Wu Youren felt a touch of regret that he lacked one of those legendary system interfaces to quantify his gains.
Rossi, meanwhile, was left somewhat speechless. "A special scouting ability..."
He had never heard of such a thing and felt ill-equipped to pursue the subject.
Even so, he didn't assume the youth was spinning tales. In the realm of the supernatural, all manner of bizarre phenomena were possible. Particularly since the rise of ability masters, everyone had come to realize that the human body harbored vast untapped potential.
Regardless of whether the excuse was true or false, the boy had undeniably detected the monkey-tiger ahead of time. In Rossi's estimation, the young man from Jin went up another notch.
He spoke up again, "It seems we haven't agreed on how to split the spoils, have we?"
Neither of them had brought it up before setting off, as if both had simply overlooked it. But in truth, battling Guizu was a matter of life and death, not a casual outing—who could genuinely overlook how the spoils were divided? Typically, whoever brought down the quarry kept what they took.
To Rossi, that was already perfectly fair. As a knight, he hadn't factored in the combat advantage his rank provided. Now, however, he felt the matter deserved clarification.
"That was my oversight," Wu Youren said, giving a slight start. "How about you take thirty percent of whatever I get?"
He didn't mention Rossi's share, nor did he need to. In the previous fight, he hadn't claimed any physical loot at all. As long as he could reap experience points, material spoils hardly mattered to him.
"Do you think I'd covet the meager scraps an apprentice knight earns?" Rossi countered dryly. "I'm referring to your timely warning earlier. That credit has to be factored in. My take includes a share for you!"
"Saying that treats me like an outsider," Wu Youren replied solemnly. "Without you there, I would likely be dead by now."
"As long as you know it," Rossi stated briskly. "Still, I do things fairly. What deserves a reward gets rewarded."
*If I hadn't warned you, you'd have been finished long ago, and you wouldn't even be talking about the spoils...* Wu Youren had plenty of retorts lined up in his head. But there was no sense in arguing; on matters like this, both sides could claim they were in the right.
Instead, he merely offered, "You provided the ride, too, so let's let this one slide. We can discuss it next time."
He had no idea what four sinews, a monkey-tiger head, and two forepaws were actually worth. Even if someone from Hostage Manor could roughly evaluate ordinary goods, they had no grasp of market prices in Great Liang. Since the beast's flesh and blood had to be incinerated, he had once assumed Rossi might actually take a loss on the venture.
"Eighty to a hundred silver dollars, and you don't even care?" Rossi remarked, twisting the throttle to accelerate. "Mm, the sky is getting gloomier."
*Eighty to a hundred dollars... Killing Guizu pays this well?* Wu Youren was genuinely surprised. Even a ten percent cut would come out to eight to ten silver dollars!
Still, having already made his stance clear, there was no need to walk it back immediately. "Next time, then. Whatever you feel like giving."
Rossi mused silently. Children of wealthy families truly were a breed apart, treating such sums with utter indifference.
To his surprise, the boy added a moment later, "Don't give too much, either. It's easy to shift from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury back to frugality."
*Mature beyond his years, is he?* Rossi bared his teeth in an involuntary grin. "With a mindset like that, what kind of family did you grow up in?"
"That... let's not get into it," Wu Youren said, his tone softening.
*Understood.* Rossi nodded faintly. "Then tell me about those tricks you prepared."
"Just petty cleverness," Wu Youren answered evasively, offering no further explanation.
*The kid is rather aloof!* Rossi felt a twinge of annoyance. But on second thought, he let it go. How could someone held in such high regard by Grand Knight Hong be an ordinary lad?
Pushing their pace, the two arrived at the supply depot just before the dark clouds broke overhead.
It was situated in a secluded nook at the foot of a mountain—a wide depression that formed a semi-open cavern spanning four to five hundred square meters. Inside, the amenities were surprisingly complete: fuel, a sundries stall, an eatery... and even a weapon shop!
Outside the depot, more than a dozen cars and a dozen motorcycles were already parked, scattered haphazardly across more than half the available ground.
Just as their cargo tricycle rolled into the shelter of the cavern, pea-sized raindrops began to hammer down.
"Close one," Rossi said, dismounting and pulling off his helmet to glance outside. "At least we dodged it."
The rain in Great Liang was usually clean enough, but in recent years, it occasionally carried slight acidity or traces of yin qi. More importantly, this was a mountain road. Heavy rain could easily trigger landslides and mudflows, which spelled serious trouble if encountered.
Wu Youren quietly took in the surroundings.
Among the travelers sheltering from the storm, there appeared to be three organized convoys, along with two loose groups of what looked like independent operators.
While he sized them up, those travelers were likewise scrutinizing the newly arrived tricycle.
From Rossi's attire and gear, one could easily tell he was a knight. The youth beside him didn't dress like an ordinary person either, looking to be an apprentice knight, though his equipment was noticeably threadbare.
Under normal circumstances, such a duo wouldn't project an overwhelming aura of menace. What if one was a knight? They didn't even have a decent vehicle, riding in on a mere cargo tricycle.
