An Azure Family

"So Ye Jian really just killed that black-armored Spike and walked away? Just like that?!" Inside the helicopter, Rusty Sister had to raise her voice and punctuate her words with emphatic hand gestures, which made her look somewhat exaggerated, like a robot suddenly losing control. Even now, she still found it hard to believe. That legendary name had actually appeared on the battlefield of Xilang Peak, yet he had merely smoked and chatted with Wen Jifei and the others for a bit, then killed a black-armored Great Spike that they might otherwise have captured alive. "Yeah. Tangtang even ran after him back then, cursing, 'Fuck your—' Ye Jian didn't do anything, though. He just stated his orientation and turned Tangtang down." Wen Jifei chuckled as he spoke. He had previously mentioned to Han Qingyu that the three of them had crossed paths with Ye Jian on the Xilang Peak battlefield, but none of them had dared to discuss it openly in camp. The matter was far too grave. That was an Azure traitor, Ye Jian of Snow Lotus! Once word got out, no matter how clean their own record was, what awaited them would be a protracted isolation and investigation. "Then what on earth did he go there for?" Rusty Sister could not help pressing further. "He said himself that he was just having a look. We felt that was true, too." Wen Jifei tried to describe him to the group. In his depiction, Ye Jian was a person whom it was very difficult to dislike. "Forget about him. As long as you guys came out fine and I don't have to go chop him down, that's enough. Everything else isn't for us to worry about." Han Qingyu smiled. He had never been curious about high-level politics. As he spoke, he fished out another blue crystal source energy block to replenish his reserves of liquid source energy. "Is he very strong?" Wu Xu asked. "He has to be," Wen Jifei said. "Word is that even among the supers, he's top-tier. But as for how strong exactly, I couldn't tell you." Wen Jifei thought for a moment, then added, "Oh right, people say he's one of the few who are most likely to challenge Legion Commander Chen for the title of the strongest in the mortal world." "One of them? Meaning there's more than one such person?" Wu Xu continued to ask. "Yeah, one of them. Over the past couple of days, I poked around and heard that the Mitli Front has a genius who reached the top tier after just six months in the army—faster even than Qingzi. And Ye Jian himself mentioned that night that Snow Lotus has a junior who might surpass him in the future. There might be others, but I don't know..." "Then what about Qingzi?" It was rare for Wu Xu to ask so many questions at once; he was only curious because martial prowess was involved. Now, according to Han Qingyu, having withstood the energy impact of the traction field and digested it on his own, Wu Xu had also definitively stepped into the top tier. Digesting the energy of the traction field by himself was something even Han Qingyu had not managed to do. Only Wu Xu had pulled it off. Wen Jifei turned to glance at Han Qingyu, then said after a moment's hesitation, "I wouldn't know. I'm not a blade-wielder, so I don't understand that stuff." "If you count it up, Qingzi has been with Azure for almost exactly one year now," Rusty Sister chimed in, muttering and calculating. "Back in Ye Jian's year, it was also precisely one year after enlisting that he underwent the Desert Trial. That time, he killed two top-tier assassins... They should be roughly comparable, right?" *Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.* The helicopter slowed to a hover. In truth, they had not been flying for very long. In the pilot's seat, Yang Qingbai turned around, gesturing with the sheet of paper in his hand to cut into the conversation. "We're here. Are we going down? We can land on the grass." Below them lay a continuous stretch of rolling hillsides. The trees were sparse, but the green grass was lush and thick... Not far below the slope stood a small village of no more than ten households. According to the markings on the simple map, that was the Tian family's village. "Let's land," Han Qingyu said after looking down. "Qingbai and Rusty Sister, stay with the chopper and stay vigilant. Wu Xu, Plague Chicken, and I will go have a look." The helicopter descended, its downwash swirling blades of grass and sending scattered seeds flying before it settled firmly onto the meadow. Spooked by the tremendous noise, a flock of forty or fifty sheep grazing near the foot of the slope scattered in panic, bleating as they bolted in every direction. "Wululu, come back! Don't run around..." "Baa-baa, get back here!" The voice was childish, carrying a tone that was half scolding and half pleading. A little girl of about six or seven emerged from the other side of the meadow, holding a bamboo herding pole with strips of cloth tied to it. The