Swaying

The process of entering the shelter was still quite perilous for the group. Rossi, who had been some distance from the other three, had even been grazed twice by Guizu aura. Fortunately, once they were inside the camp, the danger decreased considerably. As long as it wasn't a targeted attack, the various mechanisms could block most of the stray Guizu aura swirling around. Inside the cave now, Wu Youren looked at Rossi and said expressionlessly, "You've been invaded by Guizu aura!" Rossi had just been about to explain to the three across from him how things had happened, but upon hearing this, he froze. "Me! Invaded?" The cave serving as their camp had been expanded multiple times and had plenty of space; there was no chance of another incident like "my legs are numb." However, if a clash broke out between knights, this amount of space would be far from enough. At his words, Namuzha and Manna both turned their heads toward Rossi, a clear look of wariness in their eyes. But that was all—the young apprentice knight remained sitting steadily where he was. A few of Rossi's fingers twitched involuntarily. The movement was slight, but enough to betray his state of mind. After a few twitches, he pulled himself together and took a deep breath. "It can be dealt with... right?" "Take half a dose of ghost-dispelling powder," Wu Youren said impassively. "Then take another half-dose when night falls." "Oh, then it's no big deal," Manna breathed a soft sigh of relief, visibly lowering her guard. As a woman, she could sense Rossi's affection for her, but the difference in their status was an objective reality. She was already an assistant instructor and worked under a grand knight; her future was far brighter. If Rossi had even seventy percent of the Jin hostage's good looks... Well, forget it, what was the point of entertaining such thoughts? She had no feelings for Rossi, but he was an admirer of hers, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to him—much less see their team lose a member. Namuzha also relaxed slightly, though he cast a glance at her, seemingly intentional yet nonchalant: *You have that much blind faith in this foreign boy?* The underlying hostility between males needed no reason. Wu Youren paid no attention to this. "Then the three of us will use biguijue to help expel it." Rossi reached down to his waist, brought out a small pouch, and opened it to look, immediately breaking into a bitter smile. Inside the cloth pouch lay nothing but a heap of powder. "Heh, I really did get hit." "Biguijue... I only brought two," Namuzha said after a moment's hesitation, drawing out a wooden medallion made of ironwood. A biguijue could not only protect its bearer, but could also help purge Guizu aura from others—though the process caused wear and tear. "Even if you only had one, you'd still have to use it." Manna was not particularly generous, but she doted on her admirers, so she took out her own wooden medallion as well. Wu Youren also produced an ironwood biguijue and placed it against Rossi's arm. "Huh?" Rossi let out a soft exclamation of surprise when he saw it. "Why did you switch to a different one?" *Wasn't the biguijue you used before made of jade?* The piece Wu Youren had taken out came from that archer. Heaven only knew how many martial artists the archer had killed to have three biguijue on his person. Hearing Rossi's question, he answered casually, "Found it near Suotu. Pretty normal, isn't it?" "It'd be strange if it were normal," Namuzha couldn't help saying. "You... killed someone for it, didn't you?" He believed he had no intention of targeting the youth, but simply didn't want to be kept in the dark. "Things like that happen all too often around Red Pine." "They ambushed me," Wu Youren replied flatly. "I got four biguijue out of it." Besides the archer, the knight saber-wielder had one on him as well. "'They' ambushed you?" Namuzha went silent upon hearing this, realizing he truly had to reevaluate the young man's strength. Great Liang's classification of Jin as its greatest potential threat seemed... not entirely unfounded after all. Manna's focus, however, was on a completely different plane. "Then what about your original biguijue?" Wu Youren hesitated briefly before replying, "Still got it." "Bring it out and let me see!" Manna was genuinely curious. "I'm really curious how high-grade it is!" Wu Youren rolled his eyes speechlessly. *I'm seriously the lowest-ranked hostage!* Still, since they were a team and had to cooperate for days to come... and more importantly, Rossi had already seen it. So he took out the jade ring and sighed softly. "For this one, my family practically bankrupted itself." By now, that once-inconspicuous biguijue had undergone no small transformation. The grayish jade ring had become noticeably more translucent, and crucially, a faint sheen had appeared on its surface. "This..." The corner of Rossi's mouth twitched. *Is this the same one I saw last time?