A poisoned ability master? Wu Youren's heart genuinely skipped a beat at the words. If that were truly the case, turning the tables and killing them wasn't out of the question.
In the end, though, he shook his head. Forget it. The current Chen Quanxu had darkened considerably.
The guy was all talk, while he was the one doing the real fighting; who knew what kind of trap was waiting for him?
He righted the motorcycle and quietly slipped away. Only after riding for more than a kilometer did he ask in a low voice, "An ability master's defense might be lacking, but poisoned?"
The horned owl flew silently above his head. "Not surprising. Even grand knights can be killed by ordinary mortals."
After flying for a while longer, it finally couldn't help asking, "Was there a grand knight Guizu?"
"Yeah," Wu Youren snorted irritably. "You sure think highly of me."
"Well, aren't you still alive?" Chen Quanxu replied nonchalantly. "How many were there?"
The youth fell silent, clearly expressing that he had no desire to speak with him. *How many... what the hell were you hoping for?*
The horned owl could probably guess his mood and said nothing more. One vehicle and one bird sped swiftly through the night.
After riding for more than an hour and entering the Rust Area, it finally spoke up: "Slow down, I'm tired!"
*So you know what tired means too?* Wu Youren curled his lip.
Considering that he shouldn't argue with a bird, he still slowed down a bit: *Just wait till I meet your real body!*
Riding for another half an hour, he arrived at his newest temporary hideout.
Wu Youren wheeled the motorcycle into the alcove of a leaning wall, barricaded the front with half a stone pillar, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
Approaching the cellar hatch, he listened closely and confirmed there were no bird calls below. He plopped down onto the ground and began ravenously wolfing down food and gulping water.
In a relatively safe environment, this was the gentlest and most economical way to replenish physical stamina.
The horned owl perched on the wall, saying nothing, silently watching him eat.
After gorging himself for ten-odd minutes, the youth finally stopped. Gulping down several mouthfuls of water, he exhaled a long breath. "The grand knight Guizu... I killed it."
"Mm." Chen Quanxu sounded calm. Running into a grand knight Guizu meant either you died or it did. "Don't you need to cultivate a bit?"
He had already realized that the youth's Guizu-slaying aided his cultivation, which made this an opportune moment to rest and reorganize.
"No rush," Wu Youren said, knowing the fellow was itching with curiosity. "Let me tell you how the battle went down first."
When he recounted the appearance of the giant hand, the horned owl's eyes visibly widened, its chest heaving as its breathing quickened.
When it heard that his long saber had detonated, it couldn't help chiming in, "No worries. I'll get you a new one—grand knight grade!"
Right in the middle of his spirited account, the youth rolled his eyes at him. "Do you think you haven't screwed me over hard enough?"
"Oh," Chen Quanxu realized belatedly. "You're still posing as an apprentice knight... Go on, go on."
The other party already knew Wu Youren could use arts. He concluded by explaining that a barrage of Fireball Arts had brought the battle to an end.
As for the ability master and grand knight pursuing him, he glossed over them in passing—the other guy probably knew more about that anyway.
After listening, the horned owl stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking. "The dark silhouette inside that giant hand... might have been a Guizu-corrupted ability master."
A Guizu-corrupted ability master was not the same concept as a fallen ability master.
The latter still possessed their sanity and had merely walked down a wicked path, whereas the former referred to an ability master taken over by the Guizu after being grievously injured or killed.
After waiting for a good while, the youth noticed the blank look in the horned owl's gaze and couldn't help asking, "What conjecture were you trying to verify?"
"Oh, forget it," Chen Quanxu replied absentmindedly. "We'll try again next time... Either way, you got some exercise."
*There's a next time?* Wu Youren felt like rolling his eyes again. *Could you not take after Xiao Ha and suddenly drop an enormous pile of crap on me?*
However, he decided to stop teasing him. "The grand knight Guizu dropped a Guizu relic!"
Being able to hold back from asking the entire time showed that the fellow possessed a fairly steady temperament—Wu Youren could imagine that luring those monsters hadn't been easy either!
After all, this time the Guizu aura had forcefully broken through the military blockade!
Chen Quanxu had no reason to exhaust so much effort just to harm him; having paid such a heavy price, he was still keeping his cool even though his scheme appeared to have fallen flat.
"Holy crap," the horned owl stared with widened eyes. "I knew it! With your luck, how could you come back empty-handed? Bring it out and let me see."
Wu Youren produced the bundle of leather from his robes. "I really came close to missing it! You could've at least given me a heads-up beforehand so I could..."
"Give it here!" How could the horned owl have the patience to listen to his muttering? With a flap of its wings, it fluttered over to snatch the bundle.
The next moment, once the leather unwrapped, it froze, staying rooted to the spot without reacting for a long time.
The youth began taking out his other spoils, though he didn't dare open them carelessly; he had to wait until noon, when their influence would be at its lowest.
"Today's haul wasn't half bad. Hey, what's with you..."
"A Shadow-Splitting Yue," the horned owl muttered dazed, staring at the Guizu relic.
The name sounded pleasant enough, but it was hideous: yellowish-brown, pitted and uneven, and laced with streaks of red veins.
"What is this thing?" The youth looked at him with an unfriendly gaze. "You never mentioned this kind of Guizu relic to me!"
The two had previously communicated quite thoroughly about the ability master system and brought it up often in casual conversation.
