Unlike in video games where slaying monsters yielded dropped skill books, no one in the real world carried the secret manuals of their martial arts around with them. The fact that Wang Yu had managed to loot *Swallow Carrying Spring* from Young Master Zhehua the last time had been sheer luck. Who would have thought another set would drop this time?
Wang Yu was thoroughly astounded. "Doesn't he belong to an established lineage? Why would he carry secret manuals on his person?"
"Who knows?" Zhao Shan replied. "Perhaps they stole them?"
As he spoke, Zhao Shan stole a glance at Qianqian, unable to hide the shock in his eyes. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that this seemingly timid, gentle, frail young woman was actually a Xiantian expert!
To tell the truth, between Li Yunxiu and Qianqian, Zhao Shan, Zhao He, and most of the prince's manor guards inwardly favored Qianqian. After all, she was the one personally chosen by the old prince, and in their everyday interactions, she was far more pleasant and approachable than Li Yunxiu.
At times, seeing Li Yunxiu wield immense authority and intentionally or unintentionally suppress Qianqian, they had secretly grumbled, complied on the surface while dragging their feet in secret, and even occasionally held quiet grievances against Wang Yu for seeming to lean toward Li Yunxiu.
After all, Li Yunxiu was plainly a plant placed in the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor by the Emperor. Even if the manor had no immediate intention of rebelling, they still viewed Li Yunxiu with a certain aloofness.
Yet during today's battle, both women had left everyone stunned.
When Ma Bojun was trapped amidst the enemy ranks and a Xiantian expert suddenly appeared from the Black Qiang, everyone seemed on the verge of dying in battle. Then Qianqian had descended out of nowhere, playing both opposing experts like pawns in the palm of her hand, essentially saving the lives of Zhao Shan, Zhao He, and all the guards.
Li Yunxiu had been equally formidable. Once she was safe, she had transformed into a master of tactical micromanagement, commanding three hundred Iron Eagle Cavalry to counter-encircle five hundred Black Qiang horsemen and breaking the enemy with virtually no casualties. It had awed everyone and won Li Yunxiu immense goodwill among the cavalrymen.
Compared to the shining displays of the two women, Wang Yu's exhibition of peerless lightness skills and his sword duel executing the Xingxiu successor had actually been overshadowed.
Yet if anyone knew the truth, Wang Yu was by far the most terrifying of them all. Counting from the very start, he had practiced martial arts for barely eight months, yet he had clashed head-on with and slain the prized disciple of the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea.
Unfortunately, aside from Qianqian and Li Yunxiu, no one else knew this. They simply believed that Wang Yu was truly worthy of being the former Prince of Zhenxi Zhao Zheng's son, possessing his father's bold spirit.
"They aren't outcasts of the Heavenly Cripple and Earthly Flaw, so why would they need to steal them?" Wang Yu asked, speechless.
Qianqian glanced at the volumes. "The booklets are very new, not something given to them by the Heavenly Cripple and Earthly Flaw. They most likely transcribed them themselves after leaving the sect. As for why—perhaps to compare notes, or perhaps out of fear of forgetting. Who knows?"
"Examine them carefully. Beware of counterfeits," Li Yunxiu cautioned.
In martial arts, whether inner cultivation arts or combat techniques, anything involving the circulation of internal power demanded extreme caution during cultivation. The moment true qi strayed off course, light consequences meant torn meridians, while severe ones led to qi deviation.
Given Meng Zixiao and Zhao Guizhou's past record of deceit, Li Yunxiu suspected that these two martial manuals might also have been traps they had prepared for Wang Yu, only they hadn't had the chance to use them yet.
Wang Yu nodded and put the manuals away. "I understand."
He had a cheat! He wasn't afraid!
He didn't even need to cultivate the traditional way. As long as he learned the techniques on paper, swallowed spirit medicine, and fed both the energy and the skills into the tortoise shell, the shell would feed back adjusted, optimized, or even evolved versions of the skills to him.
While they were speaking, the Loulan treasure had already been divided between both sides and loaded onto their respective wagons. At the same time, the corpses had been gathered together, ready to be burned.
