Wu Youren felt a little regretful that he did not have one of those legendary panels to put his gains into concrete terms.
Luo Xi, however, was left rather speechless. "A special detection ability..."
He had never heard of such a situation and felt out of his depth with the subject.
But he did not think the other party was merely going through the motions with an excuse, because all kinds of strange things could happen within the supernatural system.
Especially after ability users appeared, everyone realized that the human body still had a great deal of untapped potential.
But without a doubt, whether the reason the other party gave was true or false, he really had discovered the Monkey Tiger ahead of time.
The youth from Jin rose another notch in his estimation.
So he spoke again. "It seems we haven't agreed on how to divide the spoils yet?"
Before they set out, the youth had said nothing, and neither had he, as though both of them had overlooked it.
But please, fighting the Weird Race meant risking their lives, not going on a picnic. Who could possibly overlook their share of the spoils?
It simply meant that whoever took down the prey got the spoils.
To Luo Xi, this was already quite fair. As a Knight, he had not quibbled over the advantage his own combat strength brought to the fight.
But now, he felt they needed to settle this matter.
"That was an oversight on my part." Wu Youren started at his words. "Would thirty percent of my spoils be all right with you?"
He said nothing about the other party's spoils-nor did he need to.
He had gained no spoils at all from the battle just now.
As long as he could collect experience points, things like spoils really were not that important.
"Do you think the little haul a Knight Apprentice gets would catch my eye?" Luo Xi asked unhurriedly.
"I mean that your timely warning just now deserves credit. You get a share of my haul!"
"You're treating me like an outsider by saying that," Wu Youren said earnestly. "Without you there, I reckon I'd have been done for."
"Good that you know it," Luo Xi said bluntly. "But I'm fair in how I do things. Credit still deserves a reward."
Without my warning, you'd have been long dead, never mind any spoils afterward... Wu Youren's mind was full of things to snark about.
But there was no need to get hung up on it. This was a matter where the husband had his reasons and the wife had hers.
He merely said, "You provided the transport too. Let's forget about this little haul and talk about it next time."
He had absolutely no idea how much the four tendons, one Monkey Tiger head... and two forepaws the other party had collected were worth.
Even if the people at the hostage residence could roughly appraise the goods, there was absolutely no way they would know Great Liang's market prices.
The Monkey Tiger's flesh and blood all had to be burned for disposal. For a while, he had thought the other party would take a loss.
"You think nothing of eighty or a hundred silver dollars?" Luo Xi accelerated the motorcycle as he spoke.
"Hmm, the sky's getting darker and darker."
Eighty or a hundred... Killing weirds actually pays this well? Wu Youren was somewhat surprised.
Even a ten-percent share would earn him eight or ten dollars!
But having already said as much, there was no need to change his tune immediately. "Next time, then. Whatever you feel like giving."
Luo Xi felt a little wistful. Children from wealthy families really were different, speaking of such things so casually.
Unexpectedly, the other party added a moment later, "Don't give me too much. It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality."
So mature at such a young age? Luo Xi could not help baring his teeth. "What sort of family produced that attitude of yours?"
"Well... better not talk about that." Wu Youren's voice grew a little softer.
I understand. Luo Xi nodded slightly. "Tell me about those measures you prepared?"
"Just a few little tricks," Wu Youren answered vaguely, without explaining further.
The little fellow's pretty damn full of himself! Luo Xi was a little displeased.
But on second thought, he let it go. How could anyone Big Red valued so highly possibly be simple?
Hurrying along, the two reached the supply point before the dark clouds closed in overhead.
It was actually a nook at the foot of a mountain, recessed a considerable distance into the rock. It could be considered a half-open cave, covering four or five hundred square meters.
Inside, however, it had a full range of facilities: fuel, a general store, a restaurant... even a weapons shop!
A dozen or so vehicles and another dozen or so motorcycles were already parked outside the supply point, scattered about and taking up more than half the space.
The three-wheeled motorcycle had only just entered the cave when bean-sized raindrops began to fall.
"Good thing." Luo Xi got off the motorcycle, removed his helmet, and glanced outside. "We managed to dodge it."
Great Liang's rain was relatively clean most of the time, but in recent years, it occasionally contained mild acid or yin energy and the like.
More importantly, this was a mountain road. Heavy rain could easily cause natural disasters such as landslides and mudslides, and running into one would be trouble.
Wu Youren, meanwhile, silently surveyed the supply point.
Among the vehicles taking shelter from the rain, there appeared to be three teams, as well as two groups that seemed to be independent operators.
As he sized up the others, they were also observing the motorcycle that had just arrived.
Luo Xi's attire and equipment alone were enough to establish that he was a Knight.
The other youth did not look like an ordinary person either. He was probably a Knight Apprentice, though his equipment... was rather shabby.
A pair like this should not have put everyone under much pressure.
So what if they had a Knight? They did not even have a decent vehicle, only a motorcycle.
But the monkey-faced tiger head hanging from the handlebars silently warned everyone: these two were extremely dangerous!