green grass submerged her ankles. Brandishing the long bamboo pole and pumping her short little legs as she sprinted across the pasture, she looked utterly adorable. Shouting and running, the little girl suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Holding the long bamboo pole, she stared curiously at the helicopter in the distance, then cast a timid glance at Han Qingyu and his companions... Finally, looking back at the scattered flock, she showed an anxious, helpless expression. "Let's round up the sheep first." Han Qingyu offered the little girl an apologetic smile, then led Wu Xu and Wen Jifei to gather the scattered flock together. Afterward, Wen Jifei looked at the little girl and murmured, "Judging from the dossier the army provided... she should be Brother Tian's daughter. Brother Tian is in his mid-thirties, yet his daughter is still so young." "Yeah." Han Qingyu walked over cautiously, crouched down, and offered a warm smile. "Hello. Are you Tian Zhifan?" The little girl looked at him and nodded. "Mm-hmm." "We..." "Do you know my daddy? My daddy is chubby." Tilting her head, the little girl took the initiative to speak. Han Qingyu and the other two were momentarily stunned. They exchanged glances, then nodded. "Grandpa said you would come. He told me that if I saw you, I should bring you home for tea." With that, the little girl took a few steps forward, shook her bamboo pole, and herded the flock down the slope. Halfway down, she turned back and said, "Come on, big brothers, my home is very close." The three hurried to catch up, following behind the little girl and the flock toward the small village below. Perhaps they should have flanked her cautiously from both sides to scout ahead, but in this moment, they simply could not bring themselves to do so. "Is Grandpa at home?" Wen Jifei asked on the way down. "Mm-hmm." The little girl, Tian Zhifan, glanced back at him and nodded obediently. "What about Daddy?" "Daddy is sick. After coming home and talking for a little while, he got tired from hugging me, so he lay down." The little girl answered earnestly, her pigtails bobbing alongside her little head. *So Brother Tian is at home?* the three wondered. In just a few steps, they reached the village with the flock. At the very first house in the village, an elderly man around sixty looked up from his yard, caught sight of them, put down his work, and stood up. "Grandpa," little Zhifan called out, running up to him. "Daddy's friends are here." "Is that so? Did you call them uncles, Zhifan?" The old man stepped forward, his eyes taking in Han Qingyu and the other two as he reached down to rub his granddaughter's head. "Um... I called them big brothers," little Zhifan said somewhat sheepishly. "That's fine too. Good girl, go herd the sheep into the pen first, then go call your mom and grandma out... Grandpa will talk with your daddy's friends." The old man gently ushered his granddaughter behind him and stepped forward. "Comrades, are you here for Tian Jiao?" the old man asked. The three nodded, greeting him respectfully, "Hello, Grandpa Tian..." "Hello. Well... Tian Jiao, he's... gone. Not even half an hour after getting home last night, he passed away." As the old man spoke, he turned his head slightly to the side. His back remained straight, but his head sank low. *Gone?!* The three were stunned on the spot. They had not known the exact nature of Tian Jiao's injuries. Going by Lao Jian's assessment, they had assumed that since he had left of his own accord, his wounds could not have been that severe. Reassessing the situation now, Brother Tian's injuries must have actually been mortal. After retreating from the battlefield, he had known he could not survive... In those circumstances, because his home was not far away and lay in that direction, he had chosen to go home. For a moment, none of the three knew what to say... Old Man Tian had already turned around. "He said you would come... Let me take you in to see him." In a side room of the Tian household, Han Qingyu and his companions saw Brother Tian's body. His gear and tactical cleaver were also present, laid out beside him. "Oh, and this." The old man's hand trembled faintly as he fished a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. "I was a soldier once, too. I know my son and you boys weren't the same kind of soldiers I was, but him... he didn't desert. He really didn't." Han Qingyu took the note and unfolded it. *He had almost completely lost consciousness before he even made it halfway. I came across him and brought him back. I don't believe he was a deserter. He only wanted to look upon his home one last time.* *Signed: Ye Jian.* Appended below: *If those among you who arrive see my name and become fearful, unable to make a decision, please forward this to Legion Commander Chen Buer to decide. Please do not frighten the elderly and the child.*