Chapter 10: Dragon Heart
Qi Fu, holding his double short axes, stopped in the distance. He had the intention to rescue Liu, but the corpses lying around made him calm down. Charging in now would only result in his own death, with no other outcome. Besides, the person he was protecting wasn't dead yet, just tied up.
Thinking this, Qi Fu slowly stepped back. He was a brute who occasionally used his brain.
Ignoring Qi Fu, Su Xiao walked up to Liu with his blade in hand. Things hadn't developed as expected; the attack by these corrupted Tianba Clan members had disrupted many plans.
The known information now was that there was Source Water within the Tarin Kingdom, and secondly, Liu was royalty of the Tarin Kingdom. As for why she lived in Bamboo Village, that remained unknown for now.
A flash of blade light, and Liu closed her eyes. The feeling of being bound all over disappeared. She pulled the cloth from her mouth and began gasping for air.
After a moment, Liu lowered her head and walked past Su Xiao, coming to the corpse of the clan leader. Her clenched fists trembled slightly.
"Let me return to Tarin, is that your dying wish? Why... do you want me to go back to that gilded hell?"
After saying this, Liu fell silent for a long time. Today, there were too many things she couldn't understand, and too much sorrow.
A green spark fell to the ground. After burning for a moment, the soil was ignited by the spark, rising into a wisp of ghostly green flame. The fire began to spread uncontrollably, and before long, the surrounding houses were engulfed in green flames.
Su Xiao walked out of the small courtyard holding a wooden box and a sheathed longsword. The wooden box had been taken from under the clan leader's bed. Placing the [Source] inside this palm-sized wooden box, the unique fluctuations emitted by the [Source] disappeared.
As for the sword in Su Xiao's hand, it was the clan leader's blade, named "Wind's Passing," a weapon with Source characteristics.
Since he hadn't obtained ownership, Su Xiao couldn't view the specific attributes of this sword. Two known abilities were: first, it could easily cut through external defenses, and second, wounds inflicted by this sword were extremely difficult to heal.
Last night, Su Xiao had been wounded by this sword. Even with his bodily recovery, the wound healed very slowly. More importantly, during the previous battle, he had used a bottle of [Honor Recovery Potion (Sixth Rank)], yet even so, the wound on his shoulder still ached faintly and would take at least two days to fully recover.
Through this sword, Su Xiao could sense the power of Source-characteristic weapons. The value of the Ba Soul, which could enhance Source-characteristic weapons, was imaginable.
The clan leader had given this sword to Su Xiao, not to find it a new master, but to have Su Xiao bring it to the Tarin Kingdom. It was both a return and a way to prove that Liu was indeed royalty of Tarin.
The flames quickly spread through Bamboo Village. Su Xiao realized why the village's artifacts and architectural style differed from the outside world. The architectural style here was likely inherited from the Tianba Clan.
Don't think the Tianba Clan were all monsters. Before being fully corrupted by the Source, their clothing and ornaments were so exquisite that even the two great nations couldn't compare.
Liu followed hesitantly behind Su Xiao, clearly resistant to returning to the Tarin Kingdom.
"Lady Liu."
Qi Fu strode over. Somewhat dazed, Liu looked at Qi Fu and soon recalled who he was. In Liu's memory, he was a somewhat silent man who did nothing all day, sometimes teased by the village children. But each time he was teased, Qi Fu would glare angrily without saying a word.
"You're still alive, that's great."
As one of the few survivors of Bamboo Village, Liu felt a strong sense of kinship with Qi Fu.
"Thank you for your concern, Lady Liu. Qi Fu... failed to protect your safety."
Qi Fu knelt on one knee. Hearing this, Liu lowered her head, and the kinship in her eyes vanished completely.
"Is that so... then, you've worked hard."
Leaving this remark, Liu turned and walked away. Qi Fu remained kneeling, not getting up. Honestly, he didn't want Liu to return to the Tarin Kingdom either. Going back there would only lead to death, with no other outcome.
