"Now's our chance!" Among the trio watching from afar, someone finally couldn't hold back. "There's only one of them, and he's not even old. Who's going?"
"Only one?" another said, utterly speechless. "You dare rob someone like that?"
"That's only because you can see just one," the third man said, being relatively more prudent. "Can you be certain there's no ambush waiting in the shadows?"
Their words were entirely correct, yet none of it could quell a greedy heart. The first man declared bluntly, "Who said I was going to rob him? Isn't the fight still going on? I'm simply stepping in to lend a hand and help bail him out. What could be wrong with that?"
No matter which world it was, there was never a shortage of self-proclaimed clever men.
Seeing him insist on going, his two companions exchanged glances and had no choice but to follow. However, they kept their distance, making it clear they disapproved—following was merely a basic rule of the battlefield: no infighting.
The man leading the way was not only driven by greed, but also felt cornered by pride. He didn't think there was anything wrong with his logic. Because it was too dark and the distance was great, he couldn't discern who the martial artist locked in combat actually was. But did that matter? Everyone came here to take risks. If they craved safety, why bother coming at all?
Seeing the mass of Guizu aura drawing closer and closer while the aura itself grew thinner and thinner, he grew anxious. Picking up his pace, he shouted, "Scoundrels! You hurt our people, and now you want to harm someone else?"
People who loved taking advantage usually possessed a bit of petty cunning: enter the scene under the guise of a victim, seize the moral high ground first, and then frame it as coming to the rescue.
Yet the very next moment, a sharp roar tore through the air: "Scram!"
The cry was deafening and shocking, crashing from afar in an instant, causing the air to shudder visibly. Wherever the sound wave rolled, the Guizu aura was blasted thin; the sparser patches dissolved straight into nothingness.
"Holy shit, a knight's acoustic attack!" The man who had insisted on advancing spun on his heel and fled, shouting at the top of his lungs, "A misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding! I just wanted to see if you needed backup!"
For martial artists, knight skills weren't especially profound secrets—most were well-known techniques. But acoustic attacks were undeniably high-level arts. Anyone capable of mastering such a knight skill was definitely no ordinary figure. The man had moved in to grab easy spoils, not throw his life away. When things turned south, slipping away was the only sensible choice.
His two companions ran even faster than he did.
The roar had been so loud that people within three to four kilometers could faintly hear it.
Seeing that the Guizu aura was now quite thin, Wu Youren circled the center in combat once more, then turned and bolted into the distance. He knew others were observing, but they were quite far away and their auras were obscure; he couldn't tell whether they were knights or grand knights. Since they weren't advancing, he might as well slip away.
Farther off, two people were indeed watching. "Holy shit, how many Guizu relics did that fellow pick up on his final lap?"
"How could that be?" the other laughed upon hearing this. "How could loose Guizu aura on the periphery drop that many relics? He probably set up an ambush and swept in at the end to collect them."
The former was astonished. "You mean this was his prepared battlefield... Which family's scion is out here training?"
"Who knows? If you don't believe it, go take a look now. Maybe you'll find traces left by traps and mechanisms."
"I'm not out of my mind. Wouldn't it be better to wait until daylight?"
The youth sprinted headlong while the horned owl flew silently above him, neither exchanging a word. After running for over an hour, Wu Youren finally slowed down. He fished out some dried meat and stuffed it into his mouth as he ran. Only when dawn began to break did he return to his temporary hideout in the Rust Belt.
The youth entered the dilapidated house, and the horned owl landed right behind him. Dropping the small leather pouch, it flashed its other claw. "I picked up this small crystal."
"Use it to replenish yourself," the youth waved casually. "Unless it's to sell for money, crystals aren't of much use to me."
His haul was still those three relics; he intended to use one crystal to cover costs and pay the tax owed to Instructor Hong. The other two were pure profit. He handed one crystal to the horned owl. "Consider this your fee for luring the monsters and holding down the fort."
"I'm not short on these," Chen Quanxu said airily, but his body was honest enough as his talons snatched it right up. "A vehicle of supplies will be delivered this afternoon. Treat it as if you bought it."
Wu Youren considered another issue. "The round trip is a bit far. Should we find another place to stay?"
"I wouldn't recommend it!" The horned owl shook its head. "Far as it is, safety comes first. At worst, you can take some supplies and hide them out there."
Sure enough, people who operated in the shadows all acted similarly.
That afternoon, a minibus passed by and dropped off five large backpacks beside four stacked rocks. This time, Wu Youren didn't wear a black mask; he simply wrapped a cloth around his face and stood not far away, not uttering a word.
The five backpacks weighed at least six hundred kilograms, containing both daily necessities and combat supplies. Fortunately, his cultivation had yielded some results; otherwise, carrying all these things several kilometers would have been quite a chore.
That night, Wu Youren headed out to the wasteland again, not to slay Guizu, but to bury supplies. This task continued for three days. Some supplies he buried right at the foot of the mountain to ensure he could enter the mountains at any moment. Throughout the process, the horned owl offered practically no advice, merely observing coldly from the sidelines as if analyzing something.
