The two knights didn't care much about rules, yet in the end, they were not completely immune to worldly conventions.
The burly knight spoke up again. "What was that explosion just now about?"
The two of them really had been drawn here by the sound of the blast; Guizu typically couldn't make that kind of racket.
Cynthia gave a brief explanation, omitting as much as possible.
She merely said that two knights and an apprentice knight had lost their lives, and that Guizu trouble had broken out last night, leaving them no choice but to cremate the bodies and bury the remains.
How could the vagueness in her words fool these two?
However, the burly knight had no interest in such trivialities—with the Guizu crisis so urgent, petty schemes between humans were secondary concerns.
What mattered more to him was something else. "There hasn't been any Guizu trouble nearby?"
"There were corrupted azure armadillos," Cynthia replied solemnly. "A whole nest of them, in fact. Instructor Keli was still here at the time..."
It had to be admitted that her account was logically sound and hit all the right points.
Places where powerful Guizu had appeared were locations that weaker Guizu would subconsciously steer clear of.
The burly knight listened intently. When she finished, he asked, "Corrupted azure armadillos... where did they emerge from?"
Cynthia pointed out the spot, but the two men merely walked closer, looked it over, and did not crawl inside to investigate.
Then he gave a slight nod. "You're really lucky. The Guizu situation outside is quite severe, yet you managed to find a place like this."
Sensing an opening, Naimu'er couldn't resist asking, "Seniors, could you spare some supplies for us?"
"We're here on reconnaissance. Where would we get extra supplies?" The burly knight shook his head, refusing flatly.
He carried a fair amount of provisions on him, but those were meant for saving his own life. How could he give them away to outsiders?
Yet upon hearing this, the leaner knight's eyes shifted. "You want supplies? Sure. What do you have to trade?"
Fortunately, Naimu'er wasn't completely foolish. "We... we can confirm with the academy that we received the supplies!"
*Please understand, seniors, we're out on an assignment. Any associated expenses should be settled with Red Pine!*
"You'd better understand what kind of place this is first!" The lean knight sneered. "This is a battlefield. Lives are at stake! We're willing to trade with you, and you should be crying tears of gratitude, yet you want to buy on credit?"
"We only have weapons we scavenged," Naimu'er said, his guard immediately raised.
Liang had no concept of an army devoted to the people. More often than not, the military was even more terrifying than bandits.
Scavenging weapons on a battlefield was something anyone might do, and it wouldn't draw unwanted attention.
Yet at the exact same moment, Cynthia also spoke up. "Would gold coins do?"
She was only thinking that resentment crystals shouldn't be exposed, whereas gold coins weren't as critical—one only converted to a hundred silver dollars!
"Gold coins?" A glint of greed flashed in the lean knight's eyes. "Not yours, are they?"
For professional soldiers like them, looting corpses on the battlefield was common practice. How could they fail to guess where gold coins came from?
Though Cynthia had a clear head, she was young after all, lacking life experience in certain matters.
Hearing this question, her heart sank slightly. The man's malice was practically written across his face.
Fortunately, she managed to maintain a veneer of composure. "Senior must be joking. How could the gold coins in our hands belong to anyone else?"
The lean knight wasn't buying it. "Did you bring them from home?"
"Senior," Naimu'er couldn't hold back any longer. "You said yourself that this is a battlefield. Gold coins are gold coins—why bother asking where they came from?"
As if anyone who went to a battlefield didn't loot a body or two. Was there any point in pressing the issue so hard?
"Are you telling me how to do my job?" The lean knight glared at him coldly. "Who gave you the nerve?"
The Liang military's poor reputation was well-earned; far too often, they simply refused to be reasonable.
This aggressive posture was difficult for Naimu'er to stomach, and even Cynthia found it hard to endure.
"Youren," she decisively called for backup. "Stop just watching the show!"
"What can I say?" Wu Youren was thoroughly helpless. If you Liang locals couldn't handle this, what did you expect from a Jin hostage?
Still, since he had been called out by name, he had to offer something. "Seniors, on a battlefield, finders keepers, right?"
"Mhm," the lean knight nodded slightly. "Theoretically speaking..."
"Forget theory," the burly knight cut him off. "Let's be direct. How many treasures dropped by Guizu do you have on you?"
The moment this question was asked, dead silence fell over the area.
Only after a long pause did Naimu'er mumble sullenly, "Instructor Keli took them all."
The burly knight laughed out of exasperation. "I see. Do you think I'm actually afraid of him?"
"I didn't think that," Wu Youren chimed in.
He didn't want to make himself a target, but if he didn't step up now, no one would step up for him later.
"Seniors, your mission is to scout the Guizu situation... Proper business comes first!"
"This kid is amusing." The two knights exchanged a grin.
The lean knight snorted. "Just messing with you. But we buy treasures dropped by Guizu at high prices!"
This was the way Liang soldiers operated: bullying could turn into a joke in an instant. As long as one was strong enough, they could switch between the two at will.
"High prices?" Naimu'er's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.
