Chapter 24: Once The Brotherhood Sword Is Out, There Are No More Brothers

Chapter 24: Once the Brother's Sword Appears, No More Brothers

Back at the stronghold, no one knew that a small squad had nearly been wiped out by the female knight. The place was in an uproar, everyone buzzing about the new developments above.

"Did you hear? Captain Fang bungled his duty and got severely punished by the Vermillion Bird Venerable—almost had his bones broken."

"Just heard... serves him right. Damn it, he wanted to find something in the mountains but didn't trust the brothers in the stronghold, not even a hint. He just had those few dozen official disciples search in secret. What the hell could they find? This mountain is huge—scattering a few dozen men is like throwing needles into the sea. Did he think this was his little brothel in the city, where everyone who goes is a brother-in-law?"

"Shh, keep it down. If the captain hears, we're done for."

"Who cares? That idiot got wrecked by the Vermillion Bird Venerable; he might even die."

"Speaking of which, it turns out the Blood God Sect is really a subordinate of the Four Symbols Sect. I thought it was just an ally. Looks like it's clearly a branch—the Vermillion Bird Venerable can directly manage it."

"Even if it was an ally, turning it into a subordinate isn't hard. The Four Symbols Sect is too strong..."

"So the strong are generous. They let everyone search, and whoever finds it gets the Blood God Technique, or even a spot in the core of the Four Symbols Sect!"

"Yeah, the Venerable said that thing has its own divinity. If someone is fated, they might even get a great blessing. The sect needs talents like that. That's way better than that stingy Fang."

"Captain Fang didn't let everyone search together, probably afraid someone else would steal his opportunity..."

But as they talked heatedly, those who had been cursing Captain Fang for being stingy began to eye their conversing friends warily. Both sides now realized there was only one opportunity, and everyone was actually a competitor.

"Heh." Zhao Changhe snorted, pulled Luo Qi aside, and headed straight for the mountain stream behind.

Any later, and someone might come searching this way. They had to hurry.

Fortunately, Yue Hongling was there. Otherwise, asking Instructor Sun about the Azure Dragon Star Formation would have taken forever with all the beating around the bush. Now they could basically crack it directly, since Luo Qi knew a bit about formations.

The two rushed into the waterfall. The surroundings were still empty, and the star map remained. Zhao Changhe sighed in relief and asked, "Which one is the Heart Mansion?"

Luo Qi glanced at him and silently pressed down on a star.

Zhao Changhe noticed it was actually the brightest star in the entire star map. He glanced at Luo Qi again. If it was that simple, shouldn't Luo Qi have cracked it long ago? Or was it that the most obvious hint was the hardest to touch, and Luo Qi was just being cautious?

The thought flashed through his mind as Luo Qi pressed down on the other star points in one go.

The star map slowly split open, revealing a small hole just big enough for one person.

"Done!" Zhao Changhe's face lit up with excitement, but he remained cautious. "Don't go in yet. I heard places like this might be filled with carbon monoxide... uh, poison gas. Let's test it with a fire starter..."

"No need." Luo Qi sighed. "I practice internal arts; my sense of qi is more sensitive than yours. It's safe to enter. But I'm not sure if there's a guardian spirit or something. Be careful."

Zhao Changhe drew his long blade and went in first. "In that case, I'll lead the way."

Luo Qi bit her lip and followed.

Inside, there was no strange space, no guardian spirit, no zombies, no skeletons.

The place was actually very small, only the size of a single room, smaller than their shared wooden cabin. The space was circular, as if echoing the celestial dome above. In the center of the circle lay a square cyan jade seal shaped like a jade seal, with a white orb the size of a goose egg on top. Inside the orb, a faint dragon shape seemed to swim slowly, as if alive.

"Heaven is round, earth is square, dragon roams the nine heavens... It really is the Azure Dragon Seal..." Luo Qi murmured almost inaudibly.

Zhao Changhe didn't catch it. He turned to her and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Luo Qi stared at the Azure Dragon Seal, lost in thought, and said quietly, "How would I know?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Anyway, the Four Symbols Sect must value this thing a lot. From the Azure Dragon Star Map, it matches the sect's name perfectly. There must be a deep connection. If we bring it to the Vermillion Bird Venerable, we'll definitely get into the Four Symbols Sect. Even if not, trading it for the Blood God Technique shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Luo Qi hummed in agreement.

Zhao Changhe crouched down and carefully probed with his blade, inch by inch.

