Leaving meant another long trek across the mountains.
Han Qingyu wasn't in the best of spirits, but he wasn't doing too poorly either, because this time he had finally seen with his own eyes that his parents were living a peaceful, comfortable life at home.
Twice now. As they had just agreed, the next time he went back, he would walk through the front door openly and honorably...
"Then I need to hack Alphonse to death first, the sooner the better."
Han Qingyu muttered aloud out of nowhere.
Since they had all been walking in silence, Wu Xu and Rusty Sister immediately turned their heads toward him upon hearing his voice.
*This guy was all soft and sentimental just a moment ago, and now he turns right around talking about killing! If Uncle and Aunt knew he'd turned out like this, wouldn't they beat the daylight out of him?!*
Rusty Sister thought to herself, suddenly feeling a twinge of anticipation.
"Azure's investigation will never dig up evidence," Han Qingyu said, oblivious as he looked back at them. "But I believe that as long as we go hack Alphonse to death, the evidence will surface on its own. He—"
"And what if we hack him to death and still can't find any evidence?"
Rusty Sister stifled a laugh. Holding in laughter was easiest for her; so long as her sheet metal didn't rattle, no one could tell.
"Oh." Han Qingyu paused for a moment. "Actually, hacking him to death is the important part."
Beside them, Wen Jifei burst out laughing.
Han Qingyu breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Wen Jifei's home was also in Xinsong County. It was an old house left behind when his grandfather passed away, and because he was on his own, it had sat empty for over a year now.
After his parents divorced five years ago, both had remarried and started new families with new children. Wen Jifei rarely visited either household, because sitting there made him feel like an outsider, as if his very presence were an intrusion.
That was why Wen Jifei hadn't mentioned going back to take a look once during their entire trip.
Perhaps he simply had no idea where to return to. Since he hadn't brought it up, Han Qingyu hadn't pressed, but he couldn't help worrying about the emotions his friend kept bottled up inside.
"Visiting my parents can wait until later so they don't worry. But with us running around all over the place, if we get a chance and can guarantee it's safe, we could drop by Linzhou University to see Yao Yue first. I'll go throw down a dunk for her to see," Wen Jifei said proactively with a grin, as if reading Han Qingyu's thoughts.
Who knew how many times the name Yao Yue had reached the ears of Han Qingyu and the others, yet none of them had ever met her in person—not even Han Qingyu.
She and Wen Jifei had made a pact all the way back in middle school to attend university together.
The story roughly went like this: their homeroom teacher had paired top students with struggling students for tutoring and academic support, and before long, the star student was lured into a bout of puppy love—the ambiguous, hazy kind.
Later on, they went to different high schools and could only see each other during vacations. Wen Jifei was never cut out for academics, but the two kept writing letters back and forth without interruption, even while he was in the Ninth Army and stationed at Squad 1777.
"Sure, maybe we really will get a chance," Han Qingyu agreed. "Some of those clans happen to have secular branches out in the world, too."
With that, he looked down and rubbed the Bone of Eternal Life in his palm. It was only about the size of a thumb knuckle. On the surface, apart from an unusual sheen, it looked quite ordinary, but the surge of source energy running through its interior was profound, thick, and ceaseless.
It had been a while since he received the piece from Master Duosang Jiacuo, but Han Qingyu hadn't absorbed it.
First, without Sean's "help" and being reluctant to consume metal blocks, he didn't currently possess the ability to actively initiate fusion; second, he wanted to properly investigate what kind of creature this bone had actually belonged to.
He had already examined it closely, but had learned nothing.
That didn't matter, though. What mattered was getting more of them.
The more, the better. One thing was certain: bone source was the greatest and most direct path to growth that Han Qingyu could currently see.
*The Yu clan, the He clan, and... let's see which other clans there are,* Han Qingyu mused.
He felt that whether from the perspective of Bones of Eternal Life, source energy replenishments, or the prospect of laying hands on top-tier weapons, those secluded and semi-secluded clans looked entirely ripe for plundering.
What was more, Han Qingyu now possessed excellent avenues to track them down: the Shang clan, and Zhu Jiaming.
***
Fourteen days later, the four of them appeared outside the former estate of the Shang clan that they had once ransacked. Lying flat from the early morning until noon, they finally caught sight of Shang Nianhua.
Since she had been released and sent back... it meant Captain Lao had succeeded.
The four slipped out to let Shang Nianhua spot them, then lined up side by side and respectfully hailed her with grins, "Sister-in-law!"
