The Humble Should Be Cautious

Ahead lies a half-peak, barren and bald, with only a few sparse shrubs clinging to its nooks and crannies. Yet, any traveler arriving here for the first time is bound to be captivated, for its shape is truly unique:

The upper half of the mountain is gone, but not due to weathering or fracture. The break is unnaturally smooth, as if someone had swung a blade in a diagonal strike, cleaving it in two!

The cut is abrupt and resolute.

One must realize this is an entire mountain peak, millions of tons of rock and earth, not a cluster of bamboo that could be easily sliced away.

There is a local legend that in ancient times, an immortal fought here and severed the peak with a single sword strike, which is why this broken summit is known as the "Immortal's Slash."

Legends of this kind are everywhere in this realm and difficult to verify. However, He Lingchuan's original self had actually climbed up to the Immortal's Slash a few years ago and seen for himself that the fracture was smooth and seamless; there wasn't a single bump or indentation across such a vast expanse, a feat even the most meticulous craftsman could never achieve.

Whether it was man-made or not, it defies imagination.

Sun Fuping gazed at the half-peak, as if sensing the ferocity and sharpness of that sword strike still lingering to this day. After a long while, he let out a long breath: "The path of the Dao is endless."

Turning past the mountain col, a solitary old poplar stood by the roadside, and hanging from its dry, hard branches were two people.

The wind blew, and the bodies swayed.

Many travelers gathered under the tree, pointing and whispering to one another.

As State Preceptor Sun's party approached, they saw two white placards hanging from the corpses, inscribed with the words "Courtesy" and "Reciprocity," respectively.

The expressions of Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping shifted instantly. With their sharp eyes, they immediately spotted the transparent tags pinned to the collars of the corpses, each bearing the characters "Donglai."

Two guards from Donglai Manor, dispatched to track the Sand Leopard of West Mountain, had gone missing while heading toward Blackwater City. Sun and Nian were aware of this, as they were the ones who had assigned the men. But since clues to the Sand Leopard's whereabouts had already emerged, they hadn't bothered to investigate further.

Now, these two had turned into corpses, lying in wait on their path.

Nian Songyu could tell at a glance that their necks had been snapped and they had been tortured before death.

Seeing Nian's face flush red and the veins on his neck bulge, State Preceptor Sun quickly pressed a hand onto his shoulder: "Do not be impulsive! Was this not to be expected?" These two guards had been missing for a long time, and their side had already deduced the possibility of their deaths.

"The men from Donglai Manor were our assignment; this little bastard is retaliating against us!" Nian Songyu gritted his teeth. He had killed one harrier demon, and the other party had killed two of his men in revenge.

After all, Donglai Manor was too far from the border, and the Grand Marshal had assigned his own guards to the two of them to command.

State Preceptor Sun's face darkened: "The big picture comes first! No infighting allowed now."

"Once we get the Great Square Pot..." Nian Songyu clenched his jaw, knowing that He Lingchuan had calculated that he still needed to rely on the Blackwater City army, so they couldn't afford a falling out just yet. He turned and roared, "He Lingchuan!"

He Chunhua was also shocked to see the corpses. Shouldn't these two have been locked up in the farmstead on the Red and White Path?

Then he remembered that his eldest son had always been lawless.

Just because he had shown a little restraint over the past two months didn't mean his true nature had changed.

Nian Songyu called out twice before He Lingchuan slowly rode his horse forward, meeting the rage about to erupt from Nian: "Commandant Nian, what is it?"

"Do you recognize these two?"

He Lingchuan took a careful look, secretly startled. Had Uncle Hao vented all his anger here?

"Of course not. So many people come and go in Blackwater City, how could I possibly remember every name?" He paused. "Oh? They actually have Donglai Manor tags. How could such important figures end up hanged in such a godforsaken place?"

"Very well." Nian Songyu laughed instead of getting angry, his tone suddenly shifting. "When a companion dies on Red Cliff Road, how do you usually handle it?"

He had guessed instantly that the two guards must have been killed by He Lingchuan. The brat was trying to provoke him; the more he asked, the more he would be mocked.

There was no point in further conversation; no need to dig deeper.

"If we can't bring them back, we give them a sky burial." He Lingchuan shrugged. "Since they didn't have a good end, let the creatures of the desert be grateful for nature's gift."

He Chunhua hurried over to interject: "Usually, it's a ground burial."

"Then a ground burial it is." After all, they were people from Donglai Manor; it wouldn't do to leave their bodies exposed in the wilderness.

He Lingchuan said with amusement: "A trivial matter. Commandant Nian should focus on the present and not delay the team's progress."

Finally, he had thrown those words back at him. How satisfying!

A flash of malice crossed Nian Songyu's eyes, but he immediately instructed Zeng Feixiong to send men to take down the two corpses and bury them on the spot.

The team, of course, could not wait and continued forward.

The feeling of being watched by Nian Songyu was like having a venomous snake on one's back, making one's hair stand on end. He Lingchuan pulled his father back to slow their pace, riding in the middle of the formation.

A man as proud as Commandant Nian would naturally lead the way; he couldn't keep looking back at He Lingchuan, could he?

"What are you doing?" He Chunhua whispered, reprimanding his son. "Killing those two serves no purpose; it will only deepen the feud with Nian Songyu."

He did not know that Uncle Hao was the one who had killed them.

"It vents some anger!" He Lingchuan sneered as he watched his father reprimand him as if nothing had happened. "Those two had no bottom line when plotting against us; why shouldn't your son slap him back? Besides, he needs us, so this is the least likely time for him to turn against us."

"If we return alive, then in the future..."

"If we return with the treasure, the Grand Marshal will be ecstatic; why would he care about such a small matter?" He Lingchuan said listlessly. "Father, you aren't old yet, but your courage has shrunk."

He Chunhua thought for a moment, his expression dimming: "You're right, I was too cautious."

He had been thinking about serving in the court together in the future, especially since their family had just returned to the capital and their foundation was unstable; he thought it best to avoid making enemies.

His thinking might not have been wrong, but how could one achieve great things with such a timid, cautious attitude in front of the powerful?

As he secretly warned himself, he said to He Lingchuan: "Chuan'er, are you still blaming your father for dragging you on this journey?"

Faced with such a question, should he answer "yes" straightforwardly, or "no" against his conscience? He Lingchuan could only chuckle: "How would your son dare?"

"What father doesn't wish for his son to be safe and successful? But in this world, that's impossible." He Chunhua patted his shoulder. "Chuan'er, you aren't a child anymore; it's time you were properly tempered."

He Lingchuan couldn't hold back: "When others get tempered, the difficulty starts low and builds up." Only his father would jump straight to the final boss.

The eldest son was clearly full of resentment, and He Chunhua laughed. "Don't blame your old man for being heartless. With you around, the chances of us returning home safely increase by at least twenty percent. The Great Shaman's words are no joke."

He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. If the original owner was truly a lucky charm, why did he die so quietly, leaving his skin to be occupied by an outsider like him?

But this retort could only be stifled in his gut.

Arguing now would be of no use, and besides, as a local official and his father, He Chunhua didn't actually owe him any further explanation.