Not Me

"Can barbarians... even be considered human?" Kenpa snorted derisively. "I didn't want to be prejudiced, but what the hell was that yesterday?" Their own group had clearly driven away in their vehicle, yet the barbarians relentlessly chased after them. What was their deal—furious after failing to trap them? He had no interest in dwelling on the matter; after all, who among them hadn't lived through it? "Manna and I will make a trip back to Red Pine to return the urn, have the Guizu relic appraised, and check on the construction for Little Wu while we're at it." "You two just wait nearby. Keep your wristwatches on and set them to vibrate!" Once Namuzha was mostly cremated, the two departed, while Wu Youren and the female archer continued burning the severed limbs and torsos. The smell was nauseatingly foul, but there was no helping it; now that corpse Guizu had appeared, the battlefield had to be thoroughly cleansed. The female archer was truly something else, though—she could endure the stench and still be in the mood to chat with the youth. "Do you really think Namuzha was a big help to you?" "Sister, you know my situation," Wu Youren replied casually. "Any Liang person who bears no malice toward me is precious!" *His malice toward you just never had the chance to show!* The female archer sighed internally, feeling that the boy was simply too naive. She gave a slight nod. "His death is a bit suspicious, though." "Hm?" Wu Youren glanced sideways at her. *It really wasn't me!* He indeed had plans to do away with Namuzha—the bastard's hostility toward him ran far too deep. Yet under yesterday's circumstances, he hadn't had any chance to make a move! At that moment, had he wished, he could have slipped away from the battlefield, but the real question was: could he have hidden it from the senses of those three knights? In Wu Youren's eyes, Red Pine was gradually becoming his foundational base. Even if he couldn't count on them for much, at least they were relatively friendly, weren't they? For a foreign hostage, that alone was invaluable! He quietly raised his guard. "What's suspicious about it?" "He shouldn't have died like that!" the female archer remarked casually. "You might not know, but I do—the guy was a coward!" "Why did Hong Da choose him as an assistant? Because he was cautious enough, had meticulous thinking, and was hassle-free to use." "I feel like he wouldn't have had the guts to chase someone two kilometers out... And it's unlikely he wouldn't have anticipated a barbarian's self-destruction." *But it really wasn't me!* Wu Youren pondered a moment before speaking. "Hallucinations?" "Very possible!" The female archer nodded, her tone turning solemn. "Corpse Guizu are very complicated. You must be careful." The youth thought about it and chuckled. "Are you telling me to focus on killing barbarians instead?" "Nope, I never said that." The female archer shook her head with a laugh. "If I dared say that, Kenpa would start nagging again." "Say no more, Sister, I get it!" Wu Youren chuckled and nodded. "You've already pointed the way. If I still didn't understand, I'd really be hopeless at reading the room." "Uh, what did I point out?" The female archer stared at him with her reddened eyes. As they were chatting, two off-road vehicles drove up from the distance. "Dense smoke has been rising from here the whole time. What are you burning?" "Get lost!" the female archer barked furiously. "If you don't even know what's being burned, crawl back home to suck your mama's teats!" Only those who had lived through it understood why so many warriors had terrible tempers. In the fleeting respite between life and death, doing grim work that simply had to be done, only for greenhorns to stroll up asking stupid questions—who wouldn't be enraged? "Huh?" The newcomers grew annoyed. "Why the hell are you cursing at people for no reason?" "I kill people, too!" The female archer unslung her longbow and glared coldly at them. "Think because there's only two of us, we're easy targets?" "Do you have any idea where you are?" "This is Red Pine territory!" A cold snort rang out from the distance, followed by the appearance of yet another off-road vehicle. "As long as anyone from Red Pine is still breathing, whether human or Guizu, keep your heads down!" Realizing things were headed south, the two off-road vehicles turned around and sped off. The vehicle behind them drove up. Beside Manna and Kenpa, Hong Yan had actually come along. Only Instructor Hong would dare speak with such arrogance. Perhaps the other party had realized that a grand knight had arrived and was forced to withdraw proactively. "Hong Da," the youth smiled happily. "I'm so sorry to have troubled you to come all this way." "It has nothing to do with you," Instructor Hong replied nonchalantly. She glanced at the burning severed limbs, her brow furrowing slightly. "Are there any untreated corpse Guizu left?" She had been drawn here by the news of corpse Guizu; such an abnormal phenomenon had to be treated with utmost seriousness. After scouting the surroundings for a bit, her figure flickered, and she sped into the distance. "Keep your wristwatches on. Don't wander far." Manna waved at Wu Youren, flashing a small pouch in her hand. "Confirmed. It is a crystal, though of somewhat better quality." The youth's expression turned slightly bitter. "Thanks, Sister. It wasn't too expensive, was it?" "Quite a bit," Manna replied with a beaming smile. "Fifty percent more expensive, and that's already the friend price..." Kenpa looked around and frowned. "Let's put some distance between us and this pile of rotten flesh." Wu Youren chose to pitch camp one kilometer away. By the time he had