Bloodline Tree – [Clan Building]

A few more days passed, and Shu Yang started to feel impatient.

‘How can I still not have found anyone? I feel like I will have crossed the entire Black Beast Mountains soon.’

‘Maybe something happened this past year? I should head over to the Sword School and see if there is any news. This really isn’t getting me anywhere.’

It was getting dark, so Shu Yang decided to set up camp for the night. He didn’t bring a tent, only a blanket to sleep on. But Shu Yang was a Master now, so he wasn’t very bothered by the chilly nights.

He took out a few pieces of meat still left from the bear-like beast he had killed and started to eat. He had smoked the meat a few days ago, so he didn’t need to light a fire.

While a fire could give some comfort in the night, Shu Yang felt he shouldn’t light one unless necessary. Since his encounter with the black fox, he had been a lot more cautious. He didn’t want to light a fire that could be seen from miles away, revealing his location to both beasts and humans.

‘You never know what kind of people you can meet around here. I would prefer to be the one who sneaks up on people, not the other way around.’

And as luck would have it, a few hours later, Shu Yang actually noticed a small light far in the distance.

‘That looks like a campfire. Did I finally stumble upon some people?’

After giving it some thought, Shu Yang decided to head over. The night would give him cover, and he would be able to scout the situation before making contact.

The camp was on the other side of a shallow valley, so it took Shu Yang some time to make his way over. When he started hearing the sounds from the camp, he slowed his steps and treaded carefully, making sure he didn’t make any noise.

“Sore…Again…Like he said…” Shu Yang could eventually hear the sounds of a conversation further up ahead. It seemed to be taking place some distance away from where he now saw several fires burning.

‘Such a large group?’

“You have the Qing surname, you’ll be alright,” Shu Yang finally heard the voice clearly. He hid himself behind a tree and peeked out. He could see two people, one young man and one old, seemingly standing guard at the edge of the camp.

“I’m far removed from the main family branch. I doubt the elders will bring me along when they come,” The young man said.

“You’re a Master already. No one would dismiss such a talent,” The old man responded.

“But will the elders care about that talent? I’m not like the Emperor,” The young man asked.

“How would I know? I just have a hard time believing anyone could discard a Master, at least if he is family,” The old man said, “It’s different for me. I’m not of your Qing family. I’m definitely not being brought along. I wonder what the future will hold…Do you think the Emperor was serious? We’ll launch a war?”

‘Emperor? Launch a war?’ Shu Yang felt a cold chill run down his spine. This group wasn’t an ordinary group of hunters.

“It should be true…” The young man said, “There is no point lying, right? At least not to a Saint. The Emperor has nothing to lose, just give the order and sit back and wait for the elders to arrive, and then hand over all the problems to the Lishen Emperor.”

“Then what will become of us?” The old man asked, “Will the Lishen Emperor accept us?”

“Why not? We’re technically allies, right? You should have a better chance than the Kingdoms’ Martial Families. Just be happy you aren’t like that guy,” The young man said, nodding to the side.

Shu Yang glanced in the direction the young man was gesturing to, and even in the dark, he could make out a man tied to the tree. But he couldn’t make out his face. His head was hanging, chin against chest.

‘It’s not Tianhu…But could he also have been captured? Is he around here somewhere?’

“I wish I were that guy,” The old man said, “Don’t you know why he was kept alive and brought along?”

“I heard something about the Shen family? I’m guessing he’s going to be used as a hostage, but I’m sure he won’t end well,” The young man said.

“He’s not going to be used as a hostage,” The old man said, shaking his head, “I overheard it when the Emperor was giving instructions. This man has a very useful bloodline trait. He’s going to be handed over to the elders when they get here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lived a better life than me in the future.”

“You mean…He’s going to be married into the family?” The young man asked.

“What else would they do? If he plays his cards right and goes along with it, he might be able to rise to quite a powerful position in the future,” The old man said with a sigh, “Why wasn’t I born with a bloodline trait? I could have moved my family away and seen a larger world.”

“I’m not sure that’s a fate to envy,” The young man said, “At least you have some control over your own life as it is.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” The old man said.

‘The elders? Of the Qing family? Are they capturing people with bloodline traits? That’s really dangerous…I need to make sure my children know to keep everything about their traits secret in the future, or who knows how they will end up. But Tianhu doesn’t have a trait…could they have noticed something else?’

Shu Yang was itching to go look for his son, but he could still hear voices coming from the camp. He knew it was better to wait until most of them were asleep before moving around. Just these two guards seemed to be Masters. There was bound to be a lot more Masters and Grandmasters around.

‘Can I take these two out? Maybe I can get some information from them? Or maybe there is a chance to at least knock them out. If I can get that prisoner away from here, he might know something. He is bound to be more willing to talk, and he should know whether Tianhu is here or not.’

An hour passed, and Shu Yang kept himself hidden in the dark, gaining a lot of useful information from the two men talking a bit away from him. The rest of the camp was gradually quieting down.

