, whereas two was far from enough.
Moreover, the customary fee he had to hand over to the guards was only four dollars; compared to the other hostages, he was truly an insignificant presence.
With a crystal like this, the knight guards would take the lion's share, while apprentice knights would still receive at least a few dozen dollars—a decent windfall by any standard.
Seeing this, the five hostages couldn't resist stepping forward a couple of paces, wanting a closer look at the dark-gray stone.
"It's being split among the brothers," the leader said, still tossing the stone with a sneer. "You gentlemen come from wealthy families, so count yourselves out!"
"I'm just curious and wanted a look," Wu Youren said with a dry laugh. "I've never seen one before."
In truth, he wanted to sense whether monster-dropped loot like this could grant experience points.
Unfortunately, his body registered no reaction, and the biguijue remained completely inert.
*This cheat... is a bit tricky to handle. If only it came with an instruction manual.*
"A resentment crystal is of no use to a builder," another knight commented indifferently.
"Thank you for the guidance." Wu Youren took two steps back and cupped his hands. "I truly was just curious."
"Everyone wants to become an ability master, which is only natural," the knight replied offhandedly. "However, you must choose the right path!"
Wu Youren did not dare pursue the conversation further. Anyone with functioning ears could understand the underlying warning.
Just then, the guard leader's ears twitched, and he dashed out of the workshop.
The next instant, the faint roar of an engine drifted in, quickly growing clearer and louder.
The guards inside had turned the vehicle headlights back on, brightening the spacious interior considerably.
Shortly after, a motorcycle burst into the workshop with a thunderous roar.
There was only one rider, with three firearms of varying lengths mounted on the vehicle's sides.
The rider vaulted off the bike, bearing a long saber on her back and a revolving hand-cannon holstered at her waist.
It truly was a cannon—the outer muzzle diameter exceeded five centimeters, while the barrel measured a mere thirteen or fourteen centimeters in length.
A moment later, a minibus pulled up to the workshop entrance, and four or five people stepped down, led by the guard leader.
The motorcycle rider took off her helmet, revealing herself to be a woman with a chillingly stern countenance.
Beneath the left corner of her mouth ran a deep scar stretching down to her jawline, lending her an aura of lethal intensity.
"Instructor Hong, these five are the ones," the guard leader said, gesturing toward the hostages. "We trust your academy will take good care of them."
He then cleared his throat. "This is Grand Knight Instructor Hong Yan of Red Pine Martial Academy, a combat veteran of exceptional experience."
Pausing briefly, he added, "From now on, she will oversee your general affairs...
"Ahem, Instructor Hong's entire family perished in the war between Liang and Jin. You had best not provoke her."
A grand knight whose entire family was slain by Jin? All five hostages fell dead silent.
Earlier, they had felt as though they were escaping danger, but now it seemed... they had been far too naive.
"Reporting, Guard! I have a thought!" Wu Youren raised his right hand immediately.
He spoke in a clear voice, "This place is unsafe to linger in. The resentment crystal might draw more Guizu. It would be best to move to a safer location."
Silence fell across the room. *You're just a damn hostage, who gave you permission to speak?*
He had even explicitly pointed out the resentment crystal loot! Although not high in grade, that thing was still... worth some money!
"Where do you want to go?" Instructor Hong spoke, her voice a classic gravelly rasp tinged with weariness, but brimming mostly with cold detachment.
"Anywhere works," Wu Youren replied without hesitation. "Heading back to Hostage Manor first is also an option."
"Then we go to Red Pine," Instructor Hong stated without expression. "I dislike implicating the innocent most of all.
"However, if your performance fails to match your status, the appropriate punishments... you know what to expect.
"Remember this: once you enter Red Pine, you are no longer hostages. You are simply martial artists of the academy!"
"Understood!" The five hostages nodded in unison.
The other four completely understood Wu Youren's reasoning.
Leaving Hostage Manor was something to celebrate, but encountering an instructor whose entire family had died at Jin hands, and who happened to be a grand knight...
They might as well have stayed at Hostage Manor; at least there, they could have lived peacefully for a few more years.
Yet nothing more needed to be said. Cooperating was their only choice, as they had no standing to voice objections.
And so, the group gathered their luggage and boarded the minibus.
The guards accompanied them no further. This was the handover site; once the official documents were signed, they would head straight back.
From here to Red Pine Martial Academy took over an hour of driving.
A total of five people had arrived from the martial academy. Aside from the grand knight and the driver, two of the remaining three were likely guards.
Only one ordinary-looking knight took the time to brief the five hostages on the general situation.
Red Pine was indeed an intermediate martial academy, admitting roughly two thousand martial artists each year, though usually half were eliminated within the first year.
Besides recruiting Great Liang martial artists, the academy also accepted foreign talent—who were either hostages or genuine foreign standouts.
Currently, Red Pine Martial Academy housed nearly a hundred martial artists from Great Jin, the longest-staying among them having been there for eight years.
At this point, a hint of pride touched the corner of the knight's mouth. "Martial artists from Red Pine enjoy a far more pronounced competitive edge upon returning to Jin!"
The five hostages remained silently grim. Though they had spent years confined to Hostage Manor, news from their motherland managed to reach them to some degree.
What the man said was the truth: martial artists returning from studies in Liang were favored more by the official authorities of Great Jin.
There was no helping it; Great Jin had been the loser in that war, after all.
Admiring the strong was nothing to be ashamed of—at the very least, it showed one could face reality.
Chapter 12