Jiang Che felt that Uncle Chuan had probably embellished the situation a little.
The truth, and the sequence of events, should have been something like this:
The Jiang had originally been a vassal lineage of the Liu Clan of Willow Source. When the Azure Mystic Sect attacked, the main branch, which had close ties to the Liu Clan, was slaughtered to the last person. A collateral branch might have surrendered quickly, or even offered proof of allegiance during the slaughter of the main branch, thus preserving the Jiang and becoming a vassal of the Azure Mystic Sect. After forty years of development, they had become the largest lineage in Willow Source.
But there was one point where reality differed from Jiang Che's guess: he had thought the current main branch of the Jiang had descended from Jiang Yunwei and Jiang Yunlin.
That turned out not to be the case.
Those two had belonged to the former main branch-the branch handed over as proof of allegiance. Neither had survived the catastrophe forty years ago.
Then why? In the actual history, weren't these two the ones who took Liu Bingyuan's head to claim a reward?
Who else could it have been? Liu Zicheng and Liu Bingyi, those two members of the Liu Clan itself?
Hiss...
So everyone wanted Liu Bingyuan dead, huh?
He pondered for quite a while, came up with a plan, then returned to the consciousness space and entered the spacetime fragment.
Although his spirit form had shrunk a little more after his last journey, leaving him only eight chances to travel, this was absolutely no time to conserve them.
This time, drawing on his previous experience, he copied the cat to draw the tiger and made it to the middle of the instance.
"...With Huo Shen executed, will I still die tonight?"
After Liu Bingyuan asked that question, Jiang Che gave a different answer from the one he had given in the previous instance.
He no longer mentioned how, forty years later, only the Jiang would remain while the Liu Clan would be gone. Instead, he said, "Huo Shen was only one of the threats. Once we leave this cave and reach North Luan Mountain, danger will still remain. Please allow me to survey the peaks and study their veins before offering you further advice, young master."
Jiang Yunwei sneered. "A mere mortal dares claim he can study the veins?"
His attitude was still nasty, but he did not call for blood.
That was a very good outcome.
On this third journey into the time fragment, Jiang Che's foremost goal was to live a little longer, observe carefully after leaving the cave, and determine its exact location.
Liu Bingyuan gave him a sidelong glance and said with a half smile, "Let's see what a mortal who hasn't even entered Embryonic Breath can make out."
As he spoke, he raised a hand, signaling for Jiang Yunwei to release Jiang Che.
Jiang Yunwei hesitated for a moment, but his hands obeyed. He shoved Jiang Che forward, leaving him to stumble a couple of steps.
"Move."
They were already close to the cave entrance, and moonlight was spilling in from ahead.
Liu Bingyuan stepped out first, then turned to look at Jiang Che, his chin slightly raised. "Here we are. Have your look. You get thirty breaths. If you can't make anything out, I'll gouge out your eyes!"
Jiang Che smiled faintly, neither afraid nor annoyed.
I've already died twice. Why the hell would I be afraid of you?
Standing on a pile of rocks outside the entrance, he clasped his hands behind his back, lifted his head slightly, and swept his gaze over the terrain in every direction.
The weather that night was not bad.
The moon hung high in the sky, spilling its clear radiance over the ridges, gullies, and trees near and far, veiling them in a hazy silver gray. At least it was not so dark that he could not see his hand before his face.
It still could not compare to a clear day, but he had no choice. Jiang Che could only do his best to observe and remember.
The cave entrance seemed to face south, directly toward a long, narrow valley between two low peaks...
There was a steep slope on the western side of the valley...
The mountainside where the cave entrance lay was covered in loose stones...
There seemed to be a stream nearby. He could not see it clearly, but he could hear the ceaseless murmur of running water...
He committed each of these features to memory.
Liu Bingyuan was already growing impatient. "Still not done? Do you really think I have that much patience?"
Jiang Che tried hard to buy more time. "Please be patient, young master. The terrain here is rather strange. Allow me another..."
Before he could finish, a piercing scream came from Liu Zicheng at the rear of the group. He fell to the ground, pointing incredulously at the man behind him.
