"Is that so?" Instructor Keli was not particularly surprised. Since the other was a hostage from Jin, his family circumstances were bound to be decent.
Raising a hand, he took the biguijue, toyed with it for a moment, and gave a low grunt. "The material really is quite good."
Hearing that, Aoliwen glanced sideways at it, the corner of his mouth twitching as he sighed inwardly.
He also possessed a biguijue, made of ironwood, which was slightly better than a low-grade jade piece.
His family was considered upper-middle class in Liang, yet it was only because he was entering Red Pine Martial Academy that they had pulled every string to secure one for him.
He truly had not expected this Jin youth, who dressed so ordinarily, to actually own such a high-grade biguijue.
Had he known the other had such wealth, he would have been far more cautious when provoking him.
What Aoliwen had said earlier was no lie either; over the past two days, he really had suffered from diarrhea.
Analyzing when it had begun, he strongly suspected he had been targeted with dirty tricks by the Jin native that evening.
Corroborating this was the fact that the two other companions who had been thrown to the ground were also suffering from diarrhea these past two days.
He had offered an explanation to Keli first, intending to find a suitable moment to inform the instructor of his suspicions.
Yet seeing the boy's jade piece now, he suddenly felt rather dispirited... The other's background and resources were truly beyond his comparison.
Wu Youren had other intentions in producing this biguijue as well.
He had discovered that as he gained experience points, besides his own strength increasing, the biguijue's texture and performance were improving too.
This was something he could not figure out for the life of him, so he used this opportunity to have the instructor analyze it.
Having a golden finger but not knowing how to use it properly was truly agonizing.
Keli's eye was indeed discerning; he recognized the biguijue's caliber.
Wu Youren believed that had Keli seen its prior state back in the Hostage Manor, he would never have offered such praise.
Yet what both pleased and vexed Wu Youren was that, with the cultivation of a knight, Keli had not noticed anything abnormal about the biguijue.
He wondered whether a grand knight... could see through it?
After fiddling with it for a while, Instructor Keli returned the jade jue to the Jin youth, somewhat reluctant. "Even better than mine!"
His own biguijue was merely ironwood; to say he was not tempted would be a lie.
However, regarding the property of a foreign hostage... ordinary factions might extort some silver dollars, but it was best not to touch an item like this.
Of course, if the boy offered it up willingly, that would be another matter.
Unfortunately, the Jin youth acted as though he had not heard a thing, quietly putting it away.
Keli adjusted his mood. "Leopard cats on the verge of mutating into monkey-tigers—how many could you handle at once?"
Hearing this, Aoliwen's heart sank slightly again... Could this guy really handle quasi-knights?
"Just that single one, and it was pure luck," Wu Youren replied impassively. "The key was that I had a knight and other companions beside me at the time, which kept my movements steady."
"You Jin natives always have so many schemes," Keli grunted in dissatisfaction. "You took on a chang ghost all on your own without even using a gun!"
An apprentice knight's combat strength was at the very bottom among martial artists; facing a chang ghost one-on-one with cold weapons was extremely difficult.
The government sold ghost-vanquishing bullets precisely so that ordinary people and apprentice knights could slay the lowest tier of Guizu under normal circumstances.
For a Jin youth to come out hunting ghosts without carrying a firearm was just... ah, well, since he was a hostage, it made sense!
Yet when those words reached Aoliwen's ears, his heart sank even further: *Holy shit, this guy has killed more than one ghost?*
However, Wu Youren replied, "Against Guizu of equivalent cultivation, with enough courage and careful attention, it's actually worth a shot."
Keli fell silent, shaking his head only after a long pause. "A pity you aren't from Liang."
If he were a native of Liang, he would basically meet the standard of a 'favored child of heaven'; with vigorous nurturing, reaching grand knight would be well within reach.
Yet as a foreigner... to be honest, Keli almost felt the urge to destroy him.
Still, forget it. Even if he became a grand knight, he would just be one man—what decisive difference could he make?
Besides, the boy possessed the status of a hostage; if Keli truly wished to act against him, he would have to weigh the consequences.
Wu Youren smiled. "When Great Liang and Jin merge one day, won't I be a person of Liang as well?"
"Huh?" Qigeli, who was driving, glanced at him in distraction upon hearing that.
Then he sighed and nodded. "A pity. There really aren't many Jin natives with your foresight."
"Drive the damn car and focus," Keli could not help scolding his student.
Foresight, my ass. If this Jin youth were truly willing to defect to Liang, would the Life-and-Death Knot have needed to commission him to intervene?
Not that winning him over was entirely impossible; otherwise, those fellows would have merely looked on with cold detachment—why bother asking him?
Hearing this, however, an idea sparked in Aoliwen's mind. "Changing nationality should be quite simple, right?"
He had no good intentions; he simply wanted to stir up trouble for the Jin youth.
No one answered his question. Keli and Wu Youren found it meaningless, while Qigeli did not dare speak.
After a while, the instructor spoke up again. "Let's head to Suotu after all. I think going to the... Rust Belt is pointless."
