He turned his horse and rode away, but Lanting still would not let the matter drop behind him.
"You brought eight Treasure Gourds? Why did you leave Fourth Uncle just one, and one he can't even use now? Could it be..."
Hou Du slowly turned his head in the saddle. "I, Hou Du, need explain my actions to no one. Since we've known each other, you should understand how Quanzhen Sword Cultivators regard wealth and resources. If I wanted to pocket your Wen Household's resources, why would I use such a stupid method?"
He urged his horse slowly away and never looked back again. Behind him, Lanting wanted to say more, but Lanruo stopped her.
"Little sister, say no more. You can doubt anything, but not this! Father was openhearted and never cared much for resources. Whenever he had anything good, he thought of us first. How could he have had any spare wealth stored elsewhere?
"Those rumors were never believable. More likely, Senior Brother Hou spread them himself, precisely to make those good-for-nothings slaughter one another.
"Eight Treasure Gourds? I doubt there was enough to fill even one!"
Lanting fell silent, her eyes swimming with tears. "I'm just grieving for those people who died so horribly, and for nothing. And this man-this man truly hasn't a shred of compassion. Not one gentle word, as though the two of us were dead..."
Lanruo gave a helpless, bitter smile. "We might as well be dead! We've been back for two months and accomplished nothing. We couldn't help the Lineage rise, nor could we lead them out of danger... Come on, let's go back. It's time we did something, too."
The two women rode back. They had little time left, but a great deal to do.
All along the way, Lanting kept