set up camp, the others had just finished burying the bones and ashes over there. Everyone sat around chatting, mostly speculating on why Instructor Hong placed so much importance on the corpse Guizu. Manna emphasized that Hong Da's visit was not part of an academy mission; she was investigating proactively. Leaving now meant she was definitely going to gather information from other people. Kenpa's expression was somewhat grave. "If it's not convenient to contact through the communication wristwatch, that shows how sensitive this matter really is." "I have a... a suspicion," the youth said hesitantly. "I don't know if I should say it." "You live your life so..." The female archer shook her head in exasperation. "Out with it—spit it out or shut up." "I was wondering," Wu Youren said deliberately, "could these corpse Guizu have been deliberately lured out by the barbarians?" "Hmm." Manna nodded and eyed him sideways. "And what would be their purpose in doing that?" "They could also snatch weapons from Liang natives," Kenpa stated without hesitation. Having harbored such thoughts himself, he naturally judged others by his own standards. "Fighting Guizu is dangerous, but scavenging weapons is effortless, isn't it?" "That's... actually very possible," the female archer chimed in. "I had that suspicion earlier, too; I just couldn't say it aloud." She shot Kenpa a sharp glare. "This guy loves preaching on high horses, always spouting about the 'bigger picture.' I was afraid he'd snitch on me." "I was joking," the middle-aged knight rolled his eyes. "The most annoying thing about women is that you can't take a joke!" "Battles are stressful enough as it is. Can't a guy loosen up a little?" "Barbarians luring corpse Guizu makes total sense to me... Most of their people are out on the frontiers, so drawing them out will only wreak havoc on Liang natives!" Manna glanced at him. "You're just looking for an excuse to go after the barbarians." "If anyone's looking for excuses, it's Little Wu," Kenpa said, firmly refusing to take the blame. "I'm just cheering from the sidelines." "What excuse could he be looking for?" Manna snapped in annoyance. "He didn't even dare finish his sentence!" She didn't buy that explanation. How much deep-seated hatred could the boy possibly harbor toward the barbarians? If anything, he probably hated Liang more—at the very least, his father had died in the war between their two countries. Wu Youren didn't join in that argument. "When you took the weapons back, did you find out which tribe last night's barbarians belonged to?" "They could be from three different tribes," Manna replied. "The problem is, their weapons might have been looted, too." "Then forget it," Wu Youren nodded slightly. "One should still act on evidence." "To hell with evidence!" Kenpa snorted. Since the boy had stolen his usual line, he had no choice but to push the contrarian angle. "No offense, but you Jin natives are far too pedantic! If they're suspected, they bloody well deserve to pay the price!" *What a contrarian!* The boy hesitated for a second before saying, "Wouldn't that be a bit unrea... ah, truly the style of a mighty empire." Kenpa straightened his face and declared earnestly, "That's why the pedantry of Jin natives has a lot to do with not being strong enough!" "Actually, uh, all right then." As expected, the boy looked indignant but didn't dare speak up. Listening to their back-and-forth, Manna suddenly felt annoyed. "I told Master I wanted to avenge Namuzha, and she didn't object." "You two men only know how to run your mouths. Can't you take some actual action?" "We have to at least wait for Hong Da to return, don't we?" Kenpa replied dismissively. "I could go kill barbarians right now, but will you take the blame for the consequences?" "I will if I have to," Manna retorted without hesitation. "Go kill them right now!" Kenpa looked toward the youth. "What do you say? Coming along?" Wu Youren was a hundred percent willing. One of his primary purposes for venturing out this time was to kill more barbarians. His grudges against the barbarians... Forget it, why overthink it? He needed to kill barbarians, and that reason alone was more than enough. The youth hesitated and said, "Maybe we should wait a bit. We need to consider Instructor Hong's thoughts." "No need to consider anything," Manna said bluntly. "Master didn't object, and that's enough!" "You can't expect her to come right out and say she supports us killing barbarians, can you?" "You really are quite the disciple..." The look Wu Youren gave her was full of admiration. He gave her a thumbs-up. "Truly considerate. I'm impressed!" "Alright, enough chatter," Kenpa spoke up. "It'll be dark soon. Which direction are we hitting?" "Let's see what tribes are around first," Wu Youren spread his hands. "A small squad would be best." Their group only had a few people; they really couldn't bite into a massive squad. "The barbarians don't have large squads," an unfamiliar voice suddenly chimed in. The next moment, a figure appeared a hundred-odd meters away, wearing a black mask, their build not particularly burly. "Leave immediately!" the female archer warned first, effortlessly nocking an arrow to her longbow. "Or else... you'll be killed on sight!" Her reaction was already considered polite. If she hadn't suspected that someone capable of eavesdropping from so far away was likely a grand knight, she would have already loosed an arrow. "Give it a try, then," the stranger chuckled softly. "You folks from Red Pine really are overbearing!" Manna couldn't hold back. "This is Red Pine territory. We have every right to be overbearing! State your identity, sir, and do not make a grave mistake!"