The bloodstains on the tiger head's neck had not dried, making it clear that it had only just been killed.
"An orange Monkey Tiger!" More than one person recognized the tiger head's origins.
Wu Youren and his companion said nothing. Spoils like these were enough to dispel any wicked thoughts most people might harbor.
The two took out dry rations and waterskins and ate and drank on their own. Traveling, followed by the battle just now, had still consumed some of their stamina.
They were not particularly hungry, but in unusual circumstances, it was very necessary to keep their strength fully replenished.
The attitude the two displayed was clearly one of "strangers, keep away."
Yet no matter the time, there were always masters of social boldness.
Someone approached, proactively offering cigarettes as a friendly gesture.
This overture failed. Great Liang was not a land of universal peace and prosperity, and everyone remained highly vigilant when away from home.
The man did not get angry. He lit one for himself before asking, "Was this Monkey Tiger from nearby?"
"We came by motorcycle," Luo Xi answered indifferently. "If it wasn't from nearby, was it from the border?"
"Young man, let's speak properly!" a burly man spoke up. His cultivation was also at the Knight level.
With a solemn expression, he declared, "This concerns the safety of travelers on this road. It's a little irresponsible of you to conceal things."
"Responsible... me?" Luo Xi stretched his neck, swallowed a mouthful of meat, then pointed at his own nose in surprise.
Once he had confirmed it, he really did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Don't try to morally blackmail me. I have no such obligation to you."
Then he pointed at the shopkeepers. "If there's anything you don't understand, ask them. They know more than I do!"
There was nothing wrong with what he said, but the burly man refused to let it go. "Friend, who are you with?"
"Withholding information can affect Great Liang's social order. Can you bear that responsibility?"
"Who the hell are you?" Luo Xi rolled his eyes. "I'm from Red Pine Martial Academy, here to investigate weird activity."
"Come question me once you've become Red Pine's headmaster!"
This was within Red Pine's sphere of influence. On his own turf, he had no reason to hide anything.
The caution of someone traveling the jianghu? Unnecessary! A mid-ranking martial academy had the confidence to shoulder this much!
As for investigating weird activity... that mission really ought to have been kept quiet. Strictly speaking, it should not have been casually disclosed.
But looking at the tiger head hanging from the front of the motorcycle, there did not seem to be any need for secrecy anymore.
At those words, the burly man immediately shut his mouth. He had quite a few connections in the military and police, but he truly had no standing to challenge a martial academy.
Others then turned their attention to the shopkeepers, asking about the Monkey Tiger's origins.
Another burly man spoke up. "Stop making a racket. Can't you see the Monkey Tiger's already been put down?"
He was the weapons shop's owner, with a broad scar across his forehead that made him look ferocious.
He was also a Knight.
It was not that Great Liang had so many Knights that they could be seen everywhere, but that opening a shop here carried considerable potential risks.
All kinds of people passed through, and weird activity could occur as well.
Out here in the wilderness, they really could not do without a Knight keeping watch.
The weapons shop mainly sold ammunition, and everyday demand was not particularly strong. His main job was to keep the place under control.
A fat man grew angry at this. "So you already knew there was a Monkey Tiger here?"
While they all argued noisily, Wu Youren and Luo Xi had already finished their meal at speed.
Speed was the whole point of a combat meal, and it was also a skill most martial artists had to master.
The two sat back-to-back on the ground, turning their heads to look at the curtain of rain outside the cave.
"It probably won't last long," Luo Xi remarked casually. "Mountain weather always comes in spells."
Wu Youren remained silent. He was using the break to quietly analyze his gains from earlier.
What he had gained from that Chang Ghost was not much different from the first time he had destroyed a weird. The main thing was that the Monkey Tiger had given him far too much.
He silently circulated his internal breath and felt a sense of swelling. This body still could not digest these gains very quickly.
Wu Youren could not quite determine how long he would have had to cultivate to achieve the equivalent, but at the very least, it should have been worth two months, right?
He also badly wanted to see what changes had occurred in the Weird-Repelling Jue.
Yet although the jade jue hung right at his waist, with only a little cloth pouch between them, it was inconvenient to take it out.
There was no point dwelling on what he could not do for now. He was better off concentrating on circulating his internal breath and adjusting his condition.
Wu Youren's cultivation through circulating his internal breath did not escape the others' notice.
The difference between him and Luo Xi was simply too great: one was an arrogant Knight, the other an impoverished youth.
Especially with him still silently cultivating at such an unusual time, he looked rather hard-pressed no matter how one viewed it.
A middle-aged man approached, his face weathered by wind and frost.
He was a Knight Apprentice from one of the convoys-there really were not that many Knights-but one look at his face made it clear that he was an old hand in the jianghu.
He took out a silver dollar. "Young brother, sorry to bother you. I'd like to pay for some information. Did you encounter any Chang Ghosts?"
Red Pine Martial Academy's Knight was very arrogant, but paying for information was not going too far, was it?