Chapter 98: Old Servant

Chapter98: Old Servant

"Yu Kou has set his sights on Duo Duo, intending to absorb her into the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

This was the very first thing Crow Hua said upon seeing Li Jun.

A resting dragonfly crawled out from his sleeve, dragging its wings, and climbed all the way up Li Jun's arm before settling quietly on his shoulder.

Li Jun lowered his eyes to regard the old man crouching under the eaves like a stray dog, and the corner of his taut mouth tore open into a slit.

"This matter began because of me; I will give you an answer."

Li Jun knew perfectly well that if he hadn't sought treatment at Crow's clinic, Yu Kou would never have tracked them down, and this grandfather and granddaughter hiding in Ghost Street would not have been targeted.

He had never wanted to drag them into the water, yet in the end, he had still brought harm upon them.

"There is only the logic of a thousand days to be a thief, never a thousand days to guard against one. Since even the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been infiltrated by a bandit of the Way like Yu Kou, our roots being dug up was only a matter of time."

Crow Hua waved his hand, seemingly harboring no intention of blaming Li Jun, merely letting out a self-deprecating laugh.

"You've probably guessed eight or nine parts out of ten regarding Duo Duo's and my identities, haven't you?"

Li Jun nodded, speaking frankly: "I've guessed some of it."

"So you see, there are no impenetrable walls in this world. Even if we fool Yu Kou this time, others will set their sights on us later. Dodging east and west for so many years... this old man is tired too."

Crow Hua sighed, shifting his footsteps to the side, making room for a body beneath the eaves, and tilted his head back to look at Li Jun.

"Got the time to listen to this old bastard ramble about those moldy old sesame seeds and rotten grains of the past?"

Li Jun sat down beside the old man in silence.

"Things have come to this; there's nothing left to hide. Duo Duo and I are the sole two survivors of the Chu Wu Sect, once a notable martial sect in the Empire's Southwest."

The words had barely fallen when the old man let out a cold snort, holding up two fingers before Li Jun.

"The only two left alive, and both are trash who couldn't even enter the martial sequence. Tell me, what's the difference between that and the sect being wiped out? If I could, I'd trade my life for any single Sequence Follower from the sect in a heartbeat."

"Pity, no one would ever give you the chance." The old man's eyes held mockery. "Never thought the day would come when weakness actually became a shield, allowing me and Duo Duo to escape the purge."

"All these years I've dragged Duo Duo around hiding everywhere. I've been to over a hundred counties across the five great southwestern provinces—Yun, Gui, Chuan, Liang, Guang. Until half my body was in the grave, and I simply couldn't endure that yearning for fallen leaves to return to their roots any longer. Only then did I finally muster the courage to return to Chengdu Prefecture."

Crow Hua spoke, his gaze lifting to the bustling crowds on the street, his eyes brimming with deep attachment.

"The young don't enter Shu; the old don't leave Chuan. Even a weary bird has a day it returns to the woods. This time, this old man doesn't want to move nests again."

Li Jun heard a faint death wish in the old man's words, and asked in a muffled voice: "If you don't leave, what about Duo Duo? Even if I kill Yu Kou, the Qingcheng Group is still here."

The unspoken implication hung in the air; both men under the eaves understood perfectly.

Given Yu Kou's status, his death would not let the Qingcheng Group rest, and even the Chengdu Embroidered Uniform Guard would move.

By then, all of Yu Kou's social connections in Chengdu would be investigated, and Li Jun would be the first to bear the brunt.

Pull up the radish and the mud comes with it; at that time, the identities of Crow Hua and his granddaughter would surely be unearthed as well.

"That's why I sought you out this time—I have a favor to ask."

Li Jun pondered for a long while, his voice rasping when he spoke: "You entrust Duo Duo to me, but that's just fleeing to the ends of the earth together."

"Brat, what good things are you thinking? Warn you now—keep your paws off Duo Duo."

Crow Hua flew into a rage, slapping Li Jun heavily on the spine.

"I want you to help contact those people from the Heaven's Will Society."

Li Jun's brow twitched. "What Heaven's Will Society?"

"Everyone's dropped their pants and laid it all bare, yet you're still playing hide-the-sausage with me. That's no fun. I know you have ties to the Mohists' Heaven's Will Society."

Crow Hua hmphed. "On the eleventh day of the first month, during the Lantern Festival, the ones who seized the Shu Road Logistics' Six Arts Chip were the Heaven's Will Society. You crossed hands with them."

"Back in Mianzhou County, the Heaven's Will Society showed up again—that same kid in Mohist armor. You clashed again. These are all verified intel from the underground black market."

Li Jun countered: "The Heaven's Will Society are bandits; I'm a soldier of Shu Road Logistics. They want to rob, I have to stop them. Nothing strange about that, right?"

"Then why did he go head-to-head with that old dog Wu of the Confucian Eight, letting you pick up the pieces so easily?"

Li Jun looked at the old man in shock. After a long moment, a grin slowly spread across his face.

"I always thought you were just a barefoot doctor plus a second-hand dealer. Never imagined you could deduce this much just from fragmented black market intel."

Li Jun smacked his lips, clicking his tongue. "Truly... one cannot judge a person by appearance."

"This old man just can't be bothered to use his brain normally. Didn't expect you to look down on me, brat?!"

Crow Hua laughed and cursed. "Black market intel is nine parts false, one part true. But if you can tell the difference, you can still dig up a lot."

The smile on Li Jun's face gradually faded, replaced by a cold glint in his eyes. "If you can guess it, others can too. Doesn't that mean I'm already exposed?"

"You think everyone is as wise as your Grandpa Hua? Relax. Unless someone deliberately takes you as the core to connect all the clues like I did, they won't figure it out."

Li Jun instantly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked with confusion: "Then what do you want with the Heaven's Will Society people?"

The old man shifted his posture, sitting on the steps and massaging his numb legs. His expression suddenly turned dim.

"Actually... I'm not Duo Duo's grandfather. I was just an old servant of the Chu Wu Sect back then."

"Huh?" Li Jun's face showed astonishment.

"Played the part well, didn't I."

Crow Hua's smile was painfully strained. "That girl's aptitude for the martial sequence is actually excellent, no worse than yours. It's just that during our flight, her foundation was damaged, her gene lock completely sealed shut."

"But even if she can't walk the martial sequence, she could actually walk the Mohist sequence."

"It's just that all these years I've kept it from her, deliberately picking incompatible sequences for her to try, just wanting to extinguish that heart of hers set on revenge."

The old man's voice was low and deep, his mind suddenly flashing back to the figure of that girl curled up in the corner.

"But looking at it now, my selfish thoughts have harmed her. The innocent man bears no guilt; it is the jade he carries that brings the crime. If I'd let her enter the Mohist sequence early, she'd be a Mohist Eight by now. At least she'd have a sliver of power to protect herself."

In this world, if you can't lift a saber, you're just grass.

Beneath the Sequence, all are baseborn.

"As long as you can help me contact the Heaven's Will Society, get them to take Duo Duo out of Chengdu Prefecture. I'll give you a share of the heritage the Chu Wu Sect left behind."

A sharp light flashed in Crow Hua's eyes. "A heritage enough to advance you to Martial Six."