"Jiang Yunlin! You..."
Expressionless, Jiang Yunlin struck again, cutting off his head.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yunwei's sword was already out of its sheath, thrusting straight at Liu Bingyuan!
Liu Bingyuan reacted quickly, hurriedly drawing his sword to block. Sparks flew.
Liu Bingyi rushed forward to shield the young master and shouted fiercely, "Jiang Yunwei! Have you gone mad?!"
Jiang Yunwei pointed his sword at Liu Bingyuan's face. "I've endured this for too long. Any longer, and I really would go mad."
Liu Bingyuan trembled all over with rage. "Fine. Very fine! Jiang Yunwei, Jiang Yunlin, your uncle gave his life to break open the formation, begging only for my mercy so that you two could follow me and survive. I agreed, and this is how you repay me?"
"Shut up!" Jiang Yunwei roared, breathing heavily. "You still have the nerve to mention my uncle?!"
"You, Liu Bingyuan, treat other people's lives like weeds! My uncle died for you, and all you had to say was that he was a good, loyal dog?! He had achieved success in Qi Refining. He should have been the pillar holding up the Jiang, but a single word from you sent him to throw his life into that bullshit formation! If you'd shown even a shred of feeling, a shred of gratitude, I would never have come to this!"
"Since the Azure Mystic Sect wants to wipe out the remnants of the Liu Clan, I'll trade your head for a path to survival for the Jiang!"
Liu Bingyuan's expression changed again and again. The corners of his mouth twitched twice, then he actually laughed.
"After all that talk, you just want to use my life to claim a reward from the Azure Mystic Sect, don't you? The Liu Clan has looked after the Jiang for a hundred years, only to raise a nest of white-eyed wolves. Jiang Zongcheng at least knew to die for his master. You little cur don't have half his backbone."
"You're asking for death!"
With that, the two pairs of brothers-Liu Bingyuan and Liu Bingyi, Jiang Yunwei and Jiang Yunlin-clashed.
Jiang Che watched with keen interest.
It seemed that his verbal attempt to drive a wedge between the Liu and Jiang during his previous journey into the time fragment had not actually mattered much. Liu Bingyuan would not turn on the two Jiang Household brothers on the spot just because of his provocation, and whether Jiang Che stirred things up or not, the two Jiang brothers would turn traitor in the end.
Well, it had not made absolutely no difference. Last time, after he had run his mouth, the two Jiang Household brothers had stabbed him to death first when they turned on Liu Bingyuan outside the cave...
Go on, fight. None of you are any good. Beat each other's dog brains out. Best if you all tear each other apart and die here!
Of course, that was only a beautiful wish. He did not waste time either. While watching the fight, he hurried to study more of the surrounding terrain and landforms, preparing for his return to the real world.
From his occasional glances at the battle, he could roughly tell that the Jiang brothers had some confidence behind their betrayal. The two of them were slightly stronger.
Mostly, it was Liu Bingyuan who was weaker. He was too young-fourteen. He counted as a genius in the Liu Clan, but clearly not enough of one to overcome a gap of six or seven years and defeat the two Jiang brothers.
If the fight continued like this, the two Liu brothers would probably lose.
But the pampered young master had advantages of his own.
He suddenly retreated, leaving Liu Bingyi to hold off both opponents for the moment. Then he pulled something from inside his robes: a palm-sized copper mirror with a mottled surface that looked utterly unremarkable.
The two Jiang brothers' expressions changed drastically at once, and Jiang Yunwei shouted:
"The Copper-Flame Talisman Mirror?! Didn't you already use it once?"
"I lied. It can be used twice."
Liu Bingyuan flashed a toothy smile and poured spiritual power into it. A dazzling burst of golden light suddenly erupted from the mirror, and a beam as thick as a child's arm shot from its surface.
Jiang Yunwei tried to dodge, but it was already too late. The golden beam pierced straight through his chest.
He lowered his head to look at the hole in his chest. His lips moved, as though he wanted to say something, but the light in his eyes was already fading rapidly. His sword slipped from his hand, and he toppled backward, hitting the ground hard.
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