The sudden movements of Keli and Lao Liu caught everyone by surprise.
"What are you two doing?" Wu Yan'er sprang to his feet. Just as he was about to draw his saber, he found his aura already locked down.
"Calm down," Lao Liu said flatly. "We're almost back at the Martial Academy. We're doing a Guizu aura check. Anyone have an objection?"
The injured instructor gave a bitter smile. "Me too?"
He wasn't angling for special treatment; the problem was... *I'm already injured like this, do you think I'm faking misery?*
"You're going first, Brother," Lao Liu said solemnly. "Then we'll maintain order together."
"All right," the injured knight said, reaching toward his waist. "Look at my biguijue first..."
Before he could finish speaking, a gunshot rang out. Wu Youren shot him right in the body.
Amidst a burst of red light, the knight's body merely swayed slightly, but at the same time, a faint wail sounded.
"Fuck me!" Keli lunged forward, bringing his two-handed greatsword down in a vicious chop. "It really is a Guizu!"
This sudden turn of events stunned the other apprentice knights completely; even the wounded stopped groaning.
"Die!" Wu Yan'er raised his hand that very instant. With a rapid succession of clicks, over a dozen sleeve arrows shot toward the injured instructor!
"Fascinating," the knight gave a soft laugh. "It seems we still underestimated humanity..."
The next moment, hit by the dense barrage of attacks, he dissipated into smoke and vanished.
With a crisp clink, a battered piece of iron dropped to the ground, roughly the size of half a palm.
"Watch out for hallucinations!" Keli barked a warning.
The next instant, in a flash of motion, he appeared five hundred meters away, turning the iron scrap over in his hand. "Good stuff!"
"Damn it," Wu Yan'er's face darkened. "Keli, are you picking a fight?"
"You were stupid, and you blame me?" Keli shot him a cold glare. "Did I save your life for nothing, damn it?"
"Keli, really..." Lao Liu was somewhat speechless too. "Can't we talk things over?"
Keli shot him a glance as well. "There was a Guizu right beside you. Didn't I save you too?"
"Fine, fine." Lao Liu knew there was no point in arguing right now. He turned his gaze toward Wu Youren. "Kid, take another look. Is anyone else off?"
The youth had definitely seen through the deception just now; otherwise, an apprentice would never dare attack an instructor on his own initiative.
In that case, the kid's talent was worth pondering—he might be an awakened ability master!
So it was necessary to be polite when speaking to him.
However, Wu Youren stood there dumbfounded, holding his gun in place and motionless, looking as though he had been scared out of his wits.
"Are you fucking deaf..." Wu Yan'er's eyes widened, about to berate the youngster.
The boy had indeed rooted out a hidden threat, but he disliked students acting without propriety. Did the kid think he had accomplished something grand?
"Shut up!" Keli shot him a chilling glare and cut him off. Though his voice wasn't loud, it was exceptionally sharp.
Wu Yan'er was taken aback. He truly hadn't expected his colleague to show him so little face.
Lao Liu, however, knew Keli's temperament. He glared hard at Wu Yan'er and gave a slight wave of his hand: *Behave yourself, damn it!*
Wu Yan'er shut his mouth at once, though his eyes blazed with fury.
After about ten seconds, Wu Youren finally recovered his senses and shook his head. "Instructor, don't you have detection methods?"
Keli replied testily, "I'm asking you... Well, what was that just now?"
He was growing more and more curious about this young man. That decisive shot alone made him worth taking seriously.
Wu Youren pondered for a moment and replied, "I just feel that this hallucinatory Guizu died a bit too easily."
"It wasn't a hallucinatory Guizu," Lao Liu shook his head. "It was likely a substitute Guizu..."
"Lao Liu, hold on a second," Keli said solemnly, asking again, "You feel it isn't dead?"
This was rather inconceivable. Even a Guizu artifact had dropped, and he was saying it wasn't dead?
"That... I'm not sure either," Wu Youren spread his hands helplessly. He couldn't exactly say that the experience points he received were far too low!
However, the more vaguely he spoke, the less Keli dared take it lightly. "Lao Liu, go test the others!"
Lao Liu seemed to realize something. Without another word, he produced his own biguijue and showed it to everyone.
It was made of jade, but looked somewhat aged, possibly even... cracked?
Yet he displayed it openly. "This is my second one. There's nothing wrong with it at the moment."
His mission this time had been arduous, so he had brought a spare biguijue; the first had already been ruined.
Keli nodded. As a knight, he had that much discernment. "It can be used for testing."
"Then we must test the three of you first," Lao Liu said without reserve. "Even though you rescued us."
"I have one," Keli answered absently, casually producing his biguijue.
Most of his attention was focused on sensing the surroundings.
Qigeli also showed his biguijue, which was likewise made of ironwood.
Wu Youren hesitated slightly before producing his biguijue.
Seeing the jade pendant, Wu Yan'er's eyes flashed with surprise. "This biguijue... whose craft is it?"