His words were not aimed at anyone in particular.
After a brief pause, Wu Youren replied—Rust Belt was the name he had coined. "Whatever you decide, Instructor."
Keli gave him a sidelong glance. "Know how to shoot?"
"Yes," Wu Youren nodded. In reality, back at the Hostage Manor, he had only ever touched a gun twice—and that was merely feeling the metal.
Still, Cynthia had a gun and had taught him how to ride a motorcycle, whereas he truly had not gotten behind the wheel of a four-wheeled vehicle like this.
Speaking of which, the girl had indeed treated him well, but he knew deep down that nothing would come of it.
"Then I'll lend you one." Keli tossed him a handgun along with a box of ammunition. "Don't aim it at people."
It sounded like a casual reminder, but only the two of them understood the weight behind those words.
"Understood," Wu Youren smiled with a nod. "Thank you for the reminder, Instructor. I won't betray your trust."
Watching him count the bullets, the corner of Keli's mouth twitched. *Won't betray... Then what was with reporting Kelly?*
Kelly's true identity was an enigma; even he was not very clear on it, knowing only that she claimed to be a descendant of the State of Xi, yet no one had done anything about it.
Those who could figure it out were probably only the bunch from the Life-and-Death Knot.
Still, what did that have to do with him? He only needed to know that this Jin youth was not as innocent as he appeared on the surface.
"Mostly ghost-vanquishing bullets," Wu Youren remarked after finishing his count, unable to suppress his admiration. "Knights... are so wealthy!"
"Cut the crap," Keli said, struggling to keep his composure. "That biguijue of yours is worth two years of my income."
He only knew the boy was the grandson of a baron and was not certain about much else.
Yet in Jin, knight-level cultivation was the bare minimum to hold a title of nobility, so it was hardly surprising that a Jin youth possessed such a fine jade jue.
He added, "Ghost-vanquishing bullets are issued for martial academy field assignments. I'm poor too, so use them sparingly."
Aoliwen plucked up his courage and spoke up. "Um... Instructor, I don't have many ghost-vanquishing bullets."
"Giving them to you is pointless," Keli replied with utter coldness. "You have no experience dealing with Guizu!"
"But I'm a person of Liang!" Aoliwen decided not to endure it anymore. "Our duel is a competition of how many Guizu we slay!"
Keli gave him a bizarre look. "You still think the duel is meaningful even now?"
"Of course," Aoliwen answered without hesitation. "If I win, he has to pay protection fees!"
*What the hell did you eat that gave you indigestion?* Wu Youren shot him an odd look.
"Forget about protection fees," Keli said, somewhat speechless. "I took a commission from the Life-and-Death Knot, understand?"
"The Life-and-Death Knot?" Aoliwen truly had not expected such an answer.
Over the past two days, he had been inquiring into Wu Youren's affairs and had looked into the organization along the way, though without much effort.
Neither he nor Miss Sally thought very highly of the Life-and-Death Knot.
They knew the faction was not weak.
Yet for whatever reason—perhaps because they did not value Wu Youren much, or perhaps something else—they had not paid much attention to the matter.
Only now did it dawn on him: they had already responded long ago!
Yet this made him feel indignant again. "Instructor, we didn't cut into the Life-and-Death Knot's profits..."
Keli grew impatient. "Did you fucking think I came here to reason with you?"
Aoliwen finally shut his mouth, thoroughly realizing that his presence on this outing was essentially a punishment from the Life-and-Death Knot.
In the end, it was the Jin youth who had chosen him. As for why... he had brought it entirely upon himself.
After picking their direction, they drove for less than an hour before entering the mountains, where the already poor road grew even more decrepit.
Once inside the mountains, all four wore grim expressions, and Qigeli shifted the off-road vehicle into open-top mode.
Traveling for another half-hour, Instructor Keli waved his hand. "Stop!"
Before the vehicle had even come to a complete halt, he sprang out and charged swiftly toward a hilltop.
The other three did not hesitate either, leaping out to follow the instructor forward.
Whether intentionally or not, Qigeli kept watch on the left flank; seeing this, Wu Youren took the initiative to shift to the right.
Aoliwen was a bit slow to catch on. Seeing the two fan out, he blinked blankly several times before realizing what they were doing.
He then slowed his pace, pretending he was in charge of guarding the rear.
The three ahead crested the hilltop one after another and looked into the distance.
Faintly, from the direction of another ridge, came the sound of gunfire and furious roars.
Instructor Keli deliberated for two or three seconds before drawing his handgun, loading a different round, and firing into the sky.
A burst of red pyrotechnics exploded in midair, accompanied by a piercing screech.
Before long, Instructor Keli's wristwatch vibrated with its walkie-talkie function. "This is Wu Yan'er. Who's nearby?"
"Keli," the instructor replied calmly. "Scouting mission. Just me. Waiting for you on the hilltop by the road."
"We need assistance!" shouted the voice on the other end. "We're surrounded by Guizu! Four wounded!"
"My assignment is scouting," Keli said impassively. "At most, I can wait here. Give me a timeframe."
Chapter 46