"..." Shang Nianhua had fully intended to settle scores the next time they met, but looking at them now, she felt a little flustered. "Right, have you eaten yet? If not, your sis—I'll go cook something for you first."
"Thank you, Sister-in-law!"
"Hypocrites!" Shang Nianhua rolled her eyes at them and burst out laughing.
Just like that, Han Qingyu and the others stayed with the Shang clan for nearly a month.
Then came the late night of November 17.
Past the city outskirts and over the mountains, in a deserted river valley.
Han Qingyu and the other three stood on the ground in full gear, looking up. The fuselage of a helicopter wheeled around in the night sky, blotting out the moon as it hovered and descended slowly.
Yang Qingbai sat inside the cockpit, waving vigorously at them.
The cabin door slid open, and He Tangtang leaped out. Standing there, he looked over at the four of them... A reunion after surviving a catastrophe, He Tangtang proclaimed:
"Let me tell you, when I stayed behind to hold the rear, I hacked through over thirty of them all by myself! I triggered the Near-Death Surge, every strike lethal—I stabbed that top-tier bastard right through the kidneys until he had none left..."
"Get lost!"
The four turned their gazes past He Tangtang.
There, Liu Yiwu was climbing slowly down from the cabin with a smile.
"Corps Commander Liu!"
The four snapped to attention and saluted.
Wen Jifei lowered his hand, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and bounded forward warmly. "Uncle Liu! You've worked so hard, Uncle Liu. Look at this, bothering you to come out in person over such a small thing..."
"Get lost!"
Liu Yiwu had just realized something: this time, the helicopter was staying behind.
Which meant he would probably have to walk back on foot.
*Why is it that every time I run into these little bastards, I end up feeling so shortchanged?!* Swelling with indignation, General Liu swung his arm and flung a long, heavy sack loaded with gear straight toward them.
The sack landed on the ground before Han Qingyu and the others with a metallic clatter.
"What's this?"
"New blades."
Han Qingyu hurriedly squatted down and pulled the sack open. Inside were three dead iron war blades that bore a strong resemblance to Azure's standard-issue blades, yet were not entirely identical, and lacked any serial numbers.
"These blades..." Han Qingyu looked up. He was certain they were crafted by Jiang Chou, but he couldn't identify the specific material right away. It wasn't as though he could take out his column sword and hack them to test, could he?
"Iron from the Great Spike mothership," Liu Yiwu said, his eyes fixed on the three blades on the ground, dripping with longing and reluctance. "Back on Xilang Peak, didn't you guys pry off a piece yourselves? That's the very iron..."
Before Liu Yiwu could even finish speaking, Han Qingyu was already back on his feet.
All three blades were stowed away.
Adding the one blade he had kept before, his current loadout totaled four war blades plus a long wooden case. Since there was genuinely no room left on his back, he tucked two of the blades into his belt.
"*Cough!* Quick hands, aren't you?" Liu Yiwu turned his head and took a closer look.
On Wu Xu's back were a spear and a heavy sword.
Behind Rusty Sister's iron armor were a long wooden case and a Western knight broadsword.
"So, uh... do you guys happen to have any surplus weapons?" Corps Commander Liu inquired.
"Nope," Han Qingyu said.
"Sure you do, just look at you!" Liu Yiwu said. With a sharp clang, he drew the war blade from behind his shoulder and held it in his hand. Of course, he had no intention of taking anything by force... A full general, pointing a finger at his own war blade: "Standard issue."
"They tell me my main value doesn't lie in brute force," Liu Yiwu added in an earnest tone.
He Tangtang asked, "Then what do you rely on?"
Liu Yiwu snapped, "Get lost!"
Turning back, his gaze shifted tenderly toward Han Qingyu.
"Corps Commander, you're crossing the line," Han Qingyu said.
Liu Yiwu said, "Yeah? And what of it?"
"Nothing. I just think you're crossing the line, Corps Commander."
"..." So there was no room for discussion. General Liu nodded with an aggrieved, sorrowful expression, turned around, and walked back toward the helicopter. Reaching the cabin door, he said, "Since that's how it is, I might as well keep this toy for myself."
As he spoke, he reached back and hauled out a long, narrow black case.
A sharp rip echoed as the Velcro peeled open.
Liu Yiwu spun back around, whipping the black case forward so that the sleeve slid right off.
In Liu Yiwu's hands, a long black sniper rifle was unveiled, its pitch-black muzzle pointing straight at the four of them.
"Azure's latest and quickest fruit of research on the Great Spike mothership. Swiss-made. They say that translated into our tongue, it should be called 'Elegy of the Square.' In the entire world, there are only seven."
Chapter 378