Yet the severed monkey-faced tiger head hanging from the handlebars silently warned everyone present: *these two are exceptionally dangerous!*
The blood around the beast's severed neck had not yet dried, proving it was a very recent kill.
"An orange monkey-tiger!" More than one person recognized the origin of the head.
Neither Wu Youren nor Rossi spoke. Such a trophy was more than enough to dissuade most people from harboring ill intentions.
The pair took out their dry rations and waterskins, eating and drinking without paying mind to their audience. The journey, compounded by the recent fight, had drained a fair bit of stamina. They weren't ravenously hungry, but in abnormal situations, maintaining peak physical condition was essential.
Their posture broadcast a clear message: *strangers, stay away.*
Yet no matter the place or time, there was always someone boldly sociable.
A man approached, offering a cigarette with an easy show of warmth.
The friendly overture fell flat. Great Liang was hardly a land of peace and merriment, and out on the road, everyone kept their guard raised. The man didn't take offense, lighting one for himself before asking, "Was this monkey-tiger found nearby?"
"We came on a tricycle," Rossi answered with detached indifference. "If it wasn't nearby, did we bring it from the border?"
"Young man, let's keep it civil!" a burly fellow called out. He possessed the cultivation of a knight as well. Wearing a grave expression, he declared, "This concerns the safety of every traveler on this road. Hiding information is rather irresponsible of you."
"Responsible... me?" Rossi stretched his neck to swallow a mouthful of meat, then pointed quizzically at his own nose. Once he confirmed the man meant him, he hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. "Don't play the moral high ground with me. I don't owe any of you a thing." He gestured toward the shopkeepers deeper in the cave. "If you want answers, go ask them. They know far better than I do!"
His words were true enough, but the burly man wasn't satisfied. "Which faction do you belong to, friend? Concealing such information undermines public order in Great Liang. Can you bear the responsibility for that?"
"Who the hell are you?" Rossi rolled his eyes. "I'm from the Red Pine Martial Academy, here investigating reports of Guizu. Wait until you're the director of Red Pine before you question me!"
This territory fell under Red Pine's sphere of influence. On his own home turf, he had no reason to tiptoe around. The customary wariness of traveling the martial world? Entirely unnecessary! An intermediate martial academy possessed the standing to back up its people.
As for investigating Guizu activity... strictly speaking, the mission ought to have been handled discreetly and not leaked at will. But a glance at the tiger head hanging from the vehicle made it clear that secrecy was already a moot point.
Upon hearing those words, the burly man immediately shut his mouth. He held considerable connections within the military and police systems, but he possessed no standing to cross swords with a martial academy.
Seeing that route closed, several other travelers turned their attention to the shopkeepers to inquire about the monkey-tiger.
Another burly man spoke up, "Stop the racket! Can't you see the monkey-tiger has already been dealt with?"
He was the proprietor of the weapon shop, bearing a broad scar across his forehead that gave him a menacing air. He, too, was a knight.
It wasn't that knights in Great Liang had become so common that they were everywhere, but running a business out here came with immense potential risk. The travelers passing through included all sorts, and Guizu threats were always a possibility. Out in the desolate wilds, having a knight to hold down the fort was practically a necessity. His shop mainly sold ammunition, for which daily demand wasn't particularly high; his true job was maintaining order.
A plump man grew indignant at his reply. "Does that mean you already knew a monkey-tiger was lurking around here?"
As the cave dissolved into clamorous squabbling, Wu Youren and Rossi finished their meal in short order. Combat rations emphasized speed—a discipline most martial artists had to master.
The two sat back-to-back on the ground, their heads turned toward the sheet of rain outside the cave.
"It shouldn't last too long," Rossi remarked casually. "Mountain weather always comes in bouts."
Wu Youren remained silent. Taking advantage of the rest period, he quietly evaluated his gains from earlier.
The chang ghost had yielded roughly the same amount of experience as his first Guizu kill, but the monkey-tiger had been exceptionally generous. As he silently circulated his internal breath, he felt a sensation of fullness—this body could not yet rapidly assimilate such a sudden influx. He couldn't say for certain how much cultivation time it was equivalent to, but it was easily worth two months of arduous practice, if not more.
He also dearly wanted to see how the biguijue had changed. Yet although the jade piece hung at his waist, separated only by a small cloth pouch, drawing it out under so many eyes was out of the question.
Since he couldn't do it now, he put it out of his mind and focused on guiding his internal breath to stabilize his condition.
His circulation of internal breath did not escape notice. The contrast between him and Rossi was stark: one was an arrogant knight, the other an impoverished youth. To be quietly meditating in such a tense, chaotic environment only made him seem somewhat awkward and destitute.
A middle-aged man with a weathered face approached. He was an apprentice knight from one of the convoys—true knights were rare, after all—and one look at his features revealed a seasoned veteran of the road.
He pulled out a silver dollar. "Excuse me, young brother. I'd like to pay for some information. Did you run into a chang ghost?"
The knight from Red Pine was arrogant, but surely paying good money for a piece of information was well within reason.
Chapter 23