Just then, the clatter of clashing weapons came from the south.
Curious, the crowd could not help turning to look south. The Black Qiang cavalry had all fled northward, so why was someone fighting to the south?
In the next instant, a figure scrambled over the small sand dune where Wang Yu had stood earlier. Longsword in hand and hair disheveled, the man sprinted forward in haste.
"Li Wuchang?" Ma Bojun called out in surprise. "Didn't he flee? Why has he returned?"
Just as Ma Bojun caught sight of Li Wuchang, Li Wuchang naturally spotted them as well. His expression altered sharply, and he scrambled to dart westward.
Yet far to the west, a figure suddenly appeared. Though swift, his stride was elegant, like solitary bamboo swaying in the wind as his silhouette shifted gracefully. Holding a longsword behind his back, he let out a clear shout upon spotting Li Wuchang: "Over here!"
Li Wuchang's face drained of color. Halting his steps, he wheeled around toward the east.
Yet far to the east, another figure bounded forward with sweeping momentum. His longsword was drawn, and pointing it at Li Wuchang, he laughed, "Now he's over here!"
Li Wuchang came to an abrupt halt, nearly tumbling in his panic. Glancing at the crowd to the north, he dared not approach them, but the gaze he turned toward the south was filled with sheer terror.
Ma Bojun asked curiously, "Who are those two, and who else is to the south?"
Li Wuchang was one of the Five Great Bandits of Mount Qi. Originating from the Taihua Sect, he had long reached the realm of a first-rate expert, and his Nineteen Swords of the Jade Maiden was nimble and artful. He was a renowned figure in the Jianghu. What kind of person could frighten him to such a degree?
Qianqian's eyes fluttered softly without speaking, but Li Yunxiu's brow twitched. "The one to the east carries a side sword of the Laoshan Sect, two-tenths of an inch wider than an ordinary longsword."
Niu Zilian picked up the thought. "The one to the west has a frame like bamboo and steps like plum blossoms. He should be an expert from the Mushan Sect."
Ma Bojun understood at once. "People from the Seven Great Sword Sects. How did they come to the Western Regions, and why have they clashed with Li Wuchang?"
Wang Yu and Li Yunxiu exchanged a glance, having a fairly good idea of who it was to the south that struck such fear into Li Wuchang.
Sure enough, a figure in green skimmed up onto the sand dune, lazily holding a black-scabbarded longsword, with a wine gourd hanging at his waist. It was Fang Shaobai, whom they had not seen in a long time.
Fang Shaobai clearly had not expected to find so many people behind the dune either. After a momentary daze, he caught sight of Wang Yu waving at him and could not help breaking into a smile.
Wang Yu's group stood to the north, Fang Shaobai to the south, the Laoshan Sect expert to the east, and the Mushan Sect expert to the west. Only Li Wuchang was left standing solitary in the center of the gravel desert. Though holding a longsword, he looked thoroughly small, helpless, and pitiful.
"Fang Shaobai!" Li Wuchang took a deep breath.
"Martial Uncle Li," Fang Shaobai said flatly. "Please return to the mountain with me."
Li Wuchang sneered. "I refuse to go back and endure Hua Ziqing's haughty scowls. If you want me to return, you might as well kill me."
Fang Shaobai sighed. "Martial Uncle's crimes did not originally warrant death. Why must it come to this?"
Li Wuchang chuckled coldly. "Ever since I entered the Qishan Mountains, the innocent lives taken by my hands number eighty if not a hundred. Leaving the mountain back then might not have warranted death, but today, I have long deserved execution."
Fang Shaobai lapsed into silence.
Li Wuchang looked at the three closing in on him, then at Wang Yu and the others watching the spectacle. Knowing there was no chance of escape, he hardened his resolve, raised his arm, and drew his blade across his throat.
With this, the Five Great Bandits of Mount Qi were completely wiped out.
"Brother Fang!"
"Brother Zhao!"
"What brought you all to the Western Regions?" Wang Yu asked.
"It's a long story, tied to past matters of the Seven Great Sword Sects. Let me introduce two friends first." Fang Shaobai turned and waved the other two over.