Who knew why such a thing had no powerful guardian? Maybe it had strong restrictions of its own? Zhao Changhe felt a bit nervous and tested it with his knife first.

Behind him, Luo Qi bit her lower lip tightly and slowly drew a dagger from her sleeve. She stared at Zhao Changhe's back, her expression complicated and hard to read.

Zhao Changhe's rear-sight clearly saw it. His heart suddenly jumped, and his face changed.

This was...

Luo Qi wanted to kill me?

Luo Qi wanted to kill me...

This...

"Don't trust anyone, not even me."

Luo Qi's words echoed in his mind. Zhao Changhe still couldn't believe this scene. He even wondered if his rear-sight had malfunctioned, showing him the wrong image.

She wanted to kill him? She could have stabbed him to death any night. Why wait until today?

Even yesterday, she was helping him ease his pain. How could she look like someone about to kill?

Could it be... just because the treasure had appeared, she wanted to keep it for herself?

He had just sneered at the people in the stronghold. Now, was the brother's sword about to turn on him and Luo Qi as well?

Zhao Changhe's heart sank to the bottom. His hand gripping the blade grew tighter and tighter, but he stubbornly refused to believe it, waiting for Luo Qi to make her move.

Who would have thought that the rear-sight cheat wasn't for peeping at baths, but for this moment? The countless days and nights of practicing the turning slash would now be used on Luo Qi...

After what felt like an eternity, perhaps just a second, Luo Qi's hand, frozen in front of her, finally moved.

Zhao Changhe's taut nerves snapped. He spun around and slashed.

But Luo Qi wasn't stabbing at him. She hurled the dagger fiercely at the ground.

Zhao Changhe stopped his blade just in time, the edge halting precisely at Luo Qi's neck, not advancing a fraction further.

Luo Qi stared at him in shock. Zhao Changhe looked back at her expressionlessly. They gaped at each other for a long moment before Luo Qi finally laughed. "Not bad, not bad... All that hard training for precision, and it was used to spare my life. Strange, with your level of cultivation, how did you sense someone behind you?"

Zhao Changhe said quietly, "You... just now..."

"Wanted to kill you." Luo Qi seemed completely relaxed now. "But I couldn't bring myself to do it. What can I say? Our Big Brother Zhao just stood in front of Yue Hongling for me. I'm not heartless."

"Even... even without what just happened with Yue Hongling..." Zhao Changhe said hoarsely, "I can't imagine you killing me. How could you possibly kill me? Just for a treasure?"

Luo Qi looked calmly at Zhao Changhe's devastated expression. The pain in his eyes seemed even worse than the agony of a million ants biting him during last night's breakthrough. A flicker of pity crossed her eyes, and she answered seriously, "Why not for a treasure?"

Zhao Changhe shouted, "Don't lie to me. You're not that kind of person!"

"How much do you know about me? Just because we slept together?" Luo Qi shouted back. "I've been lying to you from the start. Don't you know that?"

"You—"

"I could have solved the formation yesterday. I pretended I couldn't because you were around! Did you know that? I've been lying to you all along!"

"..."

"I planned to sneak in and take it today, but I couldn't get away because of the mission. Before the mission was done, Yue Hongling came to cause trouble. And then the Vermillion Bird showed up! Now the whole mountain is searching!" Luo Qi grew angrier as she spoke. "Is the whole world against me?"

Zhao Changhe twitched the corner of his mouth. "Alright, keep your voice down. We sound like a quarreling couple. How stupid."

Luo Qi's expression also turned odd. She lowered her voice and said, "Yeah, now there are people everywhere searching for the thing. If we attract them, the treasure right in front of us will be gone."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"You need this thing badly." Luo Qi said softly. "Whether it's to join the Four Symbols Sect, or to get the Blood God Technique to escape your current suffering, or even... this thing can cleanse your marrow and strengthen your tendons, erasing the disadvantage of starting martial arts too late. You've always treated it as yours for the taking. Did you ever consider that I might want it too?"

Zhao Changhe's eyes finally moved. He replied quietly, "No, I always thought it was ours together."

"Together? Is that so?" Luo Qi's tone carried a hint of melancholy. "You only ever thought about what you'd gain from it. Did you ever, for a moment, think about what it could do for me? Changhe, do you know? I came to Beimang from the very beginning for this thing. It's even been my childhood wish... If I just watch you take it away, then what have I been doing all my life?"