For something this crucial to have been kept from him, it was no wonder he looked displeased.
"This..." The horned owl's gaze drifted for a moment. "A treasure that can prolong my life."
"Holy shit," Wu Youren scoffed disdainfully. "And here I wondered what it was. Such a petty thing, yet you kept your mouth shut so tight!"
If the other party could disregard his life, he certainly could do the same.
"I never really expected to obtain one," the horned owl returned to normal, not minding the youth's contempt at all. "But thinking your luck was great, I figured I'd give it a shot. And against all odds, it actually worked!"
"Leeched off my fortune," the youth curled his lip. "Back where I come from, they say that brings bad luck... Uh, forget it."
"Your hometown?" The horned owl glanced at him. "It isn't far from my home either. How come I've never heard of that?"
"Drop it already," Wu Youren waved his hand impatiently. "Hurry up and take this Shadow-Splitting Yue back."
Obtaining this Guizu relic had been exhausting and costly, but since they were partners, distribution according to need took priority.
Not only had the other party risked danger to lure the monsters, but that motorcycle was certainly not something money alone could buy.
The man had invested so much just to take a gamble, so what was there left for him to squabble over?
It went back to the same old saying: he had cheats on his side, so what did he have to fear?
"Day is about to break!" Chen Quanxu replied faintly. "With this body, it's only safe to fly at night. A day or two won't make a difference anyway."
"You take this piece, but I get a bigger share of the rest!" Wu Youren made it clear he wasn't about to be generous to a fault.
"I told you long ago," the horned owl replied impatiently. "Once I die, my entire collection belongs to you."
"The problem is, you're not going to die now, are you?" the youth answered offhandedly, then asked curiously, "How long can it prolong your life?"
"That's... hard to say," Chen Quanxu replied hesitantly. "This is an auxiliary-type Guizu relic."
The function of a Shadow-Splitting Yue was somewhat similar to creating an avatar; if a beast-taming ability master obtained it, they could expand the number of companion beasts they controlled.
If a puppeteer obtained it, it could also increase the number of puppets they could control.
Chen Quanxu explained that obtaining it would enhance his ability to control humans and beasts, a capability he had possessed very little of lately.
As for why that meant prolonging his life, he didn't explain, nor did Wu Youren ask.
Who didn't have their secrets? Even though the other party knew plenty about him, had he ever pried into the cultivation methods of the Daoist system?
Unless he volunteered the information, the other would never ask.
"I see," the youth nodded slightly. "Once I grow stronger down the road, I'll farm a couple more for you."
"Fine, I'll take that as a promise," Chen Quanxu said casually, without showing the slightest excitement.
Wu Youren occasionally found him strange; the man genuinely seemed to have looked past life and death.
Still, there was no need to probe. "Then I'm going to rest up. Today wiped me out."
He said he was exhausted, but in truth, the experience points provided by that final grand knight Guizu had been substantial.
The Guizu wiped out by those six ghost-destroying mines yielded far fewer experience points than this single entity.
It was likely because his level had risen; the experience points given by low-level mobs... might not have decreased per se, but their effect on his cultivation had diminished.
When he woke from his deep meditative trance, it was already afternoon. The horned owl was curled in the corner of the wall, dozing off.
At this moment, he actually felt a rare sense of safety. A peaceful life should be something like this.
Yet the moment he moved, the horned owl woke up, its alertness extraordinary. "Come on, let's see what Guizu relics you harvested!"
Aside from the Shadow-Splitting Yue, there were nine Guizu relics in total, along with five and a half crystals.
Chen Quanxu took four crystals and one Guizu relic; his need for crystals was substantial.
Wu Youren wouldn't fight him over it. Being able to farm experience was fine as long as he didn't take a loss, and this time he had profited massively.
The only regret was that his saber had shattered, and that wasn't just a matter of money.
To him, a sword wasn't as handy as a saber. Monarch of all weapons? Sorry, he didn't consider himself a gentleman, nor did he ever want to be one.
Losing the saber would hinder his combat strength, but that wasn't the main issue.
The key was that there had been martial artists nearby at the time—more than one or two—and someone had likely noticed his long saber shattering at the end.
Although the horned owl had taken Xiao Ha away, removing the most prominent identifying mark, what if someone had an overactive imagination?
The most annoying part was that just buying any random saber wouldn't cut it!
Although that saber's design was common, it wasn't a standard-issue model; if he swapped it for a different one, those instructors at the Martial Academy would at least be able to tell!
Learning of his dilemma, Chen Quanxu indicated that it was easily solved.
"There are bound to be similar sabers. I'm in no rush to head back tonight, so I'll help you look for one. Worst comes to worst, we'll just wipe out a camp."
Wu Youren nodded. "Yesterday caused too big a commotion. Slaying Guizu won't be suitable for a while. A pity killing people is useless for cultivation."
This was his core secret; even to a partner, he couldn't reveal it lightly.
Chen Quanxu didn't even think along those lines. "Your saber's pattern is pretty common anyway. Hmm, do you have any enemies?"
After obtaining the Shadow-Splitting Yue, his attitude was slightly different; at the very least, he was showing much more initiative.
Enemies? Wu Youren gave a wry smile. What a question... "If you asked me who *isn't* an enemy, I think that'd be easier to answer."
Pausing for a moment, he spoke again: "Are you familiar with the Intelligence Bureau?"
Chapter 201