Shu Yang felt that he should wait for an hour or two more, to make sure as many people as possible were sleeping. Then, he would quietly try to take the prisoner away without alerting the two guards. He had decided that he didn’t want to take the risk of fighting two experienced Masters, even with the advantage of a sneak attack. The commotion from a fight could easily attract more people to come over.

The safest option was, of course, to just ignore it all and slip away, but he couldn’t ignore the possibility that his son was kept somewhere inside the camp. Besides, Shu Yang was fairly confident he could escape if he were discovered. It was the middle of the night, and he was in the middle of the Black Beast Mountains. He didn’t think anyone could find him in the dark, not when he had a head start.

But just as Shu Yang had decided to wait for a few more hours, he noticed something on the ground a few feet away from him.

‘Is something there? Wait!’ Suddenly, Shu Yang’s eyes seemed to pierce through something, and he spotted that same black fox he had encountered a few days earlier. It looked back at Shu Yang, this time without much fear or hostility in its eyes.

‘What is this beast doing here?’ Shu Yang thought in confusion. ‘Is it scavenging for food?’

Before Shu Yang had a chance to think, the black fox disappeared from its spot, leaping toward the two guards.

‘What is it doing!? Those are Masters!’ Shu Yang felt panicked, as his plan was about to be ruined. The guards would surely yell out in surprise when they were attacked.

‘I need to run! I’ll come back tomorrow night and see if there is an opportunity then.’

But before he had a chance to move, he saw the black fox’s attack land on the young man. He seemed completely unaware of the approaching danger, and before he could react, the black fox’s sharp claws had slit open his throat.

“Argh,” A low gurgle sounded from the man, and he clutched his throat in panic.

The black fox immediately went on to attack the old man beside him.

‘It’s worth a shot!’ Shu Yang didn’t have much time to think. He saw an opportunity, and he had to take it. He leaped out of his hiding spot and ran as fast as he could to the young man who was clutching his throat. A Master wouldn’t necessarily die from a wound like that; the body could go on for a long time, even with the loss of blood and oxygen. If he received help in time, there was a good chance he could recover completely.

Shu Yang didn’t necessarily need to kill him; he just needed to make sure he didn’t make noise and alert the rest of the camp. But the easiest way to make sure of that was definitely to kill him. Shu Yang didn’t have much scruples about killing him; he had heard enough over the past hours to know there was a good chance these two would come back with an army soon enough.

The young man was in a state of shock, so Shu Yang didn’t have much to worry about. He pulled out a knife from his belt, infused it with Innate qi, and cut the young man’s head off.

Turning to the side, he saw that the old man hadn’t managed to react in time either. The black fox had cut a wound on his throat already. But unlike the young man, this old man seemed more experienced. He tried to call for help straight away, but fortunately, the wound made it difficult for any sound to come out. The old man didn’t stick around and wait for death, though. He took off immediately, rushing toward the main camp.

‘We can’t have that.’

Shu Yang pushed his body to the limit and leaped forward with a kick to the man’s legs. The old man, however, seemed ready. He turned around, letting go of the wound on his throat, and threw a punch at Shu Yang’s shin.

Shu Yang almost bit down on his tongue in order not to yell out in pain. The old man’s punch was infused with Innate qi, while Shu Yang’s wasn’t, and that made all the difference. Shu Yang could feel that his bone had broken.

‘I was careless!’

He tried his best to ignore the pain and slashed his knife toward the old man. Thankfully, the old man seemed at least a little disoriented from the sudden attacks. He stumbled on a root and fell backwards. Shu Yang’s knife cut a deep wound on his forearm.

Shu Yang didn’t let up; he pushed off the ground with his broken leg and jumped toward the old man. This time, the man couldn’t muster any power, as he was still stumbling backward from tripping on the root and avoiding Shu Yang’s attack.

Shu Yang quickly stabbed the man in the chest. He didn’t settle for one strike. Over and over, he stabbed him, until he finally fell to the ground, dead.

Shu Yang looked up in front of him. He couldn’t see anyone rushing toward him, but the risk was high that someone had heard the short fight and was coming over to check.

Shu Yang took a few swift steps back and arrived in front of the man tied up against the tree. The man now had his head up, and Shu Yang actually felt he looked familiar. But there was no time to think about it, he cut through the ropes and helped the man up.

No words were needed. The man gave a brief nod of thanks, and the two of them took off running.

Shu Yang took a quick glance behind him, and he couldn’t see anyone following. But he knew that someone was bound to find the bodies and the missing prisoner soon enough.

‘If Tianhu is kept there somewhere, it is going to be a lot trickier getting him out now.’

Shu Yang couldn’t help but think of the black fox.

‘That little guy might be helpful…Where did it go?’

Even with his vision, the black fox was nowhere to be seen. Shu Yang turned his head again, throwing away the thought.

‘I just need to get as far away as I can for now.’