* Going by the style and pattern, it should be the same piece, but had the visual difference been this exaggerated? "Good stuff!" Manna's eyes lit up. Women truly were somewhat like dragons, completely powerless against shiny things. She reached out to grab it. "Is this treasure light... huh?" Wu Youren dodged her grasp and smoothly tucked the jade ring away. "Sis, this is an heirloom of my family!" "Look at how stingy you are," Manna rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I just wanted to take a look." "This... really won't do," Wu Youren smiled apologetically, yet shook his head firmly. He genuinely wasn't being stingy; it was just that after multiple upgrades, the biguijue's current effect was... a bit too potent. In his perception, Rossi had indeed been invaded by Guizu aura, but to an extremely minor degree. In an ordinary person, it might cause mutation, but an apprentice knight could endure it for a considerable time. A knight went without saying. It was perfectly normal for Rossi to hold out; perhaps after eighty or a hundred days, he would naturally recover through his own resistance. However, toughing it out like that stood a high chance of damaging his foundation, and if it wasn't thoroughly eradicated, it would leave behind a massive hidden danger. Since they were currently in a Guizu domain, dealing with it as early as possible was best to avoid triggering more unpredictable complications. What Wu Youren worried about was that once this biguijue touched Rossi, the invading Guizu aura would be wiped clean in an instant. If that happened, it would be rather hard to explain. That was why he rallied Manna and Namuzha to help together! Since they were a team, why should he be the only one paying the cost? And indeed, when the two knights' biguijue drew near Rossi, a reaction occurred. Namuzha was somewhat resentful of the Jin hostage, but he couldn't disregard Hong Da's orders. His expression shifted slightly. "It really is... Well, purifying it won't be hard, but the cost is a bit high." "If it breaks, just buy another," Manna glared at him in annoyance. *Why be so petty and cheap?* Then she looked back at the youth. "Those few you picked up—friends' discount shouldn't be a problem, right?" "I don't sell life-saving things like this," Wu Youren shook his head decisively. "Between friends, I can give them away, but I definitely won't sell!" Manna's face fell, and she was just about to lose her temper when she heard the second half. Her heart fluttered, and stretching forward, her rosy lips went *mwah*! Right there and then, she planted a kiss squarely on the Jin youth's cheek! "Holy shit..." the three men exclaimed in unison! Wu Youren glanced at the two stunned onlookers and cleared his throat. "Ahem, well, I feel like I've been defiled..." "Under Liang's laws, what kind of crime has Manna committed?" Rossi straightened his expression and declared in all seriousness, "If she does this to all three of us, it can only be considered a personal hobby." Hearing this, Manna rolled her eyes. "How blind does this old lady have to be?" "Don't go calling yourself old," Namuzha said, maintaining relative composure. "Little Wu is very generous; this is good for team unity!" "Whatever you say," Wu Youren recovered his wits. *Damn this irresistible handsome face of mine!* Straightening his expression, he said slowly, "There'll be fallout from this, won't there?" "What fallout?" Manna asked, slightly surprised. At this moment, she too was eager to speak just to cover her embarrassment. *Why did I suddenly act on impulse?* Still, the boy's face was so fair, clean, and handsome that she really... hadn't been able to help herself. Fortunately, she was not entirely love-struck, and caught on immediately. "They won't let this go. Should we relocate?" "If we want to relocate, we have to hurry," Rossi said, three biguijue pressed against him, though his expression remained composed. He had genuinely confirmed that his level of Guizu aura contamination wasn't very high, which gave him room to think about other things. Their group had thoroughly offended the other side this time, and this place was no longer safe. "I can continue treatment on the road." "Heh," Namuzha gave an ambiguous chuckle, then looked at Wu Youren. "Relocate?" "What kind of fit are you throwing at a time like this?" Manna was displeased. "Of course we relocate! A lot of people are terribly petty." They had only scared off the enemy with a desperate, reckless show of force. The other side might never return, but they could just as easily come back for blood! But Namuzha ignored her, his eyes fixed on the Jin youth. "Ignore her. What do you think?" *Why are you always staring at me?* Wu Youren was also somewhat speechless. "You mean... pursue them?" "Now I truly admire you!" Namuzha froze for a moment, then gave a thumbs-up... The group from Tianjing Martial Academy had never imagined things would unfold like this. Missing out on extra loot left them somewhat disappointed, though not excessively so. As students of one of the only two high-tier martial academies in Liang, would they ever be short on money? Missing a potential windfall was certainly a pity, but nothing more than that. What they couldn't stomach was that they couldn't immediately retaliate against a team that clearly lacked a grand knight! If it had been people accustomed to roaming the world, the matter would likely have ended there. The world was fickle; one had to know when to let go. You couldn't think that failing to rob someone meant you took a loss, could you? Yet who were they? They were heaven's chosen, hailing from Tianjing Martial Academy. Their pride could not be sullied! The head instructor leading the squad also knew how arrogant his students were. He could only tell them not to act rashly for the moment, reminding them that their safety was of paramount importance. Yet such words only made the elites of the high-tier martial academy feel even more humiliated. After that clash, they no longer had anywhere near enough time to make it back to their camp. Still, it didn't matter. The camp was merely a more comfortable shelter; out in the wilderness, one had to make do when necessary.