Still, it wasn't completely useless. Beyond arranging another shipment of supplies, it also kept watch on the surrounding area. With its help, Wu Youren barely crossed paths with anyone over these days.
Having buried the supplies, he originally intended to take a day of rest—while there had been no combat, it was still exhausting work.
Yet the horned owl disagreed. "You've rested for several days now. Let's go harvest another wave!"
The youth felt rather helpless. "Young as I am, I can't completely overdraw my body, can I?"
"That lump... that orange seed of yours, its aura is dissipating!" The horned owl's round eyes bulged.
"Damn it!" Wu Youren sprang to his feet and darted outside.
He sprinted over a kilometer before opening the pouch to inspect it, looking puzzled. "Its size doesn't seem to have changed at all?"
"I didn't say it shrank!" the horned owl said exasperatedly. "Guizu-luring agents have an expiration date too, and yours decays even faster."
"Then let's go," the youth conceded. When it came to sensory perception in this regard, he was vastly outmatched.
A moment later, he glanced at Xiao Ha perched on his shoulder. "I wonder when you'll drop the next one."
Before, he had dreaded it; now, he eagerly anticipated it. Sigh...
That battle took another entire night, yielding two Guizu relics. The fighting attracted two more groups of onlookers, but none dared approach. They saw only a figure wreaking explosive slaughter before striding away.
Upon returning, Wu Youren collapsed and fell asleep immediately. As for keeping guard... wasn't the horned owl there?
He slept straight until the afternoon, feeling much better. After eating something, he was fully revived. "Let's continue tonight!"
They spent another night out, this time gaining only a single Guizu relic. Strictly speaking, the yield was still decent, but neither Wu Youren nor Chen Quanxu was satisfied. In particular, the latter consumed a bit of crystal every now and then while controlling the horned owl.
"How about we clear a wave in the Rust Belt?" the horned owl suggested. "Even though the Guizu aura is sparse, there hasn't been a proper sweep in a long time."
"Works for me," Wu Youren agreed. "Going to the wasteland every day makes it easy for people to lie in ambush for us."
His words were spot on. Over the past few days, he had cleared three waves of Guizu aura alone, and rumors were already circulating across the wasteland. It was mainly because he only fought at night, faced decently sized clusters of Guizu aura, and operated alone—a combination rarely seen with such frequency.
That night, the horned owl flew across nearly half the Rust Belt, luring in a considerable amount of Guizu aura. Crucially, they didn't have to travel far, leaving plenty of time both for drawing the monsters and slaying them.
This time, the drops were truly explosive; their hard work paid off with five Guizu relics.
He gave the horned owl another two crystals and collapsed into bed.
Waking up in the morning, he was surprisingly energized. "I'd love to keep killing like this forever. It's so satisfying."
Having watched him several times, the horned owl finally spoke up to ask, "Does slaying Guizu increase your cultivation?"
"Yes," Wu Youren said, no longer hiding it, though he didn't forget to emphasize, "and it enhances my combat skills too."
"Holy shit," the horned owl muttered upon hearing the answer, thoroughly deflated.
The youth didn't know how to comfort him, but just then, his wristcomm vibrated. It was Instructor Daiqisi asking when he would return to Red Pine.
He replied that he was slaying Guizu, then looked toward the horned owl. "When will this orange seed expire?"
"At least another month," Chen Quanxu answered without hesitation. "You can't take it back anyway—it'll never pass inspection."
"Surely it's not that serious?" Wu Youren retrieved his family's biguijue from his chest and placed it beside the pouch. "Look, no reaction."
"The Jin style..." A hint of melancholy unexpectedly surfaced in the horned owl's round eyes. "Yes, your family's circumstances aren't bad."
Wu Youren couldn't explain that the biguijue had also been enhanced in quality; half of it was to keep his secrets, and half was not wanting to provoke him further. He sighed softly. "A hostage in a foreign land—danger pay, I suppose."
The horned owl remarked offhandedly, "I didn't mean you couldn't pass the quarantine station's inspection. I meant you can't pass... you know who!"
"Oh, that..." The youth understood. An entity of that level was too terrifying; he didn't want to dwell on it either. "If I'm in a rush to head back, could I leave it with you to use?"
"Why would you even go back!" Chen Quanxu couldn't help snapping. "Haven't you had enough of being a hostage?"
"I'm still very weak," Wu Youren said in all seriousness. "I won't consider it until I advance another stage at the very least."
At foundation establishment, he would be able to fly, giving him a much better chance of making an escape. He could understand Chen Quanxu's feelings, but even someone as formidable as Chen Quanxu was now restricted in movement, wasn't he?
He sighed. "For instance, that person we dare not mention—even if I advance another stage, could I escape before him?"
The horned owl froze, then shook its head and muttered softly, "You... couldn't stir up trouble big enough to draw him."
The youth didn't want to argue with him. "We'll see how it goes. If I really have to go back, I'll give this orange seed to you!"
"Give it to me?" Chen Quanxu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Do you think Guizu aura is all it's worth?"
Chapter 192