"Why are you still kneeling? Aren't you supposed to escort me back to Tarin? I envy you, having a mission."
Seeing Qi Fu still kneeling, Liu felt a pang of pity. In a paradise like Bamboo Village, Liu couldn't be as cunning and changeable as other royalty.
"As you command."
Qi Fu stood up. He had short axes hanging from both sides of his waist, and also carried a long-handled great axe. At the center of the axe head was a beating blue heart.
This weapon was called Dragon Heart, a weapon that could maximize the Infusion characteristic. The name wasn't an exaggerated metaphor; this long-handled great axe had actually slain an ancient dragon. The heart at the axe's center was a dragon heart that had been specially treated and shrunk.
Dragon Heart was one of the Tianba Clan's treasures, on par with Infusion Heart and Source Bow.
Hoisting the Dragon Heart Axe onto his shoulder, Qi Fu silently followed behind Liu, clearly the type who was usually silent and seemed dull, but would strike hard at critical moments.
An unusual team formed. Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha walked in front, Liu followed a few meters behind, and Qi Fu, carrying the Dragon Heart Axe, walked at the rear, looking like a wronged dullard. No one noticed that the veins on this dullard's neck were turning blue.
Flames engulfed the entire Bamboo Village. No one could know the clan leader's secret, nor would anyone investigate that the clan leader's daughter, Qinghuo, and her husband, Zhugui, had once tried to cultivate Moon Trees to completely resolve the Source's corruption and bloodline inheritance issues. This was a secret the clan leader didn't want outsiders to know.
After walking for a few minutes, Su Xiao discovered a crucial problem: where exactly was the Tarin Kingdom? The clan leader said it was to the west, but the question was, which direction was west in this world? The direction pointer Su Xiao carried was useful, but he couldn't determine what direction it was always pointing to.
Su Xiao looked at Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang shook his head. Su Xiao's gaze shifted to Baha.
"Uh~"
Baha shook his head while silently making sarcastic remarks.
Su Xiao's gaze finally fell on Amu. He gave up after just one look; Amu was unlikely to know.
"Moo."
Amu suddenly spoke, surprising Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha. They all stared at Amu, thinking that Amu might have been controlled by some enemy.
"Amu, hungry."
Amu was normal, just like always.
"Tough it out."
"Don't talk, I thought you were possessed."
"Woof."
Amu felt wronged inside but didn't say it; he was genuinely hungry.
"Liu, which direction is Tarin?"
"West."
"Which way is west?"
"Huh? You can't tell directions? West is..."
The previously sorrowful Liu paused. She looked around, pondered for a good ten seconds, then pointed in a direction in the night.
"This way is west. You're so strong, yet you can't tell directions."
"Strength has nothing to do with sense of direction."
"Don't make excuses for being directionally challenged."
Liu forced a smile, trying to forget the sorrow in her heart. The departed were gone; no matter what, she had to live on, and live well. Only then would she be worthy of the clan leader's ten years of care.
Su Xiao, of course, wasn't directionally challenged. As long as he confirmed one direction, everything else was fine. He could tell directions even in a death room, let alone in a mission world.
"Lady Liu."
Well Fighter Qi Fu spoke, hesitating.
"What?"
"The direction you pointed just now was north. That's the Holy Guard Nation."
"?"
Liu was stunned. She thought of her confident demeanor just now and the word "directionally challenged," and her face flushed.
From Qi Fu's brief explanation, Su Xiao learned that it would take about a month to travel from Bamboo Village to the Tarin Kingdom, due to Liu's limited speed. If Liu weren't considered, based on Qi Fu's maximum speed, it would take about four days.
Hearing this, Su Xiao had Amu carry Liu. Liu naturally objected, but considering Liu was still useful, after a 10-second verbal vote, with a result of four to two, Liu was carried on Amu's back and they set off at full speed.
After traveling for half an hour, the sorrow in Liu's heart vanished. She should be more concerned about whether she would die halfway through the journey.