"Meng Wei of the Laoshan Sect!"
"Shen Zhijun of the Mushan Sect!"
These two were indeed disciples of the Laoshan and Mushan Sects, and the most outstanding among the younger generation, known as their chief disciples. Though they had not yet stepped into Xiantian, both were first-rate experts on par with the elder seniors of their sects; advancing to Xiantian was only a matter of time.
Shen Zhijun was somewhat younger, bearing a gentle, scholarly smile that made him look more like a scholar than a swordsman. Meng Wei was bold and openhearted, his eyes radiating high spirits—a quintessential Jianghu swordsman.
"Why have you come to the Western Regions as well? Didn't we agree that when you dealt with the Mount Qi bandits, you would call on me?" Fang Shaobai asked.
"I came to the Western Regions to seize treasure, not specifically to deal with the Mount Qi bandits. How could I have called you?" Wang Yu pointed to the surrounding wagons. "Don't tell me you don't know about the Loulan treasure?"
Fang Shaobai shook his head. "I don't know anything about it!"
Wang Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. "So there really are people who didn't know. I thought the entire realm was in on it."
And so Wang Yu gave Fang Shaobai a brief overview of his objective for this trip, which happened to have just concluded.
Looking at the corpses littering the ground, Meng Wei could not help wringing his hands in regret, stamping his feet repeatedly. "Too late! We arrived too late! Why couldn't I have made it in time for this grand battle to slay a few barbarian invaders?"
Shen Zhijun smiled. "Our martial arts excel at Jianghu skirmishes. On an actual battlefield, they might not be of much use."
While they were conversing, the Iron Eagle Cavalry had set a fire, burning all the corpses, and then pitched camp to prepare lunch.
Having just fought an intense battle and spent half the day cleaning up, everyone was hungry.
Wang Yu invited Fang Shaobai and his companions to join them, and Fang Shaobai naturally did not refuse. Thus, members of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, the Shuntian Army, and the Seven Great Sword Sects gathered together.
Since the conversation turned to the Loulan treasure, Song Chengyue recounted the full story behind it once more.
Meng Wei shook his head. "That Emperor is utterly shameless!"
Li Yunxiu: "..."
Song Chengyue pondered for a moment, then asked Wang Yu, "Your Highness, now that you have secured the treasure, could you speak plainly regarding the advice you held back that day?"
Wang Yu chuckled. "You still wish to hear it?"
Song Chengyue nodded. "Your Highness is righteous, honorable, and true to your word. I believe in Your Highness."
Meng Wei and Shen Zhijun exchanged a glance, their expressions odd.
Wang Yu's name was something they had certainly heard of. After all, his father was a world-renowned martial arts grandmaster. Whenever conversations touched on northwestern experts and powers across the land, one could never bypass Zhao Zheng and the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor. As Zhao Zheng's only son and the future master of the manor, Wang Yu was naturally brought up as well.
Yet everyone's evaluation of him had always been that he was perverse and capricious, arrogant and domineering, drowning in wine and women, and devoted entirely to hedonism. At the very least, he had never been associated with words like righteous, honorable, or trustworthy.
When Fang Shaobai formally introduced him earlier, the two had already found it strange. Now that Song Chengyue added this comment, they could not help but be filled with curiosity about Wang Yu.
Wang Yu smiled and said, "My advice is to deliver the lion's share of the treasure to the Emperor with great fanfare, exposing his lack of honor before the entire realm. Keep a portion for yourself and take it to the Northwestern Army. Not only will this make the Emperor wary of the Northwestern Army, but it will also ensure your own comfortable standing within their ranks, allowing you to advance or retreat at will later on. It is a win-win solution on all fronts."
Song Chengyue pondered in silence for a long while before finally cupping his fists. "Many thanks to Your Highness for resolving my doubts. As the saying goes, to destroy a man, one must crush his heart. Saddling the Emperor with the reputation of taking all the spoils without lifting a finger is indeed an excellent way to take revenge. My sister and I will go seek refuge with our maternal uncle and await upheaval in the Central Plains."
Chapter 67