"Why ask so many questions?" Keli replied with feigned indifference.
In truth, he knew full well that Wu Youren's biguijue was not only exquisite, but its style also carried a touch of Jin flair.
He was used to it, but it wasn't surprising that others found it unusual.
Next came Lao Liu's inspection of the others.
When he tested one of the three severely wounded men, the man straightened up abruptly and lunged at him.
"Fuck me..." Although Lao Liu was prepared, the incident happened so suddenly that he struck out with full force, failing to control his strength.
Yet there was no helping it; not drawing his greatsword to slash the man was already showing restraint.
The man had already been gravely injured; he instantly flew backward seven or eight meters.
While still in midair, he coughed up a mouthful of dark-red blood.
Almost at the same moment, a faint screech arose, accompanied by the whistling sound of tearing wind.
A wisp of faint grey mist erupted from his body and shot away with lightning speed.
Keli raised his hand and fired three shots in rapid succession, yet he failed to hit the grey mist.
He froze for a moment, then grumbled, "What the fuck... does this require a grand knight?"
Then, intentionally or not, he glanced at the Jin youth, casting an inquiring look his way.
However, seeing that Keli hadn't voiced a question, Wu Youren decisively kept his mouth shut.
Trouble comes from talking too much; misery stems from sticking one's neck out.
Lao Liu spoke up stiffly, "No grand knight is needed. We already killed three similar ones... He's still breathing."
The apprentice knight he had just struck had not breathed his last; he was still clinging to life.
In that case, they still had to take him back to the Martial Academy. Whether he could be saved was another matter; at least they could study the Guizu aura on him.
Then Wu Yan'er spoke again, his eyes also fixed on the Jin youth. "Is everything fine now?"
"I... don't know," Wu Youren spread his hands with a face full of helplessness.
"Aren't you going to call for reinforcements yet?" An inexplicable sense of unease rose in Keli's heart.
He knew the kid wanted to hide his abilities, which was understandable given his hostage status.
However, since it might affect their own safety, he didn't want to wait any longer.
Seeing his expression, Lao Liu finally understood and sighed. "Let's go. We'll head back while calling for help!"
Sometimes, one simply had to trust their intuition.
After driving for more than twenty minutes, a Martial Academy vehicle approached from the opposite direction. A nearby patrol team had indeed rushed to their aid at the earliest notice.
This was no small matter: multiple students had been killed or wounded, and an instructor had died. The Martial Academy couldn't possibly let it pass without a thorough investigation.
Keli had thought they would only need to cooperate briefly, but unexpectedly, they were detained directly.
Moreover, they weren't brought back into the Martial Academy proper, but held at an external investigation post.
There had originally been some buildings surrounding the Martial Academy. With the recent tensions surrounding the Guizu threat, several had been temporarily activated for investigations and quarantine observation.
Fortunately, Keli's group of three were the rescuers, and they had returned shortly after heading out, so suspicion toward them wasn't high.
Aoliwen's death was also witnessed by Lao Liu and the others, who had even been the ones to kill him.
Having fought fiercely for two days, Lao Liu and his team were not only under heavier suspicion, but they could also provide substantial frontline intelligence.
Keli and his two companions could only settle down obediently in the quarantine area. Fortunately, the lodging conditions weren't bad.
The investigation wasn't primarily aimed at them; only the instructor himself was called in to explain the general situation.
Keli did not emphasize the anomalies Wu Youren had shown, nor did he even point out his identity.
Apart from considering the Life-and-Death Knot's attitude, there might also be hidden benefits to be gained from the Jin youth; why should he let outsiders know?
As for whether others might talk, that was their business and had nothing to do with him.
Interestingly, the investigators paid no attention to Wu Youren or Qigeli, merely asking a few perfunctory questions.
In the Martial Academy's eyes, during a span of less than a day, two apprentice knights had played nothing more than bit parts throughout—what was there to ask?
The investigation lasted one day, followed by two days of quarantine.
By the fourth day, Keli received word: the three of them could leave.
However, the academy personnel also indicated a wish for the three of them to participate further in operations to slay the Guizu.
Many instructors and students from Red Pine had already been drawn in, but the vast majority remained insulated from the affair.
The academy believed that having experienced combat against the Guizu firsthand, these three were seasoned hands.
Furthermore, martial artists who had slain Guizu carried a certain scent that made them more likely to attract the Guizu.
In the minds of the people of Red Pine, since you couldn't escape it anyway, what harm was there in taking part?
Yet Keli had his own thoughts. "Can the three of us still operate alone?"
"That's too unsafe," the other party replied bluntly. "Current scouting missions require a minimum squad of five knights."
"Then this is a mandatory mission," Keli immediately caught the implication. "Far too little freedom!"
Lao Liu's team had been five knights plus several students, yet hadn't Keli ended up having to rescue them anyway?
Crucially, if five instructors were grouped together, he wouldn't hold absolute say, nor would it be convenient for the Jin youth to put his strengths to use!
Chapter 49