Wu Youren touched his forehead in resignation. *Who in this mortal world could escape greed, anger, and delusion?*
He had no desire to mock the guy. When push came to shove, anyone could stumble.
The lean knight smiled faintly and nodded with certainty. "That's right. High prices!"
Cynthia remained silent. Evidently, she hadn't lost her head.
"Huh? Seems like Instructor Keli's aura is out there!" Wu Youren looked into the distance, his face filled with delight. "I'll go check!"
Just as he moved, a figure flashed ahead—the burly knight blocked his path.
With a half-smile, the burly knight said, "You look quite extraordinary, little friend... What cultivation method do you practice?"
Wu Youren ground to a sudden halt, replying expressionlessly, "Apologies. That's private."
"You seem... a little defiant?" the burly man asked with that ambiguous smile.
All at once, he lunged forward, drawing the scimitar at his waist and slashing straight at Wu Youren.
Wu Youren merely stood there quietly, as if frightened out of his wits.
Less than half a meter away from him, the scimitar snapped to a halt, and the knight's body froze abruptly.
It was as though someone had hit a pause button that very instant.
An amused expression crossed the burly knight's face. "Got some guts."
Wu Youren offered no reply. He still looked terrified out of his senses on the surface, but his eyes were extraordinarily calm.
"It's not a matter of guts, it's confidence," the lean knight chuckled from nearby, looking thoroughly amused at the spectacle. "You were too slow; you wouldn't have hit him anyway."
The burly knight rolled his eyes at his companion and slowly sheathed his blade. "He didn't sense any killing intent from me."
That was likely the true explanation, but Wu Youren still kept quiet.
"Enough joking," the burly knight said, turning to Cynthia with a serious expression. "We're buying treasures dropped by Guizu at high prices!"
He could tell that the female martial artist was the one calling the shots among the three.
"We don't have any," Cynthia replied, shaking her head without hesitation. "I'm very sorry."
The two knights exchanged a glance, finding the situation a bit tricky.
These three had held out in the mountains for so long and had even buried two knights. Who would believe they hadn't gained a single thing?
Since no one else was around, greed had indeed sprouted in their hearts.
Such was the prevailing climate in Liang: weakness was the original sin. Martial artists in the military were particularly accustomed to arrogance; extortion and plunder were routine to them.
However, the three were students of Red Pine, the local powerhouse, and the consequences of acting rashly against them would genuinely be severe.
In the end, the lean knight spoke up. "Proper business comes first... I'll remember this. Cynthia, right? You'd better not be lying!"
The corner of Cynthia's mouth twitched slightly. *Just two knights. Once today passes, what can you possibly do to me?*
Behind the Mirage Sea League alone stood more than three to five knights. Once back at Red Pine, she really didn't think these two could pull off any tricks.
At this moment, however, she wouldn't provoke them either. She merely answered in a lukewarm tone, "I wish both seniors a smooth completion of your mission."
In the next instant, the two knights vanished into the night.
Naimu'er glanced at Wu Youren and grumbled, "See? I told you not to blast the mountain, but you wouldn't listen."
"You should be thanking him," Cynthia said, unable to bear it. "If he hadn't stood there without flinching, would we have gotten off so easily?"
"Maybe they wouldn't have come over at all!" Naimu'er muttered under his breath.
Deep down, though, he knew those two were military scouts. Expecting them not to detect their squad was practically impossible.
Especially once night fell, when the three might light a campfire, making them even easier to spot.
Cynthia couldn't even be bothered to argue with him. Instead, she looked at the Jin youth. "Were you certain you wouldn't get hurt back then?"
Wu Youren blinked his left eye twice and replied impassively, "I was purely scared out of my wits."
"Heh." Naimu'er snorted softly and said no more.
To their surprise, Cynthia didn't press the matter or speak up for him either. She merely stated that Wu Youren wouldn't need to keep watch tonight.
"I don't know what you're busy with, but getting proper rest is what matters."
Naimu'er was somewhat puzzled, but the Jin youth had stood guard all night yesterday and had slain a knight-level Guizu; he was indeed entitled to rest.
Cynthia took the watch for the first half of the night. Just as the shift was about to change, her wristwatch gave a faint vibration.
It was a message from Wu Youren: "Someone approaching, northwest direction."
Northwest led up toward the mountain crest; for someone to descend from above in the dead of night showed all too obvious intent.
Cynthia waited a moment. Receiving no further prompt, she realized he was leaving the choice to her.
After some thought, she decided to keep the situation under control.
Even though the newcomer harbored obvious malice, making trouble in an environment like this remained ill-advised.
With a darting motion, she concealed herself behind a boulder.
Then she called out toward the northwest, "I advise your Excellency to leave! Any further, and we will trigger the traps!"
"Sharp indeed, as expected of someone from Red Pine," came a response from that direction, though the voice was muffled and indistinct.
That was only natural; those two certainly couldn't reply in their real voices.
Before long, Cynthia's wristwatch vibrated again: "They've left."
Chapter 66